Lockdown forced a new world on us. Some good and some bad, so lets take a closer look.
The price of COVID has been high and continues across much of the world, but in the UK we’re quite fortunate to be coming out the other side. As the UK opens up, what are we hoping to keep from the lockdown? What are the best bits?
- Table service. Oh yes, hand in hand with bar tabs and contactless payment. Shame about the increased prices, though.
- No more commuting. Well, at least not regular, dull, rush-hours grimness. More lying in late, splitting your working day to fit your life and more quality family and friend time.
- Fewer meetings. Yay, gone are many of those toxic internal meetings, unfortunately replaced by fewer but entirely soulless Zoom / Teams sessions.
- Quieter roads. You know this won’t happened, but, it gave a sneaky peek at what a world with fewer cars on the road might be like – and it was good. Wishful thinking, I know.
- High quality takeaway / delivery. Its not always cheap, but a refreshing change to get a proper restaurant meal delivered to your house, beats the hell out of a crappy Dominos.
- Community. Many communities are closer, more engaged, and more aware of the needs of their neighbours. Its been quite a highlight,
- Exercise. During the dark days of lockdown we were permitted to go out once a day for exercise. For many people this was a novelty, whole swathes of the population took up walking, cycling, and other outdoor activities. A fitter population is a good thing, and we’re all happier for it. Even those who stayed at home were happy to join Joe Weeks and get fitter.
- Staycations. Do we really need to travel so far just to sit on an over-crowded beach consuming overpriced drinks? Its better for the planet, our UK economy, and our health if we travel just a littles less. Besides, we live on the best island in the world.
- Everything delivered. Why visit a crummy cookie cutter high street to buy stuff you probably don’t need when you can do that more efficiently at home. And related to this is the death of the traditional high street and its pending re-invention.
- Home schooling. It drove parents to be more actively involved in their kids education. For some parents it was a chance to (re)learn stuff that didn’t quite stick first time around.
What are you going to try to hold onto?
