Together we can strive to safely return to normal

LITTLE by little life is getting back to “normal”, although we all know that is nothing like the normal we are used to but the green shoots of progress are slowly starting to show.

Compared to a couple of months ago, there are definitely some more tangible freedoms and the reopening of pubs and restaurants - albeit under different rules - was evidence of some sense of progress in the past few days.

There is no doubting that there is still nothing “normal” about not being able to stand around chatting in a pub, or to have to queue to get inside a shop that only has three other people already in it.

But it is to Ashbourne’s credit - and Derbyshire as a whole that people did not, in that now well-trotted out phrase, “tear the pants out” of lockdown easing last weekend and create mayhem.

Some pubs chose not to reopen just yet but were watching to see what happened to their fellow landlords and hostelries and are keeping in contact with each other to share experiences.

Other signs of future green shoots are to be found on the pages of the News Telegraph today, as we reveal that there are plans by Derbyshire Dales District Council to invest in new council homes and also news that, one-by-one, the churches are working together and reopening for private prayer.

And news that the district council is taking the Ashbourne town team’s request for additional free parking to boost the economy seriously is also welcome too.

Rules and regulations are likely to be with us for a long time to come and if we wish to enjoy what freedoms we have again, then it is incumbent on all of us to make sure we stick to the rules and don’t risk the threatened virus second wave, or we will see ourselves once again in stricter lockdown than ever.

Together we can stay safe and together we can make sure that life does get back to normal and we are stronger working together than before.