The son of bride of lockdown

Do you remember the first days of the lockdown? When going outside was like being in your very own sci-fi/thriller film?

Where deadly germs were lurking on every surface and there was no handsanitiser available (unless you wanted to pay £50 for 100ml online with an expected delivery date of July 2021).

But as the extras in the film, ‘Lockdown’ we soon rose to the occasion.

The NHS (the stars of the show) were incredible, receiving applause night after night (well, specifically Thursday evenings at 8pm), and the scientists played their roles too, their sharp minds working to find a vaccine.

In Act 1, online shopping soared.

Queues at the supermarket were orderly and we learnt how to follow arrows and stand behind lines. Loo rolls and flour flew off the shelves. Two Joes dominated our early TV viewing: Joe Wicks got our hearts pumping and Joe Exotic just made our blood boil.

By Act 2 all was unusually quiet save for the birds enjoying their opportunity to show off their voices. And don’t forget the whirr of the cyclists as they enjoyed the empty roads. Animals made appearances in towns, trotting across mini roundabouts like they owned the place. Zoom became a word used widely and not in context with moving quickly. Our hair grew long.

Families made von Trapp-type videos which everyone loved until they didn’t.

Act 3 was darker. People began to rebel, sneaking out, thinking they’d be the only ones wanting to go to the beach. Tensions rose as we all fought to escape, to go back to starring in the prequel: ‘Normal Life’. Here’s hoping we can do that, or at least have a role in the sequel: ‘New Normal’.