Lockdown lessons in VE Day commemorations

Communities across the Peterborough area are preparing to commemorate the 75th anniversary of VE Day on Friday. From a silence in the morning to raising a glass in the afternoon we will all salute a momentous day in world history. Devastating as the current coronavirus pandemic is, the privations we as a country are facing are not at the level seen in the Second World War and its aftermath. The sacrifices and stoicism of those wartime generations will never be forgotten and their achievements hold many lessons for us today. Pulling together, keeping calm and carrying on, everyone doing their bit... the phrases coined in that era hold just as much relevance today.

As the impact of lockdown becomes daily more apparent in the slowly declining coronavirus death toll, the importance of continuing to observe the precautions outlined by government and scientists and the need to plan appropriately for the weeks after lockdown is as great as ever.

On Friday we celebrate a momentous moment for a generation that came through the darkest of days. As we raise a glass to them we should also raise one to the NHS staff, emergency services, armed forces, supermarket workers, waste collectors, all our key workers and community heroes - and to every one of us who is playing our own small part in seeing us through these dark days. The end may not be in sight yet and the challenges ahead remain huge, but we can take some comfort in saluting those that showed that we will get there. >Mark Edwards >@PT Mark Edwards