Virus can’t attack our bravery, kindness and unity
EVEN in the darkest times, the human spirit shines bright. Three months ago, it was inconceivable that the country would be in lockdown, with schools empty, shops closed, bars and restaurants shuttered and police officers empowered to charge people just for leaving the house. Dark times indeed.
But nor was it imaginable that whole communities would paint rainbows on their windows and empty out of their front doors every Thursday night to stand in the street, clap, cheer and bang pots and pans as a simple ‘thank you’ to medics, hospital workers, carers and cleaners.
Three months ago, no one had heard of a 99-year-old army veteran called Captain Tom Moore, but today more than half a million people have called for him to be knighted – and nearly double that number have put their hands in their pockets to help him raise more than £23 million for NHS charities in response to the coronavirus pandemic.
The heartwarming tale of Captain Tom – so keen to help those on the front line battling this deadly disease, he challenged himself to walk 100 laps of his garden before his 100th birthday in order to raise funds – is actually a story about all of us.
Yes, he went the extra mile (or extra hundred laps), but he didn’t raise such an astonishing sum by himself. That money was donated by the thousands of men and women across the country who also wanted to do their bit, even when money was tight and millions are facing an uncertain financial future.
These are the same men and women who have signed up in their thousands to be NHS volunteers, or who have been dropping shopping off each week to elderly or vulnerable neighbours.
These people have ensured they are keeping their regular blood donations up, and are doing the right thing every day by adhering to the strict stay-at-home guidelines – however hard it is for them and their families.
Once we’re through the other side of this – and we will get through it – there are going to be so many stories about those who have done their bit.
There’s the NHS heroes, working day after day on Covid-19 wards nursing the sick and vulnerable back to health, and carers ensuring the housebound are looked after and not forgotten.
THERE’S supermarket staff pulling extra shifts to ensure the nation is still fed, delivery drivers working late so those at risk can get groceries to their door rather than brave a bus journey, and thousands of other key workers making sure the world still turns and bins are still collected as the nation hunkers down to ride out the storm.
Each individual act spurs on half a dozen more as good turns inspire a virtuous cycle of community spirit.
Neighbours who didn’t know each other’s names three months ago are now co-ordinating help by WhatsApp groups – and they will join together like old friends in local street parties once the restrictions are lifted. And as for
Captain Tom Moore? Well, after video messages from Prince William and being given the freedom of the town by Keighley Town Council, there is an even better reward.
His effort has inspired 90-yearold Margaret Payne. She has pledged to climb the equivalent of 2,398ft Suilven, which is in her home county of Sutherland, in aid of the NHS – with 282 trips up and down the stairs of her home.
Just as Captain Tom smashed his initial £1,000 target many times over, Margaret has been overwhelmed by generous donations from the public.
She’d hoped to bring in £10,000 for the health service and a local hospice, but raised ten times that in little more than a day.
In terms of death toll and restriction of liberty, this virus may be the worst assault on our way of life since the Second World War, but it is bringing out the best of us in so many ways.