Vaccine joy

Neil Coupe

IT is quite exciting to be one of the 52% of the population to have had at least one vaccine.

As everybody I have spoken to has said, the vaccination process has been superbly organised.

I turned up at the Madejski Stadium at the allotted time, and as there was a chill in the air, was told to sit on my car for five minutes.

Literally five minutes later I was whisked into the facility to join on to the end of a socially distanced queue, which never stopped, and seamlessly went from stage to stage with my various details being checked before finding myself in a booth to face up the needle.

Two minutes of small talk and one injection later, I was ready to face the world again (after a 15 minute rest).

For the first time, I felt privileged to be considered as a vulnerable older person.

The past 12 months have presented massive challenges, leaving some people bereaved, sick or with major financial problems.

For us adults, I am certain that the very strange period in our history will never be forgotten.

IT literate, communicative teenagers and young adults appear to have adapted to the new world reasonably comfortably, on the whole, but I wonder how younger primary school age children will remember this period.

It might be appropriate to create some type of memory book for the younger children, with photographs and other mementos and anecdotes about what they did when they were unable to go to school or see their friends and relatives in person.

Guide

In 20 years time, for young adults it would surely be fascinating to look back at what they lived through and what their parents did to help and guide them through unprecedented times.

The roadmap out of lockdown set up a few weeks ago appears to be going to plan, and this week with hairdressers, shops and pubs reopening it really feels like a significant step forward.

Even a simple pleasure such as sitting for a limited period in a pub beer garden, or converted car park, in the unreliable April weather seems like an exotic thrill.

It is by no means straightforward to book a slot, which suggests that there is great demand for this, enabling our local pub landlords to start earning a living again.

One of the lessons of lockdown has been how much social activity we can still enjoy, just by using a little imagination and by taking advantage of the technology available.

Once the novelty of Netflix box-sets had worn off, it was the people with the more creative minds who seemed to thrive, whether converting real life activity to an on-line equivalent, be it say language lessons, wine tasting or organising murder mystery nights, giving a genuine reason to dress up.

Others may have enjoyed doing things they do not usually have time for such as building bird boxes or starting to read Dickens.

In our complicated post-lockdown world, no doubt the most successful businesses will be those able to adapt and make an imaginative offering. I am certain that there is a pent-up demand for people to start leading a normal life again.

It is tantalising to see on social media how local pubs and restaurants are reacting to the challenges of being alfresco, at least in the short term, by innovating and making their outdoor space as appealing and hospitable as possible.

I for one wish them all well and look forward to pursuing a social life as the country gradually returns to normal.