It’s time to celebrate our first steps to freedom

ALL THINGS come to those who wait. The line first penned by the poet Violet Fane in the 1800s pretty much sums up the British mood as the easing of lockdown at last begins on a truly happy Monday.

Finally, with the clocks changing over the weekend, we can step out of the darkness and start to meet up with friends and family again with groups of up to six people allowed.

The pace of easing lockdown may well be too slow for many people, but as we go through the various stages we will need patience and allow the health of the nation to be carefully monitored.

As ever, the Prime Minister is urging caution and encouraging people to stay safe.

But the beginning of the end of lockdown really cannot come too soon for most people and any easing of restrictions will be an enormous relief.

It will be important for Boris Johnson, though, to stick to his roadmap and not let it slip or be delayed however much some of the more hardline members of the scientific community may push for new restrictions and more lockdown.

It is unlikely that the economy and wider health of the nation can bear much more in terms of not being able to function properly.

With 30 million people now having had the jab, it means the danger of the virus is mostly receding and the likelihood of people dying falling.

Sadly, we will probably have to learn to live with coronavirus just as we have with flu, but for now let us prepare to celebrate a beginning to a return of freedom.