I hadn’t knocked on this door for a while. “It’s yourself,” he answered. “Come on in.”

Isabel and Linda, whose families have both been affected by cancer, decided to host a fund-raising coffee morning for Macmillan, a wonderful charity that helps so many people affected by that illness. Unfortunately, changes to Covid regulations meant they were the only ones allowed to attend. When Linda was taking the small amount they raised between them to the bank, she had to wait at the door before going in. Chatting to the security man supervising the queue, she told him the story. Of course, his family had felt the scourge of cancer as well. He dug into his wallet, right there in the street, and added a welcome £10 to their collection. The fight against cancer is something that affects us all in one way or another. We really should tackle it together, like Isobel, and Linda, and their new friend the kind security guard.

As he stepped back, his wife appeared. I felt very welcome but, for everyone’s sake given the current situation, I declined to go in. Instead, we had a happy chat from either side of the doorstep. But, perhaps for the first time, I had a proper understanding of the honour behind such open-hearted welcomes.

It’s like saying this is the place I dream my dreams and escape from my fears, where my greatest treasures – my children, my beloved – are.

It is our shelter from the world, our home, and you are welcome here.

How often, before the pandemic, did we say all of this without a second thought?

And how much, in the future, having been through all of this, will we appreciate the simple words, “It’s yourself. Come on in!”