Skip to main content

Day 60 - Thursday 14th May 2020

Location: London, UK

COVID-19 / Coronavirus Outbreak


Lockdown

This is an excellent article by Tarek Iskander who is the artisitic director at Battersea Arts Centre. In it he talks about the performing arts world using this time to address the issues in theatre before we launch back in - what we had wasn't perfect and now we can change things:

https://www.thestage.co.uk/opinion/opinion/the-arts-after-covid-19-lets-fix-the-things-that-werent-right-before

I think it's a sound point that this is a moment in history that could be used to fix some problems and one that we could apply to many elements of our daily lives.  Where have our priorities changed?  What is essential to us now?

For example: many people like to work from home or have the option to do so.  Before the lockdown I know of many friends who were denied this by their companies saying it wasn't possible, or just doesn't work for their company.  Well clearly, that's not the case.  It is possible and it can work.  Working from home could make an enormous difference to someone's day to day life.  It could help ease the burden on an overloaded transport system.  And people flying across the world for meetings - they've all been taking place online. Have they been less effective meetings? I doubt it.  All these small changes would reduce pollution and increase air quality.

I'm not suggesting a radical change but I think this lockdown has shown us that just because something has always been done a certain way, it doesn't mean it needs to continue to be so.

By nature, we are social creatures and we want and need to be together.  This has been evidenced by how people have embraced the likes of Zoom, Skype etc to talk to friends and family.  We all want to be able to see each other freely again and it's when that simple liberty is taken away do we realise how much we need it.


Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Day 150 - Wednesday 12th August 20200

  Location: London, UK  COVID-19 / Coronavirus Outbreak Certain people have always been a bit disgusting in the way in which they treat their surrounding. The number of surgical masks I see lying on the street every day is quite revolting.  Not only is it an act of pure sloth to just throw it on the floor without a care in the world for your environment, but surely in times when we are being asked repeatedly to wash our hands and use hand sanitiser it's an almost an act of aggression to disgard something potentially infectious in such a disdainful way? A plea therefore - please throw your salived filled masks in the bin, not on the floor.  Astonishing to have to ask really!

Day 90 - Saturday 13th June 2020

Location: London, UK COVID-19 / Coronavirus Outbreak Lockdown On this date last year I was at Wembley Stadium seeing The Spice Girls. And it was genuinely one of the best nights of my life.  I didn't get to see them when I was younger as a five-some but seeing Baby, Scary, Ginger and Sporty live on stage was fantastic. It's hard to explain why exactly but essentially The Spice Girls were an integral soundtrack to my formative teenage years. I love a good bit of pop music and the queens of GIRL POWER had hit after hit after hit.  And the thing is, they are great songs! I promise you - request Wannabe at a wedding or somewhere where they play live music (I requested it at Piano Works Bar to actual cheers I tell you) and it will go down a storm. # V i v a F o r e v e r

Day 139 - Saturday 1st August 2020

Location: London, UK  COVID-19 / Coronavirus Outbreak Lockdown My church opened a while ago, initially for an hour a day, so that parishioners could visit and pray. Then about a month ago, it opened for daily masses but with social distancing in place.  Track and trace is done at the door, masks are worn and instead of holy water by the door we have... holy hand gel? It's all a bit strange to say the least and I doubt the church has ever been cleaner, but I think it's good that places of worship are able to open.  They are necessary to so many as a place for quiet and time for reflection, as well as operating as the centres of community, of which they are for so many people.