How has lockdown been for you?

For some of us it will have been the hardest of times, mourning the loss of someone we loved. While we can be thankful today for the relatively low number of deaths we’ve experienced in Cornwall, that’s not much comfort to those who have lost someone. Every single death is a tragedy.

There will be a high price to pay for others, too. We don’t yet fully know how the pandemic will hit Cornwall’s economy. A lot will depend on how this summer pans out. It looks as though holidaymakers will come down here in some numbers. However, given the distancing requirements I fear they won’t be spending money in cafes and pubs in quite the same way they normally would – despite the ‘eat out to help out’ scheme and changes to make it easier for businesses to put more chairs and tables outside. So it looks like some kind of economic hit will be inevitable.

For some, then, lockdown will represent anxiety and suffering, and is far from over.

But for many, there have been some real positives. I heard one commentator say the other day that he believes some people will look back on lockdown with affection, as a time when we lived differently – and I know what he means.

During lockdown I spent some time ringing people up who are running various community support projects and time and again they spoke about the number of volunteers who’d stepped forward to help, and the way that, with foodbanks, supply was keeping up with – or even outstripping – demand.

Strangely I had the sense that even though we were more isolated, in many ways we’d never been better connected. Certainly it seemed that community spirit, the spirit of ‘One and all’ was, strong and true.

And there was something else I noticed. As the pandemic worsened, nature sprang back into life – and wildlife started to appear ever more boldly, taking advantage of our absence from the scene. And who can blame it? For me it was something delightful and wonderful to behold.

Those are the kind of things I hope we don’t lose sight of in the future. In the years to come I want to be open to learning these ‘lockdown lessons’ – and live more lovingly and lightly on this earth as result.

So what will you take forward from this time into whatever is to come?