Irreversible

Yesterday, the parks, pavements and streets of Bristol were as busy as I have seen them for – ooh, let’s think – about a year. I was working in hipster friendly BS3 yesterday and it was if there was no lockdown at all. In reality, apart from the shops and pubs being shut there is no lockdown worthy of the name. Boris Johnson said that the easing of restrictions was irreversible. Whatever happens next? My feeling is that many people have long taken that view, regardless of what comes next. It’s over.

To date, Johnson has managed to get away with his lies and wild over-optimism because people are both frightened and desperate. The grim death toll has been temporarily forgotten as the sun begins to shine again. We so want this COVID nightmare to be over that we’ve gone along with most of Johnson’s instructions. But, I suggest, those days are gone forever, over a long time ago.

The genie of freedom is now well and truly out of the bottle and the packed parks and seaside towns yesterday proved this point. The future numbers may be depleted by poor weather – this is England, after all – but Johnson can forget another lockdown.

Like most of you, I am going to interpret government rules as best I can to protect my fellow woman and man. I won’t be reckless, but I do want Johnson to set about rearranging the country so that I can do the things I really want to do. Like going on holiday, going to the pub, visiting a record shop. Don’t ban me going out: find a safe way to let me do these things.

I say this because my feeling is that public opinion is well ahead of me. I see people all over the place meeting up, going in and out of people’s houses and even people going on holiday to their second homes. I don’t condone it but that’s the reality of today. ‘Stay at home’ won’t cut it anymore.

Anyway, can’t stop, I’m off out to mingle with the crowds, in a professional capacity, of course.