Last one to the party

Hello, lovelies. We’ve just pasted the one-year anniversary of lock down, one year of closed shops, restaurants and theatres. This morning, on the radio, people we encouraged to call in and let the world at large know what they’ve learnt over the past year, and what they were looking forward to when the lock down is lifted. So I asked myself, what have I learnt whilst being stuck at home? And what am I looking forward to doing once the world is open again? Clothes shopping? A weekend away? Watching a live gig or concert? What is the one thing that I’ve missed the most? And how can I have learnt anything while being stuck in doors? As the clock ticked down to the end of 2019 and the possibilities of the year to come shone so brightly, we all knew that the 2020 was going to be our year. We’d all worked so hard, that 2020 was most definitely going to be the year to end all years. I was planning on doubling down at work, saving as much money as I could, and take my children to visit my father in America. But then the rumours started. I remember working FOH at my favourite theatre, I overheard a couple of women talking about this new virus that was heading our way. With only half an ear, I chuckled at the absurdities of England being affected by this potentially deadly virus. How could I have ever imagined that only a few short weeks later we would all be staying indoors, clapping the NHS from our gardens every Thursday evenings, and embracing social distancing, mask wearing and stock piling loo rolls. How was this happening? How was it fair? How had this crept up on us so quickly? And what were we supposed to do with ourselves? But we humans are a resourceful bunch. We did what we needed to do. And thank God for the internet! How many of us binge watched every box set on Netflix? We found a rhythm. We zoomed, social distanced and worked our way through the mountain of toilet paper we had amassed. We learnt that we can do amazing things with very little. We have learnt a lot. For the longest time I missed the anonymity of being out of my house. I missed the simple pleasure of walking into a shop, and not just an essential food shop, just to browse what they had. And walking out with nothing but the pleasure of having been able to do so. To go into a shop that may not be essential to anyone else but me. Walking into a shop without wearing a mask, dancing around people when they get too close, and trying not to cough in fear of what that cough might mean for both me and anyone within a two-metre radius. But as the months flew, well, crawled really, I found that I don’t need to spend money to be happy. In fact, I have found the complete opposite. After a year of watching big corporations make a fortune when the smaller family run businesses are closing faster than ever before, the most satisfying thing is knowing that my hard earned cash is still sitting in my bank account, and not in the tills of the big supermarkets. Not that there is much money, but it is there all the same. And I realised that I miss the freedom to go where I want, when I want, there is so much more to do. So many more places to visit that won’t involve spending my money. And that’s when I realised that I am the last one to know that there is so much that we still can do. I have missed going to the theatre like a physical punch in the guts. I miss everything about going to see a show or concert. The getting ready. The arriving, seeing my friends, and most of all the anticipation of the performance starting. I miss the smell of the theatre, as all of them have a uniquely different smell, from slightly damp and musty, to air fresheners and polish. So when I had an email pop up in my inbox with the chance to buy a ticket to me my favourite male actor, I jumped at the chance. So on Thursday evening, my children and I watched Giles Terera in Black Matter. The man is a legend, a total triple threat. We even dressed up for the event. So for most of us, life is totally different than it was, but I can still feel that rush but from the comfort of my own home. I maybe the last one to know that I can still enjoy the things I loved to do, but now I know there will be no stopping me!