Things are starting to look a bit brighter.

As the night pull out and the grass starts to look as if I can’t put off the first cut of the year for much longer, living at home all day, every day seems to be getting ever more wearisome. I do try and motivate myself, to be active and creative, but to be honest it feels like a losing battle at the moment. The very infrequent posts on this blog over the last month a prime example of this malaise.

At least we do have a schedule now for how, in an ideal world, this is all supposed to end. The government has published its roadmap, listing the key dates when they hope to be able to slowly unlock the UK. Schools reopened last week and the next stage is at the end of the month when two households will be able to meet up, all be it outside. Hopefully, the weather will be decent and I’ll be able to get together with my dad for the first time in 2021.

If everything goes to plan, and I accept there are a number of caveats to this happening, the government intends for the final coronavirus restrictions to be removed on June 21st. Then it’s supposedly back to normal, or to use the horrible phrase which makes me cringe every time I read it, the new normal.

This all sounds well and good, but I think getting the all-clear to return to a more social way of life is going to be far from the end of things. Just because we’re told we can, will we really want to. It brought it home to me a couple of days ago when my sister rang to tell me a long planned family wedding, my nieces, was going ahead in July. As much as I want to see it happen, the thought of being one of the dozens of people crammed together for the day’s celebrations feels positively unsettling as I think about it now. After twelve months of social distancing, it’s going to be some time before being close again comes naturally.

So for now I’ll keep taking things one step at a time. Yesterday I had my first coronavirus vaccine, the second due in twelve weeks. I had to go into the centre of Norwich to get it and afterwards took the opportunity to wander the deserted city centre streets, the first time I’d been there since before Christmas. I found a takeaway coffeeshop that was open and in some March sunshine with a shot of espresso and a shot in my arm, things started to look a bit brighter.