We’re now living in unprecedented times, sailing in uncharted waters, travelling rudderless to an unknown destination. Now if you had a quid for every time you or heard this sort of thing over the last couple of weeks you’d no doubt be a multi-millionaire several times over. Ok, slight exaggeration – you’d probably be about £74.50 richer.
The weird (or not so weird as the case may be) thing about all this is that for many of us who live alone and work regularly from home, life on the whole probably hasn’t changed that much. It’s like the old French expression “plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose”.
And the third major cliché I’ll use involves clouds and silver linings. While not wishing to diminish the pain felt by those who have lost loved ones to the pandemic, or suddenly found themselves without a job or having to struggle financially, the positive social changes cannot be ignored. Even in my adopted home, the normally unfriendly, impersonal city of London where next-door neighbours can live beside each other for years yet hardly exchange a word, community groups have organised to help the elderly and vulnerable in the local area.
The continental style mass applause for the health service workers we’re now seeing from doorsteps and balconies may be typical of the Mediterranean Latin spirit, but witnessing it in this part of the world is a pleasant surprise. A sense of community spirit and a “we’re all in this together” attitude perhaps not seen in England at least since 1966 is now taking shape.
From an environmental perspective, the COVID-19 crisis will inevitably have its benefits. The much-reduced volume of traffic on the roads and lack of aircraft in the skies will no doubt bring about a marked reduction in pollution – for a few weeks at least. The sudden halt in drunken brawls that would normally be a common feature outside pubs and clubs in every town centre can only be a good thing.
While languishing in the bath this evening I realised that could hear bird song more clearly than usual and uninterrupted by the usual sounds of vehicles, sirens or breaking glass.
And in a few short months the word “Brexit” has almost become a relic of ancient history.
This morning I went for a run in my local park, half expecting the empty landscape of a post-apocalytic dystopian sci-fi movie, as has become a familiar sight in the news reports we see from Italy and Spain. But to my surprise (and I have to say disappointment – as I was hoping to have the place to myself for reasons related to both health and aesthetics) there were quite a few people around, mostly in twos and threes, joggers, young families, dog walkers all keeping a respectable distance, but enjoying the bright early spring sunshine.
As well as avoiding the unpleasant three hour round trip to and from the office, I’m now saving a small fortune that would normally be spent on train fares, petrol and takeaway coffees – not to mention the odd pint at my local. In a way this pandemic gives us a taste of the shape of things to come.
For the first time ever this week I chaired a virtual work meeting attended by half a dozen colleagues all of whom were in their own homes at the time.
For those of who work in multinational corporations and other large organisations the concept of working remotely or attending virtual meetings via Microsoft Teams or Skype is nothing new – but this is now rapidly becoming a necessity rather than a luxury. But the impact of the immense pressure this phenomenon this will put on broadband services remains to be seen.
Social commentators on the left have been gleefully pointing out that the government definition of key workers does not include bankers, hedge fund managers, city traders or Premiere League footballers. It seems that those employed in the health, community care and emergency services are finally receiving the recognition they deserve.
And if pub quizzes are still around in the next 50 years I can imagine popular trick questions like “who won the Six Nations/Premier League/Tour de France in 2020?”.
I’m convinced that we will emerge from this crisis as much better people – humbler, more considerate, less selfish and less inclined to take the simple pleasures in life for granted. Well, that’s my theory anyway. To use yet another well-worn cliché -only time will tell…
Photo by jplenio is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA
Ciaran Ward is from Co. Tyrone and is now based in London where he works in the data protection/cybersecurity field. His latest book “On Square Routes”, a collection of memoirs, travel writing, short stories and poetry has just been published and is now available from Amazon.
He very occasionally blogs and tweets at https://dreamingarm.wordpress.com/ and @CiaranWard73
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