And just like that…

That’s the end of Covid. Well, not exactly of course. But certainly, it’s now been deemed time to live with it.

Can’t say I’m in disagreement with this, I’m triple vacc’d and there’s not much point having the vaccination if you can’t go around with your daily life. But I wanted to take this occasion to pause for posterity. There’s never going to be this great Covid’s over party and given the terrible situation in Ukraine it feels like it has already been forgotten.

But there were just some things I wanted to reflect on. Not the crap stuff – I’ve already more than documented that. 

More that I’ve popped my rose-tinted spectacles on and thought about what was good (in hindsight) and what I’d do differently if I knew now what I knew then.

What was good.

• The silence in the first lockdown – well, silent apart from my birds in the garden – never had that peace before. And watching the news when nature took back the cities – the goats in Wales were a particular favourite!
• The clear skies – I live on an airline path and even though they fly high you can see the air trails and hear the planes of course. 2020 was a hot year so the clear blue skies was amazing.
• The clear air – I live in London and you could tell the difference. 
• The appreciation of basic needs such as food and from that I stopped wasting food and I started growing my own fruit and vegetables (and continue to.) I also found some lovely local producers who I still use and I felt grateful for supermarkets as well! And I got inventive when it came to cooking.
• Not going out (ok I hated not going out and not seeing anyone but remember my rose tinted spectacles) but having time at home was good without having ‘jobs’ to do or feeling I needed to be out.
• I finally understood wellbeing – it’s not just about meditation (I know I know!) It’s about really looking after your mind and body. It took a while but I got there and continue to manage it well. 
• Gary Barlow’s Crooner Sessions were honestly one of my biggest highlights,
• In fact, I love how people came together to do different things like Gok Wan’s Isolation Nation and my friend Sean doing the Six at Six tunes on Facebook.
• I loved how rave came back alive again – the club scene seemed to explode online and it was incredible. 
• Seeing people when the world opened (even for those little bits in between lock downs) it was so incredible to see friends and family. 
• The excitement of getting vaccinated – who knew?!
• I just became very comfortable in me (well by the end).

What I’d do differently

• I wouldn’t drink as much (and therefore not put on as much weight which I’m still working on!) and I’d exercise more – I’d take advantage of the situation rather than getting stressed by it – but at the same time wouldn’t put too much pressure on myself. I created a huge lockdown-to-do list and didn’t do much of it at all.
• I wouldn’t work as much – I’d be stronger about saying no and looking after my health first and would enjoy the extra unexpected time to do things I don’t get chance to do.
• I wouldn’t have started smoking again. But good news – I stopped again, it’s been seven weeks now and I feel fit and healthy and have lost the cough I had. 

And that’s it. I’m really happy I’ve found my introverted side whilst still more than keeping my extroverted side. I’m thrilled I don’t have to wear a mask anymore. I’ve already been to gigs and a festival, eating out is such a pleasure as is just ordering a drink at a bar rather than that naf table service. I have got lots of international travel plans, lots of gigs planned and well just lots of stuff really. 

I wish we could have all had a few months of no drama and no news – I’d take Boris’  No 10 parties any time over what we’re all now facing but as far as Covid is concerned, I’d like to officially say goodbye.