Oddities of the past year

Now that January has finally arrived and we can leave that terrible year behind us, I don’t think there’ll be much fond reminiscing about the year gone by. We’ll be cheering its passing. Still, we will remember this time for years to come and talk about it as a strange and remote period in our lives. Our children will tell their children about life during the pandemic the same way our parents told us about life in wartime. Of course, staying at home in fear of a deadly pandemic is nothing like sending young men off to war and living in fear of bombs raining down from the sky, but it’s been an enormous global challenge that people have coped with pretty well for the most part.

I can’t help thinking about the oddness of this past year and the things I’ve done and learned that I could never have anticipated. First of all, like everyone else, I’ve become an expert in both epidemiology and the vaccine regulatory process. I am more than happy to share my uninformed views on the causes and prevention of disease with anyone polite enough to listen. This may have long-term repercussions and when life resumes some level of normality and we start actually visiting our friends in their homes again, I have a feeling that my name won’t be at the top of anyone’s guest list.

I think that my newfound in-depth knowledge of the US electoral system, including a basic understanding of the Electoral College (did you know that Hilary Clinton is a member?) may also be unwelcome at a drinks party. The good news is that my ability to retain anything new is very limited and I will forget all this dreary information as quickly as I learned it. Pretty soon I’ll be happily chatting about property prices and Meghan Markle like everyone else.

• 

I have also spent far more time outside this past year than I normally do, which has to be a good thing. It was certainly easier in the spring than it is now, but this has just forced us to be more resourceful. The lych-gate entrance to our village churchyard has provided the perfect meeting place for coffee with a friend. It’s outside, but covered, so if it rains we’re protected. There are two benches thoughtfully arranged on opposite sides so that we can enjoy our socially distanced chats in comfort. We take our own cushions with us and pick up take-away coffees from the local café. A few weeks ago we sat in the lych-gate with the thermometer hovering around O° Celsius and the freezing fog adding a certain frisson, which made us feel especially brave and hardy. And cold. We have just discovered that there is a light (and a switch) in the roof and are thinking that it might be a great venue for pre-dinner drinks. Luckily it’s not a Methodist church.

Here’s to a Brave New Year without any social distancing. Although perhaps we’ll share the occasional coffee in the lych-gate for old time’s sake.