The glimmers get dimmer...

Will the doom and gloom prevail?

This whole period of time where we have been living with coronavirus in our communities has been difficult for the majority of us. More than difficult. It's been unbearable at times.

But there are glimmers of hope for the future, however dim they can seem some days.

The doom and gloom is being massively exacerbated by the media. They questioned the seeming delay of implementing lockdown. Then wanted to know immediately when and how it would end. They weren't getting the answers from the government (which is nothing new) and so proceeded to speculate and then use their own speculation as the basis for questions to the government. All the while, doing a huge disservice to the general public that they are there to serve in the capacity of being a "voice for the masses".

I've commented before on the lacklustre questioning at the daily press briefings, and they get no better. I must say that yesterday's briefing was a little more refreshing with questions coming from regional correspondents, rather than individual news outlets, and some of the questions did feel to be a little more probing than of late. But even then, I don't think they tested the waters enough. I think they could have pushed further and asked their questions in a more crude way to try and get the answers that the public so desperately needs.

Then we have the spin machine that is our government. Not willing to let itself be held to account by the opposition (could it be that they may be a little scared of the newly selected shadow cabinet following the change of leader? Speculation - yes; a sincere thought nonetheless), they tell us via the aforementioned media that they will announce the plan to come out of lockdown on Sunday evening. Not to parliament at first, as should be, to allow for scrutiny and clarification on all sides but on live TV to the nation on a day and time where nobody will be able to do anything about it. Furthermore, if speculation is found to be truth, there will be no time to prepare adequately for it either.

There is a glimmer of hope in that it is merely a plan that will come into force at the next review of lockdown. Yet, *doom and gloom*, already there are leaks that some elements of the announcement will be in force as of Monday morning. While these elements may be things that require no forward planning in the grand scheme of things, I do still think it's playing with people's mental health to hold on to information that they have now for a number of days yet. The government's caveat to that would probably be that anything could change between now and Monday morning when these things may come into effect. If that's the case, make another announcement and explain, clearly and openly, the reasons for the change of decision. There is no reason why we can't be privy to what is planned for how we live our lives. The majority of the population is doing as asked: staying at home and making only essential trips outside the home. The speculation that certain things will change will lead some of the more ignorant in society to believe that's what's happening, so why not start a few days earlier. If all it amounts to is speculation, both the media and the government need to take a good look at themselves and their conduct. Transparency is the key to get everyone on side, no matter what their political stance or personal opinion of the covid-19 crisis.

So what glimmers are there in all of this?

I hope that the slower pace of life that we have had to adopt will be maintained to a degree. There is something humbling about really considering if we need to go to the supermarket at 5.30pm because there's only half a packet of biscuits left in the tin.

I hope that our new found penchant for being in the outdoors remains. There is something humbling about not driving to the gym and instead exercising in the fresh air more locally. I suppose this has the potential to see gym use decrease, but I genuinely don't think it will make that much difference. Most of the people I know who regularly go to the gym, go in order to use the weights. As it happens, they also seem to have some sort of home gym equipped with similar heavy things, albeit a smaller range in that space (which begs the question: why pay to use the gym? A matter for another time perhaps).

I hope that the greater care for our mental health continues. Working from home has highlighted how important our down time is, and being unable to separate home from work has triggered some serious anxiety for some of us. Equally, working from home has helped us to see the crucial elements of our work and what is unnecessary fodder. I hope that when we return to our usual working practices, some of the pointless garb is binned for good. It would make for such a happier workforce.

I hope that the increased respect for key workers (perhaps journalists aside) remains at the level it has been throughout this crisis. It wouldn't go amiss to redress the balance in regard to pay levels for some of the roles that fall in this category. That said, companies paying upwards of £60k to their top level employees for sitting at a desk all day could maybe start to re-evaluate their pay structures - are they paying the bulk of their wage budget to the people that do the bulk of the work? More importantly, are they paying those at the bottom end of the pay spectrum a decent enough wage that they can live reasonably comfortably with good money management? Currently, it would be argued that this isn't the case.

I hope that the quiet all around stays. We seem to be much more in tune with our surroundings right now: people are seeing wildlife that they hadn't noticed before and appreciating the views that they just rushed past previously en route to somewhere not as urgent as they thought at the time.

Above all, I hope that as a population we are better people for having come through this crisis. If not, all the worry, tension and speculation will have been for nothing.

Be kind. Stay safe.