The End

So this is it. The 365th blip. A year ago I decide to chronicle our route out of lockdown and back to normality.
I fully expected that today would be my last blip and I could look back at what a strange summer it was last year, and how I went to an absolute rush of shows and concerts this year as all the postponed events finally took place.
But it was not to be. After a brief spell of “freedom” in the late summer, we were soon back in lockdown and the ravages of the second wave.
And we are not out of the woods yet. A surge in cases of the Indian variant could scupper any further easing, if those cases translate into hospital admissions and deaths.
So what can I say about the last year? Well, I’m definitely fitter and healthier than I was twelve months ago, which is an unexpected - but very welcome - consequence of the pandemic. I’ve accepted that I’m now retired and have adjusted to a new lifestyle.
But the house is still in dire need of decoration. I’ve not been to any concerts or shows for over a year and I’ve not done any live theatre for almost eighteen months (rehearsals under covid restrictions don’t count!), though I did - amazingly - manage a small pub gig on the one day it was actually permitted between lockdowns!
So is this the end? No, of course not. I still want to blip about concerts I’ve been to, shows I’ve seen - or performed in - and the joys of shopping or using public transport without needing a mask or staying 6 feet away from everyone. Hopefully all that is to come over the next 365 days, and blip number 730 will be a much more upbeat look back.