Can we keep it?
This reinvigorated community vibe that you can see up and down the country and across the globe, I mean - neighbours taking care of each other, greeting familiar faces of locals they don’t usually interact with, grateful for the recognition...can we hold onto it? It’s strange that the last two times I felt this level of Londoner menschkeit was during the Olympics, and after the July 7 attacks. Surely we shouldn’t need events of such magnitude to make us behave like this, right?
Look how good we’ve become at shopping locally. And small businesses, when’s the last time you’ve seen such a groundswell of support? So many people have taken the time to get to know the people behind these small brands - I can’t explain how incredible it feels each time someone I’ve never met gets in touch to be lovely. The juggle is real - I’m working my backside off and it feels good both to be recognised and to recognise others.
I don’t have an answer as to how we ingrain the social silver lining of the grim virus. All I know is that just as I want to know how weekly morale-boosting clapping sessions for the NHS turn into actual funding from government, I want to know how we hold on to the example we’ve set ourselves for what’s possible locally.
Can we?