The wonderful world of the Covid 19 vaccine and a bright future.

 The wonderful world of the Covid 19 vaccine and a bright future.

Now we could be imagining this but finally there is indeed a flickering light at the end of the tunnel. After almost a year of teeth-gnashing, end of the world proclamations, morbid pronouncements and an almost incessant bombardment of hellishly bad news, it could be that we have, in a very cliched fashion, turned that proverbial corner. The bends were terrifying, of course they were, the turbulence has been nothing less than violent and for those who thought this would never end, we did tell you that one day it might reach a natural conclusion. 

Here we are heading towards the end of February a year after the year before and it's upwards and onwards. Of course there was that fork in the road, the barbed wire of danger, the assault course of setbacks, panic attacks and the feeling that Covid 19 would just go on and on without ever stopping. To be honest in January it didn't look good and the omens were distinctly discouraging but how much longer could one virus mutate and vary? A line had to be drawn in the sand sooner rather than later. 

And so it is that we wake up this morning with a buoyant spring in our step, a bundle of fun, skipping around the kitchen in our pyjamas, perhaps dancing with the toaster, smiling fulsomely at the kettle and then boiling the eggs with a jubilant song in our hearts. It could be the re-start of something brand new, the resumption of normal life and a way back into a world that can once again breathe. We're not there yet but the likelihood is that by perhaps the middle of March and April, Britain and the rest of the world will be back up and running, functioning in the way we always thought would come naturally. 

Now here's the story so far. During January we were about to surrender and throw in the towel, a world poised to dive headlong into a black hole from which there was no return. The number of fatalities and the number of infected cases showed that the global community was about to disappear overnight, helplessly sucked into a horrible vortex of death, disillusionment and complete meltdown. It was all over for the world bar a miracle. There would be no chance of survival whatsoever. 

At this point Britain and NHS were confronted with the soul-destroying realities. Over a 1,000 deaths a day were being recorded and suddenly that temporary reprieve Britain experienced last summer, was no more than a lull in the dramatic storm of events. Last July and August we might have been harbouring hopes of a comeback, the road to a full recovery, a bumpy road admittedly but nonetheless a road of sorts. By the end of autumn though the vultures were hovering and the battle was far from over. 

By the beginning of January we were back to where we were last March, bowing our heads, crying mournfully into our tea and almost resigned to our fate. We might have thought we'd cracked Covid 19 but quite clearly we hadn't reckoned on another relapse, another regression, another tale of misery and woe. The variants of Covid 19 were spreading like wildfire around Britain and for those in hospital on ventilators the prognosis wasn't encouraging. This wretched virus was here for the duration. 

Now though we find that the number of infected cases does seem to be slowly declining, the R number is at a heartening level and the number of deaths is back in three figures. We may be wrestling with Covid 19 but there can only be one winner in this fight to the bitter end. And the reason for this joyful news update is perhaps the one we knew would have beneficial consequences. It is the answer to our prayers and the ultimate solution to a deadly virus that could have dragged on for ages. 

Ladies and Gentlemen. Will you please be upstanding for the vaccines? Yes folks vaccines have come to our rescue and we can never thank you enough. For months now we have been waiting and anticipating those life-changing and life-saving vaccines hiding away in some very remote laboratory and just poised to leap into our consciousness with a happy refrain. But the vaccines are now in circulation all over the world, conquering the odds and saving countless millions of lives with their life-affirming qualities. 

In a matter of weeks, the infected cases have dropped sharply and we are heading slowly but surely into safer and calmer waters, off the critical list and almost believing that the rest of the year could happen again in a form that is instantly recognisable. It is to be hoped against hope that by the middle of this summer, the streets of London, the West End, East End, the City of London and all of those modest, self- deprecating counties, shires, cities and towns will be holding carefully prepared street parties. 

We can barely imagine it now but we have to cling onto just a sliver of hope, a modicum of optimism, a feeling that humanity will once again be making a new series again with a cast of stars, a brand new format, an exciting supporting cast and a future without fear. Everything is far from certain but can we make the first of many confident predictions and forecasts. We have to believe that by the middle of June perhaps the West End of London will become a land of eternal song, musical, laughter, delightful Covent Garden street entertainers, the restaurant and cafe capital of the world and glorious self-expression. 

Once again the people of the world will gather in their ecstatic droves, running for buses and trains,  gazing at the innumerable, technicoloured shop windows of Oxford, Bond and Regent Street and queuing up for hours outside Madame Tassauds and the Hard Rock Cafe in Piccadilly. Maybe we'll be champing at the bit, desperate to revisit the art galleries, the stunning museums, the comedy clubs and the Shaftesbury Avenue theatres in all their timeless grandeur. And then we'll drop by Soho with all its artiness, its carefree bohemianism, its cafes and the sense of nostalgia for 1950s coffee bars, juke-boxes, peep shows and voyeuristic sleaze. Nudge nudge wink wink. But it's best that we quickly move on. 

One day though we will wake up and find that nobody has died and the infected cases are just historical statistics, faded memories, unpleasant recollections admittedly but nonetheless painful ones. One day we'll have a wash or shower, enjoy a satisfying breakfast and then run over to our parks and our gardens, the sylvan pastures, the recreation grounds where cricket and football compete for space at different times of the year. We'll smell the roses, admire the laburnums, marvel at the begonias, the ever pretty violets, the neat nasturtiums, the weeping willow dangling languidly in the boating lake, the soaring gulls and the wheeling birds who swoop daringly into uncharted territories.

We'll discover that the heartbeat of the world is still ticking over with a vibrancy that it didn't think it would ever know again at any point in the immediate future. The lights will be flashing triumphantly in the Piccadilly Circus neon light show and tourists from all over the world will be converging on the West End with smart-phones, matchstick small phones that now pass for cameras and Selfie sticks in abundance. They'll be sitting at Eros comparing photos, scrolling through their Facebook and Twitter pages for the best part of several months and then just giggling at those lovely distractions once again. 

But what we will treasure once again is our freedom, the liberation from denial, repression, anguish and yet more heartache. Once again the human race will be reunited together, a collective force once again, a co-operative, communality in full vision, families and friends shaking each others hands, hugging each other affectionately and not without relief. Oh how good it is to see you again. Absence does indeed make the heart grow fonder. 

Our children will once again be able to race into the arms of their grandparents who they may have understandably forgotten. The people of the world who once sustained the economy with diligence and dedication to the cause will be jumping onto trains and buses and back to their office, factory and warehouse, all of those high- tech industrial parks and all of those manufacturing outlets we might have taken for granted. 

For we are now back in the land of living after months in hospital operating theatres, surrounded by doctors and surgeons tending lovingly to thousands of sick Covid 19 patients on ventilators. We are not quite there yet but we will and we can. The natural rhythms of everyday life will be beating healthily, the sounds of the world will remind you of those stirring operas and powerful voices will be heard in every corner of  the globe. It's a gradual process but we'll be back stronger than ever and still enthusiastic. Let there be no doubt whatsoever.