Days to go before lockdown is lifted fully. Or is it?

 Days to go before lockdown is lifted fully. Or is it?

We may have been waiting for this moment for longer than we care to remember. But suddenly things are not quite the way they should be. Here we are under the impression that Covid 19 will finally come to some era- defining conclusion. There are of course the doubters and those of a nervous disposition are now telling us that we still need a mask. Oh no! There are times in our lives when we've had to call on all our mental resources just to get over a major setback, moments when the lines were blurred, the double speak became triple speak and propaganda just got in the way.

For the last month we have been informed that owing to circumstances beyond anybody's control, the end of lockdown in Britain may have some cumbersome baggage to deal with and nothing will be set in stone come Monday morning. Essentially the nightclubs, theatres, cinemas and sports stadiums will be open to the public once again, fully functioning, back to full capacity and working like a dream. So we were told. Then there were cold feet, days of back tracking, hesitation in the air, an understandable unwillingness to go too quickly and perhaps we should re-schedule the dates yet again. 

But the announcement has now been made, assurances have been given and from July 19 all systems will go. You'd better believe it. This is when the public begin to ask some serious questions. Now, the noises are conflicting and contradictory so much so that by the end of this month, quite possibly, we could be back to square one. We have now been told to slow down repeatedly since March 2020. In fact we're so slow that that tortoise is welcome to join in with the rest of the world. The truth is we really don't know how to react to anything governments and scientific experts say. We sit on the side lines and obey the laws. 

We've now received both vaccines and innumerable Covid 19 tests since the beginning of what can only be described as a shambles dressed up as a fiasco. Still, we are persistently encouraged to hook up to a stifling mask over our mouth because that's the precautionary measure. You never know when the virus might strike again with a vengeance. But that's the command from the powers to be and you risk ignoring such strictures at your peril. Masks rule OK. Masks will ensure the continued survival of the human race. Masks will almost certainly precipitate the end of Covid 19 or maybe they won't and the whole of human civilisation is doomed. Who knows?

Our leader and prime minister Boris Johnson must have changed his mind at least 50 times in the last month. In one breath we are implored not to wear masks again after July 19 because as long as we're all safe and sensible the coronavirus may decide to just disappear into thin air and never visit our shores again. And yet Prime Minister Johnson's mind is so scrambled over matters relating to Europe and Brexit that prioritisation becomes almost physically impossible.

 Do you worry about the health of your nation or do you just keep waffling on about trade deals with Japan when quite clearly there are far more pressing issues to address. Of course trade deals with the likes of Japan and China are deeply important but if somebody starts coughing and sneezing over you, then surely this is the time for more critical debates. It almost feels as we've lost all perspective and focus on the kind of discussions that matter so vitally. So we shove on a mask and hope for the best. 

The problem here of course is that clarity has got mixed up with confusing ambiguity. Every day pronouncements from 10 Downing Street are beginning to sound like football transfer market rumours. We know that every Premier League club have expressed an interest in every French, Italian, Spanish, Brazilian and Argentinian player in the world. From next season our teams will be bolstered by a whole complement of South American stars and every player from every continent around the globe. Or maybe not. In fact this is just a whole load of baloney, silly talk and you've made all of this up. 

The fact is that Freedom Day on July 19 could just be regarded as Optical Illusion Day. There is a sense here that we're just going around in ever increasing circles chasing our tail and getting trapped in the revolving doors. Freedom Day could well be an excuse for just pretending that we've been released from the virus, an ongoing psychological trapdoor we keep dropping through, a ruse, a five card trick that's meant to catch us out. But surely you can't be the only one who maintains that enough is enough. 

Now on July 19 the coronavirus restrictions will be completely lifted and we can renew acquaintance with the world we used to know. If you haven't heard it once you've probably heard it million times. Yes minister we heard you the first time. Or perhaps you've now conveniently changed your mind or you're still worried about the dramatic rise in infection cases across Britain. Now this is where the party line goes off the radar and the same ministers are just petrified that by the beginning of August we'll be back where we were in January. 

There are of course worst case scenarios and then there's paranoia. Boris Johnson and his Old Etonian pals are still  convinced that July 19 has to be the right time and place. The children are packing up for their six or seven summer holiday within a week or so and that has to be the right time to open up for business as usual. Give the vaccines a chance to work and you never know. But Mr Johnson what happens if we stub our toes or break our finger nail tonight? Does that mean we'll have to self isolate?

Of course this is bordering on farce and comedy although perhaps a tragi comedy. Here we are at what potentially could be the end of a pandemic in Britain and still we are bombarded by sneering cynics and the kind of people who believe that this will never get any better. So come July 19 how will things finally pan out? Do we all prepare to do a giant conga in the West End, play Kool and the Gang's 'Celebration' ad infinitum or just get completely intoxicated? That's it. We'll all get drunk and legless. 

Now though is not the time to dwell on the dark side although you'd be forgiven for thinking that nobody will ever find that redemptive candle again. The truth is of course that masks will still be worn for the foreseeable future until such time as it's advisable not to. By then we may be heartily sick of the sight of masks and just gather together for a lively protest and demonstration in the West End of London. 

By Monday morning though it'll be hard to gauge the prevailing mood of the nation. Will  there be a collective sigh of relief or will it simply be a platform for airing more scepticism? Covid has been a rude awakening to humanity, a morality tale in many ways designed to remind us of our inherent vulnerabilities, our ever present susceptibility to disease, illness and, above all a virus that simply got out of hand. 

We'll be counting our small mercies, full of gratitude for just getting through the last year and a half and patting ourselves on the back for survival, our reliable strength of character and not giving into the most depressing aspects of the coronavirus. Here we are roughly 17 months after the first death from the virus was recorded and still the blame culture exists at every level of society, the terrifying statistics, the woeful ineptitude shown by the government at times and the slow reactions during those first months of lockdown. 

We can only hope that all of the right decisions have been made and that nobody is left to regret what might have been. This is now alien territory for Britain. If you're optimist you'll just want to get rid of every mask in your home, do whatever you used to do without any semblance of inhibition and just get on with it. You'll just want to get into your car, jump onto a bus or train to some loud classical or pop concert or maybe just chill out at Kenwood, one of London's most spectacular outdoor classical music concert venues. Here those who like to listen to famous movie themes under the summer stars, can just spread out their blankets and their picnic baskets on stunning parkland. 

So it's just a couple of days now. July 19 could either be historically memorable or one of those days when nothing seems in any way different since the end of last March. The shops, restaurants, cafes, greengrocers, dental and doctor surgeries, bakers and butchers will be delighted to serve the great British public once again. We will once again smile at the world and the neighbours  who used to chat over the garden fence to you will exchange simple jokes and joviality with you. Normal life should be effectively restored or something approximating to what we used to take for granted. Ladies and Gentlemen. Welcome back to the old world that will now become the new world. We've missed you all.