When this is over, I’m going to...

The phrase ‘social distancing’ is certain become one that will come to define 2020.

Much has been written about the dreaded lurgy and I’m not going to repeat the valuable messages that we are all so aware of, writes Toby Wood of the Peterborough Civic Society. Instead I would like to muse about what I am likely to do when this whole thing is finally over. So, for this column, I shall write nothing about Civic Society views on planning or new developments, just individual thoughts about the future. I have not been able to meet my Civic Society chums in person so what comes next is purely personal. When this thing is over I’m going to…

1. Walk to town down leafy Broadway and sit on one of those large cold stone cubes in Cathedral Square just to watch the world go by once again.

2. Have a cup of a coffee at an independent café, probably Bewiched, and enjoy not a small or regular coffee but a large one – a very large one.

3. Head for three of my favourite bars in town – The Stoneworks, Bumble Inn and The Ostrich and sit and savour one, two (or even three) beers served just at the right temperature whilst contemplating my love of buildings and beer (as the accompanying photograph testifies)!

4. Revisit the cathedral and say hello again to Katharine of Aragon, Thomas Deacon and Bishop Bill Westwood amongst others.

5. Greet certain people with a hug as opposed to a contrived elbow bump.

6. Visit the John Clare Cottage in Helpston to reacquaint myself with one of the country’s greatest poets.

7. Make sure that I use and appreciate green spaces such as Central Park even more than I do now.

8. Appreciate the chatter of children in the street – the past few months have been so eerily quiet.

9. Eventually catch a bus again without worrying about it and go on a train to London to look once more at great paintings.

10. Never moan again about what sort of Christmas tree is erected on Cathedral Square – I’m just going to be glad that it’s Christmas.

11. Write a letter to Peterborough City Council thanking them for keeping Eastfield cemetery, my Covid-19 exercise yard, so neat and tidy. By the time this thing is over I will have walked hundreds of miles round the site.

12. Make sure that I walk every day to keep fit, not just those days when I feel like it.

13. Remember not to support those companies whose owners put themselves and their interests before those of their employees.

14. Try to explore more of this country, including places that I have never visited – Newcastle, Canterbury, Ironbridge or Salisbury.

15. Look forward to seeing live sport again. How I’ve missed dear old Posh and even those London Road supporters who spend the whole match chuntering, win or lose!

16. Remember how we all got through this – by staying calm, acting sensibly, being considerate towards other people.

17. Expect, nay insist, that our politicians are more open to compromise and to be less confrontational, both locally and nationally.

18. Remember to fully appreciate those workers, hitherto not regarded as essential, who kept the country going by keeping the food supply chains going, from field to checkout.

19. Appreciate even more those NHS staff, from the top consultant to the lowliest cleaner, who selflessly kept going through thick and thin.

20. But most importantly, I’m going to reflect on the first half of 2020 and consider how we, individually, collectively, locally and nationally can improve our way of life and maintain that improvement. We’ve had our warning. Now will we be brave enough to listen and learn from the experience? From now on, let’s keep life simple!