Farewell, 2020

I’ve written three posts for today – varying themes and tones, not quite settling on what I want to say. In fact, I don’t think I want to say anything – a bizarre state of affairs for a writer! But there are only so many times you can say the same thing.

We’ve all suffered a lot this year – directly and indirectly. We’ve lost people we loved, we haven’t seen people who matter to us, we’ve spent days (or longer) alone, and we learned a lot of grown-ups needed to be told how to wash their hands.

Most of all, we learned we have to mix the joyful with the tragedy because life is unbearable otherwise.

At the very beginning of the UK lockdown in March, once I recovered from my own suspected Covid illness, I made sure I got out for a walk every day. The silence on the roads was eerie – there were no cars, no people, I had the world to myself. I tried to appreciate what I had, because I could feel myself sliding into sadness. I loved seeing the weeds growing from the kerb, and the silence where normally I’d hear the drone of traffic on the busy by-pass. One day, I turned a corner into a street and the air was filled with the most amazing birdsong – I couldn’t see a single creature, but the sound was incredible.

Serendipitously, I was working (still am, in fact) on a novel where a woman wakes up one morning in a deserted town, so I used each of my senses and every observation to pour into my work.

The people in my town have always been friendly, but that escalated this year. Several Facebook groups have sprouted, people continue to offer help to others who are isolating, our fabric facemask industry boomed – handmade ones are in all the local community and gift shops! Even the two-metre rule is adhered to with diligence as we all criss-cross the streets to avoid people coming the other way.

It’s not been the same for everyone, and I realise I am extremely lucky. But if we can get to the end of the year with even just one positive recollection, I think that’s a win.

Stay safe, take care, and hopefully we’ll have a much better 2021 xx