Two Years on, I Still Pine For The Lockdown
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This is yet another unpopular opinion.
2020 was truly an extraordinary year for mankind.
We may go on to have many more years on the clock but we would be hard pressed to find another yet like it again.
London was a shadow of its former self. The entire city resembled a bomb site; perhaps akin to 1945, when the second world war ended. Stores and shops were shut, Pubs were closed, millions of folks were locked in their homes, refusing to come out. Life as knew it had ended.
And yet, when I look back on that period, I have to say that it might very well be the very best time of my life. Ever.
I must point out that I am in no way negating the devastating effect that Covid has had on millions of lives across the world; I am a three time survivor of that dreadful illness and must add that I lost a very close relative of mine to Covid.
I should also state that I got kicked out of a job around the same time the world ground to a halt. Anyone who is familiar with my articles in this space will have read detailed accounts of what took place in February 2020.
But there’s something about the lockdown that I still pine for.
The long walks through the city of my birth is one of the reasons.
Even though the London buses were partially functional, there was nothing more joyous than exploring the great city by foot and falling in love with it all over again.
Walking from Colindale to Hendon, and Golders Green hill park through 790 acres of Hampstead Heath to make the journey to the heart of the capital city, London was the greatest source of joy at a time of great chaos, globally.
Bus journeys were another reason.
Venturing out of Colindale in North-West London on the 32 bus to Kilburn and then switching to the 16 bus to Maida Vale to get on another double decker (414) going all the way to Putney Bridge in South West London and then making a detour for Hammersmith was enough to fire a joie de vivre that was nearly sapped out me by the daily grind of working to pay my bills.
There were trips which took me to the South of the Thames, which made me see the city of…
