Last weekend was joyous, spring had arrived, the sun was shining and the birds were singing. It seems so hard to imagine we are fast approaching the anniversary of the first nationwide lockdown.
Spring is always a time to reboot and set the agenda for what we all hope will be a much better year ahead. Nature has a way of delivering the most wonderful and the most terrible of things. As we gradually inoculate ourselves out of the Covid crisis it is time for each and every one of us to start preparing for the summer and our post lockdown futures.

Whether it be returning to the office, tending to the allotment, getting fitter, losing some weight we can start planning. But even more exciting is the possibility of a holiday and the chance to book one. The anticipation of meeting up with friends and loved ones is even more poignant or going out together for a meal. For the future is always positive if you make it so as it is unfettered by reality.

The onset of spring alongside our ability to live in a liberated “new normal” does depend on us behaving as we should do until the shackles of Lockdown Three can be released. So, we must keep going through the last lap of restrictions if we are to reach the ‘holy grail’ of the new normal. I implore each and every one of you to reserve your behaviour for just a few more weeks, however tempting that family barbeque or celebration might be, the disease is still amongst us.

But do please start to plan as that will give your life some much needed optimism, which will help with your wellbeing and mental state. Do start to work out the good lessons of Covid and how we can use them in our future lives whether it be shopping online or regular walks in the countryside.

Reflect on what you have achieved during the three lockdowns and the time around them. Some will have changed their lifestyle, some will have changed jobs, some will have moved home, some will have saved enough money for a life-changing experience. Some will have new children and some will have new friends and sadly many will have said goodbye to loved ones. However life-changing some of these things are, spring is the time for new beginnings, we see the new shoots of optimism as daffodils and crocuses appear in our gardens and hedgerows. We feel uplifted and we feel we can face whatever life throws at us with renewed vigour.

There are many who have lost loved ones to this dreadful disease, those who have been physically, mentally and emotionally affected after having had the disease and those who are just plain exhausted having dealt with treating and helping others with the disease. As a society we need to care for all those who cared for us in our time of need. Whatever their role and whatever part they played, each one a hero in their own right and all of them, including ourselves, worthy of some rest and recuperation. We all need to prepare for spring as well as recognise how we have all put in a gargantuan effort to enable us to return to a life we all took for granted 12 months ago.

I look forward to April, May and June with great optimism for our country has come through the equivalent of a world war. I look forward to celebrating a return to some form of normality with the onset of spring. I look forward to what will be our new normal.