We’ve finally found the courage to go where there are groups of people. Yes I still wear a mask and so does Sam, but so far we’re doing okay. The first time was to watch ‘No Time to Die‘ at the cinema earlier this month. There we sat with our masks on, while the rest of the crowd were mask-free. The second time was to our grandson’s christening last Sunday. We had our masks on in the church, and then took them off outside for photos and later on to talk to family and friends in the garden of the village hall.

We then went to another event last night with our eldest son and daughter-in-law in their village hall. The hall was very crowded, but once again Sam and I and our daughter-in-law were the only three wearing masks. Tomorrow Sam and I will be going to London to watch a show. On the tickets is a warning that masks must be worn, and so it remains to be seen if anybody other than ourselves wear one.

Perhaps people are becoming too complacent, or maybe Sam and I are over-cautious, but the pandemic isn’t over yet. However, it may never be over, and sooner or later we must pick up the threads of our lives once again or remain ever afraid to go out and mix. Infection rates seem to be stabilising between 30,000- 40,000 per day, and who knows, maybe that’s the usual rate for common colds and ‘flu too?

On Thursday I’ve plucked up the courage to go to Ipswich Hospital’s Allergy Clinic and have a second AZ vaccination. I’ve been instructed to take anti-histamines on the day before and on the actual day, and so hopefully I might not have 6 weeks of after-effects if I take these combined with ice packs to my arm on a regular basis. Having 2 jabs makes it much easier to get in to big concert venues, arenas and festivals.

Stevie is trying to get back to some semblance of normality. What about you? Do you think mask wearing should become the new normal?