Andy Richardson: Creative thought employed to figure out how to get nation working
Slowly, the fog is starting to clear.
The lockdown is not permanent and we’re moving to a better place.
The motto for the French Revolution was liberty, equality, fraternity and those qualities will be restored. They’ll come at a price. The bill for Covid-19 will leave us with similar debts to those experienced under French king Louis XVI when people revolted over the cost of bread. Let’s hope shoppers don’t riot over the cost of sourdough.
We have only to look to the Far East to see how things might change. Hubei Province is reopening schools for the first time since the outbreak. Masked children are back to their classes.
In New Zealand, baristas are pushing flat whites on planks towards customers, to maintain physical distancing.
Here, B&Q has banned under-16s. There was a time when pubs wouldn’t allow them through the doors to buy a pint; now they’re barred from picking up a chisel kit and drill bits.
The Far East might also show us how to re-open such attractions as theatres. While theatres in the UK are mothballed, Seoul is welcoming West End productions with 90 per cent capacities.
And how might our theatres return? Simple. Venues will adopt the same sort of one-way systems used in shops. They will be fumigated by men dressed as Ghostbusters, thermal imaging cameras will catch patrons with a fever, people will sign waivers announcing their own good health, track and trace will be in place and everyone – except for the performers – will wear masks and arrive early to avoid the age-old crush. It might not be what we were used to, but such measures will allow the creative arts to get back on their feet.
From our High Streets to our football stadia, from our schools to our restaurants, from factories to building sites; creative thought is being employed to figure out how to get the nation working without creating a second wave. For some, that may be within weeks.
Donald ‘Toilet Duck’ Trump, meanwhile, is done with Covid-19 and toured an Arizona factory while Live and Let Die blared over a loudspeaker. His DJ’s conscience lost the battle against trying to please his boss. There must be an election looming.
Back home, meanwhile, those in the high profile rogues’ gallery of lockdown-breakers will also be able to see lovers, friends, family and second homes without making front page news.
