I wasn’t planning on writing anything lockdown or Covid-19 related at all, and to be honest, I still won’t be but I had a couple of thoughts as a side effect of these two things so I thought I’d share.

I have no doubt things will change even more so than they already have, but as we are now in week four of lockdown here in the UK, a few thoughts have been floating in the ether which I decided to finally commit to paper, so to speak.

The Benefits of Lockdown

Like many people across the world, this will be the first and perhaps only time in our lifetimes, that we find ourselves in a situation quite like this. Living here in the UK, I can’t help but feel so very, very lucky to live in a country that regardless of the ongoing situation, means that we can still access almost everything we need fairly easily. Apart from having restrictions on movement (i.e. how much we can go outside, where we can go etc)., overall, the picture is generally okay.

I was speaking to my mum about how simple it is for us (or one person) to go to a supermarket, buy most of the things we need and come home. In terms of healthcare access, we can still go to hospital if needed, access GP care or emergency dental care. Whilst lockdown may not be convenient (and I’m certainly not going to get into the health and virology side of the discussion), it is certainly proving to be a good time of self-reflection and appreciation for all that we have.

Clearly this picture will be very different in other parts of the UK, and I’m aware that some more remote or rural areas may struggle with aspects of this, but for the most part, I think I speak for a large majority of the country in that, whilst things are not ideal (and for good reason), they could be much worse and there is value in remembering this and how lucky most of us are.

Welcoming Ramadhan

For those of you who may not know, I am also Muslim and for me, this means the month of fasting (Ramadhan) is due to start within the next couple of days. In some ways, the approach of Ramadan feels odd this year, mainly because the annual hustle and bustle of preparation hasn’t been in play.

In normal times, you’ll usually find Muslim families up and down the country starting their preparation the month before Ramadan begins - whether that means stocking up the freezer so you don’t have to shop as much during the month, or preparing oneself spiritually to take as much advantage of this month as possible. This year, it almost feels like it’s come out of nowhere and because we’ve been in lockdown for the last three weeks, that preparation hasn’t happened to the same extent.

It’s fine though - it’s not a complaint, just an observation that Ramadan (and likely Eid) this year, will be of a different sort. Change can be a good thing and being ready to embrace change is always helpful. Who knows, episode 2 may reveal more…