#BATH TOGETHER GREG INGHAM
We get locked down We get locked up again… Turns out that the new, new normal isn’t quite the same as the old abnormal of spring. MediaClash’s chief exec GREG INGHAM ponders bouncebackability and Chumbawumba…
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o here we are in another lockdown, eh? Say hello through gritted teeth to Lockdown 2.0: The Frankly Slightly Dull Sequel. In theory, as you’re reading this Bath is now already over halfway through this – though, in truth, halfway is more dependent on what the government decides than on when you picked up this issue. Well, in theory – and this pandemic makes a mockery of any assumptions – yes, in theory this will have been an easier lockdown than the spring, even if it may go beyond the planned 2 December. As ever, we should all be careful not to under-react or deny an unwanted reality or not be unempathetic to those materially affected: this is an unwelcome change and we’ve had to adjust responsibly.
But also we should likewise be careful not to over-react, either as individuals, families or in our working life. At least some of the rhythm of life for many will have been the same as it has been. We’re all more experienced at navigating our way through these times. Human beings are endlessly adaptable. Businesses, organisations, and even governments, likewise. Many went into Lockdown 2.0: Déjà vu All Over Again with an easy determination: we can do this. Our streets haven’t been eerily empty, making central Bath even more of a film set. We’re not all locked away, hunkered down. Far fewer people have been furloughed, even if there will be many more days of furlough before the end of March; far many more businesses are trading – normally on many cases, ingeniously in new ways in others.
“From the first lockdown we learned from the actions of each other. Many helped set examples to each other”
Our schools, colleges and unis are open, with schools being especially significant for parents (and yes: kids, obvs) not having to labour with home schooling or be as limited on home working. Everyone is more experienced at working differently: WFH and/ or switching to, say, deliveries and takeaways Lockdown 2.0: Groundhog Day homage is capped to four weeks – or at least was planned to be. There was no time-limiting plan before. The first lockdown was shrug-shoulder, no-oneknows open-ended and lasted longer than virtually all would have expected. By contrast with now, there wasn’t the equivalent major national collective holiday looming when we locked down in March. Maybe individual plans for endless days of shoeless summer but not a time which unites us all: Christmas will happen in some form. Further apart yet closer still. Also, we have learned from the spring. We learn from each other. Language is a virus (forgive the phrase); actions are mimicked; clothes and music and TV and attitudes and values – and everything is picked up from each other. So from the first lockdown we learned from the actions of each other. Many helped set examples to each other. And, impressively, the vast majority of Bath people and companies set the best of
examples. ‘By your actions today shall ye be judged tomorrow’: this may be a tad Old Testament for some tastes but there’s a resonating truth here. Some key takes from the spring: Buy local. Who adds to the living culture of our city? Who pays their taxes here? Who contributes? Our independents. Disproportionately, always. Indies add hugely to the social and living culture of our city. They’re more distinctive. They attract people to the city. Support them: right here, right now. You don’t know what you’ve got ‘til it’s gone. Lockdown made everything local. Don’t forget that spring sensation. Make it a lasting holiday romance. The good that people do. What was truly inspiring in the first lockdown is that in the worst of times people showed their best. Supportive, thoughtful, empathetic. We’ve been echo-chambering that via our #BathTogether campaign. It’s touching. And it didn’t, shouldn’t, mustn’t stop. Decency will endure. Revival will happen. This too shall pass. So welcome to Lockdown 2.0: the Chumbawumba Remix “We get locked down – we get up again…” #BathTogether – always…
www.mediaclash.co.uk I BATH LIFE I 69
