A Tesco delivery van pulls up in the Close. "Quality food, delivered fresh to your door" say the white letters, over strawberries and blackberries. The picture on the side seems to be a sort of yoghurt and fruity breakfast: more strawberries, a scattering of blueberries, and granola.
A man in a high-vis yellow jacket gets out. He's smoking and texting, presumably on a break before his next few morning deliveries.
I've not done it yet, the online food shop. I don't know why - always seemed like quite a faff, even though I did download the app! A faff eh? There's no logic to that thought now: nipping in to Sainsbury's every night after work used to steal my evenings away and was costing more than I probably realised - that's way more than a faff. Perhaps the time has come to be a bit more organised.
At the moment of course, the online food shop's more difficult because it's harder to get a slot. Three weeks in advance seems like the norm while everyone prefers not to be out catching the virus. But perhaps when things settle down, when we're given our freedom again, there'll be a better rhythm to it? Maybe rushing out to the shops will be a novelty? Or perhaps we'll all be more used to "Quality food, delivered fresh to your door"? It's hard to predict, like it's hard to tell anything else about the next season.
My guess is (and the newspaper headlines today back me up) that pubs will be packed, shops in town will be rushed off their feet, parks will be full, and the public spaces we've been banned from will all be singing with the joyous melodies of freedom. At least to begin with. The terrifying thought is that we'll be free from lockdown, yes, but not from the virus; a scourge that's already claimed 30,000 people in our country. There's little to celebrate, despite what the newspapers are pushing.
It occurred to me yesterday that 'flattening the curve' was all about protecting the National Health Service (which we've probably done) but the reality is that the area under the flattened curve is just the same as the area under the peaked one - and every data point is an infection, and perhaps a life lost. Whether the curve is long and smooth, or sharp and tall, roughly the same number of people are infected. All we've done is given the hospitals more capacity to save people's lives by extending the time.
So I won't be rushing out to splash around in fountains any time soon. I think I will probably start the online food shop when the pressure eases on the delivery slots. It just seems like a much easier, safer way to do it, and it'll save me time. I absolutely have to start coming straight home in the evenings rather than dawdling around Sainsbury's every day too - especially if those places are packed with people.
There might be a few things I need to start doing to replace the old ways - things to lay down, things to pick up. I hope I'm not being over-cautious - and I hope I'm wrong about the easing of lockdown restrictions too. I guess we'll find out.
The Tesco guy breathed out a cloud of wispy smoke, flicked out his cigarette and then climbed back into the cab. He started the ignition and pulled away. "Every little helps" said the logo on the back of the van. Well, quite.
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