Zero deaths today from Covid in England, Scotland and Northern Ireland. That’s awesome - like a little flash of blue sky.
Meanwhile, our ruffle-haired Prime Minister has deemed it time a-plenty for indoor-dining, socialising chez nous, and, to the relief of all those who’ve been pretending they haven’t been doing it anyway, hugs are back!
If I remember rightly you put one arm around somebody’s shoulder, then they do the same, perhaps placing a flat hand on your back. Then the other arm links round the other shoulder and you sort of squeeze while your head rests on their jumper and you sniff their washing powder. That sound about right? I think there might be some gentle swaying if you stay in it long enough, but there is probably also a window of time, after which the awkwardness creeps in and you start to wonder whether you’ll ever be let out of it.
Or, you could just laugh and love people. I think a lot of us might not want to be grappled by everyone straight away. Perhaps there should be t-shirts that say “I like you and I do miss hugs but I’m not ready to commit to one just yet. Thanks.”
Maybe the traffic light system I used to hear about at ‘traffic nights’ at uni? Wear something green if you’re on the market. Orange if you’re not sure, and red if you’re already taken. (By the way, the more I think about that, the more I realise how horrendous a thing that must have been for people. I never went.) For Hugfest 21, red would basically be ‘don’t touch me’ and green is ‘bring it in, people’. There’d probably be a lot more people wearing green.
Anyway. With the return of the squeeze, next week will rapidly start feeling like normal life is resuming - in a way, it’s probably going to feel more significant than the final Liberation Day when all restrictions are potentially lifted. Though, as I hear myself saying repeatedly, I think masks are here for quite a while regardless.
I’d wear the t-shirt for a bit, I think. I’m not ready to hug just anybody, so if you come towards me, arms outstretched next week with a big cheesy grin, I might reserve the right to make you feel uncomfortable by gently refusing to get locked into your cardigan. Of course, if you’re on my VIP list I’ll happily give you a squeeze. And actually, as averse to weird, long, emotional hugs as I may be, I actually do think I still need them.
The Five Dates
Back to School Day: 0 days
Back to Sixes Day: 0 days
Haircut Day: 0 days
Big Travel Day: 6 days
Liberation Day: 40 days
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