6 things we’ll miss once lockdown has ended

On Monday UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced that the lifting of most Covid-19 restrictions will take place (most likely) on July 19th. While many of us will rejoice in not having to wear face masks, stand two metres apart from others and carry out funny elbow shakes, there are some things we’ll definitely miss. Here are 6 things we will be sad to say goodbye to once lockdown has ended…

1) Not having to queue up at the bar

Admittedly, not everyone liked having to walk into a bar wearing a face mask, then sit down and try to figure out how to order drinks on the app. But for those into tech, it was a dream. None of the stress of waving money trying to get the barman/barmaid’s attention and no need to speak to anyone – perfect for the antisocial. Just fire up the app, order and pay then wait for your food and drink to be delivered to your table. Perfect. Let’s hope some pubs continue to offer this service.

2) Skiving off work for the afternoon

There’s no doubt that you can be more productive working from home. No time wasted on commuting backwards and forwards into the office. No need to take part in pointless office gossip as you crowd by the watercooler. But it’s also pretty good to take off a bit of time off during the day to relax doing whatever you enjoy, whether that’s the latest Netflix bingeworthy series or checking out jackpot joy sister sites.

3) Not having to get dressed for work

It’s no wonder that sales of suits and smart dresses fell through the floor during lockdown. It’s because we were all working at home in our PJs. Even when we went on Zoom or Microsoft Teams, it didn’t seem to matter what we wore and if we wanted to cheat we could just wear a smart shirt and tie with shorts underneath. No one could see!

4) Spending quality time with a pet

 Everyone loves their pets, but lockdown gave us the perfect opportunity to spend more time with them. And boy did they appreciate it. Dogs left in the home by themselves all day suddenly found they were being taken for walks every couple of hours, just so we had an excuse to get out. Even those who didn’t have a pet wanted to get in on the action with some breeds of dogs selling for over £3000 – the cost of a secondhand car, though much cuddlier!

5) Chatting to your neighbours

Before the pandemic, most of us just used to grunt at our neighbours or try to avoid them as we rushed off into our city jobs, trying not to be late. How that’s all changed. Now we actually go out of our way to speak to them and find out how their days homeschooling the kids or looking after their parents is going.

6) Nature!

OK we don’t want to get all hippy on you, but wasn’t it great especially at the start of the pandemic when all you could hear outside pretty much was the sound of birdsong? No planes, no cars, no e-scooters running you over on the pavements. It’s all changing now, of course, but for a while it was bliss!

And 4 things we won’t miss

1) The NHS Covid app – Scanning in that QR code everywhere you went for ‘Track and Trace’

2) Poor broadband speeds – Having to share bandwidth with other family members or housemates

3) Facemasks – They may serve a purpose but having permanently steamed up glasses was a pain

4) Homeschooling – There is a reason why we employ professional school teachers to teach our kids. Who knew?