Things I Haven't Missed

As the UK's lockdown gradually unravels in a welter of political expediency and pressure from Tory corporate donors, I've been reflecting on the things that I haven't missed during these months of lockdown.  Because, after all, going in we all thought it was going to be unbearable to have to do without most shops, without sports, without fast food joints and, worst of all, the pub.  Surprisingly, I haven't missed any of them.  I've never really enjoyed the shopping experience, I went off of most fast food after I spent a few days working in a burger joint and the majority of sports are, for me, tedious beyond belief.  But, as it turns out, I haven't even missed the only sport that I did follow: football.  Its return has felt anticlimactic and left me indifferent.  Indeed, I've resented the return of those sports which have so far come back -snooker, horse racing - for once again cluttering up TV schedules and absolving various channels of any obligation to provide proper programming.  In truth, it is probably the return to 'normality' that their return heralds that I resent most.  I've had a 'good' lockdown.  I've really enjoyed the solitude, the peace and rhe quiet.

To return to the point, the most surprising thing I haven't missed is the pub.  Sure, the time I've spent there has been in decline over recent years, but, pre-lockdown, it was still playing a significant part in my social life.  Or so I thought.  Because, without it, I haven't felt socially deprived.  I've actually enjoyed having more evenings to myself - I've got a lot more done.  I've realised that I really don't miss a lot of the idiots who were drinking in there - not feeling the obligation to make polite conversation with people you have nothing in common with has come as a blessed relief.  When given the choice, I really do prefer my own company.  I'm left pondering whether, when they finally can re-open, I'll still feel the urge to go to any pub, let alone my local?  There are a couple of people there that I tend not to see anywhere else, but so far I don't feel them to be a compelling reason for me to return to old habits.  As I've said here before, this lockdown has provided me with a window into a better way of life, one without the stresses and complications of so-called 'normality'.  I'd love it to continue for a while longer.  Mind you, with the government's apparent determination to stoke a second wave of coronavirus, we could all be back here in a couple of months.