In and around a London lockdown. A Cartoon Diary by Pidge.

 The impact of social distancing was enormous with different sections of society behaving in different ways, varying from paranoia on the one hand through to a total insensitivity to others at the other. People were allowed out, apart from one essential shopping trip, for only one hour per day and even then they had to keep moving as this was permitted for exercise only. A walk in the spring sunshine would have  been a pleasure had it not been punctuated periodically by the sound of pounding feet that would herald the arrival of a heavy breathing potentially Covid spraying runner or jogger who had no idea of social distancing.  But to be fair the government obviously hadn’t appreciated that many people did not realise that 2 metres was approximately 6 feet. The signage for this was changed to the old Imperial  measure so that runners would have no excuse.

 As we became more familiar with the crisis new terminology was needed to describe it.

 There was much debate and dithering about reopening the schools including a U-turn by the government. Many had been disappointed by their closure.

 New symptoms were discovered: in the beginning it all seemed so simple. The only officially recognised symptoms of coronavirus were a fever combined with a dry cough. But anecdotal evidence gleaned from many comments on social media led to the suspicion that a loss of sense of smell and taste were often experienced by Coronavirus sufferers:                       As seen in The Spectator 

 Except for runners and joggers social distancing had for most people had become ingrained and their holidays were likely to be different:

 Mixed messages were in abundance on the subject of face masks. The issue of whether  people should wear a face mask had been a matter of debate since the beginning of the crisis with the populations of several countries wearing them as a matter of course but the WHO saying that they were not effective which was the line also taken by our government. But after several months of indecision it was now suggested that they should be worn in some circumstances but it was not clear in which:

 Amazingly people began speculating on returning to the old pleasures and many resumed their holiday plans as if nothing had happened. This pandemic has highlighted just how desperate the British are to leave their own island in the summer. But how were they  going reach their destinations in the new age of social distancing? Ryanair’s boss said social distancing could not be accommodated on planes although an innovative solution was proposed: