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

The government came under daily pressure from the opposition and the media to say when the lockdown would end even though the general public in whose name these institutions claimed to be speaking seemed less keen to be re-exposed to the virus that the media themselves had so successfully demonised  with horrific pictures of its victims. The government held its nerve by continuing to add to the list of conditions that needed to satisfied before lockdown could end.  

 The government’s message which was displayed everywhere was “stay home”but  this proved too much for some:

 The city became divided between those with access to outside space and those who had not. 

 In contrast to beauty spots many  traditionally crowded areas, remained abnormally quiet:

 The craving to be outside as a result of the compulsion to stay at home for 23 hours a day led people to seek out open spaces where they could but the the law of unintended consequences, ensured that the social distancing rule would be broken as everyone wanted to be in the same place at the same time. Beauty spots became magnets for daytrippers:

 It was inspiring to see many small business businesses particularly retail outlets trying  to survive financially while serving the community while respecting the need to avoid contact at less than 2 metres although some longer established professions already had appropriate procedures in place that they had had in place for decades:

 Looking back it is interesting to note just how our view of the virus has changed. In the beginning the approach of the authorities seem to be to minimise any anxiety. This was reflected in the fact that the announcement of any fatality was always accompanied by the comforting comment that the unlucky deceased had always had “underlying health conditions. “ Carluccio‘s restaurant chain was one of the first bankruptcies of the crisis but it had  already exhibited  problems before the pandemic so it seemed appropriate to use this event to reference how ubiquitous the medical excuse had become: