A PAUSE FOR THOUGHT

Where do we go from here? The United States is in full speculation about how to deal with the outgoing President and how to launch the new administration. In addition, the roll out of the vaccine across the United States is progressing with variable efficiency across the country, as it is across the world for that matter. As to the United Kingdom, the spread of the covid-19 virus is seemingly out of control and the progress of vaccinations is being stepped up as much as supplies will allow, with varying degrees of efficiency across the country. The problems of Brexit are also being exposed in a variety of small ways. Lorry drivers crossing border have had their sandwiches confiscated as they contain fresh meat or other produce that it is now not permitted to be brought into the EU without the requisite permits. One Lorry driver going into the Netherlands questioned the confiscation of his sandwiches. The customs official explained the problem and said “Welcome to the Brexit, sir, I’m sorry”. This is just the beginning.

 

 

So again, where do we go from here? At some point, one assumes, there will be an end to the current pandemic, and there will be an end to the current lockdown. The social distancing rules will ease and human beings will be able to touch. Groups of friends and families will be able to interact, people will return to whatever work they were engaged in and businesses, shops, restaurants and cafes will open their doors. There will be changes. Some businesses may find that a lot of their workforce can continue to work away from a central office, thereby making considerable savings on rents. The so called High Street, already going through substantial changes due to on line shopping, will continue to evolve. Whether the large department store is still a viable commercial proposition is a bit up in the air at present. Indeed, is the big shopping mall here to stay or will it be replaced entirely by the superstore food giants, such as Carrefour, Tesco, Sainsbury etc. selling bits of clothing and household goods on the side. The boutique style of shop is less likely to survive unless it becomes primarily mail order. Delivery firms have grown considerably. Fleets of vans now roam the streets. Adjustments will have to be made. 

 

 

 

Owing to the pandemic, individual countries have been pretty much occupied with trying to come to terms with medical emergencies and facilities just in order to cope. There has not been time enough nor energy to cope with inter nation concerns, although some international relationships have been dealt with alongside the medical emergencies. Elections and trading agreements have cropped up in various part of the planet, and although some conclusions have been reached, the effects and ramifications of those elections and agreements are still far from certain. They have taken place amidst the struggles to contain the epidemic, and so are almost secondary to the primary concern about the spreading of the virus. Most, if not all, newscasts around the world begin with coverage of the epidemic. This is closely followed by the trials and tribulations of the United States Congress and its deliberations. That too will, at some point, be at an end, and the relationships formed thereafter in the western hemisphere might begin to show us a way forward. Those problems that have been festering below the surface, such as the effects of global warming and the activities of Extinction Rebellion, will not have gone away and will return with full vigour once the current medical crisis is done.

If nothing else, this health crisis has created a gap or a pause in the flow of what one referred to as normal life. There will be no going back to what was once viewed as the same old same old.  There have been strong instances of coming together as well as powerful instances of coming apart with, unfortunately, the prospect of further fractioning in the near future.

I choose to believe that the coming together may be better for us in the long run, and perhaps this present state of affairs is just something the world has to go through to regain some form of equilibrium.