So Lockdown 2.0 is upon us. As a secondary school teacher, my own working life will see little change in the next month, or so I imagine. As I was driving to school this morning, a friend passed me on his bicycle, cycling in the opposite direction. He has been working from home since March and I have to say that, with a blue sky outside the window, I’m a little envious that I can’t be heading out on the bike myself.

The spring of 2020 was, with all the caveats about the horrors of the virus, not without its pleasures. For most this was the almost unprecedented ability to take some exercise on a regular, daily basis over an extended period of time. In the end it turned out to be about six months. For many, it wasn’t good at all, but Lockdown 1.0 did have a positive side to it. I’m a little unsure that Lockdown 2.0 will fare so well when the history of the Coronavirus comes to be written. The days are shortening, the weather unpredictable and, crucially, the population less willing to have their freedoms curtailed. It will be interesting to see how November pans out.

But if it rekindles all those good intentions about making long-term changes with respect to sharing space, promoting active travel (i.e. walking and cycling) and prioritising the allocation of time towards more mindful activities, so be it.