This week we passed a very significant moment in the history of the UK.  On Tuesday we looked back on the anniversary of this country going into the first national lockdown on Monday 23rd March 2020.

Looking back on all that we have experienced and learned from living with the Covid 19 virus for a year was a very sobering moment.  We remember those who have died and those who have recovered from this disease but are still feeling the effects (known as long Covid).  We remembered those whose livelihoods have been affected by the loss of jobs and businesses.  We remembered the fantastic NHS and all the other front-line workers to whom we all owe a huge debt of gratitude.

Some people observed the anniversary with a moment’s silence and some reflected quietly on an extraordinary year, the like of which we have never experienced before.  We are now moving forward with a programme of vaccination which is unsurpassed in the fight against disease, as well as a timetable for the lifting of restrictions to begin our return to a more normal way of life.

I have been the “Lockdown Mayor” and so my year in office has been unlike a normal year in the job.  Sadly, I have missed many opportunities to perform the usual mayoral functions which I would have expected.  I have however become an expert in zooming!!  This remote way of meeting with others has shown us a new way of carrying on with our business and social lives without the need to move from our kitchen tables.

This week I have attended seven zoom meetings in five days.  On Thursday as President of the Twinning Association I was present with people from the French towns of le Vesinet, Vernon, Gouzeaucourt and Worcester at an excellent presentation on the special relationship our city has with the small French town of Gouzeaucourt.  Many thanks to Terry Coles and Rosemary Campbell for an excellent talk.  If you want to know more, go www.worcestertwinning.org.uk and click on “Worcester and Gouzeaucourt – a story of two towns”.