COVID VISITORS

I don't like people, that is to stay I don't like being in crowds of people. The Tube, buses, the High street where I work, Festivals, Night Clubs; well you get the picture.

Am I missing people? no absolutely not and part of me is anxious about returning to the  world of the masses after this is over. 

But I am going to contradict myself here and say "I like people". That is people that I care about. These people bring joy, good humour and love to the party. Seeing them on computer screens, hearing their voices, reading there communications just isn't the same as the real thing

I have met new people  though, Ive had these visitors; there's Tony from After Life, Joe Exotic, Marianne and Connell from Normal People, Paul and Ally from Breeders, Michael Jordan, Dennis Rodman and Scottie Pippen, The Gangs of London, Chris Tarrant via Michael Sheen, the people racing from Mexico City to Ushuaia among others. Quite a long list actually.

When we look back at theses times we may not remember what we did with our time, much less what we watched, but the one show that will probably have the most resonance may very well be After Life. At a time when things have slowed down the pace of this extraordinary TV series fits perfectly. Tony has contact through the computer screen with a life he once had and struggles to see a future. The reflective nature of the story can be digested because we have time to do so. We can empathise with the mundanity, recognise the good that squeezes out of the characters and most importantly feel lifted by the thought that one day we will be able to move on from this.

Yes it has flaws but I can think of very few TV programmes that have fitted in perfectly within the times that they have been released in.

Welcoming these fictional characters into our homes helps. No they are not the real thing, but in lieu of that, they feel like, well, people.