It wasn’t the beach, but lying in front of a fire with the whole family under canvas: I’ve definitely had worse evenings
Even if you were lucky enough to avoid getting sick with Covid, there is a general consensus that we’ve all been changed by the pandemic, and the most popular consensus around what’s changed is that, after a year of sitting inside and scrolling through Netflix, we have forgotten how to deal with each other. “I’ve lost the ability to engage with anyone who isn’t my cat,” a friend texted. “Does the vaccine also make you want to see people?” the American TV writer Gary Janetti recently asked on Instagram, and the verdict from his 900,000 followers was a resounding no.
Well, I don’t feel like that. I’m desperate to see everyone again, and my conversation skills are the same as they ever were, which is to say, they aren’t going to give Noël Coward any posthumous insecurity, but my friends tolerate them. Sure, I have even less to talk about than usual (“What have I been up to? Oh, keeping busy, updating my Deliveroo app”), but I still want to throw a massive party. Last summer I thought maybe living through a pandemic would give me new depths. But, no, I just want to get completely wrecked with all my favourite people. And if the music’s loud enough, they won’t hear how boring I am these days. Win-win.
