Life during lockdown

Very much agree with comments of Schnabel and others below. I would love to go back to galleries, exhibitions, cinema, theatre etc, but only if this can be done without increased risk of community transmission of C19 (and increase individual risk). I can't see how this can be financially viable for venues in the short to medium term. They will need on-going and increased funding to enable this vital part of our national & local life and culture to survive. Funding so important also for the smaller and/or community venues and initiatives, as well as the bigger and more well-known ones. Also would love to eat out and socialise - but bars and restaurants will need lots of support to cater for us in a different and safer way; that means more outdoor spaces (ie roads) pedestrianised and made available for restaurants and bars to seat people outside safely.

The big problem is public transport. I strongly suspect that the tube was a key means of transmitting the disease before lockdown - why London at first had it so badly, and indeed why the UK did.  How can we make the tube safe and usable by a reasonable number of people in the new world?  Would screens down the middle of carriages help, both to stop people infecting those opposite them and to limit standing?  Maybe seats all facing the front rather than across the carriages?

The government's incompetence is the main thing that worries me.  Cummings seems to be running the show  and I do not trust him to take any care of other peoples welfare, he does not seem to think it is important at all.  So we are on our own here, I feel, and the development of a vaccine and a large drop in the R number and case numbers will be what I go by. 

with public transport restricted to essential use only, i am restricted to my immediate vicinity or areas with affordable car parking. This rules out most of london inside Zone 5. With government not explaining why it was not safe under 2m before and now it is safe, I am fast losing confidence in the government guidance (much of which cannot be legally enforced). My focus is health before economy and seeing the inability of authorities to control crowds on beaches, a lot more needs to be done before I feel confident in participating in normal life. 

Add to this people not wearing any masks on the underground and not following any social distancing on queuing and with the policing hugely underfunded and under resourced, I am not assured by any of the government marketing messages. 

It is much safer to go to a seated live concert, theatre or cinema than it is to go to a pub with alcohol flowing. Museums are easy to keep a distance from others as well - especially if footfall is monitored. Seeing the crowds on the beaches and the mess they left, I wonder what the point of any lockdown was. Queues (with hardly any social distancing) to get into Primark when I last went to the supermarket in my local area. Some people not wearing masks on public transport (only been on a bus) and allowed to get on board, offended if you ask where is your mask or when they are wearing it below their mouth, or below their nose. 

I spoke to a young lady who went to Sweden just before our lockdown - everyone observing social distancing, restaurant / cafes making space between tables / seating etc. Everyone did this. Can't imagine that happening here when not even our government led by example.

GET EVERYWHERE OPEN -- life isn't safe and it is nonsense to wait until the pandemic has "ceased". The economy and cultural life will be dead for all the population. 

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I can understand individual groups clamouring for public gatherings for various purposes, but until the pandemic has genuinely ceased, the Mayor and his team should not be supporting them.

Staying home to protect yourself and others isn't that hard, and is the only decent thing to do at this time.

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I would return to cultural venues as soon as they were reopened, assuming that sensible safety precautions had been taken. In a theatre or musem / gallery, i see this as being more straightforward as you can easily control numbers, practice distancing, wearing a mask wouldn't be the end of the world... surely this isn't far off?

Bars, clubs and music venues is a different story and whilst i would love to see these return sooner rather than later, I don't think some places - especially music venues - will be viable or enjoyable with a mandatory distance between people! However perhaps limiting numbers initially is the way forward, to allow these places to re-open and at least start somewhere. I truly miss these places and I think many others feel the same. I am sure people are willing to work with creative ideas to support the reopening of cultural venues. 

I would like to see specific support for live music venues. These provide the seeds of what is a succesful £multi-million industry which is acclaimed acrosss the world. We all suffer if new musical artists are not allowed to emerge and flourish in grass-roots settings. Applications for new live venues should be considered favourably but more importantly existing venues should be protected. Any planning applications affectig the area immediately around venues should be considered on the basis that keeping the venue open for love music is the priority.
What will it take to get me back in a live music venue? When its safe, i'll be there. By safe I mean when its safe to wander freely, go to the bar, and dance in a sweaty mass with fellow music lovers. 2 metres or one metre, beither equate to the enjoyment of live music. 

Museums, galleries, libraries and exhibitions are probably amongst the easiest places to practice and manage social distancing, when the lockdown crisis is over.  Moreover, we need these places to begin opening again.  It is wonderful that so many organisations have been able to be creative during this lockdown with how they share their collections online, but this does not replace seeing something live.

My particular passion is the theatre and, in my limited viewpoint, the only way we will be able to enjoy theatre again after lockdown would be to have empty seats between each booked seat or group of seats, and empty seats in front and behind.  This would, thankfully, open the theatres again, but at such a reduced income it would be difficult for most cash-strapped arts organisations to sustain.  Our theatres and music venues are a huge draw for visitors and tourists each year so support and extra funding must be made available in order to maintain our rich cultural heritage going forward into the future.

Culture in the widest sense is what differentiates us humans from the animals. (Nothing against animals!) Culture is vitally important for our health, both mental and physical. My own first love is music, and there is increasing evidence to show how absolutely necessary music is to all of us.

But the arts altogether are vital - to our national economy too. Please can we have generous help for the arts, which will struggle to survive the pandemic - particularly the performance arts. SUPPORT OUR ACTORS, SINGERS, MUSICIANS, and all those who help live arts to happen!!! We NEED them!!! 
 

Thanks for reading this - now please publicise and act on it!