I decided in the Covid-19 lock-down period not to get involved in scaremongering or engage in drama about death.

My partner’s mum died from a cold in December. This wasn’t reported anywhere. It didn’t add to a daily count; it wasn’t publicised in headlines reporting on the number of old folks who slip away every winter. Talk to any funeral director or celebrant and they’ll tell you what a busy time winter is, every year. We don’t normally count, make headlines or fret about the number of deaths over the winter that the common cold, flu or other bugs generate.

The thing is, that our family death wasn’t really caused by the cold. It was just a cumulative affair. The final straw. It was more to do with her being 90 and frail and done-now-thank-you plus the cold.

I tend to go with the reasoned views of Dr Malcolm Kendrick, that many of the deaths we’re counting now are with Coronavirus, not because of.

So in the spirit of my endless optimism and positivity, I’m going to follow this post swiftly with a lovely post from a Final Fling user and hope that the world can return to a better normal sometime soon. Maybe with more of the peace and community sharing that this period has generated.