At last, there is light at the end of the tunnel. It might flicker and we will have a few wobbles along the way, but we finally know where we are going to get out of lockdown and end the pandemic.

This time last year, we were hearing about a highly infectious virus that was sweeping across China and had made its way to Europe. Mostly out of hope, we played down the seriousness of it, joking that it was named after a weak lager. That was denial – surely Britain in 2020 wouldn’t be brought to its knees by something you couldn’t see that originated at a Chinese market stall.

One month later, Britain, like the rest of the world, was in the grip of this deadly virus and the country came to a standstill with the first lockdown. Only essential shops could stay open and the rest of us were ordered to stay at home.

Schools closed and furlough became the buzzword. As businesses were forced to shut, the government paid the wages of staff who could not work.

After the initial shock, the seriousness of the situation took a while to sink in, probably because we had three months of the best weather in recent memory and many people were being paid to stay at home – or go to the beach or park.

Infection and death rates were falling and there was feint hope that things would be back to normal by the summer. We enjoyed staycation holidays and weekends away and hoped we were over the worst. The mood was positive and things were looking up, especially with talk of a vaccine. After all, schools were reopening on September 7. 

No one wanted to talk about the elephant in the room. We hoped we wouldn’t have to and, by some miracle, might dodge the second wave. But it slammed right into us. As the infection rates soared, we switched between tier systems and lockdown, and watched as infections and death rates rose above the spring peak.

Creating, testing and administering a potent vaccine to a disease we had never heard of in 11 months is an amazing achievement. It really is incredible, especially as it is what will get us over the worst of this deadly disease.

The biggest thing we can look forward to, especially for business, is certainty. Being able to plan, not just for the future and expansion, but being able to say with a degree of certainty that you will be open next month, next week, or even tomorrow.

Businesses, staff and customers all need confidence that things will get back to normal and we can look to the future with hope and be positive about life again.

From a personal point of view, we also need stability and routine for our own wellbeing. We are all thrown the odd curveball in life, which we deal with, but the constant negativity, fear and uncertainty is grinding down even the most optimistic people.

I am an optimist, but have to admit that after 11 months, I have had my fill of worry, uncertainty and general gloom. If you manage to work and don’t catch the virus, the biggest problem is being driven stir-crazy. 

While we are not party animals, we love going for a pub lunch with the kids on a weekend, or being able to meet family for special occasions such as birthdays. Or even just to pop round for a chat without worrying about a checklist of things to do beforehand, being stopped by the police to ask where you are going, or rousing the suspicions of curtain-twitching neighbours as you drop off shopping for relatives who were shielding.

Now we finally have an end in sight and something to look forward to.

Stay safe and I hope to see you in the pub, in the shops, out and about or in the hairdresser’s very soon.