"New Normal" ? That's a big fat 'NO' from me thanks.

Here’s a question for you. If you wanted to define a “new normal” who would you want to do that? The current government? The Pharma-industrial Complex? Mark Zuckerberg? That’s a no from me thanks. I’m unashamedly nostalgic for “the good old days”, you know, like oh maybe 2019! When we went to crowded pubs, nightclubs, gigs and festivals, we mingled closely, flirted, maybe even met new friends or kissed the odd stranger. When we smiled at people and they could actually see our faces. When we viewed other people as just normal people or even friends we just hadn’t met yet, not walking pathogens or potential threats to health. I have been genuinely shocked at how fearful people have become in 2020. Covid19 is nasty, no doubt about that, but is it an existential threat?

Maybe if you have existing vulnerabilities or are frail and elderly, but for most of us, even according to Professor Whitty the government CMO, it will be a relatively mild or even non-existent illness. So why have we lost our collective minds? A reminder of our basic mortality perhaps? The industry I love, the music and events industry will take years to recover. Maybe not even in what is left of my lifetime? I could weep. I’ll weep too for those that have lost loved ones to covid19, but we have to find more balance in our approach to life surely?

We seem to be over-valuing survival at any cost and under-valuing living life fully. And under-valuing the benefits to general well-being and mental health to shared experiences, dancing , singing and the life enhancing feeling of just being in a crowd sharing a performance. Some of my most spiritual experiences have been at gigs or festivals and my god I so badly want some more of that in 2021.

It’s now November 2020 I’ve barely touched this site since June on the basis that frankly I just couldn’t raise the energy. I’m an extrovert in the true sense, in that I’m not the ‘life and soul’ of the party, but I need to be around people to feel alive and to find energy. And when your driving purpose is to promote events and promote opportunities for hopefully life-affirming experiences , if there aren’t any to promote, other priorities become more pressing.

As we head towards the end of a global annus horribilus, being an eternal optimist I’m hoping that 2021 will be a year of renewal and growth. When we re-discover the joy that can be found in the company of strangers rather than the fear of a virus that for most of us will be worse than the virus itself.

All that remains for now is to hope that sometime early in 2021 life returns to as near the old normal as is possible. In the meantime, Christmas is in sight! Currently we have the bizarre spectacle of government minsters and scientists suggesting that they might “not allow” us to meet with our friends and families over Christmas. Seriously?

They think we are still listening? At the risk of being accused of recklessly endangering life (I prefer to think of it as enthusiastically encouraging you to embrace living!) make your own choices.

If you want to, visit friends, hug your families, kiss under the mistletoe. Be alive. x

Written by the Phat Geezer. if you enjoyed this content, come and say hello at www.phatgeezer.co.uk

PhatGeezer.co.uk is the go to resource for everything you need to know about live music events, cool stuff and and what’s on in Gloucester and wider Gloucestershire