What do you think your 'new normal' will be after the lockdowns?

I hope that I can quickly shed the level of anxiety that I feel when leaving the house now. I hope that I get my hip replacement sooner rather than later so that I can resume walks in the forest with my friend. I hope that I can regain confidence about driving. I'd like to resume travelling abroad and meeting family and friends who live on the other side of the world. But just as my decline over the past year, both mentally and physically has been gradual, I think that it will take a while for me to resume the sort of life that I once considered normal.

I hope the same as my old normal!!

I think,as do a lot of others,that we'll have to get our confidence back.I'm looking forward to getting back to my volunteering,seeing my family properly,having a day out ,being able to sit in a cafe,just simple things.But I'm not a confident person at the best of times,and I think I'll find it hard to do some of my activities again.I hated being anywhere crowded last Summer when we were allowed some normality

I retired at the end of 2019, was ill with Stevens Johnson Syndrome for the first 3 months of 2020 and have been in local lockdown ever since. I have no ‘old normal’ to compare.

I’m another who doesn’t want to start the huggy kissy thing again, except for my close family. I never shook hands much anyway. It will be nice to actually see people’s smiles again, and not just the eyes!
We may well keep the online shopping - it’s just so convenient - and I’ll be forever wary of crowds and excessive closeness I think.
My middle daughter very rarely even hugs anyone - she’s been going round saying, ‘see, I was right’.

I live a very simple fairly isolated life on a narrow boat. I have always shopped online. Other than not not being able to hug my grandchildren nothing has really changed in the past year for me. I look forward to finally seeing my great niece who was born a year ago

No more hugging and kissing outside immediate family (excellent) Fewer visits to indoor venues for any reason. More outdoor BBQs and less sit down entertaining. Have just bought a house with a garden so will move out of my flat, build a firepit, get some really nice outdoor seating and a hang an old sail to provide shade and shelter. Will pick up a bunch of fleece blankets from Wilco so there's no excuses and life will be more 'outdoors'. Now, fingers crossed for a nice summer.

Should have said, concerned for others with fewer options so will continue my DD to the Trussel Trust.

I hope that once the virus is no longer so prevalent, I will return pretty much as normal to where I was before the Pandemic. I am looking forward to doing the things I have put on hold. I will be cautious for a while but see no reason to do much differently if the virus is controlled.

Our tiny U3A group, quite specialised, has turned out to be one of the local star performers as we have mastered zoom and invited outside speakers and other groups, locally and further afield, to participate in some of our meetings. In future we are considering keeping some of our meetings online permanently and having more than the usual one a month. Some of our meetings will be face to face of course, but going forward having ten or twelve older people crammed into someone’s living room no longer looks very desirable.

I cannot wait to give family and friends a hug (or three), going out to eat with friends and family, travelling once we are allowed.

Life for the retired will probably go back to pretty much pre-pandemic normal for most things - meeting friends, volunteering, food shopping, trips away.
But many of working age will want to go on working from home part-time at least. And shopping opportunities in town centres will be a lot less than they were, so they will be less visited. I'm hoping there will be fewer cars on the roads.
I hope that for all those in education, the post-pandemic normal will be as near as possible to the pre-pandemic normal.

I plan to get back to normal as each new occasion arises.

Ah, Tangerine has just said the same thing.

As soon as the lock down is lifted , you will have the fools rushing out like there has never been a pandemic . I am willing to sit back and wait . I don't see myself going on foreign holidays or mixing in large crowds for a few years . Have people not learnt from there mistakes , look what rushing out and mixing got us before . Only 55% of people who have been offered the vaccine have actually had it . So that is 45% of people have refused it for some reason . So people think it okay we have vaccine now , unless we are vaccinated the virus we never be under control.

My retired life is going to be very different as I took on a Slimming World group in lockdown and am also now doing two Covid vaccination clinics a week as a nurse vaccinator, I ve never been so busy, but at least it keeps me out of mischief ?

Sorry to be boring but I think we have quite a way to go yet. Boris is sending all schools back at the same time in only a few days when not enough people have been vaccinated including teachers. It's well known that schools are a breeding ground for germs anyway.

I for one will be using extreme caution for a long time and stick to the great outdoors and away from any indoor events or crowded places. My mask is here to stay along with hand gel which I always used before Covid anyway along with regular hand-washing especially after travelling on buses or any form of public transport .

Stay safe everyone x

I agree with @BusterTank

I doubt very much will change for me
, certainly not in the short term. I’m not very sociable any way. I would like to go back to shopping and s holiday later in the year. At the moment the thought of sitting on a plane with all those people is too much for me.

I agree Witzend. I've never felt comfortable with all the kissing and hugging. Maybe it's because I was never shown any affection as a child. As you say, a habit we should never have adopted. (Just my opinion obviously). I can remember going to France many years ago going to France and seeing everyone kissing when they met in the street. I thought it was odd and it would never happen here!

Being retired, lockdown hasn't made a great difference to our lives.

That said, I am looking forward to being able to travel a little again - not great distances, to start with a camping holiday.

And I will enjoy going shopping and to a DIY store again, having a coffee on a day out and being able to go to a concert or the theatre again and to church.

I imagine we will remain aware that the days of practically all illnesses being controlled by the use of antibiotics are a thing of the past and that a higher standard of hygiene is advisable now then earlier.

I'm hoping I can start to go back to some kind of normal. My first show I've tickets for is in September, they were rescheduled from last year, but thinking about sitting near others I know will still be very worrying. I think my masks and hand washing will carry on for a very long time.

It will be interesting to see if French people go back to their usual kissing greeting. That of course depends on us ever getting vaccinated. Absolutely no appointments available in a 60 mile radius of out village.

Biggest pleasure will be: Hugs, hugs and more hugs.
Walking arm in arm with my daughter on one side and granddaughter on the other as we wander around Manchester shopping.

My biggest worry: I stopped driving to see them and took the plane from Cornwall to Manchester. If the flights start again, I'll be very nervous.

Looking forward to pilates and a meal out at our favourite place (over looks the beach).

Oh - I forgot. The cinema, theatre and gigs. I go as much as I can.

There will be no return to 'normality' for me. Now a widow, I'll not be returning to Care Home visiting every other day, nor helping with the activities and fundraisers. Our Council run Swimming pool has deteriorated so badly due to lack of use and regular maintenance that it will never re-open, putting an end to my weekly swim session. I am no longer needed for grandchild minding and the school run - kids now old enough to be 'home alone' for short periods.

Both my late DH's small pte pensions died with him and his savings were almost totally depleted paying Care Home Costs, so I am facing a future with much reduced income, and a house and big garden, sadly neglected over the past 5 years and now in need of repairs. DH always did all the maintenance work himself until he became ill but now, if I cannot manage to DIY, I have to pay for tradesmen, though still (just) managing to tend to the garden and grow fruit and veg myself, collect and saw up wood for my open fire.

So it will be a new 'normal' for me, which I suspect will be much the same as life in Lockdown, except that I will be able to do my own food shopping and perhaps meet up for coffee and a blether with old friends. Looking forward to seeing the sea again when we are allowed to travel more than 5 miles.