The awful film you can't switch off

Over the last two weeks, I have become more optimistic in regard to how the economy may recover when this virus stage of the crisis eventually comes to an end.

We all see the depressing pictures on the news channels each night of closed down shopping centres, cinemas, restaurants pubs, and the empty streets that surround them.

However, what those pictures do not show viewers is beneath that emptiness much of the British economy is still running all be it in "facilitated mode".

High street retail is most definitely closed, but online ordering has seen huge expansion as people still wish to purchase food, clothes, garden products, furniture, and many other commodities. That, in turn, is keeping suppliers to those online retailers working, which is keeping Britains huge transport industry very busy.

Many companies that are able to maintain reasonable social distancing have restarted operations and that bodes well for when the gradual lifting of lockdown comes about.

Undoubtedly the airline, cruise and holiday industries have been hit by this crisis very hard, and the markets that they operate in may not return to how it had traded pre-crisis.

However, if instead of a cancelled holiday a family invests in a new 4 or 5K television along with a high-quality sound system to go with it then the original holiday money is still retained in the economy.

Our own business as service suppliers to the road transport industry after Furlowing several of our staff at the start of this lockdown now have all but two re-engaged.

The above is the bases for my optimism and I feel it is well-founded due to our companies experience in this crisis up to this point.

This lockdown will eventually end and as the Queen so well stated " we shall all meet again", and as that comes about things may recover far quicker than many would expect.

All through the year I'm perfectly alright---until after the 'flu vaccine ?? Then I spend 1/4 of the following year ill !

One thing for sure I won't be in any hurry to receive the vaccination if the last 3 years are anything to go by. God knows what were in them.

With apologies to WS Churchill, this is not the end, it is not the beginning of the end - it is perhaps approaching the end of the beginning...

Make no mistake, this is set to run in some form or another until a vaccine can be developed, manufactured at scale and made available across the globe.

Let's hope there are no repeats either

When I was teaching I used to tell the children that a story needed a beginning, a middle and an end. The beginning to set the scene, the middle needed a problem and suspense, and the end solved the problem.

This is what it feels like now. We're well into the middle.

Just about getting to the intermission I think - hope the second half is better!