The two years of covid were obviously a negative time. Many people lost loved ones, and most people made sacrifices to lesser or greater degrees to help keep others safe. However, mixed in to all the difficulty and heartache were a few positive things that kept us going when the days got rough – and there are a couple we think might be worth keeping around. We’ve put together a list of five lockdown things that definitely weren’t the worst thing in the world.
- Banana bread
Remember the banana bread craze? It isn’t like this was an unusual snack beforehand, but suddenly it seemed like everyone was learning how to make it and eating it at every opportunity. It’s delicious, it’s nutritious, it’s a great addition to any breakfast or afternoon snack – what’s not to like? Oh, and of course, it’s incredibly easy to bake and a great way to use up leftover bananas when they start to look a little too soft.
- Sourdough
Another baking phenomenon during lockdown was that everyone seemed to want to learn to make sourdough – with its mysterious ‘starter’, oft touted health benefits and long shelf life it seemed like the perfect baking adventure. Baking bread is a great skill to develop anyway, especially when it produces something so healthy and delicious – hopefully, this will be a skill people keep improving.
- Roller skating
Once people had exhausted all their reasonable walking and running routes, many turned to more inventive ways of getting around, and sales of roller skates went up quite a bit. They became fun ways to get around for adults and children alike, and the ability to buy fashionable ones meant buying and wearing them was loads of fun too. Everyone could stand to be a bit more active, and there’s nothing wrong with doing it in such a fun way as roller skating!
- Daily walks
Though they were a necessity to stop us going stir crazy during lockdown, there are actually a huge number of both mental and physical health benefits to a daily walk. On top of that, there’s the added benefit of getting to know your neighbourhood a little better. If you’re lucky enough to live out in the country, you might even get to know your local wildlife and nature better too. Daily walks are a great idea!
- Zoom calls
Though everyone grew to hate zoom calls to a certain extent, there’s no way of denying that it’s a fantastic way to keep in touch with friends we haven’t seen in a while, and it’s a great thing that it’s become a more common way to communicate. It’s been so common to just lose touch with people we once knew well – for example, friends from university – simply because they moved too far away to easily visit. While phone calls are another great option, the opportunity to see someone’s face and chat over a glass of wine via a zoom call feels like something we ought to keep doing especially now that we have an option to buy veuve clicquot online.
Obviously, we all hope never to experience a pandemic again. But that doesn’t mean there weren’t positives hidden within the difficult experiences, and it would be great if we could take a few of these things forward!