Coming out of lockdown is befuddling, but it’s moving to witness people excitedly greet each other after so long
I am getting grumpier with age yet also more sentimental; you’d have thought the two were mutually exclusive. I found lockdown made my life somewhat easier to manage and now, with options having been limited for so long, their proliferation is befuddling. Early on Saturday evening, having ballsed up the timings of various comings and goings, I opted out entirely for 15 minutes and went and sat in my local, enjoying a pint and a measure of light moroseness.
One by one, group by group, the place got busier. Each new entrance was the same: a look around for a familiar face, followed by a light of recognition and a very 2021 awkward pantomime of greeting.
They were looks that said: 'It really is wonderful to see you; I didn’t realise how much I’d missed you'
Related: Customers flock to UK pubs and restaurants as indoor dining resumes
Adrian Chiles is a broadcaster, writer and Guardian columnist
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