Just before Christmas a British poll surprisingly revealed that the citizens of Edinburgh were the most content people anywhere in Britain. How to reconcile that with the current record Scots support of circa 60% for the Scottish Nationalists?
One possibility is an unexpected effect of lockdowns.
While they’ve been tough on small business owners, notwithstanding some government financial support, could it be the enforced long holiday has slowed people’s lives down, inducing a laid-back contentment? For example, a global story in 2019 was the collapse of golf with courses closing down everywhere. Lockdowns changed all of that and golf-courses enjoyed a boom 2020.
The New Zealand Medical Research Institute, last week released a study which seems to support that. It reports a dramatic drop in the death rate triggered by the lockdown, and extending thereafter.
I’ve certainly enjoyed a health boost through the past year and have no doubt its attributable to the enforced slower life-style.
Another explanation for the surprise Edinburgh poll is the pleasure of recovering their city centre which through mass tourism, as with many other European cities, had become virtually unlivable, pre-Covid. In recent years this pestilence began to inflict itself on Glasgow with streams of tourist buses doing building tours through the CBD, understandable as few cities can match its amazing architectural diversity.
When the pandemic is finally over and the old normality restored, possibly we may look back on the lockdowns with a degree of nostalgia.
4 Comments
An interesting piece, as a Glaswegian and prior resident of Edinburgh.
Your following may be interested in this little lockdown related video.
I have spoken to afew about that and the general concensus is that a short lock-down every year would be great.
That can be achieved by NOT enforcing Lockdowns as well.
It has driven musicians world-wide to the brink.
NZ is the only country doing live music to people all in the same space. Or field.
Does make us special for now.
Video echoes my beliefs from the get-go. A must-see for every thinking person. Thank you for posting it. This contrived ‘pandemic’ will go down in history, like climate change, as the biggest hoaxes ever foisted on the world. Only if the truth, however, gets out….because the driving force, Totalitarianism, is full steam ahead right now!