IT had to happen some time I suppose. The coronavirus has spread throughout the world. This has profoundly affected everyone’s life in the form of ‘lockdown’.

At first I was profoundly saddened by the thought of not being allowed to be close to my parents, but now somehow I find I have adapted and things aren’t too bad. I am allowed to sit in Mum and Dad’s summerhouse in their wonderful garden and communicate using my smartphone with them and more of the family on the Isle of Wight, as well as daily phone calls to valuable friends.

A close friend of mine has just lost his mother to the virus, a terrible tragedy and something which had me break down in tears.

So, as ever life is proving to be typically ‘bittersweet’. At least the internet is not affected and remains open 24/7/365. So I can do my email, listen to favourite music on You Tube and significantly, Skype with my family.

Of more concern to me is the immense impact on small to medium businesses this whole episode is having. Just before the ‘shutting down of Britain’, I was still spending time in local cafes and pubs, sufficiently motivated to write reviews of them and see them published worldwide on Google Maps and Trip Advisor. Things were going great! Then came the fatal lockdown, which was in effect the nail in the coffin for these life-enhancing environments.

The owner of one local café told me that he doubts very much whether he will ever re-open due to the financial knock-on effect. What a terrible shame.

So now life has become very what I call ‘subdued’ and sometimes distinctly solemn even. If the weather was adverse, things would be a whole lot worse.

But quite stolidly, everyone just carries on with their day-to-day lives despite all this overshadowing things. “Cheer up, it might never happen” as they say!

ROBIN EDMONDS

Dorset Road, Somerford