The First 5 Things I'll Do After Lockdown

By Imogen Goulding

I can't completely imagine life after lockdown just yet. The Coronavirus pan

demic has gripped and shaken the world, and the majority of my usual daily grind has gone out of the window. Everyone's unsettled, on edge and feeling hopeless, all while trying to stay busy and focused. It's not the ideal scenario, but in order to protect our population and health service, it's vital that we stay in. 

However, that doesn't mean to say we won't all be dancing our way out of our front doors once this sorry situation is over. Here are five things that I'll be prioritising after lockdown. 

1. Stop wearing a scarf in all weather conditions

Medical professionals have chopped and changed their minds about the watertight science and safety behind face masks since Coronavirus was first whispered. Now, I studied Linguistic Science, so I'm no doctor, but it's certainly made me feel more secure to wear a scarf on my daily walk. I've bundled up in one thick enough to cover my nose when my head's tilted downwards, so I'll be pleased to ditch this new trend in time. 

2.Do an ordinary food shop

The mere thought of being able to swan into M&S and Tesco, restriction free, is tasty enough alone — now just think of what could be bought! Well-stocked shelves, happy shoppers, no awkward aisle-changing to avoid people — that's weekly shop bliss, right there. Where possible and stock permitting, meals have had to get a bit jazzier to spice up isolation, which means part of me is actually yearning for a standard, post-workout midweek dish. 

3. Go to the gym

Go ahead and call me boring, but I enjoy the gym. I wouldn't pay for it if I didn't. While I've taken a daily walk, I've also spent my isolation time working out. Thanks to my trusty kettlebell, cross trainer, resistance bands and Pilates mat, it's been a doddle. Home-gymming is providing me a fantastic and much-needed release from the strange world we're now in, but I can say for certain I'll be very giddy when I can smell the pool's chlorine, medley of deodorants and sweaty weights machines again. 

4. Fill my calendar with gigs

I don't know about you, but this is a big one for me! I go to gigs so often that I've been inundated with emails about cancellations, refunds and rescheduled events since my self-isolation began. I'm mad about music and Leeds is oozing with gigging potential, with venues typically hosting a handful of shows per week. I'm happy to go solo too, so once things look more certain, I'll be merrily buying tickets for almost any gig going.

5. Head out for dinner and drinks

I think most of us can agree that, once we've shaken off all residual feelings of weirdness towards intermingling with people again, a proper night out will be on the cards. I'm not just talking the boozy all-nighter that follows, but a proper sit-down meal with good friends. Leeds is teeming with incredible, envelope-pushing eateries serving all cuisine types, so there's no excuse not to get together to toast our newfound freedom.