By the river, a sense of normality was apparent with hundreds of small groups sitting on the grass or around the many tables that pop ups and restaurants offer in 2021 and enjoying the sun.
In the streets of central London, the feeling of lockdown is lingering like a bad smell, possibly due to the many empty and closed units (among the opened ones) which make the high street feel temporary and activity sparse.
In the middle of it I encountered the anti lockdown demonstration which , at the time I crossed it with my bike, was taking over New Oxford street.
A few meters north, by the Brunswick Centre (where several elderly had pulled up a chair to sit in the sun outside their homes) I was faced with five speeding police vans full of masked policemen driving south towards (I assumed ) the demonstration.
At the Francis Crick Institute, where the vaccination centre is, I was impressed with the kindness displayed by the team working there.
I loved to see that it was a reflection of the diversity of cultures that share London with every one of them making sure that all visitors were comfortable and well looked after.
I mention diversity because it is the first time in our lifetimes, a vaccine has been offered to such an extremely diverse population, and it is very important to have a team with whom anyone walking through the door can communicate with. (We all know that communication is not about language but culture, mannerisms etc)
Finally, before reaching home, I crossed kings cross which was full of families and friends enjoying the day.
It was as though there was normality... Although ,the lack of a queue outside Dishoom was a sign that normality is a bit further along the line.
