Comment - Be uplifted by the people looking to a better future

As we monitor the Covid news every day it’s easy to forget the future.
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Living Groundhog lives in lockdown, while keeping a wary eye on the figures: cases up, hospital numbers up, deaths up.

So much short term stuff is unknown.

We could be next to get it, our kids could be sent home to quarantine for two weeks, or lockdown might be extended. And we can’t yet say what Christmas will look like.

Eagle Works in the Little Kelham development, the new home of The Floristry School, Isabella's and Simoda. Pic by CituEagle Works in the Little Kelham development, the new home of The Floristry School, Isabella's and Simoda. Pic by Citu
Eagle Works in the Little Kelham development, the new home of The Floristry School, Isabella's and Simoda. Pic by Citu
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But some people are thinking and planning ahead because they know at some point all this will be over.

This week we reported on three firms taking space in the Little Kelham development at Kelham Island. They are three huge votes of confidence in the city - and look to at time when commerce comes fully back to life.

One of the trio is a 70-cover restaurant and cocktail bar called Isabellas by Steve Miccoli. This shows a remarkable optimism since currently all restaurants are closed, apart from for takeaways.

But it depends on your timescale.

The Star Business Editor David Walsh.The Star Business Editor David Walsh.
The Star Business Editor David Walsh.

The first mention of a Covid-free future was articulated by Mark Haywood, boss of law firm CMS, last month. He confirmed moving 350 staff into the HSBC building in the Heart of the City II in December was ‘very much still on’.

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The firm has taken a 20-year lease. And in that time frame 2020, hopefully, will be just a blip.

More immediately, a record 3,092 companies have been set up in Sheffield in the first eight months of this year, despite everything. Or maybe because of. Thousands were on furlough or had been made redundant and decided to take matters into their own hands.

Either way, that’s a lot of people looking to a better future.

And this week we learned the UK economy grew by 15.5 per cent in the three months to September — its largest quarterly expansion on record. It still has a way to go to get back to where it was. But it’s encouraging nonetheless.

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News of a vaccine potentially coming soon is also to be welcomed.

People seizing the day now offer an uplifting promise of a future when life is back to normal.

Sometimes, just gazing at the horizon is one of the most enjoyable things you can do.

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