From the editor; less than 100 days but who is actually counting yet in 2020

I am far from bah humbug, I love nothing more than a good Chrimbo but the talk this year is even more bizarre than ever.

Are we looking at the Prime Minister who stole Christmas with his lockdown measures? The mere thought of the cartoons on that subject have made me chuckle and I am sure it is giving the advisors in number ten a huge headache. At least that gives us something to smile about!

Right now, none of us know if we will even be able to see our nearest and dearest in December, let alone plan so far ahead. There is a sense of being forced to wait and see what the government decides, which is bound to worry us all considering the evidence seems to show that exactly this kind of hesitation cost many lives back in March.

Perhaps this year we really do need something to look forward to, something positive even if we’re not sure what shape it will take. But I sincerely hope there will be good times before December.

It is a couple of weeks now since I first noticed space being cleared on shop shelves. At first I naively thought it was just getting rid of summer stock but the realisation soon dawned that it was for the great spendathon that stretches from August to December 25. I’m not ready and none of us need to be. In 2020, three months can be a long time and an awful lot can change.

The leaves have hardly started to change colour and the novice gardeners who were created by lockdown still have harvest to enjoy. I love the changing of the seasons but at a time when anxiety is higher than normal for most, it is more important than ever to enjoy the simple things.

However, people are kinder at Christmas, they make more time for each other and they smile more. Let’s not wait for that. So many of us are struggling with the thought of a second wave that we all need a generous dose of niceness now. Please don’t hold back, give your neighbour a wave and call a lonely friend. It makes a difference in these strange times, just take care of yourself too.