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How is the coronavirus pandemic affecting your life right now? Tell us about your experiences, feelings, and thoughts.

My son had his 21st birthday on Tuesday - his second full lockdown birthday. Here in the UK, the 21st is the big coming-of-age when you go out with your friends and party hard. Nope. He was at home with his parents and big sister for the second year in a row. His presents had all been purchased online and at the supermarket, the only shop that is open. HOWEVER, this year's gifts were much more hopeful than last year's - last year's included a "Coronavirus Survival Kit" containing (among other things) painkillers and a humidifier - this year's big gift was a coffee maker that he can take with him when he returns to university to the flat that he shares with his friends next week. In other coronavirus-related news, I have had a third week of volunteering at our local vaccination centres, which is a very uplifting experience. One of the centres I get sent to is an old town hall in a small town in the middle of the foothills to the Scottish Highlands. It has a "sprung" wooden dance floor and a small stage and feels like it is better suited for ceilidhs and pantomimes than as a temporary NHS facility, but I love how handily it has been repurposed in this time of emergency, and I am really happy to be able to help out in a small way. And the local outdoor Saturday farmer's market was held this week for the first time since December 2020! That was fun - we bumped into neighbours there that we haven't seen for months. It was a warm, sunny day and everybody was very cheerful. There was one moment where I felt that too many people were gathered in one place too close together, but everyone was wearing masks, and it was easy to go around the cluster. Not something I would have even thought about a year and a half ago. So - the pandemic is very much with us in our day to day life (I mean, we have been under a HARD lockdown since before Christmas - THREE AND A HALF MONTHS - and only tomorrow, a week into April, will we be cautiously relaxing our rules - most retail and restaurants will still not be open for another two weeks and we are still not allowed in anyone else's house). But things definitely feel like they are looking up