_{A gentle return}

Blog by Helen Willmott, Programme Director, Made With Many.

Last week I saw something on Twitter that was super relatable. The tweet simply said something like ‘we’ve got to the point of lockdown when every person is either a) desperately lonely or b) desperate to be alone’. It really rang true with both my own experiences over the last year, and those of my family, friends and colleagues.

For those of us in camp A, including people like myself who live alone, the extended periods of lockdown have resulted in limited social interaction and often far too much screen time. For me, it was such a relief to meet outside with friends over the Easter weekend and have a proper catch-up over a cup of team rather than staring at their webcams on my laptop.

Then there’s those people in the second category, like my friends with busy households with multiple children or several generations living together, who have spent a lot of time with the same few people. We all know that the ‘grass is always greener on the other side’, so whilst I crave a full noisy room, many people that I know are craving solitude and a moment of quiet.

And we need to remember that many people, whatever their home situation, will be quite anxious about returning to busy places and the risks to our health that might pose. So, at Made With Many we’re planning for a gentle return to in-person events, balancing opportunities for some people to meet with friends, family and maybe meet new people in a safe and supportive place with the chance for others to keep a distance, do something just for themselves and take a deep, relaxing breath of fresh air.

Over the coming month, we’ll be announcing further details of our first in-person events in over a year. Keep an eye on our website and social channels to be amongst the first to find out more details.

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