I emerged from our box seat door at the Royal Albert Hall and asked a staffer where the nearest bar was. She responded “Right here, sir” and pointed to a door about 6 feet away.
I made an involuntary, quiet but plainly audible noise of pleasant surprise. Thanked the staffer and then returned to our box with a bottle of champagne and two glasses for Shannon and myself.
Extravagant? Without question.
Important? Absolutely.
Remember the pandemic?
Oh, that’s right it’s still happening.
We just came home to Canada after a couple of weeks in the UK for filming and a little (read: a lot of) fun. From masking at the airport and on the plane and on public transit you could tell we’re not quite done with the pandemic yet. We’re getting close but we still kinda want to put our fingers into a cross shape when we hear someone next to us cough.
Side note: My allergies attacked in the middle of Kensington Gardens resulting in sniffles and coughing and I was immediately offered as much personal space by those around me as possible. A bottle of water and all was resolved but for a bit I was taking up about a £1 million in London real estate just for myself.
But through all of of the precautions and worry that lives in the back of our minds is this, new to some, realization that we’re running out of time. So, there’s an exuberance (you heard me) for simple activities like a pint at the pub. There’s abundant joy in going for a walk. There’s an eager and fabulous conversation with your taxi driver.
There’s also a sense of urgency for planning trips and experiences.
I spoke to many people on our trip and a thread emerged…
Many things have been taken from us during COVID’s reign of terror.
Loved ones died or became ill.
Businesses collapsed.
Experiences and opportunities were lost.
And we all lost time.
That realization that two plus years were taken from us is hitting now.
Our kids got older.
Our parents got frailer.
We got older.
We all lost time… and a lot of us are doing our damnedest to make up for lost time.
I know I often harp on about how the clock is ticking but… thinking back on the last two years has made that clock almost deafening to a lot of us.
Want to do something you’ve always wanted to do?
It’s time.
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Momento mori ! Yes, do it now. What were you filming anad will we see it eventually ?