…in my own little chair! Well, that’s where I have spent the last 7 days and have just 3 more to go! I enjoy being at home, but it is the little things you miss. I don’t always want to go out but knowing that you can’t makes it harder. I have received many messages of support and I want to thank everyone for them. Usually, I would reply to every message I receive, but tiredness has prevented me from doing so. So, on this occasion I hope you will forgive me. In many ways the time has gone quickly, in other ways it has dragged. I have done very little over the past week, but yesterday found myself looking at my diary and thinking ahead. I suppose the news of a vaccine has lifted everyone’s spirits, but even thinking about the possibility of live music again fills me with so much joy. Yet, time at home makes you value everything around you just that little bit more. All the things you take for granted come sharply in to focus and I know that whatever the future holds those who are important to me will remain so. I have not lost my appetite for social media and have kept up to date with what is happening around the world. For most of my life I have been in leadership roles, admittedly not running a country, but one thing that has always been at the forefront of any decision I have made is that it should be the right one! That doesn’t always mean it has to be the popular decision, but taking all things into account and weighing up all sides of every argument, you have to feel comfortable with the decision you have made and stand by it. It sounds simple doesn’t it! Am I going to skirt around the issues I am referring to, probably, as there are always two sides to a story, but I have always been guided by perception and the preservation of the wider community. There will always be those who criticise and offer alternatives, but when you are the one making the decision, the only person you have to live with is yourself!

A week away from online activities has made me realise just how important keeping in touch with each other has been, especially to those who live alone, or who have tried to maintain a little sense of normality over the past few months. I can’t begin to imagine what it must be like for those who have had little or no income since March and for those who are unable to see anything into the future. In my line of work so much has been lost by so many. Yet, there are some of us who have been fortunate. What a difference just a few months can make to someone’s life. To all of those struggling in the arts and to those businesses that have suffered it must be so difficult to see an end to everything. But there will be an end and we will pick ourselves up and we will find a way back.

Of course, TV has kept me going this last week – ‘Strictly’ continues to entertain and although not everyone’s cup of tea ‘I’m a Celebrity’ has kept me amused. The final of ‘Bake Off’ looms this week and I do have my favourite! This morning, being up early for a supermarket delivery…and I was quite excited at the prospect I watched Opera North’s live stream of Kurt Weill’s ‘The Seven Deadly Sins’ directed and choreographed by my friend Gary Clarke. It was available for a limited time only, but what a triumph. Look out for a live performance in 2021!

In closing, I want to pay tribute to my wonderful Grandmother, who left us 14 years ago today. As time passes, we all become closer and miss the little things. Her encouragement and love for her family was without question. She wasn’t always able to show it, but she was a tower of strength and proud beyond belief of her family. Being born in 1916 meant she was of a different generation, but we all become our parents and grandparents eventually and the values we are taught as a child are never very far away!