The 10 most iconic things we remember from the lockdown of summer 2020
As the summer of 2020 comes to a somewhat defiant close (gotta love this indian summer), we thought it would be great to reflect on what is bound to go down in history as one of the most memorable summers in recent history. Here’s our list, which is no particular order:
1- Social Injustice. BLM. 
Photo by James Eades on Unsplash
Social injustices exist and that is the sad reality. Triggered by the killing of George Floyd, the BLM movement finally got the platform it deserved, and we saw a united front across the world in support of the movement. This new window into the daily lives of black people led to more people educating themselves in the matter and getting involved to help the cause.
One thing to take away from this is that we need to open our eyes and see the injustice around us. But it doesn’t stop there. We have to talk about it, have these uncomfortable conversations to raise awareness towards social injustices and racism. We are stronger together. The conversation is far from over around this subject so keep on learning and spreading your knowledge.
2- Appreciation for the NHS and essential workers.
While we were all going insane and didn’t know what was happening, our brave NHS and essential workers all had to stay focused to keep our world turning. We rose as a society and took some time to stop and acknowledge all their hard work and how they are making our daily lives so much better with our Thursday evening claps. We don’t see most of these workers on a day to day basis but now we have become appreciative of them.
We will definitely keep being thankful for them and their hard work. Let’s keep being kind to our cashiers at the grocery store, to the nurses that do our check ups and to everyone else that has a job dedicated to make our lives a bit easier. Vemacity will be showing our appreciation to these heroes in the coming weeks, so keep an eye out for that!
3- Tiger King.
Who can forget the twist and turns of Joe Exotic’s life who kept us busy for 1 or 2 days during the pandemic? The Tiger King movement was our first biggest distraction from the wave of lockdown news. It was the escapism we were all looking for and probably made coronavirus seem a little less crazy, if that makes sense?
Even if we are still not able to explain or do a summary of the show, I know what I took from it. Tigers are not pets, having something to talk about with people you love brings a sense of comfort and Carole Baskin killed her husband.
4- The house party app.
Who else has completely forgotten about the House Party app? Come on be honest. Whatever the case may be, it was really a god send for a short period of time when things were at their craziest. For us it created some truly signature moments by connecting us with our friends and families in a way we would never thought possible. In some ways, it brought closer to people who were on the periphery of our circle. You might not have used this specific app but we all found a way to reach out to the ones we love to laugh, cry, be silly, enjoy a drink, etc.
The big takeaway for us is that love is there to stay. No matter what the distance is, you can always connect with the one you love. If you miss someone, give them a call! They will appreciate it.
5- Getting creative in your home bar!
We are all used to heading to the pub and having a pint with our mates. This whole lockdown certainly affected our social habits. However, in true British form it did not stop us from finding a reason to celebrate anything with a drink. A curious byproduct of this is that we actually learned something new! Yes, learning (crazy I know)! Some of us even learned to make delicious cocktails, while others experimented with various beers from the supermarket. You might have even grown your gin collection like us. But one thing is for sure we have found some ways to turn our kitchen into a home bar when Saturday nights hit.
The great news from this is that a good cocktail doesn’t have to cost £10 and drinking at home means you can wear something comfy and watch the ‘telly’. Creating signature moments at home is something we will keep on doing.
6- A spotlight on mental health. Try to enjoy the simple things.
One thing we must take away from the lockdown is to appreciate small things. Reading a book in your garden, talking to a loved one over the phone, taking a moment to pick up a hobby you had a left off for a while, these are all things you might have appreciated more during lockdown.
This pause in our daily rushed lives has taught us to take time for ourselves and do the things we love. Life is stressful and this unconventional phase allowed a lot of us time to reflect and gave us some much needed ‘me time’ for the first time in years. We need to remember to press pause more often, pour out a lovely crisp G&T and check in with yourself.
7- Tik Tok
Tik Tok is sorta like marmite, you either love it or hate it. One thing can’t be denied, it took off in a big way during lockdown.Whichever side you are on, you can’t deny that the conversation around the app brought some well needed subject matter to the table when all we could talk about was not having any pasta or the queue at the supermarket.
For those of you who have been on Tik Tok you have probably learned that anyone can dance, it’s ok to get crazy once in a while and laughing is the best medicine. This simple app absolutely helped to brighten the days of millions of users across the globe. So thank you to all you Tik Tok’ers out there.
8- Toilet Paper
So we probably all remember turning into the toilet paper aisle and seeing all these empty shelves at the beginning of lockdown. I think what we were wondering the most was: why toilet paper in particular? I understand the pasta and the non-perishable foods etc. But toilet paper?? COME ON.
Hopefully as we turn into what looks like a second wave and a lockdown Christmas, we can curb our urge to panic and only buy what we need. Or we could all just panic again and buy shares in Andrex. Your call.
9- Working from home.
Working from home, what is your take on it? We know some of you guys loved it while others went completely mad. On paper it should be great right? But it came with its challenges, cabin fever being the biggest problem for most of us. One thing we can all agree on is that working in your pyjamas is fabulous. In fact, I’m writing this with a gin in hand wearing my pyjamas. Hopefully, you can’t tell.
10- Empty Cities and public transport.
Photo by Andy Parsons
If you are based in London or a big city, you might have been lucky enough to walk in empty streets and see the tourist sites like never before. The whole city felt like a scene from a post-apocalyptic movie. No one to be seen or heard, eerie at times, yet calming and beautiful in it’s own way.
Even if this emptiness might have felt overwhelming at times, it was nice to appreciate our surroundings and learn to love our neighborhood and cities again. Many of us discovered hidden gems close to our home while having our daily run.