Two years have gone by. We've emerged from the pandemic to pick up the pieces, though our recovery is way behind that of other European countries. Our poor beleaguered NHS is facing sustained pressure - handclaps were never going to pay the bills - and people's incomes are dropping like stones. As if the pain of recovery were not enough, the world is embroiled in yet another war. Meanwhile, the planet...
So yes, there is a mood of despondency and there is very real anger out there, yet people continue to inspire and shine a light in the darkness.
In 2021 I had the good fortune to be involved with a multi-arts project working across six different community hospitals in Oxfordshire. Older people and those who are frail tend to spend a long time on the ward. It doesn't matter how hard nurses and doctors work, how warm and compassionate they are, people just want to be home amongst familiar faces and in their own bed. Enter a team of talented visual artists, a movement practitioner, a musician and a poet... We didn't disrupt the routine - the delivery o