The lucky ones

My parents, who both grew-up during the Second World War, would always say that "my generation were the lucky ones." Of course, they were right. We have never had to ensure the hardship of war, food rationing or a curfew.

So the lockdown has obviously come as a shock. Discovering that the majority of shops are closed and you can't go to your nearest bar for a drink or your favourite restaurant for a meal, is difficult to swallow. It's not really a major hardship; in the words of Good Morning Britain presenter, Piers Morgan, we are not being asked to "go over the top in the trenches" as our grandfathers or great grandfathers did during the First World War, we are just being asked to stay at home and watch telly. But I am happy to say that the same spirit which guided our parents through the hard times still exists today.

In Spain, every night, thousands of people go out on their balconies to applaud health workers and overall most people are taking the lockdown in good spirits.

In Britain the government asked for 250,000 volunteers to help the National Health Service, and they had 500,000 applications within hours.

There have been many examples of kindness and community spirit; neighbours who hardly spoke to each are now firm friends. We maybe the lucky generation but we do have a backbone and can cope.