| Good evening, In some ways the last 12 months have passed painfully slowly as we have been locked down in our homes for the majority of it. And yet, a year ago seems like a lifetime away in so many ways. It is 12 long months since many of us have seen friends or even family, other than via a laptop and some of us will not have socialised outside our homes even in those few brief months last summer when we were allowed ‘off the leash.” Even though many of us have now been vaccinated against this terrible disease, it will take us a long time to have the confidence to be in a public place with hundreds of other folk....and that’s when mixing of that kind is finally allowed again. Yes, the pandemic has certainly changed our lives forever. And for those who have lost people, it will never be quite the same again. But perhaps it is not all for the bad. Perhaps today, on the first lockdown, we can look back and appreciate what we have a little more and learn to love the things in life which money cannot buy - a hug from a friend or a catch up with family. All the best and take care, Gillian Parkinson Editor Email me at [email protected] I would like to ask if those of you who do not yet subscribe to www.lep.co.uk or www.blackpoolgazette.co.uk would consider taking out a digital subscription. By doing so, you are supporting local, community journalism and helping to ensure that it survives and thrives. A subscription gives you unlimited access to the site, for all the news and sport you need - and more, including our newly-launched Puzzles section. You can subscribe here: https://www.lep.co.uk/subscriptions for the Post and here https://www.blackpoolgazette.co.uk/subscriptions for the Gazette. And thank you. | 
