When all of this over, it’s time for a rethink on the jobs we do – Kevin Buckle

If ever there was a time to seriously engage with businesses in the Capital it is now, writes Kevin Buckle

If anything good does come from this pandemic it should be that we have a far stronger and valued NHS (Picture: Getty

I regularly come across the phrase “when all of this is over”, which in the very specific context of a lockdown is understandable in that I’m sure we all look forward to the end of the current restrictions, but beyond that, really what has happened should never be over and of course never be forgotten.

The problem may well be that there are many who have a vested interest in things going back to the way they were and more importantly they may to a large extent be the people in charge of ‘the recovery’.

Recovery to many seems to be about getting back to how things used to be and while it is reasonable to talk about the economy recovering, what should really happen once the Covid-19 virus no longer affects our lives is that there is a resolve that things will be very different in the future.

Obviously starting at the top, society will need to re-evaluate the worth of the jobs people, do but in the end there will have to be winners and losers.

Similarly already it is clear that those who argue for safeguarding green spaces will see this as strengthening their case, and while they may not be wrong, I’ve already seen the anti-car lobby twisting things to suit their purpose in a less convincing way.

If truth be told, there are many things that it would be good to see but are not essential, and if anything good does come from this pandemic it should be that we have a far stronger and valued NHS.

Hopefully, though, there will be much wider implications that mean in years to come people will judge that some positives came from such a distressing time.

From a business viewpoint I read that already Edinburgh council is making plans for an economic recovery, but it was all the usual stuff about bringing back the tourists and attractions

As ever, helping small independent businesses gets a mention but it has been clear for years that Edinburgh is marketed by people with no business experience themselves who just assume that bringing people to Edinburgh is enough.

Small businesses, of which there are still many in the city centre and beyond, are of course notorious for not getting involved in any plans to help them, mainly because they are too busy just keeping afloat.

If ever there was a time to seriously engage with those businesses it is now, when most do actually have some time on their hands, but I’m not hopeful.

On a lighter note, just before the hoarding of toilet rolls started I had plenty. As the panic evolved I steadfastly refused to buy more even when they loaded the shelves next to me in Sainsbury’s as I stood in the queue. However eventually I did start to run low and there were none to be had.

My back-up plan of ordering from Viking the office supplies people foundered, out of stock.

Finally and at great expense their large, and I mean large, toilet rolls came back in stock. The kind you get in a public toilet dispenser. I ordered two packs of four. Not long after my youngest daughter managed to get more as shelves filled again but I’ve stuck with my purchase.

I’ve not done the maths but they are many times the size of a normal roll – to the point that I was convinced the first roll was regenerating as it never seemed to get smaller. On the plus side, I may well have enough toilet roll to get me to Christmas!