Radical Rethink blog: The future for leisure and pleasure

04 May Radical Rethink blog: The future for leisure and pleasure

As we ease our way out of lockdown three has the way we enjoy our leisure time fundamentally changed forever after Covid?

I mean more than marching down the pub for an impromptu pint – but watching and playing sport, going to the theatre, cinema and gigs, visiting museums and other places of interest.

As a former sportswriter and big fan of watching events both in person live and on telly, I really missed sport during the first lockdown.

On Saturday afternoons, when I’d usually have been following West Brom’s exploits, I’d mooch around Warndon Villages listening to the informative coronavirus phone-in on Radio 5 Live and longing for the days when I’d be able to hear the iconic ‘It’s a goal’ air siren on BBC WM again.

Confined to the house on Friday evenings, we’d tackle Sam Matterface’s football quizzes on TalkSPORT and ache for the days when we could watch round the clock Olympics and cricket at New Road, home of Worcestershire County Cricket Club.

Fast forward 12 months and we’ve had Project Restart in football, Test cricket behind closed doors, golf tournaments, rugby (both codes), darts and more. Wembley Stadium opened its doors to 8,000 spectators for the Carabao Cup final and the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield was full for what proved to be a thrilling World Championship Snooker final.

But what of our own leisure activities post-Covid? How confident will we feel attending big sports events, going to gyms, attending gigs in large arenas or busy bank holiday fairs at stately homes?

Will we be happy to continue reserving time slot tickets to heritage sites in the hope that if we arrive late we won’t have forfeit our booking? Will we continue to be shown to our specific seats – unable to roam around venues at will as before? Might we actually get so used to this new experience it becomes the expected norm?

Is spontaneity, for example, like jumping in the car to visit the coast going to become a thing of the past with days out requiring strategic planning? Will we consciously avoid places that are full of people and stay closer to home instead? How soon will we be considering a holiday abroad too?

One thing’s for sure, lockdowns one, two and three gave us ample opportunity to appreciate the free, joyous things in our own locality from bluebell woods, morning birdsong or a simple stroll along the river.

Will we cherish our personal space so much that packed queues will be seen as socially unacceptable as smoking in pubs or spitting in the street. As for free-for-all queueing and shouting your orders in pub bars – surely that needs completely kicking into touch now?

We’ll be exploring what the future holds for our spare time in this month’s Radical Rethink webinar on Friday, May 14 from 10am to midday, when our theme will be leisure and pleasure.

Find out more on our Radical Rethink page and book your place via Eventbrite. Each webinar costs £10 to attend including a donation to our chosen charity Worcester Foodbank.

Teresa Green