Coronavirus - (COVID-19). Guidance for social distancing can be found on this Government website.

I do hope that this online version of the Journal finds you all well and coping as best you can with the latest lockdown..

I have found it so much more difficult this time - the weather during the first lockdown was glorious and made the 'stay at home' rules so much easier to deal with. It seems to have been raining virtually non-stop since about October which has hardly helped.

Whatever your views on how the Government has handled the pandemic, they must be congratulated on the vaccine rollout - it has been truly inspiring and hopefully gives us the best way out of lockdown.

Thankfully the number of cases of the virus in Buntingford have come down dramatically from a very serious peak in mid-January when we were experiencing case-per-100,000 levels amongst the highest in Hertfordshire.

It is still so difficult to make any long-term arrangements. We were due to hold the Buntingford Carnival this coming June, but although Covid progress is being made it is difficult to see how any 'mass' gatherings like the Carnival will be permitted. The planned Summer Arts Festival has already been put back to 2022 and there are still doubts if the Classic Car Show will be allowed.

One meeting which will happen this year because we can do it on Zoom is the Civic Society's A.G.M. This was cancelled last year because we were in the thick of the first lockdown and had not then mastered doing things digitally. I'm not sure we've mastered it now, but we are going to give it a go! We are keeping it simple and there will not be a visiting speaker, but all the other usual A.G.M. business will be dealt with. If you would like to join us on Zoom, please make a note of the date which is Tuesday 20th April, from 7pm. There will be more information on local social media sites nearer the time, and also, of course, in the April Journal and on the Civic Society's own website.

Apologies for the 'downbeat' nature of my article this month - at least Spring should be with us soon and I always find that time of year uplifting. So best wishes to you all, keep well, stick to the rules and hopefully we will soon be in a better place.

Graham Bonner, Chairman, Buntingford Civic Society

If you have any queries about Buntingford Civic Society or issues you would like to raise, you can email the Chairman direct at chairman@buntingfordcivic.org.uk.

More information about the Buntingford Civic Society can be found here and membership forms can be found here.

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