Me and the Pharma.

Later this afternoon I should be sat in a pub in Hammersmith, enjoying a pint after a satisfying walk across the parks of Bushy and Richmond and the common of Barnes and looking forward to a vegetarian curry in Sagar. It would have been the first London by Foot walk of 2021 but, as with last year, it's been postponed again. You all know why.

It's disappointing. But it's understandable. I do, however, feel quite confident that the walk will happen in 2022 and one of the reasons I feel confident about that is because earlier today I took a walk to the Tessa Jowell Health Centre in East Dulwich, rolled my sleeve up, and a had a needle full of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine injected into my arm by a friendly lady called Kirsty.

If I ruled the world I'm not sure everyday would be the first day of spring but today IS the first day of spring and though, for me, it could be a little warmer it's not been a bad one. I woke up, had some breakfast, checked some emails while listening to Late Junction, had a chat with my mum, had a cup of tea and some macaroni cheese and set off down to East Dulwich

It's a short walk, about forty minutes, and it's one I've made many times before. Often to meet friends (many of whom have long since moved away from the area) and, more recently, during last year's summer lockdown walks - a convenient route that took me past Oddoni's gelati parlour so that I could enjoy a choc chip ice cream on my constitutional.

Today though, I walked with a different sense of purpose. Historically, despite having operations on my leg and even my face - and quite a lot of dental work after falling off a bike (which involved having sixteen stitches in my chin and another six in my lip), I've not been keen on needles or injections. I'm still not now. They're not my idea of fun but I surprised myself by not being particularly anxious about this one. Everyone had said it didn't hurt at all and they were completely right.

I expected at least a twinge of pain but I felt nothing. After the needle had gone in, I asked "is that it?". Like a disappointed bride on her wedding night. Everything else was remarkably straightforward as well. The Tessa Jowell Health Centre was clean, had no queue of people waiting, and the three or four people I saw working there were all friendly and efficient.

The whole operation could hardly have gone more smoothly. From receiving a text during a midweek jaunt to Jay's Budgens in Crofton Park (the only place round here I can find that sells Quorn tikka masala) to signing up for the jab (confirm your date of birth, choose from a selection of days and times and a choice of two venues) and on to actually getting it. Everything went exactly as it should have done.

Kirsty was friendly and asked how I was, what work I did (I told her I was starting work at a company that provides pharmaceutical equipment on Monday - and quickly followed by telling her that I am not a scientist), and, on leaving, and after warning me I may have a sore arm later tonight or tomorrow but that's nothing to worry about, wished me a good weekend.

As I did her. Feeling happy, I thanked each member of staff and volunteer I saw on the way out and headed back home. I passed the East Dulwich Picturehouse, the Dulwich Tandoori, the fantastic Hisar Turkish eaterie, and The Great Exhibition pub and I thought about all the good times I'd spent in those places and how, soon, I would be able to do so again.

A blackboard outside the East Dulwich Tavern even boasted "Open for Takeaway - APRIL 12th" and if the weather is good enough there's a strong possibility I'll take advantage of that. But, more than that, getting the jab (or the first part of it - the next will come in eleven to twelve weeks) felt to me like turning a corner after over a year of not being able to live normally.

Whatever that even is. The fact that so many of my friends (as least those over fifty, most of my friendship group straddles that late forties/early fifties line) have either had their vaccine this week (even today in the case of Tony, Colin, and Sharon) or are having it next week means we are a happy breed at the moment.

I will be happier still when I get a new phone with a camera that doesn't have a blurred lens. I would have loved to have been able to celebrate with friends over a coffee, a beer, or a tasty Turkish or Indian meal but that will have to wait a little longer. Instead, this evening, I will celebrate with friends on Zoom doing a Kahoot quiz and with a pizza and a couple of lagers from the fridge.

While keeping in mind that rates of infection are surging in parts of Europe again at the moment, I remain confident that things are starting to improve in the pandemic in the UK for which I have to wholeheartedly thank the NHS for. Give them a bigger pay rise, show faith in them and they will, as they always have for me, deliver.

As I walked back home along Goose Green and Peckham Rye Common I looked at the daffodils beginning to bloom and the trees slowly coming into blossom. By next month they will have transformed these wet grey streets into a riot of beautiful colour. Spring has sprung. Not just in nature but in my heart.