I had a lovely phone chat yesterday with a friend, she is very similar in her outlook about the pandemic to me and her husband nurses covid patients so they always took it seriously. Things are easing a little with new infections in the UK (nationally they are half what they were a few weeks back) but we are still seeing the higher deaths from the previously high infection rate. In our area they are sending patients from the other end of the country because those hospitals are overwhelmed. So the people he nurses are far from home.

Are people finding their friendships have been affected by this whole pandemic? I have a friend who early on in first lockdown didn't follow guidance fully and voiced admiration for his friends who didn't follow it at all. I feel petty for saying this but my opinion of him changed. On the other hand overwhelmingly most of my friends took it very seriously like me and although we haven't been able to meet much texts and calls with them have been a great comfort.

This other friend does seem to have changed his mind since the 2nd wave and is taking it seriously now but I am left feeling the friendship is not the same, I do think less of him than I did and to be fair maybe he feels the same. It's sad but maybe this uncovered a fundamental difference between us (he seems to value freedom of the individual whereas I felt it should be temporarily sacrificed for the good of the whole population).