2020 Year in Review: This is what we’ve learned about London during this Weird Year

As the year draws to a close (Thank God for that), we take the opportunity to look back on the previous 12 months.

No one could have predicted at the end of 2019 what 2020 was going to bring.

2020 became a series of rolling disasters—the killing of George Floyd, the burning of California, an acrimonious political battle marred by baseless allegations of fraud and unlawful voting, and the worst pandemic the world has witnessed in more than a century. But amid the tragedies, there was courage and strength; there was grace, sacrifice, and hope—there were those faced with the very worst rising to be their very best. Few will recall the year just ending with anything close to fondness. But it will indeed be recalled with no small measure of pride.

Unable to rely on the usual triad of mates, great food and booze, Londoners had to explore innovative ways to promote positivity. In the toughest of conditions, the city's ever-resourceful pubs, cafes, restaurants, galleries, theatres, artists and performers have found ingenious ways to keep going. And while their busy lives were on hold, Londoners learned and uncovered new things about the capital.

Londoners care deeply about toilets.

It was the year of the wild wee. With public toilets shut across the city, people responded to the call of nature, in nature. Fines for urinating in public were issued; people were urgently demanding for the return of public toilets, and as soon as WCs reopened across town, a map of London's public lavatories became viral.

A global pandemic was what Londoners needed to talk to their neighbours.

As we all spent more time at home than ever, those meetings in the courtyard have become a regular activity. Then the conversations turned into cups of coffee, the coffee turned into cans of beer, and in the early hours of the morning, we were drunkenly singing along with Prince.

The Londoners will queue for plants...

When the Columbia Road flower market reopened in July, the queues were massive.

Like really, really big.

But also to have their hair cut ...

Singing together despite coronavirus.

Concerts and rehealsals have been cancelled because of the coronavirus outbreak. But Camden Voices choir have assembled virtually for a beautiful rendition of 'True Colours'.

We all love the goddamn NHS.

Furloughed Foodies, Meals for the NHS, The Felix Project, Yard Sale Pizza, Crosstown Doughnuts and many more provided for NHS frontline staff thousands of meals during the lockdown. Change Please, a programme that supports getting homeless people trained as baristas began making free coffees for NHS workers. So did Grind and Paul Bakery. God, we're all so good, aren't we?

London can do drive-in cinema.

Drive-in-theatre seemed like something Fonz would do on a beautiful sunny American night. Except it turns out that this is something you can do in a drizzle in Hendon, too. The drizzle aside – watching a film through a foggy windscreen isn't ideal – it filled a void for those who craved for big screens and big snacks. Obviously, a lot less so if you don't have a car.

Towpaths are ace ballet venues.

 Although London's great stages were closed, a group of dancers from the Royal Ballet took the matter in their own hands and began performing impromptu dance shows along the Regent's Canal. It was an opportunity to entertain the dancers. It was a unique opportunity for the public to watch a live performance for free. You don't ever hear crowds shouting 'One more dance. There's another dance! 'In an industrial estate.

London creativity will never chase to surprise.

Perhaps misinterpreting the new guidelines from the Government on coronavirus, a man ensured he wore a blue cover but put it in the wrong place while walking down Oxford Street.

Some of the people stopped in their tracks to take photographs of the man and others were in disbelief.

It was not clear what triggered the stunt, but a photographer from Reuters' office above the street caught his walk.

London's pollution problem is solvable.

When flights were grounded, the roads were quiet, and a large proportion of Londoners were experiencing existential crises from home; scientists recorded large drops in nitrogen dioxide pollutants. Readings also suggest that capital saw a reduction of almost 60% in toxic carbon emissions between the beginning of March and May 2020.

London's homelessness problem is fixable.

When the UK closed down, the Government managed to rehouse London's homeless population immediately. Something they had previously argued would take years to do. It has proved that with enough political will and resources) nobody needs to be homeless.

Soho's and covent garden streets have nothing to envy to other cities in the continent

Just in time for the UK's July 4 celebrations, Soho was granted the green light for pedestrianisation. Officially, the plans were dubbed the 'Soho Summer Street Festival'. Cue Daily Mail horror headlines. But the transformed area actually had a rather Continental vibe.

We are not “all in it together”

Crises such as the pandemic are a stress test of the systems that seek to protect the disadvantaged in society, revealing the shortcomings of those systems, showing the unequal distribution of exposure, vulnerability and consequences. These events send shock waves across society, revealing existing flaws contributing to cycles of implications, including the early deaths of the epidemic to the economic and social consequences of prevention measures. We have seen only the first wave of impacts so far and the disparities produced are likely to be exacerbated by subsequent waves.

We have to learn from the existing wealth of information on health inequalities to learn how these covid-19-related inequalities are generated  to prevent them.

A new year. A new start. And things will change

Stay safe and look after eachother.