Sometimes the little victories mean just as much as the more profound ones, and over the last month I have been working to help a constituent get his Facebook page restored after it was hacked. Finally this week I heard it was all back up and running, which mattered a great deal as it was also the way he promoted his business. During the pandemic we have seen many small businesses really struggle, so to have lost his main tool of business advertising had been incredibly difficult, so whilst many will dismiss social media as trivia, to him it was about keeping food on the table.
This week I have also done my first Instagram live – which was interesting. I always say I keep Instagram for my Alfie, who has had puppy pictures up on the site since he first arrived with me last September. However, I have had a small foray into Instagram to talk about wellbeing and the spa industry. This might not be a specialist subject, but it has been fascinating to connect with a huge number of female led businesses up and down the country.
The announcement on mandatory masks in shops this week has been the big political talking point, and I have had many emails from constituents on the subject, both for and against. I first heard from David Flavell of Leukaemia Busters on this subject back in April. I delivered a face mask to every member of the Cabinet and Shadow Cabinet on his behalf in May, but not until July have they been mandated in shops. As I have consistently said, this is not about keeping you safe, it is about preventing you potentially spreading the virus to others, so it is a pretty altruistic thing to do to just wear a mask. I will acknowledge I had been trying to train myself to keep a supply of masks on hand at all times, but it is absolutely guaranteed that when I need to go shopping I will have mislaid them all.
With pubs now re-open I am looking forward to getting back out and about to some of my favourites over the summer, hopefully with the Eat Out to Help Out offer in place! The applications are now open via www.gov.uk and I do hope a good number locally will participate.
