Since the Corona Virus lockdown we have seen examples of nature reclaiming our environment.
Numerous animal species have been moving into locked-down areas. These have included sheep and goats wandering into British town centres and sharks basking in harbours around the world.
We are also seeing something similar in Blackburn town centre. But it’s not just four-legged creatures moving into our town centre, two-legged ones have also been observed.
Young people, who depend on other humans for food, appear to be losing weight due to fast food outlets being closed down. This has led to them encroaching into the town centre by themselves or in groups of their peers. They appear to be suffering from hunger and clearly missing companionship of other human beings.
Across the country there have been reports of young people scavenging in bins and fights breaking out amongst them. This has been blamed on the lockdown. It has also been held responsible for stopping benefactors from giving young people sustenance in their favourite feeding grounds.
Every cloud has a silver lining. One of these has been the amount of recipes we have been bombarded with on social media. With the lack of takeaways being available, this has made people realise if they want to survive, they must try cooking their own meals.
It has been a gradual process, brought about by this return to nature. Following initial horror stories of people eating Marmite peanut butter soldiers and burnt sausages, things have started to improve. By trial-and-error, many people are learning how to cook proper meals. After all, necessity is the mother of invention.
Now we may have a situation where Blackburn town centre fast-food outlets could see a sharp decline in their footfall and sales. Social distancing will be a factor in who can eat in their premises. Even more worrying for them is a possibility of having to provide cutlery with their meals.
But the biggest issue to affect some fast-food outlets will be their requirement to provide disinfectant filled finger bowls on dining tables and only allowing customers to eat certain meals with knives, forks and spoons. Antiseptic coated latex gloves may be allowed for eating some meals, but the use of hand sanitising vinegar may inhibit the taste of fried chicken and beef burgers.
We are now starting to see glimmers of hope that a Covid-19 vaccine may be in sight. This will eventually lead to the lockdown being lifted. Hopefully scientists can then produce a vaccine to combat the consumption of fast-food products.
