"When I think about the pandemic, it’s hard to separate out the pandemic from the murder of George Floyd."

“It’s been a devastating episode, in my book. Depression, anxiety and the worst sort of emotional nightmare that you can go through in terms of expectations.

“So during daily exercise I would dress up in superhero costumes and tailor routes/ routines to pass outside local hospitals and nursing homes. The joy on people’s faces was wonderful."

"I was struggling for somewhere to live. The Council were trying to find me somewhere. I was sleeping rough. I was stopping here, there and everywhere. Friends’ houses. It’s just been hard. But things have started picking up."

“But a pub is not just a place where you sell alcohol or food. It’s
a community. Some people who come in, don’t see anyone else, they don’t speak to anyone else, we’re their world. It’s really tough. We’ve noticed
a dramatic change in some of our customers who have been on their own for so long.

“For me, it was very positive, because we had to change our complete programme from being inside to outside. And so we decided to use the green space [in the local area].... And we got to speak to people in the community that actually live in the area that didn’t know that we existed, and we’re literally on their doorstep.”

"So it’s an impossible condition, that you want to protect your kids to be safe but you have residents [to care for]."

“I think I just binge watched the whole of Peep Show. In like a month. Maybe less."

“And I thought, I’m going to do it. So I bought a bunch of paint and since then I’ve not stopped painting. It’s the only good thing that came out of the pandemic.