A wry look at life and lockdown with actor, writer and comedian Joe McArdle

I’m amazed at how quickly we have settled back into ‘normal’ life.

All it takes is a couple of weeks of people getting about, fields, parks and footpaths filled with brightly-coloured ramblers shouting “Morning!” to everyone they see, even if it is the afternoon.

I was on a train recently, one which I’ve spent quite a lot of time on in the past 12 months, and was pleased to see that the normal pubs, bars, high-street shops and the pavements in general that had been a ghost town this past year, were filled with people.

Just knowing that people are out and about, doing their own thing, getting back on with things proves just how quickly we can adapt to situations.

Obviously, it has still been a strange old week, but then again, lately, when is it ever normal?

From the North West derby (Manchester United vs Liverpool) being postponed due to fan protests, proving to rich American owners that if you threaten to ruin our beautiful game, we’ll make it ugly for you...

...to the anti-climactic end to what has been a wonderful, long-running crime drama Line of Duty.

I was left outraged at the fact these astute, professional and principled characters were outsmarted by a bumbling, mop-headed buffoon that ended up being the baddie.

That is before realising, thanks to keen observations from my own mum, that it potentially mirrored our own situation, politically speaking anyway.

So, maybe it’s a well-done Jed Mercurio after all? Nonetheless, bring on season seven (and if you still happen to read your old local newspaper Jed, give us an audition for the next one will ya?).

It is a shame when an amazing series ends on a flat note, as the fans of Game of Thrones will attest to.

If you were to personify these anti-climactic series, I always imagine it would look the wondrous, mythical beast, the centaur.

But this centaur may have the lower body and legs of a magnificent horse but definitely lacks the upper body of some finely chiselled human being, this ‘Anti-climactic Centaur’ instead has a Piers Morgan rising from it.

The beautiful and powerful hind legs of a magnificent horse, it’s long, magnificent, shimmering torso, yet beyond that, we have the flabby body and dough-faced head of recently banished Piers Morgan.

Causing us to shout, “oh, it was really good up to that point!” when we see it.