In our final leader last year, we wrote that few people “will not be pleased to see the back of 2019”. That was a reasonable assumption, given the new start seemingly promised by the electorate’s repudiation of Jeremy Corbyn. But as the old Yiddish saw has it: Man plans and God laughs. Not since 1945 have we faced a more devastating crisis, a pandemic that has brought economic devastation, wrecked communal life and — above all else — taken so many from us. Even in the midst of the first lockdown in March, few expected that by the end of the year we would still be gripped by the virus and forced to enter another de facto lockdown. It has been horrific. And yet...

While the plight of many individuals and their families has been desperate, our community has found new ways to adapt. Online meetings have become the norm and family life has taken on a whole new meaning. It is trite and wrong to pretend there are benefits to the pandemic but there are certainly lessons that can be learned when, eventually, we emerge. The inclusivity of the computer screen has been a welcome development that has to be replicated back in the real world. Similarly, while charities have suffered, in some cases hugely, some have found that the necessity of the obligatory annual dinner was more imagined than real. Online appeals have matched and sometimes exceeded previous sums raised. And so, with vaccines bringing real hope, we repeat what we said this time last year — hopefully with more prescience: few will not be pleased to see the back of 2020.