by Mandy Whitburn

Victory in Europe Day, generally known as VE Day, is a day celebrating the formal acceptance by the Allies of World War II of Nazi Germany’s unconditional surrender of its armed forces on 8 May 1945.

Friday 8th May 2020 is a special day as it is the 75th Anniversary of VE Day. The Spring Bank Holiday was moved to the Friday this year in order to recognise this fact and to allow the nation to celebrate this momentous day. Covid-19 however has pretty much scuppered that! The street parties and other large gatherings that people had so meticulously planned are unlikely now to go ahead, as we will likely still be restricted by most, if not all, of the lock down rules we currently face.

For some of the nation’s elderly it is possible that they will still be able to have some sort of celebration as some of them live in care homes and, provided that these remain virus free, a degree of commemoration and celebration will be possible.

For me personally 8th May also marks my mum’s 93rd birthday and this year sadly we are unlikely to be able to celebrate together. Mum lives in a care home so visiting her is currently not allowed. Among the other residents is a former Royal Marine who helped rescue many people during the D-day landings so in this home a celebration will definitely take place.

I take comfort from this, as knowing that a big party will take place on mum’s birthday is great, and I’m sure they will organise a cake for her too. Mum will not be aware it is her birthday as her short term memory is non-existent and she has no concept of what day it is. She does however enjoy a party, especially if it involves cake so I know she will enjoy her day!

We will all be missing special occasions, but these are not cancelled, merely postponed. My own 60th birthday celebrations are on hold until things settle down. I am grateful for the love of my family and the knowledge they are all healthy, the rest is not important right now.

Many of us are missing our relatives young and old but we must remember that the restrictions are in place to keep us all safe, especially the most vulnerable members of society.

Let’s hope at some point in the not so distant future we can all celebrate our own victory against the current invisible enemy, Covid-19.

So, let us all stay home and stay safe until, in the words of the great Vera Lynn who was so important to the nation during WWII, “we’ll meet again!”