I've always loved going to the cinema. If you're serious about watching films, there really is nothing quite as good as watching them on a big screen in an auditorium designed specifically for that purpose. For many, it's a shared experience providing a much-needed opportunity to meet up and spend time with friends. Much as I enjoy the social aspects of it too, the real joy of going to the cinema for me is the very thing which represents the downside for others. It will probably come as no surprise to you that I relish the prospect of sitting in a darkened room for hours on end without talking to anybody else, and ultimately forgetting the world outside. Cinema for me is essentially a solitary and escapist experience.

When the UK went into lockdown in mid-March 2020, I didn't need much persuading to stay at home. As a fairly self-contained and introverted person, I like being home alone. Being told to keep at least 2 metres away from anyone else when outside wasn't a big deal either. All in all, I thought I would find lockdown fairly easy, compared with more extroverted people who need to be out and about and in other people's company a lot more than I do. What I have learned though is that being an introvert in lockdown is as much of a curse as a blessing. Staying at home wasn't the problem for me. It's going out that proved to be far more difficult than I ever imagined it would be.