London

SW1 APRIL 2021 COVER STORY

Does breaking the glass ceiling hurt? 

Tina Kumar

By Tina Kumar

Being a young girl in London my first experience in getting my career started happened to be with hugely powerful man giving me an opportunity where he may or may not have had faith in me - at the time. The events leading up to this were a young woman working at an educational organisation who gave me an opportunity to attend an event at ITV Studios. Where I found myself amongst the elite of London's media world. Yes, there were mostly men in the room but it was quite a big event and I also had the chance to speak to a lot of the women - who probably made up 40% of the room. Somewhat a sense of equality here in retrospect of the media world. However, then by fate I was invited to an exclusive business breakfast and here, it was really the crem da la creme; it was a small event at the infamous BT Tower and what was the common denominator here? Men. I mean I know I’m young girl in the scenario but being in a room amongst the powerful elite men wasn’t daunting. For me. I might not have a seat at the table but I was certainly in the room with the people who do. Did I know that being at this event was my ticket to breaking the glass ceiling?

Was this my platform 9 3/4? 

Well, I wasn’t quite there yet but I was on my way to the top. I knew I wanted to be at the top where I could do interesting work with the interesting people at the top. However, I needed a way to get there and because of this underlying and consistent ambition the first person I got to work with was Lord Stuart Rose. If there’s a strong figurehead and someone really powerful you could ever hope and dream of working with in the business world, it’s him. For him to be the first person to give you an opportunity in your career is a bit like him sprinkling a little luck needed to form the Midas touch. Being a 15 year old girl at school, I had no idea that I was at an advantage with such a head start and if I played my cards right now I could really break the glass ceiling and achieve my ambition to get to the top in whatever it is I chose to do. 

Reasons for my success? Ambitious nature, confidence, intelligence and the ability to turn a very difficult situation into a very simple task that I aim to achieve. The difficult situation for example would be at the level of difficulty of being fiendish - like in Sudoku. I strive to achieve that. I strive to excel at the fiendish challenge I'm faced with. More often than not, I create that fiendish challenge for myself and then do everything in my power to achieve it. When I achieve it, because I’m able to conquer the exceptionally difficult problem; I seemingly end up excelling at it. Giving it your all will actually surprise you with the rewards it renders to you. The rewards may not be what you are aiming to get, these will be rewards that are unknown to you and you'll discover once you've put in the hard work. They are the fruition of your labour. Another thing I would say has lead me to success has been not being intimidated by people in positions of power or further up in the hierarchy and having the utmost ability to network in a fine, fine manner; especially, for my young age. If you want to be the crem de la creme, it certainly helps to be surrounded by the crem de la creme whether it be by chance or by your doing. What’s not to like? 

Interviews for the book were my way of getting to know the people I wanted to be like and soon realising what my personality, purpose and my role in all this would be. With, more importantly, what I wanted my personalty, purpose and role in all of this to be shaped like. Someone told me once amongst the mayhem and madness- during my years of interviewing- that yes I was getting to work with all these incredibly interesting people but that in all this. The real story was me - by doing what I was doing I was becoming like the interesting people I worked with all the time. Wow? I thought. Well, my first thought was, really? I didn’t think I quite believed it. Yes, I didn’t quite understand the level of my success and the way that things happened and played out because after all I’d planned for them to end up being like this. That was my secret. 

To me what I was doing was pretty normal and pretty frequent. Casual and usual activities. However, what I set out to do was something extraordinary that would help me get to the top and so I came up with this idea to try to work with the people at the top in order to be one of them and to do this all being young, very, very young. So when it really started to happen like that, it wasn’t new or unusual for me. The illusion turned into a reality and it ended up changing my life. I’ve done the hard work, the smart work and all the work; and it’s only a matter of time before it...starts to unravel everything I’ve ever wanted. I’ve already done the most difficult and harder tasks and now it’s time for the world to see what I’ve been doing for the past 10 years in the hope of creating and finding my place in society. 

I ended up writing my first book ‘Mystery of Mayfair at 15’ and soon found myself amongst the elite in society. And as we all know, like I've previously mentioned that usually means male dominated figureheads holding the most important positions of power and at the top of their league. Yet, I was 15 when I started and I wasn’t experienced in age, success or wealth and I certainly wasn’t male. There would be actually be very little chance of me breaking the glass ceiling before I’ve even completed my education. However, what I found most extraordinary was how willing the male dominated species in positions of power in London were willing to help a young, ambitious London, girl. This made me realise its not the men who are keeping us girls and women from reaching the top. Perhaps it’s our timing. Easy for me to say, I did all my ground work starting from the age of 15 when perhaps the age to start is somewhere between 21- 25 possibly after university and sometimes even a masters or a few years after they've started working. 

However, if speaking in the general sense and if say you do start your career in the age bracket (or even before) I’ve mentioned and you do then later as a young women take time out to have and look after children. You don’t need to feel that, that is the reason keeping you from a position of power and getting to the top. As this has been something that always comes up and is what I've come across repeatedly when working with and talking to lots of professionals (men and women) about the subject. Apparently, it's often said, noted and written about that women having children at some point in their career is what seems to draws them back and is what keeps them from breaking the glass ceiling. 

As I’ve found the top isn’t a gentleman’s club but it is quite frankly a club comprised of gentlemen. Many whom have worked their way up to their position of power through their networking and the ability to put themselves forward even when they may not be ready. You see what I’ve found is that those at the top, now more than ever, encourage diversity, equality and in fact a desire to have their counterparts comprised of more women. Yes, that’s certainly not the case as in we don't often see a lot of women at the top and as I’ve found that many of the people, let me rephrase, most of the people at the top are men. Yes there are some women who are also at the top but the way I see it; there’s certainly the opportunity for many, many more. In today’s day and age, it is encouraged. For me it was ambition and the ability to do things a little differently and a little creatively to get to where I want. So perhaps, this is what we need more girls and more women to do; to start by having an ambition to get to the top and have enough of a sacrificial nature to want to do things a certain way to get there. I know I’m not an executive or manager in a huge corporate organisation so I’m not having to convince people in positions of power to give me a seat at the table but what I have been able to achieve is to convince and persuade people in prominent positions to give me the opportunity to be on my way to get my seat at the table and to be taken seriously. As per my success rate you’d see that I almost get the opportunity I want and those are the top have almost always given me the opportunity I was looking for and that I had asked for. Yes, I might have been the one to ask for it but if you don’t ask you don’t get.  

Plus, another to help get yourself to the top is that you could always go for getting in to a top business school; doing an MBA/ notable masters degree that will help escalate you into a position of power. An MBA, for example, can give you a bit of a head start amongst your peers, get you noticed and sometimes get other people to take you more seriously. Then you can work your way up from there. After all, I know it’s not a man’s world but even in these modern times it certainly ends up looking like a man’s world. I didn’t find the glass ceiling was a hindrance because I never even thought of it when setting out to get want I wanted. Breaking the glass ceiling doesn’t hurt; it’s just that it’s not always existent but in our minds we think it is. What you have to do is shatter the whole thing, sweep it to the side and then start to build your career. Like I said, for me, I’ve never had to worry about breaking the glass ceiling; rather it was about finding a way to convince people to want to do things my way. For me, they just happened to be people at the top because I created the whole notion to be in that way and so for me; I found the male dominated leaders to be the ones giving me the opportunities far more easily. This is because I’d managed to persuade them to be a part of my idea. The fact that I happen to be female, well for me, that’s just how I happened to be. 

 

 

SW1 MAY 2021 COVER STORY 

Did lockdown change me?

Anglee Kumar and Louis Grey Edwards 

By Tina Kumar 

Last year in March 2020, the world came to a halt. Quite literally. 

At the start of the pandemic we didn’t know what we were getting ourselves into, what this new disease, coronavirus was, how life was going to be and were uncertain and panicked about our lives changing due to the life changing, invisible and novel disease taking over the world. 

The newspapers and reports on TV news channels didn’t make it any easier; with every news headline you read it made you feel more and more scared about this weird situation. That many of us were facing for the first time in our lifetimes. 

At the same time, speaking to friends and families around the world only added to and enhanced the uncertainty and worry. To think that we were now more connected globally in the time of covid and since the emergence of social media seems extraordinary to think about. As for the first time ever, the elimination of distance was not a factor in how we were connected. Human transmission of the disease had changed this. If Covid 19 wasn’t real and we weren’t living the effects of the disease; you’d almost think this disease was made up and that surely something like this would never happen to us?

Like I mentioned, coronavirus was here and quite frankly, it was here to stay and as humans we had not a clue on how to beat this new disease. Like the rest of world from China, to Italy, to the US and Europe; the UK was almost the last to go into an official lockdown but of course we did eventually. In March 2020, we went into a full lockdown for just over 4 months; then came a sort of break and after November 2020 lockdown 2.0 kicked in and we’ve sort of been in lockdown ever since…

Life changed overnight but the most pressing question after over a year on, and still being in and amongst the effects of Covid 19 and in lockdowns...is: “Did lockdown change me?”

After experiencing and going through so much change, I would certainly say that lockdown definitely did change me. However, today the May cover story is about two of your peers, young people Anglee Kumar and Louis Grey Edwards; whom I talked to regarding this hot topic: ‘Did lockdown change me?’ 

Anglee Kumar is currently working at Reed Smith in London and previously went to law school and read Politics and International Relations at the University of Nottingham. 

Louis Grey Edwards is currently working as a consultant at Capgemeni in London; he read Business and Chinese at the University of Manchester. 

We have a fun shoot at an exclusive London location, freshly into the new phase of lockdown and it seems that the thing we are enjoying most is just being around people. Anglee wears a pale blue mini dress which seems to have perfectly matched with the colour of the walls! She wears this fashionable dress with yellow high heels. Whereas, Louis wears a smart casual cotton white shirt paired with navy chinos and Alexander McQueen trainers. After a bit of to and fro and a few laughs here and there we manage to wrap up the shoot and everybody seems pretty impressed with the possible shots for the SW1 May cover and cover story which you can of course see whilst you read this article. 

Anglee starts off with: “the first lockdown was great! I had more time to do the things I wanted to do. I got to relax, reflect on myself, spend time with my family, workout and work on my mental health.”

You can hear in her tone that she really enjoyed being in the first lockdown.“I also had time to read more, catch up in my Z’s and engage with new and revived hobbies. I enjoy working out and so going from working out at the gym to working out at home on my yoga mat was in fact a swift change. I like to do my workouts with a friend at the gym. Although I couldn’t go to the gym, I and my friend, Shanice, did workouts everyday over FaceTime whilst following an Instagram Live workout with various fitness influencers that we follow. Every evening after work I would change into my gym kit, log on to the live on Instagram and FaceTime my friend. It was a bit like a catching up but whilst also doing an activity - it was so fun! I would even workout twice a day sometimes with an hour walk or run as well, daily.” 

Anglee tells me that lockdown really helped her to slow down and use time to look after herself. Self care, facials and exercise were really prioritised alongside work and eating good food - obviously. “My family and I really enjoyed making new things to eat. I tried to make that dalgona coffee that was going around on Instagram. Took me 30 mins or so, it was ages I was mixing that coffee with my hands, literally, I had to mix up the coffee with just a spoon but it tasted so good in the end!” 

“Hobbies that I came back to during lockdown was fashion. I love fashion and we weren’t able to dress how we could when we went out; so that really inspired me to get back into fashion. I did a styling course. Other hobbies I did anyways but just I tried to spend more time on them too. I changed the way I worked out. I was more productive and I was able to do things I would never get a chance to do; well, one thing I did was taking up running. I don’t think I would have taken up running had it not been for quarantine.”

Similarly for Louis, he really liked the first lockdown. He felt that although the lockdown didn’t change him much to begin with; it certainly made him more aware of himself and his surroundings. “Firstly it was weird, not being able to go out and do things. Generally, I go out to do things. I’m out a lot of the time, whether it’s to go to work, in or outside London. After work, I go to the gym and then my weekends are usually filled with going out to meet friends or do social things. So the first thing to get used to, really was, staying inside.”  

“The increased amount of time I spent inside made me realise, the amount of time it would take to get to places. I’m not saying it was a waste of time but travelling and commuting really takes up a lot of your time. I don’t think I would go out that much now. Before the first lockdown, I could take an hour to go to the gym and then it would take another hour or so to get back home. Therefore, I would say that the first lockdown made me appreciate time; I definitely learnt to appreciate time.” 

Louis didn’t find it hard to adjust to lockdown because he’s quite a habit focussed person. “Change to me was actually quite minimal.” The habits he’d already had in place were just shifted into the lockdown scenario. “I have detailed habits and a strict structure; with a very detailed schedule for my day. I adjusted quite well. I think people probably started to adapt certain habits to create a routine - but for me it was pretty easy to adjust.” 

Louis spent his first lockdown meditating, going on runs, working, reading before bed; reading newspapers and books. “The other thing is, appreciating having time to do nothing; doing mundane activities. I cooked more interesting things, having a go at more elaborate dishes and exploring different cuisines. I went on a lot more walks in nature. Usually, pre pandemic life is extremely hectic. People feel the need to be busy all the time. If you aren’t busy you feel weird. When you are walking around - people are always playing music, listening to podcasts - constantly. I really tried to move away from that mentality and I found that doing mundane things was surprisingly enjoyable.” 

Like in life, “all good things must come to an end” what’s that saying? For Anglee and Louis the joyous first lockdown situation changed when things started to open back up. Anglee said that she did want to go out more to see her friends and family even when things were opening up because for so long she wasn’t allowed to. Louis said he was up for meeting friends and wanting to go to restaurants when things opened back up in the summer. However, we all know that situation changed quickly when we went back into lockdown with extensive restrictions in November 2020.

Anglee says: “The second lockdown was hard. I was in search of normalcy in a time when it wasn’t possible. It was much harder because it was winter so you can’t go out for walks. Or when it’s raining and the weather is dull it affects your mood a bit. I was getting a bit frustrated, missing normalcy and missing my friends. At times, I was bored out of my brain but I tried to keep busy and do workouts to keep my mind occupied.” Anglee felt it was harder to go back into the lockdown situation - as did most of us. 

However what I found quite interesting was that in contrast, for Louis; again like the first lockdown situation, the second lockdown didn’t affect his mood much. It's interesting to see how different lockdowns were for everyone around us. 

“Lockdown 2.0 didn’t affect me much, in fact it affected me less. I was working throughout both lockdowns and even during the opening up of things; so the change in schedule was minimal. Of course, going through the emotions again of a lockdown made me quite sad. We’d clearly opened up too soon in the summer” and were now facing the effects of that with a second lockdown. “The newspapers were reporting of a second wave so reading about that was dismal. It makes you think that none of this would’ve have happened if they [the government] didn’t open things back up too quickly.”

“However, it’s difficult to have a sense of agency as a young person; obviously you want to see your friends, so I think its incredibly difficult to attribute responsibility. As a young person you would be going out and things and seeing your friends” so another lockdown puts that into perspective for you Louis says. However, whilst it still being a conflicting situation. Louis suggests that the emotions of going back into the lockdown were present but at the same time; yet, it’s not fair to put the blame on young people for going out during the pandemic and so I guess that’s why we were back in another lockdown. 

I’m sure we can all relate to Louis and Anglee. When the second lockdown came round, you could hear a lot of people saying that this was because young people were going out too much.

We were all in the same boat, restrictions were lifted, where the government said it was safe to go out and meet your friends and family. To me, the second lockdown was inevitable and it’s up to the government to try to control the disease and for us to then comply by following the rules on lockdowns and  restrictions. However, like Anglee and Louis pointed out, another lockdown can be emotional but as young people who are in their 20s. Of course, we want to go out, socialise, see our friends and just in general, we want to try to enjoy life as much as we are allowed to at this point. I think lockdowns are articularly difficult on young people who should be going out, having fun and enjoying their 20s. Covid-19 and lockdowns have really suppressed that desire and so naturally when restrictions get lifted we want to go out and meet our friends - without having the need to feel a sense of guilt and negative responsibility in response to our actions.  

In the second lockdown Anglee actually had an exciting opportunity. “Over the lockdown I had the idea and opportunity to run for Miss England. It was really exciting and I haven’t done something like this in a long time, so I had a lot of fun taking part. I raised over £2000 for charity. I was in the first heat promoting diversity for which I was in the newspaper. Lockdown did make it harder to reach out to people and made it harder to promote yourself virtually because you can’t go out and tell people about what you are doing or get the chance to talk about your experiences. However, I sold personalised masks online for the Butterfly Effect movement, my movement was to raise money and  awareness about woman finding their independence and talking about domestic abuse. This is was a particularly important cause for especially, since domestic abuse had skyrocketed during the lockdowns and I feel like this campaign aimed to be empowering for people to stand up for themselves and to be heard on the issue. I was proud of myself and of everything that come with the opportunity to run for Miss England. It’s important to talk up about important issues and issues we feel passionate about.” Anglee suggests being silent is an inherent problem if you want to aid in any change you want to see. She says you have to start by acknowledging and talking about those issues and hopefully that gradually leads to results. 

Having been in the pandemic for over a year and spent most of the year in a  lockdown style situation I asked Anglee and Louis, “how do you feel now?” 

It’d be interesting to learn the effect of the amalgamation of our time in the pandemic. Anglee is quick to point out: “I must admit, I don’t feel completely comfortable going out and going on public transport. You can find yourself in a crowded situation on the tube but I’ve noticed people do try to social distance and wear masks. However, public transport isn’t entirely clean so at times you’ll see me being quite apprehensive. I’m that girl you see putting hand sanitiser on every 5 mins on the tube!” Anglee jokes.

“I haven’t been going out as much as I used to even though restrictions have been lifted. Yes, if there’s something going on like a dinner or event I will be up for going out. But with work and still a slow-paced life; I find myself wanting to go to the gym as my break during the day rather than going out to meet friends or go for drinks. Before, I would go to work in the office and then maybe meet friends after for work drinks but now because I’m still working from home, like most of my friends; I find my routine has changed so much. I’m really waiting to just go on holiday after all this!” 

Louis projects a similar view. Lockdown life in London certainly has changed the lifestyle to be more adjusted to being a homebody. “I haven’t been going out and meetings friends as much as some people. I’m definitely not meeting friends as much as before. I’ve got into the habit of doing things at home. I’m happy and comfortable spending like even a whole weekend at home. I know I can have fine weekend without having to go out - obviously, I do want to see my friends!"

“Another thing is, I realised how much I was spending on eating out - pre pandemic.” Louis goes on to elaborate and jokes: "Oh my goodness it’s expensive!” He says one of the things he tries to do is to not eat out as much as he did before. “I promised myself that I wouldn’t spend much eating out. But I can already see that not happening. In general though, things are quite restricted. At one point you could only have a table for certain time in some places or if you want to just go out for drinks you also had to buy food or if you go to Starbucks, you can’t sit inside. So, I don’t want to go out as much because it’s not as relaxed anymore.” 

Louis and Anglee’s journeys sounds a lot like our own journeys. Having had spoken to a lot of my friends about this topic: 'Did lockdown change me?' I hear of contrasting scenarios and ways of life but with the same uniquely similar undertone during these times. However, I feel it’s quite interesting to learn and acknowledge how different types of people are feeling so you can compare that to your own experiences. One of my final questions was to ask what advice Anglee and Louis would give to young people? 

Louis starts off by saying: “Advice I would give to young people is to be very creative in your approach to work and academics. I think it’s always ok to think beyond traditional expectations in your career. Having confidence to start your own business or having confidence to do a job that is not seen as prestigious is all worthwhile. Earning money is better than not earning and the experience is good. I did catering after uni, the pay isn’t much but you got to learn so much: to be organised and you learn to deal with keeping hundreds of people happy - it’s an extremely rewarding experience. Another thing I would say is to use the time you have to learn. Perhaps not now if you are back to being busier than before but during intense lockdowns, the time available was so much. Using that time to learn new things will pay dividends further down the line.”  

Anglee’s advice to young people would be to get productive. Anglee says: “It’s good to keep yourself busy. These things aren’t always easy. Everyone has a different experience of the pandemic depending on lockdowns, family/friends overseas, or being a student at uni and being away from your family or friends and vice versa. I have lots of close friends in India so hearing their situation spiralled out of control due to the Indian variant does worry me - for them and for us. I want to point out that life isn’t easy in general and life certainly isn’t easy in a pandemic. Young people should take time to look after themselves and take time to focus on their mental well being. Mental health is really important. Therapy is not a bad thing I would definitely encourage it; it’s something I did over the lockdowns and I feel it really helped me. Break the stigma around therapy! It’s not a bad thing to look after your mental well being.” 

Whenever I think about the pandemic, my experiences in quarantine and in lockdowns I always find myself going back to the question of but what do I think about the way the government is handling the situation? How do I feel the people in the political world, who are the people with the power to affect our restrictions and lockdowns are dealing with the unprecedented disease that is coronavirus? I had the opportunity to ask Louis about his views on the government in these times. Louis says: “The fact is that Covid 19 is unpredictable makes me hesitant to blame people for it. Inherently, it’s an unpredictable situation so it’s harder to decide on the appropriate policy. However, with anything of a crisis like this - it’s a question of priorities. When the economy opened up and the airports opened up, people were moving about more” and it’s clear to see that’s what caused the pandemic in the first place. Yes, they are spending and that helps the economy but is it worth it? 

“It’s the battle of public health vs economy. Sometimes the leaders are choosing economy over public health and theoretically, prioritising the economy over human life? I think that is sometimes the wrong decision. Learning from it I would say that public health will always be the more important thing in comparison to the economy.” 

From what’s happening in other countries, like India; you can see that it’s never a good idea to put something else before public health. Whether it be to socialise, to go on holiday or to see friends. After all we are all humans and this disease means we can die.” What this disease possesses is a high risk to our life. “It’s clear public health should be the priority. However, I still believe it’s hard to acknowledge that even as Prime Minister. As Prime Minister you are in a difficult situation with conflicting priorities. You have to answer to the business people, lobbyists, companies, politicians, media and the public.” Therefore, it’s ok to have an opinion on the way the government is handling the situation but it’s very difficult to asses how well the government are handling their priorities. It’s difficult to blame the government for trying to handle a disease that is out of our control and out of our hands as human beings. 

Louis says: “After all, it’s not like we have a doctor as Prime Minister.” 

 

 

SW1 JUNE 2021 COVER STORY  

Summer Goals

Fiyin Ukiri, Alex Nylander and Karim Nassir

By Tina Kumar 

With the woes of a pandemic still looming over our heads it’s safe to say that at least for now we can try to enjoy our summer. Summer holidays are back on, well, kind of and it would be delightful to go abroad. If that’s what you choose to do. Perhaps going abroad isn’t something for you this summer though, perhaps, you'd prefer to go on a staycation in the UK. For our models in the June cover story their plans are all very different for this summer.

I asked Fiyin Ukiri, Alex Nylander and Karim Nassir about their summer goals and the first they each of them mentioned was to do with fitness! Fitness is usually a focus before summer as this is when young people start to talk about getting into a fitness and nutrition regime in order to build that summer body! However, with gyms closed and restrictions in place it was a little harder for the boys to get working out. “I like going to the gym because it adds to my productivity in the day and so when I get back I’m ready to do the next thing.” Fiyin Ukiri says.

“I like to work out everyday when I can because I want to be able to work all the parts of my body within that week. You know, like leg day and so on.” Said Alex Nylander. On the other hand, Karim Nassir said: “For me it’s more about working out regularly than going to the gym. So I prefer a home work out and even before the pandemic I tried to work out at home as often as I could. That way, you don’t have a reason to be lazy. You can’t say oh I don’t feel like going to the gym today because the gym is your own home!” 

In terms of going on holiday though the boys have made plans to stay in the UK and make the most of restrictions actually being lifted. “It’s funny you see because only a couple months ago were we in a full lockdown ish situation and now everything’s open but it’s going all so fast.” Said Alex. To which Fiyin adds: “Exactly! I just want to have a really good time going out, meeting friends and spending time with family whenever I can. I mean I’m in the middle of my twenties and for nearly 18 months I couldn’t even hang out with friends so I really just want to go out, go clubbing and really get back into the enjoying-my-twenties-vibes.”

Karim points out: “It’s all about going out and having summer bbqs; I enjoy hanging out with my friends and I really have missed that during the pandemic. We forget 2020 was only last year but it really feels like a lifetime ago.”

The boys are keen on enjoying the summer sun and the sports. Especially for the boys; Euro 2020s is going to be the highlight of their summer since they all love football. Of course all 3 will be supporting England but it will be interesting to see just how far England can get this time round they add excitedly and on their edge of their seats talking about their favourite topic. 

Fiyin mentions, any normal summer he’d probably be away but this summer still doesn’t feel normal. It feels like we are getting our freedom back a little due to the pandemic but then again realistically how long will it last. I suggested that, to me, it feels like either after this summer things will get back to normal or we’ll be back in lockdown.

So how do Alex, Karim and Fiyin feel about the ongoing pandemic situation? Karim starts off with saying: “I really want to focus on my career this summer because I feel that’s something I can be sure of. Yes I want to party but to fill up my days-”

Fiyin adds: “I hate the thought of lockdowns and I’ve heard the vaccine has been a success so I’m trying to be really positive about the situation. Lockdowns are the worst but I do understand they are there for a reason. They are in place for everyone’s safety.”

Alex says: “Personally, I don’t think I could do another lockdown but if you continue working, focussing on your career, exercising and keeping busy. Then, at least, if we do find ourselves in a lockdown situation it won’t be too much to adjust to.” Fiyin says: “I think it’s just that mindset or frame of mind to get back into lockdown mode which is the hardest. I think we should enjoy ourselves and try to not take things too seriously because for a long time we were deprived of that side of the joy of life!” 

I ask ‘did you know cinemas are open, and nightclubs too as all restrictions are lifted of course?’ 

“I love the cinema but I haven’t been back yet.” Says Fiyin. 

Karim goes on to say that he can’t wait to go clubbing but he’d rather it be in a safe environment. I mention that you don’t want the idea of not being comfortable while in a club; since that defeats the whole purpose of being out in a club to let loose and enjoy yourself.

Alex says: “I think it’s great there will be no restrictions and I can’t wait to go clubbing. However, it would’ve made sense if the government maybe had a limited capacity when opening things like nightclubs.” 

Fiyin says: “Won’t they have limited capacity for the football at Wembley? Plus, everyone going to those events like Ascot have to be tested before using rapid tests. I mean I’m so over the virus but I think it does help to have safety precautions like that in place. No one wants Covid and although I’m young and will probably go out. At the end of the day we all want to survive this virus and get back to normal as quickly as possible - whilst remaining safe.” 

Karim mentions: “People who say they don’t care about it the virus I get because they are frustrated the about the rules the government has imposed for so long. However, whenever the media gets talking about a new variant; suddenly everyone who said they didn’t care about the virus clearly do start to." The media perceptions do greatly influence our perceptions and that's obviously the government shifting our perceptions before having to introduce a new harsh restriction. Karim adds: "I guess we all just want to get back to normal and I can’t help but blame the government for the way they are handling things. I think the government still has a long way to go before they really get a grip on the coronavirus.” 

“The government is learning everyday about this virus and thank god we have a vaccine. That’s the very reason everything is getting to open up but we still have to wear mask and we still have to follow certain guidelines. You might be forced to, even when, restrictions are lifted but it’s still not back to normal. I feel as though the government are using this summer to test out the effectiveness of the vaccine. In order to see if we can return to work and to see if we can return to normal in September.” Fiyin says. 

On the other hand, Alex believes that: “if the government had it figured out then they would be confident in opening things up but also be confident enough to allow holidays. They are being cautious because I think that they still don’t have full faith in vaccines. Perhaps we need a booster vaccine or some other solution that the government is desperately seeking beneath the surface which we don't know about.” 

Karim adds: “at this point the government is what I call, going with the flow. They've got the vaccines out and that’s been really great but where they gave the impression that getting the vaccine would highly reduce chances of getting Covid. Now, we’ve clearly found out that, that's not the case. People who are double jabbed can still get the virus; its not a pleasant notion to give thought too. Yes you might not get seriously ill so it’s good to get the vaccine. However, I wonder what the ultimate solution would be and when will it be discovered for Covid-19?” 

I’ve really enjoyed talking to the guys but after much of the conversation being dominated with the government’s handling of the pandemic; I ask the boys what are some of their favourite places to go out in London this summer. 

Fiyin starts: “With clubs shut, I’ve enjoyed going to bars and pubs for a few drinks. I’ve recently discovered some good places in Soho.” 

Karim says: “Yes, I’ve definitely gotten to enjoy spontaneous nights in Soho more. I actually don’t mind if we just head somewhere local in Kensington on a Friday night.” 

Alex mentions: “I like going to new places but somewhere I definitely want to explore more this summer is the scene in Shoreditch. Boxpark is meant to be quite cool so once the picnics are out of the way. I'd love to explore the East. I do enjoy going somewhere local for drinks though just to relax.” 

“Mayfair is pretty fun too.” Fiyin adds, he continues with: “When we go out we try to mix it up. When I was at uni, Manchester university, there were a lot more pres and house parties but in London it’s a different vibe. Also, I’ve heard places in Clapham, Battersea and Brixton can be fun so I’d love to try those out soon.” 

“As long as we have a few drinks and somewhere we can dance, we’re good to go! Meaning you'd actually get to meet new people and actually have some human contact. I can’t wait for restrictions to be lifted” says Alex.

Restrictions being lifted is something to certainly look forward to - after Wimbledon and Euros 2020 that is. However, summer can start to look bright with so many opportunities to see new things, travel and get to actually go outside and visit restaurants/bars.

Yet, a thing to bear in mind is that last summer it was a similar situation (without the presence of the vaccine) and after that summer we ended up in lockdown for another 6 months. We are all hoping in our cosy Soho bar that, that will not be the case this time. 

It can almost be dubbed the freedom summer.

Despite all the fears and concerns of our future after the summer. One thing we do have I guess, is that we do have the notion and freedom to plan our summer so that’s exactly what I and the boys will be doing. 

After all - we’ll have to go with the flow when we get there and...here’s to a fun summer!