In a way, I\u2019ve been lucky through lockdown. After losing all my work when the country first realised the scale of the problem we face, I\u2019ve found work in pubs and venues that have been operating in the face of draconian restrictions. While the current situation poses an existential threat to almost everything I\u2019ve built my career on so far, people have adapted to socialising during this generational crisis. It\u2019s not sustainable in the long term, but for a very few people it\u2019s working in a way, whether by bending the rules or following them as close to the letter as possible.

It\u2019s been a surreal experience being told to not socialise in large groups while simultaneously heading to spaces where I know I\u2019ll be interacting with large groups of people every day in order to pay my rent. It\u2019s a disconnect between what I should do, what I know how to do and what I have to do to get by that I feel is shared by thousands of people around the country.

We know that the best thing we can do to stop the spread of this virus is to limit our social interactions but as financial support is removed (or was never available to us in the first place as freelancers) we find ourselves looking at the skills and knowledge we\u2019ve developed thinking \u201cwell what\u2019s the point in all this?\u201d

This anxiety becomes particularly acute when we\u2019re being told by ministers to get a \u201cbetter job\u201d or that \u201cyour business is not viable.\u201d When all is said and done, people still need to socialise now and they will need to socialise when this is all done. People will still need creative outlets and they will pay for those things and in so doing pay the wages of real people in viable, secure and at times brilliant jobs. Reducing this to a simple question of \u201cdo the jobs pay x amount of money or not\u201d would be to miss the point of what else these jobs can provide. There is more that makes a job worthwhile than what it pays, it can be the friends you make working in a bar, the skills you gain helping to do sound at a local venue or the sense of pride in having built something creative for your community. Not everyone is built for the nine to five grind or the Amazon warehouse but it feels like these are the only types of jobs that will be considered \u201cviable\u201d and worthy of support by this government.

One of the jobs I have been working on has been with the \u201cCosta Del Tottenham,\u201d the name given to the outdoor extension of The Cause that has allowed them to host socially distant events all summer. As good as it is the Costa Del Tottenham is not a symbol that things are okay, the sight only exists now because a planned development was postponed at the start of the year and while it is a \u201cviable business\u201d for now it\u2019s not a model that can be replicated in every space or for all creative events.

Every time I\u2019ve wanted to share a photo that I’ve taken at the Costa Del Tottenham where people are having a good time I\u2019ve worried that it might create the impression that we\u2019re on the path back to normal, we\u2019re not. Normal won\u2019t return and there may be positives as many spaces will be forced to become more accessible but before we get there we will see irreparable damage done to our creative communities through a loss of spaces, a loss of skills and a loss of people if nothing is done to support them.

With that said, the Costa Del Tottenham is a beacon of hope in dark times managing to maintain a fun and safe environment in which to enjoy music even as the summer fades away.

Words and photos by James Ward (@Jammy_Randoms)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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In a way, I\u2019ve been lucky through lockdown. After losing all my work when the country first realised the scale of the problem we face, I\u2019ve found work in pubs and venues that have been operating in the face of draconian restrictions. While the current situation poses an existential threat to almost everything I\u2019ve built…<\/p>\n

Continue reading<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2164,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false},"categories":[41],"tags":[146,143,145,144,142],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/pretendonline.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Cause-Vibes-12.jpg?fit=2048%2C1365","jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"yoast_head":"\n