Hitchin Nub News aims to support our community, promoting shops, businesses, charities, clubs and sports groups.

We profile some of these businesses and organisations regularly in a feature called 'Up Close in Hitchin' while also encouraging opinion pieces from our readers and trusted contributors, including the outstanding Hitchin writer Neil Jensen.

So, read on for Neil's latest Nub News column as he explains why the pandemic is a chance for us all to reset and revalue.

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Over the past nine months, our regular daily activities have been greatly affected by the Covid pandemic.

In Hitchin town centre, for example, you see evidence of people's changing behaviours all the time – from cautiously enjoying the fresh air, maybe having a coffee or a bite to eat, or throwing bread to ducks and savouring the moment.

The pandemic has prompted us to question what's really important and how we could possibly have better, more enriched lives.

Somehow, we are all slaloming our way through this crisis, either on our own, or with the help of others. It has become obvious we don't necessarily expect life to return to the old "normal" and the things we have learned during the pandemic may better equip us to deal with future challenges.

We will certainly never take good health for granted again or freedom of movement. I have managed to remain healthy, but the pandemic came close to home as my brother was very ill with the virus.

Busy doing nothing?

Technology has certainly helped us through the crisis, replacing face-to-face interaction and enabling businesses to continue operating in some shape or form.

In the UK, we lead more stressful lives than many of our European counterparts – other countries have achieved better work-life balances and we have become hung-up on the practice of "looking busy".

At the same time, we have allowed technology to dominate our lives – it has become a case of life being moulded around tech rather than tech being adapted for our life styles.

Just look how many people in Hitchin are walking along gazing at their phones, or how many are balancing a device as they push their children along in a buggy.

Surely we do not need to be connected all of the time?

After a 40-year career in the City of London, the last 20 being in the era of mobile phones, Blackberries, email and SMS, I had become accustomed to waking each day and checking email, texts and social media as part of my routine.

During the day, I was still checking emails religiously and I was never too far away from a screen. Four years into retirement, things have started to change – I no longer get urgent emails, I don't have a boss demanding my immediate attention and I do not need to be informed on the latest headlines on CNN, Bloomberg, Reuters and the FT. Furthermore, I have no need to know what my telephone is up to.

Whatever or whoever contacts me, it can wait. The pandemic has finished off what was left of my corporate mindset.

I dislike touch screens, largely because I have stubby fingers and I am notoriously clumsy.

I have assorted technologies that I use as a freelance writer, and most of them do the same thing.

Therefore, I do not need multiple tools to achieve the same result. Instead of being constantly connected, something that was demanded of me as an editorial director at a major investment bank, I now find I can disappear from view for as long as I like.

I have discovered digital minimalisation and have been working on rationalising my digital connectivity, which includes disposing of non-essentials, prioritising my network and also seeking alternative activities and pastimes that can broaden the mind and enhance my health.

It's the phone, stupid

I now have a 'dumb' phone.

Actually, I should say, it is a beautiful phone. It looks great and does two things – phone calls and SMS.

Since I have had it, I realise I no longer get bombarded with meaningless advertising emails and nuisance calls. Life is definitely less cluttered.

Furthermore, I have discovered new types of music by listening more to the radio (Jazz FM is a favourite) and rediscovering vinyl records after three decades in hibernation.

I also read frantically - not online, but good old print magazines and books.

The biggest change that the pandemic has induced is a new found interest in gardening

Time in the garden, even just raking-up leaves, is a little bit of reconnection with nature.

I love the smell of soil, there's something very soulful about it.

I have to admit, the Town Gardener in Hitchin is one of my favourite shops and inspired me to plant a herb garden.

It's a fairly straight-forward project, but these past few months have made people appreciate the simple things, from the clouds in the blue sky to the sound of birds – we have a number of Red Kites that fly overhead every day and during the glorious summer we've just had, I would lay on our lawn and watch them glide on the thermals.

Just 12 months ago, there is no way I would become even vaguely interested in a bird of prey. As for clouds, I never knew we had so many!

At some point, we are going to crawl out of our bunkers and people will attempt to restore normality of some sort. Perhaps we should examine the good things that have come out of this crisis.

We talk more to our neighbours

In 28 years, we have never conversed so much with our next door folk.

We have learned to appreciate people like posties, milk deliveries, our pub landlords and landladies, the ability to go to the cinema, attend a football match, spend time talking with strangers and just breath good clean air.

If you're hung-up on technology and occupy your time constantly checking for "likes", replies and new photos, life is passing you by.

On the other hand (which should be empty if you're adopting digital discipline), human contact is a very valuable commodity and in 2020, this has been severely compromised.

I intend to make full use of it when the all-clear sounds, although I am more than aware that for many people, the impact of the crisis will run and run.

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Neil is CEO and editor of Isherwood Editorial and writer and editor of the highly-acclaimed Game of the People