It is exactly one year... →[More:]... since I last hugged someone. The UK was just about to go on lockdown and I had to go into work for a meeting. I saw my friend, Ashley, who I'd not seen for months and, although we knew we probably shouldn't, we were both so happy to see one another (in what was a toxic work environment) that we gave each other a big, close hug.

Since then, the only people who've touched me are my hairdresser (twice, when salons were allowed to open for a short period) and my ophthalmologist when I went for an eye test last summer.

I miss hugs. I miss my family and friends. On the one hand, being an introvert living alone, it's been pretty easy to get through the government restrictions to socially isolate. But on the other hand, living without human touch is making me sad. Hopefully there's now a light at the end of the tunnel.