Facing us, I see both challenge and opportunity‚-similar to those challenging William the Conqueror in 1066. He was faced with the questions, ‚’What have I got here, and what should I do with it?‚’ The result was the famous Domesday Book upon which William acted. Today, it is still an exemplar of meticulous recording for careful consideration and effective long-term planning. Now we, in turn, can implement a great national project to record the Covid-19 disaster and provide a reliable document for future lawmakers to use. The modern word ‚’doomsday‚’ represents a time or event of crisis or great danger. What could be more appropriate as a name for our response? The production of our own UK ‚’Covid Doomsday Book‚’. A national technical, scientific and social history of the pandemic; a decorative bound copy of Volume 1 to be presented to Parliament and to the Monarch to join the royal historical treasures at Windsor Castle. Volume 1 of the ‚’UK CDB‚’ should tell us in great detail and with academic rigour what happened, what mistakes were made in trying to overcome the pandemic, what failed and what succeeded. The government should establish a large multi-representative body to prepare the Volume 1 study and production. It should be a body comprising committees to represent the views, submissions and work of the most comprehensive range of citizens and stakeholders in the United Kingdom. Academics, industrialists, lawmakers, parliamentarians. Lords, commoners, minorities of all kinds. Equal numbers of women and men and, importantly, youngsters who experienced both schooling and social deprivations. The people of the arts, catering, and leisure industries must be included. The National Health Service and care homes. The police, first responders, the forces, and even the Monarchy. Each group should tell its story, contributed, discussed, and agreed with no one excluded.
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