🇬🇧United Kingdom · 20s
Vaccines, Euros, and the Vigil
Britain vaccinated its way out of lockdown, football nearly came home, and the nation mourned Prince Philip.
5 milestones of 2021
Britain led the world in vaccine rollout. The Oxford-AstraZeneca jab was administered in GP surgeries, cathedrals, and football stadiums. By July, 70% of adults were double-jabbed. The NHS did it again.
Pandemic — honour healthcare workers and the 150,000+ who died
Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, died aged 99. His funeral at Windsor was attended by 30 mourners due to COVID restrictions. The Queen sat alone. The image defined the pandemic's cruelty.
England reached their first major final since 1966. Wembley erupted when Luke Shaw scored after two minutes. Italy equalised. Penalties. Rashford, Sancho, and Saka missed. The three Black players faced racist abuse online. England so nearly came home.
Racist abuse of players — condemn unequivocally
Sarah Everard was kidnapped, raped and murdered by a serving Metropolitan Police officer as she walked home in Clapham. Women shared their experiences of feeling unsafe. The Clapham Common vigil was broken up by police. Trust in the Met collapsed.
Murder by police officer — honour victim, acknowledge systemic failure in policing
Glasgow hosted the UN Climate Change Conference. 120 world leaders attended. Promises were made on coal, deforestation, and methane. Whether they'd be kept was another matter. Greta called it 'blah blah blah'.
70% local · 30% international
No Time to Die
Cary Joji Fukunaga — Daniel Craig's last Bond. Finally released after pandemic delays. Emotional ending.
Last Night in Soho
Edgar Wright — Thomasin McKenzie and Anya Taylor-Joy. London's dark glamour.
The Dig
Simon Stone — Ralph Fiennes and Carey Mulligan. Sutton Hoo excavation. Quietly magnificent.
Spencer
Pablo Larraín — Kristen Stewart as Princess Diana. Sandringham Christmas. Haunting.
Dune
Denis Villeneuve — Filmed partly at British studios. Timothée Chalamet. Visually stunning.
Line of Duty Series 6
2021 — The reveal of H. 13 million watched the finale. The Fourth Man was... controversial.
It's a Sin
Jan 2021 — Russell T Davies' AIDS drama. Olly Alexander. Joyful, devastating, essential.
Euro 2020 Coverage
Jun-Jul 2021 — England at Wembley. Sweet Caroline. Penalty heartbreak. 31 million viewers.
Squid Game
Sep 2021 — Korean survival drama became the UK's most-watched Netflix show.
Vigil
Aug-Sep 2021 — Suranne Jones on a submarine. BBC thriller. 14 million viewers.
Currency: GBP
Inflation: 2.6%
Post-lockdown recovery. Supply chain chaos. Petrol station queues. HGV driver shortage. Energy prices beginning to rise.
Inflation-adjusted values
NHS COVID App
Track and trace pings — the 'pingdemic' sent millions into isolation.
Remote working
Hybrid working became permanent — offices half-empty.
NFTs
Non-fungible tokens — digital art sold for millions. Most people confused.
Chip shortage
Global semiconductor shortage hit car production and electronics.
Metaverse hype
Facebook renamed itself Meta — virtual reality future promised.
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