Has Rufus Wainwright bookended my pandemic experience, or just presaged another lockdown?

At a gig for the first time in nearly two years, Will Gore hides his nerves beneath his mask

The singer-songwriter performs in LA in 2019 (Getty)

By 28 February 2020, there had been 20 confirmed cases of Covid-19 in the UK. That day, the first British death was announced, of a man aboard the cruise ship Princess Diamond.

My wife and I were driving to Hastings in the afternoon, excited to see the wonderful Rufus Wainwright play with the Royal Philharmonic at the town’s inaugural International Piano Festival. On the way we listened to Radio 2 in the car, hearing the same anxious headlines with every hourly bulletin. The outlook for the world seemed grim.

Some of the early coronavirus cases in this country had been detected around the south coast, among people who had visited China. We felt a slight nervousness as we headed towards the sea, but reassured ourselves that the chances of catching the disease were still miniscule.