SLOWLY but surely life is starting to return to normal as lockdown measures steadily ease.

Although 'normal' is perhaps the wrong word as the world seems to be lurching from one crisis to the next at the moment.

If lockdown brought out the best in people - the volunteers, the clap for carers, the concern for vulnerable neighbours - it also brought out the worst.

The judgement, the outrage and vitriol directed to those so-called 'Covidiots' perceived to be breaking the not-entirely clear rules was really quite shocking.

And now we have Black Lives Matter and the associated hand-wringing over historic statues.

No right-minded person would be against championing the cause of racial equality, but throw a few statues of British cultural significance into the mix and it all starts to get a bit muddy.

Arguments are currently raging over whether people who committed unpalatable acts in the past - such as enslaving others - should be revered today.

One the one hand are those concerned that we are heading towards an Orwellian-esque erasing of history and the dismissal of figures that helped make Britain what it is today.

On the other are those who argue that some of these figures made their fortunes quite literally off the backs of others and we should not celebrate them in this modern world.

Captain James Cook is one such figure up for debate and it will be interesting to see how the conversations about the future of his monuments play out - at least until the next issue comes along to distract us. Brexit anyone?