At the beginning of lockdown I took to cycling into central London for my exercise hour. It was totally deserted, no planes, no cars, no people. The air was silent and clean. I heard bees on Holborn Circus, saw Leicester Square empty at lunchtime. I cycled the length of oxford street without seeing a car. The shops were shuttered, the tourists gone the commuters were at home. The city was quiet and grey. London was void of colour. Subconsciously I must have been searching for some reassurance in a new and uncertain world. Then I noticed RED. Out of the grey popped the post boxes and phone boxes. That bright red seemed brighter and shinier than before. The more I noticed them the more they became symbols of an old reliable world with systems set up by benevolent governments that cared for everyone and invested in infrastructure. I found comfort in their presence. Red was our colour. I saw it everywhere, buses, fire extinguishers, life belts, fire engines