Locked-down Brits are connecting with each other in new and different ways.
The Mirror is building on this by connecting people for unique online conversations – it’s a chance to meet someone different, find out what others are going through and even help people feel less lonely.
Mirror writer Kevin Maguire and ambulance driver Archie Wilson strike an unlikely bond thanks to Britain Connects
Kevin says...
We both value graft and the work ethic.
We both like to see the glass half-full, not half-empty or broken.
We both think smoking is a ludicrous, expensive way to kill yourself.
We both have three children and are from big working-class families (him one of 10, me one of six).
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And we both view ourselves as British – English second in my case, Scottish in his.
Tory voting Brexiteer Archie Wilson, 62, and lefty European me, 59, disagree about much and could enjoy great political arguments over a pint but there’s also much that unites us.
The NHS patient transport driver in Middlesbrough, 30 miles down the A19 from my hometown, South Shields on Tyneside, and I even agree on Scotland.
The former soldier and firefighter is from Glasgow, so is even keener the separatists fail to smash Great Britain.
I think on under a tenner an hour, he is underpaid. But his reticence appealed when we discussed public adulation for NHS workers during the coronavirus emergency.
Archie was uncomfortable over praise when he popped into a shop.
“This woman said to me, 'You’re a hero’. I just felt awful,” recalled Archie. “I’m only driving ambulances, taking patients to hospital. That word’s been corrupted and misused.”
I’d be happy to continue the discussion in a Teesside pub. It’s his round.
