THE 75th anniversary of VE Day was supposed to be a grand affair. Alongside the usual bells and whistles of national celebration — cathedral services, flypasts, the Buckingham Palace balcony — we could look forward to street parties, dancing and a bank holiday to boot.

Then Covid-19 set the pandemic cat among the patriotic pigeons, and Hitler’s downfall must instead be celebrated at a distance: in the home, online and from eerily quiet television studios. Village halls throughout the land will be empty, no crowds shall fill the Mall.

However, as many have been keen to point out, the current crisis lends itself very well to the mythology of the second world war. No better time, surely, to “Keep Calm and (sort of) Carry On,” invoke the “Blitz Spirit” and join a nationwide chorus of “We’ll Meet Again.”