We are so lucky to live in such an amazing part of the world and our neighbouring county Cornwall certainly didn’t disappoint as it hosted the recent G7 summit.

The news is now filled with optimism and promises of billions for vaccines and some strong commitments to the environment. The South West has showcased itself beautifully, helped with a good degree of sunshine but there have been some expected downsides as there appears to be a significant rise in Covid cases amongst hospitality staff in Cornwall. For me there are two key themes we can learn from this global event.

The first is just how fragile all our situations are now with yet another Covid variant lurking around the corner. It is so easy to let down our guard as we spend more time outside, but we must continue to be extremely cautious and if you are someone who is eligible to be vaccinated then I urge you to seriously consider getting the vaccine. We are going to have to learn to live with Covid but vaccinating the majority of the adult population seems to be the only way we will have some chance of returning to a more normal way of life.

The key to your decision about whether to vaccinate or not should be based on fact checked information and not some of the spurious Facebook or YouTube facts that are not scientifically verified. All of us will need to continue to think carefully about what we do, where we go, who we see and how we behave to lessen the risks to ourselves, our friends and our loved ones.

The second theme is the difference between words and actions. Words come cheaply and I just hope the commitments made in this summit become a reality. It's rather like intentions and actions on an individual basis. We all feel great when we decide that we intend to lose weight and imagine ourselves several pounds or a stone lighter but when it comes to the difficult part of actually losing weight our motivation seems to fail us as more and more things seem to get in the way of our plan and we lose sight of our goal.

So I hope the G7 talk of defeating Covid globally for good, reaching net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 and eliminating most coal power are real and I hope they are not just hollow intentions. I hope they will not lose sight of their goal and place the issues on the back burner, especially when power and leaders change over time and new leaders have their own individualistic agendas.

Words come easy and good words come easier, especially in what was a marvellous, sunny and beautiful few days in an idyllic resort in Carbis Bay. The South West and the British institutions really pushed the boat out with the Red Arrows, visits from the Royal Family and the local people embracing the intrusion with good grace. Even the protests were on the whole mannerly and peaceful. The event was seen as a success by those who attended.
But, it’s interesting that rarely has a group ever succeeded in achieving what it set out to do without dynamic passionate leadership. Show me a statue dedicated to a committee. It’s now the hard bit that follows actually fulfilling those promises rather than leaving them empty.

I feel many of the important issues around the environment, lowering emissions, traveling less and becoming less of a throw-away society, need a shift of mindset and culture in us all. We can all be more aware and less selfish in how we go about our everyday lives. Particularly as we get towards the delicate moment of lifting lockdown. It can often seem an almost unattainable achievement to save our wonderful world but if we all do a bit then collectively we can make a difference.