Falkirk area residents asked what matters to you most for 'new normal'?

Things we took for granted are no longer the same – the daily commute, office working, catching up with friends in the pub.

One thing which has become clear is that life is unlikely to return to ‘normal’ as we used to think of it any time soon.

As Scotland makes its way on the bumpy road out of lockdown, now is a unique opportunity to re-evaluate what matters most to us and how we want our society to look in the future.

Now we are asking Falkirk Herald readers to help us take the temperature of the nation with a snapshot survey called the Big Conversation.

We want to find out what has changed since lockdown – and what the new society which emerges from the Covid-19 pandemic should look like to benefit us all.Those months when we could only leave the home for essential tasks were tough – but they also meant that we got to know our neighbours and began to appreciate the freedoms we had lost.And who would have thought that millions of us would leave our homes on Thursday evenings to applaud the key workers who were keeping us going?Through our survey we want to know what your priorities are around healthcare, government spending and tourism in the future.The furlough scheme is set to end in October and there are increasing worries for jobs in the regions hotels, restaurants and bars.

It will also ask what we have learned from the past six months and whether you have maintained the community spirit which was so strong in many areas in the first weeks of lockdown.There are also questions about your experience of lockdown, and the impact on your finances and mental health.We ask you to join in the Big Conversation with us on by clicking here.The survey will be available for two weeks, after which we will share the results with you in print and online.If you are unable to fill in the survey online or you would like to send us more of your thoughts, please send an email to [email protected] with The Big Conversation in the subject line.