Every month until Hitchin Pride, the Comet will feature members of the LGBQT+ community – who will share their personal experiences with the wider world.

This month, Katie Wilson has returned and is sharing her thoughts on the little things that have been taken from us as life continues during the coronavirus lockdown.

She said: “How the world can change in just a few weeks. How we all take going to the pub, or something as simple as a trip to the shops for granted.

“As I write this we have no idea of the final outcome or when it will all end.

“It’s a difficult time because I like to go out into the world as Katie but, at the moment because of the way things are that isn’t possible.

“I know that there will be lots of other crossdressers like me in a similar situation, not because they can’t get out but because they can’t have that time alone indoors that they crave – a time they can be the other person who shares their soul.

“I have started painting as a way of expressing Katie as dressing isn’t an option at the moment.

“I even picked up a book for the first time in a while, and I’m reading Virginia Woolf and Alexandra Harris.

“I’ve also come off Facebook and limited the amount of time that I read the news as it only raises my anxiety levels. I know that this situation is real and that it’s happening.

“Maybe after this is over I will have changed, maybe we will all have changed, my biggest worry is not just the coronavirus but the psychological and mental scars that this could have on people for years to come.

“This is a good time to take stock of our lives and maybe more people will realise that life can be cut short at any time.

“It doesn’t matter what a person decides to do with their live or how they wish to dress as long as they aren’t hurting anyone else. We are all here for such a short time, so we need to make the best of it.”

If you’re a member of Hertfordshire’s LGBQT+ community and would like to share your experiences in our monthly diary, please email news@thecomet.net.