Closures ‘foolish’, says Sheila Hancock
‘For all of the religions I think it could have only been good for the morale of the country.’
Quaker Sheila Hancock has said that it was ‘foolish’ for the government to force places of worship to close down during the two national lockdowns in 2020. Speaking in Premier magazine on 1 December, the Hammersmith Friend said: ‘I think it was foolish of them. It’s rather like gyms… my gym is the safest place I know. They’ve got Perspex screens, you have to wipe down the machines, they’ve got air coming in, all the windows are open. It’s so safe and I think most churches could follow those measures. We certainly did when we had the opportunity to meet. We were safer there than in our own homes, with children coming in and out.
‘For all of the religions I think it could have only been good for the morale of the country. I seriously do believe that.’
The eighty-seven-year-old actor, who has been awarded an OBE and a CBE for services to drama, also spoke about the new Hammersmith Meeting House, an ultra-low energy structure that requires little space for heating and cooling (see 10 December 2020). ‘It’s, environmentally, an example to everybody. It’s got every kind of good thing that you could possibly have. It is a remarkable piece of work and it’s exquisitely beautiful.’
She also told the magazine that next year will mark her twenty-five years as a Quaker. ‘I’ve never regretted it,’ she said. ‘It’s absolutely right for me. I like the silence because it expresses an inability to find the answer and I think life is one long quest to find the answer, which you probably never will.’
