Every city, town and village up and down Wales has been changed in multiple ways by the Covid pandemic. Nowhere has been left untouched.
First and foremost are the people who are no longer with us, their lives claimed by the terrible virus.
But there have also been other changes, some obvious, some that we probably don't even notice any more.
Read more: New bands and micro-festival announced for 'housewarming' party at Swansea Arena
Shops have shut, one way systems have been implemented, high streets have struggled to draw back their former footfall numbers, and everywhere you go there are signs and screens.
But not all of the changes have been negative. Many people have been kinder, more compassionate, more willing to help.
We've had a look at some of the ways Swansea has been, possibly forever, changed by the pandemic.
We lost some of our shops
One of the biggest physical changes to Swansea is what's not there anymore - the brands that have been lost from the high street.
One of the large empty plots is Topshop and Topman, which was owned by Arcadia group, which went into administration on November 30, 2020, placing 13,000 jobs at risk. In January, 2021, online clothing retailer ASOS purchased the group, but it only wanted the brands, not the shops.
It spelt the end for the prime Swansea Oxford Street unit, which had been occupied by the retailer for decades, and now, over a year later, it remains empty.
Its vacant former home is currently being marketed to let by RK Real Estate. The unit is described as being located on "two of the city's strongest streets for shopper footfall", and adds how the store size and multiple levels will "suit a range of retail and leisure uses including bar, restaurant and competitive socialising." You can learn more about the opportunity by clicking here.
Another name gone from Swansea is Debenhams, arguably one of the biggest losses of the pandemic.
Debenhams opened its doors in the Quadrant Shopping Centre in 1978. Since that moment, it became Swansea's go to shop, whether you needed a last minute birthday present, a works do outfit, or just a little treat for yourself.
But in January, 2021, all that came to an abrupt end, with the long-anticipated announcement that all Debenhams stores would close when the brand was bought by online fashion retailer Boohoo for £55 million.
Lovers of the Debenhams brand are still able to shop online, but its store in The Quadrant, which was the anchor unit of the shopping centre, closed in May. It has been the most significant of all the units lost in the city centre, due to its sheer size and the footfall it once attracted.
On a more positive note, one store that we thought we lost came back towards the end of last year.
Poundland returned to 18 Oxford Street in September, 2021 after the previous store at 242 Oxford Street closed in April, 2021, getting rid of one gap in the High Street.
Signs and screens everywhere!
Shops and shoppers throughout Swansea (and of course the rest of the country) have had to deal with social distancing restrictions, one way systems and mask rules.
Most recently, was over the festive period, with shoppers waiting in unusually long queues, formed due to capacity limitations on indoor spaces such as shops.
Now, even after the restrictions have mainly been lifted, the floors of shops are still stickered with social distancing markers, and the tills are shielded off by plastic screens.
Hand sanitising stations seem set to become a permanent feature of shops and shopping centres, with stations still dotted at the front of every entrance to every store.
A new hospital
Our hospitals and NHS staff have, of course, been at the forefront of the battle against Covid - and we got a brand new hospital part way through the pandemic.
The Bay Field Hospital was created in a 1950s factory building at Bay Studios in Fabian Way and is the size of several football pitches. The 1,000 bed facility was handed over to health chiefs in May, 2020, but was never ultimately needed as a hospital.
What it did step up for in the end was as a mass vaccination centre, delivering hundreds of thousands of Covid jabs aimed at keeping the population of Swansea safe.
The hospitality venues that didn't make it
Covid measures extended into Swansea's hospitality venues, which have faced long periods of closure and rules restricting them to table service and limiting numbers. For some, it was just too much.
One of the venues to fall victim to the pandemic was Idols in Wind Street.
The nightclub, which had been at the heart of Swansea's party capital for 15 years, announced it was closing for good in June, 2021. The venue had earnt itself a huge fanbase thanks to its party anthems and cheap drinks.
Social distancing measures, however, meant the experience people knew and loved about the venue could no longer be offered, if they were allowed to go there at all. Nightclubs were normally among the last hospitality venues to re-open in Wales after lockdown periods.
It is not all bad news however, as the former nightclub is being given a new lease of life, and is set to re-open as a gin bar later in the year.
We've all gone al fresco
One positive of the tight restrictions implemented on the hospitality industry is it has forced us to rediscover dining al fresco.
Pavement café culture has had a boost in Swansea, especially after council chiefs decided to extend free licences for outdoor dining areas.
Eligible food and drink businesses will not have to pay for a licence for another year, up to the end of March, 2023, but they must still apply for one.
The extra outdoor space allowed many businesses to stay open when their indoor capacity was halved or cut completely.
People were even kinder
People have always been kind in Swansea
The city sees thousands of good works every year to help its most vulnerable residents.
But during the pandemic - that kindness and support became even more important as many struggled to deal with its consequences.
Thankfully, and completely predictably, the city's people stepped up to the mark.
From people checking in on their neighbours or popping down the shop for them, to major organised efforts, the people of Swansea showed just how thoughtful they can be.
One of the big events that took place was organised by charity Action for Elders, with Swansea Council's partnership involvement team, which saw more than 200 people invited to the city's Brangwyn Hall for an afternoon of festive food and entertainment.
For many of the older people who attended it was a welcome relief after many months trapped in their own four walls with little contact with the outside world.
Working from home
Many of us have been working from home throughout the pandemic - at times it has been the law to do so if possible.
It has led to a sea change in many of our working lives with a number of companies switching to home working or a hybrid model.
Swansea Council and the DVLA, two large city employers, have switched to home working for a number of their employees. It is not known how many of them, if any, will continue to do so in the future.
Admiral, another major employer in Swansea and elsewhere in Wales has closed some of its offices and switched to a hybrid system at others which gives people the opportunity to work from home if they wish.
There has been new to replace the old
Whilst Swansea food and drink venues were some of the hardest hit by the pandemic, there have been tonnes of new additions to Swansea.
Some of these include, two bars, Heaven and Utopia, chain restaurant Wagamama's, as well as Founders & Co, a place where almost any event imaginable can take place.
We have also seen the emergence of the new Swansea Arena and the bridge to it over Oystermoth Road, along with the urban park alongside it, and other developments nearby.
And work has begun on transforming the old Albert Hall into an entertainment venue, along with shops and offices.
Wales does seem, fingers crossed, to be coming through the other side of the pandemic, but the wounds inflicted by two years of lockdowns are still just as visible as ever.
Swansea has been changed forever by Covid, but it is also moving on and re-defining itself. Hopefully, in the not too distant future, the pandemic will be just a memory.
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