There is a lot of talk about easing lockdown and charting pathways to recovery.

Joe Biden is at it, Boris Johnson is at it, so to our Miho, Martin, Arlene Foster and Michelle O'Neill, and it's clearly not easy.

So today we're going to take a snapshot of where we are on that journey and how things are likely to unfold in the months ahead.

And we'll flag up some of the many challenges our politicians and policymakers will have to

deal with as we try to make our way towards that promised light at the end of the COVID

tunnel. Jane, can we say for sure we're at the beginning of the end?

I'm going to avoid that phrase that a lot of our politicians like to use that, you know, being at the end of the beginning. No, we can't. We're going to avoid that phrase that a lot of our politicians like to use that, you know,

being at the end of the beginning. No, we can't. We're hopefully a bit closer now that the vaccine

is in play, but obviously with these new variants that have been talked about, that kind of puts a lot

in doubt. And I think the difficulty is that with all this talk about roadmaps and pathways,

we know that we've learned a lot around coronavirus,

often that all of those plans can quickly come undone

because there's so much uncertainty still.

Jane says news, Sam, what do you think?

I think she's fundamentally correct.

I think, though, I'm certainly feeling a bit more cheerful

about things right now.

The vaccine is a genuinely good news story

in what has been a pretty grim

period between the outworkings of Brexit and the Irish sea border, COVID, lockdown, etc. There is a real

sense here that there is genuine hope, not false hope, around the corner. The weather's about to

improve. That will be not just good for all of us for our mental health

...