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Adieu 2020: Celebrating little notes of joy

Updated

Published

Dec 28, 2020, 05:00 AM

It has been a tough year for everyone coping with the new normal of a pandemic. Masks and sanitiser holders have become the new fashion accessories.

Social distancing has become part of the new landscape. Many of us have had to rethink our lifestyles and get creative in the ways we connect, gather, eat and work. Spirits will definitely lift as Singapore heads into the long-awaited phase three of reopening today.

Focusing on the little notes of joy in people's lives and ending a rough year with hope and optimism, The Straits Times Picture Desk captures moments of lightness in a world that too often weighs us down.

A splash of colour in the sky from a rainbow over Bukit Timah Hill on June 1, 2020 â the last day of Singaporeâs circuit breaker period â seemed to signal the hope of brighter days ahead. ST PHOTO: NG SOR LUAN

A man stepping over a long strip of plastic wrap that had settled on the ground in the shape of a heart in Little India on Jan 16, 2020, just a few days before Singapore confirmed its first case of the coronavirus. ST PHOTO: MARK CHEONG

A park-goer practising her jump shot with a basketball, as basketball courts were closed, at West Coast Park on May 25, 2020. ST PHOTO: JASON QUAH

Families and friends out enjoying the afternoon sun and a breath of fresh air on the Green Roof at Marina Barrage on Dec 1, 2020, during the year-end school holidays. ST PHOTO: KUA CHEE SIONG

Children playing at the Foggy Bowls attraction at Jewel Changi Airport on Oct 19, 2020. ST PHOTO: ONG WEE JIN

Mr Stanley Tan taking his seven-year-old hyacinth macaws Bluey (left) and Mizu (right) for flights at West Coast Park, on Jun 19, 2020. ST PHOTO: GAVIN FOO

Ladies in pink on rental bicycles in Pulau Ubin on Sep 26, 2020. ST PHOTO: MARK CHEONG

An MRT commuter wearing a mask with a cheerful design on April 3, 2020, before the start of the circuit breaker period. ST PHOTO: JASON QUAH

People out and about at Palawan Beach in Sentosa on Dec 19, 2020. ST PHOTO: ARIFFIN JAMAR

Children giving a cat lots of love and attention at The Cat Cafe at The Rail Mall in Upper Bukit Timah Road on Oct 9, 2020, during phase two of the reopening of Singapore's economy, when groups of up to five people were allowed to meet for social gatherings outside homes. ST PHOTO: NG SOR LUAN

Entrepreneur Jonathan Tay holding up his daughter Jesslyn in front of a Tyrannosaurus Rex model at Changi Jurassic Mile on Oct 11, 2020, the day the pathway connecting Changi Airport and East Coast Park opened. ST PHOTO: LIM YAOHUI

People wearing face masks walking past posters at Singapore General Hospital on Oct 22, 2020. ST PHOTO: LIM YAOHUI

A man with his two dogs on his bicycle on Jewel Bridge at Punggol Waterway on Oct 11, 2020. ST PHOTO: KELVIN CHNG

A man swimming in the sea during phase 2 of post-circuit breaker at East Coast Park on June 25, 2020. ST PHOTO: KEVIN LIM

A laughing Buddha statue wearing spectacles is seen at a carpark near Block 145 Teck Whye Avenue on June 21, 2020. ST PHOTO: LIM YAOHUI

A crowd controller holding up a red umbrella to shield patrons from the rain at the entrance of Geylang Serai Market on May 17, 2020. ST PHOTO: LIM YAOHUI

A woman riding her bicycle across the Jubilee Bridge during the circuit breaker period on April 20, 2020. ST PHOTO: JASON QUAH

Singaporeans arriving at the open field next to The Vales executive condominium near Sengkang General Hospital where the Red Lions were landing during the National Day Parade on Aug 9, 2020. ST PHOTO: LIM YAOHUI

Members of the public enjoy a day out along the Kranji Coastal Walk on Dec 26, 2020. ST PHOTO: DESMOND FOO

Visitors in front of the Boeing booth at the Singapore Airshow on Feb 15, 2020. ST PHOTO: LIM YAOHUI