Our innate need for connection has been a casualty of the past few years. Global events have pulled the rug from under our naturally social selves. It’s therefore unsurprising that the role of community, whether that’s birdwatching, beach-cleaning or breaking bread with neighbours, has come into sharp focus as we attempt to bounce back from prolonged isolation. Let the following 33 insights from community founders, participants and academic experts shine a light on how coming together has the potential to help us feel better while bringing about broader social change.

When a distillery closes down – or goes “silent”, in whiskey vernacular – it doesn’t simply fade quietly into the night. No, in some cases it continues to produce (albeit passively) some of the finest whiskey in the world. Such is the case with Midleton Very Rare, the Cork, Ireland-based distiller with almost 200 years of history. Midleton has two distilleries – one active, one silent – and though both produce elegant, thoughtful whiskeys, only one has whiskeys that may be older than you are now.

In August 2020, I decided to leave London. The city had just been through a series of stringent lockdowns. Nearly all the benefits of city life had been taken away, which left the many disadvantages more clearly visible than usual. Then word came down from on high that my university (I’m a professor of strategy and entrepreneurship) would be entirely remote until the end of 2020. What better time to give it a shot?

If you wanted to have a thought-provoking, mature conversation about mental health and community, where would you go? Twitter? Probably not. A local support group? That might be a better bet. Or how about a glitter ball-bedecked retro-style roller skating disco in Tottenham, north London? Not the most obvious choice, but it is where MR PORTER finds nine enthusiastic young men and women sitting round a table on a Wednesday lunchtime, discussing said topics with intelligence and humour. The club is usually shut at this time (Monday nights, we hear, is where it’s at), but it has opened so we can shoot this lively bunch of skaters doing their thing while trying out a selection of T-shirts exclusively designed for our HIM charity. Sales will be used to support men’s mental health.

Our innate need for connection has been a casualty of the past few years. Global events have pulled the rug from under our naturally social selves. It’s therefore unsurprising that the role of community, whether that’s birdwatching, beach-cleaning or breaking bread with neighbours, has come into sharp focus as we attempt to bounce back from prolonged isolation. Let the following 33 insights from community founders, participants and academic experts shine a light on how coming together has the potential to help us feel better while bringing about broader social change.

When a distillery closes down – or goes “silent”, in whiskey vernacular – it doesn’t simply fade quietly into the night. No, in some cases it continues to produce (albeit passively) some of the finest whiskey in the world. Such is the case with Midleton Very Rare, the Cork, Ireland-based distiller with almost 200 years of history. Midleton has two distilleries – one active, one silent – and though both produce elegant, thoughtful whiskeys, only one has whiskeys that may be older than you are now.