As covid restrictions are removed, large parts of our lives are returning to some form of normal.
And it is no different for Liverpool Council, with political hostilities, tensions and debates returning to the town hall for the first full meeting of the year.
There were some really important issues to be discussed and decided on - none more so than how the city will be governed going forward.
Here we take you through the key moments from an eventful, important and at times feisty night.
Mayoral movement
This was always going to be the big issue of the night.
There has long been calls for a discussion and debate - and for some a vote - on whether Liverpool should ditch the current governance model, which features an elected city mayor at its head.
When she was elected last May, Mayor Joanne Anderson said she would commit to holding a referendum on how the city is governed.
But things have changed somewhat, with the city's elections moved to all be held in 2023. The Labour group says this means it cannot justify holding a one-off referendum this year that would cost around £500,000.
Instead, the Labour group tonight presented a motion for a city-wide consultation on the different models that could be adopted.
Mayor Anderson said she believed the consultation would 'do the same job' as a referendum and get the same results.
She was backed in this move by Liberal leader Steve Radford who said the move represented 'impeccable logic' and by the Lib Dems, who said the consultation would offer the most choice in terms of governance models.
It was only the Green Party who called for a full public vote, with leader Tom Crone saying there had been a 'disastrous democratic deficit' in the city and that 'people deserve to have a say.'
But the Labour motion passed - meaning a consultation will begin soon, with results to be implemented before the next elections in 2023.
Airport expansion
Another big issue tonight concerned Liverpool John Lennon Airport.
Green councillor Anna Key brought forward a motion which called for the council to move to block any further expansion of the airport and to withdraw all financial support from the airport.
This issue is becoming an increasingly prominent one in the city as the challenges of post-pandemic economic recovery and climate change clash.
In her motion, Cllr Key said: "We simply cannot plan for transitioning to a net zero carbon economy while also planning to expand the airport - it cannot be done."
She also made reference to the campaign to Save Oglet Shore, which is the nature-filled, beauty spot that would be directly impacted by any airport expansion.
What was clear tonight is that there is a growing cross-party consensus against future airport expansion, with the Lib Dems and several Labour Councillors directly stating that the facility should not grow.
In the end, Labour moved a motion calling for a full report into the potential impacts of any airport expansion - which will come back to the council before a decision is made.
This is an issue that is not going away.
Local plan
Another key moment tonight came as the council formally adopted its new local plan.
This is an important document, containing the policies that will shape how Liverpool is run.
Development cabinet member Sarah Doyle said the plan will develop the city in a sustainable way, that protects green spaces and also sets out plans for building of 35,000 houses.
There was broad support for the local plan - particularly for how it plans to tackle the proliferation of cramped, shared houses that have blighted communities across the city.
Tensions and hostilities resume
Full council meetings in Liverpool these days are a little different and don't have quite the same temperature as when former Mayor Joe Anderson and his Lib Dem rival Richard Kemp would go head to head.
But there was still a fair bit of tension tonight - and it led to one councillor getting a ticking off too.
Lib Dem Councillor Richard Clein was criticised when, during a tirade against the Labour group, he described former planning chair and Labour Councillor Tricia O'Brien as 'past her sell by date.'
He was criticised for his language and asked to apologise.
In a rare move, Lord Mayor and chair of the meeting Cllr Mary Rasmussen told Cllr Clein she would speak to him about his behaviour after the meeting.
During the meeting the Lib Dems were keen to go hard on the Labour failings that led to last year's devastating Max Caller report - which led to commissioners being installed at the council.
During the mayoral debate, Lib Dem boss Richard Kemp said the mayoral model under Labour had 'cost the city £135 million through incompetence, waste and lost income."
Unity on important issues
While there was plenty of tension between the different political groups at tonight's meeting - there was some unity on some key issue.
Firstly, there was cross-party support for a motion from Councillors William Shortall and Pam Thomas, which called for the council to reaffirm its commitment to using the social model of disability as a way to prevent and remove disabling barriers in systems, practices and attitudes in all its functions.
There was also unanimous support for a powerful motion from Councillor Sarah Doyle and Mayor Anderson, which called for more work and a fully funded strategy to tackle the endemic issue of violence against women and girls.
MP to stand down as councillor
At the close of tonight's meeting there was some more significant news.
West Derby Member of Parliament Ian Byrne, who has also been a city councillor for Everton ward since 2018, announced he would be stepping down from his council position.
He did so while getting key support for a motion calling for a Hillsborough Day in memory of those who died in the 1989 disaster - as well as a move towards teaching the history of the disaster and all that followed in schools.
As he stepped down, Mr Byrne thanked his colleagues for representing "the best people in the best city in the world", before adding "Justice for the 97."
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