We are almost out of it !
The pandemic I mean.
Ok I can’t book any Airbnb’s in Rome in the middle of the night because the owners have to physically assess you covid wise and The Archers still hasn’t returned to it’s Friday night spot, but things have almost gotten back to normal.
Almost
How quickly have we forgotten the lockdown eh ? Quite quickly is my response , but having said that I’ve noticed that many of us are now wanting happy endings in our films and tv and social media….just look at the burst of popularity of the sweet Heartstopper and the fact ( note spoiler) that Miss Baxter and Mr Mosley finally get it together in Downton.
They say air travel will be more difficult given the numbers flying versus the airport staff in place. For me this is yet to be seen.
I’ve booked a ferry over to Ireland in Bluebell later in the year and will meet up for a family party at Nu’s cottage in the far west of Ireland . This seemed simple enough to book and cheaper than I expected.
I’ve got an apartment of my own in a farmhouse in Kenmare .
Theresa, the farmer’s wife has already told me that she’ll have some homemade scones ready for me on my arrival.
There was no talk of swabs or covid passports .
Again, it will be seen if things are as straightforward as I hope.
I’ve bought a sat nav too…..one who copes with Irish roads.
Like I said, for some the pandemic will be forgotten quickly.
For me…less so.
Now, I think, I’m taking from it a more proactive stance on things because of covid
I am grateful for the lessons it’s taught me.
It was a lonely and sad time to have been living in a single person household and I don’t want to venture back there again.
And so I’ve stopped saying no to things, when no was the easy go to.
I’m pushing myself out of my comfort zone with travel and events and with people and new experiences.
It’s a work in progress…like we all are.
But thank you covid
You’ve taught me a lesson
Now BBC Please bring back The Archers on a Friday.
Australian airports and flying were chaos when we were first allowed to. Probably not helped with it being Easter. Qantas CEO blamed customers who had forgotten how to fly. Unions blamed understaffing.
ReplyDeleteEnjoy your up-coming adventures.
At least it’s not just in the UK
DeleteI am still being careful and wearing a mask when I go shopping or to the library. I still am reluctant to rejoin my exercises classes in person and I just sign up for the virtual ones. Our case numbers have been going up here so I am not taking chances.
ReplyDeleteI e noticed that choir numbers are noticeably down
DeleteNot taking chances here either but I have a compromised immune system and DH has A-fib. Masks make sense for us.
ReplyDeleteHugs - Barbara Anne
Oh, and your planned trip to Ireland sounds perfect. Enjoy thinks about it untiol it's time to go!
DeleteThe Ireland trip is another bucket list thing to stretch me…driving onto a ferry and across Ireland , that’s a big ask for someone like me
DeleteI think your trip is a great idea! I too push myself to do stretching things sometimes because generally the joy of the experience far outweighs any previous worry. I find that the things which cause me anxiety beforehand nearly always turn out to be much easier than I had anticipated!
DeleteWalking around town you'd think that Covid had never existed. People are in shorts and T Shirts enjoying the sun, and meeting in groups on the beach on in the parks. There's still ONE elderly gentleman who wears a mask when shopping; ME!
ReplyDeleteMe too cro, when I go into the supermarket. And one the train.
DeleteOn
DeleteI'm happy for you succeeding with your bucket list and stretching your comfort zone!
ReplyDeleteI will not soon forget the pandemic because it has changed so many things in so many ways. But I do think I have learned a few things during these years and I definitely have a greater appreciation for so many simple everyday things!
Over here in New Zealand masks are still required (mandatory) in supermarkets and restaurants/cafes unless you are eating. Most people (well, over 50% are wearing them walking down the street in crowded situations) but, bizarrely, they're not required at concerts!! Most of the people I know are being very careful, but quite a few are still going down with Covid, so ... "it's not over until it's over"
ReplyDeleteWe're about to head off on our first holiday for about a year. IF we get Covid while we're away we are required to self-isolate for 7 days, so we're only going to have a break on the same Island we reside on - we couldn't get back otherwise (not allowed on a ferry of plane, but we could drive ourselves home.) So, we're not out of the woods yet.
Enjoy your holiday and be safe
DeleteObviously, everyone wants the pandemic to be over but I think Covid and its variants could care less about what we want.
ReplyDeleteNor do the government now
Delete"what is it you plan to do
ReplyDeletewith your one wild and precious life?" As Mary Oliver said.
Enjoy and treasure.
She also said
Delete"Tell me about despair, yours, and I will tell you mine. Meanwhile the world goes on."
Yes. The good times and the bad.
DeleteStill masking here, in supermarkets/shops etc. We seem to be in the minority, though. We've managed to avoid Covid for 2 years and don't want to blow it at the last minute. I think many people will now take a different view on life and its fragility. Carpe Diem! xx
ReplyDeleteIndeed
DeleteNo need to push yourself too hard. Enjoy life your way.
ReplyDeleteI am , but we all need to push a little
DeleteA little, but not too hard. You have nothing to prove.
DeleteI know, I’m just making the most of things
DeleteYou are a mystery. Take it easy.
DeleteMore of an enigma who wears his heart on his sleeve I think.
DeleteIt’s coming back from Friday 3rd June apparently!
ReplyDeleteTell me more
DeleteI caught covid in my own house so wearing a mask out and about feels a bit pointless.
ReplyDeleteI'll probably get back to mask wearing when my immunity is declining (around 12 weeks after infection)
I love that you're getting out there! I think your trips to London are braver than Ireland but that's just me
Fully vaxxed and boosted here but still wear masks (our own choice) when we go to the grocery store or anywhere there are crowds of people. I'll be honest, it's been kind of nice not having a cold or flu or even bad allergies for the last couple of years. Until I see there are no more variants coming, I'm perfectly fine wearing a mask. We worry about long-haul covid and how some 10 - 30% of the people who have had it experience some problem. I'd rather not experience that, ha. But we still get out and do more than we did and that's a nice feeling.
ReplyDeleteI haven’t quite let down my guard completely and we’re still required to mask at doctors, pharmacies, and public transportation, so life is still in some ways as it has been during this pandemic. When a friend’s husband died quite young, she said the best advice se got was to say yes to every invitation. I would imagine going on after a divorce is the same in many ways.
ReplyDeleteYour trip to Ireland sounds lovely. Covid shows its self in many ways, not the least anxiety. My daughters Lockdown puppy is anxious, she didn't get to be passed around at the Vets, lick faces, be approached by strangers and other dogs.
ReplyDeleteSeveral friends have been very poorly with the latest variant. For me, I've booked a singing workshop with two friends. We will sing our hearts out to Working Nine to Five 😂
I'm impressed by how many people are still wearing masks, tbh. My family still mostly wear masks when out and about - but I'm having chemo for the next few months, so they're being quite vigilant and I'm not often out and about - I'm planning things mostly for the week before each cycle starts and even then still being cautious. I really don't want covid again at the moment. Three of my kids got it for a second time a month before I started chemo but thankfully I managed to avoid it!
ReplyDeleteThe trip in bluebell across the water sounds a good stretch - I like boundaries / limits to be pushed/ stretched - it's too easy to retreat into an ever decreasing sized personal space if we don't occasionally push ourselves a bit - especially after the past 2 years
Hope you manage well with the chemo these next months, Mrs G.
DeleteWe are a friendly bunch in Ireland. The roads down South are brilliant. You will be willingly helped if you take a wrong turn, sit back and dont worry.
ReplyDeleteIf you're going to stay near Kenmare take a drive around the Beare peaninsula - beautiful. Garnish Island (short boat trip from Glengarrif -about 30 mins from Kenmare) and its gardens/architecture is a lovely day out. An hour in the other direction will take you to Kells Bay where the soft climate means you can walk under a naturalised 'forest' of tree ferns. Kenmare itself will probably hold enough charms to while away the time. Am envious - enjoy!
ReplyDeleteAll of the above as far as Ireland driving is concerned. They still have EU financial support in maintaining roads. And everything else.
ReplyDeleteAn Irish satnav? Christ, that sounds like the start of a joke. I think an Irish satnav is actually a map. Remember to turn it the right way up and if you get lost you can always ask someone for directions. That way you are bound to end up even more lost.
ReplyDeleteI am with you on the Friday Archers outrage. It was bad enough not to hear it on Saturdays.
ReplyDeleteYour planned trip to Ireland sounds perfect, and homemade scones waiting for you on arrival are just going to be the cherry on the cake :-)
ReplyDeleteYou should be able to programme your SatNav to talk to you in an Irish accent if you play around with the settings.
Yes, there were lots of lessons in Covid, if we will only learn them.
ReplyDeleteYou have planned some very nice adventures. Saying, "yes" rather than "no" to invites/possibilities will broaden your circles and opportunity to expand your horizons. It definitely feels wonderful with things relaxing around Covid. Slowly, we are getting our freedoms back!
ReplyDeleteOrganising is not a strong point here -so most of the time I
ReplyDeleteI go round and round the garden like my teddy bear-You are quite right to push to do things x
Good luck with your ferry to Ireland. I hope it's Stena and not the wretched P&O. It's lovely round Kenmare. You could pop over to Killarney and Killarney National Park.
ReplyDeleteYou will love the locals spin on everything in Ireland . I have just returned from a week in Kilkenny.I said to a bar man "the farmers will want some rain . REply. "Sure they would want rain in one field and sun in the other !! I can see you getting in to all sorts of trouble !! x Bernie
ReplyDeleteI also was alone during the 2 + years of COVID. Though always a loner, it was and still is a very lonely time with no family. My goal for this year is also to push beyond my comfort zone. Not able or secure in traveling as a 67 year old single female but trying to do my in my familiar area. I realized during the shut down how much I do need people….just so very hard to feel like you belong. I retired as a nurse 3 years ago. Best thing ever but that was most of my social interaction. I envy your life.
ReplyDeleteI think you have captured what I feel but in a more articulate way
DeleteAll the best for your travels.
ReplyDeleteCovid 19 is still out there...just because they aren't counting. Doesn't mean that it has gone away. With 75% of people in England having got it and just over 50% in Scotland and Wales....so much for the restrictions being wrong in our countries.
We still wear our masks. I just don't feel confident to be in busy shops or places.. wasn't too keen before to be honest.
It sounds like a wonderful trip you have planned. I have never been to Ireland; I wish now that I had. Covid is still a thing here even though it is hardly reported on as it was. We are still losing people to deaths because of it; in 2020 we were as a Nation reeling from losing 26 people to it. Now people are sick of the restrictions and want to pretend it won't happen to them... until it does. I am still mask wearing and am happy that I haven't been a victim but I have shocking lungs so am being careful for me.
ReplyDeleteJo in Auckland
Ireland should be fun. Driving is easy, the main roads are excellent, the rural roads good. GPS will really help. That is farther south west than we went, it should be beautiful. And you are use to driving on the left. Go forth. Be brave.
ReplyDeleteI don't think that we will take things so for granted as we once did, will we?
ReplyDeleteI agree about not forgetting how isolating covid was, and I do live with my husband. I was at the Extravaganza in Llandudno yesterday, it's first appearance for two years, and was almost moved to tears when watching the parade at how much the people ... in the parade and watching it... were so pleased to be there, out with others just celebrating life. No excuse for the Archers though!
ReplyDelete