A year ago today we were preparing Célestine in order to take a socially distanced mini-break, staying in the gite of our friends Roddy and Susan, It was our first time away from home for what felt like forever, but which was in reality 10 weeks. We were in the Charente for 3 nights, and then were returned home.
And that's where we have been for the last year.
Thing are looking up, though. We now have more freedoms: there is now no curfew, many restaurants are open, if at reduced capacity, and we can travel anywhere in Europe we wish to go. The only thing stopping us is us, and our recently developed sense of risk aversion. So far we haven't strayed far.
I am now double vaccinated and Susan will have her second dose in a couple of weeks. Of course, we realise that doesn't mean we are safe from the virus, just safer. We can still catch it. we can still carry it, and we can still pass it on, it's just less likely to kill us if we do catch it. Masks and hand sanitiser are likely to stay a feature of our lives for ever, and there will probably always be the risk of more lockdowns, curfews and restrictions of movement.
The decison to travel anywhere will be tempered by the possibility of having to return home in a hurry, which is a real difficulty for people living far from family and friends - just hoppng on a plane to go to Australia is out of the question. To go to Australia at the moment you have to be a professional sportsman, a very wealthy foreigner, or extremely lucky in getting an airline seat not bought at exorbitant prices by one of the aforementioned. "Just" being an Australian with a family emergency doesn't get you in. And then there is the quarantine if you do make it.
Luckily, we have had no family emergencies, but not being able to visit family and friends nor knowing when that will be possible again is difficult.
So it's not all bad - we have our health, we know who our friends are even if we can't visit them (nor them us) and we have remained relatively emergency free. Let's hope the next twelve months are less "interesting" but more interesting than the last twelve...
2 comments:
One of the things we have learned, among many, is that we can no longer take just popping anywhere, however near or far, for granted. Our forthcoming trip to France is a major exercise in paperwork and planning and until very recently even a trip to the supermarket has required a risk assessment. Being double jabbed doesn't mean we can drop our guard.
Simon, all you say corresponds to our situation too. I'm glad to be in France, but I do wish I could go to the U.S. to see friends and family. As for traveling around France, maybe next year.
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