A long and strange journey

Two weeks ago we finally made it, dear friends – that long journey from London to Athens, to see my parents and my daughter again after almost nine months. Now that trip is a bit strenuous at the best of times – 2 hours from our flat to Heathrow, more than 3 hours of flight, and then another 2 hours from Athens Airport to our flat in Piraeus – but this time it was much worse, of course, due to all the Coronavirus restrictions. Still, we kept smiling even behind our masks, my darling Ian and me, because we made the trip together…

Life on board a plane had changed considerably – first of all, everybody had to keep their masks on at all times except when eating the little snack or drinking from the water bottle we were provided with; all that’s left from a former opulent and delicious meal complete with wine that we used to get on Aegean Airlines. Anyway, since we’d avoided all the tourists and started our journey in September, at least the flight wasn’t very busy – I’d never seen such an empty plane before! So, we flew into the sunset once again and reached Greece.

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Our odyssey hadn’t ended there, though: after three days of relaxation, we had to do our Covid-19 test before we could visit my parents who are both over 80. We went to the clinic and had our swab tests done – and then yet another two days of waiting for the results… Thankfully, they turned out negative, and so we could go and meet my parents at last – what a wonderful reunion!!

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We’d been spending a nice and quiet time here in Greece, which is hit considerably less hard by coronavirus than most of Europe – but then, news of a big second wave of infections all over Europe, thanks to a lot of irresponsible idiots who brought the virus home from their holidays abroad where they’d partied recklessly, and/or spread it at home through nightly pub and bar crawls. So – what now?? Are we going to be able to fly home in ten days as planned, or are we going to be stuck here for who knows how long? And what’s worrying me most at the moment: are we going to be able to move to Wales in November as planned?

I guess each and every one of you, dear friends, has had their current plans upset yet again by this new wave and the new lockdowns. Unfortunately, there doesn’t seem to be any way, neither pleading nor explaining nor threatening with fines and arrest, to make those Covidiots realise what they’re doing to their fellow people. Seems that our only hope of getting normality back is vaccination, but that can take time…

How are you all coping with this new coronavirus wave, dear friends? I’d love to discuss all the problems and worries that come with it for us all. Meanwhile, keep calm, carry on, and PLEASE observe the rules, for the sake of all of us!

(Photo: The Guardian)