I returned to the UK a week ago today. The drive home was far more difficult than the drive out, but that is to be expected I suppose. Leaving holiday is always more exhausting than departing for holiday.
It was made exponentially worse by the Covid restrictions which are designed to stop people moving about as they please. So of course I knew that in coming home I would have to face my punishment, for the crime of enjoying myself.
Last Friday, in Calais, we had to make a mad dash for an antigen test so we could be allowed back in the UK â nearly starting a riot in the process when we got served ahead of a large group of what seemed like Bulgarian and Polish immigrants. Then the long drive across a traffic-choked and unlovely England. Then, on Saturday, a stern talking-to from a functionary at Dublin port informing us that we had the âwrongâ negative Covid test and that by rights he could send us to a two week hotel quarantine. And then finally, home.
It is good to be back. No matter how much I love and miss Italy, itâs always good to be back in your own bed. We barely seen the sun since we returned, but no matter. Our batteries are well and truly recharged.
Of course, now that we are back we are under house arrestâŠsorry, I mean self-isolation. No matter how much the government and media tries to convince us that Covid is on a par with the Black Death and therefore these ânew normalâ rules are there to HELP us, it really does seem as though they are designed to punish us, not protect us. Oh, you thought you could just go away on a wee sunny holiday, did you, Missy? Well, now you canât leave your house for ten days! Thatâll learn you.
Our brief stay in France was made extra unpleasant by the new Covid passport rules, which meant we were not allowed in the dining room of the crappy Ibis Hotel for dinner, and had to eat with our plates in our laps in our tiny, tiny rooms. But hereâs the interesting part: we were allowed in the dining room for breakfast. So, whatâŠthe virus doesnât get you in the morning? Only at dinner time? Does it like a lie-in?
Itâs all very clear to me, and a lot of others as well, that these rules are designed to make life very unpleasant for people, so that the people will do what the state wants â out of a desperate desire to get their freedoms back. Last year, it was a three week lockdown. Then it was the masks. Now itâs the vaccine. Each time they move the goalposts, turn the screws, and continue to lie that itâs for our benefit.
Iâm grateful to be back in a quiet, out-of-the-way place, where I am content enough to sit out whateverâs coming next.
I'm a Brit living in America, and I just got back from a holiday back in the old country. It was magnificent to be back in Britain, which I used to visit every few months but had been unable to visit since late 2019.
It is utterly exhausting dealing with the ridiculously over-the-top burden of the tests. One test three days before leaving, another on day 2 after arrival, another on day 5 for early release (with no refund for the day 8 test I was forced to buy), and another before one returns to the US. It really does come off as unnecessarily vindictive punishment, and the rules seem deliberately confusing.
Glad you are back safe and sound from your trip. Nothing like your own bed! We were in ROI for a week away and found their rules to be more strict in terms of eating out at restaurants than in the North, where no one (that I know) seems to bother and for the most part just tries to get on with their day. Hope to catch up with you soon properly x
I live in the Biomedical Security State of California. Our imbecile governor and his toadies have been imposing lockdowns and masks on us for a year and a half, yet we are doing no better regarding corona virus than free states like Florida and South Dakota. We're currently in the process of a recall vote for the gov, but even if he ends up being booted, the next fool will no doubt insist on the same nonsense. The worst thing about it is that it is clear we are being lied to about most of this "pandemic", and there seems to be no end in sight to the hysteria.
I'm a Brit living in America, and I just got back from a holiday back in the old country. It was magnificent to be back in Britain, which I used to visit every few months but had been unable to visit since late 2019.
It is utterly exhausting dealing with the ridiculously over-the-top burden of the tests. One test three days before leaving, another on day 2 after arrival, another on day 5 for early release (with no refund for the day 8 test I was forced to buy), and another before one returns to the US. It really does come off as unnecessarily vindictive punishment, and the rules seem deliberately confusing.
Glad you are back safe and sound from your trip. Nothing like your own bed! We were in ROI for a week away and found their rules to be more strict in terms of eating out at restaurants than in the North, where no one (that I know) seems to bother and for the most part just tries to get on with their day. Hope to catch up with you soon properly x
I live in the Biomedical Security State of California. Our imbecile governor and his toadies have been imposing lockdowns and masks on us for a year and a half, yet we are doing no better regarding corona virus than free states like Florida and South Dakota. We're currently in the process of a recall vote for the gov, but even if he ends up being booted, the next fool will no doubt insist on the same nonsense. The worst thing about it is that it is clear we are being lied to about most of this "pandemic", and there seems to be no end in sight to the hysteria.