Whatever happened to …

Hi there everyone 😀

I feel like I've kind of been a bit absent for a few weeks. There just seems to have been a lot to squeeze in and my ramblings have had to move down the priority list for a while, but I have really missed catching up with you all so am just dropping in for a quick one before we head off for another bit of an adventure.

So ...

Whatever happened to ... booking a holiday, looking forward to said holiday and the time coming round to go and just packing up and getting in the car … nothing else to think about other than what to do when you get there?

The last time this happened for us was in February 2020, when I booked a pretty much last minute break in Windsor. I booked it, we packed, we went, we had a great time ...

Obviously, like for lots of people, things have been more than a little different since then …

March 2020 … We were due to stay in a beautiful cottage overlooking a golf course in Dunkeld. We were going with Lesley and Tom and were all really looking forward to it. We’d watched a Susan Calman programme about the area, had trips planned … including a visit to Glamis castle, one of the 50 things I want to do before I’m 60.

A week or so before we were due to go and Covid was confirmed as a pandemic. It was very much a case of will we/won’t we be going? Should Martin and I just go on our own? In the end Boris made the decision for us by announcing the first lockdown. After lots of conversations with the holiday company they agreed to rebook us for later in the year … though this holiday never actually came off as the cottage owners decided they they were no longer in the market for letting.

May 2020 … we were due to make our annual trip to catch up with old work friends … we were going to Hawes in Yorkshire. Again lockdown thwarted our trip and once again the holiday cottage was taken off the letting market. We found another nice looking cottage and rebooked for May 2021 ...

September 2020 … we had a two week break booked in Sidmouth. We didn’t really know if we would be going. Luckily another lockdown did not get imposed though rule of 6 and social distancing rules were in place. After having been isolated from the outside world for a good part of the year we were nervous of going and packed plenty of sanitiser, anti bac wipes and sprays and pretty much disinfected our whole holiday cottage before moving in for our two weeks stay ...

December 2020 … We had decided to go away for Christmas. Having pretty much spent all our Christmases with mum and dad, my sister and brother and their families, it looked like rule of six would put the mockers on this. We decided to just remove ourselves from the equation and found a lovely cottage in The Peak District. The closer it got to going ... the less likely it looked that it would be possible. Then it seemed we may be able to go ... but just for three days ... only to be thwarted at the very last minute ... as Boris pretty much cancelled Christmas for 2020 ... so that was it.

March 2021 … We had a week booked on the Llyn Pensinsular. Again it was a last minute cancellation as the changing of the rules in Wales lagged a bit behind what was happening in England. We rebooked the same cottage for March 2022 ...

May 2021 … We finally made our rearranged annual get together with friends. Our break coincided with the week that pubs and restaurants reopened, so we got to have our break, but it wasn’t without a fair amount of nervousness on our part. We ended up having a lovely week ... mainly of looking for waterfalls ...

July 2021 … We had a break in The Peak District booked. Mum was coming with us and all was allowed on the Covid front, but things were not straightforward. A few days before we were due to go the cottage company called to say that our cottage wouldn’t be available for the first two days of our stay as they were having a new boiler fitted. We could either go two days later or rearrange. We decided to go, only to find one day in, that Martin was struck down by a rotten stomach bug and proceeded to spend the rest of our break in bed. Whilst it was not ideal, it didn't stop mum and I from getting out and exploring some new places ...

September 2021 … There was no problem with us getting away to Pembrokeshire in September, but it was another eventful break ... with the need for plumbers twice and an unplanned emergency trip to Swansea to try and resolve car problems ...

December 2021 … We had a break in Northumberland booked, with Lesley and Tom. We’d had our holiday planning ‘meeting’, the menus were planned and the Tesco delivery booked. We had a meal booked at The Treehouse and were all really excited to be finally getting away. Then in comes Storm Arwen, leaving our holiday cottage with no power. It wasn’t until the day before we were due to go that we finally decided to give up on our original choice of cottage, as it still wasn’t looking good, and we were lucky enough to find Cuthbert's cottage, which was just perfect ... so all worked out well in the end ...

December 2021 … We were off to Brancaster for the New Year with Jackie and Phil. We had a near miss when one of their household was hit with the Covid lurgy just before Christmas. They did so well in containing the virus and we waited with baited breath over Christmas ... as there were signs that Boris might be tightening rules after Boxing Day. In the ended he stuck with Plan B and all was good ...

March 2022 … We finally made it to North Wales, on the Llyn Peninsular, partaking of our rearranged break from March last year. Mum was due to come with us, but having been in close contact with someone who tested positive for Covid the weekend before, it was touch and go as to whether she would have been able to come. Fortunately a week of negative tests later and all was good. We did have a bit of first night stress with no Internet, but this was soon resolved and all went well. We had the most amazing week, lots of sunshine, and I have so much to share with you about our trip ...

Our next break is due in a couple of weeks. We are off to Kent, with mum again, and hoping to explore lots of new places as this is an area we have only ever been to once. I am keeping everything crossed that we can be back to our normal holiday routine for that break. 🤞🤞🤞

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