Today is the 13th of July and lockdown in London has started to lift. Bubbles have expanded and then expanded again, overnight stays in England, Wales and Scotland are now possible. The 'shielding' vulnerable people will bet let out of their virtual barred houses on the first of August. And still, people are dying of Covid in significant numbers whilst the politicians dither on in their vague linguistic terms about whether or not masks indoors should be mandatory. This pales in comparison to the madness happening in my home country. I despair for my friends and family and for the passport that, currently, only allows me into 24 other countries. Not that I blame those other countries barring entry to Americans...
There have been significant moments masked in mundane everyday tasks:
- 4 June: Stepped foot inside school to pick up some supplies and have a socially distant lunch on a park bench with a friend
- 26 June: Finished year 13 of teaching
- 26 June: Rode the tube for the first time since mid-March to meet friends in Regents Park for a two metres of social distance between individuals, end of school year hurrah
- 10 July: Had my first socially distant meal in a pub garden with a friend
- Two weeks into summer holidays, I haven't gone insane or made Paul crazy yet. I've channeled my inner sanity by blogging. Summer 2019 in Greece and Italy is now done.
More is in the pipeline. The odds are looking that we'll likely be going back to school full-time in August. I'm taking tiny steps to prepare myself for full societal integration, like some kind of ex-prisoner.
Part of that plan involves domestic summer travel. And although Northumberland isn't nearly as warm and sunny as Southern Italy, it's still travel. So watch this space.