Once again we’ve reached the post-lockdown phase, restrictions tentatively lifting around the UK. The big difference for me is having had the first dose of the Covid vaccine. It felt like completing the final levels of a computer game as I walked round the cavernous conference centre. You give personal details at one desk, receive medical advice at another, go this way, go that way, … Continue reading Blue skies and high ceilings
It has been impossible not to lately. The death of George Floyd in the US after a police officer knelt on his neck was the catalyst for widespread protests. It shocked us out of our Coronavirus news coma. Black Lives Matter demonstrations happened all over the UK, reminding us that this is both an international and a local problem that we need to address. We … Continue reading Thinking about race
As we enter week 7 (8?) of lockdown in London, it strikes me that my life now has similarities with caravan holidays from my youth.Back before I’d ever been on a plane, Summer holidays were taken in Devon. It was roughly a 5 hour drive from Stoke-on-Trent where I grew up, punctuated by an overnight stay in Bristol to visit my grandparents. I remember the … Continue reading Caravans
I’m in Montpellier, making an escape from the UK just a few days after the latest in a long line of cancelled Brexit deadlines. Leaving the EU on Halloween proved to be a dystopian step too far, even for this government. And so we cling on to hope for better politics in 2020. When the daily grind gets too relentless, I find France can be … Continue reading French escape
I’m with my mum at a hotel in the North of England, on a special offer one night break. We’re here ‘to relax’. Since our last visit, the hotel has gone upmarket. We get a hint of what’s to come at the check-in desk. Our offer includes £30 per person to spend on dinner that evening. Great! I say, because £30 should buy a decent … Continue reading Muddy relaxation on a spa break
