2020 - that was the year that wasn't

It’s certainly been the strangest year that I can remember, and I’m sure the same applies for virtually everyone on the planet, but for me at least, 2020 started out with the highest of expectations. However, as we approached the end of the first quarter of the year, it became abundantly clear that 2020 was going to be rather different, and not in a good way!

For once in my career, I started out by planning my time away from the office carefully, rather than just drifting into the year, and fitting in my holidays around other people. One of the downsides of being head of department is the need to ensure that adequate cover is provided by your section, at all times.

When that section is the Quality Control Department, having suitably qualified individuals available throughout the working year, is essential, as any hold-ups in the approval of incoming items, the carrying out of in-process checks, or that all important final release for sale, understandingly has an adverse effect on company performance and customer satisfaction.

There are those who plan their holidays with meticulous detail and, in one particular case, well in advance for the whole year. Others take a more relaxed approach and one that might be governed by external factors such as school holidays, or when their significant others are able to book leave.

In previous years I have worked around the requirements of my staff, only to find some of the best slots taken. So, even before the calendar changed at the end of 2019, I was in there with my plans. First, a short four-day cruise in early May for Mrs PBT’s and I, on the Queen Mary, across the North Sea to Hamburg; a city I have made two very brief visits to, but never really had the chance to appreciate, let alone explore properly.

The second trip was an equally short trip towards the end of the same month. This was to be joining a group of “beer enthusiasts,” many of whom are members of Maidstone CAMRA, on a short break in western Bohemia. The intention was to base ourselves in the city of Pilsen (Plzen, in Czech), and then to drink our way around as many local breweries and brewpubs as possible.

I have been on several previous trips with this group, visiting Jihlava (Czech Republic), Düsseldorf and Bamberg, and they were all highly enjoyable. Son Matthew was due to accompany me, having been on a couple of those previous excursions, and was really looking forward to it, especially after missing out on a holiday the previous year.

Finally, Mrs PBT’s had floated the idea of a visit to Austria, later in the year, accompanying her eldest niece on a trip to meet up with her estranged father. That sounded a bit “heavy” to me, but my role was going to be making the travel arrangements, acting as interpreter (not really necessary) and just going along for the ride but, as we all know, things turned out quite different and one by one we slowly watched our holiday plans crumble into nothing.

When the pandemic really stated to hit, and the first national lockdown was imposed, I wasn’t surprised to learn that our cruise would be postponed. Discussion then ensued amongst the members of the Pilsen tour group, and a decision reached to postpone that trip as well; this time until 2020. There was a hitch with this plan, tied in with the decision of the majority of the group to travel by rail. The option for replacement tickets, issued by Eurostar, had to be fulfilled by the end of March 2021, so that was the date set for the revised trip.

March wouldn’t have been my choice for a trip to Central Europe, especially knowing how changeable the weather can be at that time of year, and now, with only three months to go, March 2021 is also looking increasingly unlikely. I haven’t heard from the organisers, but I strongly suspect that once again the trip will have to be rescheduled.

The Austria trip never got beyond the “loose idea” stage, although possibly later in the new year, it might get off the ground. Despite this, and totally oblivious of what was to come, at the beginning of 2020 I embarked on a couple of trips away, although neither of them was for pleasure.

During the first full week in January, I accompanied our Business Development Manager on a trip to Scotland, to help give a presentation to our largest UK customer. The latter are based in Dundee, so that was to be  our destination and whilst I would have preferred to travel there and back by train, my colleague thought that flying would be the best and quickest option.

I’m still not convinced of the latter, but as this was his call, I went along with it. So, come Monday morning, I met him at Gatwick, and as we were travelling light with cabin baggage only, we headed straight for the Club Lounge. Being a "frequent flyer," at least until the pandemic stopped play, my colleague enjoys a few “perks” which include preferential treatment at various affiliated airports.

For a small additional fee, he was able to include me as his guest, so I joined him to see for myself how the other half travel. It was all very civilised and light years away from what a friend of mine would call those travelling “steerage.” Most importantly there was no queuing for something to eat and then scrambling to find a table, or just somewhere to plonk one’s behind down.

Instead, we were given a choice of where to sit, and then had the option of a well-stocked, breakfast buffet-bar to choose from. I didn’t pig-out, as I’d had my usual toast and marmalade before leaving home, but the bacon was rather tempting, as was a small plate of scrambled egg. Less tempting was the prospect of a beer, but as my colleague so wisely observed, “It’s always five o-clock in the afternoon somewhere in the world,” so as alcoholic beverages were also included, we each had a beer.

A quick Easy Jet flight to Edinburgh, sitting right at the front of the aircraft, saw us amongst the first off the plane, and with no baggage to wait for, and no passport control to pass through, we headed down to the car hire area, at the far end of the terminal, to collect our pre-booked vehicle.

My colleague drove us the 60 or so miles to Dundee but taking the more westerly M90/A90 route disappointingly meant missing out on a crossing via the Tay Road Bridge. Instead, we arrived in the city from the west. There’s not too much to say about our stay, apart from the presentation going well, some useful business contacts made along with good feedback on the company’s products. The people were warm and welcoming, with no signs whatsoever of any animosity being shown towards two visitors from south of the border. Best of all, the breakfast menu at our hotel, included kippers – yes!!

The following month saw Mrs PBT’s and I heading west, along the M4 into South Wales. The reason for our trip across the River Severn was to attend the funeral of my great aunt, who’d passed away at the ripe old age of 97. We journeyed down the day before the funeral, booking a couple of nights at one of the two Premier Inns in Llanelli, as although my aunt had spent the bulk of her life living in nearby Swansea, the funeral took place at Llanelli Crematorium.

The following lunchtime, and just prior to the service, we were joined by my younger sister who’d travelled down from Nottingham; a journey only a few miles shorter than ours. Eileen and I had used the morning for a drive around the nearby Gower peninsula, scene of many happy childhood holidays, so our mini-tour was a spot of pure nostalgia for me – even though I’d forgotten how narrow some of the roads were and how steep the hills were too. You can read more about my return to the Gower, here.

Despite their obviously sad nature, funerals normally afford the chance of catching up with family members, some of whom you might not have seen for decades. Aunt Margaret’s send off was no exception and after the service, we headed to the local British Legion Club, for the wake. No cask beer of course, but the plentiful cups of tea that accompanied the buffet, were most welcome.

I spent time reminiscing about those childhood holidays in the Gower, with my late aunt’s four daughters, and also had a chat with her brother, who had given the eulogy at the funeral.

Uncle Wynn was my mother’s cousin, and I remember she was very fond of him. Having the opportunity of talking and listening to him reminiscing about when he lived in London and knocked around with a group that included my mum and dad, was both enlightening and comforting - in a strange sort of way.

Meanwhile, the world was slowly starting to take note of a worrying respiratory infection, that had started as a purely local problem in a city in central China that few westerners had heard of.  When I casually mentioned at the wake, that I had visited China the previous year, people pretended to shy away, but it wouldn’t be that long before we were all avoiding one another for real.

There was one last trip though, before the brown stuff rally hit the fan, and that was the excellent “Proper Day Out” that I spent in Burton-on-Trent, with the “Real Pub Men” of the Beer & Pubs’ Forum. Around half a dozen of us, drawn from various parts of the country, spent an enjoyable day visiting some of Burton’s top pubs.

Those selling the town’s legendary beer – Draught Bass, featured highly on the itinerary, and special mention should be made of the Elms, the Burton Bridge Inn and the iconic Cooper’s Tavern, a pub that had been on my bucket list for quite some time. The company of my fellow pub and beer connoisseurs was first class, and to top it all the sun shone all day. That was in sharp contrast to the more or less incessant rains that the nation had endured during the previous three months.

Little did I think that the farewell pint I had with the group, at the Roebuck, prior to catching the train back to Kent, would be my last pint in a pub until early July, as events moved very swiftly after that. The spread of this novel Coronavirus was beginning to dominate the news, and whilst it wasn’t particularly bothering me at the time, I did start to be a little more wary of crowded situations.

For example, my train journey to Burton at the end of the first week in March, involved that cross-London fiasco that affects all rail journeys originating from south of the capital. I toyed with the idea of walking from Charing Cross to Marylebone station to avoid the congested underground, but as my reduced-price ticket, involved travelling on specific timed trains, I wouldn’t have made my connection.

Given my relatively early start time, the underground wasn’t too crowded, although I did notice a couple of people of south-east Asian extraction, wearing masks. Later, whilst on the Chiltern Line service to Birmingham, I swapped carriages at one of the intermediate stations, as there was a passenger, a few seats away, coughing his lungs up!

The rest as they say is history, and nine months later there seems no end in sight to the pandemic. There were some bright moments back in the late summer-early autumn, when pubs and restaurants were allowed to reopen, albeit with certain restrictions. I took advantage of this four-month window to make a visit to see my father, in his Norfolk care home. I wasn’t allowed to set foot inside the home and had to talk to dad through a partly opened window, but at least I managed to see him.

In October, I walked another stretch of the North Downs Way; a journey that involved an overnight stay in a pub. Enjoying an evening meal plus a few pints in the cosy and comfortable setting of an historic old inn, followed by a full English breakfast the following morning, brought a brief sense of normality to the proceedings, but unfortunately it was not to last. 

Another national lockdown, followed by an increasingly irrational Tiered system of restrictions, has meant no pubs or restaurants in Kent have been allowed to open since the beginning of November. A sad state of affairs, that is bad enough for us punters, but obviously far worse for the hapless owners of these businesses.

I’m not sure now how and when this is going to end, as there have been far too many false dawns, and broken promises. The vaccination programme that is starting to be rolled out, should offer some respite, coupled with the fact that pandemics eventually fizzle out of their own accord. One thing’s for sure, I don’t intend on making any holiday or travel plans, any time soon!