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!