Two years ago almost to the day, we returned from Madeira and came down almost immediately with Covid. It was not a pleasant experience and we were quite ill.
Last week we came back from Madeira, having meticulously observed all the local masking and testing rules, three jabs behind us, only for Tony to test COVID+Omicron BA.2 and spend his first week back in bed while I have tested Negative.
There can only be two places he caught it: on the flight from Madeira or in Heathrow. Take your pick; and this time round so very many of you, dear Friends, have come down with this version – albeit rather more mildly and perhaps less threateningly than the 2020 version.
But Friends, as Tony reached the sunny uplands of negativity I plunged into the dark valley of positivity – a full ten days afterwards!
Upshot – none of our plans to visit friends, to go to the theatre and generally segue back into the scene, came to fruition.
We only made Cabaret with its new cast of the excellent Fra Fee, Amy Lennox and Vivien Parry – Eddie Redmayne and Jessie Buckley having walked off with all the Oliviers the night before – to carry on with this brilliant production. We allowed ourselves the full experience: the little tables crowding the small stage with their lights , their telephones, their gins and champagne cocktails; and of course the three course meal served in stainless steel tiffin boxes reminiscent of the lunchboxes of The Lunchbox.
The Playhouse Theatre has been completely turned upside down with a stage in the round where the proscenium used to be and tiered seating in what was once the wings and backstage. It’s very effective and the show itself so poignant, moving and, with what’s going on in the world today, the rise of fascism once again, the cruel evil of the war in the Ukraine, inflation, environmental crises, extremely relevant. It was worth the mortgage we took out to see it and the relationship developed between the five main characters, The Emcee, Sally Bowles, Fraulein Schneider, Herr Schultz and Clifford Bradshaw were all intensely well played, Vivien Parry and Elliot Levy as Schneider & Schultz particularly so.
Go, Friends, if you can.
Otherwise there is little to tell you. We are still in the season of vouchers. Untraveled plans to visit family & friends in South Africa not seen for years are being unrolled and we are now on a countdown to run the gauntlet tomorrow, to Cape Town, via strikes, pandemic-induced staff shortages, airport chaos, VeriFly Apps that sometimes don’t work and the usual stress of travel in these strange days.
The Ukraine hangs over us all. It beggars belief that Europe is once again plunged into a war so cruel, so unnecessary. We appear to have learned absolutely nothing from our history.
And the lies that are told. By our leaders.
This is a short rant! We all know who the liars are though we have yet to behold the consequences of their lies.
This is not a good time dear Friends. No it is not.
Take great care.
Thanks for your news Pedro. Take care, both of you attempting to get to God’s Own in good health. None of us can refrain from a rant about the War and our very own Mr Liar. And pray for the future of France.
Watching El Jazeera is great because it isn’t solely western news obsessed. The other day had a heartwarming tale of young men creating an underground library in the rubble of the rebel town of Daryl’s, to enlighten those who had no access to books. Until Assad came and destroyed it all.
Bon voyage,
Rod
Thanks for your news Pedro. Take care, both of you attempting to get to God’s Own in good health. None of us can refrain from a rant about the War and our very own Mr Liar. And pray for the future of France.
Watching El Jazeera is great because it isn’t solely western news obsessed. The other day had a heartwarming tale of young men creating an underground library in the rubble of the rebel town of Daryl’s, to enlighten those who had no access to books. Until Assad came and destroyed it all.
Bon voyage,
Rod
Go well and have a wonderful time in South Africa when you get there. Julien of Norwich said ‘All will be Well and All things Shall Be Well’. The pull to the negative can be so strong and yet there is still the simple things that can open us to the Light and to the Positive.
Best Anne.
The Green.
Sorry to hear about you, Tony, but it sounds like you’e back to fit and fiddling. I do hope you guys have a fantastic time in SA. Meanwhile M is not very well and I’m coming earlier than planned. Next week, in fact. So, hope to see you guys when back home again, jiggety jig and all that.
Love to you both,
bonnie
so sorry to hear about the dreaded Covid reinfection – i think a portent of the foreseeable future for us all! We’re due to fly from here to Heathrow on Tuesday next week – just praying that we’re not infected in the meanwhile!
Looking forward to seeing you on your return from SA.
love to you both x
I am ranting in sympathy about our political environment, although have so far escaped Covid. Today’s news about Rawanda “helping with refugees who arrive by boat” turns my stomach. See you anon!
Travel well
Glad to hear you are well again and traveling to SA. PS – Verify never works. Just skip it and go with hard copy. Please tell BA to dump Verify.
Oh my darling friends. How horrid. So many people have succumbed to the B2 variant.
We are in Sydney where no one cares a hoot about the virus. No one wears masks except some Japanese tourist. No sanitiser anywhere, and they have just reached their peak. Last week was 50 000 new cases a day. Less than a thousand in SA. We are very careful. 🙏
I assume you got our message that we won’t be back for our dinner.
KZN is a disaster zone. So check your arrangements.
We will now be back on 27th if by some miracle you are still in CT. Big hugs. 😻