WHAT DIVOC!! TRAVEL IN THESE TRYING TIMES.

Hi Guys,

I’m on my Spring Break trip to London, Ireland, and Morocco. Probably not the best time to travel — but certainly a very interesting one. We will all look back on this crazy Corona chapter of our lives and ask ourselves What Divoc!! I don’t like to live my life in fear. I will respect the one meter distance, wear a mask and surgical gloves — and pray. I’m doing an awful lot of that these days. Faith is my rock and I’m so grateful for it in these trying times.

There are an awful lot of fear mongrels milling around at the moment adding fuel to the fire. I can truly understand where it is coming from. Canada is not on lockdown. If it was, I would not be here in London now. We need to keep our world sane and people in jobs. It saddens me to see our world suffer so much, and to see such fear in others. My desire to see my darling daughter Ali was stronger than fear. It’s why I came, that and a desire to see my world return to normal. Like everybody else, I cannot wait for this veil of sadness and despair to be lifted. I pray a lot for this.

Victoria Airport was empty. Just me, and a few other bold stragglers. You could cut the tension with a knife and eat it with a fork. The silence was eerily palpable. I was prepared for battle, wearing my surgical gloves and mask. Ever fashion conscious, my mask was a mellow yellow hue to complement my sunny yellow outfit. It is Spring after all! A time of re-birth.

Vancouver Airport had more people milling around. We smiled at each other, admiring our bravery in these ‘trying times’. Life was normal for the fish in the Aquarium, but alas for nobody else! All the fancy designer shops were empty. Not one single person in sight, except for the shop attendants, standing solemn faced, complete with ominous masks. Grim.

I boarded the plane for London and Yay!! I had the whole 3 seats to myself!! Best ever flight! After my mushy vegetarian pasta was downed, I plumped up my three pillows and snuggled up under the blankets and had the best night’s sleep ever on a plane! Got to look on the bright side! Right? The girl sitting opposite me did the same thing.

Our taxi driver in London was hilarious. He was from Ethiopia and felt the end of the world was coming. “It’s KRAZY” he kept shouting, raising his hands up to Heaven. I would have preferred he kept them on the steering wheel! “No people anywhere look around. It’s empty!” Gazing around me, I saw lots of traffic and people going about their normal day. If this was quiet, what would busy be like? “It’s just a simple cold” he kept saying. “Let them go get lemon and ginger and they will be fine!” It will take more than lemon and ginger to get our world back to normal. Alas! “And the riots for toilet tissue.” I liked his use of the word ’tissue’. This most prized of possessions was suddenly elevated.

Finally, we arrived at Ali’s lovely apartment in Notting Hill. Paradise. Worth bypassing all the hype to get here. I could breathe. We headed out to explore and enjoyed an Italian meal in Bayswater. Lots of people out enjoying their Saturday night on the town. Birthday parties being celebrated, etc. It was a much needed respite from all the Doom and Gloom!

Headed home to Ali’s very comfortable pad. Put on my cozy pyjamas and turned on the snooze button. Slept like a baby! Thank you God. You never let me down! Thank you Ali for all the beautiful birthday gifts which awaited me! Love you! Getting together to share our March Birthdays is an annual ritual and something only an adoring and crazy Mum like me would do. Besides, I had a mission to see that my loving daughter was safe while all this craziness is around!! God as always – is very good!!

 

Hugs Galore,

Patricia xxx