My phone, being smart and all, has been creating a notification that tells me I have some memories stored on it for this day a year ago, or two years, or many years.

The pictures it is showing are of our trip to China a few years ago.

Not much chance of going back, and, back then, neither of us could imagine that everything that has happened in the last six months could happen.

But, it did.

And one of the effects of those events is no more overseas travel.  There was, for a breif few weeks a possibility, if fully vaccinated, that travel was on again, but now there is this new variant, and everything seems to have fallen apart.

For me, anyway, there is no prospect of more travel of any sort at the moment, having a compromised immune system.  We are able to fly to other states, but not all.  Some are still closed, and others are seeing record numbers of infections.

It’s put a damper on Christmas, and the usual family get-togethers that have been posponed for the last two years.

Travel, of course, is the main escape, where we can get away from our daily lives, and go somewhere quite different from where we live and experience a different world.  The people, the food, the sights.

What is probably more significant is that we might not be able to go away again, if there is no cure for the virus, or if these variants continue to come out of the woodwork.  No one will want to risk catching it in another country, simply because of the medical expenses, the chances are that travel insurance will not cover you for the Coronavirus, or if it does, will add significantly to the cost.

And no cover, no travel, even if you are able to.

So, it means that any travel we will be doing, when we can, will be in our own country.  One day.

So too for New Zealand, and we may be able to travel there, only they seem to shut their borders at the drop of a hat, and you could go there one week, and not be able to go home for, well, ever.

So, all I have, is dreams.

Until then, my smartphone is going to keep sending me gentle reminders of what it was like in another lifetime.

My phone, being smart and all, has been creating a notification that tells me I have some memories stored on it for this day a year ago, or two years, or many years.

The pictures it is showing are of our trip to China a few years ago.

Not much chance of going back, and, back then, neither of us could imagine that everything that has happened in the last six months could happen.

But, it did.

And one of the effects of those events is no more overseas travel.  There was, for a breif few weeks a possibility, if fully vaccinated, that travel was on again, but now there is this new variant, and everything seems to have fallen apart.

For me, anyway, there is no prospect of more travel of any sort at the moment, having a compromised immune system.  We are able to fly to other states, but not all.  Some are still closed, and others are seeing record numbers of infections.

It’s put a damper on Christmas, and the usual family get-togethers that have been posponed for the last two years.

Travel, of course, is the main escape, where we can get away from our daily lives, and go somewhere quite different from where we live and experience a different world.  The people, the food, the sights.

What is probably more significant is that we might not be able to go away again, if there is no cure for the virus, or if these variants continue to come out of the woodwork.  No one will want to risk catching it in another country, simply because of the medical expenses, the chances are that travel insurance will not cover you for the Coronavirus, or if it does, will add significantly to the cost.

And no cover, no travel, even if you are able to.

So, it means that any travel we will be doing, when we can, will be in our own country.  One day.

So too for New Zealand, and we may be able to travel there, only they seem to shut their borders at the drop of a hat, and you could go there one week, and not be able to go home for, well, ever.

So, all I have, is dreams.

Until then, my smartphone is going to keep sending me gentle reminders of what it was like in another lifetime.

My phone, being smart and all, has been creating a notification that tells me I have some memories stored on it for this day a year ago, or two years, or many years.

The pictures it is showing are of our trip to China a few years ago.

Not much chance of going back, and, back then, neither of us could imagine that everything that has happened in the last six months could happen.

But, it did.

And one of the effects of those events is no more overseas travel.  There was, for a breif few weeks a possibility, if fully vaccinated, that travel was on again, but now there is this new variant, and everything seems to have fallen apart.

For me, anyway, there is no prospect of more travel of any sort at the moment, having a compromised immune system.  We are able to fly to other states, but not all.  Some are still closed, and others are seeing record numbers of infections.

It’s put a damper on Christmas, and the usual family get-togethers that have been posponed for the last two years.

Travel, of course, is the main escape, where we can get away from our daily lives, and go somewhere quite different from where we live and experience a different world.  The people, the food, the sights.

What is probably more significant is that we might not be able to go away again, if there is no cure for the virus, or if these variants continue to come out of the woodwork.  No one will want to risk catching it in another country, simply because of the medical expenses, the chances are that travel insurance will not cover you for the Coronavirus, or if it does, will add significantly to the cost.

And no cover, no travel, even if you are able to.

So, it means that any travel we will be doing, when we can, will be in our own country.  One day.

So too for New Zealand, and we may be able to travel there, only they seem to shut their borders at the drop of a hat, and you could go there one week, and not be able to go home for, well, ever.

So, all I have, is dreams.

Until then, my smartphone is going to keep sending me gentle reminders of what it was like in another lifetime.