Paperwork

Well, we’re through security and about to have a late lunch in a pub in the departures area of Manchester Airport. 

As we drove south towards Manchester we were still awaiting our Covid PCR test results from Chronomics, which is our holiday company Tui’s own test provider. We thought that this was the safest option because it is linked to the holiday company. As the miles went by there were still no results from Chronomics, even though we dropped our tests off as instructed early yesterday morning. We both started to feel very worried because without a negative result we would not be allowed to go to Italy; we both had knots in our stomachs. 

After discussing the situation we decided to book another test in case we didn’t hear anything; we booked a company online called Collinson, whose test centre is at Terminal 1. Luckily there were plenty of time slots available. We parked the car at the Clayton Hotel (it used to be Bewleys) and walked the short distance to Terminal 1. 

Things started to go better for us. We had booked an antigen test (according to current advice this is acceptable for Italy as well as a PCR) and there were no queues at the test centre and the staff were very helpful and friendly. We got our results online within half an hour (negative thank goodness!) and got them printed free at the test centre. 

We then followed the usual routine of bag drop and security, the only unusual thing being how quiet it is. And here we are, feeling a lot more relaxed. 

This is the documentation that we have with us for this holiday in addition to the usual passports and boarding cards:

Covid Antigen Test reports

NHS Records of Vaccination 

EU Digital Passenger Locator forms.

All of these required a fair amount of effort to obtain, and it has been a tad stressful for both of us. Phew! 

Packing

Due to Covid, I’m a bit out of practice in preparing for a holiday abroad, and so I have spent an unfeasible amount of time this past week making lists and packing and re-packing my case. As a result I will be extremely surprised if I have forgotten anything.

We’re currently on our way to Manchester, from where our flight to Naples is due to depart at 4.15 p.m. We’re in very good time which is just as well because we are still awaiting the results of our PCR (polymerase chain reaction) tests, of which more in my next post.

I have managed to do some other activities than packing this week! Lots of swimming at the David Lloyd club, and a bit of socialising. We had dinner at Michael and Lil’s on Saturday evening, and it was so lovely to see them again after almost two years. That evening was the women’s final of the US Open, which unusually had a British finalist, the eighteen year old Emma Raducanu. Although she has been competing since a young age, her rise to the very top ranks of tennis this year has been meteoric, and she had to go through the qualifying rounds. Michael put on the tennis match in the background towards the end of dinner, which was great, because we could watch it while having dessert (delicious plum crumble) and chatting. What a match! Both young women were excellent (the other finalist was 19 year old Leylah Fernandez), however Emma won the day, the first British woman to win a grand slam title since Virginia Wade in 1977 - which I also watched! 

We went for a meal to The Ivy with Ally and Cat on Tuesday, a celebration of our last eighteen months together and possibly a farewell, because by the time we return from holiday, or soon thereafter, they will probably be in the process of moving to London. They are currently flat-hunting and are planning to make the move around the beginning of October. We will miss them very much, but we are also excited for them as they start the next phase of their lives together. 

Reunions

It was great to see Margaret on Thursday, who has been home to sort out her Dad’s house now that it has been sold. We went to the David Lloyd Centre for a swim and then had coffee and went to the spa. We had such a good chat, it was really nice to have the time together. Back home, James had set the table and we had dinner with Ally and Cat, and a pleasant evening sitting talking in the back room. 

I needed to take Tom to the vet for his annual jag on Friday; he was absolutely horrified when I carried him downstairs and put him into the travel carrier. When we set off in the car he started crying in his seldom-used croaky little voice. The vet gave him a good check over and pronounced him to be in good health, I can hardly believe that he’s almost seven years old. He was very happy to get home and went outside to lie on the slabs and relax. 

We had lunch with Alison and Bill at Vin18, the first time we have met up with them for almost two years. I have been in touch with Alison during this time but we still had lots of family news to catch up on, and it was lovely to see them in person. It was also good to go to my Burnside book club at Lesley’s house in the evening, where we discussed “Hamnet” by Maggie O’Farrell.

I don’t know what Covid still may have in store for us but it’s very nice that life is currently returning more and more towards normal. It even looks like our holiday to Sorrento will be going ahead next Friday (fingers crossed); we will have to get PCR tests just before we go, and then just before we come back, but a few weeks ago I was pretty sure that it would be cancelled. I won’t be completely convinced that we’re really going until the plane takes off! 

Sunny September

It’s very warm and sunny still, and I have continued to swim a lot in the outside pool at the David Lloyd Club. Today was particularly hot and I enjoyed slipping into the refreshingly cool water for my swim. However the good weather is apparently not to last; thunder and lightning are forecast and when I was driving along the motorway today I noticed that the overhead sign said “Yellow Warning - Heavy Rain forecast” which was hard to believe with not a cloud in the sky!

Yesterday evening we had another impromptu barbecue which was very pleasant, the second in a week, ably cooked by Ally. I do enjoy a barbecue; not for its dubious (although sometimes surprisingly good) culinary results, but for its social and familial qualities, and its association with warm summer evenings. 

We have also eaten out twice this week; Ally and Cat invited us to join them for tea at Ibrox on Monday. I haven’t been there for years and it was really nice; a hearty meal and very friendly waitresses, as well as excellent views of the floodlit football pitch below us. 

And then this evening (although you can’t really call 4.30 pm evening!) James and I went to Six by Nico to sample their “Amalfi Coast” tasting menu. It was all delicious and beautifully cooked, with the added attraction of the Amalfi cuisine reminding us of where we hope to be next week! 

A cycle from Dundee to Broughty Ferry

Davie took me on an amazing cycle on Sunday. Mindful of his old Mum’s doubts about cycling up hills, he chose the very flat route along the Tay to Broughty Ferry and back. He has a spare bicycle so all I needed to take with me was Jamie’s ancient cycle helmet (mine is in Ullapool with my bike). We set off from his flat and at first I was very nervous; his spare bicycle was quite big and even with the saddle completely lowered it was borderline too high for my “little legs” as Eric used to say about Ernie. 

However I was encouraged that the streets leading down to the docks were almost completely empty of traffic on this sunny Sunday morning, or pedestrianised, and soon we were whizzing along the cycle path beside the railway line and through the docks area. We emerged onto a long straight stretch which took us right into Broughty Ferry with its Sandy beach and lots of sailing boats on the water. 

The weather was perfect; sunny with a little breeze and not too hot for me; I really loved it. Davie is an excellent cyclist and waited for me if I fell behind, but in fact I made quite good speed. I fell off my bike at one point when we stopped, I was too late in putting my foot on the ground, but there was no damage to me or the bike. We saw an art installation called “The Feathers” designed by Katie Watt beside the path, and had lunch sitting outside a gorgeous wee pub called “The Ship Inn” and had a nice chat. On our way back we saw lots of people water skiing in the harbour, instead of being towed by boats, they were being towed along by overhead lines. 

I fell off my bike again just outside Davie’s flat, again losing my balance as I was stopping. This time I got a fright because as I fell I was convinced that I was going to break something, but Davie helped me up and apart from a grazed elbow I was absolutely fine! And so was the bike I’m glad to say - it’s already quite old and scratched so Davie didn’t think I had made it any worse. The cycle was 16 km and I was very happy to have done it. I really should cycle more often, which is what I always say after enjoying a cycle trip!

Davie made me a coffee and then I set off home, listening to an audiobook (by Dawn O’Porter). It was a great day. 

Oh Annette! And a robin.

Ally and Cat decided to go to see the film “Annette” whose story and music were written by Ron and Russell Mael of Sparks. It was mentioned in the Sparks documentary that we saw at the beginning of August. Ally and Cat kindly invited us along and also treated us to dinner beforehand at Sarti’s. 

The film was a surreal experience! It starred Adam Driver, Marion Cotillard, and Simon Helberg (Wolowitz from the Big Bang Theory). What can I say? The actors worked their socks off; their dialogue was 99% sung and the lyrics were extremely repetitive, so for example Driver and Cotillard had to sing the lyric “We love each other so much” about a hundred times during a long sex scene where Adam Driver literally had to come up for air at one point to sing before getting back to business. The main characters’ child was portrayed by a marionette which I think was meant to look sweet and innocent but instead looked a bit creepy, which generated a bit of laughter from the audience and prompted one audience member to say loudly “Aw nooo!” as it sidled through a doorway. Even the death scenes were a tad comical. 

And yet I thoroughly enjoyed it! Full marks to Ron and Russell Mael for daring to be different and the film was whimsical and full of symbolism. And we talked about it all the way home in the car, it’s one of those puzzling films that stay in your mind long after you have watched it.

And so to the robin. James woke early on Friday morning to hear the tell-tale noises of scuffling which meant that one of the cats had captured an unfortunate creature and brought it home on a deadly play date. He found a seemingly dead robin sprawled on its front at the foot of the bed, with a wide-eyed Flora pouncing on it. It was very early so rather than dispose of it immediately, James put the waste paper basket upside down over it to prevent Flora from dismembering it, and went back to bed. When he woke up again he heard little noises inside the basket and sure enough the robin was hopping about and pooping on the carpet. He carefully took it outside and put it on the shed roof, from where it hopped onto the fence and allegedly gave him a look of gratitude before flying away. The most remarkable thing is that it was so unscathed when so many of its feathers had been left in our bedroom! 

A bit of New Zealand in Dundee

And just like that we’re in September. It’s not feeling autumnal yet though, in fact the good weather is continuing, very warm with blue skies. Yesterday evening we had a barbecue in the garden, which was Ally’s excellent idea, and it was all very tasty.

I met Kathryn’s wee grandsons yesterday while having coffee at her house, they are very cute little boys; Archie is nearly three and Hamish is four months old. 

And today I went through to Dundee to see Chanel, who will be starting back at school in Manchester next week. We had lunch in a great wee New Zealand bistrot called The Bach, which really felt just like the places that Jamie has taken us to In Dunedin. Then we had coffee at the Blend Café, where Chanel showed me how to knit. I haven’t knitted since I was in primary school, so probably about 50 years ago. But although I was pretty terrible to start with, it did spark some distant memories and I really enjoyed it. One of the baristas asked if she could take our photo for their Facebook page - at last I am famous!