It’s been a while since we can ask the traditional summer question: “Going anywhere nice?”
Spain, Portugal, Mallorca, Tenerife, Benidorm – all the old favourites are back on the list – and I’ve heard some are even throwing in an exotic long haul like Jamaica or Dubai.
But answers are followed by grimaces and ‘if the flights are ok,” or ‘we’re flying from Manchester, so, you never know.”
With news of airlines cancelling lists of flights over summer, images of passengers crying as their breaks lie in tatters flood news feeds.
Pandemic restrictions may have lifted but it’s not a given that booking a holiday means we can have it.
Travelling anywhere is increasingly problematic
The excited plans some have also mask the reality for many others – that the cost of living crisis means holidays are off the table.
Instead, it can mean the choice between a decent weekly food shop and having hot water in the morning. It can mean filling up the car or new shoes for the kids.
As car fuel and home energy prices soar, there is a precarious feel to the country – like we are teetering on the brink of anarchy.
That may sound far fetched. But consider too that even though Covid restrictions have all but gone, rail strikes have ground normality to a halt.
Festivals have been cancelled and holidays put in chaos due to train cancellations.
For the past few weeks, trains taking me to parts of England have, without warning, terminated mid-journey.
Delays and cancellations are blamed on strikes – and it seems increasingly, people attempting to – or succeeding – in jumping in front of trains, a dark hangover perhaps from lockdown as mental health issues swell with financial woes.
Often an eye-watering taxi is the only option to make it to my destination at all.
As for getting back home to Dundee at the end of a day’s work, often with no trains leaving Edinburgh or Glasgow after 9pm, the worry of making it home at all is with you all day.
A hire car is an increasingly problematic option too, with a real a shortage of vehicles – meaning on occasion there are none to book or a white van the only option.
Never mind fretting over plans to jet to Portugal, I’ve found getting to Wolverhampton or Wigan almost impossible.
These are worrying times
Perhaps those with plans to staycation have the best chance of no disruption, but with the cost of fuel and increased traffic due to strikes, it’s certainly not the easy or cheap option either.
Yet it all seems insignificant when we think of the daily life choices many face this summer, where going anywhere for a change of scene is but a dream.
The kindness demonstrated is overwhelming – and you don’t need to look far to get help. From foodbanks to clothing charities, assistance is widespread across our city.
But these are worrying times for many people who simply want to provide for themselves and their dependents.
This feeling of being on the edge of something is unsettling.
Here’s hoping it doesn’t last – that we pull together and through this and, both metaphorically and literally, that the clouds part and the sunshine gets through this summer.
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