Summer in the UK
3rd July – 28th August 2021
Plans to be with family and friends, enjoying freedom and often lovely weather and eating English food were achieved 100%. Feeling like tourists in our own country and living from suitcases was unavoidable though. Why?
Our house is being looked after by friends, so we could not use it when we returned. There was no space at Steve’s parents as his brother and fiancee are temporarily there and hotels were often unavailable or were horrifically priced due to the high volume of staycation holidays, so we had to be flexible and find whatever accommodation we could. We managed, but it was challenging with the kids asking me frequently “Where will we sleep tomorrow?”
OUR SUMMER SCHEDULE ON JOINING STEVE, ALREADY IN THE UK:
- Quarantine and beginning of the summer in Cheltenham 3.7 – 16.7
- Hotel in Stratford-upon-Avon 16.7 – 22.7
- Weekend with friends Eva and Steve’s in Ettington 22.-24.7
- House sitting our friend Veronika’s house in Calne, babysitting beautiful bunny rabbit Russell and a Gecko! 24.7 – 5.8
- Spending quality time with Steve’s parents in Long Compton 5.8 – 13.8
- Portsmouth stay with a long standing friend Andrew 13.8 – 19.8
- House sitting for friends Vanessa and Sean and babysitting 2 fluffy, adorable cats Luna and Jake in Newbold on Stour 19.8-26.8
- Premier Inn London Heathrow 26.8-28.8
Once in the first hotel I was driving between Stratford and Long Compton with Emi, shopping, and meeting friends for coffee and catch ups. That week was unbearably hot and the whole UK was melting, and so were we with Emi in a non air-conditioned tiny room. Steve and Misa stayed with grandparents (the guest room has 2 single beds), so he could work and Misa help grandad in the garden when the sun has gone down.
We would cook dinners with Emi to give grandma a break and spend each evening at the dinner table sharing stories. Misa went to have a sleepover with his friend from school and he said it was like they have never been apart. A mark of true friendship.
The weekend with Eva and Steve was short and sweet with catching up, having a BBQ beef steak Steve cooked, and enjoying each others’ company, especially having fun playing the hilarious game “Corks” multiple times, all 8 of us. Grandma Susan had her birthday that weekend and we prepared an afternoon tea for her eaten indoors unfortunately, as it was raining by then – typical.
The week in Calne was relaxing and we felt like at home. Steve had to carry on working and attending medical appointments, trying to get to the bottom of a gradual loss of hearing in one ear, so he spent some time at his parents as he then just had a half-hour ride to the hospital. He loved the freedom of being on his motorbikes and using them whenever he could – he rode several thousand miles this summer. While in Calne we also managed to have some trips out to see friends we made in Sri Lanka (Jo and her kids), and then her husband Dave when he came to the UK later; surreal experiences for all involved. Life is similar for both our families in terms of travelling, being away from UK Loved Ones, schooling and not having a place of our own to go to, so we could relate and reminisce.
While still in Sri Lanka, Misa made a deal with Jo that we will enjoy jam doughnuts together. What a disappointment when we realised there were vanilla custard doughnuts in the Tesco doughnuts bag where jam doughnuts should have been. However, we did enjoy a lovely 45 min walk to Stonehenge and having a picnic in Woodhenge together was special. That day we apparently walked 10kms.
Visiting Swindon Outlet with the same family was a bonus (we got Emi’s school shoes and some bits and bobs) with a picnic and a walk in a local park as an extra bonus. While in Calne, we had our first outing of the summer as a 4 membered family as we walked around Avebury, what they call Second Stonehenge. Emilka was obsessed with looking after Russell the bunny, who was so soft and fluffy, taking a huge responsibility to care for him.
Our week with Steve’s parents was a mixture of business and relaxing. I did lots of cooking and baking, Misa spent time in the garden with grandad and Emilka did some craft activities. Our kids are teenagers now and having been home schooled for over 1.5 years they prefer solitary company so getting them to be with adults and even interact with them is a lot of effort from all parties involved. However, once they are engaged, they love the experience and everyone comments how grown up they are. We managed to have a dinner date with our UK next door neighbour and the family who lives in our house invited us for dinner too, which was lovely but an interesting experience being a guest in our own home!
Because we couldn’t find a hotel – as it turned out, at any cost – we decided that rather than having an overnight break we’d drive to our friends in Gosforth as a day trip; early start, late back and 500 miles / 800km of driving. With clear motorway and dual carriageway with long stretches on cruise control, well maintained A-roads free of continuous random events, and a powerfully quiet and effortless car it was a joy to take the journey and do one of the things we cannot do at all in Sri Lanka!
The week in Portsmouth with Andrew, who we have not seen for about 7 years was like being at home too. I overtook his kitchen in cooking and baking and looking after him as well as my family and we managed to have several longstanding mutual friends around for dinner. Attending the wedding in Hayling island was partially the reason why we were down South and as well as meeting up with Andrew, seeing friends Simon, Paul and Sarah and their doggies was a bonus too.
Steve rode down on his Honda Hornet with Misa pillion and the boys managed to have a bike day out in the sun with another friend too, riding over to Salisbury. Lovely. Steve was on holiday that week and managed to read a book and do his photo editing in peace, too.
House sitting for Vanessa and Sean was a real treat. Their beautiful old stone house can be used as a show house and we felt honoured to spend a whole week there while they were on holiday. Looking after two cats, who gave us lots of attention, especially Jake, was marvellous and I haven’t had so many cuddles with furry animals for a long time. Emilka managed to have some sleepovers with her friends and meeting other friends for play dates. We did enjoy their spacious garden and I did some baking and cooking. Highlights were meeting up with our friend David and his lovely Spaniel Toby, and our friends Yvonne and Dave with their lovely dogs too!
Steve was on holiday for the second week running, but whilst with relaxation for him it was a week of jobs at our home and cleaning two motorbikes and two cars before putting them to sleep until who knows when? The kids had their second appointment with a nurse for their school vaccinations, boys had their haircuts and I did last bit of shopping.
On Tuesday 24th August, Misa and Emilka started to online school for year 10, continuing attending British School in Colombo, with 4.5 hours difference starting at 3.30 am. They were so resilient getting up each day we admired them for it. Their summer holiday was over that day.
The last two days of our UK stay this summer were in a Premier Inn near Heathrow airport. We took a taxi minibus with our 8 suitcases and extra handbags and just chilled in a hotel after kids did their online learning for the last time from the UK on Friday morning. We had negative pre travel PCR tests results and even though we were planning to sightsee in London, we aborted the idea not risking contracting Covid in crowded places bringing it to Sri Lanka, and stayed at the hotel. I loved the breakfasts in the hotel and on Friday I sat at the table for nearly 2.5 hours savouring every minute – all by myself.
The afternoon saw us visit another friend from Sri Lanka, she and her family now living not far from the airport. After a meal at a Nepalese restaurant on leaving her it was time for bed and then the journey home.
Rennie
