12 months have now passed since we were told to stay at home. The on/off lockdown has dragged its feet along the months. Weeks now go by with little to mark the passage of time. Series on the TV (long delayed) have appeared, made their mark and vanished once more. At this stage, the desire to go out and mingle has certainly taken a back step despite the vaccination success

Over on the continent, it appears that fools are in charge of the asylum. Medical priorities are a distant second to political machinations and to the overriding important of re-election, to the EU politicians. What other logical explanation could there be?

The vaccines are certainly working. Deaths are falling, hospital admissions too. Cases are slow to fall — presumably due to a doubling of tests, so that more are picked up and there is now less isolation amongst the young.

The next date for our diaries is March 29th. Nothing much happens then – outdoor meetings for up to 6 persons and that seems to be it. Oh and the ‘stay at home’ changes to ‘stay local’ (if possible)

12 April is the biggie. Overnight stay in self catering, camping sites and boats. We can expect a flood of visitors to North Yorkshire and accommodation will be booked out.

Look out for more cars on the road with roof boxes and people asking directions.¹

1. We do have these already – but oh no, they are not visitors (heaven forbid) ↩