Heading the right direction

We're still headed in the right direction, even though I don't think either of us would say we're 100% ourselves. We did actually manage a meal last night & keep it down. Admittedly it was light & simple, but it was a meal. Again we spent the evening accompanied by all manner of gurgles & burps as we attempted to digest the food intake. I spent a large part of the night suffering from severe heartburn, but, at least, this morning my breakfast tasted normal. Today will be another quick & easy meal, nothing too complex.

We did venture out to the Pub for an hour or so yesterday. PD was overjoyed to see us once more. Admittedly his choice of conversational topic at one point set our stomachs churning as he described the delights of some salmon he'd had over the weekend. The idea of food is rather nauseating for us, though we were able to cope better towards the end of the session when the conversation returned to the theme of food with a discussion of "The Great British Menu" on BBC2 & the use of a pig's head for cooking. This programme has caught the imagination of the Pub regulars as one of the chefs representing the North West, is a local lass who trained at our very Pub.

In between much time was spent discussing the effects of the Icelandic volcano & its dust on air transport. Some worried about friends stuck overseas, others about friends trying to get away, yet others about future travel plans. Mr P has booked several rooms in a local hotel for one of his school international conferences this weekend & is left wondering if the delegates will even arrive. Should he cancel the bookings while he still can, at no cost?

Other implications of the lack of planes were mentioned. The joy of skies without vapour trails, the return of the sounds of nature to great swathes of the country, the reduction in pollution & lack of the smell of dumped fuel in the air. We looked forward to the return to buying local seasonal foods & the support of our local farmers. We worried about the problems faced by already poor countries, in Africa for example, that depends so much on selling their produce in this country at far higher prices than they could get in their own. The veg they can at least eat, but flowers?!... And what about the effect on inflation as insurance, holidays, flights etc are all sure to go up to cover their high unexpected costs at the moment, & also food, with shortages without those cheaper foreign imports.

And now, so few hours later, the airports are once more open. It will take a while for things to get back to normal again, & they may yet be disrupted once more. We're beginning to think France will be on. I do hope so. We've looked forward to the trip so long & feel we desperately need a break. Italy last year was more of an endurance test than a relax. So fingers crossed...