My resolution to write more frequently didn’t come to much – did it! For those of you stumbling across this blog for the first time, the “Day Numbers” refer to the period of time since arriving home from a very long holiday on March 27th last year, four days into the first lockdown, “Day 1” being 27th March. Whether 20th January 2021 is, actually, Day 301 will be confirmed, or otherwise if March 26th doesn’t turn out to be “Day 365!”
The original purpose of writing a blog was to document a voyage to Australia and back in 2018, a “trip of a lifetime”. When I booked this in August 2016, my feeling was that this would be a “one-off ” which might mark my retirement. I could then, at my leisure, write about the whole experience from the notes and entries made at the time, along with photographs either taken on my “device” or cameras, the newest of which I purchased when we docked at Santa Cruz, Tenerife. It’s hard to believe all that was three years ago.
Since then, I returned to Australia, first, flying to San Francisco, spending a week riding trains in California, and staying on board the original Queen Mary at Long Beach, then joining M.S. (or is it M.V.) Queen Victoria for part of her 2019 World Voyage as far as Sydney, cramming in as much rail travel as nineteen days would allow. I would then fly to Singapore (from Perth), then after three nights, to Dubai, where after a further three nights on board QE2, I would pick up R.M.S. Queen Mary 2 for the final three weeks of her World Voyage. All that travel was “hard work” but enormous fun! I would spend much of the summer of 2019 returning to New York on QM2, and then travelling by Amtrak and Via Rail to Vancouver staying overnight in Schenectady, Toronto, Jasper and Kamloops. Cunard’s Queen Elizabeth would then take me up to Skagway in Alaska before bringing me back 49 days later to Southampton. In 2020, I travelled to South America, the last such adventure before the dreaded Covid 19 pandemic. I never imagined, even just a handful of years ago, that I would set foot on six continents in just over two years. I have little inclination to visit Antarctica, however!
And that’s what “lockdown 3” has prompted me to do; not only look back on a glorious pandemic free era, but, write (again) about it also.
Back to 2021. Reading the Google news pages on my phone, I note, with irritation, the Daily Telegraph is trumpeting Joe Biden’s Inauguration celebrations as “embarrassing”, because of the line-up of celebrities booked for this historic occasion. I do wish the media, for once, could headline on their front pages, all the “good things, most of which are far more newsworthy than “speculative/exaggerated negativity” which permeates everything one watches and reads…except possibly Radio 3! But, much has been made of the Covid vaccine, and the breakneck speed that it is being delivered. That is a positive piece of welcome news.
I wish Amtrak Joe all the very best of luck and fortune during his Presidency, and I look forward to a glorious renaissance of the U.S. railway system!
At home, “Storm Christoph” continues its onslaught. My carport, despite various repairs” continues to leak in the rain, and winter feels endless. But, that’s a good thing. Time goes by far too quickly and I am cheered by the thought of a long hot summer to come.
Many thanks for reading, David 11.06hrs GMT, Inauguration Day.
David's Cruise 