After two years, it was time to visit my most beloved uncle P. in Leamington Spa, England. As the pandemic is not over unfortunately, it was a lot of bureaucracy overcome and digital forms to find and fill out. We flew to England, planning to stay there for six days.
I was looking forward to see my uncle again and to walk around in Leamington Spa. I love this little town and I imagined sitting in the beautiful parks, sketching the many manifestations of autumn. I wanted to sketch the English houses with their many chimneys and the beautifully colorful shop entrances.
Well, things took a different pathway when this text came up on my phone: „NHS Test and Trace has identified you as a contact of someone who has recently tested positive for COVID-19. You must now stay at home and self-isolate for 10 days from the date of your ….“
So we stayed at home. We changed our flights. The six days became ten and instead of sketching colorful trees and houses in Leamington Spa, I got busy sketching corners in the beautiful apartment of my uncle P.
Although not according to plan, we've had a great family quality time. Perhaps this is the price of travelling in a pandemic - after all I was lucky to be able to go at all!