With no posts since early September and an increasing number of messages asking if I’m OK, I ought to explain. This Welsh Wondering Woman wandered off to the UK. Not, of course, that it is possible to casually wander during these times; the flight and all the testing require lots of money & meticulous planning!

But after 16 months away, it was delightful to catch up with family and lots of friends. Thank you all for your fabulous welcomes and hospitality. I’m sorry that I ran out of time and energy to see many more but hope we can meet up on my next trip over.

Changing times

Banksy’s ‘The Girl with the Pierced Eardrum’ in April 2020 and October 2021

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It was good to see Bristol fully open; we were last there during Spring and early Summer 2020 when everything – including us – was in lockdown. We walked miles and miles when I took many photographs of the amazing street artwork.

Perhaps the most newsworthy event in Bristol during this time was the toppling of the Edward Colston statue in June 2020. Whilst he donated much money to Bristol, he was an eminent slave trader who was responsible for the transportation of an estimated 84,000 Africans, of which it is believed that 19,000 died during the sea voyages. Many people had attempted to have the statue removed, and an attempt to fix a plaque to the plinth in 2019 with an explanation of Colson’s background failed.

So it seems rather fitting that when the statue was toppled, it was tethered by ropes and dragged through the streets and thrown into Bristol harbour. And probably by design, the statue entered the waters close to Pero’s Bridge which is named after one of those enslaved people.

The plinth remains unoccupied whilst Colston, still daubed in paint, reclines in the M Shed (a museum about the city and also located in the harbour) whilst a consultation is carried out about his final resting place.

Quarantine

I am now confined to 14 days at home with daily check ups via an app. Each morning I have to report my health and I am buzzed twice to press a button to confirm my location. Each day I also receive a 30 second video call to record my face against the background. All calls are random yet occur during office hours!

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Quarantine and jetlag are a match made in hell for me … I’m finding it impossible to sleep UK or Japanese time. I’ve had to resort to sleeping tablets which are helping a little. All that I planned to do has been left on my ‘to do’ pile but I’m now three and a half days from freedom. It is, however, difficult to complain too much when I know that friends in Hong Kong have to endure three weeks in a hotel room. At their cost!

A Sweet Gift

One of Geoff’s staff returned from a holiday with gifts for all her colleagues .. an azuki bean paste jelly. I’m missing being out & about with my camera, so I’ll share with you a photograph of this. The packaging is great, including two tiny knives. Don’t be fooled by the photo -the box is 8.5 x 4.5 x 2.5 cm. And the taste? Very sweet but bland.