Tuesday 14 December 2021
A fragment.
In the dungeon-crypts idly did I stray,
Reckless of the lives wasting there away;
“Draw the ponderous bars! open, Warder stern!”
He dared not say me nay—the hinges harshly turn.
“Our guests are darkly lodged,” I whisper’d, gazing through
The vault, whose grated eye showed heaven more gray than blue;
(This was when glad Spring laughed in awaking pride;)
“Ay, darkly lodged enough!” returned my sullen guide.
(Emily Brontë)
Heard the news today that South Africa and other countries are now all off the red list. No quarantine required. Savid Javid seeking clarification if we prisoners can be released.
SUSPENSE IN THE AIR !
Presents from Astrid today
Like ants, we circle around the exercise yard
Here is a typical experience of many in my hotel as reported by BBC
Quarantine fiasco has cost us £5,500
Alison Stitt says her experience in a quarantine hotel has pushed her to the point of meltdown.
She was in South Africa visiting her father for his 90th birthday when the country went on the UK’s red list.
It took days to rearrange a flight home on the same date that a quarantine hotel room was available. They had to stay longer in their AirBnB and re-book their car hire while they waited – on top of extending their car parking and kennels bookings in the UK.
Now she and her husband David are at a hotel near Gatwick.
Alison says the total cost of their extended stay in South Africa and paying for their quarantine facility has been at least £5,500.
“It was one expense after another. It’s all going on credit cards. It was meant to be a budget trip.”
She describes the experience of going into quarantine as a farce. “We were herded into coaches after we landed. We got lucky coming to Gatwick, some were going to Manchester.”
Alison says her room is clean and modern, but she doesn’t feel safe in the hotel, saying she’s seen guards sneezing with their masks down.
The hotel had to be evacuated last week because of a fire alarm.
“We know someone has tested positive in the hotel. They came to re-test us, saying that we had been exposed to someone with Covid during the fire alarm.”