Six-week ordeal after Tarbert trip for dad’s farewell
Wallace Mair says he still remembers the ‘joy of fresh air’ after being quarantined for a fortnight in Australia following a trip home to Tarbert.
That was after it took four weeks to find a flight back down under.
Wallace, who emigrated to Canberra four years ago, came home when his father, Walter Wallace Mair, died on March 18.
The UK was ‘locked down’ on March 23 at the beginning of the coronavirus outbreak and his flight back to Australia was cancelled.
It took him four weeks to find a flight back, with Wallace finally leaving Scotland on April 19.
Wallace said: ‘I arrived at Glasgow airport and couldn’t believe I was the only one there.
‘I flew onto London Heathrow and same again – hardly anyone there.’
After an uncomfortable overnight stay on a Doha airport bench, he reached Sydney 62 hours after leaving Glasgow.
‘I was met with the sight of personnel wearing PPE as soon as we landed,’ said Wallace, ‘which was a sobering sight as they got about preparing us for isolation.’
Finally reaching his hotel room, he was not allowed out for 14 days, eventually being ‘released’ on Monday May 5.
The room, says Wallace, at least had a window, and that became ‘a kinda thing’. He joked: ‘I even wrote a song about it.’
An accomplished musician, he was delighted when his guitar was sent to him and in Sydney isolation he tried to stay focused with exercise and writing songs.
And he thanked his Facebook friends for their support along the way. Wallace explained: ‘When my wife Yvonne picked me up at midnight on May 5, the joy of fresh air was amazing in the Sydney night.’
After returning to Canberra the next day, Wallace says it felt ‘surreal’.
It was back to reality and work in construction on Monday May 11.
But he looks back with gratitude as he thinks of his dad, with whom he sang since the age of 14.
Said Wallace: ‘It’s been tough, but I’m blessed to have had such a friend in my dad and he’s with me every time I sing.’
Wallace will soon be performing on Country Rocks TV and, coronavirus permitting, at festivals in Australia.
He is also recording a new album, with his dad beside him every step of the way.