DEAR READER,
WE’RE often told there’s more that unites us than divides us, but I’m not so sure.
At every turn, we seem hopelessly at odds, daggers drawn with whole countries or continents, and the cracks are widening.
Never mind the ongoing row with the EU over vaccines, even what and how we watch television (and I think we can, at least, agree we’re watching more than ever) is causing division.
I loved The Serpent, not least because it transported me briefly to Thailand, Nepal and Paris, but I’m under the impression that friends think less of me for revelling in a story about a savage multiple murderer.
The young are much taken with Channel 4’s It’s A Sin — about three gay men in the HIV-ridden 1980s — but others regard it as unnecessarily graphic. And because we can binge-watch a whole series rather than waiting for next week’s episode, everyone’s at a different point on the TV compass.
‘Don’t say a word, I’m only on episode 2!’
‘Oh, sorry, we’ll discuss it in a couple of months.’
On the travel front, there’s never been much agreement about anything since last March.
We should have closed our borders like they did in Australia, is one chorus; we are not Australia and London is a vital travel hub, so we need a more nuanced approach, is another.
So will the new rule about quarantining for ten days in an airport hotel work? I doubt it. Savvy travellers will likely try diverting to a country not on the red list and fly in from there.
But here at Escape, we’re refusing to hoist the white flag.
Our cover story assesses the chances of summer holidays in popular spots such as Spain (Barcelona, pictured), Greece and Croatia, and we’re feeling quietly optimistic.
Yes, disagreements may be flourishing, but one general consensus is emerging; one unifying sentiment and it’s a simple one: we all need a holiday.