Holidays. Remember them? Those fun times when you could down tools for a week or so, switch off and revel in completely different surroundings – typically with a bit of sunshine thrown in.

The pandemic has trampled all over our travel plans for the past 18 months. But here’s the good news: as restrictions slowly loosen, there’s a glimmer of a chance we may be able to finally pull that suitcase out from under the bed and fill it with swimwear, sarongs and sandals.

Packing Remember that? Yep, the really annoying thing you need to do before going on holiday. Here’s the bad news: it was never a fun activity in the past, and we doubt much has improved. In fact, it might even be worse than before.

Still, if there’s a holiday in store at the end of it, we’re game. Just be prepared for a few emotional highs and lows along the way…

Excitement

So it’s happening: you’re going away. Trembling with trepidation, it’s impossible to even fold a T-shirt properly. A slave to ever-changing restrictions, you’ve most likely booked last minute, leaving very little time to assemble a clever, multi-tasking wardrobe. Not that it really matters, because after a year and a half of eating junk, watching TV and wearing jogging bottoms, nothing actually fits. Leading to…

Depression

No clothes, no energy, no enthusiasm and – with masks and sanitiser now taking up so much of the room in your bag – no space. Wouldn’t it just be easier to stay at home?

Regret

With rules changing every day, it’s easy to become disillusioned about the whole holiday thing. Perhaps putting a tent up in the back garden wouldn’t be so bad after all…

Enlightenment

But hang on a minute. If you can overcome these hurdles, there’s a holiday waiting at the end of it all. A proper HOLIDAY, with sunshine and everything. Surely that’s worth a bit of pain?

Disbelief

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You can hardly believe it. Your suitcase is zipped, the padlock is locked. All that’s left now is the trip to the airport. After the anguish and anxiety of the last 24 hours, that bit seems easy.

Ecstasy

It’s been a long time coming, but now those joyful holiday memories are flooding back. Even taking a wheelie case on escalators doesn’t seem so bad…