I admit it. I’m writing this week from a terrace in the sun - not the boiling North London sun but the real thing, a holiday in the Med.
Whilst the temperature might be the same (possibly hotter there), and the weak pound makes it just as expensive (if not more), my state of mind is completely different.
Ignoring the early warning signs, I had booked to fly from Heathrow, carbon emissions "offset", rather than the more obvious Luton. I paid the price with nearly 90 minutes queuing at security. I did feel sorry for the staff but equally, for the would be holiday makers; families with small children, elderly travellers and everything in between all trying to keep their cool under trying circumstances.
Remarkably my flight was half empty, goodness knows what security would have been like otherwise.
Having missed out on holidays abroad for two years, getting away has given me more time for reflection. In particular, I’ve considered the rights and wrongs of taking time out whilst the world literally burns both in the drought and in the multiple conflicts tearing our world apart.
With the highly divisive leadership campaign raging, the cost-of-living crisis unchecked and the tragic ongoing saga of refugees desperately seeking safety, the world really does seem to be on fire.
A break away from home offers me time to reflect but also time to be with my family. Last week our oldest son joined us and next week our daughter will be here. I can honestly say that there is nothing I like more than being with the people I love most on holiday, and if I need that excuse to justify a break, so be it.
This year, during the summer months, many people will be missing those with whom we lived and loved pre-pandemic.
The sunshine and quiet often make the loss feel worse. So, with gentle thoughts towards those missing loved ones, I’m braving my ‘one piece’, kicking off my shoes, even picking up a book all in the knowledge that the world’s problems are not going away and, roll on September, there is work for us all to be done.
Laura Marks OBE is founder of Mitzvah Day, chair of the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust and an interfaith consultant – commongood.uk.com
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