Although 2021 was an excellent vintage as far as unpleasantness was concerned, at least we were allowed to celebrate Christmas with our families and close friends again for the first time since 2020. That is if you first shoved a Q-tip up your nose and refrained from snogging under the mistletoe by order of Bacchic Boris Johnson.
None of this will be a problem this blessed year 2022 however. Courtesy of the unions, we’ll be completely unable to travel to any of our families and friends. No mother-in law dropping by, no drunken uncle at the table going off into a detailed description of some of the highlights of his accomplishments during a stay in Tonkin from March to September 1977, followed by a very interesting reflection on the administration of the territory of the Reguibat plunderers of Mauritania, accompanied by a eulogy of the many qualities of the girls of this tribe.
Blessed be the British unions for trying to at least beat the French in one area: striking! (don’t mention the world cup)
Anyway, once the summer ’22 turned to fall, things went into overdrive in the UK. The Queen died but the Queue lived, and Albion entered the Liz “I’m a fighter, not a quitter” Truss timeline. I read in the media that apparently the British were actually governed by a lettuce for 44 days ! After hitting just about every single pothole, banana skin, open manhole and trapdoor that her government possibly could – and adding a couple more entirely unforced errors –just to be on the safe side – the Truss era collapsed in total disarray.
Even by the standards of the last few years, 2022 was a truly bizarre time to be living on this weird island. C’est magnifique. And there was us thinking Brexit and Covid would be the highlights of our last posting before retirement! Ah, yes, on a more personal note, in ’22 Belgian Foreign Affairs accepted that we would stay until summer 2024 in the UK, so I guess there will be plenty more excitement to come!
All that remains is wishing you all a fantastic end of this year 2022, short queues at immigration and a fantastic 2023 !
And if you’ll excuse me now I have a couple of suitcases full of money to deliver to a friendly European member of parliament…
PS1 it’s always hard for us to pick a photo which represents our past year abroad. We decided to pick a shot of a beautifully restored steam hauled train we were privileged to see crossing the Ribblehead viaduct in the magnificent Yorkshire Dales. One of the highlights of our many trips into the great UK outdoors (really – get out of London in ‘23 people, the UK has so much more to offer)
PS2 If you’re interested to keep up with us, you can send Sonja a friend request on FB Sonja Ooms | Facebook and/or have a look at her website Macro Photography | Sonja’s Eye on the World – Colors of the Deep (will be updated over the coming holidays) the FLICKR account Sonja Ooms | Flickr or read about our journey on this travel blog of course.
