Anyone else with Christmas plans in the UK feeling jittery?

[QuentininQuarantino]

Last year's Christmas was awful, stuck alone in our host country which was in lockdown. Especially as we only cancelled our UK trip a couple of weeks in advance.

Now it feels a bit like history repeating itself. Most of the presents for the DC are at my parents house in the UK (really specific things that can't be bought here from the letter to father christmas!) and the DC are so excited.

(Also, thanks to fucking Brexit, we have told everyone to post everything to my parents house because of the huge import charges we keep getting stung with.)

We're only over the channel in France, and I keep telling myself its only 3/4 weeks to go.. but I've got that dreadful pit-of-the-stomach feeling.

Anyone else? Fancy some mutual support?

Christmas is just a date but the USA has only recently opened travel to the UK and dc have set school schedules.

We are still hoping we can get in to the UK and back to the USA around Christmas.
We haven't seen family for two years plus now.

Living overseas is a board designed to be a space to talk about these things. So if you don't need to then feel free to move along.

@plantastic Yes, we're here for my husbands job not for a holiday. We chose to be away from family but when we first moved 5 years ago we knew if we needed or wanted to get home we could do so pretty easily and in an emergency be back within 24 hours. That certainty has now completely gone and even though we only fly in 5 days I'm still going to spend the next few days anxious about what might change re countries on the red list/quarantine requirements etc... We've had a horrific year and I've really struggled with my mental health lately, coming home for Christmas is what is keeping me going right now, frankly.
Also, one of my friends here was flying back next week for their mums funeral. They couldn't make it back to say goodbye to her in hospital (and wouldn't have wanted to go into hospital after an international flight anyway with the risk of spreading covid) and had planned to arrive the day before the funeral. Since yesterday's announcement on arrivals into the country they've had to spend an absolute fortune changing their flights to Monday as there are only spaces available in business class at this short notice, and if their covid tests come back positive they will miss the funeral anyway. So yes, well done the UK for acting quickly but even if it is the right thing to do to stop the spread of the new variant, it doesn't make it any easier for those abroad who are desperate to come home whether that's for Christmas to see family or to attend their mothers funeral. Just because something is the correct decision doesn't mean it won't impact on people's mental health and cause huge distress. And suffering is all relative - there is no distress Olympics, different things will impact us all in different ways and we shouldn't say "oh but so and so has it worse so you shouldn't be so upset". Covid has been shit for everyone for very different reasons!

@percythewitch

Fancy some mutual support?

@Fairylights25 which bit of this very short sentence in the OP did you not understand?

You clearly have no idea of the logistics of planning a Christmas trip to the UK or the changes to delivery charges post Brexit meaning that it is simpler and cheaper to get things delivered to a UK address.

If you don't have any mutual support to offer then go and piss on someone else's chips.

Exactly.

I hear you, quentin.

You know, fairylights, the late great Claire Rayner had a rule of thumb of what a good piece of advice was, and it had to pass three tests- is it true? Is it helpful? And is it kind?

While your input to the thread may well be true, it is neither helpful nor kind. We all know what’s happening, but people are allowed to be disappointed, upset, angry, fearful etc and vent that without getting a finger wagging lecture on morale.

I despair of ever seeing anyone again. Lost 3 family members to Covid and just done Zoom funerals. We haven't planned to go back though this Xmas. Dd is in last year of school and dh has just started a new job. Any last minute quarantine requirements would be a nightmare.

I’m feeling a little more zen this morning. If (and it’s a huge if!) things stay as they are, it seems kids under 11 don’t actually need to do the isolation, which is new.

So ds could still go to the event (the only thing on his Xmas letter was to go to this event in England!) - just with his grandparents instead of us. It wouldn’t be the end of the world… anything can happen in three weeks though and I just don’t have a plan B. Compared to so many of you we’re lucky but I hate the anxiety!

I’m so sorry for those of you who still haven’t seen family. @MissAmbrosia it sounds heartbreaking and I’m really sorry for your loss.

@plantastic is there any chance your husbands job is one of the exemptions from
Isolation? I know they tightened the list a lot but originally some overseas workers were exempt. It’s especially shit to be sent abroad and then stopped from coming back - feels like an exile!

I've relaxed a little bit too. I didn't realise kids didn't need to isolate. My son could go out with my parents while we wait for the results. If we post them Friday we could have them Sunday.

We had a text from DS this morning - 702 days apart. Only 3 left to go. Please God!

My heart goes out to everyone here, hoping you can travel safely.

Does anyone know if you can arrive in England, have the PCR, but travel back to wherever you've come from BEFORE the results come though? Obviously self-isolating while you're there?

It's my job! He's my trail.

I'm not worried about the initial isolation- we will get a rapid test and should be fine. It's the being 'pinged'. There's no exemption for that.

Oh gosh sorry, I was mixing you up with shepabear who responded to you so the names were together, it wasn’t the hugely sexist assumption it looked like!

@OxfordQuestions that is a good question…. I think you could in theory because you were allowed to leave the original 10 day quarantine in order to travel home…

I'm stuck in Southern Africa - have to do hotel quarantine - I'm so fed up about it I can't tell you.

@QuentininQuarantino

Oh gosh sorry, I was mixing you up with shepabear who responded to you so the names were together, it wasn’t the hugely sexist assumption it looked like!

@OxfordQuestions that is a good question…. I think you could in theory because you were allowed to leave the original 10 day quarantine in order to travel home…

I really really hope so!!

We didn’t book to go home to the UK we have a toddler and its a mandatory ten day quarantine when we get back and we live in an apartment (she needs to be out a lot or she’ll literally go apeshit) We expected something or something to crop up and couldn’t afford extended stays in quarantine at either end or our journey and were worried about winter restrictions.

Ofcourse peoples holidays are not the most important thing in the world but I haven’t seen my family for three years, I’m allowed to be sad about that.

On thé government website it also says that under 17-year olds must take a PCR test but do not need to quarantine - also hoping that's true. I mean, it's on the gov.uk website!

Oh cloud I’m so so sorry. I have a SA friend here who was booked to go home and finally introduce her baby (who is two!) to her family. We’re meeting up later - she’s devastated.

Here

Now it's "out" I dont see the point of these restrictions. You're no greater risk if you're coming from, say France (or even SA) than if you're travelling within UK.

We’re travelling to the UK on Friday. Not been back for two years.
This trip has been a cross between a money pit and a military campaign, double checking everything, using vouchers from previously cancelled flights, passenger locator form etc. etc. etc.
I’m just about to change our Gatwick drive-through LFT to PCR (more fuss and expense) and if Italy introduces 10 days of quarantine for people arriving from the UK, DH is staying at home.

And although I appreciate the UK government needs to be seen as doing “something” after the shambles that was Delta, this is enough to put even the most committed travellers off…

I'm hopefully back for 2 weeks from mid Dec but if my current country in the ME slaps on an incoming quarantine requirement I'll have to cancel as I can't work from home. I can't believe how fast the situation has deteriorated ...I was really looking forward to this holiday being a less stressful affair than last year.

I have at times been really distressed by this whole travel thing and I'm not even affected. The thing's we've had to "accept" have been cruel beyond belief at times.

A friend in Australia Australia wasn't able to get home to see her dying father or for his funeral or to see her mother in the months since and now the Christmas trip she's been counting down the says for looks in jepody. I just can't imagine the distress. I'm feeling quite stressed about my entirely UK based Christmas!

I'm with you as well OP. We are supposed to be heading back on the 20th after 2.5 years of not seeing family and friends. I think I'm in the same country as @Tropicalsquirrel and @Ulelia. The whole thing has been planned like an incredibly expensive military operation, we have a careful schedule of amazing people that we all miss terribly that we are desperate to see. I want to meet my new niece for the first time and give my best mates a massive hug. Things here are finally, finally just starting to open up a little both internally and externally and this news makes me think we are going backwards again. I'm trying to stay zen but I'm not sure I'm managing it really...It won't surprise anyone here if the borders are shut again for expats - last year many families were unable to get back here for months on end. So sorry to hear all the others on this thread who are in similar positions.

Isn't the risk to travel just as likely to come from other countries' restrictions/isolation requirements as the UK's?