Friday 13th easyJet flight Athens to Larnaca, no social distancing, packed in like sardines, take off delayed by an hour and forty minutes due to problems with ice on the wings. Plane arrives late, I have bad back pain, no option other than to spend the night at Gatwick.
When I awake in the morning, Saturday of last week, back pain worse, no option other than to stay for a couple more nights, I ask to see a doctor. No doctor at Gatwick, nearest Redhill or Crawley. Not knowing either and with a regular train service best option take a train to Brighton and visit the walk in centre a couple of minutes down from the station, on the left of the main road heading to the seafront.
Bad back pain. Walk in medical centre close to Brighton Station. Cannot walk in, have to make an appointment. Ok, make an appointment. No, can not see anyone. Why? Covid protocol. That explains why two receptionists, one nurse, no social distancing, no wearing of masks. My only option, visit A&E.
I later visit A&E at Brighton hospital.
Cold, starting to rain, turning dark. I give the seafront a miss and catch No 7 bus to hospital.
Not too long in A&E. May be three hours max. Nothing serious. Maybe strained muscles. Cocktail of drugs, codeine and paracetamol.
Bucketing it down with rain. Catch taxi to station.
They have now expanded their choice of coffee in Nespresso capsules. The day before I noticed Kudu and Mind the Cup were offering Nespresso capsules. Even Panama Geisha sourced from 90 Plus in Nespresso capsules.
Buy a 60 euro Nespresso machine and coffee from quality coffee roasteries, for example The Underdog, Kudu, Mind the Cup, but never ever use Nespresso capsules.
Deliveroo serf waiting several minutes in Hanki a tiny Korean restaurant, several minutes within a small enclosed space for order to be processed. That was whilst I was there. How many more minutes before I walked in? How many places visited, in out no mask, how many customers visited no mask, today, preceding days, following days? No track and trace, not required to provide contact details. No attempt to remove crash helmet.
No surprise covid-19 cases doubling every few days.
I asked the young guy serving to file immediate complaint with Deliveroo. In future, make wait outside until order ready, do not allow inside, if steps inside to collect, remove helmet, wear mask. It would be advisable not to deal with this Deliveroo serf again.
I explained breach of covid-19 regulations, explained why, noisy, customers shouting, emitting 30 times coronavirus at high velocity across the room, I had to shout to make myself heard repeat to make myself understood.
I ordered a sausage roll. Usually they hot it up. Not served cold. A fresh batch was brought out of the oven, one of which I was offered.
I found a clean table as far removed from others as possible. I would usually sit outside, too cold, raining and no free tables.
Tables not cleared of dirty crockery. This is the norm in Gail’s, tables not cleared, tables not cleaned. Bad enough in normal times, unacceptable during coronavirus pandemic.
Eventually tables were cleared, but not not cleaned, not wiped down and decontaminated.
I left, asking for a drink of water on my way out. I had asked for a drink of water when I ordered but none ever arrived.
For some perverse reason only half a door open, causing congestion on entering or leaving.
Covid-19 biosecurity appalling. I was not asked for contact details, loud music blasting out which was not turned down on request even though explained why, dirty dishes piled on tables not cleared away, tables not wiped down and cleaned. Only plus, staff wearing masks at all times and wearing correctly. Gail’s must be shut down and hit with a hefty fine.
Loud music, noisy environment, people shouting, are projecting thirty times covid-19 at high velocity across the room. Quiet conversation, minimise the ejection of covid-19 and only into the immediate surroundings of those talking.
If we are to get a grip of coronavirus, establishments like Gail’s which flout the rules must be shut down.
Gail’s is a chain, overpriced bread, low paid temporary staff, never see the same person twice, due to open soon in Tunsgate in Guildford.
Neither cakes nor coffee good. Far better cakes and coffee in Blue Bear Bookshop and Krema, where also take covid-19 biosecurity seriously.
What is shocking Gatwick Airport one of the country’s busiest airports or was is that with the exception of hand sanitiser stations scattered around a complete lack of covidd-19 biosecurity.
No temperature screening on entry to the airport. No temperature screening at check-in. I cannot comment security checks, passport control, boarding, as I did not get that far. Nor was there any covid-19 testing available at the airport, nor in the locality.
Airports and airlines whinge about 14 day quarantine for arrivals from high risk countries and yet fail to put there own house in order.
There should be temperature screening, anyone with high temperature refused boarding but officered the option of a cvid19 test. A fast turn around as at Rome airport where they test and have result in loess than 30 minutes.
I am not suggesting instead of 14 day quarantine, I am proposing in addition to.
We are in the middle of a pandemic with cases rapidly rising, but would not think so with the caviller attitude taken by airlines and airports. Schools have more stringent protocol in place that Gatwick.
Try for days and days, day after day, to obtain a coronavirus test, morning, afternoon, evening, night time, early hours of the morning. Finally Saturday offered a test. Home test kit to be delivered Sunday.
Sunday evening I find a parcel delivered by Amazon dumped on my doorstep. Third time in as many days Amazon dumps a parcel on the doorstep.
This morning open testing kit to find swab missing.
Call to request a courier to delivers a swab or new kit. Not possible, have to start all over again.
Have to go through this process twice. First time denied a test kit due to one only just been despatched. Second time will be delivered in two days.
Multiply this across the country and easy to see why coronavirus out of control and cases rapidly rising.
The application to apply for a test is badly designed. Each question is on a new page. It does not save the replies, have to start all over again.
Update
Tuesday a message to say home test kit dispatched. To my surprise delivered same day, again dumped on doorstep.
I carry out test, put swab in vial, in plastic bag, in biohazard bag, then in box to post.
Have to register on line. Need to scan biohazard bag, take out of box and scan box.
Web page fails on security test. It is missing.
Once again have to call number. They do not wish for ID that links to original request which registration requires nor ID of box which enables tracking.
Seal box, dash to sorting office to find have missed the last post.
Posted Tuesday night, will not be collected until Wednesday. As I write almost midnight Thursday night, no results.
Saturday 6-39 in the morning, an e-mail to say tested negative.
Today, an hour late into town, no bus stop, temporary bus stop vanished. What did this mean, back to normal or yobs stolen the bus stop?
Thee was no information on the bus last week, nothing from drivers to say normal service resumed.
A lady pulled up, to say no bus, now back to previous route, road opened.
To previous bus stop, both sides of the road notice at bus stop to say bus stop not in use. No timetable.
Would it not have made sense to have left temporary bus stop in place for at least a week, notice to say normal service resumed? Or, whoever removed temporary bus stop, notices on other bus stops?
A bus passed by leaving Lincoln, therefore can expect bus into Lincoln to pass by anytime soon.
At Lincoln Central Bus Station, no timetables, not a single timetable. New timetable came into play Sunday. Information office not open. Information office never open.
Buy two glasses for coffee from Lakeland. Not a shop I would recommend. Promotion for loyalty card (to enable tracking). Does it give discount? You will get vouchers in the post. Fat lot of use. Contrast with Hotel Chocolat, apply for VIP card in store, kicks in immediately.
Faffle at the till. Lady has a card that does not work. Tries contactless. Card not contactless. Tries again, tries again with keying in pin. No success. Why does she not use cash? Tries again. Works. Has a basket full of goods, then someone else has basket full of goods on same card.
I am about to walk out, when staff member opens a second till. I am given vouchers. Not valid until October, have to spend over thirty or fifty pounds. This is Lakeland taking the piss.
Bailgate, as expected, restaurants empty, back to as was in July, Eat Out to Help Out finished.
Haddock and chips at Elite on the Bail. Not busy. Staff tell me Eat Out to Help Out was not good, customers rude, insufficient staff, then quiet the rest of the week.
Many of the chains are offering for September or part thereof half price meals. They are still displaying Eat Out to Help Out. This is misleading. If half price, were they previously ripping off customers, or if running at a loss, to put indie restaurants out of business?
A pleasantly warm afternoon. Walk around to Stokes at The Lawn, but too late, to catch the sun on the terrace.
Mike too busy to try a coffee. I have a cappuccino.
As I am leaving, he wishes to try Ethiopia Arsosala WS, an Ethiopian coffee I had picked up from Cartwheel Coffee. I would have suggested V60, Mike says no, an espresso. He is impressed the bag lists brew ratio for espresso and filter, which gives a good starting point. Something more coffee roasteries should list.
We try espresso, or at least Mike tries espresso, for me he adds hot water a sort of Americano, though I would have preferred to try espresso. We are both impressed. Very fruity.
Zante to Cardiff the second tui coronavirus flight in as many days.
Two tui covid-19 flights, the first Zante with coronavirus-positive passengers bound for Plymouth, the second Zante to Cardiff. Is there a third, a fourth? On each flight at least half a dozen cases.
The Cardiff flight, passengers have complained lack of social distancing at check in, staff handling phones of passengers, on the flight failure to enforce lack of wearing of face masks, passengers not wearing masks walking around the plane to speak to fellow passengers, one lady had someone sat next to her with no mask, it beggars belief tui serving food and drinks on the flight and it goes without saying packed in like sardines.
Failure by tui to thoroughly clean the plane on turnaround. One passenger found wet wipes behind the seat in front.
On public transport, trains and buses, mandatory to wear masks but on tui flights anything goes.
Delta no mask removed from flight, blacklisted from future flights.
Why did the crew not note all those who refused to wear face masks as instructed, pilot radio ahead their details, police waiting to escort them off the plane on landing?
Passengers on the Cardiff flight say the first they were aware they were at risk of infection was when they heard it on the news and through social media.
A lady who was sat next to a passenger not wearing a mask, who said the crew failed to act, has now developed coronavirus symptoms. She hopes it is only a cold, but will have covid-19 test to be sure.
Stephanie Whitfield who was on the tui flight to Cardiff has described how passengers were not wearing masks correctly and just seemed to “disregard the rules”.
She told ITV Wales that she “didn’t feel safe” on board the flight:
I don’t think many of the passengers had been completely educated on the use of face masks.
There were people with their masks underneath their noses, underneath their chins, people were taking them off to speak to other people, taking them off and wandering down the aisle to speak to other people.
I didn’t feel safe and we took the decision before we got back into Cardiff that we were going to self isolate just because we thought it was the responsible thing to do.
I was sat in the middle seat and the gentleman next to me had his mask around his chin so for me to kind of highlight it to someone I would have then had to spend the next three and a half hours sat next to someone feeling very uncomfortable, so I didn’t feel like I was able to do that.
Every single passenger on the Cardiff flight has been instructed by Public Health Wales to self-isolate.
Tui claim they care about the health a safety of their passengers. A sick joke as they do not care about their package holiday clients and their welfare. In 2016 tui was knowingly dumping clients on a building site.
Travelling in a sealed tube in close proximity to other people is a sure plus way to catch covid-19. Passengers wandering around the sealed tube help spread the virus to other passengers.
On the Zante to Cardiff flight, at least three groups of people scattered throughout the plane have tested positive.
Dr Gwen Lowe, consultant in communicable disease control for Public Health Wales has said last week ‘we’ve had about 30 cases in Wales that have come back from Zante’.
Different flights on different days staying in different locations. These are confirmed positive cases and we’re expecting that number to rise.
Up to 30 in a group travelling to Plymouth may have been infected on a flight from Zante. They have subsequently been out drinking in Plymouth.
Greece was already at risk of of being placed on the UK quarantine list.
Greece must deal with the Zante coronavirus hotspot that is spreading covid-19 across Europe. Zante must be placed in lockdown, no travel to and from Zante and as absolute minimum close all bars and nightclubs and anywhere groups of people gather. In an attempt to slow covid-19, across Greece bars and restaurants have to close by midnight.
Tui should halt all flights to Zante. The only flights to bring back stranded clients, who must then face 14-day quarantine.
Update: A third tui flight, Zante to Glasgow had passengers who tested positive for covid-19. Glasgow has been placed in partial lockdown.
Update: Wales has imposed quarantine for all flights from Zante. Scotland has imposed quarantine for arrivals from Greece.
Update: A WizzAir flight Athens to Larnaca, a passenger not wearing a mask correctly was questioned by police on arrival and fined.
