Opinion: Summer travel is light at the end of the tunnel after 12 months of gloom

Taking flight 

PLANES, trains and automobiles at the ready,  there’s light at the end of the COVID tunnel.

Families separated by the current international travel restrictions between Spain and the UK could soon be reunited and bars and hotels might once again enjoy a busy summer season. 

For once the over-optimistic Prime Minister has offered a deliberately cautious – but ultimately hopeful- timetable that soon this nightmare could all be over. 

And we can only hope that a similar route will be outlined by the Spanish government to make sure the county can once again open its doors to Brits. 

For some, the 12-week wait for UK holidaymakers to return to Spain will be too long, both for the tourist industry that is on its knees and the families separated by red tape. 

For others the possibility of summer holidays in Spain will seem unrealistically ambitious or even deadly. 

Managing expectations, in what we have learned is an uncertain world, will be the next big task for political leaders.

For the rest of us, sticking to the safety rules remains the biggest challenge. 

But we do that over the next few months with some real encouragement that things are moving in the right direction.

True cost 

BREXIT has come with a hefty price tag, one we will all be paying off for years.

From the musicians and actors being asked to pay over €600 for a single performance in Spain to the families who can no longer send a simple birthday gift to their loved ones abroad, the burden of leaving the EU is weighing heavy on our shoulders – and our wallets. 

When it comes to the true cost of Brexit, it seems that once again the Tory government have picked on the wrong people to pay the cost.