There’s a humongous amount of talk swirling round about holidays here in Ireland at the moment and it seems to have become a national obsession about whether foreign holidays will be allowed or whether it will have to be holidays in Ireland due to Covid19.
The latest effort to go away on holidays that has been reported is Irish people booking in for dental work in sunny climes – essential travel in their eyes – but not showing up for their appointments.
Holidays are not important to me at all, at all. I used to enjoy them as a kid when we took family holidays in Ireland but since adulthood, I have never been too pushed about them and certainly don’t feel that 2 weeks in some sun spot or in some busy city is anything special.
Maybe, it’s because I live in a beautiful place which offers delights all around me and because it is on the coast has that ever-changingness about it.
I often wonder if holidays are a sort of expectation and will never forget my first day back in College after First Year when all the talk was about Summers in the US or Greece. I had spent a blissful Summer coaching tennis in Ireland and playing in a host of tennis tournaments mainly around Dublin. I didn’t feel deprived at all but was always a bit surprised that holidays or the lack of them were among criteria for defining poverty.
I know that there is the view that travel broadens the mind and refreshes one but is this blown out of all proportion and driven by social media, travel industry and so-called celebreties and influencers?
If I were to identify my dream holiday, it would be to some remote parts of coastal Ireland that I have never been to and that includes a few of our little islands. I don’t care if it rains or not as I see tremendous beauty in rain, raindrops and rainbows.
SOCIAL BRIDGE ~ Jean Tubridy connecting with you from Ireland 
Totally agree with you Jean. Even in the late 70s when I rocked up in Jersey I was amazed at how everyone disappeared off-Island during the summer and for half-term. Back in Birmingham you were dead posh if you flew anywhere. Holidays seem more of an entitlement than an expectation now.
Funnily, I’m just writing the memoirs of an old chap who sailed to the USA with his brother in 1958. Apart from diplomats and one or two wealthy people they were the only Brits on board. (They changed their return trip to fly with BOAC on one of their first transatlantic flights.)
But maybe our enforced travel restrictions will have forced some, at least, to appreciate what pleasures we have on our own doorsteps.
Must be interesting writing the memoirs. No doubt great insights into lives.
Great attitude: Maybe, it’s because I live in a beautiful place which offers delights all around me and because it is on the coast has that ever-changingness about it. I love it. Too many times locals try to visit every nook and cranny of the world, and haven’t done the same for their own country! I hope sometime you will get to take your dream holiday! I just spent an hour cleaning off my van for my morning taxi run. The run has been moved up to 9 am from the earlier scheduled time of 7:15, giving the road crews time to clear their back road! And by the way, this post was a refreshing read this morning!
Not sure it’s a great attitude but one I happen to have.
Transparent and honest, as usual.
😊
Great read and you do live in a beautiful place indeed. I think sometimes wanderlust is a thing we’re born with. I’m the eldest of 5 siblings and I’m the only one with an insatiable yearning to travel. I’ve been like that for as long as I remember. I’ve always loved the thrill of seeing and experiencing places I’ve read about and imagined through books (long before the days of internet, social media, or even travel TV programs) and I keep a running bucket list. My sibs are content to stay home.
Oh, I’d love to hear where are are top places on your list.
We’ve been fortunate to travel through almost all of the continental USA, Canada, the Caribbean, Central America, and a wee bit of South America. If and when this pandemic allows travel again, we hope to get to Europe (mainly Britain, Norway, Germany, Austria, and Switzerland), Australia, and Thailand. Those would be the top ones on a long list 😊
My heart breaks not to see Ireland in the European list!!!!
My mistake and my sincere apologies! In my mind, it was included in “Britain” – I should have said “The British Isles” Ireland will definitely be a part of that trip!
Oh dear, we’ll have to go again. The Republic of Ireland is an independent country from the United Kingdom since 1921. There are 6 counties in Northern Ireland which are part of the UK.
It’s a long saga but unfortunately many, many lives were lost as a result of it all and over 3,000 people were killed in what are known as the Troubles associated with Northern Ireland between the late 1960s and the mid 1990s.
Thank you for the reminder of the history (believe it or not, I’m a history nerd) and again, my sincere apologies for the Faux Pas
No worries! It’s all very complex, especially for a country of such a relatively small population – around 5m.
I think traveling is like many things: the experience is unique. Of course there is the corporate push to get us to travel just for the sake of a sale. But on the other hand, my opportunities to travel to places like St. Paul, Alaska, Unalaska, and South Africa taught me much about myself, other cultures and experiences, and the opportunity to expand my universal consciousness. I think all those experiences helped me to appreciate my home even more–a place I have always loved and spent time and energy exploring.
Oh I agree Suz, I certainly think travel has big advantages, especially if one gets to meet people from the other countries.
I have found work or sport-playing travel much more beneficial over the years than holidays per se, taken in conventional sense.
I always thought the “on holiday” phrase interesting, as we tend to say “on vacation.”
On vacation here is from college, when you are not attending lectures but grappling with assignments. On holiday is freedom from all duties and generally involves going away somewhere. That’s my understanding from this side of the ocean. We’d never talk about ‘going on vacation, if it was a family going to a hotel for a week but there could be a professor writing up a report while on vacation in his/her second home in remote Ireland or abroad in a rented place.
I agree, you’d be surprised, or maybe not about the number of Irish people who travel to warmer climates to visit an Irish bar. Home from home they call it, I wonder why they don’t just stay at home if that’s what they want out of a holiday abroad.
HaHa. I know a few of them!
i so wish i could live by the sea…i do believe i would never want to leave nor care one iota about holidays either…:)
It’s a major reason alright. Bit of a battle to get to live here but it has worked out very well. Makes me all the more appreciative 😊🏄