A trip back home brings isolation to cautious end with some much-missed cuddles
For the first time in six months, we took the boy back to Ireland to see his nana and grandad. On arrival, we took our Covid-19 tests, which involved inserting a cotton bud slightly too far up our nostrils and sending their delightful scrapings off to some lucky lab technician in the Midlands. Distances were kept and family members resolutely uncuddled. Even though the cases have remained low, there’s a vigilance in Ireland that seems more marked than in London. In bustling Hackney, there’s a reluctance to impose on strangers. Some wear masks, but if they choose not to, little fuss is made. In the leafy Dublin suburb of my in-laws, this is not the case. On one trip to a local park I didn’t see a single adult unmasked, and had more than a few tight-lipped impasses when our buggy was judged to be idling a little too close to another.
It would take a more talented sociologist than me to isolate the differences between the British and Irish psyches, but seeing as I don’t have one to hand, I’ll speculate wildly. The fact is, for all that rebellious spirit we like to export in our rousing songs and knotty novels, the Irish are an obedient people.
Continue reading...from Lifestyle | The Guardian https://ift.tt/2DaVPPx