Grant Shapps was finally going to reveal the hallowed “green list”, consisting of the countries deemed safe enough that travellers returning from them would not be required to quarantine from 17 May.
Countries classified as amber or red under the UK’s new traffic light system for travel, meanwhile, would be afforded no such luxuries.
So, back to that much-anticipated green list unveiling: just 12 destinations made the cut.
For those of us who have committed to going flight-free, the green list simply doesn’t exist.
Inspired by Greta Thunberg and her ilk, I thought it would be an exciting challenge as a travel journalist to commit to 12 months of staying grounded while still jamming in as many trips as possible.
I didn’t expect this year’s commitment to be harder than the last, but here, in Shapps’s pitiful green list, was the proof that it would be: there is not a single destination on it that can be reached without passing through an amber country, unless you take a plane.
But what about the ocean? I naively assumed that, as an island, the UK would have myriad international ferry routes previously unbeknownst to me.
I know, I know – it’s a privilege to stay somewhere new, and I’m at risk of giving off a “my diamond shoes are too tight” energy I would normally thoroughly disapprove of.
I’m resisting the urge to cut my losses and hop on a plane – just – but I’ve yet to master the necessary levels of zen to wait all this out with good grace.