It’s peak holiday time again. The flights to and from Manchester are just as numerous as before Covid.
This weekend some 20,000 Mallorcans protested in their main square in Palma. As one of them put it, “We don’t want to be a theme Park.” What did a tourist think? “I’m here with a girlfriend for a long weekend,” she said. “We flew from Liverpool. It’s only a three hour flight.”
Yes, we all need time out, time for refreshment, renewal and reconnection – as Jesus shows us when he and his disciples remove themselves from the crowds.
Cheap as an all-inclusive holiday to Mallorca may be, it still excludes plenty of people – bereaved families and families living in poverty, often with a child with additional needs. Such families are supported to take a break within this country by the Family Holiday Charity:
Mandy has a slipped disc and suffers from fibromyalgia. Her son Logan, has a prosthetic leg and autism. Her daughter, Erin, is often called on to help around the home. Mandy and Erin are considered as Logan’s carers.
Erin and Logan lost their father, Chris, unexpectedly at the start of the Covid pandemic. As Mandy says, “Since then we have been feeling a bit lost.” Unsurprisingly, relationships between the three have sometimes been a little fractious.
The holiday was just what the family needed. “The kids got to spend some time bonding and I got time with each of them individually. Plus, I actually had some alone, just me and the dog which was nice. It’s helped us to realise that sometimes you just have to step back a bit…To be given that opportunity to help us heal was phenomenal.”
Chris Dawson