Everybody needs a break. Nino has been taking care of Zoë almost every day for more than a year and a half, I've been working non-stop for the past few months - and even Zo needs a break from her Mum for a few days! In my wisdom, I decided I'll take Zoë away for a week whilst Nino goes to visit her Angami friend down in South Wales.
So I booked a week away in Es Cana, Ibiza. £700 for a week in a 4 star hotel with every facility a child could want - plus a toddlers playgroup and babysitting facilities so that I could get a holiday too. Nino arranged things with Khrienuo, her friend in Brecon and booked her train tickets. Sounds perfect - but then it all started to go wrong!
We kept telling Zoë "Holiday soon, Ibiza, Aeroplane". She was excited about it all and would wake up in the morning and say "Holiday, Ibiza?". Nino packed our things the night before our 6:30am flight and I wandered down to the office to get our passports. As I opened the filing cabinet drawer to get my passport I thought to myself "this passport expired on 13th May" and indeed it had! What should I do????? Zoë would be so disappointed - and Nino. I felt sick!
Well, I did my best. I got up at 6:00am and called the Thomas Cook duty office. They said to call the office I booked at when they opened. I did - they said "Aww, bad luck!". After some considerable time they agreed if I could get my passport renewed I could fly out on Friday - which would reduce our holiday by 2 days but it was OK. So more phone calls, more hanging on the phone listening to inane music and finally an appointment next day at Durham passport office for a same day passport renewal.
Up again at 6:00 am to drive to Durham - and on the way book our flight for the following day to Ibiza, another £85.
I arrived in Durham in good time for my appointment and when my turn came, promptly had my passport confiscated because it was slighly damaged, a security risk I was told! I was in shock! I couldn't believe what was happening. I think poor Zoë and I were destined not to go. It would be 3-4 weeks until my passport came back. I was disappointed for all of us but especially Zoë as all she knew was she would be going on an aeroplane to Ibiza on holiday. Now she wouldn't be going anywhere. This, it seems, is the 'War on terror' world that Bush and Blair have created for us.
Once I was over the shock and my brain had started to work again I thought "We'll fly to Cornwall and have a holiday there", it would be all the same to Zo. We couldn't do that either, No passport! It seems that a passport is required even for an internal flight - an old one (confiscated), a current one (hah) or a photo driving licence (mine is an old, no photo driving licence)
I gave up. I explained to Zoë that Daddy was stupid and we would not be flying on an aeroplane next day. I promised that we would still be going but that we'd have to wait a few weeks. So, when my passport is clutched firmly in my hand, I'll book another holiday which, hopefully, we'll actually go on this time and I won't disappoint anybody.
