Damn you, volcanic ash cloud!

Written by Gerard on Thursday 15 April 2010

Lisa went over to London yesterday for the press launch of Britain's Got Talent. And got stuck there, due to huge clouds of volcanic ash which have caused airports to shut down all over the UK.

At the moment, it looks like it may be Saturday or later before she can fly home. Luckily, her sister lives in London, so she has a place to stay until such times as flights are allowed to resume again.

It was only when I tried to explain to the children what had happened that I realised how sci-fi the whole thing sounded. "It's these volcanos in Iceland," I said. "What, the shop?" asked Jake. "No, Iceland the country. The smoke from the volcano has formed a gigantic cloud and all that smoke is blowing toward our country. And because the smoke and dust is dangerous to planes, all flights are cancelled until the air clears."

It does sound a little bit post-apocalyptic, doesn't it?

This means it's been a stressful week back in the house. It's virtually been me, on my own for the last five or six days. I've cooked dinners, done school runs, built new bunk beds for the boys, and much more in between. What I haven't managed is getting any work done. That's been virtually impossible.

I could moan. I want to. I suppose the consequence of being stranded at home is a feeling of utter isolation. The kids have been great, but I haven't spoken to an adult in ages. There's a certain satisfaction in taking care of the housework and maintaining a degree of stability in the household, but - is this it?

But by the same token, I'm fairly sure I'm doing a good job on my own. It's just impossible to get any work done, and that's my biggest concern at the moment.