“Standby for action. We are about to launch… Stingray. Anything can happen in the next half hour”
How many times do you get an opportunity like this? The time – and thank you to my employers for that – the money, which came through two unexpected PPI repayments. Yeah, I know. PPI repayments. After years of it being a standing joke, this year’s Nigerian prince scam, it came good. Two grand out of nowhere. It didn’t belong to the family, it didn’t take any resources out of the family coffers, it didn’t mean anyone lost out. Money out of nowhere. Free money. Then there’s My Fine Wife, without whose blessing this wouldn’t have worked. And yes, I know there’s all the “Of course she should be like that” and I know that if the roles were reversed I wouldn’t think twice, but it’s still rare. There are - I know – not that many couples who’d give this particular green light.
Maybe that why there’s a curious sense of pressure. Will it be good enough? Will I have a good enough time? Will it be interesting enough? Will I meet enough interesting people? Will I meet any people? Will I come back with enough stories?
It sounds mad but after all the chat, all the rabbit, all the talk about how brave I am… what if it turns out to be nothing? A nice little break in the sun.
Then there’s all the “Well, what are you going to find out?” The chances are I’ll find out Israel is hot. Maybe that’s as sophisticated as the analysis will get. “I went to Israel on a voyage of discovery and found out that it’s hot”. Well, thank you for that, Dr Livingstone.
What if I land and have that moment? That feeling of “I’m home! This is my place!” and I sign up.
What if I find out that they’re right, that I’m wrong, that Israel is a racist endeavour.
Going to Corfu was easier.