The truth is that when it comes to any things foreign, I have not been anywhere for 18 months (even though I have had my two coronavirus jabs). With the government’s strategy – if it can be described as such – of red, amber and green countries occasionally fluctuating in defiance of logic but mostly staying stuck on the same colour like a bad hour at the roadworks, I think that may remain the case for some time yet. A leader in The Times on Wednesday pulled no punches: “It appears as if the government wishes people to holiday only in Britain.” I bet that’s right. It seriously reduces the torrent of stories about people spending six hours to clear immigration at Heathrow and one can see the appeal to the Treasury of people effectively being forced to spend their holiday money in the UK. Therefore, for this blog, I’m going briefly back in time: by ten years, to a visit to Bermuda.

Bermuda is not tropical but I would suggest that when anyone uses the phrase ‘tropical seas’ it would bring to mind something like the colour of the Atlantic Ocean in this shot

Bermuda is a British Overseas Territory in the North Atlantic, albeit way closer to the United States than to Great Britain. That it is home to one of the world’s most celebrated venerable golf courses, Mid Ocean, tends to belie this fact. In fact, the name Bermuda tends to suggest it is one largish island whereas it instead consists of 181 distinct entities. Its businesses are primarily based in insurance, reinsurance and tourism; it is one of the wealthiest countries per capita in the world. One popular occupation is taxi driving; only islanders can drive a vehicle. Bermuda is a hire-car free zone.

The capital, Hamilton: note the dinky kiosk in the middle of the road from which police officers can direct the traffic – although Piccadilly Circus it isn’t

Bermuda’s climate is classified as sub-tropical. Somewhat bizarrely, it’s record high temperature is below that of the UK; it’s never reached 100 degrees fahrenheit. Its record peak is 93 degrees (33.1C) in August 1989. On the other hand, it has never got close to freezing. Its lowest-ever temperature is 43.3F (6.3C), set one February. And rainfall is precious. It’s the country’s only source of drinking water. It has no rivers and no freshwater lakes.

Many of Bermuda’s beaches are simply glorious, and the water breathtakingly inviting…this being the Atlantic, though, there’s no danger of mistaking the waters for the Caribbean

All considered, Bermuda is a great place for a holiday. As I have hinted previously, it is also a great place to play golf, a partial view of the aforementioned Mid Ocean being shown on the home page. In fact, writing this blog has made me feel a touch nostalgic. When air travel can again take place without so much hassle, I would love to find the opportunity to go back to Bermuda.

As befits an island that is surrounded by an ocean as wild as the Atlantic can be, it is no surprise to find that much of Bermuda’s coastline can be pretty ragged

BTW, I just checked: it’s current seven-day average of new covid cases is zero! That’s even better than Barnard Castle!! Get me there!!!