so missing our home on the plaza

Welcome to the Villamartin forum, we live on the Montegolf Urbanisation just outside Villamartin.

Things are very different here as you would expect, although restaurants and bars are now able to open 100% of their terraces and 30% inside the weather has not been kind we have had days and days of rain, bitterly cold winds so no one wants to sit outside, for example if you know Los Dolses there is a cafe called Rolo's last Sunday they had no customers all day, bars and restaurants have to close at 6pm, most turn to takeaways after that. Many places are hanging on by their fingernails, some wont open again. The news about no Overseas travel again this summer has been a body blow, let's hope and pray it does not come to that.

Spains vaccination roll out has been glacial and that's being kind, PM Sanchez originally said that 70% of Spains population needs to have been vaccinated before tourists would be allowed in, that was subsequently reduced to 30%-40% but as Spain has so far only vaccinated 8% even that percentage is looking doubtful.

We still have a curfew in place from 10pm to 6am and until very recently from 3pm on a Friday until either 6am or 6.30am Monday morning we could not travel out of Orihuela road blocks were in place at the Punta Prima roundabout.

Hope you can get here soon, we desperately need visitors.

Thank you for your reply and update I am sure there are lots of us keen to return to our homes and support local businesses.

I’m at a loss to understand the ridiculous low roll out rate in Europe & Spain in particular.

I’m just over 50 and have got mine from the NHS, it’s looking like the UK will hit the million a day administrations soon (850,000+ On 21/3/21).

Europe sabre rattling regarding supply and blaming the UK government for having the foresight and planning to place early orders, truly unbelievable bureaucratic nonsense and incompetence at the highest echelons of the governance of the bloc & individual nations.

The British investment is 10x times more than the European investment per capita on the vaccine rollout, the planning, procurement  and ultimately the final step of administrating it.

We’re missing being out there too, but as long as this European dithering goes on with the rollout it isn’t going to change any time soon.

Totally agree, I cant help but think all this dithering by the EU is costing lives, while the commission plays politics people are dying.

The EU has shown itself in it's true colours a moribund archaic bully who cant bear to see the UK doing well without them.

I am hoping that if you have received both vaccinations it would stand you in good stead to be included in the group being able to travel abroad.

I would also agree with still having to test at both ends of the holiday I was taking.

Lets hope some one comes up with a decent proposal to the government by the 12th April when decisions are made.

Mary

It’s a call that cannot be easily assessed.

I think Borris & crew are getting it correct, until we have at least 50% of the population with BOTH jabs and coming close on 90% with the first shot then opening up will carry risks of infection spikes.

The last thing anyone of us want is a half hearted opening up of businesses only to go back into lockdown. Whatever faith we can have with the UK programme is as good as it gets, others European regions are well behind the curve and no signs of improving.

Hi

I know everyone is fed up and that includes me, maybe Europe are not efficient as uk but if they had been there would be less vaccines for uk.  My friend in Spain is not happy they maybe letting the uk fly in, can't blame her, we can still transfer the virus even though we are vaccinated.  She has not been vaccinated yet,  and it is not her fault but she is very vulnerable.

 There, obviously, is a limit to what they can produce at a time, blaming, arguing, won't change that. 

Denise

There is no doubt that we,in the U.K. are at the end of the lockdown tether. This week, I have no interest in doing anything and it’s so cold as well. The awful thing is that if the government suddenly permits more freedom, we could be back in square 1 again  and none of us want that.  The pandemic is still out there. The Brazilian variant is a killer and our inoculation will only give us 10%protection and that’s no good at all. We are still in trouble. I’m a cavalier person and like to do exactly what I want to do but not when COVID19 is out there waiting to attack me or my husband. I have resigned myself to the fact that we won’t be visiting Spain any time soon and I’m not shocked really. I am sad about it but come on everyone, we don’t want to die for years yet, do we? Why on Earth would we risk our lives to go abroad?  Until most European countries are vaccinated we have no choice but to remain at home and avoid bringing the virus back with us. We need to see our country open up and allow shops, bars, banks, restaurants and every other organisation return to work. We may have to wear masks for quite some time but we will conform. Once we are allowed to go somewhere for a coffee and scone or as John says, a drink at the pub, I think many of us will feel a great deal happier. I for one cannot wait to have my hair cut so that I can look in a mirror and recognise myself again!

We must accept the fact that travel to Spain isn’t on the agenda this year or it may be relaxed come autumn. I don’t intend to look for loop holes to be allied to travel, my life is more important that another holiday. We can use the flight money to stay in a hotel for a break but we’d need to book soon!

I’m still planning departing here mid Sept to drive to the Costa Blanca and staying for the duration of the winter as we’ve done for years only stopping this year due to covid.

I’m in my early 50’s and will accept an acceptable risk but will play it safe just yet. The vaccine rate will ramp up even more greatly here and maybe Europe gets its act together and begins to take up a more pragmatic vaccination programme and get on with it.

All of our lives are on hold just now, predominantly to safeguard the nations health but at the cost of what else? People are straining, cracks appearing, business failing....... people won’t be any near as accepting as they were, maybe governments should take heed of this fact and stop their bureaucratic nonsense and political pondering and tell the truth, do their jobs and do what they were put there to do.