Who would have guessed that, back at the beginning of 2020, the year would have panned out in such a ghastly and unforgettable way. I doubt if 2020 could be described by anyone as having been a good year, so we know we are not alone.

We thought that we’d take a look back at some of our photos over the course of this year, just to remind ourselves how utterly memorable (mostly for the wrong reasons) it all was, and how we managed to keep going!

New Year’s Eve 2019/2020

Well, sitting around the table with our friends David and Lorna, with absolutely no idea what the New Year might bring. At that stage, we were full of optimism for a year filled with Bed & Breakfast guests and Granada Concierge courses. The early days of January were full of sunshine, crystal-clear days and blissful walks through landscapes that bore the promise of Spring.

Fiesta of San Anton - 17th January

San Anton is the favourite festival in Moclín - a very local affair where our neighbours are all joined by family and friends, pets are blessed at the Ermita de San Anton and there is a great big party with plenty of food, drink and dancing. Andrew and I were supposed to be on the organising committee for the 2021 fiesta, but it looks very unlikely that this will now take place. Alfie received his blessing, kitted out as he was in his fetching flamenco neckerchief; very smart, and seemingly much less scruffy than he is now! What happened??

First Snow - 20th January

Moclín had its first heavy fall of snow and we scuttled out quickly to make the most of it before it thawed. It was Alfie’s first experience of the white stuff, and he seemed relatively unfazed.

Skiing!

January and February brought a couple of fabulous ski trips to the Sierra Nevada. The first expedition was over the course of 24th - 26th January to celebrate our friend, Richard’s 50th birthday and we had a brilliant couple of days. The conditions were almost perfect, with freshly fallen snow, beautiful sunshine and some wonderful skiing. On the actual date of the birthday, we had something like 12 people around a table in one of our favourite restaurants in the resort, and this now seems such a long, long time ago!

The children came out towards the end of February for a week, and a ski-trip. It was then that my son James and his fiancee, Hannah, announced that they were to have a baby and that we were going to be granddads. To say that we were thrilled is a complete understatement and we had the most memorable (for all the good reasons) week. The skiing was fun, the company fabulous and we all have many amazing new memories. As well as skiing, that week involved visits to Granada for tapas, walks through our breathtaking countryside and just plenty of chat and food. Being deprived of the company of friends and family has been the hardest part of this year, without any shadow of a doubt.

Family

Shortly after the children left, we had a visit from Ian’s niece Mattie and her boyfriend Matt at the very start of March. It was the first time that any of Ian’s nieces or nephews had had a chance to see the house, and it was such a lovely weekend. Another opportunity to catch up over food and drink and enjoy beautiful, sun-filled walks around our glorious village.

14th March - Lockdown

A week after Mattie and Matt had returned to the UK, we were locked down. Little did we know then how hard the Covid-19 pandemic would hit and how much it would affect our collective lives. In that first week, we lost every booking that had been made for the Bed & Breakfast (due to open officially on 1st April) and we had to consider what would happen with the bookings that had been made for our creative courses. At that stage, we had no idea how long lockdown would last, and we had to try and guess what the summer might hold. Despite the beautiful sunny days, and hours spend in the kitchen cooking up many a storm, it was difficult not to be concerned, as our projected business income had all but disappeared overnight. We logged those early weeks of lockdown in a series of ‘Life in the Time of Corona’ posts.

21st March - #MyTravelPledge

After a week of wondering what the hell we were going to do, we had the idea to offer free breaks to healthcare workers at Casa Higueras. It seemed like the only think we could do - we had empty guest bedrooms and it was quickly becoming apparent that frontline workers were battling to keep on top of this new and terrifying virus. If we could give them something to look forward to, then it was the least we could do, and we felt so helpless in every other aspect. #MyTravelPledge was launched. Little did we know that our low-key idea would become global and keep us occupied well into the summer. From a mental-health perspective, that campaign helped us through some of the very darkest days and gave us a sense of purpose and direction.

Like many other people, we made lots of bread, even more cake, planted the garden, walked and did our best to believe that it would not be long before we were welcoming guests back. Books became our best friends, and we read voraciously.

14th April - The Guardian

Easter came and went and, with it, the cancellation of the Semana Santa festivals across Spain. It was then that we were beginning to realise that this was not going to be a quick release.

#MyTravelPledge had been ticking along, with a few mentions in the UK travel press, and we had a handful of accommodation providers offering short breaks by our side. A manageable flow of nominations came in from NHS workers, but it was very low key.

On 14th April Jane Dunford, the travel editor at The Guardian, ran a piece in which #MyTravelPledge was mentioned and we remember sitting on the sunny terrace watching our email inbox fill up, screen after screen. Within 24 hours, we had received 2,000 nominations from healthcare workers, and offers of accommodation from around the world. Overnight, the campaign became a full-time, 7-days-a-week job.

We were contacted shortly after The Guardian article by the BBC’s ‘The Travel Show’ and began to keep a video diary of our life running the campaign, a campaign that had now gone global.

28th March

One of Andrew’s friends from university, Asmund Skeie (Oz) died in a tragic accident.

18th April

Ian’s mother, Erica, died.

27th April

Ian’s brother, Kim, died.

For us, this period was arguably the hardest of our lives. To lose friends and family members at any time is heartbreaking, but we were unable to travel to say goodbye or be with our families for funerals. The distance between us and those people we love had never seemed so great. Not being able to go through that traditional grieving process, to share memories, to hug one another leaves an enormous gulf and to this day it is difficult to accept that Erica, Kim and Oz are not still here, waiting for our next visit.

Late Spring and early Summer arrived, and our campaign continued to keep us occupied. Andrew also had a number of book projects to concentrate on. We were lucky that we had work to fill our days. The #MyTravelPledge campaign ultimately generated 6,000 nominations, gave away over 220 free holidays and we were joined by over 100 accommodation providers around the world. If the campaign achieved anything, we would like to think it gave some people a glimmer of hope - both healthcare workers and dramatically-hit tourism businesses.

Despite the campaign, the sun, and the beauty of our surroundings and our gorgeous home, we had an all-prevailing and gnawing sense of emptiness and loss.

2nd June - Lockdown relaxed

Our first taste of a return to normal life came with the relaxation of the first, very harsh, lockdown here in Spain, and we had the chance to get together with our neighbours for a barbecue. The importance of such simple things took on a new significance.

As dates for our creative courses came and went, and with them the cancellation of flights, we saw the diary being erased by the day.

2nd July

We managed to celebrate Andrew’s 45th Birthday (yes, he is that old!) with a small gathering of friends on our terrace in the glorious summer sunshine. We got the opportunity to nip to the beach for an occasional day in the sun, taking every necessary precaution. Regardless of the possibilities of getting out and about, we felt immeasurably safer to stay put in our garden, enjoying the food that we prepared and being comforted by the constancy of nature around us.

29th July - UK Visit

Days after the UK imposed a quarantine on any passengers arriving from Spain, we managed to get dispensation from the Home Office to travel so we could say goodbye to Ian’s Mum and Brother. It was an emotionally charged week, spent with the children as we tried to come to terms with the gaps that had appeared in our family. It was wonderful to be with the children but whether it helped us to accept our losses is another matter. We were lucky to have had a week of kind weather in the UK, and it was an invaluable time for family, reflection and reminiscence. Time is helping.

August and September

We managed to welcome some guests over the summer, on a very reduced basis, but it was much needed. We loved having people in our home, preparing food, and sharing our love for our corner of Spain. We managed to get out and stay with friends in Priego de Córdoba and Gaucín. We took the opportunity to visit the Alhambra at night, floodlit and magical, hearing flamenco music drift on warm evening air through the Alhambra woods. We read books, relaxed in the newly acquired hammock and spent long, languid days doing as little as possible and not feeling guilty!

Ian managed to return to painting; Andrew designed books - both children’s books and ‘Penelope’s Route’ written by our friend Karen Considine - a warm-hearted chronicle of a horse-back journey across 100 miles of Andalucia, and a tonic in troubled times.

11th October - Georgie is born

We became Grandads! Proud, overjoyed, excited and love-overcome Grandads. Welcome Georgie Scarlett Rutter.

15th October

We gave a live cookery demonstration to a group of conference delegates over Zoom on the day that would have been my brother, Kim’s 66th birthday. It was also the day when another friend, Michael, died. Michael and his wife were due to stay with us back in April. It seemed that, throughout the year, we were reminded constantly that we were not in charge.

Autumn came, and any plans we tried to make to see family or friends came and went as surely as the weeks passed. Like most other people, we clung to our optimism and continued to make plans, to prepare ourselves for the return of guests. We discussed our ideas for future changes at Casa Higueras to build up our little business. We rearranged our creative courses for 2021, and new reservations helped to renew our excitement for the future. We have had to get to know our granddaughter through photographs and videos and we long to reach out and grab her, and hold her. We have skipped over birthdays, and watched the sun come up and set in spectacular fashion. We have made the most of every safe opportunity that we have been presented with, and managed to keep going. We celebrated our 2nd wedding anniversary and remembered that time when we were surrounded by family and friends.

It has not been easy, but what option have we all had but to get on with it? We will get together again, and we will be able to create new memories. We have lots to get on with for 2021, and will share our plans as and when we can. All that leaves is for us both to wish you all a really happy 2021 and we cannot wait to see you for happier times.