That evening, after a tapas meal at a restaurant called Laxeira we went to the Glory – a hip, grungy, alternative bar in the heart of the East End. It was like stepping into a time-warp back to the 1980s – with the noted difference that security were now checking patrons’ Covid vaccine certs. The UK had by now, fully reopened. It was reassuring that everyone was confirmed to be vaccinated. This had been the aim – a return to normal life with some added precautions.

After an outdoor breakfast in the garden the next morning we boarded the train to Kew Garden – this was my big ticket tourist venue for this weekend. This was followed later that day to Kensington Palace where Princess Diana’s wedding dress was on display. Quite the iconic dress.

That evening my host was meeting a group of his friends and we returned to the Glory where we had tickets for a cabaret show in the basement theatre space. As I descended the stairs into the crowded room I wondered to myself whether the venue was well ventilated. It didn’t feel too safe. Such a big crowd in such a confined space. There was no social distancing here. I put my anxieties to the side. Everyone in the room was vaccinated. Our certs had been checked on the way in. This was perfectly alright.

What followed was a drag show of profound mediocrity, and then dancing till the small hours. How we laughed.

On Sunday I headed into town by myself – I was meeting another friend from London and we headed to an afternoon music show in the crowded basement bar of Halfway to Heaven – a semi-regular haunt from my pre-pandemic sojourns to London. Afterwards we headed over to Soho for a Chinese meal and some drinks. This was what real life should be like. It was so refreshing not to have to worry about Covid now that I had the benefit of being doubly vaccinated.

It was a holiday weekend in the UK meaning I had all day on Monday to explore. We took a train to the Horniman Museum in South London’s Forest Hill to see the private art and antique collection of a man regarded as a philanthropist (although I somehow doubt he paid full market price for the art and artifacts acquired from the colonised lands he had explored – interesting nonetheless.)

My flight was at 9pm that evening. Reaching the airport at 7.30, I checked in at a stress-free pace, thinking how lucky we were to have the worst of the pandemic over. My days of semi-covert travel were over.

Some days later I got a call to tell me that seven out of ten people from our group on the Saturday night out had tested positive for Covid-19. I had been feeling some very mild symptoms of a cold – but nothing alarming. I headed to the walk in test centre. Twenty-fours later, I received a test to tell me that I had tested positive for Covid-19. My triumphant return to London had been shot down in a blaze of Glory.