Alongside most of the population around the world our Christmas plans changed several times over.
On 11th December we had the shocking news that Chris's dad was very poorly so we started to make arrangements to head back to the UK to say our last goodbyes. By the following evening several calls took place for final goodbyes instead. Paul was 87, had lived a wonderful life, worked hard and played hard and died on his own terms; quickly, surrounded by family and with care givers rather than in a hospital.
So, we changed our flights to the UK to fit in with the funeral instead.
I knew the pain of grieving alone without his family was going to be really hard for Chris and with Christmas looming all I could foresee was weeks of moping around the house. Trying to help someone you love through grieving can be difficult and it was only in October he was doing exactly the same for me. So, after what seemed like a micro-nano second of research I booked flights and accommodation for a week away on the coast and then shared the news with him!
Manda Island is a very quiet, peaceful island made up of dunes and mangroves and it turned out to be the perfect place for him to gradually come to terms with losing his dad.
We were due to fly to Heathrow on 26th and had organised accommodation which would allow us to quarantine for 10 days prior to the funeral. Knowing our situation the kind AirBnB owner had offered to organise any supplies we might need in order that we complied with the Covid regulations. The complications owing to the virus were mounting by the day; the risk of catching the virus, the risk of not being able to fly back to Kenya, the risk of not being able to attend the funeral!
By 22nd December news was coming in from family about the new virus strain being "out of control" and countries banning UK flights, followed swiftly by an announcement from the funeral director that we might not be allowed to attend the funeral as we were coming from abroad.
Eventually, after several conversations, we cancelled all our plans (again) and decided to watch the funeral via webcam instead - a 30 minute ceremony with loved ones having to be seated 2 metres apart, wearing face masks and no hugging allowed - such very sad times.
We decided to have a wake on Manda Island instead which gave us something to focus on and look forward to after watching the funeral via webcam.
Chris put together a music playlist, which consisted of some of the music from the funeral such as Humphrey Littleton, poignant songs like Bowie's Ashes to Ashes that reminded Chris of watching Top of The Pops with his Dad and lots of reggae, including classical versions by the Kanneh-Masons. We invited a small group of local people whom we had befriended during our brief stay on the island including the crew from the Uhuru (Freedom) dhow that Chris had joined for the New Year's Day dhow race. Unfortunately I didn't get any footage of it, but to get an idea you can see the 2018 race here:
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