Peter Cookson, owner of Spear Travels in Boroughbridge, reflects on the way the covid pandemic undermined the business he had spent 30 years building up - and looks forward to the start of a new year.

We were in Singapore last Christmas meeting our two-month-old grandchildren for the first time. That was when we saw the first indications of the new infection. Fears were rising of a ‘SARS-like’ epidemic coming again.

Unfortunately, whilst we were there, I had picked something up on the plane. I ended up in hospital with pneumonia. I was given a test for “’flu” and I now wonder what that test really was for and what I actually had? Either way, the test was negative.

'Radically different'

We returned to Singapore a couple of weeks later to help with their house move and the twins. We were due to be at our second home in Corfu in February to check it out, so we flew from the UK to Athens and onwards to Singapore.

This is when the potential of this new disease was obvious. Leaflets in our seat pockets on the plane dated early December 2019 advised us of the risks of the new "flu-like" symptoms and to make sure we reported them. The cabin crew were masked and mask wearing was advised but not mandatory.

The atmosphere in Singapore this time, even though it was only two weeks later, was radically different. We stayed for two weeks to help them move and were glad to leave. It was obvious that this infection was going to spread more easily than SARS.

In hindsight, as things panned out, we were incredibly lucky to have been able to go and see our grandchildren but, like so many others now, we haven’t seen them since. Zoom is great, but no substitute.

On our arrival back in the UK in mid-February, panic had set in as to what covid would mean for our country. It was difficult to separate our concerns for our personal welfare from those selfish concerns for our 12-strong travel agency business which we had spent nearly 30 years building up.

Without furlough pay, CBILS loans and various grants, it would have been difficult to continue.  I often "joke" about “30 years of hard work being written off in 30 days”, but that’s what it felt like by the end of March.

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Our company had always been financially successful, which stood us in good stead with our cash reserves. But can you imagine a business where you are giving back nearly all your revenue for the previous year, because of cancelled bookings, and for what you had done in 2020, with no new business coming in?

It was 10 months of hell, but everyone is in the same boat and none of it is our fault. Our aims were always to protect jobs, and with furlough and CBILS loans, we have been able to do that.

I don’t usually celebrate New Year’s Eve but this year I will make an exception and be glad to welcome in 2021 with open arms!