Things have been tough for Aisling as for everyone else but signs are that we may be heading into more stable waters thanks to the wonderful institution of the NHS which has pulled out all the stops in delivering vaccines to the people in the UK. Things are taking a more steady course in Ireland as they are tied to the EU. This may prove to be a good thing in the long-run as vaccine efficacy is more stringently examined. Here on this side of the water we are jab happy and just about all of Aisling’s clients have had one or two of one or other of the vaccines.

Before we can safely embark on one of our trips home to Ireland we need to be fully compliant with health regulations in both countries and this could take a while. There’s not much point of us taking a group back only to find ourselves quarantined for the duration. It’s always a delicate matter introducing emigrants long away in London to family members and we definitely don’t want to put anyone in that situation if there are fears of us of bringing infection into the family home. I guess we just have to wait it out. Hopefully we may be in a better position to decide next year.

Work is going on with supporting our clients who are already isolated and vulnerable and in need of ever-greater reassurance and contact with their families than ever. Our wonderful volunteers are a life-saver for many by dropping by for doorstep chats and phone calls.

We hope to be fully ready for return to Ireland trips whenever things look up and we can squeeze our minibus through the rainbow across the Irish Sea. We can hardly wait. So in anticipation of that happy day we are launching our 2021 fundraising with one of our legendary trips to the races. We are all set God and Covid willing, for the starter’s pistol at Windsor race-course on the 7 September. Await further news, we’ll all be ready for the off by then and it promises to be quite a night.

Slan leat,

The Aisling team