Suzanne Harrington: This is what travel is like when you're menopausal and middle-aged

Irish Examiner, Weekend:

The space adventures of Bezos, Branson and Musk pale in comparison with the excitement of a post-pandemic Ryanair – not unlike being in hospital, the way they wake you up every twenty minutes screaming about scratch cards, paninis, perfume – winging you towards an obscure Italian town opposite Albania that specialises in so many artisanal bread-based snacks you’ll have gluten poisoning by Tuesday. The first foreign holiday – okay, mini-break - since the plague. Blue of sky and sea. Oh boy.

But holiday prep is different now. I’d love to blame the pandemic and all the monetised medical hoopage to be jumped through, teeth gritted; all those credit card details to be surrendered and nostril samples uploaded and QR codes downloaded, only to be impatiently waved through by a bored airport lady, but these days the holiday prep isn’t just about the pandemic. It’s about travelling while middle-aged. It’s about doom packing.