The volcanic ash cloud of doom, according to the BBC, is still there but not there enough to cause death and disaster, or perhaps the government was worried about prolonging the “crisis”, as it is called, during an election, so flights are leaving again and Britons will have their pineapples and East Asian orchids and Kenyan roses once again, thank god. Even the seagulls that live at the massive rugby stadium across the river from the hostel here in Cardiff seem especially loud this morning, rejoicing, no doubt, at the news that they can fly high once again.

Air Canada, god love them, still hasn’t posted a note about how things will go as the week goes on, but I’ll continue on and assume everything is well in hand and, come Friday, our flight path I’m sure will stay as far away from the cloud of doom as possible.

It’s sunny today, the latest pleasant day on a trip without rain, and my first stop will be a castle that no doubt has an audio guide, hundreds of people wandering around with headphones bumping into each other and, through the magic of audio recording, travelling back in time to a world without volcanos or ash clouds of doom or, I presume, pineapples.