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Viewpoint from Revd Canon Simon Ward 07/08/2020
Rev Canon Simon Ward
Team Rector, Great Yarmouth Team Ministry
Like many other families at this time, we had plans for a long vacation abroad but like others plans have changed in recent months. So, we’re at home. It’s a staycation
Before I go any further, there is one thing I think I need to clarify. In my opinion, a staycation is a time of vacation where you stay at home. Therefore, by staying at home, you can enjoy yourselves with a break from the routine and a great opportunity to enjoy some of many pleasures and delights to be found in our local area. A family gets time together which is so important. This is what we plan to do and have booked some lovely trips and treats for all. And we will stay at home
 Going on holiday and, for example, booking in to a holiday cottage in another part of the UK is not a staycation. That surely is going on holiday. You haven’t stayed at home and have in fact travelled away and are simply taking holiday in the UK
What seems to have happened is there has been a shift in expectation of what a holiday should be and for many a holiday means going abroad. This is not the experience of lots of holidaymakers who flock to our region year by year and have a fantastic holiday which I don’t think they describe as a staycation
 I remember listening to my grandmothers who as children knew that a holiday was simply just a day out. Talking to an elderly lady in Great Yarmouth she told me of a church outing to a farm and that was what she knew as a holiday as a girl. The Holidays with Pay Act was passed in the UK in 1938 so it was not until after the World War 2 that holiday camps became popular. Then a couple of decades later we discovered it was possible to fly abroad. Therefore, in my lifetime the expectation of a holiday involving foreign travel became a reality
Holiday is important. It is the way that God has made us and we need to take a break and change our rhythm to refresh and restore ourselves. As the Old Testament tells us that God rested on the seventh day so too must we find a proportion of time when we rest and reflect. This can happen wherever you choose to stay: home or away
also published in the Great Yarmouth Mercury
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