It’s drizzly out, and without any compelling reason to leave the apartment, I decide to stay in and catch up on emails, do more job searching, etc. I’m surprised and excited when another email notification regarding my Personal Public Service (PPS) number application shows up in my inbox this morning. I did not expect to hear anything this week, assuming that the officer assigned to my case would already be taking off from work for the Christmas holiday. On Friday, I had switched strategies in my last response and indicated that I needed a PPS number for my Irish driver’s license application, since they had ignored my explanation that I needed a PPSN for my European Health Insurance Card application. At any rate, the new message today asked me to upload a copy of my Irish driver’s license application. Although I am unable to access the online driver license application form without first having a PPSN (a frustrating paradox), there is a hard-copy form available for download. I complete the form and upload it back to the system as fast as possible, in hopes that this might finally do the trick. Is it too much to hope that I might receive my PPSN later this week as a Christmas present?
The biggest news story is the 48-hour travel ban on flights and ferries to/from the UK imposed with short notice by Ireland, France and other countries in an effort to contain the more infectious strain of COVID-19 that has spread out of control in the UK. The ban went into effect at midnight last night and has resulted in stranded Irish lorry drivers and others who were flying home to Ireland for Christmas. I’m very thankful not to be one of them! It sounds like it may be extended after an Irish cabinet meeting scheduled for tomorrow. However, in true Irish fashion, passengers are still allowed to travel from the UK to Northern Ireland, where they can then transfer to trains or cars and then travel on to the Republic of Ireland. In the meantime, today the EU approved the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID vaccine that had been previously approved in the US and UK.
Since I haven’t been out to take any photos myself, I’m borrowing one from the Irish Times article, “Travel ban? Passengers come to Ireland on multiple flights today“, that shows the scene at the London Heathrow airport:
Until next time…
