Testing, testing 1 2 3.

At Florence airport. I’m in the car. J’s in the queue for pre-flight Covid tests. I’ve seen glaciers move faster. In the winter.

Sometimes this pandemic leaves one feeling so powerless, so devoid of agency.

The queue is v patient. People don’t really have an alternative. Pharmacies tell you to ring back in a week for a test.

This is a paying service - €25 for a rapid test. It should be better. There should be more information.

After three hours we left with no test. Very dispiriting. The clincher was not only the queue’s forward advance being halted every time a positive test turned up but also the announcement that (after waiting three hours) the queue would be prioritised by flights and bookings which left the people with flights tomorrow suddenly and permanently at the back of the queue.

Scotland appears to be unreachable.