Author Neil Gaiman has apologized for not heeding coronavirus travel warnings with his flight from New Zealand. Gaiman apologized in a blog entry posted on his website on Tuesday. “So. I did something stupid,” Gaiman writes. “I’m really sorry. The last blog I wrote, about how I had been here for almost three weeks, turned into news — and not in a good way. ‘Man Flies 12,000 Miles to Defy Lockdown’ sort of news. And I’ve managed to mess things up in Skye, which is the place I love most in the world.
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“I want to apologize to everyone on the island for creating such a fuss. I also want to thank and apologize to the local police, who had better things to do than check up on me. I’m sure I’ve done sillier things in my life, but this is the most foolish thing I’ve done in quite a while.”
Gaiman goes on to say that, in a state of emotional stress brought on by marital issues, he didn’t read the travel guidelines in enough detail. “I was panicked, more than a little overwhelmed and stuck in New Zealand,” he writes. “I went to the UK government website, trying to figure out what to do… I’ve been living in the UK since 2017, and all of my upcoming work is here – so ‘you are strongly advised to return now’ looked like most important message.”
After a visit from local police on Skye, Gaiman realizes he made the wrong decision. “I got to chat to some local police officers yesterday, who said all things considered I should have stayed where I was safe in New Zealand, and I agreed that yes, all things considered, I should,” he writes. “Mostly they wanted to be sure I was all right, and had been isolating, and that I would keep isolating here until the lockdown ends, and to make sure I knew the rules. Like all the locals who have reached out to me, they’ve been astonishingly kind.”
Gaiman was with his wife, Amanda Palmer, and their son, Ash, in New Zealand. He left for Scotland to give himself and Palmer some space.
Gaiman is the co-author of Good Omens. He was showrunner on the Amazon Prime television adaptation. He also wrote American Gods. Its adaptation is headed into its third season on Starz. His novel The Graveyard Book is being turned into a film, and he’s working on the Netflix adaptation of The Sandman.
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