To Sleep Perchance to Dream

I slept well. Very well. My watch/iPhone tells me that I was in bed for 7 Hours and 33 minutes and was asleep for 7 hours and 30 minutes. I do not remember waking at all during the night. I would suggest this analysis is spot-on! Ellie was dropped off soon after 7:00 and was full of beans. It would appear that she had received a letter from Santa and the Elves overnight and was eager to share it with us. She was also excited that a few lonesome snowflakes were drifting down. It was unlikely to come to anything, but it was definitely snow! We dropped her at school and then went home for breakfast and to await Ocado's delivery.

After the shopping was put away, we headed for Sainsbury's. As we approach Christmas it is becoming clear that more and more aisle zombies are escaping from their compounds. It hasn't become desperate yet, but soon I think I will have to go armed with a bat wrapped in barbed wire. It may seem extreme, but I think it is fair. If you insist on blocking the aisles with your trolley and wandering away to seek food or to chat with friends, then you have brought it on yourselves. No court would convict me.

We had our usual quiet time after lunch. Diane has now finished her latest book and I am halfway through mine. It was bleak and cold, so at 15:00 I told Diane to stay put in the warm and I went to collect Ellie. She was her usual chirpy self and was particularly pleased to have scored 100% on her latest test. She wasn't with us for too long as Darren came to collect her soon after 16:00.

Off the Bench

Ellie was dropped off and again she had already had breakfast and was dressed and ready for school. This gave her plenty of time to read her latest book to me and then reread it to Diane. We dropped her off at school and headed home.

It was a quick change and then we headed out of the door. I was dropping Diane at the Angmering Community Centre for her first session of Pilates for many months. I carried on to Worthing and got changed ready for my first game of football in several months. I warmed up carefully as the muscles had been underused and it was quite chilly. The match kicked off with 7-a-side. The teams looked well-balanced but it was at least 10 minutes before the first goal. We were down 1-0 but that only lasted for a couple of minutes as we pulled one back (with an assist from me). I then managed to hit the inside of the post and was horrified to see the ball spin out of the goal. At half-time, with another assist from me, we were winning 1-2. The second half saw a bit of a shuffle around in our team. We quickly conceded but with my third assist of the game, we drew ahead again. That was how it finished, we had won 2-3. Best of all, I was still feeling pretty sprightly.

I went back to collect Diane and we headed home for lunch. She had done really well at Pilates, according to her friends and the instructor. Better still, she had really enjoyed it.

After lunch, I grabbed my Kindle and sat down to read. That didn't happen. I just crashed out and slept for an hour.

We collected Ellie from school and she stayed with us until Darren came to collect her, soon after 16:00.

Ladies who Chat

It was a slightly more relaxed start to the day. Ellie wasn't being dropped off, so I had a coffee and read the news before getting dressed and venturing out in the chilly morning to Zoe's. Ellie deposited at the classroom door and I headed home for breakfast while Zoe headed home for a well-deserved day off.

Diane was scheduled to meet up with Pauline. She headed off to Angmering and I was left to my own devices. In this instance, the devices were my iMac computer and the carpet spot cleaner (not together, but serially). Some admin was completed and further pass made through the 1970s Journals. Then I attacked a dubious mark left by Jasper on the lounge carpet. It took several treatments, but eventually, the carpet was spotless.

Meanwhile, back in Angmering, Diane and Pauline were cruising the displays in Haskins, drinking coffee, and talking. Now if talking was an Olympic sport, these two would be rivals for the Gold Medal. If chat could generate electricity, we could stop building solar farms. Diane's alarm was set for 13:30 with a view to escaping by 14:00. It was closer to 14:25!

Having warmed up with Pauline, Diane phoned Denise when she got home. She was on a roll!

Back to Normal

 We were back to normal. Ellie was dropped off soon after 07:00. She had been awake since the early hours when she heard Zoe get up for work. By the time she came to us, she had finished breakfast and was already dressed for school. This meant we had plenty of time to do some reading, and to start on some puzzles in the science book I bought her last week.

With Ellie deposited at school and breakfast complete, I headed to the Skoda dealership. I was intent on getting the Skoda Connect functions working. It took a bit of waiting around, but they finally found a chap to help. We discussed the issue and then went out to the car. After a few false starts, the correct incantation was found and a new set of menus popped up. We had contact. We were finally connected to Skoda.

Back home we had a few chores and the usual administrivia to complete, but with that cleared, we settled down with our books until it was time to collect Ellie.

Chill

It was cold overnight. I was greeted by a frost when I looked out the window while nursing my morning coffee. By mid-morning the cold, damp, grey morning had turned damp and wet. Today was not a day for sunbathing.

We could leave it no longer. We were out of milk. Diane would not be able to have her tea. A trip to Sainsbury's to stock up was at the top of our agenda. When I first pulled into the car park, my heart sank. It looked incredibly busy. I needn't have worried. The corpses that usually shuffle around on Thursdays had obviously been put off by the weather. Today's shoppers, in general, seemed to be shopping with a purpose.

Most of the rest of the day has been spent pottering. The accounts were updated. A book was finished. Roast dinner was cooked and devoured. It has been a nice quiet day.

A quiet Saturday

Now that was a good night's sleep! You just can't beat your own bed, however good the hotel might be.  I joined the usual Saturday morning cousins' call. It is clear that Helen was quite under the weather at present, but everyone else seemed hale and hearty.

Jasper was our next agenda item. We drove across to collect him from the Cattery. The Cat Whisperer greeted us on crutches. He has hurt his back and it is making life quite difficult at present. We collected Jasper and he started his usual chanting. This didn't just last until we arrived home. It continued well into the afternoon. He seems a little out-of-sorts but we'll see if he settles overnight.

Diane has been catching up on the holiday laundry and we both had some quiet time in the Orangery. I spent some of it reading the manual for the Skoda, trying to get to the bottom of the installation, functions, and limitations of the in-built SIM. I have arranged to go to the dealer on Monday and get it working properly.

I found out this afternoon that the aircraft fuselage that we followed yesterday was the front 60 feet of a BAC 1-11 and it was being relocated from RAF St Mawgan to the Solent Air Museum in Southampton. I'm glad we didn't have to follow that the whole way!

Going home

I was up early. Diane hadn't slept well so she too was soon up and about. I finished the last bits of my packing and started to ferry bags, balloons, gifts, and shopping down to the car. Though there was some cloud, the day looked promising.

We met up with Jane and Trevor over breakfast and then finished loading the car. We set off soon after 10:30. The journey started fairly well and we made good time until we found ourselves stuck behind an accident. Having cleared that hold-up, we saw an "exceptional load" pull onto the dual carriageway a few cars ahead. A police escort ensured nobody passed (not that there was sufficient space to overtake). We followed this load (an aircraft fuselage) for about 40 miles until we reached the M5. Once on the motorway, we could overtake and had a pretty clear run all the way home along the A35, A31, and M27. We had a brief comfort break and fuel stop at Bridport. Overall, the journey took about 5 hours and 40 minutes. 

Once home and with the car unloaded, Diane went through the birthday post that had arrived in our absence and I prepared dinner. We then sank into our armchairs for a quiet evening.

Last Day

Today is the last day of the current trip. The weather is clearly sulking as we were greeted with wall-to-wall cloud. At least it wasn’t raining. We went down to breakfast and were surprised to see how busy it was. Evidently there was a flurry of check-ins yesterday. Trevor and Jane were running a bit late as Trevor had woken with a nosebleed which took some attention.

The plan for the day was fluid, but centred on Falmouth itself. The four of us walked into town and made our way to the National Maritime Museum which was hosting an exhibition on Pirates. Much of the rest of the museum was closed off as they were doing maintenance on the main display space. The ships and boats that had been there during our last trip had all been removed and workmen were scurrying about doing whatever was needed. We started with the displays on Cornish seafaring and the Falmouth Packet service then moved on to the exhibition on Pirates. It was all very well done, and very enjoyable. Before leaving the museum we went to the top of the watchtower. This afforded us excellent views over the harbour, though there were no Naval vessels nor other large ships in port today.

From the museum we took Jane and Trevor to see the small fisherman’s cottage in which we stayed during our last visit then crossed the road for a drink in “The Chain Locker” opposite. To add to the entertainment, the young girl behind the bar lit the wood-burner and promptly set off the fire alarms. A few moments of panic ensued as the staff opened all the doors to let the smoke out, and phoned the fire brigade to tell them it was a false alarm.

After our drink and all the excitement we left and continued our walk through town. Diane and I got waylaid at the bookshop… and left clutching a bag full of books and maps. Jane and Trevor had gone ahead for their own shopping. We ended up meeting over a cup of tea in a small cafe before heading for Trago Mills. To be fair, it was a lot less frantic than our trip on Monday. Diane was able to pick up the items she wanted and the 20% pensioners discount and the £7-off vouchers made the purchases very reasonable. 

Clutching our various purchases we made our way slowly back to the hotel for a quiet hour before dinner.

St Ives

We both slept well. I was awake early and showered and dressed soon after seven. A red line was visible along the horizon and as the minutes ticked by we were treated to an amazing sunrise. Diane had to use her blood analyser today. This is the first time it has been used in the situation for which it was intended, i.e. when the test is due and we are away from home. Results were submitted and we had received the response from the hospital before we went down for breakfast.

The plan for the day was to visit St Ives and the Tate St Ives Gallery. Trevor had volunteered to drive today so we settled into the back of car and were whisked across country. As we headed north-west the clouds became more prevalent and it was clear that the. Weather had not read the weather forecast. By the time we arrived there a cool, stiff breeze was blowing across the bay and a fine drizzle came and went throughout the visit.

We made our way to the Gallery, bought our tickets and headed for the coffee shop. This afforded stunning views over the town and over the bay. It also served horrible coffee. I should have seen that as an omen. With coffee under our belt we headed down to the Gallery’s 10 exhibition spaces. Po-faced attendants sat in each gallery trying to stay awake and not dying of boredom. Pretentious visitors stood in front of anything with a description-panel hoping to find some morsel of talent or artistic merit in whatever was in front of them. The most interesting exhibit was actually an installation of two buckets which caught drips from a leak in the ceiling. Whilst there was a warning notice, the artist wasn’t revealed. Trevor and I had soon had our fill and escaped into the wind and rain. Diane and Jane persevered. As Trevor and I sat in the circular outside meeting space, “The Temple of Pretension” students started to gather until the whole space was full. Their lecturers took the attendance register and they started to file into the Gallery. Bringing up the rear was one of the lecturers. I asked him “What on earth have these kids done that deserves a punishment this severe?” He laughed and responded “Not impressed then?”. He then divulged the most interesting fact about the Tate St Ives. The reason it is built in the circular temple-like fashion is that it occupies the site of the old gas storage tank (gasometer?) for the town.

When the girls emerged we pottered down the hill and into the town itself. The town made up for the Gallery. It was absolutely charming - though I can imagine that it’s an absolute zoo in high season. 

As we made our way down the lanes and byways we stopped into various shops until we got down to the harbour itself. By then the timer was running down on the car park so we had to turn back to the car. The wind had picked up and the drizzle was cheeky enough to morph into a wind-blasted rain. Diane found the walk into the wind rather breathtaking and we had to stop for a few moments to let her catch her breath.

Diane and Jane wanted to visit the “Sea Salt” factory outlet while down here so the SatNav was set and we stopped off at the edge of Penryn on our way back to Falmouth. They swept into the store while Trevor and I walked up to Asda for a comfort break and a cup of tea. We then went back and waited in the car while several glaciers melted, continents drifted apart, and Jupiter did another circuit of the sun. Eventually, the boot was opened and their purchases loaded in. The front of the car needed to be weighed down to counterbalance the new load in the boot. We limped back to the hotel for a quiet hour before meeting for dinner.

It has been another super day

Birthday

Today is the day on which the World celebrates Diane’s Birthday. And it looks as if we have a promising start to the morning. The mists of yesterday have gone and while there is some cloud drifting away to the west, there is also a lovely clear sky. Opening up from the east. Diane has just been sipping on her morning tea while opening her cards and presents.. We are planning an earlier breakfast today so that we can get on the road and spend the day in Polperro.

Breakfast was the usual feast as we set ourselves up for the day. We gathered by the car and by 10:00 were on our way (with a fuel stop in Falmouth). The route was fairly slow until we had cleared Truro. After about 90 minutes we pulled into the Polperro car park, near the Crumplehorn Mill. It is many years since our last visit, but it. Doesn’t seem to have changed at all.

We took a walk down to the village and then cut around the back to arrive at the west side of the harbour. Coffee was uppermost in our minds so we settled into The Three Pilchards for some well needed caffeine and to avail ourselves of their “facilities”. These “facilities” were nestling in the yard behind the pub, reached by a small steep staircase. I can imagine this is a source of amusement and injury as the beers flow on a party night.

We continued our tour round and onto the harbour wall. Polperro is still one of the most picturesque villages I have ever visited. (Over the years I have probably taken more photos in Polperro than almost anywhere else). We slowly retraced our steps and crossed the old bridge to the east side of the harbour and then walked along towards the Heritage Museum, which is closed until Easter - we decided not to wait.

We turned and wandered back slowly. A pasty shop leapt out in front of us. It would be rude to spend time in Cornwall and not indulge in one of their famous pasties. I am not rude. I went in and purchased some pasties for my travelling companions (declining one for myself as it takes great self-control to maintain my Adonis-like(*) physique). We were soon back at the car. The SatNav was programmed and we headed across country. Still enthused by our recent cruise, we decided to take the Bodinnick Ferry across the River Fowey. The entertainment wasn’t as good as on Arcadia and there didn’t appear to be a choice of restaurants, but as we were only aboard for about 5 minutes, we decided not to complain.

Back in the Hotel, Zoe had arranged for some balloons and cupcakes to be delivered to our room. Jane and Trevor joined us with some Prosecco and more cake and we had a little party to celebrate Diane’s birthday. Later, when we went down to dinner, our table was all decorated and again Prosecco was waiting for us with a card. This had all been arranged by Zoe (who was still chasing a package that should have been delivered - but will arrive tomorrow).

It was a lovely evening and Diane had a wonderful birthday.

(*) That isn’t the Greek God, Adonis. I reference, of course, to Arthur Adonis of 23 Railway Cuttings, Clapham.

Strolling

it was misty when we first woke up (there being an assumption that we had slept, buried in that sentence). Actually we both had a somewhat disturbed night. As is so often the case on the first night, it is a matter of getting used to the bed, the temperature, and the pillows. This does not usually indicate a good night’s sleep.

We met Jane and Trevor in the restaurant for a hearty breakfast. We discussed plans for the day. They were heading to the Lizard and on to Lands End. We have done this recently so decided to stick with our own plan which was to spend the day, on foot, in Falmouth. This would give us a chance to poke about in the shops and check on the local attractions.

Trevor and Jane dropped us off in the town as they headed to points west. Though it had looked likely to brighten up, there was a fine drizzle in the air as we marched towards the main drag. Our first stop was Trago Mills which has a 20% discount this week for pensioners - additionally today they had a £7 voucher for pensioners. We claimed our vouchers and rummaged round the store. There was plenty to see and some good deals to be found if you could find a way through the zombies blocking every aisle. I remained calm and nobody was injured as a result of my visit. Diane saw several items worth picking up, and resolved to return before we go home.

We wandered on through the town looking in shop windows and popping in to various stores. At the far end of town we made our way onto the quay just as the rain switched from benign drizzle to malignant downpour. We ducked into a cafe for a coffee until it eased. Coming back through town we stopped in a nice jewellers where we picked up (and paid for) a very nice broach that Diane could wear to keep her roll-neck sweater’s neckline under control.

We thought of grabbing a taxi back to the hotel but in the end decided to walk. It isn’t far but it does involve a hill and after the incident in Narvik I wanted to keep it as level as possible. We took it slowly and got back in about 10 minutes with only the briefest of stops. We had a quiet hour in the room as the mist rolled in across the bay then headed down to the terrace bar for small libation.

We met up with Jane and Trevor for a drink before dinner. We had decided to eat a bit earlier and as there only appeared to be 5 other tables that would be occupied, they had no difficulty in squeezing us in! We had another sumptuous meal and hear all about J&T’s tour down to the Lizard. After dinner, we retired to the lounge where we were able to watch the football (as frustrating as that was).

Falmouth

We set the alarm so that we could get going at a sensible time. The aim was to leave home before 09:00 and we managed to hit the road just after 08:30. We had a wonderful drive across the “Jurassic Route” past Bournemouth, Dorchester, Bridport and onwards to Exeter, where we stopped at the service station for a comfort break and some coffee.

We were soon back on the road for the last 100 miles. This was made more “interesting” by the foul weather that tormented us along the route. Low cloud, mist, and driving rain beset the car as we powered on through to Falmouth. We arrived at the hotel in just under 5 hours from home (excluding the comfort break). That is about as good as it gets given that no speed limits were broken along the whole 250 miles.

The hotel is gorgeous and we have a fabulous room with panoramic views across the bay. Jane and Trevor (who arrived a few minutes after us) are in the room below us, so have a similar view.

The first order of the afternoon, having dumped our luggage, was to get a drink and a bite to eat. We sat in the lounge and Diane enjoyed an Earl Gray tea and some coconut and chocolate cake, while I had a pint (or two) of Doom Bar and a beef sandwich. Trevor and Jane came to join us and we sat and chatted while they snacked.

Back in our room, we unpacked and then set out for a walk in the twilight. It was dry but breezy as we headed towards Gyllyngvase Beach. We even went down onto the beach. As we turned to head home, it started to rain. It wasn’t too bad and we weren’t too wet by the time we got back.

We changed for dinner. After all, you have to keep up appearances. We met up in the bar for a pre-dinner drink. It was very quiet with only one other couple in the lounge. Dinner was very good. I had some red mullet with a lentil dahl to start with. Diane skipped the starters. For our main dish, she had spatchcocked chicken and I had battered cod with some chips. We sat and chatted and it was gone 21:00 before we left the dining room. (We were, of course, the last out - but then there had been only one other table occupied).

The long day and long drive had caught up with me. My Kindle and the bed were calling

Just Stuff

The first order of the day (after coffee) was the cousins' call. It went much as usual - lots of banter and lots of laughter and as usual it brightened up the start to the weekend.

Next on the agenda was packing. With Jasper already at his Spa, we could have a leisurely run at the suitcases. I even consulted several YouTube videos to look at particular methods of folding clothes so they didn't crease.  After the packing, the label maker was retrieved from my study and the various cables needed for the trip were duly identified and labelled.

I genuinely like our Skoda. It is a lovely car with some great features. Its SatNav, however, is positively hostile if you wish to plot a route with several stop-overs (rather than a single destination, which is easy). This must have taken me 45 minutes. Eventually, our route was stored and we are set to go. This got me thinking about some of the online services that are available for the Skoda (and we haven't exploited). I logged into the portal and activated various services. This should simplify several things, including the SatNav routing. In turn, this got me thinking about the fact the car has a slot for a SIM card and can remain connected. Eventually, I decided to give it a whirl. I popped to Argos and got a SIM card which I have activated and installed. Time will tell if this makes an appreciable difference and is worth the effort.

Spa

 It was a bright and sunny day, a great change from the last few days. I wandered across to Zoe's (clutching Ellie's project in a bag) and we escorted her to class. The project was handed over and put on the table at the back of the class... one of only three that had been submitted.

I walked home and grabbed breakfast while Diane headed for the hairdresser. The morning was fairly quiet. I updated the accounts and started looking for materials and plans for a medieval castle - which will be Ellie's next major project. I didn't find anything that fitted my mental picture, but there are several months before we need to start on it, so I might devise a separate plan by then.

Today was meant to be the first day of Jasper's latest Spa treatment, assuming, that is, that we could catch him. We were lucky. Diane caughte him and I provided the carrier into which he was deposited. He yelled all the way from home to the Cattery but settled as soon as he arrived and saw Mark (the Cat Whisperer). Mark has just returned from a couple of weeks in LA. He commented that he probably won't return as it is infested with drug-takers and fentanyl addicts. It has become seedy and feels dangerous. Jasper is now in Mark's care for the next week (though we did forgert to take Jasper's swimming trunks - but Mark said he had a spare).

We collected Ellie from her post-school dancing class and she sat and did some reading with Nana before daddy came to collect her for the weekend. Today is Pete's birthday so we gave him his cards and present before he headed off with Ellie.

Project

The rain had started in the early morning. It was still thrashing down when I got up. Ellie was dropped off and it looked like we were in for a very wet walk to school... and it was!

We had a quiet breakfast and then headed to Sainsbury's for some shopping. Despite the recent traffic problems caused by the flooding, we had a very quick run and Sainsbury's was relatively quiet. We were in and out in about 30 minutes. Diane then had to deal with some issues over a misdelivered and mistranscribed prescription. This meant another trip to the pharmacy and a long chat with the surgery.

We collected Ellie from school and she settled down quickly to work on her project. We have been building a Tudor style house that might have ixisted at the time of the Great Fire. Today we finished the roof, installed the door and windows and all of the supporting beams. 

There is more we could do, but Ellie is only 6 and this is more than adequate.

Parents' Evening

 Ellie was dropped off first thing. For breakfast, she ordered fried eggs and promptly got fresh egg yolk down her white polo shirt. She did, however, finish the eggs. The weather was cool but sunny as we walked her to school and ushered her into the classroom.

It was a fairly quiet day. Diane had to drop some questionnaires off at the surgery and get one of her prescriptions changed. I buried myself in the computer, updating the accounts, and researching an affordable MacOS alternative to Visio. This latter item turned out to be a fruitless task. The problem I have is that I am so familiar with Visio that none of the other (affordable) products seemed to fit the bill. Also, there is a value-for-money aspect to the research. The product is only likely to get used occasionally so I am not willing to invest large sums. 

After lunch, we had our usual hour or so of reading. Because it was so bright and sunny, we were able to sit in the Orangery We then collected Ellie from school. She was grumpy because we wouldn't let her stop off at the Messy Church and play. (This is a monthly event in which she has never shown any interest in the past). She came home and sulked in her room for an hour.

Tonight was Parents' Evening at the school. Zoe and Pete had an appointment at 17:20. Unfortunately, Zoe was stuck behind a traffic snarl-up near Horsham. It was touch and go, so I said I would attend and she could join us if she got back in time. Pet and I went in to see Miss Yardley and were delighted to hear her appraisal of Ellie's progress in English and Maths and what a joy she was to have in class. Zoe managed to get back and join us after the first few minutes.

Another wet start

 It was pouring down when I got up this morning, and the forecast suggested we were in for more rain and some thunderstorms throughout the day. 

Ellie pottered into our room at about 7:15 - she had slept well and was raring to get going. We were lucky that by the time we had to leave for school, the rain had almost stopped.

Back home, breakfasted, and fully caffeinated I got on with some admin. The most pressing item was to sort out the "Age Extension" for our travel insurance to ensure that Dine remains covered after her imminent birthday. As usual, this was a much more difficult task than it should be. Pointers to the online process proved useless as the online process doesn't cover "Age Extensions". The only solution was to telephone. I then had to listen to message after message cajoling me to do whatever I needed online. I persisted. I spoke to a human and the whole process was done and dusted in a few minutes.

The rain had restarted. Diane wanted to post a card. I put on my waterproofs and carried the letter to the postbox. As I turned back the rain reached a furious frenzy. By the time I got home, despite my waterproof trousers and shoes, I was soaked.

Much of the rest of the day has been spent with my book, or preparing materials for Ellie's school project.

Wet Start

There was a great deal of rain overnight. It was still thrashing down when I got up, but it had stopped by the time I went to take Ellie to school. The day dried up, and whilst there were blustery winds, there was a lot of bright sunshine.

Diane had a morning on the phone with a girlfriend. I used the time to make a few more improvements to next year's accounting spreadsheet. 

After lunch, I finished my latest book and we sat in the Orangery and enjoyed the sunshine until it was time to collect Ellie from school. Once home she did some reading with Nana and then we worked on her Great Fire project.

Ellie is staying with us tonight. 

Peace

 It has been an immensely peaceful day. I was up at seven and had a quiet hour downstairs before Di emerged. We had both slept well.

During the morning Di finished some ironing and I sat in the traffic queue to get some cat food. I was lucky, I had looked at the map in advance, and I realised that approaching from the south would be quicker than the normal northern approach. This was a major saving. Cat food for Jasper, and fruit smoothies for Ellie were stacked in the shopping bag and I left, happy.

The afternoon has been spent with our books. I tried, in parallel, to prepare dinner. The pork and crackling was a triumph. The carrots and beans were excellent. The roast potatoes were not as good as those prepared last week (they will require some changes before I chance then again.

Unexpected

 We had an "unexpected granddaughter in the sleeping area". After a bit of a meltdown yesterday evening, it made sense for Ellie to sleep here overnight. She settled quickly and slept through until gone seven. During the morning she had been invited to a party so I drove her to Chichester and deposited her at the bowling alley where one of the mums would keep an eye on her until Kim came along to collect her after the party.

Back home, we awaited the arrival of Jan and John. They had a slow journey down from Odiham, commenting on how heavy (and slow) the traffic had been through the Downs. A cup of coffee and some biscuits made everything seem better as we caught up on family news and everyone's comings and goings.

Lunch was booked at The Oystercatcher and I must say that I'm glad that we were heading in that direction. Traffic coming towards us was almost at a standstill as it stretched back for miles from the flood alleviation pumps near Sainsbury's. We would use a different route on our return.

The Oystercatcher was busy, but the meal was very good. Diane had the lasagne, Jan had fishcakes, and John and I both had their pie of the day. In anticipation of our trip to Cornwall, I also enjoyed a pint of Doombar. Back home, after lunch, we enjoyed some tea and desserts - profiteroles and cheesecake. We got on to the subject of cruises and explained how much we had enjoyed it and how simple it was compared with a flight off to some distant location. Eventually, we had answered most of their questions and seeded the idea for their future holidays.

John and Jan left us late in the afternoon and we settled down for a quiet evening.

Wet Start

 It was a wet start to the day. The overnight rain was still pounding down as Ellie was dropped off. It did, however, die down, and by the time we took Ellie to school, the rain had stopped. Before heading off to school, Ellie had demanded that she should do some maths with Grandpa. Long may this continue. We talked about "number sentences" and their inverses. This meant that for any simple sum of "a plus b equals c", you could express it as "b plus a equals c", "c minus b equals a", and "c minus a equals b". This got me thinking. Could I introduce the idea of an "unknown" represented by "x". Well, yes, I could. She grasped it immediately and, in so doing, moved from arithmetic to algebra.

Having dropped Ellie at school, we headed home for some breakfast.  Diane then got on with some cleaning while I spent a little while on Ellie's project. I wanted to ensure the construction would work the way I had planned. The glue was a little slower to set than planned, but the idea looked sound.

Most of the afternoon was spent buried in our books, except the time I spent with the spot cleaner, sorting out some stains on the carpet so kindly left by Jasper in the last day or two.

Hotels and Models

 Ellie was dropped off soon after seven. Despite her friend Sofia having tonsillitis, Elle was hale and hearty and requested two cartons of fruit shakes and a bacon sandwich for breakfast. We walked her to school in bright sunshine and got caught by a downpour of rain as we returned home.

Thursday morning saw the usual delivery from Ocado. As we had nothing planned today, they turned up early. We then headed to Sainsbury's for the top-up. Sainsbury's seemed to be fairly empty, but the corpses that were there seemed to be devoid of ideas regarding their shopping, and oblivious to the chaos they were causing around them. Somehow, I remained (relatively) calm and resisted the increasing temptation to blast my way through these zombies scattering them to the winds with my trolley. Maybe next week I should take a Katana!

The rest of the morning was spent painting the parts of the model that Ellie will build to illustrate a Tudor house from the time of the Great Fire of London. When, by mid-afternoon, we had collected Ellie from school we started the construction phase. We can now see how it will come together. Ellie, however, ran out of time and will have to do more tomorrow.

I received a phone call from the hotel in which we will celebrate Diane's landmark birthday. We confirmed our room allocation and our preferred times for breakfast and dinner. I must confess that we are both looking forward to this short break.

DNA

 We had very heavy rain overnight. Ellie was dropped off soon after seven and still, the rain was thrashing down. It looked like the walk to school would be rather wet, but first, she needed breakfast. I always ask what she would like and usually, she requests raspberries, melon, cereal, or a ham sandwich. Occasionally she throws a curved ball and I have to make her some eggs. Today was a first, she asked for a bacon sandwich. My heart swelled with pride as she tucked in and completely demolished this gastro breakfast. With proper sustenance on board, she was in a fit state to venture out into the rain with us and make her way to school.

Diane had some blood tests to sort out during the morning. I returned to the computer and started to investigate some of the recent DNA hits that had shown up. At first, progress was slow but I finally made a breakthrough and have managed to document a few of Diane's 2nd and 3rd cousins who were previously unknown.

The afternoon was spent with our books. Being Wednesday, we did not have to collect Ellie from school as she goes to gymnastics in Chichester with a friend.

Ribbit

 It was quite cool but lovely and bright. It was an excellent start to the day as I walked to Zoe's to escort Ellie to school. She was quite excited as she had a stand-in teacher for the remainder of the week. We waited for the class door to open and saw the locum. He looked about 12 years old and was a tall and skinny beanpole of a chap. He had an open and smiley face and the kids seemed delighted to file into the classroom.

We were scheduled to meet with Jane and Trevor for lunch. While Diane pottered and got ready, I spent some of the morning marking up and cutting out the cardboard pieces for the model Ellie has to make for her latest project.

We headed up to Chiddingfold. There was no appreciable traffic and we pulled into the car park alongside Jane and Trevor's car. We met at The Mulberry Inn and were ushered to our table, where we enjoyed a coffee before examining the menu and ordering our lunch. I had a flatbread with pulled pork as a starter. This may have been a mistake. Whilst it was delicious, it was also the size of a very decent pizza... and that was just the starter. For the entrees, both Diane and I selected the rack of ribs. These came slathered in a rich sauce. I do wish they would serve this on the side, instead of on the ribs. The ribs were, despite the sauce, absolutely delicious. 

The meal was just the backdrop to several hours of chat. There was so much to catch up on after all. We hadn't seen each other for a month and wouldn't see each other again for another 10 days! We caught up on the family news and recent get-togethers, on health, on ideas for our forthcoming trip, on future cruise options, and generally on the wonderful trivia of retirement. Eventually, it was time to part ways and head home. The traffic was bit busier but it was stilla good run home.

It had been a lovely few hours.

Models

 There was a gentle start to the day. The sun was strolling lazily towards the horizon, ready to climb into the November sky. The coffee was on, and Jasper was still asleep somewhere upstairs. At the allotted time, I walked to Zoe's and we escorted Ellie to school.

My main distraction today has been the fact that Ellie has to create a model that represents a building from the Great Fire of London. I looked at various models on some websites. I also looked at a couple of YouTube videos. There was nothing that leapt out at me. I started to develop my own ideas of how we might create a model that Ellie could make. Slowly, a design emerged, and after a trip to Hobbycraft, I had a few bits and pieces that would help. After collecting Ellie from school (and completing last night's jigsaw with her) she started on some crafts and I drew some templates for the walls of our Tudor building.

The other main event for the day was a trip to Bognor War Memorial Hospital for Diane's chest X-ray. We were in and out in about 5 minutes, but it is done and we must now await the analysis.

Celebrating

With Diane's landmark birthday approaching and the fact that we will be away for the big day we had arranged for the family to come to us for lunch today. 

I was up early so that I could sear the meat and get into the oven to roast "low and slow" for 5 hours then rest in time for lunch. Several metric tonnes of potatoes were peeled and parboiled in turmeric before being coated in flour and semolina and roasted in ghee. (This was based on a recipe from Nadiya Hussein). All of the other vege was prepared and we were ready to rock.

Kim and Jon arrived first and we had a quiet half-hour with them before Zoe, Darren and Ellie arrived. We chatted and had the odd drink and some nibbles until lunch was ready. We then settled down for the feast. I was delighted with the way it had all turned out. We had a leisurely lunch followed by a chatty afternoon, though Kim, Ellie and I spent much of it working on a jigsaw.

As it got dark and the fireworks started, Kim and Jon had to head home to look after the dogs (who aren't impressed by the bangs). Zoe, Darren and Ellie left soon after and we had a quiet evening in front of the TV.

Journals and books

 Ellie slept well. It was 7 a.m. before she stirred and, after firing up her iPad, we had another 30 minutes of peace and quiet. By that time, I was washed, dressed, and downstairs making coffee. We gave Ellie some breakfast and soon after, Zoe arrived to collect her.

Diane had a quiet day with her sewing patterns.

I spent the morning and early afternoon working on the journal for the 1980s. I had yet to realise just how sparse the raw data was. One year, I only had a single diary entry. As Diane said, we were busy with the girls and our jobs. What I do have, fortunately, is a vast library of photographs from which the years can be re-created... even if the exact days are not quite accurate.

This afternoon, I finished my latest book (75th book of the year) and started on another. The book that I finished had left me on a metaphorical cliff's edge. I must download and read the next in the series.

AirBnB

 Ellie decided that she would stay with us tonight. This was not the plan, but she woke up and asked Zoe if she would collect her in the morning as she would sleep and Nana and Grandpa's tonight. Once we had received our notification we set ourselves for tonight's very welcome visitor.

The morning was fairly quiet. Diane spent the time in her sewing room. She was still working on the pattern that she had developed.

I spent the time in my Study. I had dug out our Wedding Album, having realised that I had never scanned the"official" images. It took a while, but I am very pleased that I now have digital copies of the images taken that day. I also found a copy of the speech I delivered during the reception. It seemed like a perfect time to digitise that too. Slowly the pages of hand-written verses were committed to the computer and will be incorporated in the 1970s' journal.

The afternoon was dedicated to our books until it was time to collect Ellie from the dancing class (held immediately after school). Once back here, she started on homework while I prepared supper.

Damp Squibb

Well, so far, the weather warnings have been pointless. We had a word with the local council and said that we didn't want the forecast high winds nor the torrential rain That is not the weather we are willing to tolerate in West Sussex. The weather was adjusted accordingly, and whilst we had a bit of rain and a stiff breeze, we had benign weather. That's not to say that other parts of the country were spared, but maybe their local councils are less efficient than ours.

I provided my usual school escort service and then headed home to have breakfast and await the Ocado delivery. With the shopping stashed away, we headed for Sainsbury's. We are expecting the whole family on Sunday so we ended up with a very full trolley.

Once the accounts were filed away, we spent the rest of the day with our books.

For dinner, I cooked the first stew of the season. This was very successful, and I will have to do this concoction again.

The Calm

The calm before the storm hasn't been too calm. We have had bright sunshine interspersed with torrential rain showers and blustery winds. Fortunately, it had just stopped raining when I went to walk Ellie to school. 

Diane, meanwhile, had been to the doctor's and was stuck in heavy traffic coming home. It was a fairly quick turnaround as we had to get to the hospital for her second calibration check on her blood monitor. The check went well, but the monitor and the veinous sample differed by a small amount this time. The nurse was satisfied, and the final check (to be done next week) doesn't require a trip to the hospital. We can email the results.

As we got in the car, the heavens opened, and we had a torrential downpour. We had timed it perfectly. We were soon home and had a quiet remainder of the day with a bit of reading, some tidying, and collecting Ellie from school.