Bandit Country

 There was torrential rain first thing and we had a drive ahead of us... but not for an hour or two. Coffee and breakfast were the first items on the day's agenda. I presented myself at the cousins' Zoom call and we had an interesting 40 minutes, even though some of the usual attendees were absent.

I had an email from an old Starfleet friend. He was asking if the cross-referencing software I wrote during lockdown supported a particular feature. I couldn't remember. I sent him a holding reply, promising I would check tomorrow.

With the call over and the email on hold, we grabbed our gear, ready to hit the King's highways. By this time, the rain had stopped and the sun was out. We had a remarkably clear run to the bandit country of Odiham. It was nice meeting Jan and John for the first time in several months. During this time, he has been particularly unwell and spent a great deal of time shuttling back and forth between hospitals, doctors, and specialists. There still seems to be no definitive diagnosis, but at least he has a plan moving forward. Beyond his health, we also heard about their river cruise through the Dordogne. It was a first for them and as we expected, they absolutely loved it and have already booked another for next year.

We went to the Lord Derby for lunch. This is just off the M3 junction between Odiham and Hook. We have been there before, but it has changed hands several times since. It was clearly very popular and we settled down in a quiet spot. Over the continuing conversation, we managed to get some drinks and order our lunch. It was simple fare, but delicious. John chose a lamb shank, Di and Jan went for the fish pie (which came out at a temperature approaching the surface of the sun), and I chose simple fish and chips. As I said, simple fare, but very tasty.

We headed back to Jand and John's for an hour or so before heading home. We had to get back before 18:00 as we were expecting Ellie, who would be staying overnight. I also wanted to get back before it got too dark because, stupidly, I had left home in my sunglasses and left my ordinary glasses in the kitchen.

Ellie was dropped a little later than planned but she went up to bed almost immediately. Having said that, she was still awake when we came up to bed at ten o'clock.