Tuesday 29th August 2017

And so we come to the end of the holidays, where both bad and good things happen. The bad is that we have to return to work, but the good is that we get to have our feline menagerie back. And for me, one last day of vacation, time to collect the cats, compete the chores from the day before, and try and get my head straight.

Jools was up at six, and let me lay in to quarter to seven, just time for me to have a coffee before I take her to work, as I needed the car to collect the cats.

So, get into a car with the steering wheel on the right hand side, and with actual gears you have to change yourself. But with years of practice coming and going from the continent, it was no trouble for me, so into the car, fire it up and away we go.

Not much to tell, other than it always amazes me that people feel the need to race to work. I mean I like work, but not enough to drive at 90mph to get there. They could be late I suppose,

Anyway, a late summer morning, the sun was already shining and the dawn coolness was being replaced by warm sunshine. The luxury flats near to where Jools works is nearly completed, some have sea views, some look out onto the factory, not sure I would pay a million quid for one of the latter, but hey. Also traffic down there by Fisherman's Beach can be mad with all the double parked cars too, wouldn't want to live there myself, but its a big old strange world.

I drop her off and go back home, and now that the stupid speed limit has been lifted between Folkestone and Dover, I go back that way and thrill at the feeling of cruising down Shakespeare Cliff at 70 into the town, past lorries that have to stay in the nearside lane.

Along Townwall Street and up Jubilee Way, dodging ferry traffic ignoring rules of the road, tooting one Brit driver who thought he might get away without not stopping at the roundabout from the port. A long toot on the horn put him right, and then we sticks the two fingers up at me!

Back in St Maggies, I go to the cliffs to see how the ALTs are getting on. I find there were hundreds of spikes, but many still now only coming into flower, and needing two more weeks before they would start to seed. Another mail will need to be sent.

I go home for breakfast, and at half nine drive to Denton to pick up the cats, already stressing about Mulder's bowels.

For a change they are mostly pleased to see me, and none of them put up a fight being put in their boxes. They do sing to me on the way home, and I try to distract Mulder into stressing and having "an accident".

In the end we make it home without incident, so I let the cats out on the path outside. And one by one they get out and realise they are back home. So, just one thing:

Meow?

Yes breakfast. Lunch. Attention. Open the door. Attention.

For a few hours it was fun, but then just meows for no reason began to pale, so I tell them to find their own lunch, I stroke them but no longer jump up to see what they want as mostly they just stand on the work surface. Meowing.

Stuff gets done, I go to Tesco again, then go to see Jen to see how things are with the old folks, and all is pretty well.

With the eight hours sleep the night before, I felt OK and even suggested we had killed the old foe, jetlag. We would only find out that night. I pick up Jools from Martin Mill just before six, and we are back home in 5 minutes and I can fry the breaded aubergine. And in twenty minutes, all was done, so we sit down to eat, toasting our good fortune whilst the radio plays in the background.

In the evening, there is backing up of photographic files, writing blog posts, and the stuff that takes time, before sheer exhaustion, we go to bed at half nine