Monday 20th July 2026

With travel comes the pain of the cat round up.

The cats can't stay home and look after themselves, so this means trapping them one by one, only once the first has been nabbed, its wailings alert the others.

And the closing of doors and windows mean they know there's something up.

We try to act normal, though we do lay in to half five, get up and feed them.

Poppy is the hardest, so has to be first, when she decides to come in for breakfast.

Which she does at half seven. So while she eats, we close the doors and windows, then try to coral her upstairs to the bathroom as all the doors up there are closed too.

She is spooked, and dives in the small bedroom, so we close the door and will but her in the box later.

Cleo was asleep on the bed, so she is taken to the bathroom and the door closed. Neither of them meow, so Mulder and Scully are unaware.

At eight we begin the boxing: Mulder first, then Scully. They are both 16, so not as quick as they used to be, but they do wriggle and their claws scratch.

Poppy is hiding under the bed, and stays out of reach. So we have to give her the chance of escape to entice her out before the escape route is closed. She gives in.

Cleo seemed to know what was coming, and gave herself up.

That all done, the last of the packing was done, so that 95% of the jobs done.

Jools took the cats to the cattery, and I washed up and was pretty much all ready when se came back after an incident free trip, other than the tub of kitty kibbles was spilt in the car.

That was cleared up. We have a brew and breakfast, before loading the car.

It was ten, and so was only a fifteen minute run to The Tunnel, we checked in, got in line to go round the one way system to the two immigration posts, through those and then just ten minutes in the waiting area before we were allowed round to drive onto the train.

The Tunnel is functional, no romance of travel. As each carriage is filled with three or four cars, the doors behind are closed until the train is loaded. There's an announcement in three languages, and the train moved off.

Thirty five minutes we pull into Calais, where less than five minutes after stopping, we drive off and straight onto the motorway heading south.

It is warm, sunny intervals, but not hot. Just nice for driving.

We had a two mile drive to Armiens, so cruised down to the toll plaza at Boulogne, then just head south on traffic with just light traffic.

Our hotel is on the edge of the city, in a newly built area, so around it is a building site. But we found it OK, parked so checked in.

Phew.

After a lay down, we go back to the ground floor and look for the bar.

The bar is just another counter along from reception, but they have both draught and bottles.

I have a bottle of the dark, and very malty and full of sediment it is, and very tasty.

So that fired up our appetite, so we walk over to the bistro.

There is only a few choices, but the lamb and goat burger sounded interesting. Less so when it arrived, as the goat part was a wedge of cheese, but it was good.

There was even time for some cheese and a glass of vin rouge to round the meal off.

Back in the room, weariness overcame me, and even with the time difference, we were in bed before nine.