New Year's Eve

We thought long and hard about hitting Tesco in the morning, but as we laid in until eight, that would have meant battling most of Dover in there. So we brewed some coffee and stayed in bed.

When we did go out we thought we'd go and try to buy a birdtable for the back garden so to attract some of our feathered friends. We drove through the Alkham Valley towards Folkestone; Alkham Garden Centre was closed, but the one in the centre of Folkestone was open.

And there was a huge choice, from the traditional wooden ones to modern multi-level things, as well as 'deluxe' versions in some rare hard wood I would guess, and at £70 was way out of our price range. We opted for one of the cheapest, just a small tapble with a pitched roof and set off back to Dover.

We called in at Jools' Dad's, as he had computer problems, or thought he had. He just was not allowing time enough for each web-page to load. Once we showed him the status bar and reload button, our job was nearly done. And just trying to register his pay as you go sim with O2, it had expired, we headed back to St Margaret's for lunch.



We ended up on the beach at St Margaret's Bay at the Coastguard, as I fancied fish and chips, and theirs is great, but they were out so had steak instead. Jools had chicken with chestnuts, which she said was great. And we had dessert; crème brulee with Bailey's for Jools and a cheeseboard for me. I finished up with a very fine malt indeed, 25 year old Highland Park, and we went home for coffee and a snooze.

Being very rock 'n' roll, we spent the night watching the final episodes of Eureka, and then Hootenanny with Jools Holland came on TV, and so we settled down with another glass of malt and/or rose wine, and waited for the clock to tick round to midnight.

And so the decade which had begun with me having left my second wife just seven days earlier, and midway through a promotion course, ended with Jools and myself in our house on the edge of the village with a full moon shining down on our frosty piece of England.
Although the journey was hard at times, with a few twists and turns, the destination made it all worthwhile, and leaving the RAF when I did. My friends still in go to Afghanistan once a year or so, and having people shooting at you, or wanting to is less preferable than searching for oil, or making boxes.

And so the new year begins with our life in a state of flux; I still don't know about the job at the box factory and if it will become permanent, and interview with Eurostar and/or the chance of going to work in the Middle East. Or maybe something else, life's an adventure, just hold on tight.

Happy New Year to all my friends.