Friday 6th June 2014

It is Friday night, the 70th anniversary of D Day, and I am home alone as Jools has gone out for a meal with her friends from the LFB. I turned the opportunity down to head to the Rack of Ale tonight, and instead stayed home, cooked butter fried asparagus for dinner, and listened to The News Quiz on Radio 4.

Rock and Roll.

For those of you paying attention, this is the last weekend at home before Jelltex goes to China: I fly out on Monday and will be offline one suspects until I return on the 16th June. And then I have just three days before we goes on our holibobs.

So, a hectic time, plenty of last minute arrangements to make and confirm. Phew, hope its all done and it will go smoothly. Not every week you arrange a business trip for four people, from three nations, to China. It will be an experience if nothing else.

Yesterday was the day of the great car breakdown. I took Jools to work then the car went 'bang' on a country lane east of Canterbury. I won't go over the details except to say, being out of mobile range, the nearest house was a twenty minute walk away. Then a two hour wait for the truck, towed into the city, then a four hour wait to see if they had the part and if it could be fixed.

In the end it was fixed, and I arrived on time to pick Jools up from work at five, although I had done no work and got nowhere near the office. I guess it happens.

Once home I went out orchid chasing with a couple of friends, and we ended up spending an hour driving and then looking for the tiny Musk Orchid. We parked up and walked up the meadow, astonished at the variety and numbers of Chalk Fragrant Orchids.

Over where Mark and I knew the orchids were, we looked and looked until Mark shouted he had found one.

One.

So, there was the scene, three people huddled over an orchid some two inches high, each one battling to get a decent shot in the stiff breeze. But, it was worth the effort.



Today, I drove to the office to tidy up the final details of the trip to China. Print everything out I need, double check the tickets and hotel reservation. It will be an adventure. Only downside for me is having to wait 5 hours at the airport for Anni to arrive as she has a much later, stopping flight. Oh well, I may read. Or sleep.

And so, on this day 70 years ago, our forbears battled across six Normandy beaches in the final push to rid Europe of fascism. My Granddad had been at Dunkirk, he was at D Day, Arnhem and Remagen. He did well to live through all that, and then suffer having to return to Nana. Oh well.

I do think a little of the media coverage a little OTT, I mean Europe stands on the brink of another war with Russia threatening to invade more of Ukraine, having already annexed Crimea. This has disturbing implications for all of the continent, doubly so as we get most of our energy from Mother Russia now; will she turn the gas taps off in the winter? Will the tanks roll back? Probably neither, Russia is nearly bankrupt, and this is probably the third promise that their troops would withdraw.

Anyway, cheers Granddad. You did a grand job.