Saturday 16th April 2016

Friday

I am awake again just before the alarm goes off after some nine hours sleep. I feel somewhat human again, although my head is very wooly indeed. Jools is already up and about feeding the cats and I can hear the coffee pot being put on. I had better make an appearance. Jools has a backlog of work to catch up on, so leaves at twenty to seven, I am writing the previous blog post and listening to the radio. Outside the sun is shining, and it is a fine day to be looking for orchids, but I have work to do.

I switch the laptop on a little after eight, and right away the avalanche of mails continue, with 8.9meg of data uploading into my inbox. So it begins. I have calls to make and then the report to write and send out, though what with other issues raising their heads, I finish the report but fail to send it out as at twelve I have to go out to return the hire car.

I do go via Samphire Hoe to look at the orchids there. I received a tip that a flowering spike had been seen, and I had a copy of the shot, but for the life of me, I could not find the spike. A few minutes walk along the track I see the first flowering orchid of the season, a tiny flowering spike, bobbing in the breeze. I get a shot or two of it, and in the end see eight more, snapping most of them before the increasing wind and rain in the air forces me back to the car.

I drve back down into Dover to refuel the car again, the Mokka had used a tank and three quarters in the trip there and back, not very good. Now, when the car was dropped off, I received no paperwork relating to the hire itself; I had all the legal stuff allowing me to drive in other countries, but not the actual company. The key fob revealed nothing other than the number of the car. I plough through the paperwork and finally find a reference to Avis. Now, I knew where the Europacar and Enterprise offices were, but Avis, I could only guess at the Eastern Docks.

I drive back through the roadworks to the docks and driving into the docks I see someone wearing an Avis jacket. Excuse me, where do I drop the car off? Avis? You can drop it here and I'll sort it out. So, I park up, he glances up and down the car, checks the fuel and says I was good to go. Simple as that. And very different from Enterprise who are trying to charge us £500 for a chipped windscreen, we shall not be using them again I can tell you.

I walk into to town as Jools now leaves off at two and is going to pick me up from town, saving getting a bus or taxi back home. I go to La Salle Verte for a coffee and a huge slice of shortbread, sititng in the window seat looking out as the forecasted rain begins to fall. The windows quickly steam up, and looking down I have drained my coffee cup and have no change for another, so I have to leave.

The rain is falling steadily now, so I stand in the doorway of an abandoned shop, sheltering from the rain, as it gets very grim outside.

Jools arrives and we meet in M&S, we have to pick up some clothes for the holiday, then make tracks back to the car then home as the rain gets ever heavier.

We have received a mighty wodge of material to read from the people arranging our holiday. It is the first time I have had to revise for, which seems to be taking some of the fin away, but just making sure we have the best time in Japan that we can.

Jen comes round before dinner to discuss the trip, as she is coming with us. There is much to discuss, but we end up talking about Nan and Dad's driving. However, we are nearly there, the final arrangements for the trip, how to get our bags from one hotel to another and so on. All exiting stuff. In among the bumpff are the vouchers from all our train tickets, tram tickets and all the other things that will make the holiday go like clockwork.

We have fofte kebabs and chips for dinner; nice dirty food which is just right. I also try the small bottle of Leffe Rituel, which at 9 percent, is more than enough to make me feel snoozy.

We are both tired, in fact once I had my report done for work, a wave of exhaustion came over me, and all I wanted to do was go to bed. The long day on Thursday, eight hours work followed by six hours driving, had taken so much out of me.

We just about stay awake late enough to see the return of The Don before calling it a day at nine.