Monday 20th June 2016

It it midsummers day, a day early, but still, all that extra daylight, light from the middle of the night to the middle of the night. Or something. But like on so many other occasions, this being Britain, the day dawned like it was the middle of November, only with dawn being at before four in the morning of course. Rain lashed down, wind blew, and the cats stared mournfully at the scene outside, and held their bowels in.

However, I had to travel, and not stare out of the window as the rain ran down the outside of the glass, no I could do that from the car on the way to Folkestone, then on the train upto that London.

Driving wasn't fun, heavy rain and other cars and trucks throwing up clouds of spray. I was glad to be dropped off at the station, buy my ticket. However, the woman behind the ticket counter seemed to be suggesting that the works at Dover might finish sooner than thought. Of course she could be wrong, very wrong.

On the train and the rain hammered down harder, and once we began to head towards London, as we picked more passengers up, each batch got on more and more bedraggled.

We arrive in London, and its not better there. I have time to go to the cafe on the station for breakfast. Below, two more trains for London disgorge more commuters heading for work, I drink up my coffee and walk to the DLR station.

Being summer, the airport is busy, but I check my bag in then go through security, as amazed at the stuff people leave in their hand carry bags, I mean, can't they read all the signs and warnings as they waited in line? apparently not.

There are so many people in the lounge, I struggle to find a place to sit and reply to some mails, whilst some over-helpful woman is over-helping people find out when their flights are leaving. I know she meant well, but so did that man who didn't.

My flight is called, and I find the party of excited schoolchildren also traveling to Billund are having to go via Amsterdam and not on my direct flight. I breathe a sigh of relief. Its not I don't like kids, I do, but not in a confined space. With no weapons.

We walk out to the bus, getting wet, then from the bus to the plane getting wetter as the rain lashed down still.

I know many of the faces on the flight now, not by name, but enough to nod in recognition to. I take out my book to read, strap myself in and close my eyes.

As soon as we leap into the air, and climb over the river, the ground is lost in cloud, so as last week I guess where we are by the movement of the plane. We are buffeted by high winds, so climb higher to get clear air. Breakfast is served, along with coffee. I read my book on the history of football and Europe slips by underneath us as we read, work or sleep.

We dive back below the clouds somewhere between Esbjerg and Billund, the wind is so strong I can see it blowing waves in the fields of corn and barley. It looks like winter down there. And once we're on the ground and out of the aircraft, it feels like it. Can it be just two weeks ago when it was so hot to almost be unbearable? It was.

I present the guys in the car hire office a box of Scottish shortbread i picked up at the airport, as a token of thanks for the hard work they do, and in exchange they give me the keys to an Audi A4 estate thing, that seems a fair exchange to me.

I have a blast driving down to the coast, putting my foot down to get past trucks and trailers carrying turbine parts. But by the time I get to Esbjerg, the clouds had thickened, and the rain fell hard, and did not stop until it was dark and the football finished, and the full moon shone down. Before then, rain fell heavily when I was at the office and once I went to the hotel, and it hammered against my room window.

It was so bad, I stay in the hotel to eat, order steak and beer, and am happy with that.

England play at nine, and are dreadful, getting a dull goalless draw with Slovakia, whilst Wales thrash Russia 3-0.

It was by now, dark, and time for bed.