Monday 30th January

Back to work, back to reality. Monday morning, and time to travel to another country, or Belgium as we call it. For some reason my bran decides to wake at half four, and so I lay awake while it goes round in circles. As far as I'm concerned, not much to worry about, but my brain is clearly pumped about something.

Jools is also awake at half five, so we are both up and about, feeding the cats, making coffee, ready for her to go to work at half six, and for me to be ready to leave the house at half seven. I have to pack, double check my bag for the passport, but am ready to go.

It is a grey day, just getting light, I drive down the Alkham Valley rather than down Townwall Street as there is a ferry just in, and the road is back down to a single lane whilst they complete their "work" in replacing two roundabouts with junctions. Empires have risen and fallen in less time it has taken for DHB to do this work.

The A20 is busy, but once I take the road to the tunnel, it is quieter, although people driving around in the half light, not indicating and with no lights on making it seem that I was the only sane person about. I check in, go through immigration, and find that if I skipped going into the lounge, I could board a train right away, so I put my foot down and drive to the platform and onto the upper deck of the train, indeed the final car on board, I look behind to see at least 6 empty wagons before the guard closes the interior doors.

Half an hour later we are in France, it is raining, and the E45 packed. I take my time driving north, stopping off at the wine warehouse for supplies of fizz and cider and Trappist Beers before driving north through Dunkirk and into Belgium. The road was almost empty, drizzle fell gently, so I took my time.

I am at the office at half eleven, in time for lunch, and settle at a desk to begin work.

Lunch.

Work.

Meetings.

And so work until after six, at which point I am pooped, so say goodbye to the minions, and arrange to meet up with them at half seven for dinner. At the hotel i am given a suite with a sea view, although it is dark now, standing on the balcony I can hear the waves crashing on the beach in the darkness. Not bad, not bad at all.

We walk to a nearby restaurant, which we are told has good food, based on cous cous: we get a table and the owner plies us with free starters and unlimited bowls of cous cous and pots of vegetable broth to go with the meat. It is filling, and good, but they don't take cards, so it is left to Jesper, a minion, to come up with the cash to pay. He can claim it back, biut it is tiresome. Shame as it was a fine place to eat.

Back to the hotel, a shower and a lay down whilst the radio burbles. I flick through TV channels, there is BBC, ITV, Belgian, Dutch and French channels, and none have anything on. So I switch it back off. Outside the sea carries on throwing itself at the beach, and I fall asleep.