Monday 12th March 2018

Although only three weeks had passed since I last travelled, and yet whereas when it came time for us to leave home, it is now if not broad daylight, clearly the sun is clearly thinking about rising. This means that I can look out of the train window on the way up to London and so ignore the dead-eyed commuters who stare into their mobile phones or tablets. We had drunk coffee, had breakfast, fed the cats, put bird seed out and located my trousers that morning.

And here I was on the platform at Martin Mill having bought my ticket and it was warm enough to stand looking at the crows arguing about their nesting arrangements in the trees opposite.

The train pulls in, I get a seat and as I am away less than two days I have the small case so can store that in the rack above the seat. I sink into the seat and already we have pulled out of the station and had begun the descent to Dover through Guston Tunnel.

Not much to report, Dover and Folkestone was waking up, the platforms full of bleary eyed commuters clutching paper cups of coffee and wanting their own double seat, at least until the train filled up at Ashford.

The sun was rising as we left Dover, going along Shakespeare Beach as high tide lapped against the sea wall.

I stop for breakfast at Ashford as usual, substituting the normal Americano for a gingerbread latte with an extra shot to go with the tikka pannini. I could then sit at the table overlooking the tracks and platform below, looking at the trains coming and going.

The airport was busy, but I had plenty of time, and once through security meet up with a colleague from the Thanet days, so we have a catch up on life, football and music. Peter is younger and fitter than me, but had a heart attack last year and is still recovering. He lost two stone, not that he weighed that much to start with.

Makes you think.

The flight is called, and sadly I did not have my usual seat, I had to put up with 10A instead. Things I have to put up with!

Light raining is falling, and anyway we take off heading east, so no views along the river to The City, just as soon as we were in the air, into the clouds and leaving Blighty behind.

I am ready the new Orchid Book I got last week, and although I am not mentioned by name, I recognise a conversation I had with the author duding his year in the orchid fields. And my Facebook alter-ego is mentioned in the thanks at the back of his tome. Nearly famous at last!

I have breakfast, fruit juice and a coffee, which counts at lunch with the time difference making it an hour later. Oh well.

It was raining in Denmark, of course, and week-old snow lay all about going grey in the drizzle. It feels like January, not March.

I get a Toyota thing for the two days, load it once I find it in the car park, and make tracks to get to Aarhus.

There is time to do three hours work, have a meeting, but almost as soon as I arrived people started to go home for the day. So it goes. But I catch up with the in box, and am ready to go to the hotel come five and the traffic has calmed down.

A quick zip along the O2 to the compound, which is what we call the Scandic; its ok, and an easy drive from the office. I book a table for six, as I’m hungry.

I have potato soup followed by burger, of course, and it is good. Back in my room I fall asleep on the bed, waking up to see the Citeh game on TV. Outside a thick fog had fallen, which made to hide the tower blocks around the hotel.