Monday 3rd September 2018

The alarm goes off at half four, and two months ago it would have been light, the sun up and birds singing. This week, its like still middle of the night.

Is it time to get up?

Yes.

So, we get up, and in the end, make coffee, feed the cats and have breakfast, and in an hour I am ready to leave the house of the week, Jools will drop me at Martin Mill.

At least it was getting light, a slight mist was rising, and despite being early, it was a still morning, and was the promise of a fine late summer/early autumn day. But I was off to Denmark, so it could snowing there.

I sit on the platform, and take in the calm of the morning, waiting for the train to come in, emerging out of the fog along the line, which it does, a few minutes late, but meaning I would make my flight.

I take a seat, and soon am dozing as we emerge out of Guston tunnel, and the usual views across the Dover rooftops to the harbour is lost in the mist and fog of the morning.

I snooze my way though to Folkestone, Ashford and along to Ebbsfleet. The train wasn’t too full, clearly some parents were still off work with their kids.

At Stratford, I go to have my usual breakfast, watching the trains arrive on the tracks below until it was time to walk along to the DLR and wait for a train to the airport.

I know a colleague of mine was on the same plan, and as Tracie is a creature of habit, I know she would be having poached eggs on toast at the same table. But before I meet her, I see another colleague, Pete, with whom I went to see the Stranglers a few years back.

He is off to DK for a team bonding event, and he is already hating it.

I have a second breakfast, seeing as Pete was paying, so have a breakfast brulee, but is not a brulee in any form, but looks more like a knickerbocker glory if I’m honest, but the natural yoghurt. It is OK.

Coffee is good though.

The flight is called and so we sit in a row behind each other. I am soon snoozing once we are in the air, and Blighty is left behind.

Denmark is dark and cloudy as we drop onto final approach, and the plane lurches in a most worrying way as we fly though clouds heavy with rain.

On the ground, it is warm enough, but there is the promise of rain in the air.

I am given an Opel estate thing, Insignia, I think, big enough to house several large zoo animals, but just has me and my two bags.

I drive to Esbjerg, and into the stormclouds, that turn to rain as I enter the town. Its been too long, Esbjerg.

I drive to the office, and find they have had all new offices built, and there is few people I know. I have a meeting with Peter, a different one, and look at my inbox, and horrified to find all my good work was shot after all.

I am in town to meet with a friend and colleague, Brian, who had a heart attack offshore a few months ago. He is making a good recovery, but I wanted to meet and have a drink and chat.

So it was he arrived at the hotel at six, and took us to Bones for a slap up meal of ribs and a couple of circles of the salad bar.

And it is good, I mean amazing to think he nearly died two months ago, and was rushed by ambulance to hospital, with the paramedic not thinking he would make it.

But he did.

And is now starting work again, and his so happy to be doing so.

He has stopped smoking.

We have ribs, fries and salad. And huge Cokes. Diet ones. Not beer I say to make sure you’re paying attention.

And once we are done, I turn down a lift to walk back to get my daily step count to over 8,000. Shops are closing, literally, as the new shopping centre is taking its toll on what used to be Denmark’s longest shopping street, nearly a quarter of the shops are now empty.

And back to the hotel, listen to some radio and channel surf. 21 channels, and nothing on.