Monday 17th December 2018

Time for work again, and today, a drive to the Isle of Wight. Again. If I could do some walking.

In fact my back had eased over night, so felt optimistic about the day, but we shall see.

After coffee, Jools dropped me off in town on her way to work, so I could have a wander round, take some shots before walking to the dicks to pick up the hire car.

Dover is quiet again now that the St James Development is finished; no grubby builders sipping coffee to wash away hangovers on their way to site, just a well let and mostly empty car park and brightly lit closed shops.

I reach the seafront as dawn really begins to light the day, spreading golden warmth over the harbour and town. I wasn’t getting the repeat of back spasms as on Sunday, I just took my time and ambled towards the dock. Ferries were busy coming and going and the traffic was building, and for me it was quite like being on holiday, walking in the lea of the cliffs to the port, picking up the car keys, then walking out to find the Peugeot estate I had for the week.

I drove home, along the Deal road, parking outside, then inside to have breakfast, book my ferry crossings and answer some work mails. I was packed and ready to go, so at ten I load the car and set off.

Everything in the car is electronic, controlled by menus on the screen on the dash, and finding the right radio station took 15 minutes; is a tuning dial so old fashioned? I mean it just works and is easy?

With Radio 6 on, and the ferry terminal plotted into the sat nav, I drove off into the bright morning.

Matrix signs on the M20 warned of delays, s after Ashford I took the A20, going through familiar towns and villages, and being stuck in traffic there too. Not sure if I saved any time at all, but it was a change.

Onto the M26, soon to be a lorry park, and then the M25, driving at just under the speed limit westwards and the start of the M3 back south.

Once heading back south towards Southampton, I call in at Fleet Services for lunch, mainly to give my back a break, so I go to Subway and chave a chilli beef sub, which was OK but not as good as it looked.

I worked out that there was an earlier ferry at half one, and if the sat nav was right I would get there with ten minutes to spare, I might catch that, so once back on the road I put my foot down driving into the setting sun.

Southampton never seems to be that busy, which is nice, so I make it in time, and no sooner was I told to drive to lane 8 to wait than we were waved onto the ferry. By the time I had parked and climbed to the top deck and gone outside, the ferry was ready for sailing and the engines powering up.

Away to the left was the new Queen Elizabeth liner, looking like a skyscraper floating on its side; beautiful and stylish it isn’t. I snap it anyway, and use that for my shot of the day, and as I had been on deck four times already as this ferry made its way across the Solent, I went inside to find a quiet place so to read.

The ferry was less than half full, so I find a table, first in the pet friendly lounge, where pets were anything but friendly. So I leave there to find some peace and quiet. So the crossing passed pretty quickly.

Once arrived in East Cowes, I wait to drive off, driving round the block for the queue to the chain ferry to Cowes.

Over that it was up and down the narrow streets onto the Esplanade to the hotel, where my room was already booked and ready, so I could go up and lay on the bed to rest my poor back.

As it happened, I did not feel like walking into town for dinner, so ate, well as it happened, in the hotel. Ribeye steak, triple fried chips followed by a fine cheeseboard.

Oh yes, all well and good here.

But then I had to tackle the 40 or so mails from the day, send replies before it was time to watch the end of the Derby V Forest, er, Derby.