Tuesday 15th January 2019

Tuesday, and I’m back on the road.

Jools’ alarm goes off at half four, needless to say its still dark.

So we get up, feed the cats and make coffee, and once we were done we have to move the table out as Matt is fitting a new radiator there.

It seems that there was something to do until its was quarter to six, just time to load my case into the car and Jools take me down the hill to Martin Mill.

Here we are again.

I buy the ticket, then wait under the awning as others arrive, until the trains lights could be seen reflecting down the rails from Walmer. I get a set on my favoured side, then close my eyes as the train pulls out. Maybe if I don’t open them it means I’m not going to Denmark….

But I am, and the train fills up, then blasts from Stratford up to that London, I snooze all the way, just about. As we cross the Essex marshes, I could see the red warning lights marking where Canary Wharf rises from the river.

I skip breakfast at the station, as its so darn cold this time of year in the station, so go to the DLR station, find a seat and then my friend and colleague, Tracy, comes in. TRACE!!!

So she sits next to me, and we chat all the way to the airport, then meet up airside to have breakfast, so we can talk more. This is almost like going on holiday! Just a pleasure to share the morning with someone.

So we board and the plane lifts off and climbs into the clouds, hiding London from view, so I read the inflight magazine, where I get the idea to go to New Orleans for our holibobs this year. If we can afford it. We shall see. But we did watch a documentary on drumming, really, last week, and the city featured heavily.

Anyway, I read that and my Rail magazine on the way over, decline breakfast, but to accept a coffee.

Denmark is covered in tens of thousands of feet of cloud, and it is throwing it down. Again we don’t see the ground until we nearly landing, and it looks grim.

Turns out there was a bug when I booked my hire car, and the office where it was waiting was in Aarhus, so I go to the office I the foyer and throw myself at their mercy. They give me the VW bus again. Thanks, guys.

But it is better than nothing.

I have a long drive, 90 miles through Velije, then down to Odense and finally to the ferry to Nakskov. And I’m in a bus. And the wheels go round and round.

The weather isn’t so bad, and I cruise along trying not to have an accident.

Which is nice.

The motorway runs out, and the road dips and dives so leaping from island to island until I come to the lonely ferry terminal, unmanned. I buy my ticket from the machine, and so wait for the next sailing. In the meantime I start to read Conclave, which is good, but the names of all the characters is confusing. Which continues for the next day whenever I read it.

The ferry arrives, so we all take turns to drive on; its about 10% full, so we all get a bench seat and table each up in the cabin. I get a sandwich, drink and ice cream, because I was going to sea!

Only a 45 minute crossing, so I read more as darkness falls outside, and the keen wind rocks the boat side to side.

I am convinced I know better than the sat nav, so ignore it and I try to find where I stayed last time. But O have the address wrong, and I’m staying somewhere different, I do get it in the end, so allow the sat nave to guide me to what looks like a police station from the outside. Inside, its full of stuffed animals and rustic furniture. They give me a warm welcome, and they give me the room next to the kitchen.

I was too tired to argue.

Later, I go have dinner in the restaurant, and find they had turnados, which was very fine indeed. No idea what went with it, some fungi, fried vegetable which might have been a cauliflower, maybe not. I also down two small bottles of Christmas Beer, sadly it was Tuborg, but drinkable.

Back to the room to catch up my mails, and I really cannot be bothered, so I listen to the radio and the rattling of the cutlery being washed.

Big day tomorrow, so away to bed.