Monday 4th February 2019

Monday,

And travel.

Denmark is made of hundreds of islands, so is not just Jutland. I am off to the blade factory, for the third time, and this involves a two hour drive, a 45 minute ferry crossing and then another 15 drive to the hotel.

I like the trip, seeing different places, but three times is enough. It takes ten and a half hours to get to the hotel, and then there is the day’s work to catch up on.

A quality manager’s work is never done.

The alarm goes off at half four, and I sleep though it, so Jools wakes me at five to and my coffee is ready. The cats have gone back to bed, as we sit in silence sipping our drinks. Outside the wind howls, and I think maybe the flight will be cancelled, but it is too early for flight information.

So we carry on, I load the car with my bag and case, Jools drives me to the station, we say our goodbyes and she leaves me to get my ticket, and wait 15 minutes for the train.

It is on time, and is warm and bright inside. I hope the year getting older would make it light enough to see out, but as the rain hammers down, the morning is inky black and my reflection stares back at me.

The train fills up, and I have someone sitting next to me from Folkestone. I carry on staring out of the window as the black Kentish countryside zips by.

At Stratford I go straight to the DLR and make my way to the airport, check in and go through security. Once in departures, I go to a restaurant and order smoked salmon and scrambled egg, costing £14.50. Expesive, but its warmer there than on Stratford station where I usually eat.

The airport is rammed, and there is a wait for twenty minutes for food, and longer for coffee, so I make do with juice.

After paying, I find a place to sit by a quiet gate and wait, ready the Billy Connolly book I had bought, and so the time slips by. Just as well as the flight is delayed by an hour, meaning we take off just when we’re supposed to be on final approach. This means I will be travelling in the dark towards the hotel, and it will probably be raining.

I am given a Opel state car, with plenty of horses, I program the hotel in, and away we go.

Only, it doesn’t direct me towards the ferry terminal, instead wants to take me by the Great Belt bridge, which is a 200 km longer trip. At least I remember the way, but all the time the car is telling me to turn round.. This continues until we get to the ferry terminal, I buy my ticket and am in line waiting for the ferry to arrive, the car is still telling me to turn round.

It is only when the ferry has docked, unloaded and I am driving onto the ship that the car realises we are going that way and instead of being a 230 km trip back the other way, it is just ten km the other side.

As long as that’s straight.

I have an ice cream and read on the sailing over, while outside darkness falls.

I remember the way to the hotel anyway, so am soon checked in and in my room which is in a timber framed house in the hotel grounds. Which was nice.

I meet two of the customer’s representatives in the restaurant, so I eat with them as we talk shop.

After eating, there is always the full inbox to keep me busy!