Friday 21st June 2019

The longest day of the year.

Or, the day with most daylight.

And time to go home.

I slept well, and so woke with a start when the alarm went off, while outside the truck with the fresh laundry unloaded.

Lets get this done!

I pack, get dressed, and at six, go down to check out, have breakfast. So by quarter past, I was ready to go.

Another fine morning, strong low sunlight, and just a simple 50 minute run up to Billund.

I park the car and walk to the terminal. As planned the rush was over, so I could drop the keys off, check in my case and get through immigration in ten minutes, and still have over an hour before it was time to board the plane.

I do some window shopping, and no matter how good it looks, the prices for Lego sets are just crazy. I won't pay it, no way, not even with a 20% discount. Oh no.

The flight is called, I get through immigration, then comes more waiting.

We are allowed on, and I am in my usual seat, 8A.

Once we taxi and take off, breakfast is served, and I'm not really hungry, am I? Yes I was, as it turned out. I have a roll and more coffee, while the fabulous cloudscapes roll past outside.

London is warm and sunny, and packed. So much so that despite our landing on time, delays at immigration mean I miss the early train home, meaning i had 56 minutes to wander round Stratford, window shop and cave coffee and a huge sweet and firm slice of baklava.

Yummy.

A class of schoolchildren walk past, all abuzz with excitement of not being in class. Later I see them waiting on the platform waiting for a train to take them to Margate. And why not on sch a fine day?

40 chattering kids climbing into a carriage must have been a surprise for the passengers already aboard, but the doors closed, and they were off to the seaside.

Ten minutes later my train glided in, I get in, ready for the last leg home.

At Dover, I nip past the dawdling tourists to make sure I get a taxi home, as I don't want to have to wait another minute before being home.

The driver is also eager to get me home too, so she can get back to the station to get another fare, but a run to St Maggies pays well.

The cats don't care when I walk down the drive, but before going in, I walk round the garden checking what is in flower and what changes there have been. I see we have raspberries and gooseberries.

I try the former, but the brds seem to have eaten most of the latter already.

I make a brew, do some work before Jools comes home, and we do the next task of the day; a photographic assignment.

So, Ian, you have a camera?

Er, yes.....

Kiera is having her Prom at the end of June, could you take her pictures?

I don't really do portraits and shots of people.

It'll be fine.

I would hate to get something wrong, the weather could be bad, I could mess up the exposure, they could come out blurred, the battery could go flat.

It'll be fine.

It's a black art, a slight shift in postion would make her look ugly.

It'll be fine.

So, we run down what they want, and me as a photographer thinks we should do. All her friends were going to Russel Gardens at half five, and that's what she wanted. OK< you will be wearing a dress in coral pink, so we need a background of green. People think a background of a flower bed or something would be great. In reality it would look busy, so a simple mono-coloured background, in green in this case, would be perfect.

I had to borrow a few things from my friend Gary: a tripod, a lens and a flash, but with those, I should have everything covered.

Jools and I arrived early, and we scouted places for the family shots, settling in the end with a background of line trees, dappled green which while not perfect, would do the job.

We just needed to keep the sunshine.

But as half five got nearer, clouds rolled in, and so to flash would become more and more important.

The family arrived and I began snapping.

And kept on for an hour.

Her frieds came, and I took couples, tripes and group shots.

Most looked ok.

I hoped.

We leave them to it, with an vening of dancing to the latest pop tunes, frugging the night away.

Jools and I went to Jen's as we had arranged to take her out for dinner.

What with diets, we have not had a curry for a while, so why not go to Nameste for dinner? Why not?

We had a table booked, we had a drink, chose our meal and waited, talked about life and Tony.

The food is great, though we did not have a view of the kitchen this time, but I had fried, curried baby sweetcorn followed by curried dahl. And wonderful it was too, as was the beer.

Though we were back on the road taking Jen home in less than 90 minutes.

Back home, I have a shower and a brew before calling it a night. Monty could wait, I needed sleep.