Wednesday 30th December 2020

It is near the end of the year. The winds have dropped, the clouds have cleared.

We really should go out.

We say.

We decide on Hythe, as now that the jams have melted away, for now, it would easy to get there and to get back too.

So, we have coffee, get dressed and are out before nine, taking the Alkham Valley road as even now it is best to avoid the port. The Drellingore is still hidden below ground, although we have had rain, not enough for it to go into flood. At the end, we turn onto the A20, go through the Roundhill Tunnels, past Folkestone, and take the next turning to Shorncliffe, passsing by Tesco then turning up to drive through the huge barracks complex, soon to be a major housing development.

I take a couple of shots, then we head towards the coast, down Hospital Road, past a series of new houses all built along streets called corniches. Which Google tells me is: "a road cut into the edge of a cliff, especially one running along a coast." So now I know, and I can tell Jools.

Down the steep hill, then turning at the garage to drive along the coast to the Imperial Hotel.

Getting out of the car, the coldness catches my breath, but I am glad I put on one of my newer, thicker, work coats and have my Razorbacks hat on. Even still, it felt bitterly cold, until we saw more than a dozen people swimming in the sea, and others wandering along the beach in costumes.

Fancy a coffee? asked Jools.

I believe I do.

So she gets a coffee from the pop up coffee stall, and gets a flapjack too, which was pretty good. We sat on the sea wall looking at the swimmers, while we ate and drunk. Jools tells me its warmer in the water than out. I don't go to check.

Once we drunk, we walked further along, past a sport billy, doing raised press ups, feet on the upper level of railings. He then skips.

We turn round and walk back to the car, cold to our bones, and fiding the facilities closed, we drive to tesco for a comfort break, then back onto the motorway back to Dover.

Very little traffic on the roads, but just two lorries managed to block the roundabout at the bottom of Jubilee Way, as COVID tests were being checked before letting them into the port. Not the best place to stop traffic, but there was just enough room for us to go round the back of the second one and turn off up JUbilee Way, accelerating like you wouldn't believe in our 1 litre Audi.

Back home we have a brew, warm up. Warm up enough to decide it was lunchtime.

I make ham rolls.

Which we eat.

Which was nice.

And we settle down to our hobbies; me writing the last blogs on the subjects not to be named, and Jools doing beading, reading and watching The Expanse.

The day faded into late afternoon, the sun set and clouds rolled over. There was a suggestion of snow, or sleet at least. Most of the country has had a covering. We see none.

It got dark.

Through the afternoon I made a ragu; serious stuff in making the tomato sauce first, then adding bround mince, some bacon, lots of lovely beef stock from the salt beef, and finally a few carrots. I let it simmer for two hours, and it matured into a pot of tasty slop.

I cook pasta, some garlic bread, and along with a man-sized glass of red plonk, we sit down at six to eat.

It was grand. And filling.

The cake went uneaten.

I spend the evening watching Newcastle v Liverpool on the tablet. It ended 0-0, but was pretty good.

Good night.