Friday 20th December 2024

Why was I sitting in a parked car in the centre of Dover at twenty past six in the morning?

Good question.

The reason.

Reasons.

Well, Jools had her yoga class, and later in the day was their office Christmas party after the factory closed until the New Year, and there was talk of cocktails, so I would have to drive her home, so I had to have the car.

There seemed no point in dropping her off, going home for 45 minutes, then returning. So, instead I listened to the new Sound of Football podcast while watching the town wake up. An army of council workers clearing dropped rubbish, and a constant stream of buses come to collect passengers off to early starts in the jobs. I guess.

Workers for Poundland arrived, then the manager who opened up and turned on all the lights, thus turning night into day in the car.

Jools was done at twenty to eight, so we drove up the Old Folkestone Road, onto the M20 then through the old Army base in Shorncliffe, and down into Hythe, along the promenade to the factory.

I got back home safe, and with the sun low and bright in the sky, and in a position that made reversing down the drive impossible, so I parked outside and went inside to make a brew and have breakfast.

The plan had been to go to Sainsbury's having dropped Jools off, I though Saturday morning would be better, at least at six in the morning.

But by eleven, I had watched as many videos on YouTube and listened to as many podcasts and I could in one day, so girded my loins and drove back to Folkestone to the big Sainsbury's.

Sainsbury's, as Jools's employer had given each worker a £150 gift card, so I wouldn't be spending our money.

There were parking spaces. And trolleys. Inside, it was chaos.

The neat and tidy shelves looking rather like Liddl after a few pints and a fight.

I had a list, so got all of what we needed, by which point I had had enough, and skipped the fruit and made for the checkout.

It was good to escape, load the car. Now, I had two hours before Jools would be ready to leave the party, so I drove to a quiet street some 800 yards away, parked up and listened to more podcasts.

Jools had drunk two ciders, no cocktails, but still needed me to drive. She was waiting outside, so climbed in and we drove home, through the mad traffic and out the other side, up Dover Hill to Capel and home, getting home just before dark.

Phew.

I put the shopping away, made brews. We locked the doors, closed the curtains to keep the outside world out there.

No music quiz this week, so we have some of the pie I had delivered last week with some piccalilli and a bottle of Christmas beer.

Cheers.