23rd September 2016

Thanks to some rather questionable planning at MeatLink HQ, too many staff had been allowed to swan off on holiday at the same time. This left Jamie holding the fort, which meant a full day’s graft for him. It began at the ungodly hour of 5 am with a round trip to Lancashire, followed by a day in the office wrangling orders for the coming week. By the time he clocked off at 5.30 pm, he’d certainly earned his supper (and perhaps a medal).

Sue launched her day with an early skirmish against the washing machine, then marched off to the Kettering cinema for an 11 am showing of The Jungle Book. With an hour to spare afterwards, she bravely endured the retail park, fortified by snacks, naturally, before settling in for her second film of the day, a period drama so memorable that its title has vanished into the ether. Later, she switched roles entirely, transforming into a school-run chauffeur for Lucas while Ellis attended the hospital for further checks on his mysterious knee lump. An X-ray is now on the cards. Sue rounded off her busy day with coffee at Charlotte’s before heading home.

Meanwhile, I dedicated the morning to reading through the documentation for Jamie’s and my Canadian adventure, then optimistically stuffed my rucksack with what I think I’ll need (time will tell). With that done, I turned my hand to taming the garden and pool before raiding the ‘vineyard’ for a half-box of red grapes. Sue will be turning them into juice while I’m away, hopefully before the local wildlife gets there first.

Jamie popped round to Willow Bank after work for tea and to transfer his clothes into a bigger bag. He also brought along Madison, his rabbit, whom Sue will be reluctantly babysitting during our absence. I fully expect tales of domestic destruction and rabbit-related melodrama on our return. We shall see.

Later that evening, we set off at 7 pm for the 2.5-hour trek to the Arora International Hotel in Crawley, near Gatwick Airport. The motorways were heavy with foreign lorries heading down to Southampton, but otherwise, the journey passed without incident. Parking and check-in were mercifully straightforward (the one perk of arriving at such an hour). After a quick drink in the bar, we retired to our room for what passed as a reasonably peaceful night’s sleep, ahead of the following day’s great Canadian adventure.