Last-minute prep

I'm usually well on top of things when we're going away, but this time for some reason I've left too much too late. Friends have reported from Gran Canaria with word that the weather isn't great (chilly and wet at times), and I'm not used to packing for anything other than warm sunshine. I took myself off this morning to The Pavilions in Swords on a last-minute search for a weatherproof but not too heavy jacket. I'd spotted a couple of likely candidates online, but no joy when it came to being in stock in the shop. Still I didn't come away empty-handed.

A bit of a panic on the way. It had begun to rain, and I'd just turned onto the Swords road when the wipers suddenly stopped. I pulled in and stoped in the bus lane with hazard lights on while I phoned roadside assistance. The guy on the phone said it could be an hour and a half before anyone got to me, but a guy happened to be nearby, phoned me, and said he'd be there in fifteen minutes. He did some fiddling, sprayed something on the wiper bearings and advised me to talk to my mechanic about the problem ('the motor may be failing', he said).

Back home, it took me until the wee small hours to sort out my packing, including stuffing the freshly-bought travel-sized toiletries into the regulation plastic bag for inspection by airport security. When will this liquids nonsense come to an end, I wonder.

Anyway, our flight to Gran Canaria is at 13:30 tomorrow, we should reach our been-there-a-lot bungalow by 19:00, and we should be out carousing shortly after. Watch out Gran Can, we're on our way!