Blacktop

A long day. We left the hotel around 9:30, getting a taxi for the 10 minute journey to the off-airport car hire we always use. They are cheap, and the cars are fine, but they nearly always seem to have computer problems of one sort or another, which means you might have to hang around for half an hour to get the admin done, with the guys at the desk trying to curb their frustration with their flaky system.

They excelled themselves this time: the system had crashed in all of their offices across Europe because, apparently, someone had sliced through a fibre optic cable in France. The office was already full of weary-looking clients when we arrived; we eventually got on our way at 11:15.

Then there was an accident on the M62. Mr Google warned us about this, so we took a recommended detour around various B roads through attractive Pennine villages. We were probably right to do this; if you look closely at this “arty” photo taken through the windscreen, you may be able to see the stationary M62 traffic in the distance. When we eventually got back onto the M62 we stopped for lunch at a service area, and made the smart decision to shop for a few bits in Waitrose while we were there.

We eventually got to S’s mum’s at 3 pm, had a cup of tea, and then got a taxi to the hospital rather than driving there. J was sound asleep when we got there, and only woke when one of the nurses did a more vigorous wake up call than we did, when her evening meal arrived. We managed to get her to eat a few mouthfuls, plus half a banana, but she was struggling to stay awake.

Back home we heated up the Waitrose £15 “dinner in for two” deal of boeuf bourgignon and gratin dauphinois, followed by panna cotta. I think it was the best ready meal I’ve ever had; if you didn’t know it was, you wouldn’t be able to tell. Really delicious, with a fresh home-made flavour. And it’s going to be an early night I think.