The day before

The day before we go to France always seems to be fraught. No matter how well organised I try to be during the week or so before, there always seems to be more than I can cope with on that last day. Matters have not been helped this time by the fact that the Old Bat is still not happy that her wrist has enough strength for it to be safe for her to drive so if she wants to go anywhere, I have to drive her. And on Friday mornings she visits the MS treatment centre for high dosage oxygen treatment. This means that I have to walk the dog earlier than usual, then spend a couple of hours driving to Southwick, filling in time by doing shopping, and then driving home again, by which time it is nearly lunch time.

This morning I needed to put diesel in the car. Unfortunately, I had not managed to stretch the last tankful to allow me to get Boulogne where the prices are lower than here. I couldn't be fussed to put in just a couple of gallons but regretted the decision when I realised what the tankful was going to cost me. £75! I have never before spent that much on diesel in one go. Petrol and diesel are sold in litres now, so it is not easy to adjust immediately to a price per gallon, but I've just done the calculation: £5.54 a gallon!! I can remember when you would buy four gallons of petrol and get change from a ten bob note!

Oh well, it's no good crying over spilt milk. The dog is now in kennels, but I still have to check next week's TV schedule and set the recorder as necessary, see to the seedlings that will need keeping alive while we are away, work out how to set the boiler so that it goes off while we are away but comes back on in time to provide hot water when we return, check the tyre pressures and eventually think about packing. The June issue of Jungle Jottings can wait until I get back!