Monday 7th July. Wineham, West Sussex. UK. Weather, various!

Some enjoyable interludes in the last month or so.

Arriving back in the UK on the 23rd of June, to prepare for brother Ash flying in from New Zealand on 27th, we were at Gatwick’s #2 terminal in perfect time to see him emerge amongst hundreds of others.

Taking Poki, which could much better accommodate his bike bag, meant that we had to park in the remote Long Stay car park, well away from the terminal. Poki is too tall for closer car parks. The Long Stay park is massive and almost completely full. I guess Brits are commencing their holidays? Finding space in ‘W’ Section it didn’t take long for the articulated bus to arrive and deposit us at the appropriate terminal. What a brilliant system. For years I have bemoaned the seeming lack of planning for passengers and pick-ups, at Heathrow. Customer convenience is catching on.

Ash arrived tired after a very long flight but without his phone. Left in a customs inspection tray at Hainan airport. Security would not let him back into the terminal to retrieve it!!! Jen offered him the use of a discarded 10 year old Samsung, but after purchasing a new SIM card, he decided it was way too slow and unfamiliar, compared to the lost iPhone. A new 2nd hand phone purchased from Amazon arrived the next day, and he’s happy again..:) With maps loaded, and after a few days recuperation, he was eager to get on his bike and head to Northampton to visit his friend Gill, recovering from a stroke.

Back to the airport. Heathrow this time.

Airport pick ups are reoccurring. On 4th of July, James, Jen’s 44 year old son, arrived from San Francisco to join wife Sarah, children Jasper, Anna and Siena. Arriving at the new Terminal 2, at Heathrow. WOW!! What a difference. The car park a short lift ride away from reception and seating available for waiting greeters. Gone, the traipsing up and down floors, and along endless corridors.

Sarah has been in the UK for the past week on business, the children staying with Sarah’s parents in Somerset. James flew in to be with his family and to celebrate Bill and Penny, Sarah’s globetrotting, motorcycling parents celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary. Driving James down to Somerset in Poki, with the sat-nav taking us through beautiful and historic villages and picturesque countryside. Jen, unable to see much, being relegated to sitting in the “dining” area. James’ legs are too long for that space…:)

The party.

Extended family.

Everyone enjoyed a wonderful, lavishly catered party. Kelly, Sarah’s younger sister, husband Louis, with children Meredith and Finn, were over from France. Neighbours, former comrades of Bills Royal Navy Fleet Air arm and associated services and Penny’s walking group, made for a most enjoyable evening. Music provided by an Afro/Caribbean steel band. One of the guests, John, a neighbour, had spent many years living in Havelock North, in New Zealand. A keen history buff, very knowledgeable of early English history, and of New Zealand’s too, invited us to join him the next morning to show us a pre-Viking monument.

James in the foreground, Jen, and John expressing….something…:)

While expressing a keen desire to return to New Zealand, I don’t think John would enjoy the radical Maoritisation the country is going through.

Unfortunately we had to decline the invitation. Jen’s friend Victoria had recently suffered a stroke and was recovering in Bournemouth Hospital, and we needed to visit her. What’s with these strokes?

Hospital visit.

Sleeping in Poki again was a joy. By 9am we were packed and said our goodbyes to the family and headed back towards Bouremouth. I’m delighted to say Victoria, though frail after spending 18 hours on the bathroom floor before being found, was remarkably outwardly unaffected by the stroke. It’s sad that we live so far from her and can’t visit and comfort her more often.

While at the hospital I took the opportunity of visiting outpatients. A flaky patch of skin on my forehead had suddenly become very swollen following an application of ointment and I was terrified that it could be cancerous! Reassuringly, a Bangladeshi Doctor prescribed some antibiotics. The British health system, despite the domestic grumbling, works brilliantly.

By 7pm we were back home. Tired but loved having contact with family and friends. Poki drove like the dream it is. Our next short journey will be to visit John & Fantu west of here and we’ll pop on and visit Victoria too. We are keen to hear how friend John enjoyed his ‘LeJog’ bike ride. Twelve hundred miles, depending on route.

Next adventure

With a birthday coming up, yikes!!, Jen has decided to take me somewhere, where I’ve apparently expressed a desire to visit. I have no recollection of where, so that’s going to be fun…:)

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