Day 33. Thursday 28th June, 2007.

Said our Goodbyes to Jane at 7.45 am when she left for work, and to Remus at 8.45 am when we returned to Hythe to pick up Mum and drive to Eastleigh, to the Eastleigh market and the charity shops. 4 hours in Eastleigh. Shopping interrupted only by a coffee break for all three of us, and a lunch break for Mum and me while Rosemary continued shopping. Mum and I had a 5GBP (each) Indian buffer lunch in the Gandhi Restaurant on the perimeter of the Swan Shopping Centre. Then to Brian and Vickies for tea and biscuits. Brian took and early mark from work and was home by 3.15pm. After more goodbyes we left at 4.10pm and returned to Hythe. TBC.

Day 32. Wednesday 27th June, 2007.

A shopping trip to Waitrose for wheatgerm and Tesco for Weetos (amongst other things) then a Rosemary prepared omelette lunch. After lunch, having ascertained that Remus was home, then the three of us drove to Marchwood so Rosemary could adjust the suit that Mum had bought in Ringwood. Took Mum back to Hythe, and, not much later returned to Marchwood bearing a cooked chicken that Rosemary had prepared during the day. A fairly early dinner then Rosemary and I drove to 207 Wilton Road, Shirley, to visit Rosemary’s school friend Sue White and her husband Phil. A couple of hours there of chat, nibbles and one glass of wine and back to Jane’s and off to bed.

Day 31. Tuesday 26th June, 2007.

Drove to Hythe. Peter Howell arrived at about 11am and we decided to drive to Ringwood. John was at work in London, and Zena was managing children for Elaine as Peter Austin was late back from Glasonbury. I programmed the satnav to guide us to Ringwood, and just chose the first street on the screen, assuming that it would only show streets that actually existed in Ringwood. WRONG! It took us to Fawley, which, fortunately, was a relatively minor diversion. To Ringwood, through the showers. Peter bought some CDs and Mum bought a suit, both from the Cancer Research charity shop. Back to Hythe. John returned about 6.30pm and Zena around 7pm. At 7.15 Peter ferried in 2 loads to the Hythe Thai restaurant. This job fell to Peter as he was returning to Oxford that evening and so became our ‘designated’ driver. The dinner was pretty good, and, happily, reasonable value for money as it was ‘our shout’! A red wine night cap on our return to Hythe, and so to bed.

Day 30. Monday 25th June, 2007.

To Newton St Loe for Rosemary’s college reunion at “The Globe”. Drive took about 1 hour, in the rain, through narrow winding country roads. We were very surprised that the A368 was an ‘A’ road! A turnout of 18 old girls. Much chatting and laughter in the pub before and during lunch. Three men there, including me, we sat on a separate table and talked ‘men’ talk. All somewhat technical as the three included a Geologist, a Chemist, and me.

After lunch a visit to the old college which has morphed into the Bath Spa University, with 6,000 students and 1,000 employees. We lucked into an impromptu guided tour by one of the deputy Vice Chancellors, one Anthony Dewberry. Interesting and informative. Buildings are a mixture of old (14^th century), 1960 and 21^st century structures. All (or close to it) of all the old buildings have been renovated under the watchful gaze of the National Trust with grants from them and others, and are being used by the University for a variety of functions. Several of the oldest buildings we were shown around were crammed with cutting edge computers and plasma screens.

Then back to The Globe for afternoon tea and we left at 5.40pm. The drive through Bath was tediously slow, and then, between Warminster and Salibury, the A36 was closed. Got to Ean’s around 8pm.

Day 29. Sunday 24th June, 2007.

To Burnham. Rained most of the way. Rained most of the time we were there. About 13C. Salad lunch at 2 Stoddens Walk. Chris drove us all to town to look at the renovations at nbr 7 High Street. The stairs have been moved to a new position, and the upstairs converted into beauty parlour studios, plus a all room shower, and a spray on tan room. Then out to the cemetery to see Stella’s headstone. Then a short drive to look at Rosemary’s first home. Then called Rosebank, now merely 172 Barrow Road. Back to 2 Stoddens Walk for a cup of tea and sleeps all round – not sure if Chris had a nap, but the rest of us did. Then we drove in convoy to Lympsham (in the rain), offloaded, parked the car round the back, and the Caroline drove Phil, Rosemary and me to the Sidcot Arms where we had a pleasant meal – our shout. Back to Lympsham for coffee while I edited the photos taken that day and downloaded them to Caroline’s new computer. Then to bed around 10 pm.

Day 28. Saturday 23rd June, 2007.

John drove Anne, Rosemary and me to a nearby village/town called Tiptree. We did some shopping in Tesco preceded by visits to two very impressively stock shop. Staines (Hardware), The Cheap Shop (Art). Then a quick visit to a Food Fair being held in an old Essex Barn. The barn was a most impressive structure and some of the food quite intriguing. I was amazed to see ‘flying saucers’ on a confectionery stand. Lunch with Angus, Joan and Tom Mouland. I greeted Angus with “Hallo, Angus, Good to see you! You haven’t changed a bit!”. He looked me up and down and replied “You have!”

Left at 3.20, held up on M25 for 45 minutes by an accident. To Hythe just before 7pm. Left 7.20 pm to Italian Restaurant in Hythe, Mum’s treat with money from Doris’s estate. Very hot in the restaurant. Food very, very good.

Day 27. Friday 22nd June, 2007.

To Kelvedon. I’d mistakenly programmed ‘Jane’ for Kelvedon/Church Lane, instead of Kelvedon/Church Street. There isn’t a Church Lane in Kelvedon so we ended up in West Mersea. A caravan park was very helpful and gave us a computer printout of directions. Got to John and Anne’s just before 1 pm. Cold meat lunch. Rosemary had a snooze while John, Anne and I walked across the level crossing to the real countryside. Chicken dinner. John had two Gin and Mix (mixed vermouth). Anne and I managed a bottle of Wolf Blas Yellow Label cabernet sauvignon. After dinner John and I had a little Welsh single malt – very nice.

Day 26. Thursday 21st June, 2007.

Ann drove us to Kew Gardens, which, like Sydney’s Botanical Gardens, consists mostly of trees. My highlights were the giant Redwoods, and the giant Lily pads. Actually I was a bit disappointed with the Redwoods until I realised that they were far from fully grown. There was a brick paved solid circle set in the grass of the same diameter of the largest know Redwood. Over 8 metres! Gulp! We returned to Ann’s for lunch. All three of us sat at the table eating raw carrots. Must have looked funny. After lunch Rosemary and I took a surface train to London. Anne dropped on the bridge by the walkway to Richmond station. We bought 4GBP day return tickets from a vending machine. I was rather surprised when three ‘tichets’ arrived for the first ticked. Closer inspection showed one to be the “Out” ticket, another the “Rtn” tichet, and the third a receipt. We caubht the fast train to Waterloo. Took about 15 minutes. We walked from Waterloo station across the Hungerford bridge to the Strand, and then to the National Gallery. We took tea in the Sainsbury Wing, overlooking Trafalgar Square, and then strolled to Nelson’s column. About 20 minutes later I was tapped on the shoulder by Sarah. Jim, Sarah, Rosemary and I chatted for a few minutes in the square and then headed off towards Covent Garden. We spotted an Indian restaurant which met with general approval and had a good Indian meal in ? Tandoori – I had Tandoori mixed grill. After much chat over dinner we all walked to Charing Cross, said our goodbyes, promising to keep in touch and not wait another 15 years for our next get together. Rosemary and I took a train from Charing Cross to Waterloo East and then walked to Waterloo main station. We caught a stopping train to North Sheen. Walked back to Ann’s, over the level crossing, but had to ask directions. Jim and Sarah’s son is a chef in London. Daughter back in SA. Doing 2 Master’s degree Married to a guy who parents are both professors. Anne and I looked at old family photo after Rosemary had retired to bed.

Day 25. Wednesday 20^th June, 2007.

Drove to Brighton using Jane. Slight problem at the end of the drive as Jane didn’t know about the newest flyover etc at London Road. Sandwiches with John and Monika Woode, and then a stroll around Patcham village. Neither John nor I could believe how little the Ladies Mile Road hill now looks. Drove to Ann’s using Jane. No problem. Under 1 ½ hours. Christopher was there – off to France early the next day. Goes for a long weekend every 3 weeks or so. Tea and cake in back garden. Juliette cycled over for a while. Ann made dinner of chicken and couscous. Nice red.

Day 24. Tuesday 19^th June, 2007.

Vickie had a morning appointment so Brian drove just Rosemary and me to Portsmouth to visit the Spinnaker Tower. In the event Brian and visited the tower, and Rosemary visited the shops. Of note was a Liquorice kiosk selling sherbet filled liquorice and other exotic liquorice variants. We returned to Hedge End, picked up Vicke and lunched at the Water Margin Chinese restaurant in Romsey. Good food at a good price. Then we went on to the Wickham Winery. Brian and I took the very interesting audio tour while Vickie and Rosemary wandered about and checked out the shop. Bit of wine tasting and buying then home for dahl tea. Peter arrived shortly after with Grace (8 months old) and Joshua (nearly 8 years old). Later on Louisa arrived and Peter took Joshua back to Winchester. In between times I played ‘Tennis ball on a piece of string attached to a pole’ with Joshua. We had great fun.

Day 23. Monday 18^th June, 2007.

To Brian’s. Pub lunch then Makro’s. Lazed around in the afternoon while Rosemary & Vickie shopped for Dahl ingredients, then Rosemary made Dahl, which we had for dinner. Brian and I supped red wine from the middle of the afternoon and managed to recycle a couple of bottles.

Day 22. Sunday 17^th June, 2007.

Rosemary on the mend. Father’s day. Elaine, Sam & Henry came, and, a little later Peter. Lunch, followed by a little soccer with Sam and much blowing of bubbles. To Jane’s, Peter following. Much trumpet talk between Remus and Peter, including ‘blacking out’ shories after protracted high notes. Rosemary and I took Jack back to Tring, and then returned to Ean’s, where we had a late chicken salad. I had a glass of Ean’s Father’s day port to keep him company. Such altrusism!

Day 21. Saturday 16^th June, 2007.

Rosemary woke up with a splitting headache which was resistant to Paracetamol and she had to take some Co-codonal (Paracetamol with 8% codeine) to kill it. We both got up very late in the morning, well, in truth, early in the afternoon!

Zena and John collected Mum at 2.30. Mum looked as right as rain but did say that she didn’t start the day well. Her blood pressure was high again and the nurses gave her twice her normal dosage of blood pressure control pills which brought her blood pressure down quite quickly but made her feel ‘off’ for a while. Later on she felt OK again. The doctor checked her over and decided that the pacemaker was working too much and lowered its cut in setting from 50 beats per minute to 40. Mum lasted the day perfectly OK, sitting up for dinner (tender lamb shanks, creamed potatoes, leeks, courgettes and mushrooms) and drinking a couple of glasses of red wine as though nothing unusual had happened for ages. Off to bed by 10 pm!

Day 20. Friday 15^th June, 2007.

Today Ean and Vee had some concrete delivered, quite a lot, as part of a conservatory that they are constructing. We stood around, unable to help as we had no suitable clothing, as E and V raked and smoothed the concrete. Then we came to Hythe to learn that Zena had spoken to Mum who was still waiting to be seen by the consultant. Mum phoned up at about quarter past one to say that the consultant recommended a pace maker and may be able to fit her in today if she agreed to proceed. She wanted to talk things through and said that the doctor would be available at 2pm to discuss the pros and cons of the procedure. Zena and I rushed off to the hospital but didn’t see the doctor for about 40 minutes, at Mum’s bedside. Mum was particularly concerned about the risk of a stroke but the Doctor said that there was no additional risk with the particular type of pacemaker – a one wire device – that they planned to implant as the type most suitable for her particular condition. While the Doctor was talking to us a nurse poked her head through the curtains to tell us that Mum was next on the list! We finished the formalities with the consent form, wished Mum well and left. The operation is done under local anaesthetic and takes ½ hour to 1 hour. The pacemaker consists of a controller and battery which is located in a pocket under the skin and a wire which is threaded through a vein to the heart. Any adjustments are done ‘magnetically’, from outside the body. As we understand it the pacemaker will only operate if it detects that the heart is slowing down, or is skipping a beat. Mum will have to continue taking the drug that she is currently taking to stop the heart beating too quickly. The operation is followed by 1 hour in the recovery room, after which visitors are permitted. Zena plans to phone up at 5.30 pm for a progress report, and, hopefully, we’ll see Mum this evening, though she will have to stay in hospital for another couple of days to check for infection and to fine tune the pace maker.

Zena phoned at 5.30 to learn that Mum had just returned to the ward. Everything had gone well, no complications, and it was OK to visit. Zena drove in with Rosemary and me, and dropped Rosemary and me at the main entrance while she parked the car. We were first to the ward and found Mum eating her dinner and looking as though she hadn’t had an operation at all! She was anxious about her blood pressure pills as her blood pressure was high and, for some reason, the hospital wanted Zena to bring in Mum’s pills from home. Zena had brought the pills, so that was alright, and Mum told us about the operation. A little later on the doctors did a round of the ward, and, after studying Mum’s paperwork and giving her a check over, the senior doctor said he’d check her again in the morning and subject to that, she could return home in the afternoon.

We got back to Linwood Close around 8 pm and started dinner which was rabbit and sliced potatoes au gratin. Excellent. Rosemary got sleepy between courses and lay on the sofa for a snooze before going to bed. John, Zena and I followed her later. Much later.

Day 19. Thursday 14^th June, 2007.

Left Marchwood and drove to Eastleigh to visit the Thursday edition of the Eastleigh market. Pretty good. We bought some gammon, a pound of cherries for a pound, and a piece of jewellery for Rosemary – I’ll try to do it justice in a photo. Then Rosemary continued to explore the street shops while I ferried purchases back to the car. Rosemary didn’t even make it to the “Swan Centre”, despite the nearly 3 hours we spent there. Then back to Marchwood for lunch and then to Landford. Had barely reached Landford when I had a phone call from Zena. Zena had taken Mum to Southampton General Hospital to have a heart monitor fitted. Zena asked Mum if it was OK to park in the car park and walk from there. Mum said that this would be fine and only later realised that the walk to the hospital proper was slightly uphill. She got a little puffed out, and stopped for a breather. Then on to the hospital and to the coronary clinic where they started to fit the heart monitor. As they were doing so Mum had one of her ‘turns’. This was not caught on the monitor. The nurse completed fitting the monitor and shortly after she had finished doing so Mum had another ‘turn’. This was caught on the monitor and they looked at the record and reported that Mum’s heart had stopped for 3 ½ seconds. They suggested that she be admitted for further observation. Mum, reluctantly, agreed. A doctor suggested that the consultant may recommend a pace maker. Time will tell.

Rosemary had very nobly volunteered to do some ironing. She found Vee’s iron very heavy but soldiered away perched on the window ledge.

We boiled the gammon (converting it into ham) in the afternoon while Ean & Jonathan were in the Winchester at the movies, and Vee at work at the surgery.

Dinner was a spread out arrangement. We had ours at about 6.30. Vee returned about 7:15 having bought and eaten chips on the way home, and Ean and Jonathan phoned up when they left the cinema and ate the moment they arrived back. Rosemary retired a little early, worn out by shopping, cooking and ironing, and I stayed watching an under 21 European championship soccer match between England and Italy. England led 2-0 at half time – it could easily have been a greater lead – but the match ended 2-2.

Day 18. Wednesday 13^th June, 2007.

We – Mum, Rosemary and I - spent the morning in Southampton, firstly at West Quay, then, briefly at Above Bar in British Home Stores, and finally in Debenhams in a fruitless search for a lightweight, greenish, long sleeved casual jacket for Mum. Not many suitable jackets to choose from, and none that fitted well enough. Then back to Linwood Close where Rosemary cooked us a super mushroom and bacon omelette. A bit of a rest after lunch and then we all went to Waitrose for a little shopping. Then back to Marchwood where Jane had just got home and Remus was hard at work grouting the floor tiles in the conservatory. Rosemary made some curried chicken and after a little TV we had an early night.

Day 17. Tuesday 12^th June, 2007.

Again fairly early to Hythe and I dropped Rosemary and Mum in Hythe to attend the Tuesday market. While they were there I drove to Tesco to for petrol and to (partially) replenish John’s cellar. Zena gave Rosemary two sudoku that she had found challenging which absorbed Rosemary for most of the afternoon. I caught up a bit with this, sorted out, edited and uploaded some photos, and then Mum and I tried to sort out how to get her VCR to record one program while her DVD recorder is recording another. Dinner was one of John’s specials – a cook it yourself on a 2 level electrically heated device. Just as well that the weather had cooled down a bit. We cooked smallish pieces (about 2 or 3 bite size) pieces of beef, turkey, tuna and also prawns on the hot plate, while under the hot plate, in little trays, we cooked vegetables with cheese. Great fun. John had a rare ‘failure’ with his bread maker. The wholemeal bread hadn’t risen at all. I thought that the result was like Vogel bread and very nice! John and I started the evening with Pernod and things went down hill from there…

Day 16. Monday 11^th June, 2007.

We motored to Hythe moderately early, sat around talking for a while, and then took Mum to Romsey to do some shopping at Bradbeers, an up market department store. She didn’t find what she was looking for, though. In the meantime I went around the Aldi which has replaced the Waitrose that used to be there. Bought some wine and beer to replenish Jane’s stock. Then we took Mum back to Hythe and returned to Marchwood in good time for Rosemary to prepare a meal of dahl and cold chicken.

I chatted with Remus and Jane after dinner while Rosemary knocked off a few sudoku.

Slept on top of the doona again.

Day 15. Sunday 10^th June, 2007.

In the morning we, that is Jane, Rosemary and I, drove to the weekly car boot sale at Netley Marsh. Jane was quite eager to go as she wanted to see if she could spot Jack’s bike – she didn’t. The sale as held in a large field. There were several hundred cars and vans with things to sale, arranged in 4 aisles, as in a supermarket. Rosemary bought a cheap rug of the Glaude’s new conservatory and that was it! As the weather was quite warm we then drove to Ean’s to pick up some shorts and sandals for me, and the remains of the dahl, which was only enough for a lunch for one person. Vee told Rosemary that they’d finished the dahl, and here is the washed up bowl. “Sorry about the teeth marks, but I found it in Jonathan’s room.” Fortunately the bowl was nothing special and Zena was amused rather than annoyed. When we reached Langtrees, all the dogs were in the garden and went absolutey barmed when we arrived. The most excitable one is, of course, Joker as he is much the youngest, and he tends to set the others off. Anyway, we collected our stuff and went back to Marchwood where Remus was all set to cook some ribs on the barbeque used and technique honed over many years of practice. Becky, badly affected by hay fever, and Steve came to lunch, but couldn’t stay long as Becky had an appointment in Fareham. In between various baseball games we watched most of the 500cc motorbike GP at the Catalunya track in Spain. A race that was very exciting over the final few laps as Casey Stoner and Valentino Rossi kept overtaking one another. There was a happy ending – Casey Stoner (Australian) won the race!

Then we watched a review of Mike Tyson’s career up to the point that he lost the championship to Buster Douglas.

While Remus and I were lazing around watching sport, Jane was doing school reports and Rosemary was preparing another batch of dahl – a hit with everyone who has tried it – and a roast chicken for the evening meal.

To my surprise Jane had got in some wine – very thoughtful of her. I was fully expecting to have a ‘dry day’ but I drank the wine gratefully.

It was warm overnight and we both slept on top of the doona.

Day 14. Saturday 9^th June, 2007.

Today we went over to the Glaude’s mid morning. A little bit early, as it turned out, as the Saturday morning morning lie in wasn’t fully completed! Unfortunately tools and Jack’s bike had been stolen from the shed a day or two earlier. Jack is particularly miffed as this is the second of his bikes that has been stolen from here. Remus lost most of his new tools, but, luckily for Ean, the not-so-new tools that he had lent Remus had not been taken. We did ‘catch up’ for most of the day until it was time to leave for dinner at the Mandarin Chef. Remus offered to drive us all as he (and Jane) have decided that life is better without alcohol. We were the first to arrive, but everyone was early so we were starting to look at menus before the appointed 7pm. At Vee’s suggestion we ordered 8 starters (one each) and 4 mains. This worked out very well. We had a lot of variety and everyone had enough to eat without there being heaps left over. I showed off my new camera, and Brian, Jane and Remus all shot short videos of the group. The food was good, sometimes very good, and the service was excellent. Rosemary (and I) got a little cold so Brian asked that the air conditioner being turned down.

Day 13. Friday 8^th June, 2007.

We returned to Linwood Close by about 9.20 am. I dropped Mum and Rosemary in Hythe to do some shopping, carried on with some small odd jobs for Mum, had a light lunch, and at 12.30 pm Zena drove John and me to the Hythe ferry wharf, and picked up Mum and Rosemary. John and I took the Ferry to Southampton Town Quay, then the Citylink bus to Asda, then walked to the Guildhall to attend the Southampton Beer Festival. A number of John’s work colleagues were there. We sample a range of ‘real ales’ which I rather liked, though I don’t like the ‘bitter’ served in the pubs. I had one glass of cider which I was startled to read was 7% alcohol, but John outscored me comprehensively with a Belgian beer which was 8.5% alcohol. Nonetheless we walked back to the Ferry and returned to Hythe were Zena kindly picked us up.

For dinner John prepared Duck breasts. Judging by the size of the one I had it must have come from the Dolly Parton of ducks. Very, very tasty. A little less wine than usual, for some reason…

Day 12. Thursday, 7^th June, 2007.

Today we returned to Langtrees Farm, partly, at least, so Rosemary could borrow Vee’s sewing machine and do some sewing for Mum. Rosemary also prepared an evening meal of roast pork, which interested the dogs greatly until we ushered them out of the kitchen and closed the door. Jonathan is well into his exams now and seems happy with how he’s doing so far. As far as we can gather he’s retaking exams that he has previously taken – he got an A for every one of them – in order to get a higher score, as the aggregate score (not the number of As) is what really counts. We did a little shopping in the local Landford shops. One a farm greengrocery, and the other the village store. I was amused to see a notice in the window of the store that read: “Found, very tame adult Ferret.” !!!

Day 11. Wednesday, 6^th June, 2007.

Today we drove to Wilton Shopping Village, which is 3 miles west of Salisbury. Before setting off I tried to work out why Jane (Zena’s GPS unit) was not charging when plugged into the cigarette lighter socket. Did a bit more checking at the end of the day and it seems that the socket is unpowered. The car is a no smoking car, and does not appear to contain the cigarette lighter itself. Perhaps the socket is deliberately unpowered? Seems unlikely as many people would want to charge their mobile phones, for example. Anyway, off to Wilton, Jane on battery power which gave out before we reached Salisbury. Rosemary navigated us successfully the rest of the way, so all was well. The Wilton Shopping Village is rather like Birkenhead point in a somewhat older setting, with the fast flowing River Wylye running through it and plenty of Mallard ducks about. Rosemary and Mum spent quite a few happy hours checking out each shop in detail. Between them they bought nuts, muesli, slip ons for Rosemary, and a trouser suit for Mum. At about 11.30 we had a cup of coffee in the indoors upstairs restaurant, and Mum and I shared a slice of treacle tart. I was interested to sample this as I haven’t eaten any treacle tart for a very long time. It’ll be a long time before I’ll want to sample it again!

Then more shopping while I read my library book –“A Fighting Man” by Gerald Seymour. Eventually they ran out of puff and joined me on the bench. Rosemary knew that I’d looked for replacement shoes in the shoe shop without success, and asked if I’d seen some ‘bargains’ in other shops. At the second place she led me to, we hit the jackpot and I bought a decent pair of trainers with leather uppers for 5 pounds (about A$12) which certainly was a bargain, much more so than any I’d seen in the shoe shop.

Then we started back, stopping briefly at the Salisbury Tesco – where Johathan works part time as a check out chick – so Mum could buy a fry pan, some recloseable airtight plastic containers, and look for, unsuccessfully, bias binding tape.

The evening meal was bangers and mash, but the bangers were a bit special. Old English Pork, Pork and leek, and Pork and apple made by John’s favourite butcher. Very nice too, though I didn’t have any mashed potato, preferring to stick with Irish Wheaten Bread which we’d bought at the Hythe Tesco on Monday. Followed by a fruit salad that Rosemary had prepared on which most of us poured cream and Framboise, a raspberry based liquer, which is a complements the cream wonderfully.

A little bit of cheese and off to bed. Relatively early, no stamina. Rosemary had a brief snooze before dinner – worn out by all the shopping, and lasted the meal, for the first time!

Day 10. Tuesday, 5^th June, 2007.

Today we drove to Alresworth to visit the shop of Long Barn Lavender Oil company. Zena lent us her Tomtom GPS gadget which was a great help. The shop was quite small but Mum did find something of interest and bought 2 bags of Lavender. We had a coffee and cake in a tea room and then drove to Langtrees Farm to pick up some clothes and spices etc (brought from Oz) and took Ean to The Red Rover for a pub lunch. Then back to Hythe, in theory to catch the tail end of the market, but we were too late, so did a little shopping for fruit in the shopping mall. Back to 9 Linwood Close. Rosemary made some Indian Dahl, and struggled a bit to get the balance right, presumably because the lentils etc were from different sources of supply to those that we normally use. Rosemary also made a fruit salad. John made a fish curry, with another couple of options, so we had an Indian meal. Dahl, followed by curry!

Rosemary is getting over her jet lag, was quite busy during the day, didn’t have a nap, but couldn’t quite last to 9pm. And so to bed.

Day 9. Monday, 4^th June, 2007.

Up fairly early then took Mum to Tesco for a big shopping expedition. I’d checked the day before that the store usually had wheel chairs available and Mum sat in one while I (mostly) pushed her around the store, up and down every aisle, while Rosemary (mostly) pushed the trolley. The strategy worked well as Mum was able to do a lot of shopping – we were there for close to 2 hours – without wearing herself out. She is still feeling the after effects of sitting/lying around in hospital for nearly 2 weeks. Now, happily, she seems full of beans. Didn’t do much in the afternoon, but did manage to persuade Mum’s talking video recorder to start operating again.

Another of John’s great meals, and to bed a more respectable hour – on the same day, in fact! Rosemary gradually getting over her jet lag, but it looks as though it will take 2 or 3 more days. As she could no longer stay awake by 8.30 pm she went to bed and left the rest of us to it.

Day 8. Sunday 3^rd June, 2007.

After breakfast we motored to Hythe and were pleased to see that Mum was feeling much better though her left leg still had a most unpleasant looking lump on it. Mum was quite dismissive of this saying that it was nothing compared what her leg had been like! Elaine arrived with Sam and birthday boy Henry not longer after and the next hour or so was an orgy of present opening, a lot of which seemed to be from Uncle Peter! Then a children biased lunch, followed by a Thomas the Tank Engine birthday cake. Then some playing on the back lawn with the boys in the bright sunshine. Rosemary left a message for Jane who called back about 30 minutes later and we drove to Marchwood. Met Remus for the first time, admired the nearly completed conservatory which is larger than I had expected – quite spacious, in fact – and caught up with Jack before he left to return to school at the end of his half term.

We had a cup of tea and a chat and then returned to Hythe. Rosemary very sleepy so she had a snooze while I hooked the laptop up to Mum’s TV and showed her our photos so far, and some from earlier in the year.

Then a super chicken meal that John had prepared and ‘sampling’ of some Oz Shiraz and a blind taste test of Nikka single malt whisky versus a Scottish single malt. They were very similar in smell and taste but the one I slightly preferred turned out to be the Nikka, and vice versa for John. Late to bed…

Day 7. Saturday 2^nd June, 2007.

Left the hotel at 07.55 on the Limousine bus. One of the announcements on the bus asks passengers to switch their mobile phones to silent mode, and to refrain from speaking on their phones as it may annoy other passengers! Arrived at Narita by 09.30 and checked in amazingly quickly. We were assisted in using an automatic check in machine which scanned our passports and printed boarding passes. Still had to check in the cases by hand, though. The flight appeared to be full, other than that all went well. Heathrow looked shabby in comparison to Narita. We were through passport control very quickly, but the queue for non-European passport holders was very long. The wait for baggage was not too bad, 20 or 30 minutes, not bad. As the plane had landed a little early – at about 16.10 – we were on the way in our Ford Focus by 10 to 6 and reached E & V’s around 10 past 7, quite a bit earlier than we had expected.

Vee had popped out to the surgery as she wanted to check on a sick puppy, but was soon back and rustled up an nice light supper, salad, cold meat and a variety of rolls and cheeses that we were not really able to justice to. Then a bit of unpacking and to bed.

Day 6. Friday 1^st June, 2007.

Packing day.

The weather at the start of the day was rain and heavy cloud. Happily, by the time we made our customary 10 am departure it had stopped raining, and by mid afternoon there was scarcely a cloud in the sky.

Today we went to Odaiba, an island in Tokyo Bay formed from reclaimed land. We took a JR train one station south, to Ooimachi, then changed to the private Rinkai line, which, conveniently, accepts Suica cards. To reach the Rinkai line, which travels under the bay in a tunnel, we descended a very long escalator, then, to our surprise, had to go down another, though this one was not so long. Soon we reached Tokyo Teleport station. We studied the wall map in the station and planned out strategy. First to Palette city, then through the arcade and then we’ll see. As we entered Palette city, I noticed a driverless car on an enclosed circuit. Half and hour later Rosemary and I were in a similar car, taking the 7 minute tour. I was in the driver’s seat but, other than pressing the green button when it started to flash, it was strictly hands off – and feet off, for that matter. Rather odd, sitting there while the steering wheel turned itself!

A star attraction of Palette city is the giant Ferris wheel - now only the second biggest in the world (second to the London Eye). We did NOT take a ride. Toyota has a huge presence in Palette city. The driverless car, a mammoth car show room, and various design exhibitions and an auto museum. The rest of Palette city consisted of arcade games, eating places and shops. We looked at a few small restaurants before lunch time. By the time we were hungry there were no nearly restaurants to our taste so we ended up buying a couple of Yakitori sticks and other bits and pieces from an AM/PM (like a 7-11) and having a picnic. I should mention that the shopping areas, all under cover, were a simulation of walking through a European (Italian?) ‘old town’ to the extent that the ceilings were high and painted to resemble blue sky and clouds. Very impressive, if you like that sort of thing.

After lunch we caught a free shuttle bus and went to the other main section. Firstly to Aqua City – more shops and eating places, cinemas, more shops etc. Fortunately there was also an elevated board walk with striking views of the Rainbow Bridge, Tokyo Bay, Tokyo city, and the main Odaiba beaches. Not Manly, perhaps, but beats Brighton hands down.

I should have mentioned earlier that Odaiba has a number of very striking modern buildings. Maybe not quite as ‘out there’ as Shanghai, but great fun, nonetheless. The most striking of all was the Fuji TV building. There were very few people about, we assumed that Odaiba does the vast bulk of its business at the weekend, and during the school holidays. Made things very comfortable for us, though.

We caught a sort of hybrid train/bus that travelled over the Rainbow bridge and which terminated in Shimbashi, where, unsurprisingly enough, we got off. The views from the train were magnificent. I’m afraid that my twisting and turning in my seat to take photos woke up the passenger next to me…To the passenger the hybrid train/bus seemed to be a train, in particular a subway train, but it didn’t run on railway lines. However it may as well have done as that appeared to be the only difference between it and a train. It wasn’t sharing the road with other vehicles, it had its own dedicated trackway.

As we had to change from the private line to JR at Shimbashi, we decided to stroll around a bit. As far as we could tell, the area around this part of Shimabashi station consisted of Pachinko parlours and restaurants. I was amazed at the number of Pachinko parlours there.

Not long at Shimbashi, then back on the trusty Yamanote line to our old pal Shinagawa station. Second day in row with no mistakes or mishaps, and without seeking help even once! Wow!

Then, packing…

Day 5. 31^st May, 2007.

Another gentle start to the day, but we did manage to leave the hotel before 10 am. We caught JR Yamanote line to Shimbashi – the train was very crowded, just short of downright unpleasant, changed to the Ginza subway line and travelled to Asakusa. There we had a look at the houseboats on the river and then walked through the Nakamise shopping arcade to the Asakusa Kannon Temple. We explored, extensively, the adjoining small streets and then had lunch in a Pepper Lunch restaurant. Very nice food and very reasonably priced. Y500 for a main course of cubes of steak, bean sprouts, runner beans and a couple of slices of carrot, and a plate of rice. Other than the rice the food arrived on a very hot cast iron plate and one turned the cubes of meat to cook to taste. To order the meal we had to get tickets from a vending machine, thus paying beforehand for the meal without the need of any person handling money. Neat.

We strolled around Asakusa for a while longer and bought 4 bananas for Y98. Very tasty, too.

Then back on the subway to Ginza. We dipped briefly into the small Harrods section of the Mitzukoshi department store, then walked along the main drag until we found the Ginza Five arcade that I used to walk through when I had some free time when staying at the Imperial Hotel. Rosemary’s knees were complaining about the stairs that we’d had to climb so we slowly made the trek back to the Ginza subway station, took the subway one stop to Shimbashi, changed to JR and soon back to Shinagawa. This time we did not go wrong at all. Took more time and care and found our way around and out of the station OK. I did make one enquiry, but just to be sure, to be sure.

Rosemary had a snooze, I connected to the internet and nipped out to the local shops, then dinner, followed by blogging and photo stuff while Rosemary explored more of the shops in the hotel. And so to bed.

Day 4. 30th May, 2007

Today we had a lie in and a slow start to the day. We explored to the left of the hotel and found another 7-11 and lots of little restaurants, including a block of them that Takeda san had told me about.

Saito san arrived at 2.15 but without Yoko san who had to stay at home as a new gas range was being installed. We took the JR Yokosuka line to Kinshicho and then a taxi (driven by what appeared to be a nonagenarian) to Takeda’s home. Ota san was waiting on the street to direct us to the correct house. Everyone except Ebihara san, who arrived a little later, was already there. Takeda san showed us his office set up on the ground floor. A double room full of computers, copiers and other office equipment. Then upstairs to the party! A couple of low tables loaded with food, including sashimi tuna, bonito and squid, crab salad, sushi, and several other dishes that I don’t know the name of. Happily we were able to sit on a sofa as our legs wouldn’t put up with sitting on the floor for very long. As everyone present had a few miles on the clock there were some others who found it a bit of a challenge, but everyone else managed far, far better that we would have been able to. We started with beer, and a toast of welcome to everyone, and worked our way through white wine, sake, shochu, and red wine. I did, anyway, and I wasn’t the only one! As if there wasn’t enough food already, after the partly had been going for an hour or two, Takeda san and Noriko san prepared Tempura mushroom, asparagus, fish and prawn. Yummy!

A great time was had by all.

Saito san escorted back to the hotel – just as well – and we collapsed into bed.