Busy

It's been a busy day or two. Tuesday saw us at Homebase getting some fertiliser & seed potatoes.

Yesterday was the day for a quick pack. We pared our packing down to a minimum. As a result I was surprised to discover the case for the hold weighed in at 14kg. With this in mind we're thinking we may just add the odd extra T-shirt or two. We should still be way under the 20kg we've paid for. And the shoulder bag we're taking has hardly anything in it except a smaller shoulder bag & camera for more convenient use while we're there. There's obviously a few extra odds & ends to pack - medication for example - but there should be plenty of capacity even if we come back with a few souvenirs.

This morning has been a bit of a rush. As we've used up everything that is likely to go off, the Fox suggested maybe we could have a final curry before we go. (The French idea of a curry involves a pinch of curry powder & that's it! We will miss our spice while we're away.) So I hastily got a beef curry on the go before I even made myself a cup of tea to start the day. 

Mid-morning saw me off on the Mean Machine, my electric scooter, to return jigsaws to the library & discover what the next read will be with the book club there so I know what to look out for when we're looking for a few books to buy for holiday reading - we'll do that while we're waiting to board the plane. 

Then I quickly popped into the Co-op to buy a puzzle magazine to keep me going on the flight. (I always find it difficult to read or dose on flights. My interest in looking out of the window quickly wanes once we're above the cloud cover.) 

Finally it was to the hairdresser for shearing. (The Fox got his done yesterday while I was packing. He also managed to get the euros for the holiday.)

We look all set for the trip. We were surprised earlier in the week to get a phone call from the travel agent. They had been contacted by the French property owner to check when we would be arriving, to let us know they provided a welcome food pack so we wouldn't need to worry about getting salt & pepper, sugar, tea, butter etc. They're also provided washing powder, washing up liquid etc. They were wondering if we needed a board putting down on the cobbled courtyard to make it easier for me in a wheelchair to cross. Apparently there's also a lip somewhere that they wanted to know if we wanted a ramp putting out to get me over. They left their e-mail address & phone numbers so we quickly sent off an e-mail both in English & French. I see today we've got a reply. From the sound of the English they've replied in I think they must be French. The English was on a par with our French ie with the odd wrong tense, colloquialism that isn't quite right. Still it's clear we shouldn't have any trouble communicating with them, between their English & our French. 

It has to be admitted their phone call to the travel agent lifted our spirits. Somehow organising this trip seems to have been hard work, with not getting our first choices of places, insurance worries, car hire difficulties, rising hotel prices at Liverpool. We were beginning to wonder if it was worth all the effort. But finally it sounds as though we've found some nice people. Neither the travel agent or us have ever known a gite owner go to the effort to ring up to find out exactly what my requirements as a wheelchair user are. Usually you get there & sigh with relief that I can still walk about a bit otherwise the property would be totally inaccessible despite what the owner might think.

This afternoon it will be a trip down to the Pub. PD has already been on the phone to make sure we're going. He reckons he won't be going out again until we're back so wants to make the most of us while we're still here. We've ignored all his other pleas. This may also relax us a bit after all the running around we've been doing just lately.

Then tomorrow we're off. We're not leaving until mid-afternoon. We're hoping to be able to print out the return boarding passes before we leave home. We've also got the odd bill yet to pay & the last minute bits of packing to do. But that's it. We'll get a meal on the way down or at the hotel in Liverpool. 

Now we just keep our fingers crossed all goes well & the holiday is a success.