Surprising the sparrows

Surprising the sparrows, Lorraine and I sprang up at six nasty and left at 7am for Ashford, driving into the rising sun. Lorraine brought breakfast with us, which we ate in Ashford. 

Lorraine then drove Pat to his medical appointment, and I enjoyed chatting with Maureen and Claudia who over from Finland with her boyfriend Jonas. Jonas had never been to England before, but was able to speak English well. 

Maureen on top form, and there was a comedy routine with boiled eggs for Claudia and Jonas, whose egg tops wouldn't come off with knives and spoons. Maureen hammering on them, and explaining to people how to eat boiled eggs -- Claudia laughing lots.  

Lovely to see Claudia, for the second time this year. She and Jonas had flown over yesterday to Heathrow, and she had taken Business Class because she had inherited an airline card from a colleague. She said there was a Finnish minister on board, and an eccentric software multimillionaire from Finland who is called the Elf, and she found a picture of him. He looks a bit like Legolas in Lord of the Rings. She also told me she had been promoted at work, and is now a senior engineer. 

Safe home from the appointment, Lorraine drove everyone off to Longacres a garden centre with lots of other bits, and came back to collect me later. Meanwhile I accepted a bit of freelance for next week, to take the squeakiness out of Christmas, and to work on my writing for a few minutes.   

At Longacres we all had some food: me baked potato with cheese and beans and salad. The place is catnip for retired folks, and is very busy. I popped to the loo at one point, and there was a sign I noticed on an open door to a cubicle telling people not to dispose of incontinence pads.  At one point, I slipped away to look at the tropical fish department. For the first time saw some tiny half-beaks (Hemiramphus fluviatilis) which I'd never seen before in the pointy faced flesh. One day I will have an aquarium again. 

Lorraine drove Pat and Maureen and myself hom. I fell asleep on the armchair -- as I felt extremely tired for some reason.  Then when Lorraine drove the others home, I enjoyed chatting with Claudia and Jonas.

Listening again to BBC radio 2 in the car. A DJ called Vernon Kay running all week, 40 miles today up hills, on some hideous week-long ultramarathon for Children in Need. When we drove to Ashford he had started, and when we were driving home in the dark, he was still going. I'm an old cynic, but I found it impressive.

On the way home, we passed through Alfriston, and Lorraine drove the car through three flooded bits, luckily making it through following a very tentative car who wasn't driving fast enough.

Home at last, and hopefully the last of the driving for Lorraine for a day or so.

Below Claudia and Maureen.