Yesterday I set off to take my son to lesson, a three and a half hours lesson. The place isn’t that far, about half an hour, only, that is one hour drive if I stay, two if I don’t.

Therefore, I had decided I would stay. But what to do in such a long time?!

I leave the house “well equipped”:

• walking gear, I intend to go for a one hour walk. Can’t do more unfortunately as my sciatica will not let me (:
• kindle
• crossword puzzles ( I have recently rediscovered them!)
• 3 previously downloaded episodes of a new Netflix series (generously suggested by said son, who taught me how to do the download on my phone. Although not certain I can put up with watching them on something THAT LITTLE!!)
• Supermarket shopping list and bags

In the car I even have a duvet…it has been there for the last month, longing to be taken to the laundrette! You never know, if I fall asleep it might come handy!! Anyway, I am set to last three and a half hours in that land.

Along the road to get there I feel nauseous…it gets worse and worse… I leave my son and go the bar to get a coke (he says that might sort me out). My schedule is already threatened!!

I sit there dressed as a pro, walking gear, sunglasses….. sipping a coke and smoking! Well, the coke is therapeutic….

Half way through sipping my coke I decide to start walking….a little stop back to the car to make sure for another ten minutes that I am not sick along the road and then , away we go! About 20 minutes into my walk the sky starts looking menacing…mmmm….another five minutes and the first drops start…

I decide to enter a second bar. Well, I had forgotten to bring a bottle of water I suppose..but I need the toilet too and perhaps the water isn’t enough of an excuse to do that and sit down while I wait for the rain to stop. So I also buy a little sandwich, just after having had lots of trouble digesting lunch…

I am setting off again. it has stopped raining. Well, it had…five minutes later I stop at the third bar!!!!! Thank god there’s plenty of those around there!

I am running out of cash by now, so I order a coffee, knowing full well I will not be able to sleep tonight! And I wait some more. By this time I have been out for one and a half hours…I am risking to get behind schedule.

The sun comes out, yes! I leave, no more bars beyond this area, I have about twenty minutes to walk. It’s sunny …and it’s raining…again, ahhhhhhhh!!!!!

I make it across to the little park a few minutes away without actually getting too wet,  at least I have a cap. Now I am waiting under a tree. The thing is, if it keeps on raining, I will get drenched, I cannot do the wet t-shirt look at my age!!!!

I finally walk the last leg of my lengthy journey without further bursts of rain and make to the car. By now I have used two and a half of my hours, I’d better hurry and do the shopping, no time to waste:))))

E.

(this actually happened back in spring time but, after writing it, I forgot to publish it!!)