Level 2 Chi Kung.
Calais. Did Chi Kung while Nick went for a walk then met him downstairs for a nice hotel breakfast. Checked out, went for a bit of a walk, then drove to the enormous Carrefour. Sadly, the ‘shop is so large that the staff get around on roller skates’ turned out to be an urban myth, but we had a look around, failed to find any kirsh but picked up some cheeses, macarons, treats for the children and some more pudding wine. While Nick was buying water, I spotted a shop with the iPhone 6 Plus on display and had a bit of a play – it’s too big for a phone really but I still want one – I hardly ever use my phone as a phone anyway :-).
We decided we might as well head for the tunnel terminal early as they will let you go on an earlier train if there is room and we were thinking of things we could get done in London if we arrived a little earlier. As we got into the car, I remarked to Nick that I couldn’t help feeling that something was missing: everything had been too simple – without the usual quota of minor disasters. We arrived at the tunnel terminal without difficulty, checked that no unwelcome fellow travellers had secreted themselves in the boot, went through passport control and were accepted onto the train before the train we were booked on. We went to the loo in the terminal building, then drove to the appropriate queue at first call. At first the cars were zooming up the lane quite steadily but then, when we were about 5 or 6 from the front, everything stopped, and we then sat there while our train’s status went from ‘waiting’, to ‘boarding’ to ‘closed’, and the next two trains began to show as ‘re-timed’. No staff and no information – must have sat there for an hour before things finally got moving again, luckily still just in time for us to make it back to London before the nanny turned into a pumpkin. Hey ho – should have kept my mouth shut when things were going well!
Arrived home to find the children much affected by International Peace Day. Although they used to be the best of mates, lately the bickering between Kate and Dash has got to the point where we are all finding it pretty trying. So it was lovely to arrive home and find them all loving towards each other. Katie has even made a card for Dash, which said, with characteristic directness: ‘Dear Dash, thank you for being such a sweet and lovely brother. Sorry for hating you so much. Love, Katie’.
Continuing with my top ten plays: number two has to be Robin Williams as the tiger in Bengal Tiger at the Bagdad Zoo, seen on Broadway with Nick Curnow as part of my birthday celebration in 2011.