Too Much of a Good Thing!

Holiday weather ... it's always the same - the good weather greets your return, rather than accompanies you for the vacation.  But this time, I think - even despite a wet Monday in the motorhome - I got it right.  This week has certainly been hot for driving, but it would have been unbearable for sightseeing.  I clocked 34.5 degrees at Heathrow on Wednesday afternoon, and 29 yesterday.

Workwise, it's been a good week, although it got off to a rather unsteady start when I drove round town to pick up my first job only to be told that it wouldn't be ready for an hour, so I had to return home again.  The highlights came mid-week, with a delivery in Stranraer on Wednesday morning, and on Thursday afternoon a trip to Newbridge, about 11 miles from Newport.   In the thirteen years I've been driving, it's the first time I've been to both Scotland and Wales in the same week - let alone on consecutive days! - and I found it quite exhausting.  The worst part, by far, is the 100-mile trek from the M74 across to Stranraer, although it is relieved by glimpses of the Irish Sea in places, and on this occasion by a relaxing breakfast stop at a roadside cafe that has far more to offer when circumstances are different!

When driving, I hear far more news bulletins than otherwise, and it was noticeable to experience things in my week that reflected the news.  Last summer, I did a delivery and a collection in Northern Ireland and, bearing in mind my comments above about the road to Stranraer, I made my journey there by way of Holyhead and Dublin.  I had forgotten the detail of that trip until this week, when I recalled spilling my change in the van after paying the toll on the motorway.  What brought it to mind was listening to the news reports of Greece's Euro-problems and looking down to see a 1-cent coin that had suddenly shaken into view beneath the passenger seat, having been lost since last summer's journey.

Yesterday, as I made my way back from a sweltering visit to a building site in Farnborough, I was given a job by the Heathrow office, which proved most beneficial, because it meant that I could find my way through the villages of Middlesex rather than sit for ages on a hot and crowded M25.  In order to collect this job, I had to visit the office.  This is in the village of Harmondsworth, which has been in the news this week because of the proposed expansion to Heathrow airport.   If this goes ahead as planned, the village would disappear from the map!

Of course, you will be pleased to know that the Repeating Genie is still alive and kicking!  It's some while since I'd been to Kent.  In fact, since the introduction of the Dart Charge in November, I've only just had to replenish my account for the second time!  This week saw me visiting Rochester for two separate deliveries, on Monday and Thursday.  Similarly, Heathrow has escaped my attention for some while, and the collection yesterday was the second visit in three days.  I had been spotted by the Leeds office on my way back from Scotland and was diverted to RAF Dishforth, where I collected a small parcel to take to an international freight depot in Hayes.  It's certainly useful when these other offices keep a close eye on their screens to spot someone else's vehicle passing through their area!

This afternoon's activities will include participation in the annual striking competition.  Our team is drawn to ring at 5.15pm, so I'm hoping it will be a little cooler by then.