Wednesday the 7th of December and the last day of Michaelmas Term for us. Always the longest term of the school year and one which the majority of us were glad to see the back of.
It was a lunchtime finish as per usual with no lessons for the kids, just assembly, chapel service and the chance for parents to bribe teachers with gifts – sorry – show their appreciation.
As you may recall we lost our highly respected manager in October and the powers that be had coerced the deputy head of another department to take up the reins for a bit. He was well appraised of the situation and the discontentment amongst us and to be fair has been making a real effort, so much so that a team breakfast was promised once we had dropped the kids off on the last day. Like my colleagues I was looking forward to a full English, my usual first meal of the day being a bowl of cereals or a pot of instant porridge depending on my work schedule.
The ’full English’ was, we were advised on arrival in fact a continental spread – the college caterers apparently unable to fry some bacon and sausage after 8am. No worries I thought, some nice bread cheese and ham would go down well but no, the continental spread was in fact croissants, pain au chocolate and jam. There was at least access to the superb bean to cup coffee machine and over a pleasant chinwag with colleagues I sent my sugar and caffeine levels into orbit.
All my kids were on board in good time and we were ready to depart ahead of schedule but congestion meant we left the site 20 minutes later than hoped. The run along the coast to Eastbourne was trouble free though and I was soon back at the sports ground to deposit number 2 minibus for the holidays and get the bus home. However a colleague who had also just parked up offered me a lift – completely out of his way - and I was back at the flat much earlier than expected.
An ale was poured in celebration of course but in no time at all I was in the shower then getting tarted up – it was our departmental Christmas ‘do’ – we had once again eschewed the college offering and organised and paid for our own. First up were drinks in a pub on the coast road just a short bus ride away, thereafter a meal at the Thai Elephant as we did last year. For a fixed price you get unlimited starters of food of Chinese, Thai and generally Asian origin, followed by a main and pudding. It was once again a fantastic evening – it’s always great to see my fellow work mates away from work, all looking forward to the time off after a long term. They are a great bunch and make going to work much easier. Our departed manager joined us too and it was great to see him again. Fair to say though, senior managements’ ears were burning quite a lot!
Thursday and conscious that I would be driving I’d tried to take it easier the night before. I was still feeling somewhat sluggish, although awake early and took the time to make final preparations for my impending trip.
First up though was the dentist. At some point since my last check up one of my molars had cracked and a piece had parted its moorings. It wasn’t giving me any grief so I’d put it off but now it was time to get sorted. I came away an hour later with a numb jaw and a considerably lighter wallet, pausing at the flat for a restorative coffee, not all of which went where it was intended thanks to the anaesthetic.
Once over at the storage yard – after I’d taken out a mortgage and juiced up Hetty – there was little to do aside from load the fridge and remove the plethora of security devices. The ‘van opposite Patsy was absent so I was able to make the sharp right hand turn with ease and not engage the services of the motor mover.
Hetty took some time to warm up – the cabin not the engine – that was soon up to temperature hauling old lard arse Patsy. However you may recall I had an issue with the climate control in the summer – namely no cold air on the passenger side – fixed at least temporarily by removing the actuator and moving the control rod manually. Me being me I hadn’t done anything about getting it properly sorted – but figured that moving the control rod back would do the trick. No it didn’t – so as a result, the combination of hot and cold air meant that the cabin took a lot longer to become habitable. Oh well, it will get sorted – eventually. Probably.
The journey was good – I didn’t push it although it’s a lot easier to get carried away thanks to Hetty’s increased power over dear old Rosie. Traffic was even relatively benign approaching the Dartford crossing and even as I entered the outskirts of Cambridge too – mind you, somewhat tired I nearly missed the turning into the road where the site is – fortunately nothing was behind me.
I’d paid for the pitch prior so check in was swift and I picked a longways pitch near to the one I normally like, down one of the cul-de-sacs which are a feature of the site. I would need the service of the motor mover and it behaved, Patsy performing a reasonably graceful pirouette – the effort to haul the battery home to charge up the week prior had been worth it.
With Patsy roughly level on her perch it was time to get her habitable – the gauge said it was just 5 degrees inside and the old Truma blown air system was going to have it’s work cut out. Even so I eschewed the option of putting on the gas as well as the leccy, tight arsedness winning out – and Patsy was just into double figures when the leccy went off. I fired up the gas, switching the fridge over as well – not that there was much point, it was coping perfectly well – then investigated first the onboard circuit breakers, then those on the bollard. Both were fine, which suggested an issue elsewhere. I headed off to reception, only to be joined be a couple of neighbours who had the same issue. The wardens promised to look into to it so we trudged back. I was fortunate – I had some gas – but one of my neighbours didn’t. They needed to make a call on whether to stay and hope power is restored or move on.
Back in Patsy – who was now much warmer with the Truma roaring away at regulo ten – I too needed a think. I had a bottle and a bit of gas – but in these temperatures that wouldn’t last long. The battery was fit but with no solar panel that too would soon run out. Contingency planning kicked in and I was starting perusing the apps of well known motel chains when the lights flickered, a relay clicked, and the power was back on. Phew. The gas was promptly shut off!
I’d made arrangements to go out for a meal with a friend but was feeling somewhat jaded by now – the effects of the previous night, the dentist and the journey no doubt beginning to tell. I reluctantly cancelled, settling instead for a portion of batch cooked curry rather than the real thing. It was at least warming and filling. Having previously extracted the duvet from under the bed to defrost I enjoyed a quite night in watching telly. There were a busy few days coming up.