Thursday 12 to Sunday 15 December 2024

We head in to Cranbrook today for haircuts. Lady P off to some young ladies and Flashy to Angelo’s Barbers. It’s much easier when the barber is English but how hard is a number two all over? 

It is again cold, wet and foggy and Lady P rushes to her appointment while Flashy limps along, nearly getting run over by two BMW police cars with the blues and twos screaming down High St. In sleepy little Cranbrook?

What’s a man to do for two hours while she gets her hair cut and coloured? A walk along both sides of the two main streets yields a butcher, where beef cheeks and venison sausages are purchased and of course, the haircut.

Pub’s just open, so a half pint of Kent ale is required, while a warming sit down to check messages. As he emerges from the pub, he notices the police cars slowly patrolling down the side alleys and parking up ready to pounce. One even followed him on the way to the barber.

An hour later, while back in The George for the other half pint, Lady P phones that she is ready to go. As Flashy rendezvous in the High Street, Lady P trips and falls. Luckily, no damage but a reminder to watch the slippery pavements. Back home to continue the packing for the tail end of our year abroad. Only 15 days to departure.

Friday we take the train to London to have lunch with Diarmid and Ivo at a good steak house near Victoria station. Not too badly priced and pretty good food. A nice bottle of 2018 St Emilion as well. Most things are reasonably priced but in pounds! The train was £49 return each. The menu about the same as Melbourne but again in pounds. Doing the conversion is scary.

After lunch we took a double decker red bus to Oxford and Regent streets to look at the Christmas lights. Very touristy of us. Lady P loved it. Flashy was once again reminded why he hates city crowds. Bloody people walking everywhere! 

Taking refuge in the The Ritz seemed sensible but the bar was full and Lady P was wearing white sneakers, so the kind doorman refused us entry. Nothing left to do but train back home in the dark and release Truffle from the house for a piss, some pats and then bed. 

After turning out the lights and putting the fire guard up, Flashy heads to the kitchen for a glass of water, only to slip and fall down the two stairs. The cleaner had been today and the timber floor and new pure wool socks, well a recipe for disaster. Luckily, the old parachute landing roll saved him from any injury. Can we survive the next 14 days without injury?

Saturday and the washing is done, some clothes/boots thrown out and the packing getting closer. A visit to the little hall next door for the Saturday market, village vegetables and cheese and some slow cooked beef cheeks prepared for the return of EL and J tomorrow.

Saturday evening we attended the Carols Service at the local Kilndown Anglican Church. This was an excellent and so very British, combination of carols by a 48 person choir from the local village, some humorous short poems and some audience participation with the usual suspects of Christmas carols.

At the end we had mulled wine and home made mince pies and such like. A very nice and traditional Christmas event.

Sunday saw Lady P head off to Heathrow to collect EL and J. Flashy snuck treats to Truffle after she went on a decent walk and behaved herself. Dinner early and the travellers crashed after a very long and protracted return from Chile in zoo class!