Last night at Cirencester

Not many will have forgotten my last trip home with Noro virus hitting, 2 hours after take-off. So I'm really delighted to report that evidently Kitty was unwell over the weekend while I was away and that Henry has followed suit over the past 24 hours.  It seems a D and V bug has hit the school and while it is only a 24 hour thing, it doesn't auger well for my fellow passengers!

I've been awake now for the past hour or so.  Henry's had me take him down to the toilet twice (and Will once),  each time unsuccessfully, but clearly he has an uncomfortable tummy still.  Between times I tried to send a message to my neighbour, Kimberley, but each time rang her on FaceTime ... so I've had a chat with her.  And now at almost 6am I've decided that I may as well do something constructive with my time instead of just lying here.

Yesterday Philip, Rosemary and I went to Marlborough for the day - a 40 minute drive from here.  We had a leisurely stroll around the shops, had a coffee stop and a lunch break and then made our way home again.  It is beautiful scenery in this part of the country which was still stunning but cloaked in mist.  Everyone was driving with their lights on by 4.30pm but disappointingly there were very few Christmas lights around.

The Cirencester Christmas lights are now in place and are due to be switched on by Nigel Havers on Saturday, by which time I will be home again wondering if I've ever been away, no doubt.

Philip tells me that Hannah is coming up from East Compton to say her farewells today, though I haven't heard that myself - and Will tells me that she and Gabriel are having lunch together and she needs to discuss Estate matters with him ... so quite where I fit in, I'm not sure.  As a result Philip is suggesting he takes me to the Heathrow Hotel later in the afternoon despite the fact that I'd rather he didn't have to drive home on the motorway in peak hour traffic.  He's a big boy - I guess he knows what he's doing!

Hopefully I will sleep better there, because I expect my past record of only brief catnaps on the plane will not change.

So this may well be my last blog from this side of the world - I'll report on my flight home so those in the UK will know I'm safely out of their hair again.  Thanks for being on the receiving end of my rants, raves, excitements and distress - it's good to have friends and family who have cared enough to bother.