Return from Plymouth

     The Ark has been spending a fortnight in Plymouth , staying with our daughter, Alyson. We like to take the dogs with us and as they worry Al's cat and tend to leave hair on Al's immaculate house, the live in the back of the car. People might feel this is cruel to the dogs but they seem to like it and feel more at home in 'their' van than in a strange house. When we finally arrived home and were unloading the van, they kept trying to get back in...
  Brittany Ferries took us from Roscoff in Finisterre direct to Plymouth but the return journey was via Portsmouth to St Malo, as the Roscoff route closes during the winter. We had gone to attend a surprise fiftieth birthday party for our middle daughter, Kerry. Unfortunately, her husband, Darren, had a major heart attack only shortly before, so it was by no means certain that it would still be a surprise or even take place at all! Nevertheless, we decided to go anyway, as all the arrangements had been made for Kim and Al to stay in a local hotel. I had decided to stay in Plymouth to look after the dogs, rather than put them into kennels, which would have distressed them. Besides, I am forbidden to drink, due to my medication , and it's very boring to be the only sober person at a party where everyone else is increasingly merry....
  I the event, Kerry was very surprised at the party, and the guests, who had come long distances to share in the event. Kim and Al drove all the way to Coventry and returned the next day, so they were really exhausted.
  We had arranged to spend a fortnight in Plymouth , seeing our new grandchildren and our local friends and ex neighbours. We were due to return on Wednesday, but someone suggested that the date was, in fact, the Tuesday. We had already packed up ready to leave for the drive to Portsmouth on the Tuesday morning, when I thought to check the ferry ticket. It was for the Wednesday night! We had already stripped the beds and said our goodbyes, so decided to go up anyway, and try to rearrange the crossing, or stay in a hotel if this wasn't possible. Unfortunately, there wasn't a St Malo crossing that night, so we spent the night in a very nice hotel and had a tour of Portsmouth the next day. We had both spent several years in Portsmouth and Gosport many years ago but the city had changed out of all recognition and we had difficulty in recognising any of it. We did drive along the seafront towards Eastney and the beach was much as it was but the city itself was strange to our eyes...
   We checked in to the ferry terminal with no more than the usual difficulty in finding the dogs' chips. Then followed the usual interminable wait for boarding. Brittany Ferries would be lost on the Calais crossing! We had a quick meal, then settled down in our cabin. Luckily, the crossing was smooth and we slept quite well. The French arrival checks were much easier than the English procedure. Then, it was just a question of a five hour drive back to Loubille... Tonight, we are quite tired and looking forward to an early night
  Bye for now, going to enjoy watching our own TV.