Adventures away from home

I had, what can only be described as, a surreal time both in London and in France.

It all started when I was in London before going off to France for my hols. There I was, having come in from dinner out at my favourite Japanese restaurant and I was watching tv in the back room off my mother's kitchen, when I suddenly heard her coming down. I was drinking bottled water, which she hates with a vengeance (don't ask me) and I just felt I couldn't face her at that moment, so I went and hid in the bathroom, just about remembering to take the evidence with me.

So there I was, sitting on the edge of the bath, in the dark and my mother actually came into the back room. At this point it did occur to me that, if she ventured into the bathroom, I would have little explanation as to what I was doing sitting in a dark bathroom with a 2 litre bottle of water on my lap, when she went off. But then 5 minutes later she came down again. I'm really sorry to say that I hid again. Held my breath again. And luckily she went out without seeing me.

Ok, well I realise how ridiculous this all must sound to you. It even sounds totally ridiculous to me, but it was also incredibly funny/sad/surreal all at the same time. And yes... before you ask... I am 65 not 15, but some things just don't seem to change!

Then France. It just so happened that a very old friend, who's recently bereaved, turned up and the two of us had a lot of laughs together. However, at one time I was almost convinced I was in a Fellini film it was so bizarre and I think that's pretty much all I'm going to say about that.

I did, however, get to see some adorable puppies, buy a couple of lovely tops in the local market, spend time with my friends and their Great Danes, muck out stables, drink a lot of wine and put the world to rights with deep, meaningful conversations that went on far into the night. I ended up getting back to London feeling exhausted.

Clarence the Great Dane relaxing!

2 of the 5 adorable Dogue de Bordeaux puppies

9 English Mastiff puppies having lunch!

Sara with one of the Dogue de Bordeaux pups

One of the English Mastiff pups

Sara with Jaconde, the English Mastiff mum

Instead of going back the way I came (on the ferry from Portsmouth to Caen),  I accepted a ride in a car and a trip on the Eurotunnel. I've never done that before and, apart from losing our way by not getting off at the right exit at Calais and hitting the M25 at the wrong time when we got to the UK, it was pretty uneventful. It was great to have someone to chat to instead of a 7 hour ferry crossing on my own and we went for dinner in Uxbridge (yeah, well someone has to!) before I got on a bus and got to my mother's house with no problem at all.

Yesterday I took myself off to the Pink Floyd exhibition at the V&A. You must go if you get the chance. I danced my way round the exhibition and had a great time.

A fantastic stained glass window from The Dark Side Of The Moon album cover

One of the Floyd exhibits

I then spent the afternoon watching Wimbledon with my mother, who insisted on having the subtitles on (another don't ask me) and talking all the way through, before heading out for a final dinner in London before I head home this morning.

I'm looking forward to getting home and relaxing and, of course, seeing Diesel, who I'm off to fetch tomorrow morning. I'm sure he'll have grown since I left him 2 weeks ago.

And finally, I got an email the day before yesterday from the wife of the guy who has Vespa and it was just great to see him looking like the happy dog I remember.

Vespa looking gorgeous