Well I’m back and I’m totally clapped out. On the face of it I did nothing over the past 3 days as my good friend David drove everywhere, including a drive back from Hastings to home in one go, around 174 miles in length. Given all this I’m still totally knackered – perhaps it is because I’m still getting over the bug that I had contracted over the past few weeks or perhaps it is because I’m just an old lardy cake who should get out more. Perhaps a bit of both, perhaps neither.

Well I trying to get something done today and this is the first fruit of my labours. I’ve called them book ends because they really do mark either end of the trip I’ve just been on – a route between Margate to Hastings that any Sat Nav horror story would be proud of – via Calais, Brugge, Ostend and Dover.

It was a great trio and my thanks really do go out to David for all his hard work and of course the people of France who insistance on closing the Louvre at Lens on a public holiday meant that we visited Bruges and Ostend instead – a much better trip! Now if I could only summon up the energy to do something else it would be a bonus!

Simon Marchini
Web: http://WWW.simonmarchini.co.uk