It’s good to be back! It is a little strange to feel culture shocked in your own country though, especially seeing everyone in shorts and T-shirts when I’m wearing jeans and a sweater to stay warm. To take the edge off, I’ve already eaten curry about half a dozen times in the few days we’ve been here!! :-D

Tave is especially delighted to be back in the English countryside for at least a little while. My hayfever doesn’t necessarily agree though ;-)

Cheers, Gary

While it was a relief, everything was insured so it wouldn’t have been a disaster. The friends who looked after my car almost lost their houseboat (their actual home, not just a weekend luxury) on Tewkesbury Marina when the river rose so high, and the water coming over the pontoon was so fast that it filled with water. The really terrible thing is that with so many expensive claims to process due to the flooding, the insurance companies are being real asses about releasing the money people need to start rebuilding their lives.

I’ll be attending some fundraisers over the couple of weeks to try to help the victims out in some small way.

Cheers, Gary

Welcome back, I bet it’s a shock to the system with the drop in temperature as well as the change of time zone. I’m not surprised you slept through ’til the afternoon

Ian

It’s good to hear that your car was saved from the floods. I can’t even begin to imagine what the double whammy of having jet lag and no car would have been like.

• James