Lots to get done today as I am off on my own little sailing challenge this evening! But most important today – the piano is being picked up. I had put it on eBay as all the local piano shops were totally disinterested and said I should look to see how many are on sale on Gumtree! In other words the market is saturated with one hundred year old pianos that weigh a ton! I was thrilled that someone wanted it and was prepared to hire a van! So about midday the men turned up and we had a lot of fun and laughs getting it out of the house and across the gravel. So now our lovely old piano is being played by a 15 year old girl who had been begging her mum to get a real piano instead of a keyboard. Just what I wanted to happen. The start of the transformation of the house has begun!
I was starting to get in a bit of a stew as I still hadn’t heard from Tom and everyone else seemed to know everything going on on board! Caro gave me a lift to the station and halfway I remembered that I’d forgotten my water bottle. So quick stop at Waitrose and the problem solved. I needed to calm down… but as soon as I relaxed on the train with the girl opposite me drowsing – I rather rudely woke her with my sudden yelp! I’d also forgotten my sleeping bag. What an idiot – all the upset about Tom and my brain went out of gear. EEEk what was I going to do? the girl opposite offered to ferry hers in a taxi to the ferry terminal – how kind. No problem I thought, Gunwharf was still open and Musto and North Face have shops there. the taxi driver was happy to drive me via Gunwharf and would wait for me. hopes were dashed when both outlets said they only sell clothes. A quick bit of lateral thinking and I left with a large man’s fluffy dressing gown from M n S!
The ferry crossing was strange on my own. I kept thinking that all the other passengers saw me as sad as I was travelling alone – but perhaps they thought I was going to meet my Gallic lover! The crossing was pretty bumpy, but for me it signified the start of my new life – bumpy times ahead but also exciting. Time to stand on my own feet.
I was woken early in the morning with the sound of piped music that was impossible to turn off. I was so happy to have booked a cabin – fresh and ready for sailing.