The day before a trip is always tedious, but this one even more so - Tom was at an SES training day, Sophie, Charlotte and Joe were involved in the roller derby grand final down on the plains, Jess had a 30th birthday party to go to (Pete was at cricket) and Shannon and Aaron were doing their usual family things and then Jessie and Shannon, with Oliver, Eliza and Thomas, were going to go and watch the roller derby. I had done my packing. Family history didn't interest me because if I found something intricate or challenging it had to be resolved straight away - it couldn't be ongoing. Our Tivo had died last week and the home theatre no longer spoke to the TV, so I couldn't even play a DVD. I tied up my grapevines, watered the indoor plants and did very little else. Jess dropped in with Thomas on her way down to derby, arriving two minutes after her dad. It was indeed a very long day.