It's 5.30 am and I'm ramping up for a busy day. Packing's done except for the last minute items that I can't pack away until the second before I leave; essentials such as phone and laptop chargers. The dogs know that there's something afoot and have done since I dragged the suitcase out two days ago. Now they're fed (half rations so they're not car sick) and sleeping in the dog bed by my computer desk - waiting for my next move. The plan is to pack up the car a...

So close now with just eighteen days to go and all that's left to do it the waiting - and that's possibly the hardest part! Suddenly I'm counting days not weeks. The hire car has been organised and this time we've opted for a Mini Cooper SD, which may be not the most practical choice but it certainly should be fun! Hopefully, for once, we actually get the car (or at least the class) that we want. Perhaps Thrifty can deliver what Europcar has failed to in the pas...

So, once again it's almost time for what has become a biennial Autumn pilgrimage to Scotland (with the occasional foray south of the border into Sassenach territory). And yes, I admit that twenty weeks isn't exactly imminent but at the speed the year has been flying by, it's not that far away either. Although the accommodation has been chosen and booked, some of it many months ago, a trip never quite seems real until the airline tickets are booked and confirme...