Awoke but stayed in bed reading In the Footsteps of Mungo Park (2005 trip retracing the discovery of the Niger by Europeans). David brought me a cuppa tea at 9.30am, and we had some cornflakes downstairs in the living room. Wondered how Wren and Salif were getting on but refrained from calling. I'd texted her last night saying 'hope all cozy' and hadn't yet heard anything back. David told me the story of him and Jude -- and how she'd dropped off the map as soon as Barry (the South African boyfriend returned from romantic exile) had 'forbidden' her from having contact with David. Wondered at this submissive streak in an otherwise very independent and strong-willed woman. D said how J had come on to him -- he wasn't against it, mind you, but it wasn't at his instigation. / Rainy blustery day, so didn't take the walk into town we'd mooted. Drove several towns over to a nice pub (an old smithy, possibly) with the best '2-for-1' lunch in the area: our two mains of mint lamb and steak respectively came to a whopping total of GBP 7. Try to find that in London. / Home and pulled out the France and Spain maps to contemplate the drive down to Morocco and do some back-of-the-envelope costing. D suggested taking the ferry from Portsmouth to Santander, and at about GBP 230 figured that would be a saving over the Dover-Calais ferry plus gas and tolls through France. Liked his broad-brush approach, and estimates of GBP 6 to the gallon of petrol -- maybe GBP 5 for diesel. Diesel is more expensive than Regular in the UK, but cheaper in Europe and Africa. It was apparent D would love to join for the trip. But since his mother's health could deteriorate at any minute, he's committed to staying close to home. / Drove into Hinckley where D dropped off his new Mazda 5 (the sporty one) to have new plates put on, sort out his gap insurance, and iron out something about a payment going through twice. Walked into town (the high street) and dropped by the real estate agent's (D's tenants have stopped paying the rent and are now complaining about a wasp hive) and the bank (Halifax). Walked up and down the pedestrianized main street and popped into some small local department store that had been recently renovated to a 1980's look to pick up crumpets and a bottle of wine. / Home again, and skyped with Vernon. / D made us a mushroom omelette while I half-watched Leonard Cohen, and we were about to start watching Wall-E when Wren called.
The Wren & Salif story:
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