David flies home

I woke up at 7:15 this morning, quite early for us, to get David up to take him to the airport. He eventually surfaced after 7:30 and tucked into his bowl of chocolate cereal. He threw his stuff together and it was only a small rucksack and a holdall - just cabin luggage. Fortunately with him travelling light, we decided to save a taxi fare and I loaded his stuff on the bike and took him on the back. 

Carol is quite used to riding pillion, but David is a good passenger too. And he has the same size head as Carol, which is useful. It is just that the bike really does look too small for the two of us! David looks like his legs are too long for sure. If I am honest I think the Moto Guzzi V7 is designed for shorter riders and I find it doesn't fit my six foot legs either, and after a 40 minute trip to the airport, his bum was numb, and my shoulder was aching.

Looking back on his week with us, I think he had a good break from his work, and was able to relax. Most of our time was spent at the beach, swimming, snorkeling, in lovely clear water. Having the same sized head as Carol, David was able to use the same diving mask.

In my case at least, being at the beach now also means snoozing in the shade, after a swim and then a packed lunch on the beach. I like to get out of my swimming costume and put something dry on.

Carol and I were very happy to have him to ourselves for a week.

I enjoyed a good game of tennis with him, and we are not badly matched. And playing on clay is quite a treat, since we don't have clay courts in Reading.

He uses his power and speed to good effect, but his accuracy and consistency let him down. I can’t run for the ball like I used to, and I don’t have his power, but I get more balls in because I don't belt them so hard, I think. Otherwise he should be a better player than me. He still has time to improve.

David has greater control and balance doing slack-lining. He only started doing slack line walking on a holiday to Croatia a couple of years ago, when some people strung a line across the harbour mouth on the island of Brac. He has got quite good at this. Anyway we had a good old time together.

Here we are bonding in almost matching sunglasses.

The last evening together we had a BBQ, after checking with the site office, for safety.

Officially a charcoal BBQ is not allowed in pine forests, but the site staff turn a blind eye as long as you can dispose of the hot coals safely. Using a small portable BBQ is a good idea, and we can cover it when we are done cooking with the lid, which shuts off the air as it seals, and chokes the fire out.

At our age, and with our kids grown and involved in their careers and lives, it is a treat to have one of them spend a week with us, so thanks David!