Monday, 8 February 2016

Road trip ahead

One lovely thing about being retired is that you can just hop in the car or onto public transport and set off anywhere you need or want to go. No need to plan ahead and book days off work, and tomorrow I am going on a short road trip to visit both my sons and some old friends, driving up to Yorkshire for lunch and down to Lincolnshire for the night. From there I will cross over to Leicestershire for lunch before heading home on Wednesday evening.

I will make the most of the opportunity to listen to cds, played loudly to suit my poor hearing, and keep in touch with the news via the radio. There is something very liberating about being in a car, enclosed in your private bubble, with a wide choice of music at your disposal to meet your mood. I have recently taken to buying cds in charity shops; they are usually £1 each and it's rare that I don't find something among the invariable Best of Julio Iglesias and Classics go Pop to tempt me. I usually buy music by bands that have been recommended or I've heard an isolated track on the radio and am interested in hearing more. I bought Doves at the weekend, so will give them a try tomorrow.

I finally managed to track down the third Jean-Claude Izzo novel, Solera, on e-Bay. To say I was excited by the find is an understatement, as at the time I was totally caught up in Chourmo, the second book in the trilogy and desperate to source the next episode. Well, it arrived within a few days of my order being placed, but it is in French! I am too disappointed to send it back, so may have to try, with my trusty Robert french dictionary by my side, to read it in the original, make as much sense of it as possible, until such time as I can find an english translation.

The book in my overnight bag for my trip is Us by David Nicholls. A friend very thoughtfully passed her copy to me given our upcoming grand tour of Europe, mirroring the tour planned by the couple in the story. I am just over halfway through and thoroughly enjoying it. I have definitely taken sides in the couple situation and can't wait to see how the story develops.



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