Airport shuttle demise

Another warm blue sky sunny day, getting me ready for Spain, and  time to start gathering the necessary equipment and apparel in one place to take with me. Not having hold baggage on this trip creates problems, as scissors, pen knives and other sharp objects are banned from cabin bags, as well as volumes of liquid larger than 100ml. That's something I hadn't foreseen.

I was disappointed and disturbed yesterday when I enquired, to find that the thrice hourly T9 airport shuttle service stopped due to covid and hasn't resumed. You can get there by an hourly country bus which takes twice as long as the shuttle, or take an hourly train to Rhoose, the nearest station with a connecting shuttle bus to the airport. This leaves at twenty to seven or twenty to six to avoid long queues at check-in and security clearance. I think I'll take a taxi instead, much more costly, but reliable.

We had waffles for breakfast. Clare bought some rape seed oil for anointing the interior of the waffle iron. This prevents waffles from sticking as they cook. It was a great success. Kath and Rhiannon left after breakfast, as Kath is booked on a Zoom training session this afternoon. It was lovely to hear from her about their thirtieth wedding anniversary stay in Sta Pola and her trip to Madeira as well. She and Anto are enjoying getting around quite a lot this summer after a really demanding year of touring the 'Squidge' performance. They deserve the respite.

I finished and printed tomorrow's sermon and made a start on next Sunday's, in case the week is extra busy getting used to being in Estepona and finding my way around. Morning Prayer is almost complete, although I do want to add in a few photos of my new domestic environment for interest, so uploading the finished product has to wait until I'm there.

After lunch I called in for a chat with Nick and Emma, only to discover that both have covid. We had a socially distanced, masked chat, standing in their garden after I entered through the gate, not the house. Then I did a few laps of Thompson's park, before joining Clare for her afternoon stroll over to Bute Park for a cuppa in the Secret Garden Cafe. The rest of the day just slipped by and I didn't get around to a trial bag packing.

A new Nordic crimmie started this evening on four, set in the Faroe Islands. It's in Danish and Faroese with English subtitles. The scenery is rugged and spectacularly beautiful, the story is about the death of a young environmental activist who isn't popular because her disclosures and campaigning unsettle the status quo. It seems to be about exposing corruption surrounding whaling and industrial pollution. I'll watch the other two double episodes on iPlayer before I leave, as digital rights management doesn't UK web streaming services run abroad without paying a subscription. Who knows what will be available on the chaplaincy house telly, if there is one.