Harry's day at Royal International Air Tattoo

Royal International Air Tattoo Saturday 14 July 2007
Today we both went to RAF Fairford for the International Air Tattoo, something I had been looking forward to all week. The day dawned with overcast skies and it was raining just after we started off. As we progressed towards Fairford the weather started to clear and by the time we got there it was looking promising. We had one little sprinkle of drizzle and then it cleared for a good day to watch Airplanes.
We left home at 7:00am as I knew there would be a lot of traffic and didn’t want to spend too much time queuing. It is only just on 100Km from home so it didn’t take much time to get there and from about 20Km out there were signs to follow to get you there. This part of it is very well organised as they have a different colour for each of the routes in depending on where you are coming from. You follow the signs and end up in these huge car parks. We struck a queue about 5 Km out and it took nearly an hour to travel that last few Km’s. Once in the car park there was no queue for getting in, like last week at Yeovilton, we got in immediately.
The first thing we did was to establish ourselves on the grass near the crowd line at the edge of the runway and set up camp for the day. Once settled I went for a walk to see the static aircraft park. We had established ourselves about mid way along the runway and so it was easy to divide the area into 2 parts for viewing. Last week I said I was like a kid in a candy store, well this week it was like being let loose in the toy store with unlimited spending!!!
With camera in hand I set out to photograph planes as quickly as possible before there were too many people around, it was a good plan but there were already lots of people there. It is quite difficult to get shots without people in the way especially the large aircraft, also some were made a bit more difficult by where the sun was making it hard to photograph as you were looking into the sun.
In total, more than 320 aircraft from 24 countries representing 37 air arms took part in the Air Tattoo and a nine-hour flying programme.
While I was looking at the static park the flying display started with a Finnish Air Force F18 and this was followed by a Mil 24 Hind of the Czech Air Force, this was followed by a Belgian F16.
The next display was from “Team Guinot” which had 4 x Boeing Stearmans with wing walkers on the top wings.
The flying display then had aircraft in the following order: Catalina; F86 Sabre; P51 Mustang followed by an F15E Eagle and then a fly past with both aircraft to represent 60 years of USAFE.
Then was a couple of highlights for me; an Indian Air Force Su 30 although it’s flying display was very tame and the F117 Nighthawk.
This was followed by: B1B; the US Thunderbirds Display team; Nimrod and then the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight put up 3 x Spitfires and the Hurricane. Another F16 from the Dutch; the Red Arrows; Swiss F18; RAF Black Panthers Lynx display team; Royal Navy Hawk; and then the Lancaster; Jetstream T2; Slovenian PC9; French Alpha Jet.
The Italian Il Frecce Tricolori Display team was next and then an RAF Typhoon. This then bought the last demonstration for the day which was an airfield attack by the RAF involving Tornado F3’s and GR4’s; Hawks; Hercules; Chinook and E3A Sentry.
The day was finished off with a concert from the RAF Squadronaires and USAF Check Six jazz bands that wound up the day nicely and meant that we didn’t have to battle the traffic hassles to go home.
All in all a very very good day and something I will do again.

Clevedon on Sunday

I found this great library book which tells you about what to see in each town in the south west and enjoy opening it and saying Where shall we go today? As we didn't feel like going far we chose Clevedon which is about 30 minutes drive from here. We took the wrong turning in the town and landed up at the beginning of a path which took us up the hill and down towards the main centre. Had a lovely walk (in the rain) along the promenade and met a NZ couple who have lived in Bristol for 2 years (she had a 'Made in NZ' label on her bag so I couldn't resist asking). They are both teachers and one of them haled from Fielding (no I didn't ask if they knew Aaron but boy was I tempted). Along the main road is another salt water swimming pool that no one would dare swim as it hasn't been cleaned in a long time - I think that they are now called 'marine parks' and are for sailing model boats, duck life and fishing. We had a walk on Clevedon Pier (where locals could purchase a little metal plaque to put on the bridge for a donation - there was one that said 'Chris will you marry me? James' I hope she said yes). The Clevedon Pier was not long but quite spectacular particularly because the tide was out. It was opened in 1869 and was used by a number of ships delivering sugar, timber, iron etc. However, it hasn't had a happy life, having weathered a few storms that saw part of it collapse in 1899, 1910 and 1970's before full restoration occurred a few years ago. The cafe at the end of the pier was surrounded by intricate wrought iron. The lovely old stone hotel next to the pier is soon to be made into apartments - we could just imagine the rich holidaying there in the 1920's. We had a wander into the grounds of an old building and saw our first fox - cute to watch as it played on the grass. One of the girls at work said that she had a 'pet' fox and a 'pet' badger - a bit like us having a 'pet' oppossum I guess. Took another photo of a thatched room cottage - moved carefully so not to disturb the peacocks sitting on the roof and felt a bit stupid when we realised they weren't real! The photo of the stone wall has an 'odd' rock - if you enlarge the photo you might just be able to see it.

Denise's day at Air Tattoo

It was a good start to the day when I convinced Harry that we did not really need to leave home at 6.30 for a 10.00 start when the airfield was only an hours drive away. He compromised by agreeing to 7.00 -admittedly knowing that there were likely to be over 70,000 people and that we were good at getting lost and he had had to wait an hour to get into Yeovil the previous week I decided that was reasonable.

There were lots of signposts as we got closer and lots of traffic so we just went with the flow - one 10 minute hold up when traffic needed to merge but that was all. They had converted some two laned roads to one way which was quite effective and we managed to get an early bird park about 5 minutes walk from the main gate. We wandered through the field converted to a car park for the weekend - lots of little red poppies trying to stay upright amidst the foot and car traffic. I must say it was a very well organised event - a show this size takes some organising and it was done very well. Families (many three generations) had plenty to do besides watching airplanes including fair ground rides, inflatable castles and climbing frames, looking at craft fairs and motor cars and non-flying airplanes. There was constant music (eg scottish pipes - which you sometimes couldn't hear for the noise of the planes!!). It was rare to see a child mumbling. Although we didn't need to buy food it looked a much higher quality than you get at similar events and home and heaps of variety. People relaxed and slept and ate. I was surprised that the place didn't seem that crowded but I think it was because it was over such a wide area. I wandered the concourse and enjoyed taking a few photos of people and things with the flying planes as a backdrop. Harry took 425 photos -this amounts to about one photo every 66 seconds that the show was on. There were many more avid photographers than him so you can imagine how many they would have to download and look at the next day. I was amused to see the number of people with very large cameras - it looked like a slow motion tennis match - with them looking at the flight through a camera lense - right to left and then left to right etc - I haven't quite caught the extent of it in a photo but you can imagine the rest. We had bought ear plugs - recommended by the organisers - which we dutifully wore at the first sound of a noise (by the way eating potato chippies with ear plugs on is probably noisier than any airplane!!). People came prepared, we had a blanket and umbrellas (for rain and sun), others bought wooden stools to stand or sit on depending on what was happening, some bought tents and wind breaks, some even little step ladders. I was fascinated at the novel lengths people went to to get a better view! Many took the fold up chair, while others paid up to £20 to sit on a deck chair (striped - why am I so fascinated with these) or on the grandstand, while a lucky few could stand on a stall roof or wing of an airplane. I won't often talk about the loos at places but these were impressive - clean (dark blue with antiseptic) - and Mr AndyLoo drove the truck around all day emptying them on a regular basis - and wait for it the best of all there were so many that us girls did not have to wait!!

I saw one long queue all day (bar the one to get in for those who had to purchase tickets) and that was at the stall that sold hot potato crisps. They showed the machines that cleaned, peeled and cut the crisps and cooked them while you waited. I was amused that the sacks of potatoes had the union jack on them. I decided not to wait to see what they were like. Harry pointed out later in the photo that there was a 'free today' sign at the top of the stall which probably shows why there was such a queue.

I saw lots of planes and Harry will no doubt describe those in his blog. He will talk about the helicopters, the aerobatics, thunderbirds and red arrows and the way they did barrel rolls, 360's, upside downs and straight up and then down. It was fascinating to watch the effect this had on the clouds which moved around all day and at one stage there was one that looked like a helicopter. It was a special day as they were also remembering the Falkland War 25 years earlier.

There were some lovely sights to see and the little boy sleeping in the trolley was one of them. The others included a young man, who when his girlfriend arrived at mid day put his £8 programme down on the ground and then folded his jersey for her to sit down (he was one of the enthusiastic photographers at the front of the crowd). Harry admitted I might have got his jersey but certainly would not be allowed to sit on the programme! Another was of another young man during the brass band concert at the end of the day, singing to his wife in a wheel chair (looked as though she was destined to stay in it which was sad) the Robbie Williams song 'Angel' as the band played it. Another was of an elderly gentleman waving the Italian flag as the Italian Air Force Aerobatic Team did some amazing aerobatics in the sky and made the clouds, green and red as well as white.

After the concert we turned towards the M4 and drove towards a spectacular English sunset and home to Bristol.

This week has gone fast ...

It is Friday again and another weekend to look forward to just around the corner. The week seems to go so fast probably because I am enjoying work particularly learning about the UK health service. I share an office in the 'old' building which was built in the 1700's and which will in the next few years be vacated. Where I am has sloped wooden floors (if I push my chair away to get up, I find myself rolling to the otherside of the room and sometimes I even have to hold on to the desk to prevent me rolling backwards), high ceilings and everything echoes. I thought it would be quite romantic working in an old building - but not so sure now - but it is nice having smaller offices I must admit. The service is working on a tight budget - I now think NZ has quite a few extravagances (like white boards, sticky labels, highlighters, note books and pads!!). Telephone messages are left on used pieces of paper, people very rarely have note books and if you want a highlighter I have been told I have to bring my own! (I know someone in the Estates department who hopefully might be able to find me one!). I miss the day when I could stand at a white board with others and have a workshop and then print out the results - besides no whiteboard there is little room for meetings and discussions! Anyway, the work is fascinating - how to reduce waiting lists for patients - a government initiative which involves examining and changing work processes and analysing data -right up my alley - I feel as though it is really doing something worthwhile. I have told them about some of the experiences in the health areas in kiwiland. This week we went for a nice wander up through the University of Bristol - although nothing like Victoria University I was reminded of it - because the university has expanded and has a mixture of old and new buildings with a number of houses bought by the university. Lots of students around in cafes etc so quite a buzzy feeling. We had takeaways on a lawn with a squirrel and decided that they were possibly the last takeaways we will ever buy in the UK! The Bristol grammer school occupied a block beside the university - beautiful old buildings and it again had almost a whole street of houses for its use.

Last night we had dinner with the New Zealanders I mentioned a while ago that had come to Bristol (Adrienne and Shane). They live not far away from us and it was nice to catch up and share experiences. They stayed at the same bed and breakfast as us (with the steep steps) when they arrived (in June), in the same room - and the shower still didn't go!! As they stayed for 2 weeks they got to know the place and owners a bit better than us and did enjoy the english breakfasts. They told us of their adventures (nearly missing their plane, leaving a window open and getting their laptop and beds saturated in a downpour), quite different to our adventures but equally as funny. It was one of our first nights out and was enjoyable just relaxing with good company. When we were sitting at the pub (meals 2 for £8 and they were quite nice!) we saw a lot of people wandering past in fancy dress - no idea why but we were reminded a bit of the rugby 7's.

Harry's day at the Yoevilton Air Day

Today while Denise went to Glastonbury, I had to endure my first air show in the UK at RNAS Yeovilton. We had come here a couple of weeks ago to visit the Fleet Air Arm museum and it was here that we saw the advertising for the air day. It is only a 1 hour drive from home so we didn't have to leave too early.
Denise dropped me off and then went on her adventures, there was already a huge queue to get in and it was suggested that I by my ticket before joining the queue. It took over an hour in the queue to get in the gate as they had security doing checks on everybody's bags after all the drama over the car bombings here in the past week. It was after the start of the air display that I finally got in the gate but the flying displays were delayed so I didn't miss anything.
I got talking to an English couple in the queue and they were moaning about it taking so long to get in, they had been to shows at RAF bases and they seem to be more organised, we shall see because next weekend we are going to the Royal International Air Tattoo at RAF Fairford. When I finally got to the security check they waived me in without checking my back pack, I guess I don't look like a terrorist!!
Talk about a kid in a candy store I didn't know where to go first, that decision was made for me when the flying display started only a couple of minutes after getting in. The first aircraft up was a Belgian Air Force F16, which was quite impressive, especially with smoke trailing off the wing tip smoke generators.
I then started to wander around the displays as you had a good view of the flying from most places on the airfield. The French, Dutch, US and Swiss were present. The Swiss were only ones to fly as they had their Patrouille Suisse display team with their F5E's.
While I wandered the naval historic flight went up with a Seafire, Fury and Skyraider. As is the way with the historical aircraft the displays were modest in comparison with modern high G demonstrations. The disappointment was that although it was on the programme to fly the Hawker Sea Hawk was only in the static park.
Next up was the Royal Navies newest Helicopter the Merlin, which was an impressive display for such a big machine.
Next was perhaps one of the highlights of the day with the Red Arrows putting on their display, one of the first of the new flying display season. They give a brief history of each pilot during the commentary and there was an ex RNZAF pilot who had come to the RAF after the disbandment of our own Strike wing, in the team. A very polished and impressive display and I will get to see them again next week at Fairford.
One of the other things I was looking forward to with this airshow was the fact I had bought a new digital camera the day before, this was so Denise could have a camera as well. I have been moaning for ages about the ability of the old Sony camera, we have, to take decent pictures at a distance because the lens quality isn't so great. From the results so far I am happy with the result. All I have to do now is learn about all the ways it operates so I can use all of its features, it can go into manual mode and set aperture as well as speed as a priority. It also has a high speed feature that allows you to shoot fast moving objects.
Next up in the display was the RAF's latest and greatest multi role aircraft the Typhoon. It showed some great high angle of attack stuff as well as good manoeuvrability.
The Chinook was next up and that also demonstrated great manoeuvrability for a big helicopter.
That was the end of the morning session of flying and it was time for the lunch break. After the break the 2 BAF F16's went home and we were treated to a display by the historical flight Seafire Mk 17, with Griffon power.
There was a display of formation flying by 3 Turbulent’s which was close to boring as the speed of them isn't exactly great, but they made it interesting by releasing balloons as each plane came round they had to try and catch or pop the balloons, which they started to do quite well near the end.
Next was a display by Royal Navy Lynx’s showing there extreme manoeuvrability and this was followed up by the surprise of the day as it was not mentioned in the programme and that was a Hawker Hunter from RAF Boscombe Down, after doing its display it landed at the base so a closer inspection could be had.
Now it was the turn of the Patrouille Suisse to do there display and they at least were able to make it look good and different from the Red Arrows.
Then came for me what was the highlight of the day and that was Battle of Britain Memorial Flight Hurricane, Spitfire and Lancaster. The flying routine is reasonably sedate but that is to be expected with 65 year old airplanes. It is the first time have seen a Lancaster in flight so it was special for me. I am looking forward to seeing them again next week.
The flying was finished off with a mass attack on the Airfield by marines, with support from helicopters, Hawks and Harriers, acetylene bombs going off all over the place with insertions by helicopters involving Sea Kings, Lynx’s, Pumas and Merlin’s. The show finished with a very brief display from the GR9 Harriers.
I then wandered around the static park to see the aircraft that didn’t fly, this included A10 Thunderbolts, Super Etendards, Tornado F3 and a Dutch Sea King. They also had the latest Apache in a hanger with the Navy of Tomorrow display and this also included a mock up of the JSF35 Lightning II.So that was my first English Air Show and can’t wait till next week for my second and this one should be really spectacular. As the kid in the candy store I went home having had my sugar fill and very excited about it all.

Denise's day in Glastonbury

Harry and I had a great day on Saturday - he went to the Air Fleet Museum for the airshow and after I dropped him off I drove to Glastonbury. Unfortunately, the long way round because I got on the wrong road and couldn't get off and ended up driving to Taunton (just a few extra miles).

Glastonbury was where the large music festival was a few weeks ago - but thankfully it was not raining when I went. I had so much fun experiencing the culture of the place and smiling at what I saw.

It is a town steeped in history, with an abbey and church thought to have been visited by Jesus and Joseph of Arimathea (Jesus's great uncle apparently). Alongside it live people practising witchcraft, tarot cards, hari krishna, buddhism - you name it it is there. The shops reflect this culture 'the Labyrinth', 'the Music, Men and Myth', 'Heartfelt Thanks', 'Gothic', the George and Pilgrims Hotel, HSBC and wait for it the very best name 'the Psychic Pig'. Harry was saying that in England you don't seem to be able to buy schnitzel here - there was even a Schnitzel shop which sold English, American, Mexican, Italian and Chinese schnitzel - you name it he had it - I wasn't hungry but I can only assume that he cooked the same piece of meat in various ways. It wasn't unusual to see a man with a pony tail dressed in a white muslim shirt, or a woman in a long flowing skirt and dreadlocks (I honestly did see one woman with red dreadlocks and another bright purple). It seemed quite ironic that on this day 2 years ago the London underground was bombed, and today an Iraqi was going to court for the Glasgow bombings. Here in this lovely little town, covered in flowers and greenery, peacefully lived a multitude of beliefs and cultures (I do imagine that on a Saturday night at the pub, religion would not be a topic that would easily be debated).

I sat in the grounds of the abbey mesmerised by its beauty and its history and found it hard to leave. The photos show what is left after it was excavated (the kitchen is the little round building still completely in tact). Apparently, Queen Genevieve and King Arthur were buried there, but one of the Henry's moved them a while later but I couldn't find out why. The kitchen told the story of the simplicity of the monks food - they were only allowed red meat when they were sick. So, they devised the theory that a bird was related to fish because it swam and the badger could be eaten because it must be related to a shell fish because it was the same colour - hence there diet expanded within their laws.I had lunch in the grounds (amongst the yew trees) and enjoyed the history of the area. Yew trees flower twice a year - once in the English summer and once when they flower in the middle east (apparently Josephy bought these over on one of his visits as well).
At the top of the hill was the Tor. It was quite a long walk through muddy paths past cows and a road with lots of bush along each side and up a hill, across very high stiles and through swinging gates and past a Thai buddhist temple. The Tor was a very old church that the monks and the public went to pray in. It is a bit like a marae if you can picture the building at the top (made of stone not bushes) and all around the hill the rows of terraced gardens and paths and other buildings. Lovely, view from the top. When I got to the top, huffing and puffing, there was the noise of the hare krishna drums and I found a man (with a cowboy hat on) playing drums and singing those funny songs inside the church. Before I left he had finished to the relief of most of the visitors with 'we all live in a yellow submarine'. The cows obviously visit the site regularly as well, as there was little place to sit to enjoy the view in the wind (whoever gave me the impression it wasn't windy over here!!).

I wandered down the long path and came to the Chalice Gardens which again they believe Joseph of Aramathea went to. The garden was unique reflected in the handout which said 'please refrain from smoking or drinking alcoholic beverages and remain clothed whilst in the garden'. There I saw a man in white clothes being coached on how to hug a tree - 'you need to get the balance right' said the coach and I watched as he went between two large trees hugging them and meditating at the same time. The garden was lovely, a place where people could sit and meditate and in some places I felt like joining in and sat quietly thinking about all the people I care about and how lucky I am to have these opportunities. On the way back was the rural farm museum, a telephone box in someone's garden with soft toys in it, another lovely park and cemetery and lots of people enjoying the sunshine.

Met Harry at the airport - I found the place more by chance and watched the last helicopter display. (268 photos later on the new camera and he has written another blog for our friends deeply into airplanes). We drove through back roads to miss the traffic had a lovely dinner at a little roadside pub in the sun, saw the Eastern Somerset Railway (steam) which we will have a ride on sometime and visited Frome, where they were having their summer festival. It was here that we saw the biggest dog we have ever seen - nearly up to my shoulders (ok I know I am short but....). Then the travellers went home.

Sunday was fun - we went to a big band concert in the park - and we almost didn't get lost getting there. We sat in council provided deck chairs (which I discovered in the most upright position I can't touch the ground and in other positions I tend to slide down). The concert had shades of Dad's army in it - with the members looking through pages and pages of music after each song, laughing and looking surprised when we applauded. A man sitting at the back on his mobility scooter (with an Andy Capp Cap on) put his hand up between songs saying 'excuse me excuse me' added to the occassion as did the dogs which barked and howled as the music played, and ran round the band (I was waiting for the conductors music to be knocked over). To finish off there was an elderly man sitting with a black hat with a huge sunflower on it and a girl listening to the music as well as her ipod at the same time. The band played some fun music but the most apt I thought was Cole Porters 'Anything Goes'. I think being in a different country makes you far more observant - the concert probably would have been similar in NZ but we probably wouldn't have noticed all the fun characters around. After that concert on came the Salvation Army and we sang hymns in the park with what seemed like every member from the Bristol army.

Some things of interest this week:

• bus drivers have a kit for taking tests so that those who spit on the bus can have their dna checked out by policy it is called an anti spit kit

• went for dinner on Friday night to a local pub - it was done in little rooms with all the furnishings different and quite quiet as it is not in one big room


• got my hair cut. Neil the hairdresser had lived in NZ for 18 months and half that time lived in Cuba street (the big white house right at the top - is it still there?) and cut hair in the James Smith centre - he said thing he noticed about coming back was how everything looked so grey - rather than colourfully painted. Loved the night life, coffee culture and music scene in Wellington. He was nice to talk too, but won't be going back cos a bit expensive.


• I can now go to the post office and bank without thinking about what street I have to go to - we'll soon be at home in Bristol.

A wet Sunday afternoon

Sunday ...at least I remembered my umbrella today cos we certainly needed them. We caught a bus into town and visited the SS Great Britain. If you have a wet afternoon to spare in Bristol sometime it is worth seeing. The first steamship made of iron and designed by Brunel ( he designed the suspension bridge as well - clever man). It was built in the 1830's and spent time as cargo boat and taking immigrants to Aussie. It was then left to rust in the shallow seas of the Falklands before someone decided in the 1960's to refloat and bring it home to the dry dock it was built in. They have done it really well, the dry dock is dehumidified so that the boat doesn't rust, and the top decks are done out just like the passengers would have seen them - really little (short and thin beds), the kitchens, doctors surgery, dining room for first class passengers were quite interesting to see. Apparently, a lot of the designs had been lost and so they pieced together diaries from passengers to reconstruct the top. Caramello is playing cards in one of the photos - I was fascinated because the cards do not have numbers on them - it would be quite difficult to play bridge when you couldn't see all the hearts or diamonds on the card. Harry was of course interested in the technical side of the boat and enjoyed taking photos of the engine room, pumps etc. The green and white photo is a model of the steam engine (just in case you didn't know). I enjoyed reading the diaries of the passengers, and continue to realise how courageous these people were to take their families, or just themselves, to the other side of the world - not knowing what it was like. One of them was of course my grandmothers family - she came to New Zealand when she was only 5 - the parents had 7 children to look after (I have a feeling they were in steerage rather than first class). I have a lot to thank her for. One diary was of a man going to the Australian gold fields - he said that someone had asked him 'had he considered the influence of failure on his life before leaving England'. I guess it is something we need to consider but if we did fully, we wouldn't ever take on new challenges. I always think that with email, texting, telephones and post our adventures do not seem so distant or lonely. Thank goodness we can contact everyone in NZ or I would feel so isolated.

We tried out our new thermos's (flasks they call them here) and had our picnic under the shelter in the rain (Michael and Sharon would say at this point 'typical'). The ice cream man took a photo of both of us but I didn't look great so you will see the one of Harry eating alone.

We wandered around some streets we hadn't seen before and came across Bristol General Hospital - Harry and I both have wondered where the 'BGH' is as we now send mail to it all the time and Harry has to cope with all the equipment failing - an old stone building which reminded me a little bit of a prison. I have a feeling that some of these old hospitals are certainly poor conditions compared to the newer wards. Apparently the hospital I am in was built in the 1700's and the BGH is relatively new from the 1800's.

Saw more boats - this time growing sweet peas and sunflowers. The sweet peas reminded me of my friend Heather who grows beautiful ones at her home in Stokes Valley. Those of you who know me well know that I like sunflowers - so it was nice to see them both on the boat at the same time.
Every day we drive past on the bus St Mary Redcliffe church and I was determined to go and see it today. It is funny that it doesn't matter how many you see they are all different - little differences I guess picked up by the congregations and those that have restored them. This is huge and beautiful as you can see from the pictures - personally I think one of the best. In the lawn is a tram line that was uprooted from the road, thrown over the adjacent houses, when a bomb struck on Good Friday 1941. They have left it to show how close the church came to destruction - quite a sobering reminder.

We walked to the grocery shop nearby to see if we can shop after work rather than in the weekends after yesterdays fiasco. Yes, this shop closes at 10.00 so we can walk 20 minutes after work and then catch a bus with our load of groceries (join the multitude who do that every day). It will free up our weekends which is great as it is sort of like a Warehouse come supermarket and so should have most things we need.

That's it - new week tomorrow and new job...