Monday 31st October

So today I offered myself for a mercy mission.  A friend was coming out of hospital, his car was in the wrong place so I volunteered to go up with his wife and the friend who was collecting him from hospital.....I knew he would be worried about the car staying in Plovdiv so I offered to bring it back.  We weren't sure what time he would be discharged from care so I sat with his wife in the garden waiting for the call from Plovdiv enjoying the sun, watching the cabbage whites and other butterflies filling up on nectar  A bit like watching nature in action, feed and mate on the cosmos and head up to the vegetable patch and lay eggs on the cabbages....a good morning's work.

The call came through so a call was made to the friend who was driving the car to Plovdiv, he arrived and off we set for the two hour journey.  We found the hospital and the exact room, brought the luggage down to the car and there was one other thing that had to be done so I sat in the car that I was driving down fiddling with nobs, adjusting mirrors, working out where the indicators were and the light switches.  Everything appeared to be in a different place to mine but I was game for it.  The other three went off to sort the issues out and returned around an hour later during which time it was decided that he would be more comfortable in his own car and could help me get the car home.  I also thought it was better not to travel in tandem with the other car....one gets lost and it's ladies anatomy heading skywards....(work it out).

My first problem once we were ready to set off was a very stiff clutch and this caught me out a few times but eventually I got there.  Plovdiv at end of day hours is not the best place to drive through and with the clocks going back, darkness was upon us fairly early on.  For those of you that don't know the Asenovgrad to Kardjali road, it's a bastard, bends all the way through the mountains but it's the road I like best, no places for overtaking and that's fine as long as there's no one in front of you.  Unfortunately we ended up following a very impatient man following a small truck with very little power and this was further compounded by a car towing another car and a lorry heading up the procession.  Eventually the lorry pulled over. the car pulling the other car shot off in the distance but out small truck was having none of it and just wouldn't move over.  So on a straight stretch the impatient car got round the truck, I got round it to further down the road and we caught up the car being towed as we hit the Kardjali road.  The rest of the journey was uneventful, the sat-nav. didn't put a foot wrong and it was sheer relief that I'd managed to get us all safely back.

Uneventful journey through the lanes back home, and was surprised that it was still early, I'd not changed the clock in the Nipper.  Barbecue crisps for supper and now it's time to see if my quiz night is still on or has been moved because of the rugby.  LN.....Time to find out.......LN