Decisions, decisions...

February 2017 saw us heading to the UK universitywards to help Scarlet make her choice concerning her future.   She had whittled down her preferences to Kent and Cardiff Universities, so off we trotted.

The fortnight started awkwardly, with a 2-hour flight delay, a mad dash to the car rental office, with me taking a tumble en route and breaking my thumb in the process.  Yay.  Car hire desk was then closed leaving us without a car, so G call to collect us (2am!) while the Grogster decided to sleep in Gatwick Airport to be sure to be at the desk when Enterprise opened (to not name them J )

But all clicked into place afterwards. Kent University was lovely, fab to talk to the Course Head about Romanticism and Literature and Shelley and Byron……we left with stars in our eyes. After a few hours in the Canterbury A&E Minor Injuries Unit, headed back to Crystal Palace and spent a wonderful evening with old friends and new, then headed off across the motorways of south and southwest England into the unknown land that is Wales. 

Having bizarrely paid to enter Wales on the Severn bridge we stopped at a delightful little pub in Chepstow (The Boat Inn) for a most agreeable lunch, and then continued to Cardiff.  Found the university, had a fab discussion with the course head, whose passion and political commitment instantly captured Scarlet’s head and heart, and in a flash, her choice was made.  Cardiff it is.

Drove back to England (you don’t have to pay to leave Wales interestingly enough…) to visit T&S and boys in Somerset for the evening.  Eventually found them in the village close to Babycham town, in a beautiful house.  Spent a lovely evening with them, they truly ae a wonderful family.

Then it was back to Wales to catch up with K&I – after 14 years of no contact  – stopping firstly in Enterprise Cardiff to change the hire car which was starting to flash all sorts of warning lights at us.  Got upgraded to a rather nice Ford, which had the advantage of being an automatic, so the Grogster was a happy man.  As my right hand and arm were still swathed in bandages and a sling I was unable to assist with driving.  Possibly a good thing….

It was so good to see K&I again, and their 3 boys, and after a driving tour of Cardiff town centre and harbourfront and dinner, the 2 older boys took Scarlet out for a night on the tiles to show her student life in Cardiff, and K&I took us out for an evening of “pub research” in the non-student pubs in Cardiff J  A most excellent evening was had by all.  I will however say nothing about the state of Scarlet’s room, head or stomach the following day. Nothing.

The following day, yet more driving, more motorways, more traffic jams, this time north. Bridlington here we come…