For some time the chief cook had been planning a three day excursion at the end of the month, going round some posh gardens in the Cotswolds with her sister and their Dandelions group of friends. We were trying to work out where we might be just before then, with a view to making suitable mooring and transport arrangements, as Biggles needed to go home to make sure that the new cat next door was behaving itself.

However, a phone call with Fran’s sister, and a question along the lines of “where am I picking you up on Tuesday?” suggested that someone had got the dates wrong, and that the trip started early next week, not the week after.

Fortunately , a phone call established that Pyrford Marina could put us up again for the appropriate period (and fee!), so instead of heading for the Thames, we had a leisurely few days to get to Pyrford – not far at all. Good job we don’t actually plan our trips down to the last detail!