We are largely packed, though not loaded up. This is thanks to the Head Gardener’s insistence that the packing started a week ago. She is always right. Mostly.
Packing the car to go away was always a fraught time with family holidays. A high stress activity, especially when you thought it was all finished with every nook and cranny filled and you turn around to discover that more bags have appeared.
The pile of stuff to go in the car has grown over the week. It isn’t a pile per se. The jumbled array of goods being transported to the isle has spread out engulfing most available surfaces in the front room. At least we have a spare living room for this purpose. Almost as if by design. It is certainly a handy space for dumping all our gear when returning from a trip. Processing said gear could then be done at leisure.
In my mind the ideal scenario is that we fit everything into the boot of the defender leaving the back seats free to stick the odd coat and to accommodate any foot passengers catching the same ferry.
Reality is going to be v different. The baggage train includes bulky items such as duvets, three off, and several kitchen bound trugs. As well as hiring a cottage on the prom we have our largely unfurnished house which is going to be occupied for the next few months, hence the gear.
It’s like going on a big camping expedition which actually was often the reality back in those stress filled days with four children’s worth of stuff to fit in plus the Gelert Zenith 6. The Zenith 6 was a huge family sized tent that would comfortably fit nine persons but was palatial for six of us. Two persons were needed to carry the tent and the whole team was well drilled for the erection, each with their own role in the process. Two hours was a good time from unpacking to moving the sleeping bags into position.
We eventually invested in a trailer which would take all the baggage leaving the interior of the car free for people and any entertainments needed to make the long journey more bearable. Nowadays the trailer sits in the corner of the front drive and is likely to be sold this summer.
For this family holiday all four now adult offspring will be flying from London leaving the HG and I to take the ferry, and the baggage in the car. The return trip will be without the bulky items but with more people as we are all Liverpool bound on the way back. Am hoping we will get everything in the boot. V shall c.
Right now my condition is stress free and is expected to remain so even as I confront the task of loading up the car. I have already resigned myself to the fact that the back seats are going to come down. This is ok. This is one of the beauties of there being just the two of us.
Stay calm and if you are Belgian, enjoy your Ascension Day Bank Holiday.