On the way to Taunton, we’re stopping off in Basingstoke. We’re really keen to catch up with our friends Caroline and her son Jack. Her husband Peter had to work – understandably. We’ve known them the longest of all, in fact long before Jack was born. He’ll be turning 18 next week. We have lunch at Popeye’s, with fried chicken, chips, mac & cheese and various sauces. Gabi and I share a meal, so that we still have room for a lovely dessert afterwards.

At around 3 pm, we have to say goodbye again. We carry on driving and charge the car along the way. Then there’s a traffic jam – as always, near Stonehenge. People slow down to take a photo. It happens every single time.

We arrive in Taunton at 5.30 pm. Another friend of ours lives here, and we’ll be spending the next few days with her. We check into our hotel room before heading over to her place for supper. She’s cooked an incredibly delicious mushroom bourgignon with mashed potato. There are no leftovers. And we’re delighted that Mickey, the dog who used to be very anxious, barks at us briefly but then sniffs us and recognises us. After all, we haven’t seen him for a year and a half. He does need a moment to recover from the excitement and have a little nap, but then he comes over to us and happily lets us stroke him. How lovely!