Today we meet our friend Caroline for breakfast in the garden centre. In England, garden centres are much more than just a place to buy plants and gardening tools. What a good opportunity for a proper English breakfast! We chat comfortably and are pleased to hear that things are going well for her and Peter and Jack. Even though they are suffering from the sharp rise in gas and electricity prices.

Caroline brought me my book: After Disney banned two stories by Don Rosa, the Scrooge McDuck biography can probably never be printed again. It was already sold out in Switzerland and Germany, but I managed to order one of the last copies of the English Deluxe Edition in England and have it sent to Caroline. The book comes in a slipcase with a special duck edition of the lucky ten and in a protective box. And it weighs five and a half kilograms.

Then we say goodbye to Caroline again and do what we have wanted to do for a long time: wash the car. In England, there don’t seem to be any self-wash boxes like in Switzerland. You can only drive the car through the car wash… or go to the hand wash. While we’re charging at the Supercharger, we’re already looking through car washes nearby. And soon LucY is being shampooed, washed, dried and polished by four people at the same time. And afterwards it shines in all its glory again.

Our late lunch from Gail’s Bakery is really tasty. I opt for a Pastrami Bagel, while Gabi eats a Taragon Chicken & Ham Bake – she loves taragon. Afterwards, we enjoy a leisurely afternoon, nap a little and recharge our batteries for the days ahead: Gabi’s sister is arriving tomorrow to spend a few days with us.

Go out again or eat at the hotel? Since it is just so cosy in the hotel room, we decide on the latter. We order Asian, which I then pick up: fried rice with chillies, Gabi’s is a bit spicier and with tofu, mine less spicy with chicken and prawns. Mmmmmh!