And it all started so well ...

I saw Sarah off on the first train, to begin the long journey back home for her sister's wedding in New Zealand, travelling via Cheltenham, London and Bali, and soon to return via Japan and wherever else takes her fancy. She thought about possibly overlanding it through Russia, before realising that Siberian winters can be a bit on the chilly side, and she wanted to travel light! She's a very inspiring young woman.

I took a very slow walk home, taking in the beautiful autumn colours being caught in the morning light. I had some chores to catch up on. A little while after running the washing machine with an overdue load of dirty laundry, in between cycles, I thought I heard a dripping sound. A quick check revealed the thing was leaking, the surrounding carpet soaking wet. I turned the machine off and tried to drain it. The dripping continued. It suddenly dawned me where the water would be draining. Perhaps it wouldn't be enough for anyone to notice? No sooner had that optimistic thought entered my head and the phone rang. My heart sank. I was expecting it to be my downstairs neighbour, but it wasn't. It was worse. It was the wife from the basement flat two floors below me. She told me her husband was in bed with flu and had been woken up by water dripping on his head. It was a little sign from the Gods that this was not going to be one of my better days.

From there it took a real nosedive ...