November

The weather was very November today.

I had to run a couple of errands at the opposite ends of the village. I didn’t fancy ‘the cold November rain’, so I drove, but via my café in Ely, where I got some writing done. The plan was to go to one place on the way out and the other place on the way back.

The first errand was fine, but then I discovered they’re digging up the A10 just before a particularly busy roundabout, and they’ve set up four-way temporary traffic lights, causing seemingly endless queues. So that was fun.

In the café, I had a latte. I must remember to ask for soya milk because the fellow makes it with oat by default, it seems, which I’m not keen on in hot drinks: it has a funny tang to it. I also had a piece of what you’d get if a mince pie and a Bakewell tart had a baby. It was only small, but it was rich and I liked it.

I did get some writing done, and then I got distracted looking for a video (yes, a VHS cassette tape) that a couple of characters could watch together. It was surprisingly difficult to find a list of videos, but once I honed the search terms, I stopped getting lists of video games released in America. I found the perfect one for my characters. It’s a classic that everyone has (surely) heard of, but, more importantly, follows the theme of the book. The distraction paid off.

The second errand was a disaster. They’d moved – nearer the first place, as it turns out. I drove there, but couldn’t find it. I found a massive sign pointing the way I’d come saying it was the next right, but it was dark and our streetlights are rubbish, and I couldn’t tell where I was meant to go. So I drove home. I’ll saunter out tomorrow during the daylight hours.

Ely cathedral is purple today.