Day 1 - The ship
Finally, the day of departure, take two. After a morning of removing two days worth of clothing from my luggage and tidying the flat, I set off for the coast. Three points of interest, the first being the two most stupid questions I have ever been asked about the Atom... "Are you allowed to drive that?" answered by, "Well, I'm old enough", and "What is it supposed to be then?" Answered by, "It's not supposed to be anything - it's an Ariel Atom". God, that kid was dumber than dumb. Second point, there was a cop with a radar gun on the A3. As I sailed past at 50 in a 50 he actually gave me the thumbs up... amazing for a radar slinger. And the third, of course, it rained. Torrentialy. I got soaked on the way to Portsmouth, but it was lovely and sunny for the last 20 minutes, so I managed to dry out.
Getting onto the ferry was pretty straightforward, and having dropped off my luggage in a four berth cabin which was barely big enough for me on my own, I settled down with a Cidre du Normandie and watched blighty disappear into the sun drenched horizon. I have no idea how to pass the 23 hours I'll be on board, but tomorrow at 2pm there's a 'Guess the Musical' competition which, since my knowledge is excellent for a straight guy, I expect to do well in.
I've decided to drive the route I planned, but to stop when I get tired and sleep at a cheap hotel, getting up early in the morning.
There was some excitement on the ferry about a couple of hours after we left port. Someone became ill and needed to go to hospital. The ship turned around and started heading back to Portsmouth. Bugger.
However, the case was deemed serious enough for them to call up a helicopter, so the whole ship watched as the chopper came into land to take the poor soul to hospital. It was very exciting and I've never been that close to a helicopter landing on a ship before. One more experience for the holiday.
Getting onto the ferry was pretty straightforward, and having dropped off my luggage in a four berth cabin which was barely big enough for me on my own, I settled down with a Cidre du Normandie and watched blighty disappear into the sun drenched horizon. I have no idea how to pass the 23 hours I'll be on board, but tomorrow at 2pm there's a 'Guess the Musical' competition which, since my knowledge is excellent for a straight guy, I expect to do well in.
I've decided to drive the route I planned, but to stop when I get tired and sleep at a cheap hotel, getting up early in the morning.
There was some excitement on the ferry about a couple of hours after we left port. Someone became ill and needed to go to hospital. The ship turned around and started heading back to Portsmouth. Bugger.
However, the case was deemed serious enough for them to call up a helicopter, so the whole ship watched as the chopper came into land to take the poor soul to hospital. It was very exciting and I've never been that close to a helicopter landing on a ship before. One more experience for the holiday.
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