Sunday 5th July, 09.44 London time:
Yesterday I was meant to be setting off in Bernard with Graham and Ed, so I spent all day shopping for those last important bits (water purification tablets, french boules, rounders kit etc!), and was up until 4am packing my shiz into 3 small bags including a whole bag full of camera equipment.. phew!
I drag myself to bed, where the sun is already risen, and Jake has been asleep for at leat an hour. Lucky bum. To be fair, he did pack my camera bag for me as I was on/off snoozing since 1am, and he layed all my toileteries for me and we packed those together. What a star :-D
I wake up at 7am when Mum rushes through the house like a bulldozer 'WE'RE GOING TO BE LATE!', as usual, we are not going to be late - it only takes 25 minutes to drive to Greenwich Park (our Bernard meeting point)and we don't have to be there until about 9.30!
So I force my limp, backaching and dehydrated body downstairs to check my stuff one last time, and begin to realise packing until so late was a BAD IDEA.
I check my phone for the time, and am surprised to find a text from Graham timed 5.56am saying that Bernard is not ready!!??!?!
"Hello kids, things for the car are still not ready so Bernard and I will not be going today. We will still be meeting at the launch, Ed I will pick you up at 8, and Em, I'll see you at Greenwich at 9ish."
Family debate ensues in the Whitehead household, 'does this mean specifically that you'll be going tomorrow?' - I say yes, i suppose so! Dad has already cancelled a business appointment for tomorrow morning to make this set off, so now he doesn't know whether to bother coming to Greenwich Park or not. I tell him that there is still a possibility that we will set off, as I don't know any details about Bernard's status, but he decides to risk it and stays at home.
Mum, Jake and I drive off towards the park at breakneck speed and arrive around 9am, much to Jake's amusement, as I have proven that my Mum gets pent up about distance timings when we both estimate polarised travel durations. I was right. We arrived within 25 minutes of leaving Peckham.
The park seems a wee bit empty, and there are only two rally teams at the meeting point - no sign of Bernard.
We settle for a stroll to the top of Greenwich Park hill and the views of London it bringeth. I'm feeling really bad now.. I really hope we aren't going today afterall..
Bernard arrives at about 9.45 and the rally teams canoodle, while Jake and my Mum bugger off to find ice cream and leave me with all the stuff! They return with a half melted chocolate cone for me, just as a photo call is required by the organisers.
After more canoodling, and a hello to Graham's friends and family I met in a dodgy curry house some 4 months before, I confirm with Graham and Ed I will be picked up tomorrow from my house(!) around lunchtime.
We go home via Decathlon the sports superstore so I can buy a fleece for the Pamir Highway and some frightful sandals my Mum calls 'comfortable'. We reach home around 1.30pm; I crash out and don't wake up until 8pm.
