Heswall to Chelmsford

I checked out of the hotel at 10.00am and went to Uncle Jack's. We went to a coffee place we have been to before in Birkenhead and after he had driven us both back to his place, I set off for Chester.

Before going to Chelmsford, I needed to make a brief stop in Chester to buy some tobacco for Lloyd as the shop had been shut on Sunday. I easily found the car park again. However, I was a little disappointed to find that the minimum stay I could pay for was 2 hours and the cost £4.00, but I wasn't about to try anything clever, and just stuck the ticket to the window. I was successful with buying the tobacco and then started my trip to Essex.

I had been a little concerned about how I was going to get from Chester to the M56 as I had passed the exit to it by going into Chester itself. I know that one can get into quite a pickle with Motorways in England by not joining them correctly and I didn’t want to find myself heading to Aberdeen. As I was leaving Chester, I saw a sign which had much too much writing to absorb in the time, but at the bottom it said 'for the M6 Birmingham, follow the A41 to Whitchurch'. I thought that this was probably my best bet and off I set. In fact it would have been useful if we had been warned that there would be an hour and a half's driving on single track windy roads through country villages behind trucks with 'Birmingham' appearing and disappearing off the signs before joining the M6.

Once near Whitchurch there was the inevitable Ring Road and no sign of Birmingham to be seen. I had to guess from the towns on offer and eventually stopped at a garage to ask. I was still on the right road and now apparently needed to follow signs to Wolverhampton. I did eventually get onto the M6 as I said, but it would probably have been quicker to return from Chester to Birkenhead and start again!

Soon after the M6 Toll (the entry to which I had also overshot and had to follow the rather disconcerting signs to M6 North to join), I stopped for lunch. I had been on the road for a long time and was pretty stressed by now. However, the rest of the trip was uneventful and the M25 was pretty clear, so I actually arrived here only 15 minutes after my estimated time of arrival. Probably, it was one of those cases that the Motorway route is much further, but faster.

In the evening, Joy and Roger had a rehearsal of their orchestra which David now conducts. Joy had managed to borrow a clarinet for me and I joined them for the night. It was a very good clarinet and I enjoyed the experience. The only problem was that they are near to a concert and therefore are well practiced at the music. I was, of course, sight-reading and was only really able to play about 70% but no one seemed to mind. Needless to say that there was the inevitable comment about people travelling all the way from Australia to attend the rehearsal, but it was exciting to eventually see Caprice after hearing about it over many years. It is a voluntary organisation that performs and donates many thousands of pounds to various charities.

Some of the players went back to Joy and Roger’s house afterwards for drinks, one of whom lives in Chestnut Walk, Little Baddow (about 100 yards from where I was born and lived for all my life before I was married).