We are off to Folkestone this afternoon, ready for an early train through the chunnel in the morning.

If you wonder what the large cardboard box is. It is an item for the charity auction donated by our friends Rick & Jan. Perhaps we should have thought through the logistics of getting it to Italy.

The large bag, another good idea, contains both of our luggage. Getting it onto the back seat through the gap between the front seat and door frame proved a real challenge.

Then there is the suit carrier with our black tie dinner clothes, all topped of by various coats and handbags on top.

After loading up we set off for the four hour drive to Folkestone with the usual M25 traffic. Then something you don’t need to do with a modern car, the fluid checks, only to find it had drunk a couple of pints of oil in the 200 miles travelled. Now, I’m trying to work out how far my spare gallon of oil will get us.

You might notice Poppy the Italian Job bear supervising me, thats my compatriots contribution.

Check done its into the pub adjoining the hotel for a meal and the first opportunity to meet up with some of the friends from previous trips

Then off to bed to get the strength up to battle the luggage back into the car early in the morning, before the short drive to the eurotunnel.