Pastels

K takes her "new" car to be valeted this morning, so we're back to one car again for the day. Collected her from town then got back to finish off the monthly invoicing and business paperwork for the end of the month.

After lunch and Meditation took Dad and K to visit at the hospital. Chucking it down again today, plenty of surface water creating little rivers on the roads.

A bit pushed for time as we're off to Cardiff tonight, so we were on a bit of a tight timeline. Left the hospital and no more than half a mile down the road there's this scraping, grinding, thumping noise from the back of the car and K is squealing at me to stop, like I needed to be told. Pulled over quickly, fortunately there were some parking spaces along the otherwise busy side road.

Quick check of rear of the car and there's this big lump of metal sticking out where the exhaust used to be, like the cars got piles or something. So there we are, Dad and K in the car, it's raining and passing cars are gleefully sending up waves of spray up at me as I stand dejectedly looking at my stranded car - and the minibus is due to collect us for an evening out in an hour and a half. Stuff it, no time to sort this out now, quick phone call to see who's around.

Fortunately J is home and only five minutes drive away. He picks us up and drops me home, takes K to get her car from valeting and drops Dad back home for me. An hour left to get cleaned up, dried off and ready to go.

Ready on the dot of 5.30 at neighbours to await minibus to take eight of us [neighbours] to Cardiff to see what's left of 60's bands The Animals, Yardbirds and Zombies in an evening of unashamed nostalgia at St Davids Centre.

And, of course, there's no need to book a table to eat in Cardiff on a Friday night, the night before Wales play the opener in the Six Nations, is there? So our first choice location of eating [and drinking] is packed, as is the second, and third...... Fortunately O'Neills has a function room upstairs they'll let us use - as long as we're out by 7.30. Suits us fine, the show starts then.

The Gods smile on us and it stays [relatively] dry as we're criss-crossing town. We have barely half an hour left to eat and get into our seats. To add to the mix, A and P have been delayed and we've not been able to contact them , although a text has been sent.

The lights are dimming as I get to my seat, having first negotiated with the guy who's sitting in it to move a couple of seats along so we can all fit in together. So much grey hair and so many bald heads gathered in one place for an evening of Rock.

So weird seeing some of the original band members still able to play their hits from fifty years ago. Not all of course, some are dead, some couldn't be let out at night and one had his Zimmer in for repair so sent his apologies. Other than that, a great evenings entertainment with music I swear as good as it was all those years ago.

Rounded off the night with a beer in The Corner House, rather bemused by all the canoodling going on around us, and occasionally distracted by the young lovelies in their skimpies cavorting around town. Must be signs of age, all we could think of was "shouldn't they be wearing their woollen cardies....."

Home in bed by 12.30, what a day, what a life. Must remember to go get my car sometime....