From Paxton to Heathrow ready for our flight to EuroDisney and then watching Chelsea easily beat by favourite team Luton Town to go through to the final.
Quite a revelation for me to be without Sam as I used the morning to get up to date with my paperwork and ready for the start of our journey. I updated two days' journal and reconciled my bank account after paying yet more bills. Then, with midday past, I started emptying out the car so that I could pack and load up.
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The dog transit box had to come out but then there was more than enough space to load all of the baggage into the boot space. It was still around 1.00pm before we were all ready to leave and we then stopped off at A.J.'s and got Daniel to join us for a late lunch. This food stop is being turned into a McDonalds and will soon be closed in its present form and the existing staff seem sad about it. Off on the road again before, listening to the radio, I became aware that the first semi-final between Chelsea and Luton was being played at Wembley in the afternoon and that our hotel for the night.
The Heathrow Marriott, did not have Sky Sports Satellite coverage for me to watch it! I was hoping to see this match and even considered trying to get a ticket to drive off and see it in person but time was against me and they have a policy against selling tickets on match day anyway. The journey went well and, once we had registered and the family were installed in the hotel leisure area, the porter found out the name of the nearest pub that was showing Sky Sports on their TV and I went over to watch.
"The Printers ..." in Slough turned out to be very suitable and, with its seven screens, impersonal enough for me to relax and enjoy it. Only the result was wrong as Chelsea easily beat Luton Town to go through to the final. We were pleased with the hotel, but they did try to charge us much more than we had agreed and my policy of faxing confirmation and insisting on a faxed reply paid dividends and we got the rates we wanted in the end. The girls enjoyed the leisure room, and I joined them there for a game of table tennis when I got back (and beat them all easily!)