It’s all going really well, but we’re busy and tired. We’d thought we would have a day in London, but they decided it was a day too much.So we’ve done other things more locally instead, including a visit to Sandringham, a boat trip, a trip to Blickling, a day in Norwich and several meals out. We crash out when we get back here.

It all went tits up on Wednesday evening. We’d been out all day – that was probably the Sandringham day – and I plugged the car in to recharge. R asked what was planned for dinner and I said I’d half a chicken that needed using. She said, pfft, put it in the freezer, lets go out. So off we went, or tried to.

The car didn’t like being unplugged soon after being plugged in. It started but wouldn’t do anything else. So I said, let’s go in the BMW. Now, I’d started that last week to move it, but I hadn’t, though I’d meant to, taken it for a drive to recharge the battery. Which was, a week later, flat. I’d last driven it in May. So we ended up taking Wink’s car. We were lucky to have it as she’s going to give up driving: her eyesight isn’t ever going to get better and she’ll soon be told she shouldn’t drive any more, so would rather make the decision herself.

Next morning, the electric car was fine, as I’d expected. It was a blip. If I’d walked away so that the key wasn’t registered any more, then gone back, I think it would have been all right – but then I wouldn’t have known about the flat BMW battery. As it was, we used Wink’s car the next day to jump start it and it started immediately. I took it for a spin and it was fine. Today, I drive another 60 miles or so, so I know it’s okay.

I’d love an easy life but I can’t see that I’ll ever get one.