Go Go Go!

So after yesterday's nerves and anxiety, a combination of dinner, champagne and Rob's constant support and encouragement saw me wake up this morning feeling 'ready to go'.  Rob's idea to stay overnight at a hotel at Birmingham Airport was, as always, brilliant and made saying goodbye for five weeks just a bit easier - it's always more difficult for the one staying behind, especially as departure day coincided with an anniversary... we have been together sharing the highs and lows of life for nine years!

Understandably, one of Rob's main concerns has been my health... barely two weeks since my hernia repair and off I go lugging heavy bags around the world.  Am under strict instructions to rely on the kindness of strangers whenever any heavy lifting is required, which will mostly involve baggage check-ins, baggage carousels and such as I weave and stagger my way from Birmingham to Dublin and onwards to the US and Australia.

And so Dublin... the purpose of this visit was to meet one of the few women who competed in the 1968 London to Sydney Marathon.  Out of 255 people in 98 cars, only twelve were women.  One of those women was Dublin-born Rosemary Smith (go on, Google her!), a hugely successful rally driver in the 1960s - she won innumerous Coupe des Dames on the international rally circuit, and won the 1965 Tulip Rally outright, much to the annoyance of her male rivals.  Today I met her for lunch, and in the hotel lobby was confronted by a very beautiful woman, immaculately coiffed and enormously friendly.  We were soon ensconced in the hotel restaurant, drinking wine and chatting away - a big challenge of this kind of research is meeting complete strangers and trying to engage with them as quickly as possible.  I needn't have worried - a very boozy lunch ensued, and I could have sat and listened to Rosemary's recollections all afternoon.  Warm, candid and very, very funny, I'd suggest she should have her own show but in fact... she's been there and done that!  Two and a half hours later, and I begrudgingly let her get on with her life.  An extraordinary woman, dedicated to driving and teaching, synonymous with the Hillman Imp and a very lovely, mischievious person.

So tomorrow I fly to the US... I just discovered that everytime I check a bag in for a domestic US flight, I have to pay $25!  That's SIX flights.  Worse than Ryan Air, if you ask me...

PS Note to self - try to resist the urge to run for a bus.  It's painful and there 'll be another along in 20 minutes!