Day 7 - Greenport

Day 7 - His Well, I sort of expect to get ill at least once on these long trips - but i have to say i hadn't expected to get ill quite so soon. It started a few d ays  ago as a sore throat and was a full blown cold by last night. Consequently, i spent most of the morning in a haze of runny eyes, runny nose and lots of sneezing. Patti's mom rode to the rescue with some anti histamine and that coupled with a gallon of lemsip - which mysteriously appeared from the bottom of Patti's rucksack - there is a bit of like mother like daughter going on here i think -  helped me limp into the afternoon and a boat trip launched from the newly restored dock. I think the rest went off to the beach or something but to be absolutely honest i am not a hundred percent sure. I dragged myself through the rest of the day and dinner by the sea - more fish! - how much fish can one person decently eat? James varied it a little by having soft shelled crab but Patti, Steph and Sue all ordered the same thing - some kind of stuffed flounder that looked for all the world like an huge eyeball. I have to admit I was wishing all the time i was in bed and that i would stop sneezing. I am a terrible invalid, like most men i think, so though i have glossed over it i am quite surer there was a lot of whining involved - Patti said i looked miserable - i certainly felt it - but, again, that could be because i am just a whiner when it comes to being ill. We are setting off for beijing in the morning - i think we leave about 5 in the morning - so not being particularly early risers the rest of the family said their tearful goodbyes at about 10 and we went to bed. I strongly suspect Patti's mom will get  up with us - she didn't cry nearly enough - still plenty of time for that in the morning and i am sure she will get a sob or two in!