Public versus private transport

I did the maths. Yes, it was possibly going to be cheaper to hire a car and get my husband to drive us both from Cambridge to Birmingham for the weekend, than to get the train. Certainly it would be more flexible, and should be quicker. The variables I didn't include in these calculations were:

1. forgetting a map (which might have increased the petrol usage)
2. getting a puncture on the M42
3. having to pay for the replacement tyre (a rare and expensive one, bien sur)
4. forgetting to buy a map for the return half of the journey

In terms of stress levels, it was a bad deal for hubby.

Nevertheless it was nice to go home and see everyone for 3.5 seconds and do the 'being a family together' thing which in my parents house these days equates to taking the dog a short walk, watching the TV and torturing each other with the cryptic crossword in the Radio Times. In addition, the dog had dressed up for Halloween and was doing an impression of 'Frankinmut' (he had rather large stiches protruding from his muzzle where he'd had a biopsy a few days before); I got to see the 'all new' Shirley Baptist Church (gone are the pews, the marble and the traditional layout - this jury is still out); and I also visited my brother's flat in the 'Hemisphere' development opposite Edgbaston Cricket Club (what used to be the Tally Ho Tennis and Bowls Club).

Quotes of the weekend:

(Milly, 4 year old niece): You're the bestest girl in the whole world ever.

(Joe, 12 year old nephew): You've got nanny hands.

You've got to take the good with the bad.