Out of England

The smile is really a grimace - it's 4.45 a.m. and we've a 2 hour drive to Folkstone for Le Shuttle

Off down the M25 towards the Channel

..... and toasties and coffee while we waited to board.

Claire pensive. John expansive.

It's really strange to come across the French border, complete with customs officials and gendarmes, on Enlish soil. We had our passports out to get them stamped, but the Immigration man yawned and waved us through. God these Frenchmen are slack!

The following photos show the boarding sequence for Le Shuttle. You might think them boring, or not, depending on how easily you are amused. When viewed from inside a car that's about to spend the next 40 minutes under the English Channel, they take on a fascination bordering on terror.

I know you understand, Anne.

To parqaphrase Janet, 'further down the gangplank'.

And at last, la belle France. Actually, the 'belle' bit was mixed with a thunderstorm and heavy showers. Still .......