Despite not sleeping very well last night, today wasn't that much of an effort. We arrived in Le Havre at about 7.30am and I was off the boat and on the road by about 8am. Despite the 4000rpm problem, I managed to cruise at quite a comfortable speed most of the way and the drive seemed a lot less effortless than the first time I did it.

I decided not to go to Paris as Christophe wasn't awake when I tried to contact him to say I might pop in. He didn't get my delivery reports until about 5pm so it's probably just as well I didn't make an effort. Hey ho. I didn't really stop until Orléns when I stopped and grabbed a coffee and a cakey thing just before midday. I tried to refill squirters but all the taps were frozen so that was impossible. It is exceptionally cold (I've just missed the minus 12 days) but strangely dry. The roads aren't icey at all, yet everything is iced up. If that makes any sense.

South of Orléns I stopped just after the péage and asked some very nice gendarmes whether they'd mind helping me clean my windscreen. They're being ultra-helpful at the moment following the strike/payrise, so they were more than happy to assist. The taps were all frozen at the péage too so I had to go into the police station where a rather cute young gendarme filled a bottle of water with warm water so Mildred would be able to see again. In the mean time, his colleagues thoughtfully stopped cars of cute teenagers and made them all line up next to their cars (which were conveniently parked next to mine) so I had something to look at as I scurried under the bonnet.

I got to Brian's at about 1.30pm (not a bad time, I thought) and had some lunch and beer and things. After decanting lots of stuff (Marmite, mainly) I headed back to the cottage and endured its barely-above-zero temperatures as I turned heating on full blast then went to bed for a little sleepy.

Brian on hearing Steps Chain Reaction in car: "You've got a wheel bearing going." Pah. Brian on seeing Lee from Steps naked in Attitude: "Grrr."

Dinner at Chez Brian with everyone pleased to see me. Xavier - who has removed his DVD-playing PC from Brian's and in a moment of unbelievable rudeness, my DVD collection too - declared he was to borrow my new Ab Fab 3 DVD because there was nothing to play it on at Brian's house. He didn't understand that we hadn't watched it yet or that I was being somewhat cagey about saying yes ("Well I won't bring the DVD player back"), but it seemed easier to let him get on with it than to cause an unpleasant scene at Brian's. I cannot believe the gall of the hairy, fat, dwarfy French cunt, mind you. Even by French standards, he's selfish. Hey ho. I must very quickly obtain the new series (and Last Shout as I didn't find it last time) so I can say no next time. Firmly. How childish.

Watched lots of Red Dwarf seven and eight (on mediocre video, with the technology age having departed) and ate lots of chocolate - a symptom of something in the air - and things. People say I've lost weight since I've been away but I'm convinced I'm being bloaty. Xavier even said I'd lost weight (before he'd decided to borrow things) but then I decided that's probably not much of a compliment coming from someone whose arse is so big it has its own micro-climate.

Tra la la. The sky was brilliant tonight. There was no moisture in the air at all and even with minor streetlighting, the stars were very bright. I could see more than I've ever seen before.

So cold when I went home that Mildred's suspension was lumpy and her steering heavy. Unless that's the Hydraflush not coping with cold as well as normal LHM, which is possible.