Parcel Force. You will know them if you’re based in the UK although they do claim to be worldwide operators. (Jesus, more overseas embarrassment to add to the brexit debacle) I’ve just looked up their customer promise. How sweet it is.

…..sets the standard for exceptional quality of service. You can trust us to deliver your parcels and your promises at home and abroad, taking the same care that you would yourself. We’re equipped with the latest technology and you’ll discover that good quality can also be good value.

Well, there’s a fine load of meaningless twaddle written by some corporate marketing bigwig, over promising and massively under delivering, actually not delivering anything in our case. Dave has just driven to pick up a parcel at a depot 30 minutes away that was collected last Friday, should have been with us on Tuesday according to our contract with them and it’s now 7pm on Friday night. Dave has been polite and measured when chatting to the help line. It’s now time for for the metaphorical double barrelled treatment.

I’ve dipped in and out a little bit in the past, admittedly at a distance with the corporate world. Some organisations just seem to get it right and be creditable and believable in what they stand for and how go about their business with staff, customers and suppliers. Parcel Force you are up there in the ‘bloody awful’ category. Shoddy systems, over promising and blatantly lying are just a few of our gripes. I’d like to state categorically that this is not the kind of care that matches mine. See above.

Why am I grumpy and ranty on a Friday night? Well it’s three sleeps till we fly back to Jamaica. Said parcel is a new ‘second hand’ hot water tank for Grace. If we don’t have it in our possession today, we will have no hot water. Yeh. You get why the package is important. Sure, we could manage but I DON’T WANT TO.

So Parcel Force its unlikely we’ll be using your services in the near future. Buck up or your business is done for.

Boating life seems far away. Once we get back, it’ll be a few days to get the boat shipshape then at the first opportunity, we’ll be off north towards the Chesapeake. I always get this feeling of apprehension after being away from the boat for a while. Will I know what I’m doing? Guess we’ll find out soon.

Never take a Transatlantic flight from the States with us. That’s two in a row that we’ve missed. Arriving 24 hours later than we planned is becoming an established pattern.  If we get three in a row will we win a prize? Perhaps three pottery planes ✈️ to put in a row rather than three ducks 🦆. 

We came back to the uk as Dave’s mum did a gravitational experiment using telephone cords and a flight of stairs. If you were in any doubt about the world being in a constant state of change, I can assure you that gravity still works in the way in which you’d expect. No apples required.

Good news is that Dave’s Mum is very much on the mend, broken arm healing, bruising disappearing, painkillers being banished. We felt comfortable booking flights back to Jamaica for the beginning of June.

Yesterday we took a drive to Hull which is where we started our trip from almost 3 year ago. The water is still a deep chocolate swirly brown and decidedly uninviting. Yes, we are spoilt having been in the Bahamas where you could drop your car keys in 30 feet of water and see exactly where they have landed. However, traipsing up and down the Humber River on the flood and ebb, negotiating commercial traffic, never ending navigational buoys, fog and whirly twisting water is tip top preparation for any sailing adventure. The Bahamas in comparison is child’s play.

We caught up with a few folk from the boatyard, marina and shop. And took a walk around some old haunts. Our local was starting a Gin Festival Weekend but not till 6pm so we left dry mouthed.

Dad and I had done much the same up in Berwick a few days previous. I don’t think I’ve ever been to Berwick on such a beautiful day weather-wise. We walked the walls, ate ice creams and took some photos. Being in the UK with its visible history is not be sniffed at. We have been to some fantastic places but the UK is up there too.