… this evening.

Alison was coming into Leuven so we arranged to meet up and go for a meal, a coffee and a chat. And so, as indeed you might expect, when it was time for me to go off to meet up with her, it started to rain.

However, at least it did prompt me to have a shower, a shave and a change of clothes so it can’t be all bad, can it? And I must say that I needed it all too. And in another major step forward, I’ve tracked down a launderette so I can give all of my clothes a good going-over as soon as I have a bag full.

The launderette is actually on the way to the boulangerie, and seeing as how I had a full complement of everything that I needed today, I reckoned that instead of the supermarket I’d just nip to the boulangerie to see what it’s like. The baguettes cost €1:25 but they are enormous and I had something of a struggle to eat it all. And while I was in the kitchen preparing lunch I was joined by one of the students and we had quite a chat. Not only that, one of the girls is leaving on Saturday and there’s a party for her, and they have invited me to attend. Isn’t that nice of them?

I didn’t have the sleep that I wanted last night. I awoke twice with the urge to visit the porcelain horse and it’s a flaming long way down (and an even longer way back) especially in the middle of the night. But years of living in a van have taught me a trick or two and I have come well-prepared for eventualities like this. One day, I’ll explain my littie secret to you.

I’ve been on the internet for much of the day, reading the report of the American enquiry into the sinking of the Titanic. I read the British Board of Trade report years ago but the other day I came across the American one. This is very interesting because it was the first of the two enquiries and there was a huge argument recorded in its pages between the officers on one hand and the seamen of the other hand about whether the Titanic split in two before it sank. Most of the seamen who expressed an opinion were firmly of the opinion that the ship had split in two, whereas the officers disputed this idea.

The conclusion reached by the inquiry was the ship had not split in two, and at the British enquiry, the point was not pursued as firmly. Yet when the wreckage of the Titanic was discovered and filmed, they way that it was lying on the sea bed left no doubt that the ship had indeed split into two before sinking.

I met Alison at the parking of the Sint Jacobsplein and went for a walk through the rain into town. Yet another gorgeous meal at the city centre fritkot followed by a coffee around the corner, and then a slow wander back to Alison’s car, seeing as it had stopped raining by now. It’s nice to be sociable and meet up with friends.

Back here, I’m having a little late night for a change. Serve me right for drinking that coffee!

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