A third journey to Letchworth in a week, and we have found the secret – leave at 8:30 on a Sunday morning. Unfortunately it only works one-way unless you are going to wait seven days before coming back.

We spent the day trying to tidy dad’s house up. I made three runs to the tip and afterwards the house seemed to be just as full of stuff, but I think we are getting there, and its all good displacement therapy.

When we came home I brought dad’s car back with me. That will be handy next month, as I have some holiday owing and can use it to go up and decorate the house without leaving Jayne without transport to get to work. Having got used to a large 2-litre estate car it was a bit strange driving a tiny Seat which struggles at 70 mph. I knew Jayne wasn’t going to wait for me so when we got to South Mimms I decided to go the other way.

I thought about carrying on down the A1(M) but at the last moment went for the West side of the M25. I figured that it would be faster than the Dartford crossing and the roadworks by the A2. After a few miles it started getting slow and on a whim I took the M1 towards London so I could take the North Circular. What I forgot was that there was an NFL game on at Wembley so it was a bit slow. The new stadium arch looks impressive though.

From there it was a trip down memory lane, taking routes I haven’t been down for maybe 15 years – Hangar Lane Gyratory, Kew Bridge, Mortlake, Putney. That might have been a small mistake: I used to live with dad in Putney many years ago. Instead of going down through Wandsworth I veered off up Putney Hill and took the A3 then whatever the road is past Chessington and then the familiar M25/M23 home. Three bloody hours it took, but there was a small consolation that Jayne only beat me by about 5 minutes.

Apparently the M25 was particularly nasty on the East side.

All that strife and stress on the roads this week, and its actually only a 100-mile distance by road. Less as the crow flies obviously. How do so many people manage to do that every day? I know quite a few 100 mile commuters and I think it would do my head in within weeks. Having got used to a 10-minute commute I don’t think anyone could pay me enough to tempt me into a job which involved that sort of travelling 5 days a week, 48 weeks a year.