I can’t believe it’s been 4 years since we travelled to Japan for the RWC 2019. So much has happened since then:

1. The COVID pandemic landed not long after we returned from Japan and changed the landscape of all our lives forever.
2. Catering was diagnosed with and treated for bowel cancer. He stoically endured 2 lots of surgery and 6 months of chemotherapy, which played havoc with his hands & feet. The dreadful stoma bag came and thankfully went and in October 2022 he was declared a cancer free zone. He’s a little thinner (not a bad thing), has a small scar on his stomach (nowhere near as impressive as Alex’s one) and, as I type, is in the process of re-training his bowel (a work in progress). Most importantly he is still with us, so all the other stuff in life is manageable.
3. It took a new kitchen and a pandemic to drive me to it, but it’s official, I can cook. In fact, I now love being in the new space we have created and spend many happy hours chopping & peeling, not something I thought I’d ever write. Mary Berry, move over!
4. The Not-so-small Boys have left home and are both happily living and working in London, so we are officially empty-nesters and are loving it (although we obviously miss them from time-to-time).
5. I still haven’t won the lottery.

So here we are in 2023 and the RWC has rolled round again. We had such a great time in Japan that we decided to do it again, this time in France. I started booking accommodation 18 months ago and we’ve had some of the match tickets for over a year, so it seems strange to now be only 6 weeks away from our Big Blue Truck Tour of France. We decided against repeating the campervan experience of Japan, and have instead settled on a truck and hotel/airb&b/staying with friends combo. We don’t really fit in a campervan and I just don’t seem to be able to get on with a chemical toilet. So, as of 5th September, we have 5 weeks of fun lined up with 8 matches and 15 different places to stay.

I was worried that Catering might be less then fully enthusiastic about my advanced levels of planning, but then some merchandise arrived which has left me thinking he might b a little bit excited at the prospect too.