We woke up at around 6.30 a.m. even though I had the alarm off. We did quite a lot of preparation yesterday, but still had many, many things to do this morning. We have quite a lot of stuff on the floor of the van, in the interests of keeping the weight low. When we are camped we not only have the extra space of the slide out, but also tend to put lots of stuff in the cab, so it won’t be a problem.

I’ve downgraded our home internet plan, which they do at no cost to us, as we don’t need to keep paying for really high speed whilst we are away. I’ve parked the Winnie nose in because that means when I am backing I have our neighbour’s guttering in my right hand mirror next to me. Damaging their house is my main worry.

6.15 p.m.

We feel that it has been a successful day. We arrived at Greenmount close to lunchtime, and went down Scott Street to a cafe to wait until Mum had had her lunch. We arrived just in time as she was wanting to go out for a cigarette. She showed Stephen her room, then we went up to the smoking area. It was a pleasant visit. She is quite alert, though still doesn’t know why she is there. I gather she is still being rude to the staff as we heard her complaining about having to wait to be taken to the smoking area when we were arriving. Her eyes were red and her hair looks a bit wild, time for the hairdresser I would say. We enjoyed our visit anyway. Mum does like the huge tree outside her window.

Then, it was on our way to Meckering. We had one stop on the way just past Northam, and arrived at about 4.15 p.m. A cup of tea and walk around the immediate environment was enjoyable. There is a cafe, with cooked breakfasts, toilets, drinking water and a designated area for parking. We have streetlights nearby, which will help us to feel safe overnight. There is also the roadhouse on the other side of the highway.