Stalking in small "valley of the roe", watching England lose their one-day Test series in cricket despite Robin Smith scoring 167 and relieved that the Range Rover returned so that I could start packing to leave
I laid in again but got up at 7.00am for a bath and hair wash, then down to breakfast at 7.30am so that I could complete my meal before having to feed the dog after 8.00am. Straight off to Broubster with Sam where I prospected the southern end of my estate so as to walk down the western boundary and small "valley of the roe" as I will now call it. Sam and I disturbed one roe (a doe, I think) that ran away barking and, judging by the marks on the nearby trees, there could have been a buck to seek out in the evening. Back to the hotel via Sutherlands where Charlie had at last the good news that the replacement automatic gearbox had arrived. I had some sandwiches at the hotel for lunch and then watched the second England vs Australia one day test whilst waiting news of the car.
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England scored over 275 in their innings and seemed high and dry with an Aussie response unlikely. Robin Smith scored 167 and new boy Graham Thorpe 36. However, the Australians made a remarkable come-back and won the match, taking an unbeatable 2-0 lead in the three match series. The car was not ready when I drove over at 4.00pm nor again at 5.30pm and so I opted to wait in the hotel for Charlie to bring news. I fed and walked Sam, watched the end of the cricket, and then took dinner as the realisation dawned that I would not be able to return for that roe buck.
It was after 9.30pm that Charlie arrived, having had many interruptions and many problems getting the trim back together. I was then up late loading all my things and doing the packing for the morning as I now knew I could leave at last. The last minute problem was the brakes as we took the car for a test drive and realised that one of the rear brake pads had broken up. Charlie had no such pads for a Range Rover and so I would have to solve the problem on the way down.