It’s that time again – to head back to the chaos that is Colombo – from the sublime to the ridiculous! The dogs don’t know it as yet, as it is quite early in the morning, the rest of the folk are still curled up under blankets and the dreaded bags haven’t made their appearance as yet. The morning is misty, the coffee is steaming and Buzzy and Rock are dozing by me whilst WorldSpace has got some dirgey classical stuff going.

It’s weird how a change in the music changes the vibe. I just switched WorldSpace to RIFF the incredibly good jazz station and now there’s a honky-tonk piano doing a very jazzy number with just drums and bass for accompaniment – and the mood just lifts! The DJ tells me it’s Gene Harris doing ‘I just love making you smile’. My first listen to either and I make a mental note to check this guy out. Now it’s Pat Metheney – celestial!

The Dancer is awake and out of bed and getting her coffee – earlier than is usual for her – must be the departure on her mind. The Sibling must have gone off for her early morning walk, checking out the early morning birds. She was thrilled to see the Banded Crake (Rallina eurizonoides) yesterday – her first sighting of this beautiful little migrant – a far cry from the wild Pheasants she has in her garden in the north of Scotland.

The sun’s out now and flashing through the windowpane slowly warming up the morning from the 13C temperature that registers on the thermometer outside – chilly! The Jungle Fowl (Gallus lafayettii) is calling from the bottom of the garden and more birdsong is apparent. Everything’s waking up now and it’s time to get off this trip and get to the mundane chores in preparation for another departure.

The up-side is that the mates will be getting together tonight for a bit of revelry and meeting up with Rhythmic to try to spice up his imminent departure – also on the cards, so there’s something to look forward to.

Java has just come in and changed the music – another change of vibe, and a good time to let this rest.