I had a relatively pleasant flight with Emirates, BNE-DBX 14.5 hours and DBX-BHX 7.5 hours. Dubai was a hot 35 degrees and dusty.

Impressive Emirates fleet at Dubai

I arrived in Birmingham at midday on Saturday 23 August on August bank holiday weekend. Europcar car hire where extremely busy with limited stock and I left with an unsuitable Mercedes GLE diesel. There was a booking problem at the local Holiday Inn but did some shopping and had a good sleep.

After an early breakfast I drove back to Europcar and was lucky to get a Corolla hybrid swap. Via the services at Tamworth I arrived at Marg and Frank's around 11.30. After lunch Frank drove us to Beacon Hill where I used to take my mother back in the 2000s. Some sun appeared and gave us a view of 3 counties, Leics, Notts and Derbys.

Beacon Hill

Beacon Hill

Marg's escooter made light work getting to the top

Frank almost made it

The next day, Bank Holiday Monday, was a lovely hot summer's day near 30 degrees. We took a stroll around Queens Park.

Hope Bell commemorates the profound impact of the COVID‑19 pandemic

Colourful bandstand

We enjoyed an impressive meal at the Old Bulls Head in Woodhouse Eaves.