The climate in Gibraltar in May very much agrees with me, it’s lovely and warm but not too hot. I’ve never liked excessively hot weather (I think my years in India totally finished me off for that) but I do love the feel of the warm sun on my back and a warm breeze on my face. As we walked on towards the 100-ton gun I was quite happy to take a gentle pace but not only because Joe was a slower walker than me, I was totally wallowing in the feel of that warmth on my body – so much so I didn’t want the ‘journey’ to end (because the gun would still be there whatever time we arrived).

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As we walked past the dry docks I suddenly remembered reading something on Twitter that the most expensive private yacht in the world had arrived in Gibraltar for either repairs or upgrading (I couldn’t remember which) and it would be going into the dry dock today. I stuck my nose up against the fence to see if I could get a glimpse of said £Billion boat and (as the nearest dock was empty) I was just able to see it from a distance in the dock further away. Even from a distance it just looked massive, like a floating city and I wondered who on earth would want to own a private yacht that big unless it was someone planning to take a few thousand friends on a cruise. What a dreadful thought; I’d far rather have a quality hour with one friend at a time over a cup of tea, that’s my kind of Heaven.

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It was about an hour and a half since leaving the Bristol that we began our final descent down a hill to arrive at the entrance of the 100-ton gun and I was really chuffed that Joe had managed the trek. For a brief moment I worried about whether Joe would be OK to do the return journey but decided not to mention that (because I could always hail a bus or a taxi if he struggled); for now I wanted him (and me) to enjoy our visit and to that end we went in.

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