We leave for the mile long walk to the station, complete with a trolley load of Coffers, Clysters, Comfrey and Coifs and our C17^th gear. This is not quite an old lady’s shopping trolley but pretty close. Chris is wearing his C17^th hat. I try to work out whether this is more or less conspicuous than full C17^th rig. Within ten seconds I decide he is not the most incongruous person on Crystal Palace High Street. We have our usual yokels in the big city moment when the aforementioned trolley gets stuck in the automated station entrance thingy – you know, the one where you shove your ticket in (if you are me usually upside down) and it gets swallowed and the spongy bits open – in this case not far enough. We are released by a long suffering staff member. Typically, platform 1 is up and down lots of steps. Chris copes manfully with the trolley. Then, as we get on the train, the wheel falls off said trolley. I attempt, unsuccessfully, not to dissolve in hysterical laughter and Chris gets stuck in the closing train door as he fails to retrieve the wheel’s retaining split pin. Once a girl guide however (that would be me not Chris – he was a lifebouy, or should that be life boy?). I have a handy nappy pin. No one in my household has worn a nappy for 25 years but I have a nappy pin – as one does. A temporary repair is effected. At the first stop, Chris risks life and finger to extract the wheel’s washer from the train’s door runner. We do miss the Olympic ‘transport for London’ spirit and the helpful types pointing the way with their sponge fingers but the rest of the journey is uneventful. The inability to move on the morning rush hour train is another reminder why we live where we do.

We are early for Who Do You Think You Are? Live but are soon busy greeting old friends. I have a ticket for the Gregg Wallace chat. Brilliant as anticipated. I brave it to re-introduce myself at the end. Shame they didn’t show a clip of ‘my’ bit. Staggered to see a huge Coffers, Clysters poster behind the Family History Bookshop stall. I sign a few copies and one purchaser thinks he can get it publicised with the Civil War Society – hurrah! More ‘networking’, gleaning information and trying not to spend money! A quick change and then the tedious journey home through freezing temperatures and flakes of snow.