Oh yes. When I retired I made a pact with myself that I'd not stay abed past 08.00 hrs and largely speaking I've stuck to that. Every Tuesday however it's a little after 6 o'clock so we can get out to my boy's house in time to let them go to work and deliver our grandaughter to school before looking after the wee boy for the rest of the day. Back indoors at home for around 19.30 hrs. It takes most of the next morning before we feel sufficiently recovered to undertake normal living again. Those folk who start families very late in life have to be stark staring bonkers!
Been a long time since I was at the zoo but, as a boy, we spent many happy hours there with our "animal mad" mother and I remember it as an exciting and enjoyable experience. The fact it's all on a hill is a little difficult for little legs but i don't remember that as being a big deterrent. Back in those days the big cat cages were all just that with nothing between you and the animals - ie. no screening - and I do vividly remember one horrendous occasion when, with my face pressed to the bars for a good close look, a big cat turned it's back on me and delivered a "territory marking" spray which mostly succeeded in marking me! The smell was quite appalling and even though the staff allowed my mother to wash me down in their shower I remember my siblings spending the journey back down to Gala, in the family car, trying to stay as far away from me as possible. By the time of our next visit we noticed there was a transparent - maybe perspex? - screen in place!
When I was at college in London I would save up my shiny pennies until I had enough to make the journey back home to Gala and also to see the then future Mrs J in Edinburgh. Leaving London late on a Friday afternoon after college and driving through the night up the M1 A1 then off up the A68 in the wee small hours to my parents in Gala. The A68 was always a challenge when tired, especially in the winter and my wee 105E Anglia, on it's 5.20x13 cross ply tires was quite a handfull if you plowed into a corner rather too fast. Having spent a weekend burning the candle at both ends I'd then return to London on the Sunday night and, depending on how the journey went, often arriving back just in time for a bit of a refresh (shower etc) and then straight in to a day at college. How on earth did I do it? Oh, I forgot, I was young then!
