Having been dropped off at our local garage for the van to be repaired, the recovery vehicle leaves us to collect the car and empty everything into it. It’s a Sunday, so it’s fingers crossed that the garage will look kindly upon us tomorrow.

So…with much lighter pockets and a van with a working clutch, we prepare to set off again. A year ago [ish] we’d bought tickets for a gig at the Principality Stadium in Wales’ capital, Cardiff. Time has caught up. I’ll admit that there were times in the preceding weeks when I didn’t expect to be going, but it has come round and I’m fit to go.

The good news is there is an excellent campsite almost in the centre of this compact and lovely capital city, where we’ve stayed before. The bad news is that by the time we try to book it there’s no capacity. We think again.

Perhaps we can stay outside Cardiff and get a bus or train in? Again, we’re thwarted. We left things much, much too late.

As the date approaches and with no other options we book into a Premier Inn, cheap chain hotel, surprised that there’s a room available.

The next hurdle is parking. There are no spaces available for a van [ie under a barrier] anywhere in Cardiff. This is one popular event! Then we discover ‘Just Park’- a cunning scheme that lets private homes rent out their spaces. We can get a space outside someone’s house and catch a train into the city. Whew! Let’s hope it works.

Having packed the van and with a site en route reserved, we set off westwards, only to turn back when an alarming banging sets up underneath the vehicle somewhere. Horrors! Echoes of the Warminster debacle clanging, we head home and to the garage again; the same routine, emptying into the car. But this time we’re lucky and it’s a bolt that sheered off, replaced by the mechanic for no charge.

Next day we’re off once more.

It’s a hot journey to Cardiff and hotter still by the time we arrive. We need to locate our parking space and it’s away from the centre of the city. We also need to negotiate our way through a vast throng of traffic, clearly in pursuit of the same goal as ourselves. The Principality stadium is popular today!

We reach the housing estate where our space is- marked, as warned, with a yellow spot. It isn’t a large space and it’s between two other snugly parked vehicles, but Husband manages to manoeuvre in, leaving us a space to wriggle out- just. Phew!

Before leaving we draw all the curtains, to keep the sun out and the curious, too.

Now to find the rail station, which takes some doing, By now, the weather has become very hot indeed and traipsing to the station with overnight bags is not for the faint hearted. But then we’re on the train and after a few stops we’re in the city centre. Next- to find the hotel. Having asked several station staff members we discover it- across the road from the station…

At last we can sit in the hotel bar with a cold beer and relax before making our way to the stadium…

Novels by Jane Deans [Grace]: The Year of Familiar Strangers and The Conways at Earthsend. Visit my website: janedeans.com