15:30  "Hi George, how's viz and runway, can I come earlier than 18:00?  Great.  See you later."
17:30 "DO is still up, here have IK instead, but you will have to find it as I don't know where it was last parked."  It is dark, I cannot find IK.  Back to the clubhouse and get told to await DO which is back on circuit.  DO proceeds to do lots of T & G.
17:50 "MH is coming in, do you want that instead?"

I go out to greet MH and smile sweetly, in the dark, to discuss fuel with the pilot and encourage him to offer to check tanks for me.  "About 100 litres, should be about OK for the hour!!"

Do the checks, start the engine, whhoooooo it goes between 1000rpm and 1600 rpm.  Back to clubhouse and am assured that it has been doing that for the last 50 min with no major mishaps.  Maybe it is something to do with the new vacuum pump.

Back, to start up again and do radio checks.  Am receiving fine but transmission seems dubious unless the mike is almost in my mouth.  Put it just on my lips.  Will I ever get going?  Taxi to hold, wait for another to come in and XK to depart.

"MH, ready for departure"  Line up, full throttle, with 10º flaps lift off is fairly fast.  Nasty cold draught, hand behind to grab dip stick to bang rhs side air vent whilst ascending.  Slow down the ascent a bit, this is not an aeros plane.  Turn, turn, turn onto about 100 into the silvery moonlight of the waning moon. 

The sky may not be clear but the moon is bright.  The landscape is scattered with towns beaming out their lights.  There is traffic on the A120 heading to Braintree, the normal tailback is there.  And I am up in the skies, above it all, pootling along with no cares, looking around, feeling free from the constraints of the earth.  Witham over to the right with the line of traffic on the A12 heading to Colchester on my nose.  Keep ascending.  Coggeshall below me with Kelvedon now to the right and Tiptree beyond it.  Further than Colchester the coast is outlined with Clacton and Frinton with Harwich in the distance and Ipswich beyond it.  That mast north of Ipswich must be the Crowfield marker, it looks so much nearer in the dark.  Southwards the Kent coast is outlined with the lights of Whitstable and Herne Bay.  Keep climbing to 4000', 4500'.  What did F214 give for icing?  Check the carb icing, needs a bit of warmth to encourage it to not exist.  Keep a watch out there are plenty of others at a variety of levels also enjoying the pleasures of the night.

It is so peaceful up in the night sky with the troubles of the world below and out of the way.  I can feel the stress of the week peeling off me and being dispersed by the exhaust.  Life feels so much better up here in the magical silvery moonlight.

However good things come to an end and 2 factors encouraged a turn round.  Firstly the drink of water prior to the flight was explaining itself and secondly I did not want to get too unpopular by returning late.  About turn but with a slight diverision northwards over my place. Down, down, call up to announce presence.  Descend dead side. Call downwind. Do checks. Turn base.  Hey what has happened to base, this seems a very tight circuit.  What was that Mark said about base seeming to have a bit of tail wind that needed accounting for!!! I have now overshot base so a  half orbit to get back onto finals.  And so down, not a brilliant landing but we are still all there.

Curl up with a cuppa by the clubhouse fire.  Am not feeling sociable but enjoy watching the others, winking at the cat and passing the odd word with people as they go past.  Feel the last bits of stress roll off and tumble into the fire to evaporate away.

A great evening where I am also pleased that I had the confidence to go up on my own.  Much better than this time last year.