Returning

As a final bit of administrivia I have a definite return date or more exactly a definitive date by which I have to be back. (Definite/Definitive -- have I used either of those correctly?)

In lieu of 3-6 points on my driving licence and a £60 fine for racing past the good burghers of Brough Sowerby on the A685 in Cumbria at 48mph rather than the designated 40 [1] I have booked myself onto a Speed Awareness Course just up the road from here in Birkenhead on Wednesday 26th October at 13:00.

So, I must be back for that or I'm going down, I'll be doing time, I'll be a lag. Just what you'd expect for us career crims...

Aside from the teensy exaggeration regarding the penalty for missing the course it should be noted that from my negotiations with the Central Ticket Office (I'd like to say 'with the Fuzz' suggesting a bit of argy-bargy but in fact it was with a nice (civilian?) woman who went out of her way to help me) in the case where you are eligible for a Speed Awareness Course rather than points+fine (ie. one speeding offence per three years) you are expected to complete the course within four months of the date of the offence. That is a bit tricky if you happen to be leaving the county for four months.

There is, apparently, some leeway if you are having difficulty booking a course and I think they bent the rules a bit in that direction to come back with an offer of five months, in my case, to complete the course.