When someone said that the pubs were going to re-open on Thursday, I thought that it should be worth taking a look.

So scooter checklist complete, route and flight plan logged with Brown Eyes, off we went.

I headed for no-man’s land (or Douglas Promenade as it used to be known) and 25 minutes later, just as the clock struck midday, I had arrived at Douglas Legion Club on Market Hill.

And there it was. A smart new road, a useful new wheelchair ramp and the Legion Club’s contribution to recycling, a free-standing, floor-mounted, one-time paint tin, now an all-weather ashtray.

The club was once again open for business and, to be honest, it had re-opened after an eight-week shut-down and it looked as if nothing had changed. Perfect.

In fact, there were already a few regulars who had settled back into place so smoothly that, after a couple of pints of their usual pleasure, they had completely forgotten that the interruption had ever happened.

Now that one of the last pieces of the pedestrian improvements has slotted into place, the overall idea is becoming reality.

With the bits and pieces that are starting to join up, you can (almost) stroll through Douglas from the North Quay to Church Road Marina.

Would you believe that it was actually thinkable that even the Walpole Avenue, Lord Street car park and the North Quay Hotel, cinema and leisure centre sites could finally bridge the gap between fantasy and fact?

It is starting to show how the final link could be for real.

But we must not get carried away.

Without doubt a lot has happened and a lot more is on the way to reality, but the road is long and progress can be slow.

On Saturday afternoon, we took advantage of the pleasant weather and a vacant car parking space on the North Quay that had happened at the same time and strolled round the corner to Spill the Beans coffee house.

Good luck rarely happens in threes, but this was the exception. There was a vacant table in the outside seating area.

Now one of the rare bonuses that comes free with Parkinson’s is that you can’t carry two cups of coffee at a time.

In fact, I can’t even carry one cup with any degree of safety.

So on Saturday afternoon, Brown Eyes went to order the coffee and I claimed the table and set up camp to watch the world go by and wait for the refreshments to arrive.

Now I’ve heard about gull strikes, but up until last Saturday, I’ve never actually been a victim.

One of the problems that comes with Parkinson’s can mean slightly slower reactions if you drop something, or if you trip over an obstacle that’s in your way.

In my case, however, this has not been one of my concerns.

I have always been quick off the mark, or so I thought, until last Saturday.

Irene had ordered two coffees and the last two of the tasty-looking croissants left on the plate in the display case.

She delivered the two pastries and one coffee to the table, and then had gone back to collect the other coffee.

The gull strike was like lightning. I had taken one bite out of the croissant that was in my left hand when they attacked.

There were two of them, one free meal each. Gull one removed the croissant from the bag on the table and gull two had locked in on his snack that was still in my left hand.

He was quick, but just not quick enough.

In a flurry of feathers, a flash of a flying walking stick and two expletives, one from me and the other from the gull, it was all over.

Be prepared.

If you enjoying a coffee on the Quay, keep your bun in your pocket and your stick in your hand.

You have been warned.