Another month gone!

I can't believe it's June tomorrow...where did May go?

Well, as per usual, today has been sunny and dry and it was back to work for me. The day didn't get off to a very good start as we had to do the cleaning at work and the hoover nearly caught fire. I had to use the back-up vacuum which was pergatory so I swiftly put that right and kitted it out with new bits and bobs which made a huge difference. When our normal cleaner returns tomorrow I hope she appreciates it!

In the evening we went to the pub for a meal as a treat and a very pleasant evening it was as well. It definitely made up for all the little stresses of the day!

Bank Holiday Monday

What a washout the Bank Holiday was! It was the perfect day to do very little, which is what we all did! At least the garden has benefited, though, as it rained all day and the ground soaked up the water very thankfully.

I did a fair amount of research on my family tree, marvelling at how many people have my relatives in their trees seeing as I have sixteen Great great grandparents!

Sunday 29 May - a day out in London

Our plan had originally been to go to the Lake District for the day (a long way, I know!) but the weather was looking a bit iffy so we plumped for London instead. No problems with the car this time, thank goodness, and the journey down was smooth and trouble-free.

We parked on the road running through Hyde Park, had some of our picnic and then embarked on a very long walk! We visited the Princess Diana Memorial fountain first where a lot of children were having fun splashing in the water running down to the pool at the bottom (including my two who seem to get younger whenever water is around).

A rose in the Rose Garden, Hyde Park

We ambled off to Hyde Park corner and down to Buckingham Palace where all the roads were closed in advance of a 10km run on Monday. The place was heaving with tourists, and lots of Barcelona fans in particular who'd been at Wembly the night before for the Championship final with Manchester United. We followed the Mall up to Trafalgar Square and then down to Downing Street passing Horseguards Parade on the way and two very patient and long-suffering guards.

I couldn't resist taking a photo of this taxi!

We continued past the Cenotaph to Big Ben, the Houses of Parliament and then the Thames itself which we crossed via Lambeth Bridge which gave us fantastic views of some of the most iconic buildings in London. As our feet were aching a bit by now, we stopped for coffee and cake on The Embankment and then made our way back to Westminster tube station where we were going to get the underground to Hyde Park Corner. However, when we found it would cost us £16 for two or three stops, we rapidly changed our minds and walked back, this time going through St James's Park which was ablaze with spring flowers.

Anti-war demonstration following Obama's visit to London last week.

Back in Hyde Park the children begged us to take a pedalo out onto the Serpentine but our feet were well and truly aching now and as they wanted £20 for 30 minutes it gave us the perfect excuse to say no...aren't we stingy!!

We thankfully collapsed into our car, had a good long drink and something to eat before heading home. Again, the journey was very good and within two hours we were home which is a miracle seeing how London roads are so busy!

Saturday 28 May

Saturday was a very quiet day - the weather was not pleasant so there was no point going out into the garden as it was windy and drizzly. Not sure what happened to the forecasted heatwave we were supposed to have! Sophie worked again for us today which she wasn't happy about, but it was only until 3pm. I went out and did some shopping and then picked her up on the way home.

I'm trying to find inspiration to decorate at home - the whole house needs a makeover and I'm going to try and get it all done by next year. Our bedroom is the main priority, though, and I picked up a lovely cushion to get colour ideas from. It's a beautiful turquoise blue with goldy-green leaves so the next time I go to Homebase I'll take it with me and see if I can match a paint colour.

The evening was spent watching the football and it was no surprise that Barcelona won!

Friday 27 May

We had Mikey at home with us today as he had a training day at school but poor Sophie had to go in, which she wasn't very happy about! We made the brave decision to take Mikey shopping with us but to be honest he wasn't too bad and not many things crept into the trolley without us knowing!

Back home I pottered about in the garden making sure the plants had been well watered by the rain the previous day. The soil was still a bit dry so I think we'll need lots more to really make a difference.

To add to Sophie's woes, she was asked to go into work in the evening as one of our staff had called in sick. Mum and Dad were still in so I dropped her off and went in for a chat. The day had been busy which was good news for us and I just hope it carries on being busy next week over half-term!

Thursday 26 May - Rain!

Yes, we had proper rain today which I hope has done the garden some good. It was a mixture of sunshine and heavy showers, so perfect growing weather!

I was at work until fairly late as Sophie was in and helping out with a party so when I got home it was straight into the bath as I was going out to dinner with three friends to The Four Pears pub in Little Houghton. My friend Lynda had heard good things and when we arrived the street around the pub was crowded with cars, so it looked very popular. The pub used to be called The Red Lion and like a lot of village pubs had suffered during the recession and had been put up for sale in 2010. Four local couples (or pairs) decided to take it on, refurbish it and it's now a very swish pub indeed, more restaurant really than anything else, but the surroundings are beautiful and the lounge very comfortable. We perused the menu over a drink and soaked up the busy atmosphere. I did like the opportunity to look at the menu and have our order taken before we were shown through to the restaurant.

The menu wasn't extensive which to me means that the food is freshly prepared and not frozen or microwaved. All four of us had mussels in a white wine sauce to start, served with crusty bread, and they were delicious. Not a huge portion but then sometimes with mussels, you can have too many! Our mains were pork belly on a bed of wilted spinach with herb mash (the three girls chose this) and sirloin steak and chunky chips for me, served with a delicious salad of rocket and roasted tomatoes. Side portions of vegetables, my only gripe, were £2.50 each. My steak was tender, but there were some chewy bits and I have to admit to Keith preparing a better one on our griddle at home.

We all had room for pud although the three girls chose cheese and biscuits and I went for Lemon Posset served with raspberries and shortbread which was sublime. With two bottles of Argentinian red, the bill was £140, not cheap but for the ambience and the excellent service, I didn't mind paying my share.

I'm not sure Keith would like it (he's more of a real country pub afficionado) but it will certainly be a place I'll recommend!

Wednesday 25 May

Keith and I worked very hard on Wednesday! We had a lot of things that needed doing and I only came unstuck when I went to scrub one of the party room floors and the buffer pad jammed on again, just like it did before... This time there were no men around (Keith had gone home) but I phoned him, explained what a dumbo I was and he offered to help. I had to go and get him and when we got back we had no customers at all so we closed up early and managed to sort the problem out by sheer brute force and some WD40 which is amazing stuff!

We gave Polly a lift home and then collapsed in the conservatory with a drink as we were both shattered. We'd done gardening, put up new signs, mended a piece of the play equipment, shopped in Tesco for work and we deserved a wee tipple!

Tuesday 24 May

I was dreading work today as Polly takes a Tuesday off and we run Reception in her absence. We had a party at lunchtime and I envisaged a day of constant running backwards and forwards, something my dad was dreading as well. So, it was with a lot of happiness that we saw Polly walk through the door! She had come in as she was worried dad would be still out of action and we were very glad to see her, especially as we were busy all day.

Having Polly in meant we could get on with some stuff that needed sorting following the burglary. Our Fire Alarm system is out of action at the moment so we sorted that out and then we had a visit from the police. They'd managed to obtain some DNA from the blood that was on the door and wall, but as yet they didn't have any matches. It was as we expected, to be honest. In the past we've given them clear CCTV pictures and we still haven't had any convictions for burglaries here. It was good of the policeman to come in and see us, though, so that was something!
 

Monday 23 May

I had a short, but very busy day at work on Monday. Mum and I tackled our four large tube slides as they were covered in dust and were long overdue a good clean. Giving them a wash is a difficult task as they are quite high and it means I have to climb up a ladder which isn't my favourite thing to do. By the time we were finished we were both covered in dust so it was a good job I'd taken some old clothes in. Our new main door was also being fitted today and there was sawdust and dirt everywhere. The wind was ferocious and we kept finding black bits of muck from the roof all over the carpet which was a pain!

I left at 2.30pm to give Keith a lift to the hospital in Kettering as he had an appointment with the surgeon for his hip. As we drove over the rain started and it became worse as the afternoon wore on. No sooner had I arrived back home than it was time to fetch him again as the surgeon had advised he wait six months and then come back again. Just lately he has had no pain at all from his hip so I was glad they'd decided to delay the operation as I was dreading him being out of action for six weeks or more.

When we got home I went straight into the bath and washed out all the dust and dirt from my hair! I felt a lot better afterwards! The rain and high winds continued until the early evening and then the sun came out again. The ground looked like it had barely had a drink!

After dinner I popped around to Sarah and Liam's house to help them with a couple of computer problems they had. It made for a pleasant evening and it was nice to be able to share my knowledge of the software I'd recommended to them and have a couple of glasses of red wine!

I am way behind...

Sunday 22 May

The morning was spent catching up with chores in the house and then I took mum out in the afternoon to the garden centre. My poor dad has not been well following surgery to his leg, so she needed a break and dad was a feeling a bit better. Sophie was staying at her friend Susie's house, not far from the garden centre, so we went off, had a drink and a cake and I bought two lavender plants and a lily. The weather continues to be beautiful but very, very windy which is a shame as it's breaking all the tender new shoots on some of the plants. Several trees had toppled over in the garden centre and mum and I stood them back upright before telling a member of staff, who was not at all interested!

We picked up Sophie who'd had a great time since I dropped her off on Saturday morning. She'd been to a local village fete and then into town and had bought herself a new school bag. My daughter can shop for Britain!

We stopped for a drink and my dad looked a lot better. I do forget he's 69 this year because he really doesn't look his age but it was great to see him laughing and enjoying a glass of wine as he's been off his food for a few days.

Back home, struggling in the wind, I potted up my new plants and gave the garden a good water. We are so desperate for some good rain here!

Saturday 21 May - the garden beckons!

Saturday was sunny but also very windy. I used the new lawnmower for the first time and loved it despite one of the wheels falling off half-way through! The grass is becoming like straw and the ground is rock hard and dusty but the garden did look a lot neater when I finished. Keith busied himself with taking Mikey's old bed apart and made me a lovely work bench at the back of the garage with the wood. He covered it with some plastic sheeting to protect it from the rain and it'll be great to use it for potting up plants and storing empty pots and garden tools.

I pottered about the garden doing some weeding and tidying up as best I could. I also retrieved our parasol and seat cushions from the garden and gave them all a good wash. There was no way I could turn the earth as it was rock hard so that will just have to wait until we get a good downpour, whenever that will be!

Friday 20 May

Although today was supposed to be my day off, Keith and I had to go into work to open up as my dad is a bit poorly at the moment. Mum came in at 9.30, though, and took over so we went off to Asda again in a repeat of last Friday!

We had an appointment with our mortgage advisor today but when we saw her she said that as our original mortgage had been with another building society we had to go to them to sign the form that would release our endowment mortgage. Nothing is ever simple, is it? We returned home and I rang Santander who very helpfully knew what we were on about and faxed a copy of the letter to my work address. Keith and I then drove into work, picked up the copy and sent everything off. I hope now that that's the end of it and we can pay everything off next month!

R.I.P Jakey-lad 

On Friday evening, very sadly, my mum and dad's cat, Jake, had to be put to sleep. He was 16 years old so had a good long and very happy life, but over the past few months he'd been ill and he just wasn't getting any better. They were both heart-broken but felt they'd made the right decision as they were worried he was going to wander off and not come back. They'll have lots of happy memories of him - here's a photograph I took last summer when he was looking like a very dignified old man.

Thursday 19 May - a Whale of a time...Not!

Last night, as we hadn't anything in the house for dinner (three small potatoes and a carrot do not make a meal!) I managed to persuade Keith to go out for something to eat. He suggested The Man at Arms in Bitteswell, near Lutterworth in Leicestershire. Sophie loves this village pub as it has fajitas on the menu so she was more than willing to go!

I got home from work at 6pm and everyone was ready and waiting for me, all raring to go! We arrived at 7pm, found a table and had a well-earned drink. At The Man at Arms you choose from the menu, note your table number and then order at the bar. They have an extensive menu with the emphasis on big portions - one of the choices is called The Titanic and is a 48oz steak! Keith loves cod so he chose the Moby Dick which was a "whale of a fish served with a mountain" of chips. Mikey went for the "Go Large Lasagne" which was not for the "faint-hearted" while Sophie had her fajitas and I opted for a seafood platter.

We've eaten here before, but it was a fair while ago and I think the reason we haven't been back more recently became apparent when we were served our meals. Mikey's lasagne was just a normal sized portion which would have satisfied a 5 year old, while Keith's fish was more goldfish than whale. When he delved into the batter there was hardly any fish so he was not happy. If the meal had cost about £6 or £7 then we would have accepted it, but his choice was almost a tenner and at our local we pay that for twice the amount of fish he had on his plate. The poor man was really disappointed so I urged him to have a word with the waitress about it. She duly got the Manager to come over who was subtly sarcastic about his complaint but offered him another portion. My own meal was tasteless. I'd been promised scallops, cod and haddock but I might as well have been eating cheap scampi.

We were almost finished our meals by the time Keith's second plate arrived and to be honest it was no better than the first. When a restaurant describes a meal in those sort of terms they need to deliver, something that certainly didn't happen on our evening out and left us with a feeling of disappointment. We won't be going back!

To make it up to the children we stopped on the way home and I bought some Ben and Jerry's ice-cream for dessert. Why don't we have Dairy Queens in this country?!

Two days into one

We're still sorting things out from the burglary at work. Today we had two engineers in to sort out the smashed fire and burglar alarms. They were working side by side up their respective ladders and it just looked funny to me, although it wasn't quite so comical half an hour later when Chubb told me that the fire alarm panel was no longer working and had to be replaced...

I remarked to Keith that maybe crime was good for the economy - after all we have a whole host of people involved in repairing and replacing stuff that was vandalised, but who pays in the end? Us because of increased premiums, I suppose.

I spent all afternoon grappling with our new upgraded payroll from Sage. The one we have (or had) is dated 2008 and there have been lots of changes in legislation this year so we had no option but to fork out a small fortune for an upgrade. When I loaded it onto the computer it told me that our old system was just too old for the upgrade so I had to call Sage and speak to a very nice man who told me what to do. I then had to do six weeks of payrolls in one go which is all done now! At least something is working!

Last night Keith and I watched "Schindler's List". I've managed to avoid watching this film for 18 years but after reading Sarah's Key I wanted to finally see it for myself. I steeled myself not to burst into tears and I did manage, although some parts are heart-rendingly sad. I'm glad I've finally seen it, though, and put that particular bogey to rest!

Sorting things out

Most of today has been spent sorting things out after the burglary on Saturday night. It's all the inconvenience I hate plus all the costs involved in repairing damage that was so needless. I looked at the CCTV and saw that there were four of them, all wearing hoodies and looking very young. They spent five minutes inside the building but in that time they managed to do a lot of damage.

My dad is in hospital today, having a pin taken out of his knee from when he broke it back in 2009 so Keith came into work and helped our handyman fix one of the lights outside. He also repaired a light that is sensitive to movement - if that had come on on Saturday night we might have been able to have a good look at their faces. The alarm people arrived and managed to get another alarm box for the inside wall but it wouldn't work properly so they held us up at work until late. More inconvenience!

Sunday 15 May - a breath of fresh air!

We managed a walk on Sunday morning even though I did feel slightly tired from the activities of Saturday night. We chose the same walk we did on Boxing Day and what a difference! Everything in leaf or in bloom and the fields a mass of yellow. The weather wasn't particularly good - it was windy, grey and the rain was thin and hard - but we enjoyed the fresh air, nonetheless, and Mikey accompanied us which was a bonus.

The afternoon was spent researching the family tree and staying firmly in the warm. The BBQ we planned went ahead but my vision of sitting in the garden with a cold drink as Keith cooked did not happen! Brrr!

An enjoyable evening interrupted...

We were broken into at work last night but luckily the phone call came almost at the end of our Wine Evening so it didn't ruin our enjoyment completely.

It had been a good night. We had six white wines - one couple threw in a "joke" wine for fun and it actually came second! Another funny thing was that two couples brought the same wine, but generally the marks were better the second time we tasted it! The reds were much better and my parents won with their wine from Majestic. All the tasting sheets are still at our neighbour's house as I left in a bit of a hurry when the phone call about the burglary came, but I will list them on here later.

The security guard who called us told us that the main door had been smashed open and that the police were there. As we'd been drinking alcohol since 7.30pm and it was 11.30pm when the call came, we had no option but to get a taxi in. The police stayed with us for a while, taking details and looking at our CCTV images while we cleared up the mess. The burglars had pulled out all the drawers of a filing cabinet on Reception and had smashed a sweet machine. The outside lights had been smashed as had the alarm boxes inside the building. All they'd managed to do was make a huge mess and inconvenience us before running off, presumably with nothing at all for their efforts. As Dad said to the policeman, if they'd gone out to work legitimately, they would have had more to show for all the time they'd spent trying to burgle us. One of them must have hurt themselves as well, as there was blood on the door, on the reception gate and on the floor. I can only hope that when the scenes of crime people visit this morning they will be able to get something!

A little wine appreciation!

Tonight is our Wine Evening, the theme being Italian vino. Soph and me set off for Market Harborough in the afternoon as Duncan was doing a free tasting of Port in his shop and I love Port. As soon as I walked through the door he handed me a glass of Portugese white called Soalheiro Alvarinho saying that it was the wine of choice of U2 when dining in Porto! Wow! I found it very fresh and clean, but a bit dear at £17.99 a bottle! U2 have a lot more money than me! The next tasting was another white, Quinta do Correio Branco, which tasted very nutty and, as Duncan said, would go very well with roast chicken. I had one small sip of a 10 year old Port which was delicious (and expensive) but then declined any more samples as I was driving and went off to look at his extensive section of Italian wines.

I really was spoilt for choice and most of the wines were ones I'd never heard of before. I chose a red and a white, had a good chat with Duncan and Nick and then put them in my car which was parked right outside the shop!

Soph and I had a mooch about the town before visiting Kettering as I needed to go to M&S. Kettering town is a sad little place which always makes me feel sad myself whenever I go, which isn't often. It's amazing how Market Harborough is a thriving place with lots of little independent shops while Kettering had more than its fair share of empty retail outlets and "To Let" signs.


I've certainly picked a good day for the Wine Evening...it's the FA Cup Final as well as the Eurovision tonight but the idea to drink a wine from each country that takes part will have to wait!

Busy, busy!

After a sort of lie-in (difficult when the children are getting ready for school) Keith and I went off to the new Asda at Kettering to do the weekly shop. We are die-hard Tesco shoppers but we fancied a bit of a change and we were pleasantly surprised. First up was coffee as our dear son had drunk all the milk on Thursday evening leaving us none for tea or coffee this morning. I had a cooked brekkie while Keith had a bacon bap. With a mug each of coffee and tea it came to only £5.62!! Bargain!!! We'll be back for breakfast, that's for sure!

Shopping somewhere new is always a risk as we tend to forget half the things we came for and today was no exception. Somehow we missed the whole of the toiletries section so I'll be off to Boots tomorrow to get the things we forgot! However, it was a lot quieter than Tesco and some of the prices were cheaper. We will definitely try it again (plus diesel was much cheaper than a lot of petrol stations so I filled the tank of my car).

When we got home a letter arrived about our mortgage. Our endowment mortgage is due to finish next month after 22 years and although we knew there'd be a shortfall it's not looking as bad as we thought. If the Stock Market keeps as it is we may gain a little bit more before June so we're keeping our fingers crossed. We dug out the original documents and it seems incredible that we took out the mortgage so long ago, when we weren't even married to one another!
 
In the afternoon we went off to Dreams and bought a bed for Mikey. It was flat-packed and we did have a few hilarious moments trying to get it into my car but we succeeded in wedging it in in the end, no doubt to the amusement of the sales staff who reckoned it would fit in the back of a Fiesta...Yeah!

Dismantling the old one and putting up the new one was fun and half way through I had to leave Keith and go and pick Sophie up from school as she was working. I think my dad expected me to stay and help but as I was in my scruffs and the house was in uproar I politely declined. When I went back to pick her up at 6pm I spotted an old flame from years ago...talk about embarrassing! I was 19 and he was married so nothing serious happened but it was a little awkward nonetheless! We had a little chat and I discovered he had five children...maybe I had a lucky escape!

Huh?

I'm sure I posted a blog last night...something about Wednesday being a busy day with horrible (and stupid) customers but it seems to have disappeared! Looking at some of the other blogs I think there was a problem so I don't think I'm going mad!

So...to recap - Wednesday was busy and a bit stressful and I was at work until late after getting in really early.

Thursday was just as busy and I was at work until really late but I didn't mind so much as I knew I was off on Friday! Yeeha!!!

Wednesday 11 May - A serious case of the post holiday blues!

Yesterday at work was not nice. Polly, our stalwart Receptionist, is on holiday at the moment so mum, dad and me are doing her job, as well as our own. We were busy (which is a good thing!) but I had a severe case of the post holiday blues and would rather have been anywhere than at work...

We had horrible customers in as well. And not only were they horrible but they were stupid. One customer dared to ask for a cup of hot water, fully intending to make herself a cup of coffee with granules she'd brought in with her! The nerve!!!

I'd been at work since 7.15am as our cleaner was off for the day but when I went to let myself in I realised I didn't have one of the keys (long story...we needed a new lock on the door and mum and dad had borrowed mine to get new ones cut). I won't repeat what I said as I drove to mum and dad's house to get mine back...

Then we had a group of people who just did not want to leave at 6.30pm last night and all I wanted to do was go home...arrggggh!! On the way - when Soph and I eventually left - we fantasised about what we'd do if I'd won the Euromillions (I hadn't checked). Top of the list was not going into work today!!

I won £2.60 - I had two numbers. Not quite enough to retire yet!

Ouch!

I took my car into the garage this morning for an MOT and to find out what all the warning messages were that kept flashing up...oh, and the groaning noise it makes when I turn the wheel to the right...

At 5pm I called the garage and was informed of the long list of things that had been done and that I had to have two new tyres fitted before it would pass its MOT. Grrrr! Mum and Dad dropped me off and I picked up the bill for the repairs - a shade under £300... Then there's the tyres tomorrow, plus the MOT bill...

I've put three lines on the Euromillions tonight...please let me win!!!

Monday 9 May - Calamity Jane strikes again!

We had to strip the floor again at work on Monday, a job we all hate! I was the one using the buffing machine and did as I always do, attached the pad to the bottom and flicked the switch to turn it on. The pad should then spin into place and fit snugly into the grooves, but this time it didn't - it got firmly stuck. Of course, I wasn't the most popular person around and it eventually took three men (our neighbour happened to be passing by and our handyman was in) to get it removed and back in place correctly...

I was much happier when I got home in the evening and sat and watched The King's Speech which had arrived from Amazon that morning. It was a fantastic film!

Family research

Last night, after dinner, I did a bit of research into The Ship Inn in Southfleet and discovered that one of my family - my Great Grandfather's brother, William - ran the pub in the late 19th century. He was listed as Landlord in 1858 and 1862. This morning I looked into him a bit more and found out that his wife Catherine was born in Guernsey and that he died at the very young age of 43 in 1864. Catherine then married a man called William Mitchell and ran the pub with him. He was 22 years younger than her!

I find it all completely fascinating and would like to go back and see if the present Landlord has any more information. No wonder I liked the pub yesterday!

In the afternoon Mum, Soph and me went to the cinema to see Something Borrowed, the film of the book I've just finished reading. It was very good and stayed faithful to the novel which was great. I hate it when you see a film after reading the book and it's completely different.

The weather has been dry today after the torrential rain we had last night. The garden is looking much better after its drink and I'm just grateful it's sunny as we're barbecuing again tonight!

Wandering around graveyards again!

Mum and I went down to Kent again today to see Nan as I haven't seen her for ages. We had lunch and then went for a drive to Swanscombe to see if I could find the graves of my great-grandparents. We'd been told to turn left when we entered the graveyard but it took us ages to find them and I was on the point of giving up. It was great to find the grave which was a bit over-grown so the next time we go down we'll take some flowers and tidy the plot up. The grave contained my great-grandparents and their son Harold who had Downs Syndrome and died when he was 47 years old.

After visiting the graveyard we drove back to Southfleet, the village where a lot of my mum's relations come from. We parked in the car park of The Ship Inn and went inside for a drink and I discovered that part of the pub was built in 1385 so my relations must have used it at one time or other in the past! There was a fete going on in the village and when mum and I went for a wander around the graveyard we could hear someone doing a very bad impression of a U2 song! Not the sort of thing I expected in such a quiet little village!

Friday 6 May - Out to Lunch!

I went into work early on Friday morning as I was under the impression that our cleaner was on holiday, so imagine my surprise when I saw her car in the car park and her hoovering away! The confusion was cleared up (she's actually off one day next week!) and I waited for mum and dad to come in before going home.

Keith and I went to look for a bed for Mikey in the morning as he's taken a dislike to his bunk bed and is sleeping on a makeshift sofa bed. We saw one in a store in Kettering in a sale but it was slightly scratched and I wanted his to be perfect so we decided to leave our search for another day. The plan was to drive to The Queen's Head in Sutton Bassett as we had just arranged to have lunch with Bruce and Hermione (I used to work with Bruce at Duncan's) there in June and it was our choice of pub!

We've been going to the pub in Sutton Bassett for years and have seen it go through different Landlords, but it's been a while since we visited. We weren't disappointed - it still had the same lovely friendly atmosphere and cosy ambiance that made it one of our favourite pubs. It was very quiet but the lady behind the bar was  friendly, Keith's beer was cold and wet and it was great to sit and chat and look out of the window at the beautiful Spring weather.

We stayed for lunch (sausage and onion baguettes with a delicious salad) and then took a slow drive home. Keith had a snooze while I watched a film on television. A very relaxing day!

Thursday 5 May - Polling Day

Keith and I went to vote very early, on the way to work. It would have been nice to have walked up to the village after work but as I was going to be there until 6pm, the morning was the best time.

As it was Polling Day, we were pleasantly busy at work which has helped enormously as we've been a wee bit quiet of late! Mum and I helped out, joined by Sophie after school as we had two parties. It was lovely to finally get home and enjoy a game of cards in the conservatory before Keith barbecued some chicken and pork steaks for dinner. The sky looked ominously stormy but the rain never came which was a shame as the garden could do with a good drink!

Drought warning?

The dry weather continues and I read today in the paper that if it continues there's a risk of drought. Our garden is like a dust bowl and I have no doubt that if it does rain, all the soil in our front garden will just wash away into the road. Why can't we have a few days of sunshine, a few days of rain, etc? Why do we have to have such an extreme period of drought, followed by a prolonged period of rain, which has happened in the past. Grrrr!

A word on books...

I've been doing a lot of reading lately - it's one of my favourite things to do on holiday. I managed to read four books in two weeks - a bit less than normal!

I ordered two books from Amazon before I went, both by Helen Dunmore. I'd read her books, The Siege and The Betrayal, set in Russia in the 1940s and 1950s and enjoyed them both. The Siege was set in Leningrad during the war when the Germans laid siege to the city, starving the occupants for three years, whilst The Betrayal followed the two main characters after the war and was set against the tyranny of Stalin. As I'd enjoyed them so much I chose Talking to the Dead and A Spell of Winter, both of which turned out to be a bit bleak - not really holiday reading!

I finished both of them really quickly and treated myself to a book in the supermarket, Norah Robert's The Search which was very difficult to put down! Fiona Bristow is a dog trainer who moved to the island of Orcas to escape the killer who tried to take her life and succeeded with that of her fiance. Although the murderer is in prison he's trained another man to carry on his evil deeds and Fiona is firmly in his sights.

As we were delayed, I bought myself another three books - Something Borrowed by Emily Griffin, soon to be released in cinemas, Sarah's Key by Tatiana de Rosnay, a harrowing account of the round up of Jews in Paris in 1942, which I finished on the plane home, and Driftwood Cottage by Sherryl Woods (which I haven't read yet).

And yesterday The Moment by Douglas Kennedy arrived which I've just started!

Lazy start!

I woke up very late this morning (I'm not saying what time) - perhaps I'm still a bit jet-lagged!

The weather was still sunny and dry. The garden desperately needs some rain as the soil is like dust and the grass is starting to go brown. We had a lazy morning and then I went off to the garden centre with mum to buy some flowers to add colour. I also sought the advice of an expert because our apple tree is showing signs of some disease on the leaves and between us we came to the conclusion it was Spring mildew which can be quite serious. He recommended a spray so as soon as the wind has died down we'll spray the poor thing and try and get rid of it.

Back home, Keith put up two new brackets for some hanging baskets at the front of the house and then went off to the pub. It's Monday so nothing new there then!

Spring is bursting out all over!

After their late night last night, the children were up a bit later this morning and after we'd made their breakfast Keith and I went to get the Sunday papers and then called to see mum and dad for a coffee. I made plans with mum to go to the garden centre as I had lots of pots to fill and I wanted some new baskets for the front garden to add colour.

I tried to persuade the girls to come with me but they would have none of it and as I half expected, Sophie became bored by early afternoon and kept wheedling at me that she wanted something to do with Susie. Why they should both be bored, I have no idea, especially on a beautiful day like today. In the end, worn down by Sophie's wheedles, I said I would take them both to Milton Keynes and the garden centre would have to wait until tomorrow.

Mum was quite happy to go and we spent a happy hour and a half wandering around the shops and having coffee and cake in Caffe Italia. We took the long route home as Keith had phoned to say there'd be an accident on the M1 so we returned via Filgrave, Olney and Castle Ashby again. The Spring countryside looked gorgeous with all the may flower in bloom, cow parsley in the hedgerows and the horse chestnut tree blossom everywhere. Surely there's no lovelier time of year than this?

Back home we had our first barbecue in months which was delicious. Later this evening I'm taking the girls to watch Scream4 at the cinema...I think they're mad. It looks very scary to me!

Saturday 30 April - more celebrations.

After all the excitement of the Royal Wedding, Saturday was a quieter day but we did have more celebrations to go to in the evening. Our friends across the road had planned a party and were hoping to sit us in the garden, but despite the sunny warm weather the wind was very gusty so we ended up in their living room. I keep forgetting that it's still late April and not July! It was a great excuse to chat about the holiday as Sarah and Liam had been to Florida last August and we were able to compare notes about the parks and try and persuade our other friends that they should experience it as well!