A noisy office!

Sophie was back at the gym this morning and feeling a lot better, thank goodness. I had another busy shift at work and managed to get a lot done, but it was a noisy office today (as it so often is on a Tuesday) and I really had to concentrate when I was answering emails.

Before dinner this evening, Keith and I played cards and he thrashed me! I don't know why sometimes I win all the games and he loses, and vice versa! We both love playing cards, though and we'd never be bored if we were stuck somewhere and we had a pack of cards with us!

Sophie cooked tonight and we had a lovely cheesy cauliflower and broccoli dish served with chicken Kiyvs. Afterwards, we watched an interesting documentary on rationing during the war and I wondered what would happen if we ever had to re-introduce something like that again. I remember the empty shelves at the beginning of the pandemic and how awful it was to see staples like pasta, flour and loo rolls disappear!

Monday again!

It is so dark in the mornings now and it feels like the middle of the night when Sophie wakes me at 6am. She didn't go to the gym this morning as she still had a headache, which was worrying me a bit. She has arranged to see an acupuncturist on Saturday, and I'm hoping that this treatment will alleviate some of the horrible hormonal symptoms she has to endure every month.

Work was busy, but there weren't too many emails to deal with as I'd answered them all on Saturday. I only had to take calls for half an hour as Denise and Shirley helped out, which was great.

We had a very easy supper tonight of chicken soup and Keith added some shredded meat from the bird that he'd had for his dinner yesterday. We then popped an apple crumble into the oven to cook and I made custard. We hardly ever have pud at home so it was a real treat!

We watched Only Connect and University Challenge and I managed to get a couple right on Only Connect, especially one about children's car seats, amazingly! Some of the questions on University Challenge were very difficult and I'm in awe of the students who have so much knowledge!

A tribute to...

Sophie and I were going to Leicester this evening to see a Fleetwood Mac tribute band, and we'd planned on having something to eat on The Golden Mile first. However, Vikesh texted Sophie to say that the street was closed to traffic, making it difficult for us to park there. We then discovered that one of the major roads in Leicester was also closed, so we had a quandary... where to eat before we went to De Montfort Hall?

After looking at various places, we booked a table at Zizzi in Market Harborough for 4pm, giving us plenty of time to eat and then drive to Leicester. We pootled about during the morning, doing jobs and getting ready, and left at 3.15pm.

We found another convenient car park near the restaurant that we'll use again when we visit the town, as it's a little further up the high street and great for popping into shops that we don't usually go to. The restaurant was quiet when we arrived, and we tucked ourselves out of the way around a corner. 

The menu was extensive, and we ordered mozzarella-topped garlic bread to start, along with chicken goujons and courgetti fritti. These starters were delicious and would have satisfied me along with a dessert! We each had a glass of wine and shared a bottle of sparkling water. I'd chosen the chicken Milanese for a main course, served with roasted new potatoes and green beans, while Sophie ordered the lasagne, which was topped with breadcrumbs. My chicken was fibrous and difficult to cut and the green beans squeaky so I was a little disappointed. I should have just stuck to starters and a dessert!

The restaurant was gradually filling up, mostly with families and small children. Two women sat behind us with their two daughters, and the children started to play up as the afternoon wore on. They were little terrors, and at about six or seven years of age, I'd have expected better!

The previously quiet restaurant was now noisy, and Sophie's headache became worse. We shared a sundae for dessert, which we'd ordered via the QR code as nobody had come to take our order, and paid the bill the same way, fleeing back to the peace and quiet of the car!

The journey to Leicester was quick and easy, and we discovered that the roads had been closed because of a marathon taking place. We were a little early for our pre-booked parking, so we sat in another car park and watched the comings and goings of people who we thought were also going to the concert.

De Montfort Hall seemed a lot busier than when we visited before to see Sam Campbell. We ordered a drink each and stood for a while before going into the auditorium to find our seats, which were on the third row with a great view of the stage. The band were called Go Your Own Way and judging by the people piling in to take their seats, very popular. It was a great opportunity for people-watching and I was fascinated by a couple in the front row who both needed walking sticks. They were in their late 60s and he had long thin hair tied in a ponytail. When he sat down he flicked his hair over the back of his seat, and I felt sorry for whoever was going to sit behind him with it dangling down in front of them. She had long, thin hair coloured blue (why?) and wore a bandana. They proceeded to share two packs of sandwiches and I couldn't help wondering what their house was like! I imagined it messy, with lots of dogs for some reason!

At 7.30pm everyone had taken their seats and the lights went down. The band came on and did The Chain which was a great start. The woman playing the part of Stevie Nicks certainly looked the part with long, waist-length blonde hair and flowing black robes. A man sitting in front of us with exaggerated sideburns couldn't take his eyes off her!

Sophie and I were amused to see Christine McVie's character wearing an awful blonde wig but she actually had a better voice than "Stevie Nicks" who mangled Sara and made an even worse job of Rhiannon. She was trying to be growly and it just didn't work. If she sang normally, she would have been far better!

"Stevie Nicks" gave us some insight into the songs and the relationships between the band, which was good, but Sophie and I were disappointed. Sophie's headache hadn't gone after she'd taken painkillers, so we decided to leave during the interval. We had to be let out of the car park by the friendly attendant, and we headed back home, arriving at 9.30pm. Both cats were in so we had cuddles and then it was time for bed. It's Monday again tomorrow!

A Saturday shift

Sophie took me to work this morning, and I did the Saturday shift with Shirley. It was a pleasant shift, not busy with calls, and I managed to get a lot of other work done, including the Christmas playscheme places.

Sophie collected me at 2pm, and we went home to have a late lunch and relax. Keith went to watch Sileby and came home at 5pm looking frozen. The weather has certainly turned colder lately, and we're putting the heating on to warm up the house.

I'd had a lovely relaxing afternoon watching a new Genealogy programme with Philip Glenister and John Simm who had taken DNA tests. It was very much like an ITV version of Who Do You Think You Are and was just as interesting. There had been a mention of Northamptonshire in Philip Glenister's background, but his story was sidelined by John Simm's revelation that the man who thought was his father, actually wasn't!

We had a relaxed evening, and Sophie made us both an Americano cocktail, which was a great aperitif before we had a glass of wine. We ordered a Chinese takeaway for dinner, as a treat, and watched another episode of Grand Designs, this time with a young couple building a house in Lincolnshire. It was perhaps one of the most boring episodes I've ever seen!

An after-dinner treat was a BBC2 show featuring 40 different, rarely-seen footage of bands and singers performing for the corporation over the years. It was brilliant!

Not quite the end of the working week...

As I'd dealt with a lot of emails yesterday, I was able to get some other admin jobs completed today, which was great as the half-term bookings open in nine days!

The shift passed quickly and it was great to leave at 4pm. However, I'm back in tomorrow so not a normal Friday night feeling of relaxation!

Sophie and I opened a bottle of Cotes du Rhone white this evening and it was deliciously fruity. After a good chat about our working days, we watched an episode of Grand Designs which started in 2019... always a bad sign if it has taken five years to complete a build!

Keith went to the pub to see John but there must have been a breakdown in communication as he wasn't there. Keith had been looking forward to having a chat with him about the wine regions we'd visited as John is definitely an oenophile! He returned early and put the finishing touches to a delicious curry he'd prepared earlier. We hadn't had one for a while and it was lovely and spicy!

I see the light(s)!

Today has been busy, and I walked into about 70 emails to tackle through my shorter shift. At 2pm, Keith collected me, and I dropped him off at home before picking up Mum for her nail appointment. She decided on a beautiful blue today, which matched the scarf she was wearing!

By the time I arrived home, it was 5pm, but Keith and I were cooking scampi and chips tonight for dinner, so no preparation was needed (Keith had earlier sliced up the potatoes). Sophie was already home and was heading out for dinner with Laura to Yardley Hastings.

I was still suffering from the post-holiday blues, so I watched an episode of Michel Roux in Provence to cheer myself up! He spoke about his love for butter and slathered it onto a baguette before stuffing it into his mouth! 

Our dinner tonight was simple and I used my new thermometer to ensure the oil was at the correct temperature. I'm always wary of deep-frying so I didn't take my eyes off the bubbling oil at all. Dinner was lovely and made a change as we hardly ever eat scampi or fry chips!

Sophie arrived home at about 10pm, and after a quick chat, it was time for bed. I went to sleep but woke up at about midnight with an itchy foot. I peered out of the curtains and was astonished to see the Aurora lighting up the night sky!

I could even detect the different colours without using the camera on my phone. One part of the sky was green, and there was a large swathe of a pinky/reddy hue right in front of me. It was fabulous!

Earlier in the evening, neighbours had been posting so I knew there was a chance of seeing them tonight. I'm just so glad I woke up!

Looking back

This morning, I found a photograph album of our 1993 visit to France, and I confirmed that Le Vendangerot was indeed the hotel Keith and I stayed in. I had kept receipts, and we noticed that the name was used on the bill when we checked out!

It seems strange to see the bill in francs, not euros!

Hotel du Commerce, not Commercial as we'd thought!

We also bought a case of Rully to take home:

It was great to look back at a holiday we took over 30 years ago and reminisce! It's a lot easier now with just the euro, rather than all the different currencies we had to deal with back then!

I spent the morning pootling about and trying to persuade Mooney NOT to bring in live rodents! A poor little shrew-type thing escaped his claws and went running about in the conservatory, chased by Keith with a net. It eventually found its way under the sofa and stayed there, but when it emerged later on, Mooney caught it again! The poor little mite must have been terrified!

I sat and had lunch with Sophie - the leftover pasta from last night, which was delicious - and then went to see Mum and Dad in the afternoon. I tried my hardest to get Netflix back on their television, but there was a problem with their internet connection which was beyond my control. When I left, I spoke with the receptionist and said I would email someone to help. My parents miss the films available on Netflix and they're paying every month for the service!

Back home, I made the porridges and Keith and I did the shopping list for the rest of the week. Back to the daily grind! I certainly didn't miss this!

Tonight, for the first time in ages, I cooked liver and bacon with onions. Keith could only get pigs' liver, but it was still delicious if a little stronger in taste than our usual lambs' liver. It was a real treat and we both enjoyed the meal, but Sophie chose one of her pasta dishes to eat. She's very adventurous with food, but draws the line, for some reason, with liver!