An early morning discovery!

Sophie and I walked into the living room this morning and found Keith asleep in an armchair. At least he'd got some sleep, but I would have preferred he was in bed! Sophie had to go into work today because of an all-day meeting, so he had to fend for himself until I got home.

I have to confess that I felt very indifferent about my job this morning because of the office shenanigans yesterday, but I had payroll to do, so I had no choice but to knuckle down and get on with it. I made another trip down to "The Dungeon" just before leaving and emailed Daphne to let her know my feelings. I'm supposed to be working with  Sheila all day tomorrow, but I decided instead to go in at 8:00am, stay for two hours and then go home so I can take Keith to a GP appointment.

At home, Keith seemed slightly better, but he was still coughing a lot. Normally, when this happens, antibiotics clear it up, but this time, it's lingering on and on... We all sat in the kitchen when Sophie arrived home and chatted, and I made tonight's dinner of cottage pie with veggies.

After dinner, we watched episode two of Katya Adler in the Balkans before it was time for bed and a respite from the coughing!

Shock news...

Keith hadn't slept again last night, so Sophie worked from home. He had another nurse appointment at 11:45 am, and we didn't think it was a good idea for him to drive.

I had a busy day at work, with a steady stream of people popping into the office to chat and use the printer. Just before I left, I opened an email from the woman who is covering Dan while he's off sick. She said the new downstairs office was almost ready and that she'd planned on me moving there, with another couple of staff, and there'd also be a desk available for anyone to use who needed a quiet space. I went down to the Duty Manager's office and asked one of the girls to show me. I had no idea where it was, and hadn't even been shown the office!

Gabi took me right past my old office, through two sets of doors, down two flights of metal steps and into a gloomy corridor. The office was just before the new gym changing rooms. When we walked in, I was horrified! It was dark and gloomy, with just two narrow slits for windows, which were still boarded up. Now I knew why it had been given its nickname of "The Dungeon"! The thought of being down here, so far from everyone else, and at times completely alone, made me shudder. I couldn't quite believe this was happening to me! I had come to work for Dan, who was now off work sick, and in a lovely, airy office close to reception, which was now going to be taken away from me!

"The Dungeon"

I left work, popped to Aldi to buy meals for tonight and tomorrow, and went home to tell Sophie what had happened. She was horrified as well, and said that I might have a case about the lack of natural light and ventilation. The office would be fine to use on a temporary basis, but not for eight-hour stretches! I felt thoroughly depressed, to be honest, just when I was starting to get to know the job and the different processes.

It made for a gloomy Monday evening (again). The nurse hadn't given Keith anything for his terrible cough, just told him he had to "ride it out, and it could last for six weeks!" Nooooooooo! Sophie made us dinner of chicken burgers with roasted vegetables, and I had a G&T. I felt so miserable because I couldn't bear to have to find another job and start all over again, this time with people who were strangers. 

We sat after dinner and did a Tarot reading, and mine was quite interesting!

Thwarted plans...

Sophie and I were up early again and ready to go to Kettering station by 8:15am. Keith dropped us off, and when we walked into the station, we heard a woman saying that our 8:53 train was delayed by at least 50 minutes. That did not bode well for our day in London!

We bought coffees and almond pastries and walked over to platform 3, where we kept a close eye on the information board. The following train, the 9:17, was also delayed, due to engineering works going over schedule.

We sat and sipped our coffees and tried to avoid eye contact with a man who was wandering about, wearing a mask and mumbling to himself. It was a gloomy, misty day, perfect for wandering around Highgate Cemetery!

As we waited, we learnt that our train had been cancelled, and the 9:17 was delayed and not expected to get to Kettering until about 10:10am. It meant we had to try to put back our lunch booking at 2:00pm and also meant we wouldn't have as much time as we thought to travel to the cemetery by bus, have a good walk around and get to Ognisko. They didn't have another table until 5:30pm, which was a dinner booking, not lunch! We didn't want to get home too late tonight!

By this time, we noticed that two transport police had arrived and were chatting to the station announcer. We went back over to the main building and asked if there was any more information, but nobody could give us a definite time. Sophie was worried as to why the police were at the station, and when we went back to the platform, they came over as well. The platform was gradually filling up with people who had been planning to take the two trains, and I said that if it was full, we should go home as I wasn't prepared to stand all the way to St Pancras after our 90-minute wait! No way!

Sophie was looking more and more anxious and kept glancing at the two policemen. Were they there to intercept somebody from a train? The arrival time kept changing, and we learnt our train was en route but still a long way off. We suddenly decided to abandon the day, even though I had suggested going to the Serpentine Gallery instead of Highgate and still having lunch at Ognisko. We called Keith, and he came over to collect us. We were both bitterly disappointed, but worried about the trains home this evening and whether they'd be delayed too.

Back home, we quickly freshened up and drove to Woburn to have a drink and then lunch at the Thai restaurant we'd enjoyed after the day at Bletchley. The car park was crammed with cars, but luckily we were offered a space by a couple who were returning to their vehicle. As they were pulling off their walking boots, another car left, so we were able to park at last!

We walked to The Nook to find it closed, but as we went to walk away, the owner opened up, saying they'd had a late Halloween party the night before and he was a bit fragile! He poured us two drinks, and we sat and chatted about the events of the morning, saying we'd made the right decision to abandon the day, even though it was disappointing.

When we finished our drinks, we walked the short distance to the Thai restaurant and took our seats at the back of the seating area. It was still chilly and gloomy outside, and I wished they'd had the heating on, as I was freezing! We ordered a set menu of mixed starters and main courses served with rice, and also ordered crispy duck as a second course and a bowl of prawn crackers. We were very hungry! We also treated ourselves to a bottle of Thai wine, which was utterly delicious!

The food was fabulous, and the service was wonderful and friendly. We both said we felt a little strange as we'd supposed to have been in London today, not Woburn! We said we felt like ghosts! We had no room for dessert and waddled back to the car after an enlightening chat about wine and where it was traditionally made in the world! I think that years ago, Thai wine was unheard of!

We took a winding country route home, avoiding the M1, and drove through Olney again. The fields, hedges and trees were various shades of brown and orange, and we couldn't wait to get home, see the cats (hopefully) and relax!

Keith had kindly made my porridge for me, and a sandwich for my lunch so we could sit and unwind. We watched Saturday Morning Kitchen with a glass of Alsace Pinot Noir, both of us wishing it was a perpetual Saturday morning. How wonderful would that be! We also watched an episode of War, and we are definitely becoming hooked!

Spooky happenings!

Sophie and I were up early for a Park Run in Towcester this morning; my daughter to take part, while I spectated! We left the house just after 8:00am and had a good run to Towcester, leaving Celine in a small car park opposite where the run was to take place.

It was very misty this morning and perfect for Halloween! The run started at 9:00am and before we went into the park, we treated ourselves to a coffee from a van opposite. My flat white was very good indeed! Lots of people arrived and some were dressed up for the occasion in witches hat or spooky outfits.

Before the run started, the man in charge said a few important things about safety, and then everyone was off, for four laps of the parkland. I stood under a huge Oak tree and was amazed to see the first of the runners emerge from the mist about four minutes after they started!

The front runners literally tore around the course and were finished by about 9:15am, some of them sprinting hard as they made their way to the finish. There was a lovely atmosphere, and it was great to envisage this happening all over the UK, and Europe and the US as well!

"Come on, Sophie!"

Sophie thought she had done the course faster than any other time, and this was confirmed later in the day! Well done! It was a great experience, and I will look forward to accompanying her again!

After the run, we walked into Towcester and enjoyed a delicious breakfast at Ten Hands café. Sophie had originally booked a table for three of us, but we felt it was best for Keith to stay at home in the warm. He would have been frozen standing around in the cold!

Sophie enjoyed Eggs Royale, while I went for the full English, which defeated me. I had to give a sausage away to Sophie! We enjoyed a flat white and a matcha before heading back to the car and driving home.

When we pulled onto the drive, Sophie noticed that someone had scratched the front of Celine, which was very upsetting. I've only had the car four weeks! There were scratches on the front bumper so I'll have to get them sorted, which was huge annoyance. This put me in a foul mood, made worse by the discovery in the conservatory, of a half-eaten bird and a dead shrew. There was blood and feathers everywhere! Mooney was the culprit!

Sophie and I went over to Olney once she had showered and changed and we had difficulty parking at the rugby club as there was a match taking place. We didn't even try with the car park in the centre of the town and luckily found a slot on the main road, quite a way from the shops. 

We walked down to the shops, had a look in a couple, and then had a pot of tea and cake in the Courtyard Brasserie. It was quiet as the lunchtime rush was over and we sat and relaxed with a scrumptious scone and Victoria sponge cake.

We ambled slowly back to the car, stopping briefly in The Nest where there was a scrum of people, and drove home through the Autumnal countryside. On the way we spotted the sun lying low in the sky, and through the mist it was a giant orange orb! We didn't know whether it was the moon or the sun at first!

At home, I rushed around putting up the Halloween decorations (I found our cackling witch!) and making the front of the house suitable scary! We had quite a few trick or treaters, and they arrived steadily between 5:30pm and 7:00pm. Our bowl of sweets was almost gone by the time they stopped coming! Sophie scared the living daylights out of one little boy when she opened the door and went "Arrggghhh!" It was very funny!

We watched the 1973 film, Don't Look Now, written by Daphne du Maurier as a short story. It was great, as ever, and scary at the end! It was another early night for us as we are going to London tomorrow, to visit Highgate and have lunch at Ognisko!

Health worries

When Sophie went downstairs this morning, she found Keith up already, and he said he hadn't slept at all. She texted me when she left, and I said there was no way I would allow him to drive me to work and then go to the doctor's for his morning appointment. I said I would work until 10:30am, go home, take him to the surgery and then go back to work, but my lovely daughter volunteered to work from home and take him instead. She briefly went to the gym, drove to her office to pick up her laptop, and was home before I left for work at 7:30am.

Sheila was in with me today, and she helped enormously with the complicated bookings that needed to be changed because of the refurbishments taking place. By the end of the day, I was mightily glad she was in to help!

I went home to find Sophie looking a little fed up, but I had been so relieved she'd been with Keith all day. She'd bought him a bottle of Covonia Night Time in the pharmacy to help with his sleeping, as he badly needed a good night's slumber. He had seen a nurse today, and she'd said his chest was clear, but she made him another appointment for Monday to see how he was then. This infection is dragging on and on and getting all of us down, but especially Keith, who is suffering the most.

We had a simple supper of Tesco curries for dinner, and before and after eating, Sophie and I watched The Company of Wolves, a horror film based on the Little Red Riding Hood fairy tale. I had seen it in the 80s and thought it was great, but films have become a lot more sophisticated since then, and tonight it seemed a bit amateur!

The prices!

I had a most enjoyable day at work, and was alone in the office for my whole shift. It was bliss! My lovely day started with a Greggs sausage bap, and I had the occasional visitor come in to chat, but I got a lot done and felt so much better about my job at the end of the day.

Keith picked me up at 4:00pm and warned me that he had been coughing a lot. On the way home, he coughed nonstop, without even a brief pause between bouts, so I said we'd go to Mawsley and buy some honey to help soothe his throat. I had never known him to be as bad as this, and at one point I was frightened by how intense his coughing was. 

As soon as we got home, I made him take some cough syrup and then made him a hot toddy. This seemed to calm the cough a little, but I felt sorry for Sophie having to put up with it this evening! I was meeting Lynda, Fiona, and Andrea for a meal at The Griffin's Head in Mears Ashby, so at least I could escape for a few hours!

Before leaving, I tried to look at the restaurant menu on their website but was unable to access it online. I walked into the pub to find my three friends there already with the menu on my placemat. I nearly fell off my chair when I saw the prices for the meals! The starters were £12 each, the main courses ranged from about £25 to £39, and the desserts were also £12 each!

We chatted at first and caught up on our news, and then perused the menu. We all chose soufflé to start, followed by three of us opting for pork belly, and Andrea choosing the lamb. Lynda and I were driving, so we stuck to soft drinks (I had a Guinness Zero), but Andrea and Fiona shared a bottle of Italian wine priced at £40!

The cheese soufflé starter

I wasn't that impressed with the cheese soufflé, to be honest. It wasn't particularly hot, and the crispy onion shards were difficult to eat! Fiona wasn't that impressed, either!

I gamely worked my way through my pork belly, but it defeated me, and Lynda refused to eat the black pudding bonbon on her plate. The food was good; there's no denying that, but I was still astonished at the prices! Keith and I used to come here regularly, and the landlord of the pub in Walgrave ran it at one time, but I had no idea that it had become so upmarket!

It was lovely to chat with my friends, though, and we discussed Christmas, families, jobs and my accident in the VW. When our main courses were cleared away, the pub had emptied out and it was very quiet. Andrea, Fiona and Lynda shared a plate of cheese and biscuits while I had a delicious chocolate fondant that oozed beautifully and was served with prune and armagnac ice cream, a chocolatey crumb and a honeycomb tuile (someone has been watching Masterchef!).

The bill came to an eye-watering £259, the most the four of us have ever spent on a meal. Andrea deducted the wine and Gin and tonics from the bill for Lynda and me, and we both paid £60 each. Phew! She and Fiona paid £85, and Fiona had been quibbling about the price of an M&S turkey earlier that was £135! Am I really that out of touch with prices?

We said goodbye, hugged in the car park and said we would meet up in the New Year. It was starting to get misty as I drove home. A spooky weekend awaits!

A bit "bleugh"!

Today has been a bit of a "bleugh" day, and not particularly enjoyable! Sophie went to the gym, and after seeing her off, I went back to bed, but I didn't return to the land of Nod. Keith was already downstairs and still not feeling great with his cough. 

I had a Pensionwise appointment first thing, and I was surprised it went ahead, as I was calling about my Dad's pension and what it meant for my Mum. I didn't think they would be able to talk to me about his lump sum. I was on the phone for nearly an hour, and the advisor was great, but I still think I need advice. I may need to contact a later-life financial advisor as well.

Needless to say, while I was talking, I closed the door to the living room so Keith's cough didn't disturb us! I spent the rest of the morning catching up with jobs, and went to see my mum at 2pm to discuss her care plan with a member of staff. I took a new universal remote control with me, as my Mum has lost her other one. It took me ages to get it paired with her television, and in the end, I used AI for advice. It then worked straightaway!

My Mum was very confused today, something that had been confirmed in her care plan, and it wasn't the best of visits again. I told the carers about the remote control, and they suggested keeping it on a high shelf. If it's there when I visit her next, I will be amazed!

I drove home through showers of falling leaves and a grey, misty landscape. It's truly Autumnal now!