A little snow...

I took myself off to work this morning and arrived in good time, with my pick of spaces. We had another busy day answering loads of emails, and I was mightily glad when it was 4:00pm, and I could pootle off home!

I used Google Maps again, and this time she took me off the dual carriageway at the next junction. I then headed towards Ecton on the old A4500, and into Sywell, before crossing the A43 and missing all the long queues. I got home at 4:45pm, but ten minutes of that were spent waiting to get off the hospital grounds.

Keith went to watch Sileby play this evening, and Sophie cooked us both jerk chicken pasta and doughballs. The meal was delicious! We drank a lovely white Italian Gavi with the meal and watched a BBC documentary about Steve Rosenberg, the Russia correspondent based in Moscow. It was fascinating, but I didn't envy him his job! He regularly gets followed! It was a bit like Russia here as we had light snow throughout the evening, and at one point I thought it was going to settle! Brrrr!

We ended the evening with another documentary about four women who had been abused by the same man over two decades. He was a thoroughly nasty man, and I hope he stays in prison for a long time!

A little chat

Keith took me to work today, and as soon as I arrived, I asked to have a chat with Sara about losing my hours on a Thursday. Although she didn't really have any answers for me (and the meeting actually raised more questions!), at least I made my feelings known. She asked if I wanted to meet with Nicola, but I said no; she always has an answer for everything! It was good for both of us to have a chat and a bit of a rant!

The rest of the day was hectic, and we had loads of emails to deal with. Letters are supposed to be going out this week to customers to let them know what's happening, so I can only see it getting worse!

We used Google Maps to get home, as I'm fed up with choosing a route that's busy. We were directed the normal way (along the dual carriageway and the A43), but I think I'm going to get into the habit of doing this every time I go home, to find the best, least congested journey.

Dinner was simple again, and after we'd eaten, Keith and I watched Shetland and we're enjoying the series. I have to wonder why we didn't watch it when it was on the first time around!

Another rainy Sunday...

It was the Australian Open Tennis Final this morning and Sophie and I settled down to watch Alcaraz play Djokovic. We wanted the Serb to win, but although he took the first set, he eventually lost. But not bad for a player in his late 30s! His compatriots - Nadal, Federer and Murray have all retired!

We didn't watch the whole match, and we pootled about the rest of the morning and sorted some jobs that needed doing. We booked a timeslot for the tip this afternoon to take our old television and all the packaging, as well as some old clothes and small electrical items. Outside,  yet again, it was another wet and horrible day, so not really the best day to go to the tip, but needs must! Roll on the warmer, drier weather!

We also ordered a new DVD player from Amazon, so I'll be able to watch my Ever Decreasing Circles DVDs!  They always cheer me up and make me laugh!

Keith and I went to the tip in the afternoon, and we both had to manhandle the old television; it was so heavy! I flung the old DVD player and the annoying speakers into the electrical skip. The tangle of wires behind the television stand has now gone, and it's much tidier.

Back home, we relaxed, and I had a short nap while sitting with Keith as he watched football. We had a very simple supper tonight of cheese, biscuits, grapes, celery and apple, so that didn't require any preparation at all. The DVD player arrived, and we set it up easily! While Sophie set everything out for dinner, I watched a couple of episodes of my favourite comedy! Bliss!

Supper was delicious, and we even had a glass of Port with the meal. There was enough left for tomorrow's dinner as well!

Ladies who breakfast...

I was up and out of the house by 8:45am this morning to meet Lynda and Fiona for a 10am breakfast booking at The Swan at Salford. We met at Lynda's house in Cogenhoe, and Fiona had elected to drive us to the pub near Milton Keynes. As Andrea lived close by, she was meeting us there.

It was a beautiful morning, and we were looking forward to a good catch-up over a great British breakfast! Our route took us through Olney and towards Milton Keynes, and we passed an area with a lot of building going on and new roads, which upset Fiona's satnav a bit!

We arrived just before 10:00am, and Andrea was already waiting for us. Apart from us, the pub was empty, and as soon as we sat down, I ordered a Flat White from our Australian waiter, while the girls had orange juice.

It was great to catch up with my three friends - I can't remember the last time I'd seen them! Our chat was interrupted by the waiter who took our order: three full cooked breakfasts, and poached eggs and avocado on sourdough toast for Andrea.

The food was beautifully cooked and presented, and we all tucked in!

This was a great thing to do as we still had the rest of the day to be with our families, and three of us had plans for later in the afternoon. We agreed to meet up again in April for another breakfast, but in Northampton, and I said I would find somewhere for us to go.

Before heading home, we went to see Andrea's new house, and we said hello to her partner, Clif. They told us about their very quiet neighbours (they live next to a graveyard) and the one grave which is in a neighbour's garden. This was a criminal, buried just outside the consecrated ground of the churchyard. Andrea's neighbours tend the grave and make sure there are flowers growing around it, which I thought was lovely.

We said goodbye to Clif and Andrea, and Fiona drove us home, this time through Newport Pagnell, Horton and Brafield-on-the-Green. It only took us half an hour, which was great as she was looking at a house with her son at 1:30pm. I was looking forward to going to Market Harborough with Sophie for a drink at The Wine Shed!

When I arrived back, I was delighted to see that Keith and Sophie had set up the new television and had cleaned the TV stand and the corner of the room behind it, which was very dusty! The new television was lovely and had a beautifully clear picture! The old TV was in the garage with all the packaging, and the only problem was that our DVD player no longer worked with the new television. It was quite old, so Keith said he would order a new one. I need to watch my Ever Decreasing Circles DVDs!

Sophie and I drove to Market Harborough, and we had a look in Waterstones first. Sophie bought  The Outside by Albert Camus, a book I'd had to read for my French A-level. I hope she enjoys it.

From Waterstones, we went to The Wine Shed, and we were seated inside. The place was very busy with a noisy table of women next to us. They were enjoying platters of cold meats and cheeses, which looked delicious. Sophie ordered a cheese toastie, as she hadn't had any lunch, and we both chose a glass of wine. My daughter picked a French Merlot, while I opted for a glass of Vouvray.

It was lovely to sit and chat, and we squeezed in a slice of fruit cake with a small glass of dessert wine as a treat. Outside, it had clouded over from this morning, and it began to rain hard as we walked back to the car. Sophie wanted to buy a bottle of No3 London Gin (as drunk by David McCloskey), and after an unsuccessful visit to Majestic, we found one in Waitrose.

Before going home, we popped to the care home to see Mum, who was sitting in the dining room having tea. We took her back to her room and stayed for a chat, but she didn't make a lot of sense, unfortunately. She seems to be having vivid dreams at the moment, which she says are very real.

Back home, it was time to relax on the sofa and read. I had a short nap, and Sophie prepared our evening's meal, Tesco Indian curries with accompaniments. Sophie wanted to watch Newcastle v Liverpool after dinner, even though Keith wasn't keen. We said Newcastle would win, but they didn't, and I don't dare write the full-time score here! Oh dear!

Channelling my inner Howard...

There's an episode in Ever Decreasing Circles when the ordinarily mild and gentle Howard turns into a formidable figure after people assume he's going to lose a snooker match to the main character, Martin. He had been turned down for a job and was fed up with being so nice and not winning at anything. His stern face and demeanour while playing snooker make Martin wonder what on earth has happened to him! And, of course, he wins. It's a hilarious episode, but there is a grain of darkness about the situation, and I channelled my inner Howard this morning when I stayed in my car until almost 8:00am, enjoying my porridge and listening to Radio 2 with Scott Mills. I have missed listening to the Easiest Quiz on the radio! No more going in and starting work so early! What thanks do I get? Sara and Sheila get to go early as they arrive at 7:30am, but I don't!

I also spent much of the morning concentrating on the cinema work I do, and left all the cancellation emails for someone else to tackle. From now on, I might remind Sara and Nicola that I don't have time to do everything I normally do. Ha! How to demotivate a member of staff!

At 4:00pm, I drove home, and it took me fifty minutes to do the commute. I suppose that's better than yesterday, when it took Keith and me an hour to get home. An hour! My journey used to take me thirty minutes on a bad day!

I was mightily glad it was Friday, and although Sophie and I had planned on watching the original Rebecca, we were both put off by the annoying line down the middle of the television screen. In the end, we turned it off and Sophie prepared our dinner of chilli and nachos served with four Mexican dips.

After we'd eaten, we watched both episodes of Alan Carr and Amanda Holden in Corfu. The island is stunningly beautiful and made me want to weep. Fancy living there and renovating houses for a living!

Unwelcome news...

I just had a feeling that offering to help cover a shift today would come back and bite me on the bum... I didn't have to cover the whole shift on the phone, as Kathy had kindly offered to work from 10:00am until 2:00pm, so that was a bonus.

Just before Kathy arrived for work, Nicola called me into a meeting in the conference room with Sara. I immediately felt nervous... had I made a mistake, or were they going to tell me I was being transferred to Everyone Active? Nicola went on to tell me that I would be losing my six hours that I work on Thursday, which initially didn't feel too much of a shock. I had been thinking of giving them up myself after all the hassle we've been going through with the commute and parking, so I was OK. This was, of course, down to us losing three sites from the 1st of April. 

However, when I went to sit back at my desk, I felt a bit miffed. Why weren't these hours protected? Nicola could have made them contracted like the rest of my hours, and to be honest, losing them felt like a bit of a blow. She's asking me to take on more work (Bob, for example) but cutting six hours from my week! And would these six hours really affect the business?

When Keith came to pick me up at 4:00pm, I went on a bit of a rant. I just knew that offering to help out today wouldn't result in any kind of acknowledgement, and I vowed to stop working before my shift started at 8:00am and stop being so amenable. It's not in my nature to do that, but I felt very much as if I had been treated unfairly.

It made me feel miserable all evening, and both Keith and Sophie sympathised with me. It made me think about looking for a new job, something I really don't want to do at my age!

What day is it?

Of course, I had no idea what day it was, and it felt like an old Monday when I used to work with Kathy and Jo!

There were loads of emails to be answered, and Sara admitted to not dealing with them much since Monday. There were even some from Saturday waiting to be dealt with! This kept me busy all day, and the time flew by.

The weather was better today, and I caught a glimpse of light on the horizon when I drove in. I cannot wait for it to be fully light at 7:00am. This winter has been so dark and gloomy!

We had a very easy supper tonight - chicken and salad wraps, which Sophie prepared while Keith and I played cards. We had some delicious ingredients to go in the wraps: lettuce, cucumber, cress, tomatoes, a pepper and radishes. Delicious!