A fruitful meeting!

After a lovely, lazy start to the day, and catching snippets of Saturday Morning Kitchen while changing beds, Sophie and I went to Tesco to buy some things we needed. The earlier thick fog had given way to blue skies and sunshine, but I think it will make a comeback this evening.

We had a coffee in Costa at first, and both of us were amazed at how noisy the store was! There were alarms going off repeatedly at the self-service tills, and children crying. One family managed to knock a fully-laden tray off their table, and smashed crockery and glass went flying! It was certainly an assault on the senses!

I bought gifts and treats for my Mum as it's her birthday on Monday, but I'm going to see her at some point over the weekend. Sophie bought all the things she needed, and we left to drive to Islip to meet her old manager, Sharon, who had kindly said she'd meet us to talk about buying property in France.

I'd had a worrying message when I turned Celine on this morning; something about the battery again, and I still couldn't drive her in electric mode. I think I'll be contacting Cinch next Wednesday when I'm at home.

We drove to Islip, just off the A14, and turned into the car park of The Woolpack Inn. However, there were no spaces at all, which was annoying, so in the end, I had to park a little way up the road, and we walked down.

Sharon was already waiting for us at the table, and we ordered drinks and had a great chat before looking at the lunch menu. Sophie and I ordered breaded chicken wraps with salad and a shared bowl of chips, while Sharon chose soup. The food was very good, and the restaurant was pleasantly busy but not loud.

Sharon shared her story about her elderly in-laws first, and I commiserated. I knew exactly how she felt! We then got onto the topic of buying a French property, and Sharon was very helpful, telling us what to expect and all the red tape that the French are so fond of! She urged Sophie to buy something easy to get to, especially if we try to go regularly at the weekend. The flat she and her partner bought in Le Touquet has risen substantially in value, but she told Sophie not to expect any rental income to cover her mortgage, which I think Sophie found a bit surprising. It was a very helpful conversation and great to hear how experience of buying abroad.

We all found room for dessert: a delicious ginger and vanilla creme brulee. It was scrumptious! Sophie paid the bill, and we left at about 4:15pm, too late to go and see my Mum as she would have been sitting down to tea.

We drove home in the November gloom and relaxed for a while before watching the film, Basic Instinct, starring a gorgeous Michael Douglas and a beautifully glamorous Sharon Stone. Luckily, Mooney was already in the house, but Gomez wouldn't come in when the fireworks started, some of them going off very loudly indeed. 

Sophie and I enjoyed paté with crusty baguettes at about 8:00pm and tried vainly to get Gomez in. Mooney decided the safest place for him was behind one of the armchairs while the bangs went on all around us!

It's Friday!

I had another very pleasant shift at work and was all alone in the office all day. Whether other staff had been frightened off by the noise from the builders, I don't know, but I had a great day and got lots done.

Keith picked me up, and I was a bit worried that I couldn't drive the car in electric mode again. It's been great that we haven't used much petrol and can make the journeys to and from work using the battery, which I charge up when I get home. If it continues, I will need to contact Cinch!

Keith wasn't going to the pub this evening, and had made a spicy chilli for dinner, so he sat in the kitchen on my laptop while Sophie and I watched Sliding Doors starring Gwyneth Paltrow and John Hannah. We drank a delicious red wine we'd bought in St. Emilion, and we both loved its complex flavours.

It was lovely to look forward to the weekend, but it's bittersweet for Sophie as she is going to London on Sunday for work and will be away until Wednesday. I will miss her!

A short shift

Work passed pleasantly today, and although Daphne was in the office with me, she was lovely and quiet! No mention was made of the new office, so let's wait and see. We now have builders renovating our Dance Studio, so there were a few bangs, sounds of drilling, and men shouting, but that doesn't bother me!

Just after 2:00pm, I drove over to Kettering to see my Mum and found her in the lounge taking part in a music activity, which was great to see. She came into her room, and we chatted for a good while. I noticed the remote control I'd bought was still in evidence, but it would only change the volume. A Christmas film was playing on the television, so it has started in earnest now! We're getting Christmas adverts showing now, even though it's barely November!

And talking of November, it's Bonfire Night tonight, and I hope we can get the cats in. As it's fallen on a Thursday, the fireworks could stretch on from tonight and over the weekend!

An unexpected trip

I went into work for just under two hours this morning, mainly to see Sheila and to go through a couple of work things. I knew that Daphne was due to be in, and as there was nowhere else for her to sit, I thought it was prudent to leave when she came in. This means that I can finish early tomorrow and go to see my Mum in the afternoon.

It felt lovely to walk out at about 10:00am and go home. Keith had an appointment with his GP at 11:15am, so I drove him over and waited in the car. His coughing is still almost constant, so it was great to sit in the car in silence and have some peace for half an hour! When he came out, he said the doctor had sent him for a chest X-ray, and we could go to Danetre Hospital in Daventry rather than Northampton General. He had also been given a third course of antibiotics, so we're hoping these will help banish the irritating cough he has!

It took us about half an hour to drive to Daventry, and we parked easily for free. Danetre Hospital is a lovely little hospital, and we had a cup of tea and a sandwich while waiting for the X-ray staff to return from their lunch. At 1:00pm we went down to the X-ray department, and Keith was seen straightaway. What an easy process!

From the hospital, we drove to a nearby Tesco to buy food for dinner over the next couple of days, and returned home, driving through the huge area of new builds around Duston. This whole area has changed and is unrecognisable from years ago.

At 4:00pm, our bathroom fitter arrived to look at the en suite ahead of the installation in late January. We discovered he'd been in the same year as Sophie at school and they knew each other! Small world!

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!