A little discombobulated!

Olive was booked in for an MOT today, so we dropped her off at an In and Out centre at 8:15 am and went to a nearby Costa for a coffee. Inside the café, it was warm, and the ceiling-mounted air conditioning units were clearly not working. Sophie and I both ordered a flat white each, and they were not good. No lovely velvety froth at all!

After dropping Sophie at work, we returned home, and Keith decided to tackle the bushes in the back garden. I had a list of things I had to get done, but I sat at the kitchen island so I could see him working. It was quite cool in the garden and perfect for getting the job done.

Once I'd finished my list of chores, I went out to help and held onto the stepladder for him. I then raked everything up, and we put it into a large Hippo bag to take to the tip. The bush that Keith had been pruning has long, sharp spikes, and his arms were covered in scratches! I made a booking for the tip, and then we managed to get the unwieldy bag into the boot of the car. I also had another box of garden rubbish that needed disposing of, so I lifted it onto the back seats, where the bottom of the box promptly disintegrated, spewing grass, soil and weeds everywhere. I was not happy! We managed to transfer everything to two smaller boxes, and I attempted to hoover everything up! This was becoming the theme of my week! 

At the appointed time, we drove to Brixworth and managed to heave the huge bag into the skip. Even if we had taken out the garden bin subscription, we still would have had to do this, as there was so much rubbish!

Back home, we both showered and drove to collect Sophie from work. Olive had failed her MOT because of a tyre, and Sophie hadn't managed to get back to the garage in time to authorise the work as she'd been in meetings all morning. Olive would have to stay overnight! Sophie finished at 4:00pm today, and we called into a Bewiched coffee at Billing for a matcha each, which was delicious. The café overlooked the lake at Billing and huge geese were wandering around the car park. For some strange reason, I had asked Keith to come with me (I was a bit confused!) even though we weren't bringing two cars home... It's all been a bit much for my little brain today! I had fifteen emails this morning from my new employer with training courses I have to complete before I start, so I was a bit discombobulated!

I had an appointment at the Back and Body clinic at 5:00pm, so Sophie came with me, and we had a great chat with Gabriel. The shock wave machine didn't work at first, and I thought I'd got away with it, but someone fixed it, so I had my final session. And, yes... it hurt!

Back home, Keith and I played cards, while Sophie finished the book I'd bought for her - The Island of Missing Trees by Elif Shafak. She had enjoyed it, which was great as it's always a risk buying a book for someone else!

Office cleaning!

By 8:30am, I had answered all the emails and completed a job that Sara asked me to do. I think the timing is right for me to change jobs! As we no longer have a regular cleaner, I volunteered to hoover the floor in our office. A pile of crumbs had been on the floor for weeks, and we haven't had Tilly come in and hoover them up!

One of the Duty Managers kindly brought the hoover up for me, as well as a stack of black bags so we could empty the bins. We really shouldn't be doing this! It didn't take me long to run the hoover around, but I had to do it in between phone calls!

I spent the rest of the shift occasionally helping out with calls (Angela had a computer problem) and writing the moan report. As the day wore on, it became warmer, and there is still no end in sight to this dry spell.

Back home, it was a very simple supper and then another episode of Best Medicine!

A quiet start to the week

Not much has happened of note today. Sophie's foot hurt, so she skipped a visit to the gym this morning. My shift passed pleasantly (Nicola was still on annual leave), and I did a handover with Sara. I managed to book the after-school and under-5 activities until next March, so that will be one thing Sara doesn't need to worry about, unless things change. Between us, we also added the October half-term playscheme places to the system. As I won't be working Wednesdays, I'm happy to pop in and help if needed.

Keith collected me from work, and we returned home to prepare dinner and relax. I managed to catch the end of a stage of the Tour de France, which ended in Chalon-sur-Saône. I'd hoped we might see some of the Burgundy vineyards, but it was mostly very dry fields!

After dinner, Keith and I tried again with Best Medicine and enjoyed it. A suitable alternative to our much-missed Panda?

Tidying up

Sophie was back at Woburn today, meeting her friend Laura and her dog, Wilbur. They were driving separately, and as we walked back to the car last night, we both realised it was the Sunday Food Market in Woburn today.

Sophie was worried about getting a parking space, so she left a little earlier. I had advised her to take the same route that we used yesterday, as the M1 with no hard shoulder makes me nervous. I really don't trust Olive at the moment!

Sophie texted me when she got to Woburn to say there were no spaces at all in the car park, and she was seething. She wished she'd postponed for another date, preferably when the market wasn't on! In the end, she suggested Woburn Sands, and she and Laura parked in a lay-by before walking back to Woburn itself. It had put Sophie in a bad mood, so I don't think she really enjoyed her day out.

Back at home, I decided to tackle the garden and try to tidy it up a bit. I cut back some plants that were clearly struggling with the hot, dry conditions, knowing they would bounce back when the weather changes. I'm just glad I didn't put down the grass seed I'd bought!

How dry the grass is!

When I finished, the garden looked slightly better, but there is still a lot to do! Maybe after a period of continuous rainfall!

I spent the afternoon pottering about and Sophie returned home at about 4:00pm. We sat and chatted in the kitchen, and she told me all about her day, which she hadn't really enjoyed. We opened a bottle of rosé before dinner (one we'd enjoyed in France), which was beefburgers, salad and potato wedges.

After dinner, we watched a new episode of Fake or Fortune, featuring a woman who was convinced she had a Fabergé flower. It was a real roller-coaster of an episode, and both Sophie and I thought the woman was a bit of a fantasist! It has been a very enjoyable weekend (for me anyway)! Back to the grind tomorrow!

A day at Bletchley Park

Sophie was very excited about today; we were going to Bletchley Park to see two episodes of the podcast, "The Rest is Classified", being recorded, with hosts David McCloskey and Gordon Corera. She wanted to get there early to get front-row seats, so we left home at 8:00am.

We took Olive and drove to Bletchley via the A508 and the A5. It was a gorgeous day, and the forecast was for a little cooler than of late. We arrived at 8:45am and spoke to the helpful man who was on duty at the entrance. After parking, we walked to the auditorium and discovered that they weren't ready quite yet. We were very early! The woman we spoke to then said there would be no refreshments available "all day", which we found slightly alarming! Not even any water? She said the nearest café was at the station, a five-minute walk away.

After a bit of hesitation, we decided to walk to the station. Sophie checked the email she'd been sent and discovered that registration was between 9:30am and 10:00am, so we would be back in plenty of time. It was a pleasant walk to the station, and as we neared our destination, we were delighted to see David McCloskey emerge from the building, obviously having just disembarked from the London train! Sophie stared at him open-mouthed, but I smiled, and he said hello! What a lovely man!

When Sophie eventually came around (!), we bought coffees, a sandwich, a couple of flapjacks and a pastry. We ate them in the station, and I had to hold Sophie back from running after her idol as he made his way to Bletchley Park (only kidding, Sophie!).

We sauntered back, registered and said hello to one of the producers. Everyone (except the little Hitler we'd spoken to first thing, who worked for Bletchley Park) was lovely. We were given green wristbands and told that we'd have a tour of the grounds at 12:30pm.

We weren't able to go in straightaway, so we sat on benches outside the auditorium and waited. To our annoyance, little Hitler was telling people that there was water available in a nearby breakout room, and that there was a café just around the corner... She had clearly lied to us this morning!

More and more people started arriving, but when the doors opened, we were able to get seats right in the front row. Two chairs had been placed in front of the seats, with a table containing a bottle and glasses of water. Behind the chairs was a large screen with a great photo of the house itself.

We had to sit through the inevitable health and safety notice, and then David McCloskey and Gordon Corera took their seats, holding microphones, and the podcast started.

The Rest is Classified

It was fascinating to see the behind-the-scenes input for the podcast. Behind the two men sat Becki, another producer, and two cameras were trained on them as well. 

The two podcasts were all about Bletchley Park and the intelligence relationship between the UK and the US during the Second World War. It was very interesting, and I particularly liked the easy, comfortable conversation between the two hosts. They had a script, but it was obvious they were ad libbing as well.

We had a couple of breaks during the first recording, and Becki asked them to say a couple of lines again. At about 11:30am, we broke for lunch, and the first group went on their tour. Little Hitler took us over to the café (obviously we weren't capable of going by ourselves), where we ordered lunch. Sophie and I both had sandwiches, accompanied by a small bucket of delicious chips.

Bletchley Park was busy, and there were people of all ages visiting. Sitting behind us in the café was David McCloskey's family, who seemed to be having a whale of a time! We strolled back to the auditorium and waited to be escorted to a hut where we would start our tour.

Looking back, I think I would have preferred to have gone off and explored by ourselves. The tour was very interesting, and the volunteer leading it was extremely knowledgeable, but we didn't go into any of the buildings, and it would have been great to show Sophie the huts, the inside of the house itself and the machines. Luckily, we had been given annual passes, so we will come back again, bring a picnic and spend the day exploring.

The afternoon session followed the same format as this morning, and then we had questions and answers, which members had submitted beforehand. The members were known as "Secret Squirrels", and I couldn't get over how friendly everyone was. Sophie had submitted a question, mentioning her meeting with David in January and the cocktail she had asked him about. She now wanted to know what Gordon's favourite cocktail was! Her question was asked last, and both men thought it was very funny! David admitted to not remembering he'd been asked the question, and Gordon replied he preferred a neat whisky!

Afterwards, the two men stood in the lobby and did a meet-and-greet with people. Sophie was going to go, but I persuaded her to stay, and she confronted David about not remembering! He took it very well, apologised and asked her name, saying he wouldn't forget again! He also shook hands with us, which was lovely. It had been a fantastic day!

We returned to the car and decided to go to Woburn for something to eat. It wasn't far away, and we managed to park easily. We had a couple of drinks first in The Nook: delicious Aperol Spritzes accompanied by a packet of crisps as we felt a bit peckish. It was great to sit and relax and chat about the day!

Sophie had discovered there was a Thai restaurant in Woburn, so as soon as they opened at 5:30pm, we made our way there, somehow ending up in an Indian restaurant first and making a swift exit! We were given a table by the window, and had two hours for our meal, which was perfect.

We chose a set menu, with assorted appetisers to start, followed by a Thai green curry, a beef dish, stir-fried vegetables and sticky rice. Sophie had a large glass of rosé while I stuck to a small one. The food was delicious, and definitely on a par with the restaurant in Market Harborough. The only gripe was a badly-behaved little girl who was eating with her parents and wouldn't sit still or eat any of her food. She constantly whined about wanting pasta and then to go back to the park - we think they were staying at a nearby Center Parcs.

We paid the bill, strolled back to the car and made our way home, driving through the parkland and seeing herds of deer before joining the M1. Keith was pleased to see us, and we chatted about our day. He had been to see Sileby play, a pre-season friendly that he enjoyed, so we'd all had an enjoyable Saturday!

A quiet day

Fridays tend to be quiet at work, and today was no exception! Not one member of our senior management team was in, and even Nicola had taken today off work. Sara left in the afternoon, so that meant it was just Kathy and I working, and one other woman in the finance office. It was bliss!

The shift passed quickly, and it was great to escape at 4:00pm and look forward to the weekend. When Sophie arrived home, we opened a bottle of rosé and watched Ever After, filmed at the Château de Hautefort. It was wonderful to see the gorgeous house on the screen and to relive memories of spending time there!

Keith had made a curry, so we didn't need to do anything for dinner, just cook some Basmati rice and the naan bread.

After we'd eaten, we watched the end of the film, and then caught up with an episode of Amanda and Alan in Italy. Amanda had wanted a golden floor in her bathroom, which I thought would look horrible, but it worked!

A sobering afternoon

I am quite enjoying having an extra day off a week, so I'm going to make the most of it! Keith went shopping while I did some chores, and I helped him put the shopping away when he returned.

It was lovely to pootle about for the rest of the morning, and I went to see my Mum in the afternoon. As soon as I walked into her room, I knew she wasn't feeling well, and I had a miserable visit, with her in tears several times. The sad thing is that today would have been Mum and Dad's 60th wedding anniversary, and she welled up when I told her. One of the carers came in and said she hadn't had a good couple of days, so I said I'd see someone about a urine sample as she may have an infection.

I went home feeling a bit miserable and started the dinner which we should have had last night. Sophie was delighted when she arrived home and saw that it was all done! All we needed to do was cook the rice, and that was it!

I carried on watching the Tour de France after dinner; the route ended in Chalon-sur-Saône, where we'd stayed a couple of years ago, and I wanted to see if the route passed through the Burgundy vineyards. It made a very pleasant end to the day!