Saying goodbye

We had another manic day at work, and our office was incredibly noisy, for some reason. Nicola behaved as if someone had wound her up and let her go, and she was shrieky, screamy and loud all day, until she thankfully left late in the afternoon.

It was our last day of running our three centres, so there was a certain poignancy about taking calls from people interested in visiting them. From tomorrow, our business will be greatly reduced, and it will be interesting to see how the rest of the Easter holidays pan out. My worry is that once this madness subsides, will there be enough work for us all?

Just as we were leaving, our MD arrived and was going to visit the three centres this evening to say goodbye to the staff who will be transferred to Everyone Active. We will miss them all very much, especially colleagues with whom we've had close working relationships.

We all said goodbye to Sheila at 4:00pm and had a hug. She will still be classed as a casual worker for us, and we have signed her up for a Sunday shift in a couple of weeks!

It was a beautiful, mild and sunny late afternoon, and it was great to drive home and look forward to a day off tomorrow. I still have a present to buy for Sophie, and her birthday is rushing up on us like a speeding train!

More cake!

I walked into our kitchen at work this morning to find more cake in the chiller cabinet! This was a cream-filled Victoria sponge cake, brought in by Sheila, whose last day is tomorrow. Where on earth has this month gone? 

It was the first day of the Easter school holidays, and I expected the phones to be busy, which they were. I stepped in and helped, but we're all wondering what Wednesday will be like when we no longer have any leisure pools. We're still getting cancellation emails; how many more are we going to get before this is all over?

Our office was a lure for the cake lovers in the afternoon as people started to enjoy Sheila's cakes (she'd brought in a lemon drizzle cake as well) and biscuits. She has definitely been a "feeder" along with Sue, who has also left. They'll be mean pickings after Wednesday, let me tell you!

Talking of things lacking, there are rumours of fuel shortages at petrol stations, which is worrying. Keith regularly tops up the VW's tank, but we will need a full one for Friday when we travel to France for the weekend.

And talking of news, we learnt today that Scott Mills has been sacked from the BBC. I'd been listening to his breakfast show this morning and noticed that Gary Davies was presenting, but I thought that Scott Mills was on holiday. Well, he's been sacked because of "personal conduct." I hope it's not a repeat of the Huw Edwards debacle...

Keith cooked a spicy chilli con carne for dinner, and we watched another episode of The Capture. We have stopped watching Silent Witness as I found it too gory. The last two episodes featured horrible dead bodies, and it's not my cup of tea just before bed!

Making plans

The clocks went forward last night, so we lost an hour of our weekend today. However, I tried to forget about it, and not get annoyed like I have in past years! Why we still do this, I'll never know!

Sophie and I spent the morning doing housework, and I prepared tonight's dinner of stuffed chicken breasts. I cut a slit in each breast, stuffed it with sausage meat, a basil leaf and a couple of slices of sundried tomatoes, wrapped each breast in Parma ham, and then a layer of foil to chill until tonight.

Around lunchtime, Sophie and I enjoyed fish finger sandwiches, and we booked a trip to Paris at the end of April. Sophie has bought tickets to see a band called Not For Radio, with the lead singer being one of The Marias. We thought it was a niche band and certainly not well-known, but it seems they have quite a following as they've had to put on an extra night in London and Paris!

We had difficulty getting normal train tickets for the 26th of April, and our experiences last week have made us a little wary! We booked Eurostar tickets from St Pancras and managed, at last, to get compatible train tickets from Kettering. We also booked a hotel through the Eurostar website, so we're all set to have two nights in Paris, in Spring! April and May are set to be two very busy months!

Sophie and I went to see my Mum in the afternoon, and she was a bit morose again, despite us turning up with chocolate for her. We stayed for a while and decided, when we left, to go to our local pub for a quick drink. However, from the cars parked nearby, it was obvious that it was busy, so we changed our minds and went to Beckworth instead. 

The place was full of Easter goodies, but we managed to get through the Food Hall without being tempted and made straight for the restaurant, where we ordered a cream tea each. The scones were beautiful and served with clotted cream and jam. My only gripe was the weird-tasting decaffeinated tea!

After paying the bill, we wandered about, marvelling at the sheer amount of merchandise available! We were very good, though, and didn't buy anything! Back home, we relaxed, and Sophie and I played cards with a vodka cocktail. 

I cooked tonight, and popped the chicken breasts in the oven along with new potatoes to roast and asparagus. I was very pleased with how the meal turned out, so this is something else we'll cook again!

Home alone

Today has been very relaxed, and I was looking forward to a couple of hours of "me time" this afternoon, when both Sophie and Keith were elsewhere enjoying themselves!

It's been lovely and sunny today, but the wind was cold and reminded us that it's still only March! Sophie took herself off to Market Harborough at 11am to meet her work buddy, Becky, where they were going to shop until they dropped, have lunch and then a drink at The Wine Shed. I pootled about and did some jobs, but it was a very relaxed start to the weekend!

Keith went to see Sileby play at 2.30pm and I carried on transcribing my Nepal diary, which is progressing very slowly! I'd like to add it to a travel Facebook group I belong to, but it will have to be finished first!

Sophie came home at about 5:00pm, and we went out again almost immediately to her friend Daisy's house, where there was a small gathering to celebrate Daisy's 30th birthday. I clearly remember 12 years ago when Sophie and all of her friends were turning 18 and venturing into Northampton's hotspots for the first time! I'm glad that's all over now!

Before going to the house, we called into Aldi, where Sophie bought a bottle of Champagne and flowers. When we arrived, Daisy came out to meet us, very glammed up in heels and a long skirt, as most of the guests were going to a Karaoke bar later. Sophie asked me to collect her at about 7:00pm as she was definitely not keen on that activity!

I trundled home, relaxed for a couple of hours, and then went back to pick her up. She'd had a couple of cocktails so was a bit merry, but said that Daisy had definitely been the star of the show, with drinks named after her, photos of her over the years and a long speech from her mum... Sophie won't be getting anything like that for her 30th next week!

Back home, the three of us sat around the kitchen table and dissected the events of the day over a bottle of red wine, cheese and biscuits. After we'd eaten, we started watching the first series of The Capture on BBC iPlayer. It certainly kept us hooked!

Cake!

I was hoping fervently that nobody would be off sick today, so I could get on with the emails! Luckily, everyone was present and correct, and my morning shift passed quickly.

When I went to make myself toast in the kitchen at lunchtime, I had a long chat with our MD about the business, and some of the figures he quoted were mind-boggling! I'm just glad we sold the business when we did!

We had a treat in the afternoon, when we were invited into the boardroom for a slice of creamy cake, to say goodbye to our Finance Director, who was his normal grumpy self. I won't be sorry to say goodbye! The rest of the afternoon passed quickly, and I was soon driving home and looking forward to the weekend! Just before we'd left, it had rained heavily, and the sky was an angry dark grey. I don't think Spring is properly here just yet!

Keith went to the pub, and Sophie and I settled down with a glass of wine to watch the 2017 film adaptation of Daphne du Maurier's My Cousin Rachel. Cue lots of shouting at the film as the screenwriter had changed the most important part of the novel - the ending! It bore no resemblance to the book at all! I knew how Sophie felt when we watched Rebecca!

When the film was finished, Sophie and I went upstairs to watch the first series of Amanda Holden and Alan Carr's renovation of an Italian house they'd bought for one euro. It was as entertaining as ever!

Remembrance of things past...

I was looking forward to working today, as I expected I wouldn't need to be on the phone, and I could focus on reducing the number of emails languishing in our inboxes. Keith took me to work, and things started to go wrong when I couldn't get through the barrier we have at the entrance to our building. I tried and tried, but my card wouldn't work. I even asked a member of staff for help, but to no avail. Finally, our lovely cleaner swiped her card to let me in!

When I got up to the office, I mentioned my difficulty, and Sheila said she'd changed the number on my card so she could have access to a class she does at the gym every week... Well, I wish she'd told me, but it wouldn't work as I need to get in every morning! Madness! I immediately changed it back to my membership number!

Next up, we found out that Macy, Nicola's daughter, had phoned in sick... I said I would help out with the phones (grrrr!), but I couldn't stay until 4pm as I had afternoon plans. In the end, I did two hours, Sara did two hours, and Sheila ended the shift. She won't be here next week, and I keep thinking we have another week to go before the changes. Where on earth has March gone?

I did as much as I could before I went on the phones, but thankfully, the lines were quiet today. Thursday seems to be the quietest day of the week. At 2pm, I dashed off, and Keith met me in the car park. We drove to my old building at Lings, to see Amanda, one of the receptionists, and take her a box of chocolates for all of her help in the past. 

Walking in felt very poignant (I remembered the door code!), and we had a chat for a little while. The gym was completely empty as all the equipment had been moved out last week, and there were no vending machines in reception. I went into my old office and had a chat with the Dans, who were sitting in Nicola's old office. I hugged Dan F, who is lovely, and we always bought each other coffees in the good old days! I miss the lovely coffees from the machine! I had another chat with Amanda, and another hug, and I left. If I ever go again, it will be run by the enemy!

I dropped Keith off at home, hastily ate a sandwich I'd bought at Waitrose, and drove over to Kettering to see my Mum. Thankfully, we had a better visit than last Thursday, and I promised to see her on Sunday and take my laptop so we could look at photos.

It was Sophie's turn to cook tonight, and she made a delicious creamy baked pasta dish, while Keith and I chatted in the kitchen. After we'd eaten, we watched the first episode of Katya Adler's documentary about Europe, which we all found very interesting. I was then determined to finish the novel, My Cousin Rachel, so we can watch the film tomorrow night!

Sunshine and showers

I had no plans at all today, so it was lovely to have a little lie-in and then potter about. Outside, the rain had gone, but we were left with the wind. It was a blue sky and sun morning, but as the day wore on, we had intermittent showers. I suppose it is nearly April!

I did a lot of stuff for Sophie's birthday first thing, and then wrote my blog and pottered about for the rest of the day. We'd have bright sunshine one minute and then dark grey skies the next. It certainly made for interesting weather!

Keith cooked a delicious curry for dinner, and after we'd eaten, we watched the Huw Edwards drama that we'd recorded last night. It made for very uncomfortable viewing, and Sophie could hardly bring herself to watch. I was truly shocked when the truth came out, as I'd always viewed Huw Edwards as a thoroughly respectable man and the stalwart of the BBC. How are the mighty fallen!