Grouchy Sunday...

Today I have been mostly in a bad mood...Last night we had our Wine Evening and I have to admit it wasn't the most enjoyable night we've had so far. Another couple had been invited by our hosts for the night, which was OK, but they live in Northampton, so if they decided to invite us back to their place it would cause all sorts of problems, with drink-driving being the main one. Our Wine group is made up of (mostly) neighbours  so no-one has to drive and worry about being over the limit. Our hostess for the night had also mentioned that she had someone staying with her but I was assured the guest was going out and wouldn't be at home. Trying to share a bottle of wine out among 12-13 people and making sure you all get a good taste can be a bit of a problem. It's also good to have some wine left so if someone likes it they can have another taste afterwards.

Keith and I went around to the house a little early to open up the wine and set the table up with the glasses and tasting sheets. It was then that Sue mentioned that her guest wasn't going out and had invited her boyfriend over. They wouldn't be taking part (good, as I'd planned for 12) but they would be "observing" us...Huh?? What did they think we'd be doing? By now I was fuming as I'd already been a little annoyed she'd invited another couple in the first place!

The evening was extremely noisy. Usually there's a fair amount of banter but for some reason last night was even noisier and all attempts to talk about the wine just went by the wayside so I gave up. We had seven whites and all but two of them were from South Africa. We then had a break for food and moved onto the six Cabernet Sauvignons. Sue and Paul had decided to put on a music quiz at the very end so I was trying to tot up the scores to a background of loud music and people shouting out names of bands...The most popular wine was a bottle of Chenin Blanc from South Africa called Morgenhof, available in Waitrose. The second was a Cabernet Sauvignon called Montes Alpha from Chile available from Tesco. A Chenin Blanc also came third, a Ken Forrester white from South Africa, sold in most big supermarkets.

We rolled home at just after midnight and I had a bad night's sleep! Too much wine does not agree with me!

So Sunday was a bit of a grouchy day, if I'm honest. I'm determined that we'll revert back to normal for the next Wine Evening with just the ten of us, even though the couple who'd been invited had hinted at the end of the evening that they would like to hold a tasting. I politely told them we were already fixed up.

Sophie had arranged to see her friends today and to go shopping into Northampton town so I dropped them all off and then went to the garden centre with mum for a much needed cup of tea and a gossip. It was too cold to venture outside and buy pansies so we mooched about a bit and then drove back to the town in the hope that the girls were finished their shopping. They weren't so we parked and walked up to Debenhams, passing far too many empty shops on the way. Northampton is sadly run down and is certainly not the town it used to be. Even though it was a Sunday afternoon, there was a vague sense of menace about (although that could have been coming from me) and it was really heartbreaking to see all the shops with For Let signs in them. I find Northampton depressing now and it seems I'm not the only one. I much prefer to shop in Milton Keynes or Market Harborough which is very sad seeing as I've lived in the area for 38 years.

Mum treated herself to a new handbag in Debenhams and by the time we'd walked back to the car, the girls were ready. I dropped them off at home, went into mum's for a quick drink and then headed home where I fell asleep on the sofa.

Sue came around to return the glasses and I did hint that last night wasn't the success I'd expected it to be. I wasn't rude, I just said that I found it very strange to have a couple sitting in the room but not being part of what was going on and they must have felt a little weird about it as well. I said I'd like to keep it to just ten and I think she knew how I felt. Sometimes honesty is the best policy!