Today has been another very busy day with a lot of driving about. Sophie was at work at 9.30am so we took her there and went straight to Aldi and Tesco to do our shopping. It's been a gorgeous day today - very sunny and warm with a lovely breeze. At one point in the afternoon the temperature got up to 27c.
When we arrived home with all the shopping Mike said he wanted to go and sort out his fancy dress costume for the party he was going to tonight. I'd already found a pirate costume that I'd used for a previous Come Dine With Me so I suggested he go as Jack Sparrow and I buy him a wig and a hat from the fancy dress shop in Northampton.
We hastily put all the shopping away and went over to the bank to draw some money out of his account as he owed both Keith and me some cash! While we were in there we met Mum and Dad who said they'd had a lovely meal last night...phew!
From the bank we drove into town and within minutes had picked out a Jack Sparrow-style wig and hat for £9.99...much better than hiring a costume for about £40! We dropped Mike off in a very busy and hot town and said that we could pick him up at around 4.30pm when Sophie was due to finish work. It was then time to return home and have a well-earned lunch!
As I was contemplating making some muffins the phone rang and it was Mike asking to be picked up early...two and a half hours early! I was a bit annoyed as it was only just 2pm so I called Sophie and asked if she could finish work an hour early, which, luckily, was fine.
Keith and I then got back in the car and headed back to town where we picked up Mike and took him to Brixworth. I did forgive him a little bit as while I was driving he gave me a head massage - wonderful for coping with the stress of the traffic but a bit too relaxing!
We bid farewell to our son as he was going on to a party in the evening and then staying at a friend's house and went off back to collect Sophie from work. She was sitting in the garden with Maureen and Polly and my parents who had called in to see them. I can't believe it's only a week until we celebrate our year anniversary of selling the business. Where has all the time gone?
Sophie wanted to get us a gift for our Wedding Anniversary on Monday so we went over to the Weston Favell Centre for the second time today and while Keith and Sophie went off to shop, I sat in Costa Coffee with a strawberry Creamy Cooler. Perfect for a warm day!
Back home it was into the bath and then hair and make-up with Sophie as I was out to Towcester Race course in the evening with Andrea, Fiona and Lynda for a night of Greyhound races. Andrea had booked us a table for a meal and hopefully we were going to be lucky with the betting!
I picked Lynda up and we headed over to Towcester where the car park was already filling up. Fiona and Andrea had already arrived and were waiting for us so they could order some drinks. It had to be a bottle of Prosecco (why is it so popular when there are other, really good Sparkling wines from France?) and at £23 a bottle it wasn't cheap!
We all paid Andrea £20 for the meal which I thought wasn't bad until I saw the menu - no starter but you could order bread, butter and olive oil/balsamic vinegar for an extra £3 a head...Of course the girls wanted this and then they ordered a second bottle of wine. They handed the wine list to me and a name popped out immediately: the Bicicleta Viognier that I can get in Tesco for £7 was going for £22! This was duly ordered (I figured that as I knew it was good and as the other wines weren't much cheaper at least we'd be guaranteed a good wine) and our dinner was served.
Now, I know I'm going to sound like a real whiny cow now, but the dinner was tiny and tasteless - you could have fitted my roulade of chicken and wild mushroom onto a side plate and it was garnished with two weeny potatoes and some grey veggies which were also devoid of any taste. I was very disappointed. I had a feeling my friends weren't satisfied either as they ordered cheese and biscuits for pudding (an extra £2) while I made do with a small chocolate tart that looked lost on the big white plate! The cheese and biscuits arrived without any knives and no butter so it wasn't the most smoothest of service...By now the bottle of Viognier was finished, so another bottle of Prosecco was ordered!
Unfortunately I didn't even win anything to compensate for the disappointing meal...I bet £2 on the first four races and lost every one. The race I didn't bet on I would have won, as the dog I liked the sound of came first! Keith had asked me to put a "reverse forecast" on two dogs, which I did, but one won and the other dog came third which made that bet null and void...oh well! We did have a good chat and a laugh and the other diners were obviously enjoying themselves immensely so it was a pleasant night. Our luck was summed up when another table gave us their betting slips for the last race as they were leaving early and not one of their choices won either!
The girls all finished down on their money even though they'd had several wins. I gave up after Keith's bet and saved my pennies! The girls were very fair though and adjusted my part of the bill accordingly as I'd only had a glass of Prosecco and half a glass of Viognier. We'd still racked up another £80 on top of the £80 meal so it was not a cheap night!
Lynda and I drove home through the countryside as there were a lot of roadworks on the route we'd taken to get there and by midnight I was home. Sophie very kindly gave me her dessert from the Tesco Finest she and Keith had enjoyed for dinner so at least I didn't go to bed ravenous!
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