Crowds!

We awoke to a grey day which was a bit disappointing, even though the weather forecast had predicted a bit of a wash out for the Easter weekend so it was no real surprise!

Mike had gone out last night to the village and had then texted me to say he was staying with a friend so it was a bit of a shock to take a call from him asking us to pick him up from an address in Rushden! I was very annoyed as I was just about to make myself some toast and had no idea he was there. I thought he was going to be walking home!

Keith and I sloshed our way over to get him and all I can say is...thank goodness for Google Maps on my phone. The app got us there without a wrong turning! He was due to start work at 12pm so we were cutting it very fine and had to delay my parents coming over to see us. However, when we arrived home and he disappeared to have a shower, he was told he wasn't needed at work after all.

Mum and Dad arrived bearing an Easter Egg for Mike, an Accessorize voucher for Sophie and a new garden shrub for Keith and I. It's called "Angel in the Garden" and is a Camellia, so I will look forward to finding a place to plant it and may take out some unwanted bushes that have gone a bit rampant.

After Mum and Dad had gone Sophie and I drove into town and went to Homesense on St James Retail Park. We enjoyed a drink in Starbucks first, but Sophie's attempts to re-create that Florida feeling we had at the Starbucks there didn't go too well. For a start we were sitting inside as outside was cold and rainy and everyone looked miserable! It's no wonder!

We walked to Homesense and the place was packed. The retail park is undergoing a bit of a hit at the moment as we had already lost BHS and now Toys R Us are in the process of shutting down. A new store had opened where Brantano's used to be, which was good, but the place was starting to look a bit shabby around the edges and Homesense was the only place that looked really busy. The BHS store was still vacant and looked rundown and neglected.

We had a mooch about but I wasn't in the mood to buy anything for the house or garden. If the weather had been lovely I would have been tempted but what was the point at the moment? Sophie picked out a cleanser and I picked up a twin set of soap and moisturising lotion for the cloakroom but changed my mind when I realised I was paying over the top for the two products - £7.99...really?

I was a bit fed up with the crowds of people and constantly being asked to move when I was looking at the products so we left and went to the Weston Favell Centre, as Sophie was interested in finding out the cost of a series of tanning sessions at a place called Indigo Sun. She is graduating in July and wants to look her best. With our summers she needs a little boost!

Again, the place was packed with people so we hurriedly left and decided to head home. Sophie couldn't get over how everywhere was so packed and I said that was the reason I never went anywhere while she was at work as it was so busy! She has taken today and next Saturday off work as it's her "Birthday Week"!

Bank holiday working and a blast from the past...

I could have taken today off work but I wanted to save some days for next week so I opted to go in and do the 9am until 4pm shift. The leisure centre was only open for these hours anyway so it was pretty strange to arrive and be too early to go through the public entrance! I had to go around the back, and luckily I remembered the code to get in!

I worked with Sadie until she left at 2pm and we mostly booked cinema tickets for people. Peter Rabbit must be a huge hit and we were sold out for the two screenings today! To be honest, I didn't mind being at work as the weather was atrocious and rained for the whole day. When I left at 4pm it was really coming down heavily and the roads were starting to flood.

Keith and Sophie went to get ready as tonight we were due to meet my old school friend Julia in Milton Keynes along with her family. I went to fetch Mike from work and then freshened up when we arrived back home.

The journey to Milton Keynes was horrible. It continued to rain heavily and some people carried on driving as if the weather was dry and sunny, ignoring the fact that the roads were covered in water and throwing up huge arcs of spray behind them. We managed to park easily and hurried to the restaurants using umbrellas. It was nasty!

I'd booked a table at Zizzi as they had a good vegan menu for Julia and her husband, Rob. We walked in to find we were the first to arrive and ordered some drinks. Mike and Keith had a beer each at £6.50 a bottle! Sophie and I took the waitress's advice and ordered a bottle of Pinot Grigio as it was cheaper to order that way than keep having glasses!

While we were waiting we scanned the square at the front of the restaurant and just when we were beginning to think they had been held up, we saw Julia and her children, Sasha and Evan. There was a flurry of greetings and my old school friend hadn't changed a bit! She was still slim and lovely! The children sat at the end of the table and seemed a bit quiet and reserved. I chatted away to Julia and when her husband arrived after parking the car, he was very friendly and charming. We all got on very well together and my two certainly took part in the conversation, which was great.

I hadn't been that impressed with the food when we ate at a Zizzi on New Year's Day in Stratford, but tonight I was pleasantly surprised. I chose the Chicken Prosciutto with herby potatoes and green beans and the meal was delicious. Mike and Sophie had pizzas while Keith opted for the lamb shank, which he said was good, but on the small side.

Julia and her husband shared a vegan spaghetti bolognese and a pizza and they certainly had plenty to choose from, which was a relief. They even ordered a vegan chocolate pudding and I was really impressed! As we had been drinking beer and wine and Julia's family hadn't, we made sure we had two separate bills and ours was a whacking £50 more than theirs! Blimey!

It was sad to say goodbye but it's great that I can keep up with Julia on Facebook so I wished them a safe journey home tomorrow and hoped that we'd be seeing each other again soon. We returned home on the M1 and the rain still hadn't let up!

A bit of a fright...

Today hasn't been the best of days and the stress increased as the morning wore on! I was working with Sue and we were busy with calls first thing. Sheila chose that moment to come over and ask if I wanted to do another, quite complicated, job for her. I was willing but she explained it so quickly that I lost track of what I had to do, and the phone kept ringing as she talked to me!

As tomorrow is the first day of the Easter holidays we had lots of calls from people booking cinema tickets and Peter Rabbit is what everyone wants to see! We even had a woman call who wanted to change her tickets to another day, another complicated procedure that Sue and I had to learn how to do!

Things quietened down a bit around lunchtime but I agreed with Sheila that the job she wanted me to do was too complicated to handle in between calls so we gave up. We also had to deal with orders from one of the managers and uncharacteristically, one of them was wrong so I had to wait for him to call me back with the correct information, which he did at about a minute to 2pm. I was on the brink of going home when I realised I had to go back in and finish the order off as tomorrow is a Bank Holiday.

Sue helped me, thank goodness, and I called Sophie to say I would be a little late picking her up from the pub she was having lunch at. I did the order, dashed to the car and drove to go and get Sophie, managing to call her on the hands free on the way to say I was almost there.

However, her phone went straight to voicemail, which was a little strange as I'd only spoken to her fifteen minutes before. I kept on calling her and when I arrived at the pub (opposite uni) she wasn't waiting for me. Feeling a bit annoyed as I had just minutes to pick her up and get home, I texted her and then decided to go inside to find her.

I went in and searched everywhere but there was no sign of my daughter and no sign of the friends she'd been with, either. I saw a woman who looked like her then realised the woman had a baby so that definitely wasn't her! By now I was starting to get a little worried as Sophie is 100% reliable and will always be where she says she'll be. I kept on calling, went outside to the garden area, even though it was a chilly, dreary day but I still couldn't find her.

I scanned the car park to see if she was sitting in a friend's car and even went to the entrance to see if she was waiting by the road but nothing. I went back inside in case she'd been in the loo and then called Keith in a bit of a panic as I still couldn't get hold of her on the phone and she hadn't answered my text, something that is highly unusual.

He told me to calm down but it was so uncharacteristic of Sophie to disappear like that, that I really thought something had happened to her. My last hope was to see if she was waiting for me at uni so I drove like a maniac the short distance down the road and sped into the campus, anxiously searching the students at the bus stop...and there she was. My relief was enormous, as was hers, as she'd thought I'd been in an accident as I was so late! Apparently, she'd told me she was back at uni when I called to say I'd be late but I hadn't heard her in my haste to get back to the office!

When we arrived home Keith said I was mad to worry like that and I suppose he's right, but normally she's exactly where she says she'll be which is why I was worried I couldn't contact her. Her phone had died on her minutes after I'd called her but then had miraculously come back to life as I arrived at uni. She has definitely decided to get a new phone now!

It was my last session at the after school club and thankfully we had very few children attend, and they were all gone by 5.15pm so we had a lovely early evening. Lisa was very pleased, even though she'd predicted we'd still be there at 6pm!

Rain, rain, rain...

The weather today has been really horrible with grey skies and rain. I just hope it improves over the Easter weekend!

We went to see Mum and Dad first thing for a cup of coffee and to discuss their house which is still up for sale. I urged them to take it off the market as I had visions of them being homeless because they'd received an offer for it! I still harbour hopes that the sale of next door will fall through but I won't hold my breath.

Sophie drove us to the Weston Favell Centre after we said goodbye to Mum and Dad and it was a nasty journey because the A43 was busy and the rain continued to fall, making puddles along the side of the road. It was the first time Sophie had ever really driven in such bad weather and it was a tad stressful for her and for us!

In Tesco I bought some chocolate eggs for the children at school and then we popped down to Riverside to go to Boots, to get what Sophie couldn't find yesterday. Keith treated us to a cup of coffee and a crispy cornflake cake and then it was home to catch up with jobs for a couple of hours.

Mike went to Brixworth as he was heading out to town with some mates so I wasn't expecting him back until tomorrow. Wednesday night is "Student Night" in Northampton and it's best not to ask what he gets up to or who he stays with!

Ladies who lunch...

Mike started college slightly later today, at 11.30am so Sophie and I dropped him off and drove to Market Harborough. On the way we realised we hadn't any change with us for parking so I was very glad I found a space on the street where I could leave the car for up to two hours!

Sophie wanted to take some clothes back to New Look so we went there first and she found another couple of tops that she liked. She did a swap and then we walked to Boots, popping into a delicatessen first as we were looking for a mushroom sauce to go with our breaded pork escalopes this evening. We had no luck there or in Boots, where my daughter was after some moisturiser, so we called it a day and decided to have lunch at Farndon Fields.

As expected the farm shop was packed and the restaurant busy with ladies of a certain age who obviously like to lunch. We had a short wait for a table but we didn't mind as we had plenty of time, even though both of us were hungry! I couldn't decide between a wrap or a sandwich but the waiter made up my mind when he said they'd run out of fried chicken, so the sandwich it was!

It was a delicious lunch, as ever, but the chips defeated me today! After we'd eaten we had a mooch in the shop and picked out a mushroom sauce and a packet of pine nuts for the exorbitant price of over £8 for the two items! I knew I should have bought them in Tesco! Before we went back to the car we spotted some goats and Sophie had a chat with one of them:

We splashed our way home as today has been grey and dreary with rain and the clean cars of Sunday are a distant memory! This morning, on the way to take Mike, the mud on the road was unbelievable and I met the tractor as it was coming out of the field, its huge wheels caked in thick, brown goo! It was also quite slippery and when we got home I warned Keith about it as, with the drizzle, the road had the potential to be dangerous.

After-school club was not busy and we're all winding down now for the Easter holidays which start on Friday. The children took the large, padded mat out and spent an hour jumping and somersaulting which raised quite a few eyebrows from the parents when they collected their offspring!

Sophie and I cooked dinner in the evening and I thought the breaded escalopes were delicious but Keith disagreed, which was a shame as I hoped we'd found a new family favourite. The sauce we bought in Farndon Fields was OK but we preferred the Tesco Finest one at half the price!

Feeling a bit weary!

I found it a bit hard getting up this morning as I was a wee bit tired! I drove myself into work as the car park I use has introduced ANPR cameras and you're only allowed to park there if you are attending the leisure centre, so it has emptied out dramatically! I had to email the duty managers with my car registrations so that should protect me from getting a ticket!

Work was OK and the time went by quite quickly. It was also a lot quieter! At 2pm I drove home and had a quick chat with Keith and Sophie before going to school. The previously sunny weather had turned a bit cloudy but we were still able to get out into the playground for a while. It may be the last time as rain is forecast for the rest of the week.

Unfortunately, Lisa and I were at work right until the end as we had the same little girl in who was with us on Friday and I think her mum wanted to prove a point with us, after an email had been sent asking her to be on time. She arrived with literally minutes to spare which made both of us annoyed as it's the little girl who suffers.

It was heaven to get home and I fell asleep, briefly, on the sofa before I helped Keith cook liver and bacon for dinner. The children had no intention of eating the stuff so they had ready meals. I have to say it was delicious and went very well with a nice glass of red!

Spring forward...

So, the clocks went forward last night and we almost forgot! Thank goodness for reminders from people on Facebook!

Keith went for a walk this morning and Sophie and I took Mike to work earlier than usual. We'd arranged to pick Keith up on the causeway at Pitsford reservoir but he was running a little late so we sat and read the papers for half an hour. I had a lot planned today, so the delay was a little annoying!

We dropped Keith off at home so he could get a bath and drove over to Mum and Dad's for coffee. We had a good chat but I was itching to get home and get out into the Spring sunshine as both cars were filthy and I wanted to do a bit of gardening in the front.

I washed Sophie's car inside and out and then started on mine, having a break for lunch before hoovering it out inside and giving all the trims a wash. I have never seen my car so dirty as the mud was plastered all over the back of it from one of our local roads.

I went inside to proof read Sophie's latest assignment then went back outside to tackle the front garden and do some weeding and clearing of leaves. A lot of our neighbours were out as well - it's amazing what a bit of sun can do!

While I finished off the front garden Sophie made a traybake with a whole jar of Nutella from one of the recipes in our daily newspaper. Licking out the bowl was delicious!

A change of plan...

We awoke to a grey, horrible day which reflected our mood a bit because Sophie heard this morning that she didn't get the job she went for on Wednesday, and which she really wanted.

Understandably she was very upset but Keith and I both urged her to use the interview as a learning experience that will prepare her for others she'll have to go through in the future. Unfortunately, competition for jobs is tough at the moment and I know her friends have also been disappointed in their search for a career after uni. However, it was horrible seeing her so upset and knowing that there was nothing we could do about it.

After dropping her off at work and popping to Tesco, I spent the day catching up with jobs as last week was so full on and I didn't have any spare time at all! The weather remained grey and dismal all day and I picked Sophie up a bit earlier as she was supposed to be going out with friends in the evening, but she changed her plans and decided to stay at home as she didn't feel like going out on the razzle. I was relieved (selfishly) as she wanted me to drop her off in town and then pick her up at midnight so I suggested a Chinese takeaway and a cocktail to cheer her up.

She drove to Broughton and we bought some limes in the Co-op and also took a menu from the Chinese takeaway in the village as we have decided to stop using our local van as it's so hit and miss! Back home I jumped in the bath because, as well as the day being dismal, it was also cold!

Sophie chatted to me while I was in the bath and said she wished we could have our meal delivered so we decided to use a delivery service from Brixworth instead. Bliss! Now we didn't have to go back out and could enjoy a cocktail before dinner!

We ordered our food and while Keith watched the rugby (Newcastle v Northampton) Mike, Sophie and I played cards in the conservatory and us girls sipped Margaritas while Mike had a beer. It was a really lovely evening as my two seem to be back on good terms again and Sophie regaled us with stories of parties she'd been to when she was younger! The food arrived and we kept it warm in the oven until the rugby finished and we'd played our games.

The food was actually delicious and just as good at the van so that was a relief. Perhaps we'll use them more often in the future. Being out in the sticks means that we hardly ever get any restaurants that deliver, which is always a luxury! We certainly can't get pizza delivered here!

After dinner Sophie and I watched "The Truth About Cats and Dogs" which is one of my favourite films. It was a good end to a changeable day!

A noisy end to a busy week!

Work today was the noisiest I have ever known it and it made Kathy and I quite angry as the people in the office didn't seem to care that we were on the phone trying to talk to customers. We had a never -ending commotion of laughing and shouting with no regard for how difficult it was for us to work in those conditions. At one point, in the afternoon, Kathy had to ask Sara to ask the group of people to tone it down as a customer couldn't hear what she was saying, it was that bad.

It was a blessed relief to get out at 2pm and drive home where I shared a cookie with Sophie before going to school. Even the last session of the week was hard work as we had 17 children attend to see the film Paddington 2 and some of them were quite unruly. After the film I took them out into the playground while Lisa mopped the hall floor and by 5.30pm most of them had been collected by their parents. One little boy always stays until the end but we had a little girl who really should have been picked up by her mum at 5.30pm. Once it got to 6pm we started to be worried and Lisa called her mum who said that her husband should have picked her up and that she was fifteen minutes away.

Naturally Lisa and I were angry about the situation and very annoyed that the little girl had been left with us when she should have been at home. It was just a good job neither of us were going out although I did have to pick Mike up from Brixworth! We eventually left at 6.30pm and the dad showed up to collect his daughter so where was Mum? Certainly not fifteen minutes away!

I sped home, picked up Soph and we went to get Mike before returning home and preparing dinner, which was simple, thank goodness! I'd been looking forward to getting home on time and relaxing this evening after our hectic week, so it was a bit annoying to say the least!

Wine and nibbles.

My early night made it a little easier to get up this morning for work but I would have preferred to have stayed in bed!

Work was quite busy with calls so the time passed quickly, and at 2pm I went to collect Sophie from uni after putting some petrol in ET, as the poor thing has been quite overworked this week! I had only about ten minutes at home before going to school but it was great to chat to Sophie on the way and find out what she'd been up to at uni.

On the way to work I saw Sue who was coming around for a glass of wine and nibbles in the evening and for a catch up as we hadn't seen each other for ages! I'm just glad she had offered to get the food as there was no way I would have had time to do any shopping!

We spent a lot of the session this afternoon out in the playground as the weather was mild and sunny. However, we have possibly more snow forecast for next week and they are predicting a white Easter for some parts of the country. Unbelievable!

I dashed home at 6pm and managed to catch up with some jobs before Sue arrived at 6.30pm. She brought some delicious nibbles with her, including cheeses, savoury biscuits, olives and little pieces of pork pie. We enjoyed a fruity Chilean Merlot and after she'd gone we had a late dinner, although I had a very small portion!

A day in London

Sophie woke me at 4.15am this morning, which was a bit of a shock as I was deeply asleep and had forgotten we were going down to London for the day!

By the time I'd showered and dressed I felt a little more awake and we were all ready to go by 5am. We took ET as I'd booked a car parking space at Northampton train station and I figured it would be easier to park the little Hyundai there. I'd heard horror stories of no spaces being available in the early morning!

Luckily there were plenty of spaces available and we were soon parked and waiting on the platform for the train doors to open. We'd booked tickets on the 5.46am train to Euston which was very early indeed! It was a cold frosty morning and once we'd got going it was great to see the sun come up over the icy fields. There is no sign of Spring just yet!

We were at Euston by 7am and we took the underground to Embankment where we changed for just one stop to Westminster. We knew we'd be too early for Sophie's interview but we found out where she had to go and had a coffee in McDonald's.

At the appointed time we said goodbye to our daughter and caught the packed underground train back to Tottenham Court Road as Keith and I were going to pay a visit to the British Museum. We wanted breakfast first, though, as the museum didn't open until 10am. After wandering along Oxford Street for a while we backtracked and spotted a Garfunkel's restaurant serving breakfast. We spent a pleasant hour enjoying a full English and drinking tea before walking the short distance to the British Museum which was now open. Our bags were searched in a tent like structure that reminded me of the security process at the Reichstag in Berlin and then we were through. As we were both wearing coats and scarves we deposited these at the cloakroom for £4 and went off to explore.

The Great Court, as you enter, was designed by Sir Norman Foster who, funnily enough, also did the Reichstag!

You can just see two men cleaning the glass!

There were three exhibits I wanted to see in the museum - the Egyptian Mummies, Lindow Man and the Sutton Hoo discoveries. Keith also wanted to see the Elgin Marbles, now renamed as the Parthenon Sculptures.

We visited the Egyptian halls first and I marvelled at the sight of the coffins, some of which contained Mummies, with the CT scan pictures next to them. While we were looking at the exhibits, I was messaging Mike who was in charge of the house while we were away, and I sent him this picture as he regularly comes to the table for dinner with a towel tucked behind his ears!

A striking resemblance to Mikey!

We spent a fair amount of time looking at all the displays and saw a very well preserved body of a man who had died five and a half thousand years ago. It was fascinating, if a little creepy. His skin had been preserved by the hot climate of the desert and it was amazing to think this was once a man who had lived and breathed so long ago.

We also saw Lindow Man who had died and been preserved in a peat bog near Wilmslow in Cheshire. He was about 25 years old when he died and you could even see that he had a beard that was apparently "neatly trimmed"!

By now our feet were aching a bit so we took advantage of the seats dotted about and rested for a little while. I love days out in the city but the walking takes its toll! After a brief rest we found out where the Sutton Hoo display was and had a quick look before going down to the ground floor to see the Parthenon Sculptures. This area was very busy with school children and groups of students and after looking at the sculptures and marvelling at some huge stone edifices that guarded the entrance to ancient cities, we decided to call it a day.

How did they transport these back to London?

We walked back to the Tottenham Court Road underground and caught the train to Embankment as I thought it would be nice to walk along the river. It was a gorgeous day with clear blue skies and sunshine and was quite mild after the frosty start. We found a bench in a very pleasant public garden and sat people watching for a while. Nearby, a couple on their lunch hour were playing table tennis so it was all very relaxing!

From our bench we could see the London Eye and it was great to relax and soak up some sunshine. I think it was the highlight of my day!

As we were a little footsore we decided to head towards a pub we'd seen in the morning but it was packed with nowhere to sit so we headed further along Whitehall and into Parliament Street and found another place overlooking the Houses of Parliament (encased in scaffolding) called St Stephen's Tavern. This was also busy with seating only for diners, but we were lucky enough to grab two seats at a tall table with a man on his own. After a little while we struck up a conversation with him and we discovered he was on holiday from Canada and was going to Paris, Rome and Prague after visiting London. He said he found the UK expensive and we had to agree!

As the time was getting on we walked back up to Whitehall and had a drink in The Clarence until we heard from Sophie that she was finished. By now the lunchtime drinkers and diners had gone so we were able to find a comfortable table and we enjoyed a sausage roll each served with mustard as a snack with a beer.

Sophie called me and said her interview was over so we told her where we were and she joined us. She thought her day had gone well and enjoyed a half of lager as a treat! Our train back home was at 6pm so we made the journey back to Euston with a couple of hours to spare. The station was crowded with people and we sat on a balcony above the main concourse where Sophie had a plate of cheesy chips until it was time to go down to the platform.

Luckily, we managed to get seats but by the time the train left it was crowded with several people having to stand. Our particular train stopped at every station on the way back to Northampton but it had emptied out considerably once we got to Milton Keynes.

We were delayed for ten minutes at Northampton as we couldn't get into the station and by now we were all very tired indeed. We had been on the go for fourteen hours! I drove home, stopping at McDonald's on the way to get a burger and chicken strips for the children and by 9pm the three of us were heading to bed!

An evening out.

I was in at work at 10am this morning and doing a job for Sheila that, although complicated at first, was simple enough once I'd worked out the correct procedure! The time went past very quickly and it was interesting to be on the other side of the office and hear my colleagues answer the phones. I didn't realise how much you can hear!

Sophie and Keith picked me up and we whizzed off home for a few minutes before I went to the school. Today was great as we had a very early finish at 5.30pm and this was a bonus as Sophie and I were out in the evening to see I, Tonya at the Errol Flynn.

Before we saw the film we had dinner at Akasaka in Castilian Street. The restaurant only had one other table occupied so it did make us wonder how it survives, unless it's busier at the weekend. We had a delicious meal and I started with crispy fried squid served with a chilli sauce, while Sophie enjoyed Yaki Gyoza, fried dumplings filled with chicken. She tried one of my crispy squid bites and said she liked it!

For our main course we both had the chicken Katsu curry (spicy) served with stodgy rice, a salad garnish and a delicious curry sauce. I started off with chopsticks, but soon moved onto a fork! Sophie paid as it was a treat for Mother's Day and we decided to have a drink in John Franklin's before the film started.

We like the bar but we've noticed that the service levels have dropped a bit lately and tonight was no exception. If people just want a quick drink before seeing a show or a film, they could be in for a shock as there's a distinct lack of staff! I paid £11 for two glasses of Pinot Grigio (I could buy a bottle of one of our favourites in Aldi for £5.69!) and we enjoyed these before the film started at 8.30pm.

Both of us enjoyed the film (despite the person behind us rustling a sweet packet loudly during the opening scenes - once Sophie and I had glared at them, they stopped) but we felt that the woman who played Tonya Harding's mother didn't really warrant her Oscar for Best Supporting Actress. It was a good part but she wasn't on the screen for that long and mostly smoked, drank whisky and hit her daughter! I don't remember the event itself at the 1994 Winter Olympics but it was a great film and we both liked the soundtrack and seeing the late 80s/early 90s fashions that I grew up with!

We were out and into the car at about 10.30pm and then it was straight home to bed as we had a very early start in the morning!

Mrs Grumpy!

Most of the snow had gone by this morning but between Walgrave and Holcot, there was still a bit of a covering which made the road a little icy, especially as the temperatures were below freezing.

Today was quite challenging on the phones and I had some very irritating calls - why do people think it's a good idea to call when they're out and about on their mobile and I can hardly hear them? Or ask me a question without waiting for an answer and then move onto another topic?

I was very glad to drive home at 2pm but I was in a bad mood because of the calls this morning and I took it out a bit on Keith and Sophie when they met me at the door and asked if I'd seen our council rates letter that had somehow gone missing! Keith also told me that my mum had called and said that next door had been sold, to a cash buyer, so this was very disappointing news indeed. My worry now is that the new buyers will rent the house out so we might get a succession of tenants like we have on the other side of us. I'm keeping everything crossed that this is not the case!

Lisa and I were at work until almost 6pm as we had two children in who had swapped their days so it was a real relief to get home, play a game of cards in the conservatory with a glass of wine and relax!

Snow!

We awoke to a covering of snow, and drifts similar to the ones we had a few weeks ago, but not as bad, thank goodness. Sophie was due to go to Carkraft at Rockingham Speedway today, but because of the weather, it was cancelled, which was a real shame.

Mike still went to work and when we ventured out to give him a lift, the roads were nowhere near as bad as they were the last time. We went to get a newspaper from the Co-op in Brixworth and then headed home where we stayed for the rest of the day.

I really am fed up with this cold and bad weather now and long for it to be Spring! It would have been great to have got out into the garden or washed the cars or just sat in the sun for a while!

Sophie did some uni work and I picked up my family tree research again and took out a subscription to a genealogy website. I was able to access the 1939 register and found several of my relations listed which helped provide actual birth dates. I'm hoping the new website will provide some much needed information!

The Beast from the East returns...

We awoke to the lightest of snow coverings this morning but more was forecast for later in the day. I managed to get lots done after dropping Sophie off at work, including numerous paperwork jobs. I also washed all my scarves and the two pillows that had been replaced. I did them singly but they made the washing machine move so much it dislodged the kickboard underneath! I thought the machine was going to explode!

Mike went to work at 12pm despite only having a couple of hours' sleep. He had called the home phone at about 6am asking if Keith could pick him up from the Brixworth bypass after his night out in town. At least he had the sense to call rather than attempt to walk home!

We had snow flurries all day and it was bitterly cold with a strong wind that had the temperatures plummeting. I put a colour on my hair in the afternoon and all too soon it was time to collect Mike and then go and get Sophie.

On the way back from collecting her, the snow started in earnest and when I looked out during the evening it was starting to settle, but it was gathering into drifts like before. We had a delicious dinner this evening of beef casserole topped with cheesy potatoes. A gorgeous Californian red accompanied it very well and we enjoyed the film "Hidden Figures" after we'd eaten. A relaxing end to a busy day!

Spring before Winter...

I didn't have a very good start to the day when Monty was sick on the carpet, and then the alarm, which I'd forgotten to switch off when I got up at 6.15am, started to wail loudly in the bedroom, waking Keith out of his slumber!

I drove myself in and was pleased to discover it was the beginning of a beautiful day. Work was very quiet indeed and I only had a couple of admin jobs to do so the time did drag a bit. When I got back into the car after work I was shocked to see the outside temperature, in the sun, was 19c! It did drop to 12c on the way home but it was a gorgeous, really Spring-like day. Apparently, the Beast from the East will be back this weekend, but not as badly as before. I still find it hard to believe we have snow forecast for tomorrow and Sunday!

It was film night at after-school club and the children watched Captain Underpants after playing out for half an hour in the sunshine. They were all gone, miraculously, by 5.30pm so it was an earlyish night. I drove home and chivvied Mike up who wanted a lift into town. Friday night is Wine night so that had to be delayed until we returned at 7pm and I had a small glass before going to pick up Keith from the pub.

We enjoyed a hot and spicy curry and then it was lovely to settle down and watch Masterchef. Outside, I could feel it start to get colder and the wind strengthened. Brrr!

Held up!

I'd set my alarm for the later time of 7am this morning but I had dreams of being late for work so by 6.30am I was awake and drinking coffee downstairs. It was a dismal grey morning and driving into work was not pleasant.

However, I had a good session as Sara gave me lots of admin jobs to do in between the sparse phone calls, so the time went very quickly. I had a quick chat with Keith before I went to the school, and then discovered that we were in the library as years 3 and 4 were practising for Strictly in the hall which is due to take place this weekend.

The library was lovely and cosy and the children did colouring in and looked at books. We did manage to get outside for about twenty minutes but there was still a very cold wind blowing. We were late leaving tonight as there'd been an accident just outside the village and it held a couple of parents up. Luckily Sophie had called to warn me and to say that her and Dad were at home so that was a relief. We had a little girl in past six o'clock and Lisa was furious as she was going out in the evening to see Shrek The Musical at Derngate and it started at 7pm! We think the child's parent had forgotten as he used the accident as an excuse, but he wouldn't have needed to go that way anyway!

When we finally got away I sped home to relax and look forward to beef tacos and an early night!

A lazier start!

It was great to have a bit of a lie-in this morning as Sophie didn't have to be at uni until 10am. After dropping her off I went to the Weston Favell Centre to buy ingredients for tonight's dinner - breaded pork escalopes. I bought the pork, some golden breadcrumbs and pine nuts to add to them, plus new potatoes and a mushroom sauce.

Back home our smart meter was being fitted and it was quite alarming to see the electricity usage being measured on little coloured bands. If they were green then it wasn't too bad, but switch the kettle or the iron on, and it shot into amber. Luckily I never saw it go into the red zone but it will make us think carefully about how we use our electricity from now on!

I went back to get Sophie and before going to school she helped me change my bed, putting on the new sheet I'd bought and using the pillows which I'd ordered from M&S using my gift voucher. They were fat pillows stuffed with duck feather and down and they looked great on the bed.

Work was fine and we managed to get out again for a short while. It was nice to get home and all three of us prepared dinner which was delicious. Adding the pine nuts to the breadcrumb mix definitely gave it a bit more texture and crunch and we'll cook this again as it was so easy to prepare and lovely to eat.

No sooner had we eaten than it was time to drive back down to Luton to pick up Mike and his mates. I'd been in touch with him on Messenger so I knew he was still alive and hadn't fallen into a canal, and I asked him to text me when his flight landed, at around 9pm. Sophie came with me and we had a good journey down with no hold-ups.

Unfortunately, our good luck ended when I decided to park in the multi-storey rather than wait for him in the drop-off zone (£3 for 10 minutes and £1 a minute thereafter). However, the multi-storey looked busy so I carried on, forgetting that to get back out you had to go through the barrier and pay £3...so it cost me that to just drive around the road!

As Mike and his friends weren't through passport control yet I had no option but to go back and park in the multi-storey which was packed. We finally found a space on level 2 and we dashed off to the terminal where they were waiting for us, all three of them looking like they were attending a funeral! At first I thought they'd fallen out but Mike assured me they were all just exhausted. He said Amsterdam had been very expensive indeed and that taxis to and from the airport had added about 50 euros to his expenditure, something he hadn't really thought about. Welcome to the real world, Mikey!

We headed back to the M1 and were really dismayed to see the motorway at a standstill, with a wall of lorries in the inside lane. We waited ages to join the traffic and then crawled for the next 45 minutes as all three lanes of the busy M1 became just one. We were warned there was a workforce in the road but all we saw was a van and a couple of blokes milling about, while all around them was chaos!

We eventually dropped Will and Libby off at 11pm and made it home just after. I was very tired and not looking forward to the prospect of getting up at 6.30am in the morning for work!

A very early start!

I set my alarm for 2.45am this morning and felt very bleary when I got up! We woke Mike up and by 3.15am we were ready to go to Brixworth to pick up his friends, Will and Libby.

On the way we saw a badger cross the road in front of us and a little Muntjac deer. I really didn't want to see any other animals and risk hitting them! We had a great journey down to Luton and arrived at 4.15am. Saying goodbye to the kids in the drop-off zone cost us £3.00! Daylight robbery! I just fervently hoped that my son would come back in one piece!

We sped back to Northamptonshire and I went back to bed for a few hours, waking again at 8am. Keith had stayed awake as today is the first day of the Cheltenham races and he wanted to study the form!

Sophie and I went to Riverside this morning as she wanted to get an interview outfit in Next. She chose a short skirt to begin with and a black top, but the skirt just hung on her so she picked out a pair of checked trousers which looked great with the top. I bought a new sheet for my bed and we ambled off to Boots to get some toiletries. I thought we would have time to go to Costa for a sandwich but we realised that we'd been longer looking at clothes than I thought, so we bought some sandwiches in Boots and ate them in the car.

Today has been a lovely sunny day and it was great to roll the car windows down and enjoy a bit of sunlight and warmth! I then took Sophie to uni and returned home where I picked a horse for the 1.30pm race at Cheltenham. It was called Brahma Bull (Sophie loves Brahma beer) and I decided to put any winnings towards a DNA test that Sophie wants to take. She wants to take the more detailed one which traces the mother's side of the family back and it costs almost £200, so we're going to start a savings fund for it! Unfortunately, Brahma Bull came nowhere but Keith did have a winner in the race!

I went back to get Sophie and then it was off to work. We managed to get the children out for the whole of the session which was a bonus, even though at times, the wind was a little cold. In the evening, as a treat, Keith took us to The Lamplighter pub where we spent a very pleasant evening. We enjoyed garlic bread, chicken burger (me) beefburger (Sophie) and fish and chips (guess who?). Followed by a shared dessert of chocolate brownie and ice-cream it made a very enjoyable end to a long day!

A grey start to a new week.

Today has been grey and dull, with not a lot to report, if I'm honest! I drove myself into work and it rained so not the best start to a new week!

It was pretty quiet on the phones and Sara asked if I'd like to give some admin jobs a go. Seeing as sitting there waiting for the phone to ring is not much fun, I readily agreed! At 2pm I drove home to have a chat with Sophie and Keith and then it was off to the After School Club.

Lisa said she'd hit a pothole near the village yesterday and it had damaged a wheel on her car. These potholes are becoming a real menace at the moment and if you hit a bad one at speed it could seriously damage your tyres and wheels. Every now and again gangs of road workers mend them but with more cold weather forecast for this coming weekend, no doubt the repaired ones will break out again!

In the evening we relaxed after dinner but I was very mindful that Keith, Mike and I had to be up at 3am in the morning...Mike is off to Amsterdam!

Mothering Sunday

I was given chocolates and alcohol from my children this morning - they know me so well!

Mike started work early today so we dropped him off at 10.30am and then popped over to Mum and Dad's. I bought my Mum a bunch of lovely flowers and she was thrilled with the picture I'd bought her. It will go very well in her kitchen as all the colours are very similar.

We'd told Mum and Dad about next door's house going up for sale on Friday and they were very interested. My Mum has never been completely happy in her new house and she has always wanted to move back to the village. Having them next door will solve a few problems in the future so they have arranged to visit tomorrow. I have a feeling, though, that a lot of people will be interested as it's a lovely house in a sought after area.

We returned home and Sophie decided to get all her documents together for an upcoming interview. She needed her GCSE certificates but could only find her IT ones which was a bit puzzling. We searched everywhere and turned the house upside down but we couldn't find them so the only place left to look was the loft.

Keith went to get the step ladders and we bought two boxes down but had no luck. I could see another box tucked away but we needed the larger step ladders so I went to get them and trailed a load of dirt all through the house...grrr! Keith bought the box down and while he and Sophie looked in the loft some more I rifled through the contents. You can imagine my surprise and delight when I found them in a brown envelope! Sophie was so relieved!

We put all the boxes back and I hoovered the house and did a bit of cleaning. Not really what I had in mind for today, but there you go! It needed doing! I was finished at 3pm though and did manage a very short cat nap on the sofa before going and getting a bath.

Sophie and I picked Mike up at 6pm and at 7pm we drove over to Mum and Dad's house for dinner. My Dad had made us Margaritas and we sat in their living room sipping these and enjoying some crisps before the meal.

My parents served pate and toast to start, followed by beef in a pepper sauce with mashed potatoes and vegetables. The meal was delicious and I'd bought the 25 year old bottle of vintage wine that my parents had given us for our Silver Wedding anniversary last year. It was lovely but the colour was a kind of brown brick hue as it was so old! Keith was driving tonight so I was able to have a couple of glasses and we left the rest of the bottle for Mum and Dad to finish.

Sophie decided to wash up for my parents and Mike helped so I was very proud of both of them! They had had a little bicker but things were definitely improving so that was a bonus!

A moochy-about sort of day...

Today has been grey, breezy and rainy. Not very nice at all! After dropping Sophie off at work Keith and I came home and had poached eggs for breakfast before pottering about and catching up with the usual Saturday jobs. I also prepared a Coq au Vin dish for this evening's dinner and I peeled a mound of veg to go with it. I had really wanted to get out into the garden but everywhere was a wet, soggy mess!

Unfortunately, we caught a glimpse of a rat again but I think this is a different one as it was very timid and as soon as I moved inside the conservatory it scampered back under the bushes. It didn't seem as big as the one we saw last week, but it propelled Keith into setting up the humane trap we ordered and putting some of Monty's fishy cat food inside. I personally don't think we will catch any rats with it, but we'll wait and see. At least we can then release any we do catch over the fields!

Mike wanted to go to Brixworth at midday so I dropped him off and came back to mooch about some more. How I long for lovely Spring days when I can get out, wash the cars and do jobs in the garden! I did, at least, wash the front windows as they were very dirty so I felt much better about that!

We picked up both children in the evening and then returned home to relax and enjoy our French dish - I have to say it was delicious!

A foggy start

We had thick fog and frost this morning so driving to work was a little tricky! The fog disappeared though, to be replaced with grey skies and in the afternoon it rained heavily. I definitely preferred those cold days we had to this mild greyness!

Work was very quiet this morning for some reason so the time dragged a little. It was great to speed home at 2pm, have a quick chat with Sophie and Keith and then go off to the last After-School club session of the week. We watched Gnomeo and Juliet and the film finished at just after 4.30pm which was a problem! We couldn't go out as it was pouring and the children were, as usual, a little hyper. However, we got them doing some drawing and very soon they had all been collected by their parents...except one, of course, which is always the way!

I dashed home and met Keith half-way so I gave him a lift to the pub. Back home Sophie and I watched Married at First Sight and I prepared dinner, which tonight was very simple...tomato soup, crusty bread and croutons!

Dance off!

Today dawned sunny and cold and I drove myself into work. Needless to say, there was no snow! The morning passed fairly quickly and Sheila, who had given me the error checking job, hinted there may be more work in the pipeline for me with some extra hours.

As soon as I arrived home, Mike wanted to go to Brixworth so Keith and I took him and then it was time for me to start work. I'd been dreading this afternoon as Lisa was accompanying her mum on a hospital visit and I had a feeling I'd be on my own...on the busiest evening of the week!

I set the hall up and just as I was checking the children off, Lisa arrived, so I was very thankful! Normally we have about sixteen children on a Thursday but a lot of the Year 3 and 4 pupils were taking part in a Strictly Come Dancing competition so they were practising in the playground. We took our lot out and it was good entertainment!

We were finished by 6pm and it was home to another game of cards and an episode of Death in Paradise after dinner. I then fell asleep as I'd brought out lovely thick quilt down and I was so warm I nodded off!

A glimpse of Spring

Today has been beautiful, with a real hint of Spring about it, but I'm not becoming complacent! Apparently, we might get snow on Thursday morning!

After a lazy start Keith, Sophie and I went to Beckworth as Keith wanted to look at the ready meals to see if there was anything different we could try. Sophie drove and we'd forgotten about the road closure so we had to make a long detour and my daughter had a number of obstacles thrown in her way! She was very glad when we eventually arrived!

The frozen ready meals certainly weren't cheap, but after a good look we picked out a dish called Chicken Alexander that served four. It was £15 which Keith didn't think was bad considering it sometimes costs him £10 for a joint of beef or two chickens. I also bought some cheese scones, a Scotch egg and some biscuits. I saw a lovely picture for my Mum and I knew it would go really well in her kitchen so I bought that for a Mother's Day present.

There were Spring flowers everywhere and lots and lots of Easter decorations so it was lovely to know that the lovely season isn't that far away! We drove to Broughton afterwards to make a quick visit to Mum and Dad and then we popped to the Post Office to send a parcel back for Mike. He'd ordered a vintage Adidas top but it was covered in pen marks and was too small so he wanted to return it. I'm just glad we have the Post Office there as our village branch closed ages ago!

We returned home for lunch in the sunny conservatory and then it was off to school where we spent most of the session outside, even eating snack in the playground. We certainly couldn't have done that last week!

At 6pm it was home to compile the shopping list, play a game or two of cards and enjoy a lovely dinner!

Celebrating 30 years!

Keith and I have been together 30 years today, something I can't quite get my head around! I think it's an achievement to be honest, as our age gap is unusual and we've certainly had our fair share of worries and ups and downs!

We took Mike to college this morning and made our usual trek over to the Weston Favell Centre to get some shopping. I bought two trays of fairy cakes and some decorations as it's also Lisa's birthday today and I thought it would be nice for the children to decorate a cake for her, and one for themselves, to celebrate her birthday. The shopping centre was full of Mother's Day cards and presents so I suggested we go to Wyevale Garden Centre for a coffee and to have a look around.

The place was quite busy and after enjoying a coffee and a cornflake cake in the Costa there, we had a wander about. I saw some nice pots outside but I wasn't that impressed with them so we had a look inside. We made a visit to the pet store and marvelled at the grasshoppers and other insecty things that were on sale to feed lizards and other reptiles. There is no way I could handle some of the larger insects! It was bad enough when I had to feed crickets to next door's gecko!

I didn't see anything that really struck me at the garden centre so we left to go home and discovered there'd been a power cut while we were out. We had some lunch and sat around the table reading the paper and doing crosswords. I received a letter in the post from Audi saying my car has been recalled due to a heating fault so I booked it in to the Vindis dealership in Northampton and ordered a courtesy car...I wonder what I'll get! Knowing my luck I'll get an A1 when what I'd really like is an A6 estate!

The power came back on and then went off again so it was very hard for Sophie to do any work as she relies on the internet. It came back just as I went off to the school and they had been fine. We took the children out into the playground for a while and then went back in to decorate the cakes. I'd bought some liquid icing and hundreds and thousands and there were literally hundreds and thousands of little sugar balls all over the floor when they'd finished! They thought it was a good idea to coat their lips with icing sugar and then press their mouths to the plate and cover them with the decorations! However, the cakes for Lisa and her family did look good!

It was Parents' evening tonight so we had a lot of people wandering about. I hoovered up all the mess in the hall and wiped down the table and then went out into the sunshine as the children had gone back outside to play. We were at work until 6pm as the parents of two of our children had appointments for later in the evening. I sped home as Keith and I were going out for a meal at The Whyte Melville in Boughton to celebrate the anniversary of our first date in Brighton.

I had a quick wash and brush up and we drove over to the pub to find it empty. I had wanted to book a table but this time Keith was right in not bothering! I sampled a Warner Edwards Rhubarb Gin and Ginger Ale while Keith enjoyed a few pints. We shared a starter of breads served with olives, salt and pepper and balsamic vinegar and then followed this up with haddock and chips (Keith) and steak and chips for me. The food was very good, the service impeccable and the pub lovely and quiet. We skipped dessert and drove back to our local for a last drink where we had a great chat with Ian, the Landlord and another villager who we'd known for years. It made a great end to a busy, but enjoyable day!

Back to normal!

Keith took me into work this morning as I had a feeling the car park would be busy...and I was right! My session passed pleasantly enough - I still had quite a bit of error checking to do so that meant the time went quickly. Sophie and Keith were a little late to meet me as they'd encountered roadworks in the village so they had to take an alternative route.

There is still a lot of banked up snow on the country roads and I expect it will take some time to disappear completely! After school club was a little quiet as we only had eight children but we managed to get outside for a while so that was a bonus. It's a lot milder now, but I don't think we've quite finished with the winter just yet!

What a week that was!

Although it snowed last night, and sometimes looked a bit heavy, the thaw has begun today. We took Sophie to work and the road between Walgrave and Holcot was fine, although in places it was down to one lane and the drifts were really quite deep. We do have thick fog, though, so that's not pleasant and the overwhelming colour at the moment is dirty grey!

After dropping her off we went to the Weston Favell Centre as I needed to get a few things, namely bird food (yes, even more!) and it's Lisa's birthday next Tuesday, so I wanted to get her a card and some chocolates.

We went home to have breakfast and lo and behold! the sun came out (briefly!). This inspired me to go and wash both cars as they were filthy and I wanted to get all the salt off them. The temperatures have risen to the heights of about 5c and the snow is gradually all disappearing. Last week was certainly interesting and although it started off with a whimper, it ended on a bang on Friday night! The freezing wind and snowfall have affected everyone, I think, but it looks like things will be back to normal next week with schools back open and people back at work. A bit boring, if you ask me! We don't normally get such interesting weather!

After I'd washed the cars I sat in the garden for a little while but the sun had gone in so it was back inside and a soak in the bath!

Return of the rat...

It carried on snowing yesterday evening and Keith asked me if I could drive him to the pub at 6pm. I wasn't that keen to be honest, as I'd had a lovely bath and really didn't want to venture out into the freezing night again! However, I didn't want him walking down to the village so I agreed, but it wasn't a very pleasant journey and I'm glad we didn't have to go far! Sophie came along and neither of us were dressed warmly enough so the thought of getting stuck was a frightening one!

Luckily, we made it back in one piece but I was determined to dress more appropriately on the way back to get him! Even the simplest thing like taking the recycling out to the garage at the moment is a pain, as the driveway is covered in the white stuff and we tread clumps of snow and ice all over the kitchen floor whenever we come back in. It's a total pain. Who wanted all this snow?

When Sophie and I went back to get him, we bundled ourselves into coats, hats and scarves and I put some stout boots in the car in case we became stuck...and we nearly did, just yards from the pub when I stopped on a slight incline to pick him up, after saying I would meet him at the entrance to the car park (which is on quite a steep incline and no way was I going to risk that!). We had a few words as the car wouldn't move and couldn't get any grip on the snowy road. In the end I turned into a driveway and then reversed so I was facing the way we'd come, but I was not happy!

It snowed all evening so Sophie texted Maureen at work to warn her we might not be able to get her in tomorrow morning. The state of the roads into the village was horrible and I wasn't going to risk trying to get in if it snowed all night. Maureen suggested Sophe swap her day with another member of staff so we had the next day free.

It doesn't look bad but the drifts were far deeper!

We awoke to lying snow and a horrible fog over the fields, which has persisted all day. Mike called me at about 9am so Keith and I drove to Brixworth to get him. The roads had cleared a little but towards the village, the snow drifts meant that only one lane was usable. Luckily we didn't meet anyone coming the other way!

Keith bought some sausages in the Co-op and we had these for breakfast with scrambled eggs and toast. Unfortunately, as we were eating, we saw a rat in the garden again. It was rather big with a thick, long tail and it made my stomach turn. I suppose it's our fault as we put so much food down for the birds, but it was really horrible to see and it didn't seem at all frightened by our presence, even when Sophie banged on the window. It stole three fat snax so I asked Mike to go and get his air rifle and try and get him from our bedroom window. He went upstairs but of course the rat disappeared.

After breakfast, while I was keeping an eye out, we saw him again and this time he dropped a fat snax by the corner of the garage. I dashed upstairs and grabbed Mike's rifle and positioned myself at the window with the fat snax dead in the centre of the sights. He appeared again but I wasn't ready (in the panic I couldn't find the trigger!) so he made off with another one. I asked Keith to put one back in the exact location and waited again. This time my finger was already on the trigger and after a bit of a wait he appeared. I pulled the trigger and hit him, much to Keith's (and my) amazement!

I don't know where I hit him or how badly, but seconds after I'd fired the shot, he somersaulted over and we found blood on the snow. Keith had run downstairs to try and see what had happened but he'd gone so I can only assume he had returned to his nest. Sophie was really angry with me, especially as we'd just ordered a humane trap on the internet that catches them alive to be released elsewhere.

However, I tried to explain to her that the rat could have bitten Monty if he'd tried to attack him and that neither Keith nor I wanted him in the garden - the thought of him coming in and taking food makes my skin crawl. She knows I love animals and in all honesty I didn't think for one second I would hit him, but we haven't seen any sight of the rat since, so I must have either injured it or frightened it.

Today hasn't been the sort of day to venture out anywhere, especially as the roads are covered in icy slush. I sorted out my underwear drawer (as you do) and tried on some new clothes that I'd bought online. I also tidied the cupboard above our wardrobe and discovered an old holiday diary and some photos which set me off on a path of reminiscing!

Giving up!

Well, Keith and I tried to get into work this morning, but the roads were very bad! When we arrived at the crossroads in Walgrave, a man in a van told us that a lorry had become stuck on the road between the village and Holcot, where all the drifts were. We decided to head up to the A43 but the roads were treacherous in the village.

As we approached the A43 we could see the traffic at a standstill and we didn't know how long it would be to get into Northampton. I made the decision to turn around and go home and sent a text to Sara to say that we had tried. What I was worried about was the time it would take to get me to work, then for Keith to get home, only to have to come out at 2pm and pick me up again!

I felt guilty but it looked like a lot of people were struggling to get into work this morning and the roads were eerily quiet. After we'd had some breakfast we took a walk along the road outside the estate to see what it was like. The wind was still freezing and the forecast is for more snow this afternoon and evening. I was supposed to be going out with Lynda, Fiona and Andrea tonight but we've cancelled as it's just not worth the risk.

Mike wanted to go to Brixworth in the afternoon and Keith and I reluctantly agreed to take him. I needed to pick up a parcel at the library anyway and we hoped that the roads were a little clearer. They were near to where we live but the road from Scaldwell to Brixworth was quite bad with deep snowdrifts banked up along the hedges. At various points, only one lane was drivable.

We dropped Mike off and came home to thaw out. Just before we went inside we had the quickest of chats with Sue who was taking the dogs out for a walk. The wind was still very strong and it was snowing again...and there is more to come!

First day of Spring?

I carefully drove into work this morning in little ET but it was a horrible journey and I'll admit I was scared a lot of the time. The road between Walgrave and Holcot was particularly bad as the wind had whipped the snow up over the fields and had made deep drifts along the hedgerows. The road itself was covered with a layer of snow and when I gingerly braked, the wheels skidded a bit. I was just glad there was no-one else near me!

I made it into work but watched with dismay as the snow continued to fall. I was worried about Keith taking Sophie into uni and also concerned about Mike as he hadn't come home from town, as he had told me he would. Sheila gave me an error checking job to do but we were busy on the phones with people cancelling classes and asking if we were still open with the atrocious weather.

By 10.30am the weather looked worse and I was really worried about driving home in the snow. Sophie had sent me a text to say she was at uni but I knew I wouldn't be able to concentrate fully on the job so I asked if I could leave early and use some holiday I had accrued. Sara was happy to let me go and I went out into the car park to let Sophie know I was heading home.

The main roads were all quite clear but the A43 was bad in places because of the snow drifts. It's the wind that is really causing the problems at the moment as it's whipping across the open fields and making the snow bank up along the side of the roads. I drove home along the A43 and avoided the road between Holcot and Walgrave. Once off that highway the roads were worse and covered in snow.

I arrived home minutes before Keith who had been shopping, so that was a relief. We put it all away and then I left an angry voicemail message for Mike, who called me minutes later to say he was in town and could we pick him up?

We hastily had something to eat and then made our way into town, with Keith driving my car. I took some photos of the road between Walgrave and Holcot:

Sophie wanted to be picked up at 2pm so we had half an hour to kill. We decided to have a drink in the Sunnyside pub and the men had pints while I had a disgusting orange and lemonade. Mike had enjoyed his night on the town but looked a little worse for wear! He was very bleary eyed!

We collected Sophie and I drove home via Brixworth. The road from there to Scaldwell was also bad with drifts along the side of the road. The sky has remained grey all day today and it's been bitterly cold again with the temperature at about -3c.

I drove to school hoping upon hope that a lot of the children had already been picked up as the headmaster had sent an email out at lunchtime saying that parents, worried about the state of the roads, could collect their offspring early. We had eight children so we went into the cosier and warmer library where they did some colouring and drawing and then played on the ipads. There was absolutely no chance of going out as the wind was blowing across the playground like a blizzard and causing drifts to build up. I still couldn't believe we had children with us, as if I had been a parent I would have come before now and taken mine home!

We still had one little girl in at about 5.30pm and she had been the only one for forty five minutes. She was starting to get worried about her mum picking her up and we were very relieved to see her walk into the playground. We think she must have been at home so why on earth was her five year old daughter still at school with us?

I drove home along the snowy roads and it was such a relief to get home and get warm. During the evening I received a text from Lisa saying that the school was closed tomorrow. Yay!