I had told the members of my recycling group that I would be going to Milton Keynes today with the pet food pouches and coffee pods, as they were threatening to overwhelm my garage. I knew that the others had bags of stuff for me to take as well, so they were delighted.
They all dropped their hoard off to me and I spent an hour and a half this morning sorting it all out. The recycling filled my boot and the two back seats of my car, and I estimated it must be three months since I've been.
To be honest, my car needed a good run and it was great to have somewhere to go. OK, not strictly essential, but the bags were stacking up and causing problems for us all. Sophie and I called into McDonald's first for a sneaky drive-thru lunch, and we weren't impressed as our fries were cold!
The journey to Milton Keynes was smooth and trouble-free, and before long we were offloading all the bags and boxes at George's house. His crate was already full so we stacked all of our stuff behind. I believe he has now raised in excess of £40,000!
We made our way home via the scenic route, through Newport Pagnell and Weston Underwood, which is a gorgeous village near Olney. We were astonished at the amount of flooding on the farmland that adjoins the River Great Ouse. It looked more like lakes than fields!
Our favourite little cafe in Olney was shuttered up, all the shops closed and the pubs dark. What a terrible shame. We decided to try Castle Ashby, though, and see if we could get a takeaway from The Buttery but when we arrived it was closed. There were several cars parked, though, and the Deli was doing a roaring trade in coffees, teas and hot chocolate. I also bought some biscuits and we sat in the car with a hot chocolate and enjoyed a Viennese Whirl with our drink. Well, it's better than nothing!
Leaving Castle Ashby we drove down towards Earls Barton, but when we came to a narrow one-lane bridge crossing, it was badly flooded. Cars were coming the other way but I didn't want to risk it so we turned around. All the fields were flooded and like Olney, they looked more like lakes! This time our own River Nene was to blame for the floodwater! And to think they have forecast more rain next week!
Before going home we called to see Mum from the window and had a chat on the phone. Another resident, on the ground floor, saw us and kept waving at us to come in. I only wish we could...
Back home it was time to relax for a short while before I started preparations for dinner. We were cooking a meatloaf from one of The Hairy Bikers' recipes, and I chopped veggies and mixed together pork and beef mince along with sausage meat, breadcrumbs, Worcestershire sauce and ketchup. I did as much as I could before relaxing with a G&T!
Sophie had been chatting to her friends Laura and Daisy and helped me put the finishing touches to the dish. It smelt delicious while it was cooking, and we had a lovely meal, with the meatloaf accompanied by mashed potatoes and bubble and squeak. Definitely one to try again!
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