Friday, 30 April 2021
A busy end to the week.
Thursday, 29 April 2021
Some good news...
I had to remind myself to go to work this morning as I don't usually (this time around anyway) work on a Thursday!
When I arrived at work, Sara told me about some changes that had happened yesterday. She had realised that we were all finding it stressful at the moment, as the calls have been relentless and at times, long and complicated. A couple of my colleagues had found themselves stuck on the phone at well past 4pm dealing with different issues. This makes us very late leaving as we have to cash up at the end of the shift. From now on, we're logging off five minutes before the shift ends to avoid receiving a call seconds before we finish, and which could end up being long and involved. It's a particular bugbear for us all!
We could also have ten minutes' break if we wanted and I was really pleased that we were being supported and listened to! I know that a couple of my colleagues have found it tough lately, and I have felt fed up as well.
Today, after the initial rush again, it was quiet and I was able to do a job for Sheila - putting on the playscheme places for the May half-term holiday. It was great to get back in the swing of things and I'm hoping more jobs like that will come my way!
At 4pm I sped home and caught up with Keith. He had researched a van company that would take one of my Mum's sofas over to the care home next week. I think taking it over for her will cheer her up so we sorted that out, which was a relief. I didn't fancy trying to wedge it into the car like we did last time!
Before dinner this evening Sophie and I played Scrabble and I was beating my daughter when we had to stop to cook. Unfortunately, while we were eating the delicious Jerk Chicken, Monty decided to walk all over the board, dislodging all the tiles! Oh well!
Wednesday, 28 April 2021
Recycling matters!
Tuesday, 27 April 2021
Back to work...
Monday, 26 April 2021
A quick check-up
Sunday, 25 April 2021
Just pottering!
Today has been very relaxing and I haven't moved from the house at all! Mike was at work again this morning, and when he returned he said he wanted a hair cut. Keith drove him over and popped to Tesco to get some essentials while Mike was at the barbers.
I spent the morning pottering about and doing loads of washing as it's been breezy and sunny today, perfect for getting everything out on the line and drying it for free! I really love doing laundry on days like this!
Sophie got ready to see Laura and Daisy for lunch and went to The Red Lion at Yardley Hastings. There was a chill to the wind, and it was noticeably cooler than yesterday so I just hoped she wouldn't be exposed to the elements!
I watched the end of Too Close in the afternoon, a good drama that had been on a couple of weeks ago, but which was a bit depressing!
Sophie came home at about 6.30pm laden down with gifts from her friends! She received beautiful scented candles, a bottle of Rum, chocolates and even an Easter Egg from Laura! We had a drink and had a good chat about her afternoon while Keith prepared our dinner of cold meats, salad and new potatoes. Even though Sophie had been out for lunch, she was still hungry as they'd had tapas dishes which had been a bit on the small size, portion-wise!
Saturday, 24 April 2021
Ladies who lunch...
Friday, 23 April 2021
Thank goodness it's Friday!
Thursday, 22 April 2021
Keith is jabbed again!
Keith had an appointment for his second jab today, so I had to go shopping with him later in the morning! I drove him to the vaccination centre at 9.30am and within ten minutes he was all done. We headed home for breakfast, wrote a hasty list, and then went shopping.
We went to Aldi first and I spotted an old man in there, a bit dishevelled and on his own, which made me feel very sad. He reminded me of my Dad, not because he looked uncared for, but because his hair was similar, as was the way he was shuffling along. It really upset me, to be honest, but at least he was out shopping and when we emerged from the store there was a badly parked car in the disabled bay that we think was his, so he's obviously independent, and probably fiercely so!
After shopping in Tesco we thankfully headed home, and after putting everything away I made a beeline for the garden and managed to cut the grass before we went to collect Mike. It has been a gorgeous day today with plenty of sunshine, blue skies and a gentle breeze. I've left part of the lawn in the garden to grow long as there are daisies and dandelions mixed in with the grass, and I'm also going to try and put some wildflower seeds down to attract bees and butterflies.
I pottered about in the garden some more after we returned from getting Mike and it was lovely to be out in the fresh air and sunshine. When Sophie came home from work we enjoyed a game of Scrabble and a drink in the conservatory, which was bliss! It's been a much better day today!
Wednesday, 21 April 2021
Not the best of days!
Tuesday, 20 April 2021
Grumpy customers!
Monday, 19 April 2021
Back to earth with a bump...
Sunday, 18 April 2021
The lure of lunch...
Sophie and I were booked in for a facial at Virgin this morning, and we were looking forward to it immensely. I made a banana porridge for breakfast and chucked loads of things into it, namely the leftover coconut milk, ground almonds and a finely chopped apple. I have to say it was lovely!
Just after we finished eating, and were preparing to go and get ready for our pampering session, Sophie's phone rang and it was the beauty salon saying our therapist had called in sick and they couldn't find cover! We were very annoyed as there would have been penalties for us if we'd cancelled at such short notice! We were amazed they couldn't find anyone else! Had everyone been making the most of the pubs opening on Saturday?
Determined not to let this spoil our day, we decided to head to Olney and see what was open. Before we went we watched the last two episodes of Come Dine With Me (more hilarity), and we donated some old but very pretty Gin bottles to a neighbour who was doing a craft project. I'm glad they were being put to good use!
It's been an absolutely glorious day today - warm in full sun but a little chilly in the shade, and the drive over to Olney was lovely. Spring has definitely sprung! We parked far more easily than I had imagined and decided to see if one of the cafes was open. It's tucked down a narrow alleyway that opens out into a sunny courtyard, and we were pleasantly surprised to be offered a table. It wasn't in the sun, but it was still pleasant and really wonderful to be out again, mixing with different people and smelling some gorgeous aromas coming from the cafe's kitchen. We have really missed this!
We ordered BLT sandwiches each and a small glass of wine to celebrate our first lunch out of the year!
Saturday, 17 April 2021
Saturday working
I waved goodbye to my family this morning at 8.30am and went off to work. I was working with Sue, who I hadn't seen since December, and a new woman called Eve who normally does a reception shift but who would be working at the weekends from now on. She had already been in the contact centre and was able to answer phones on her own, with just a little help, so I'd been asked to try and deal with the emails we had - over 60 of them, so not as bad as it has been!
We started off very busy again, and 99.9% of the calls I took today were about the blasted swimming sessions, or people asking what time their children's lessons were, as they had forgotten... It was very wearying. I would have loved someone to ring up and ask me to book a badminton court for them!
At about 11.30am it calmed down a bit so I was able to tackle the emails, which was great. At least it was something different! Sophie caught a train at about 11.30am and met Zain at Liverpool Street station. They then had a fantastic day eating and drinking their way around London, although Sophie did say that having to wear face masks everywhere, and also having to download menus on their phones was a bit of a pain. She said that the restaurants, cafes and cocktail bars were busy, with people being turned away if they hadn't booked!
At 2pm we were finished so I sped home and settled down to watch Prince Philip's funeral. The last time I had seen Windsor Castle bathed in beautiful sunshine was for Harry and Meghan's wedding so it was bittersweet on this occasion. I have to say though, that the whole occasion was carried out beautifully and it does make me proud to be British. The Royal Family looked stunning in their mourning clothes, and all the pageantry was fantastic to watch.
Once the ceremony started Keith and I put all of our freshly washed bedding back onto our bed and went back downstairs just as things were finishing. I was fascinated to see how William and Harry were together, but afterwards, as they were walking along with Kate, they seemed very friendly!
Keith and I mooched about for the rest of the afternoon and changed our plans for dinner. We were going to have a barbecue but with Sophie not sure what time she was returning from London, we decided to just have bacon and tomatoes with bread and butter. Not thrilling, but something we both enjoy! Sophie caught the 6pm train from London and arrived in Northampton at about 7.30pm, so we sped home with her, and I was able to relax for a short while and enjoy a G&T!
We didn't finish eating until well past 8pm, so too late for a film. Instead, we watched a couple of episodes of Come Dine With Me, which were hilarious!
Friday, 16 April 2021
Suspicious noises...
If I'm honest I was dreading today and tomorrow - mainly because I was at work, and I now knew how busy we could be (it was manic Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday according to my work colleagues), and also because Sophie was driving to Milton Keynes to meet Zain, and I always worry when she drives on her own, especially on our stretch of the M1 which is being converted into a "Smart" motorway, a serious mistake in my opinion.
I was looking forward, therefore, to tomorrow evening when my weekend could start!
I was working with Kathy today and at 10am when the phone lines opened, she was unable to log onto her computer. There would have been no point in taking calls, as she needs the system we use, so I had to battle it out on my own, noticing with horror, that at one point we had about 14 calls in the queue!
I cannot state enough how glad we will all be when we no longer have to book people in for a swimming session. Our online bookings system was never set up for swimming so consequently, we get many, many calls from people who either can't be bothered to work out how to do it or have done it but received no confirmation from us (a new glitch) and are ringing to make sure they are booked in. We are tearing our hair out with it!
It did, however, calm down a bit mid-morning, and at least we had pauses in between the calls, which was a bonus and allowed us to catch up with things. I tried to do some of the customer service emails (Sara has Friday off) and poor Kathy, who arranges all of the football bookings, desperately tried to do some of her own work as well!
I heard from Sophie that she had arrived at Milton Keynes, and was having a coffee with Zain at Las Iguanas. I knew she'd try and sneak that in as well! They had a lunch reservation in Woburn so they were having a lovely day.
At 4pm it was a great relief to log off (we still had about six calls in the queue, but you have to stop at some point!). I drove home and noticed that the ominous noise from my car was getting worse. Last week, on the way to Market Harborough, I heard a noise like a low-flying aeroplane above us... Sophie heard it too, and I knew at once that something wasn't right. I had mentioned it to Keith who said he could hear it faintly, but now it definitely isn't faint and we both think it's the exhaust system. It now sounds like I have the car in second gear but I'm doing about 80mph, so, until Wednesday, when we're taking it to the garage, I'm going to use my Dad's car.
When I arrived home I received a message from Paul that his garages needed to be accessible from tomorrow so we pulled my car right up on the drive with half the bonnet in our garage. When Sophie arrived home her car was in the middle and my Dad's car at the back. I am glad we can get three cars (two of them quite big) onto the drive but it meant that the garage door wouldn't close!
With my darling daughter returned from her day out, it was time for a glass of Prosecco and a Doris Day/Rock Hudson film, this time Send Me No Flowers, which was hilarious! A really lovely end to a somewhat stressful day!
Thursday, 15 April 2021
Kitchen woes...
Keith went and did our shopping this morning as usual while I stayed at home and did a few chores. I have felt a bit under the weather today with an earache, so we didn't get as much done as we did yesterday!
I am back at work tomorrow so it was lovely to mooch about the house and relax. Halfway through the morning, the kitchen quote arrived from Anthony with the revised amount for the new stable door. We had to pay 30% upfront so we arranged a bank transfer straightaway. There's no going back now, and we can't wait to have the work done as there are so many things going wrong with our kitchen at the moment:
1. The oven door hinges have broken so the door falls down heavily when you open it. It has to be propped up with the kitchen roll holder.
2. We have to wedge the dishwasher door shut with an incense stick burner otherwise water gushes out.
3. The washing machine has developed a leak.
4. Neither the washing machine nor the dishwasher have kitchen doors attached so they stand out like sore thumbs.
5. One of the lights in the cooker hood hasn't worked for ages.
6. The freezer shelves are badly cracked and look horrible.
7. The corner cupboard where we keep our casserole dishes, jugs, etc is one of the worst designs I have ever seen and things get lost right at the back, never to be seen again.
I think that's about it, but the kitchen looks tired and is no longer fit for purpose. If there's more than two of us in there trying to cook, it's mayhem!
Keith cooked dinner this evening and we enjoyed chicken Kiev with crispy potatoes and asparagus. Sophie is off work tomorrow as she's meeting Zain in Milton Keynes, so for her it was like a Friday night!
Wednesday, 14 April 2021
Getting things sorted!
This morning we had a meeting at home with Anthony at Highfields. We were all ready for him, but then I decided to prepare a marinade for our evening meal, and before I knew it it was almost 10am and we hadn't had any breakfast! Consequently, when he arrived I was still munching on toast, and Keith nearly set light to the kitchen by attempting to stick two currant buns into the toaster! It was mayhem!
Anthony was joined by a man who was responsible for the new door and window, and he was kept busy taking measurements and discussing with us what we wanted. I have won with the stable door, as I think it'll be lovely in the warmer weather, and we'll be able to let so much more light in.
While we were chatting to the two men, Monty was peering out at them from under the table in the living room, as if they were two monsters we'd invited into our home! He then ran off in fright so I really think we're going to have to come up with a plan for when they start work in August!
After the two men had gone, Keith and I popped to Tesco where I bought a bottle of whisky for my Dad. We then dropped off two bagfuls of shopping for them and waved to my Mum who appeared at her window. It's been another gorgeous day today so when we returned home we carried on with the shredding in the conservatory, and finally managed to get it all done. At last! I also sorted out the drawers in our cabinet because I'm going to have to find room for everything that currently resides in there! It was useful having Mum and Dad's filing cabinet as a lot of the stuff went in there, including lots of old birthday and anniversary cards.
While we were sorting things out, I found our European health cards that had expired in September 2020. We are still eligible for healthcare in the EU so we applied for new ones! All in all, I felt like we'd achieved quite a bit today, and at least all the paperwork has now been shredded and is awaiting collection on Friday!
Tonight for dinner we were trying a recipe from the BBC Good Food guide - it was turmeric and coconut baked chicken. I had marinated the chicken with turmeric, ginger, cumin, garlic and coconut milk this morning and it was going to cook on a bed of wilted Spring greens. I had also added an onion and a leek as well, and it smelt delicious.
It took quite a bit longer to cook than I'd thought so it was almost 8pm by the time we sat down to eat. I loved the marinade on the chicken - it would be yummy cooked on the barbecue!
Tuesday, 13 April 2021
Making a start!
Monday, 12 April 2021
A manic day!
Sunday, 11 April 2021
Snow day!
Saturday, 10 April 2021
A free lunch!
Friday, 9 April 2021
A Royal shock...
It was back to work for me today, and I was working with Kathy, perhaps my favourite colleague! She is always lovely and quiet, and we get on well. Nicola came in, full of bustle, and kept us busy throughout the shift. I had trouble accessing my own (and the customer service) emails, but it was all sorted in the end.
I helped with several emails from customers wanting help, and then did some cold-calling of ex-members to try and entice them back, something I did not enjoy! I hate the thought that I was bothering people! Nicola let us off early and the next time we come in, on Monday, the phones will be back on, and no doubt all hell will be let loose!
During the shift, we learned the very sad news that Prince Philip had passed away today. He was just two months short of reaching 100 years. On the way home, when I turned on the radio, the normal programme hosted by Steve Wright had been cancelled and there was a news special playing. This set the tone for the television as well, and BBC1 was full of the sad news.
When I got home, my dad's car was on the driveway as Keith had used it to get Mike from work. We pulled it up as far as we could, as Paul needs to access one of his garages tomorrow and had asked us to park it elsewhere. With Sophie's car in the middle, we managed to get all three cars on the drive! We couldn't open the garage or have the bins on the drive, but until tomorrow night, it's fine!
Dinner tonight was very easy baked potatoes and Sophie and I sat and enjoyed The Devil Wears Prada, starring Meryl Streep and Anne Hathaway. We watched it right up until 9pm and I was a bit surprised to see that no recordings were in process on our Skybox. I couldn't remember what time Masterchef was on, but we were both looking forward to watching the final tonight...
When we turned on the main TV guide we were both a bit dismayed to see that all the programmes had been cancelled and that BBC1 (as well as BBC2, ITV and Sky 1) were showing a documentary about Prince Philip and the Royal family. I am 99% sure that the programme on BBC2 was exactly the same as the one on BBC1! Why couldn't they have swapped the programmes over so that we could have watched the final of Masterchef on BBC2?
For me, this is only the second time in my life that a major Royal has died (the first being Diana in 1997), and I know for a fact that in the coming days they will squeeze every last bit of news out of the situation. There will be endless discussions and documentaries, interviews with everyone who has ever known him, and it will go on and on. Don't get me wrong, I think it's very sad, but he was 99 and he wasn't going to live forever. With his recent stay in hospital, it was perhaps inevitable that he was frail and not in the best of health. The problem is that people will get fed up with hearing about it constantly (well, I will anyway)!
So, no Masterchef for us! RIP Prince Philip.
Thursday, 8 April 2021
Nasty smells!
Wednesday, 7 April 2021
Good news at last!
Tuesday, 6 April 2021
Back to work...
I have to confess I'd been dreading going back to work, as last time we were inundated with problems. I was working 10am until 4pm with Jo and Denise, but at least we weren't answering calls, and we could wear whatever we wanted as there were no customers in the building!
It took all three of us a while to get going on the computers again, as our passwords had expired, and there were some changes to our email system which took some getting used to! It was very strange seeing invoices I'd processed back in December - the last time I worked had been the 29th!
Once we had explored the changes, Sara gave us a list of people to call, all of whom had been old members. We had some offers on memberships, but none of us managed to sign anyone up today. I think people are still a bit cautious about joining a gym, even though we were offering memberships with a short commitment.
It certainly wasn't as bad as I'd feared it would be and it was lovely to be back with my work colleagues and the atmosphere was very relaxed.
During the day we had seen some more light snow flurries, but driving home it started to come down quite hard. At one point on the journey, I saw what looked like a blizzard in the distance, and as I neared home it was quite bad!
At home, Keith had checked my emails and had seen one from the kitchen designer, with a quote for all the building work attached. It came in at a shade under £30,000 which was a bit more than we wanted to pay. The appliances were over £3,000 so we will have to look elsewhere for them! As I subscribe to Which? I can look on their website for reviews, and appliances that are good value for money.
Sophie arrived home from work and I was glad that she was not still travelling, as the snow started to come down pretty heavily!
Monday, 5 April 2021
A quarter of a century!
To our amazement this morning, it started to snow! Very light flurries, but unmistakably snow! It has snowed before on Sophie's birthday, but thinking back to last year when it was so warm and sunny, it was amazing to see!