Not the best of days!

Today has not been the most pleasant of days, in fact, it's been downright horrible. I forgot to mention in my blog yesterday, that when we eventually got home from collecting Mike, there were two letters for my Dad, both from Tesco bank. He has a Tesco credit card, and I noticed an amount of £194 on the statement. As the card hasn't been used since they both went into the care home, I was a little worried as to what it could be... I soon found out when I opened the other letter - a bill for tyres at a place in Glasgow! I had called the customer service line last night but they wouldn't talk to me without my Dad present, so it was lucky that I had an appointment to see them today.

I arrived at 10.30am and went through all the usual rigmarole of sticking a swab up my nose and down my throat, before filling in forms and then donning a load of environmentally unfriendly plastic PPE. When my parents appeared, my Dad had a go at me for not bringing in the bank statements he had asked for (I'd forgotten but what he was going to do with them is anybody's guess) so that put my hackles up straightaway.

I called the customer service line again and was put straight through to a lovely lady who tried to help us. Unfortunately, though, my Dad couldn't remember all of the security questions, so to cut a long and very painful story short, they're sending me a form with a number on it, which I will have to get my Dad to read out to them when I see them the next time. I understand the security involved but why couldn't they have tried to stop the fraudulent payment from going through in the first place? I can't do anything at the moment without my bank texting me to confirm it's me making a transaction, so why is it different for Tesco? Especially seeing as the card hadn't been used for ages!

After this fiasco, my Mum then started saying how unhappy she was, how the food was horrible and how bored she was, not really something I wanted to hear at the moment. She said their rooms were bare and she missed her things, which I could understand. I tried to reassure her that once things return to normal, I could take her out a couple of times a week and she could even walk to the nearby shops. So, not a good meeting at all, and I'll admit to shedding a few tears in the car on the way home.

Keith and I then popped to the docs to pick up our prescriptions and I said I wanted to take my Dad's car through the car wash as it was dirty and dusty. We drove to the Shell garage in Kingsthorpe but, as usual, it was closed so after buying some treats in the M&S outlet there, we went to Morrison's on the Kettering Road. I now really wish we hadn't as on the way home, during a lovely chat about the villa we rented in Naples in Florida, I am 99.9% sure I have been done for speeding... just what I need at the moment.

I was doing 38mph which was too fast, I'll admit, so I'll take the flak, but it's just another in a long line of niggles that are affecting us at the moment. There'll be a £100 fine and three points on my licence unless I'm offered a Speed Awareness course, which I think is online at the moment!

Mike had called us to say that he was finishing at his usual time of 2.30pm today, so we just had time to go home, eat a quick lunch and go back out to collect him. We needn't have rushed as he was over half an hour late. It was a good job we didn't mind waiting and we could watch the golfers play!

Back home again, I emailed the manager of the care home and asked if we could bring in some furniture and pictures for my parents. I am hoping this will make my Mum feel a bit better. I then managed to put the hoover around the ground floor of the house before we headed over to Kettering, this time in my car. On the way, there'd been an accident at the Broughton junction and the traffic was backed up right until the A14. We vowed not to go this way on our return!

We were met at the garage by the young, cocky mechanic who asked me "what was the noise this time?" as if I was a hysterical female who runs to the mechanic every time I hear a strange sound. We explained that the car sounded like it was in the wrong gear, so he took it out into the town, even though the noise is only really audible over 50mph. He came back, said he thought it was the wheel bearing and then asked Rob himself to take it out. He confirmed it but said it was difficult to say which one, even though both Keith and I think it's the front right wheel. As we were chatting, the engine made a strange cluttering sound that alarmed them both! They then said it might be some sort of flywheel attached to the clutch... if it is then we're doomed. So that's the wheel bearing and the other problem! As the car has done over 164,000 miles, it's only to be expected but I think her days are numbered.

Feeling deeply gloomy we headed home via Loddington and the single track road to avoid the mayhem on the A43! Sophie arrived just after us and again, it was bliss to have a relaxing drink and play Scrabble!