No room at the inn...

I woke up this morning to the unusual sensation of light flooding the bedroom... Sophie hadn't gone to the gym at 6am as usual, as she had a horrible headache. It was almost 8am so she was still getting ready for work, bless her.

She set off at just after 8am, and I had a coffee before showering. I had an appointment at the optician's at Weston Favell for 11.30am, and I'd arranged to pick up my parents to take them with me. While I was in having my contact lens check, I thought it would be nice for my parents to sit and chat with their old friends, Garry and Gloria, so Mum had called them to arrange to meet them at The Lounge.

They were there already so, after a quick hello, I went to Boots. My contact lens check went very well and my prescription was changed slightly because I'm having more trouble with reading small print! Oh, the joys of getting old! I was thoroughly checked and all done within half an hour, which was great. Back with my parents and Garry and Gloria, I suggested we have lunch at The Lounge, but because Keith had made me a late breakfast before I'd left, I made do with a slice of Baklava and a coffee while the others enjoyed some sandwiches.

It was great to chat to Garry and Gloria who I've known since I was a child, and catch up with their news. They told me that their DJ son, Paul, is now living in London with a Russian Oligarch's daughter (hmmm!) and had just bought himself a Lamborghini... good luck with getting that out of first gear driving in our capital!

After lunch, we did some shopping in Tesco and then I drove my parents back. I returned home to Keith and pottered about for the rest of the afternoon, feeling glad I was off work tomorrow as well!

In the evening, Keith had suggested a meal at The Lamplighter in town, as a thank you to Sophie for taxiing us about on Saturday. We drove into town and parked opposite, but the pub was fully booked with every table taken downstairs. We really didn't fancy eating upstairs so we decided to go elsewhere, and Sophie suggested The Royal Oak in Cogenhoe.

Keith had never been but I'd eaten there with friends, and Sophie had also been a couple of times. They were able to fit us in and we sat and had a drink in the cosy bar first. The place was busy with locals drinking, and a row of cronies sitting at the bar having a good natter. We chose from the menu and sat in the lovely dining room that reminded us of being in a French bistro. We even spotted a bottle of the Mallorcan liqueur, Tunel!

We chose a nibble board to start, consisting of whitebait, breaded mushrooms and scampi and some crispy, cheese-filled morsels. For our mains, we chose a burger, fish and chips, and steak and kidney pie. My fish arrived and Keith eyed it appreciatively, so I swapped with him, eating his delicious pie served with new potatoes and vegetables.

None of us could face a dessert and we really just wanted to go home and relax! Sophie applied a sheet mask which made her look like Hannibal Lecter and watched television upstairs, while Keith and I caught up with the Good Karma Hospital. I sipped a whisky - a lovely end to a great evening!