Losing it!

I was kept busy at work today by helping Sara with the customer service emails and doing other admin jobs. She sat with Sheila for a long while going over what she does as she's on holiday from this afternoon for over a week. 

I sped off at 2pm and dashed down to Sophie's workplace as she had a terrible headache and I had some ibuprofen with me. After I'd dropped them off I drove home and Keith and I went shopping. His wrist is still hurting him badly so I offered to help. We were a bit disorganised today as we hadn't done the list properly and just had a scruffy piece of paper with the meals we had planned.

Aldi was very quiet (maybe 3pm is the time to go?) and we sped around quickly getting what we needed. In Tesco, I went to retrieve the list from my bag and realised I'd lost it! Calamity! We never shop without a list so we had to try and remember what we needed, and of course, we forgot multiple things!

On the way out we filled my Dad's car up with more petrol in readiness for our trip to Southampton on Saturday. Keith has now put in about £70 since last Saturday!

Back home we put the shopping away and I managed to stand on Monty's foot. I'd told him to get out of the kitchen while we were busy, but he kept yowling and weaving his way in between our legs. When I stood on him he let out a loud, elongated yowl, and ran off, only to come back a few minutes later. He obviously hadn't learnt his lesson!

Once the shopping was away, Keith and I prepared the vegetables and chicken for tonight's paella. Sophie was cooking - what a treat!

A spot of shopping!

After a lovely lazy morning, Keith and I went to Dobbies garden centre to see if we could buy him some new shoes and shorts. There's a Paver's outlet within the centre and after ten minutes, he'd picked out two pairs of shoes that fitted him well and were comfortable. 

We were quite happy sorting ourselves out, but a saleswoman came over and started "helping" even though we'd told her we were fine. She insisted on looking for more shoes, and then when it was time to pay, she tried to sell us shoe cleaner! I really hate this sort of salesperson! When I worked at Majestic and I asked if anyone needed help, I would leave them alone if they said they were okay!

From Paver's, we wandered over to a Mountain Warehouse outlet and Keith found two pairs of shorts. We had a bit of banter with one of the staff because Keith refused to try anything on, and that made us chuckle! He's so stubborn at times! I just hoped they would fit!

We both felt like a coffee so we went over to the restaurant and I ordered two flat whites. There used to be a Costa Coffee outlet here but that's now gone and the place was busy with older couples and young mums and children. They were having a riotous time in the soft play area.

As we waited, we chatted about how long it had been since I'd been coming to this garden centre, when it used to be Wyevale. We used to go a lot and was a Sunday afternoon destination for tea and cake and a wander about looking at the plants. It's more like a department store, now, and even has a Sainsbury's outlet!

We waited for ages for our coffees, so long in fact that in the end, I had to go to the counter to find out where they were, and they'd been forgotten! We sat and sipped our drinks and carried on chatting and it was lovely and relaxing.

After we'd enjoyed our coffees we wandered about and looked at the fabulous outdoor furniture. I do sometimes fantasise about installing a hot tub in the gravel garden with a lovely sofa for relaxing. Maybe we should do that this year rather than attempt to go on holiday! We saw some lovely combinations of tables with a fire pit surrounded by squashy chairs, which looked lovely!

From Dobbies we went to Jones's to get some items (boring ones) and had a look at their outdoor chairs and tables, as well as the gas barbecues. They weren't as nice as Dobbies!

A quieter day!

Work was undoubtedly not as eventful as yesterday and passed pleasantly enough! I was very much looking forward to having my Wednesday off and the plan was to take Keith to do some shopping and sort him out with new shoes and shorts!

Dinner this evening was a simple affair of pizza and salad and after we'd eaten, Keith and I watched the last episode of Sherwood. This series has been close to Keith's heart in that it was about the miners' strike in 1984. Although Sherwood was set in Nottinghamshire (hence the name!) Keith's father was a northeast miner and remembered the strikes very well. We enjoyed the series and thought the acting was brilliant. They had dredged up every northern actor they could find and it was great!

A good old moan!

I felt very groggy when Sophie eventually woke me this morning! She said I just wouldn't wake up and I think I was in the middle of a dream!

Mondays roll around far too quickly but it seems as soon as they're over, it's Friday! With Jo and Kathy, I was called into an informal meeting with Sara and Nicola this morning to talk about our jobs and our general feeling of being a bit disgruntled and unhappy.

Nicola said she was trying to get us a pay rise but I don't hold out much hope. Our new MD is as tight as a duck's a***, and she said that with things how they are at the moment with fuel bills (heating our five pools must cost a fortune), our wages are low down on the list of priorities.

We are living in very unsettled times at the moment. We watched a documentary on the 1976 heatwave the other week and the similarities between that year and now were startling! In 1976 there were strikes, inflation was high and the cost of living was soaring. I do hope history is not repeating itself!

Anyway, we had a good old moan in the meeting, and Nicola said she would try and do something with our "wrap", the time we get in between phone calls. Currently, it's 10 seconds, which doesn't give you a lot of time, but she will try and extend it to 20 seconds to enable us to finish what we were doing for the call, or just to munch a bit of sandwich! She also said we could bring back a ten-minute "lunch" break so we could at least have something to eat without talking with our mouths full! At the end of the meeting, she handed us all a £25 voucher to spend on the high street, so it wasn't all bad, and at least they're trying to help!

I said in the meeting that I would be very happy now if I was taken off the phones as the customers are really starting to get me (and all of us) down. Before the pandemic, we would get the odd bad call but now these are becoming far more frequent. Jo and I had two calls from Ukrainian people about our free swimming scheme, and although we have every sympathy for them, they couldn't understand a word we were saying, which made it very difficult for us.

As ever, it was a relief to get into the car and head home. I hoovered and tidied up the kitchen and when Sophie arrived home we watched Wimbledon with a drink. Thankfully, Emma Raducanu and Andy Murray both won!

Pootling about!

It was lovely to have a day free, and although I'd intended to do very little, we actually did quite a lot! 

The weather today has been sunny and breezy so perfect for drying the washing, and I did several loads. It was great to see it blowing in the wind and drying for free! Sophie prepared the dinner for tonight - a Spanish chicken casserole - and we sorted out some things to put on eBay. I spent more time than I wanted trying to find a couple of camera chargers that had gone AWOL... when the kitchen was renovated last year I think a lot of things went missing in the panic on the day they came to take the wall down! Keith and I just shoved everything into the conservatory, and in the upheaval, we have managed to lose a few things! We used to have a dedicated drawer for cables and things but this has gone. One day they'll turn up!

It was lovely to potter about, catching up with some jobs and enjoying the sunshine. I really should have done something with the front garden or washed my car which was dusty, but it was warm in the sun and I decided to leave it until it was a bit cooler!

In between doing some housework, I managed to sit and relax... on the sofa in the conservatory for once, while Sophie updated her CV. There hasn't been any banging of the ball today so it's been blissfully quiet! What a difference it makes!

Pastures new!

Sophie and I drove to Chichester today to see the play, The Unfriend, starring Amanda Abbington, Frances Barber and Reece Shearsmith. We'd seen Amanda Abbington on Saturday Morning Kitchen when she was promoting the play, and it sounded great!

The third rail strike was on today, and Keith kept warning us that the roads may be busier than usual, and every time I looked at Google maps, the duration of the journey was longer... we left at 9.15 am and took the A43, the M40 and then the A34 down to Southampton, the same route as we take to see Mike and Abbie.

The A34 was quiet but the traffic did get a lot busier when we went onto the M3. We were astounded at some of the fuel prices on the way down - a couple of garages were charging £2.04 a litre for diesel! That is the highest I have ever seen!

Once at Southampton, we turned left and drove towards Portsmouth along the coast. It was great to get a glimpse of the sea! Luckily, we made good time and arrived at a huge car park by the theatre at 12pm. We had booked a table for lunch at The Giggling Squid and had already made it for slightly later, but we had plenty of time. 

A very helpful man showed us how to work the car-park machine (!) and we walked for about fifteen minutes to get to the restaurant, which was situated on the busy main street. Chichester is a city but looks like a cosy village with some beautiful old houses lining the roads, and an ancient city wall.

We had a delicious lunch at The Giggling Squid and enjoyed prawn crackers with a spicy dip, spring rolls, dumplings and a Thai red curry. Our dish was called the Starving Squid, and we were!

The restaurant gradually filled up and there was a lovely, lunchtime atmosphere. We had plenty of time so we found room for pud and a coffee for me.

Warm mango cake served with ice cream... delicious!

We took a different route back to the theatre, passing along some gorgeously pretty streets lined with beautiful cottages and quirky, individual houses. The streets were very narrow and I'm glad we'd found a place to park so easily.

A lot of people were heading towards the Minerva Theatre and the place was already packed. We took our seats and we were delighted to discover how intimate the theatre was. The stage was part of the auditorium so people in the front row would have had a great experience!

The first scene took place on a cruise ship where our married couple meets Elsa. The scene then moves to their house in London, where she turns up unexpectedly early! It was a very funny play and dealt with how we Brits can be too polite for our own good!

It was great to see three famous actors, but the rest of the cast was brilliant as well, especially the actors playing the teenage son and daughter. We emerged into the early evening sunlight at about 5pm and headed home back the way we'd driven this morning. At one point we all came to a standstill on the M27 due to a heavy downpour of rain. The road looked like a river!

We had a lovely journey home (I do like the rolling countryside on the A34) and stopped just once to buy some water. We arrived home at about 7.30pm and sat talking to Keith with a drink while watching Glastonbury. 

Our lovely day was rounded off with cheese and biscuits, which I ate half-heartedly!

Phew! Friday!

 Another Friday has rolled around again and the year is speeding by! Work was busy and the phones were almost non-stop so that didn't leave me a lot of time to do anything else. I finally caught up with all I had to do at just after 3pm!

It was lovely to dash home and look forward to a weekend off. Keith went to the pub and Sophie and I watched 90 Day Fiance in between preparing dinner. Well, Sophie did most of it while I languished on the sofa!

Glastonbury made a return today but we didn't watch it - maybe over the weekend, we'll catch up with some of the music!

A busy day!

I was busy at work today, catching up with two days' worth of cash-ups and helping Sara with the customer service emails. The time flew by and I sped over to pick up my Mum at 2.30pm as I'd made her an appointment to have her nails done at 3pm, by the woman she used to visit in the good old days!

The last time we'd been was February 2020 and I was really glad she was still in business after the pandemic. Her husband had built her a little salon in the garden and it was lovely to sit and relax while Mum was attended to. The area outside hadn't improved, sadly, since we'd last visited but the cosy salon was a haven of tranquillity and I nearly fell asleep!

Outside we had a torrential downpour of rain but no thunderstorms. We had a weather warning so it was inevitable that nothing would happen!

Before taking Mum back we called into my house and I picked up her washing and some eye drops for my Dad. By the time I'd dropped her off and returned it was almost 5.30pm! I hurriedly started preparing dinner - a Spring Chicken pie that was topped with new potatoes rather than pastry. It was delicious, even if the potatoes were a little hard! I'll cook them for a bit longer next time!

Simply pottering!

Sophie surprised me this morning by suddenly turning up at home after leaving for the gym because she'd forgotten her jeans for work! She had texted me before she left but I hadn't seen it, and I was sitting happily sipping a coffee when I heard her car draw up outside!

We sat together and had a coffee before she went and showered for work. I offered to give her a lift in and we left a bit early so we could enjoy another coffee at Cafe 900. What a lovely start to a beautifully sunny day!

Today has been a great mix of doing housework and relaxing! I cleaned our front windows as there was a blob of bird poo that had been irritating me! They looked so much better when I'd finished. I hoovered downstairs and cleaned our front door, clearing away loads of cobwebs in the process. The spiders have taken over!

Today has been very relaxing and the weather has been gorgeous. It's warm and sunny again so perfect for trying to keep on top of jobs in the house. I honestly think I could work all day every day and still not get everything done!

In the afternoon I made an oaty seed loaf to go with the pea and ham soup for dinner this evening:

It's easy to make and doesn't have any flour, so no waiting for it to prove!

Before collecting Sophie we tried to get my Dad's car washed but every carwash we went to was out of order. I felt like I'd wasted an hour and several miles! It will just have to stay dirty for a few more days!

Back home I made the pea and ham soup and it was delicious with the bread. There was more than enough left over for Sophie to take to work tomorrow for her lunch. She cut me a couple of slices of the bread to have with some cheese for my own lunch, so that's that sorted!

A peaceful start.

Sara texted me before 7am this morning to say she was working from home as she'd been ill in the night. This meant I had almost two hours by myself in the office and the peace and quiet were blissful! I managed to get on and do a lot of jobs, but I had trouble accessing the internet which meant I had to completely log off and start all over again!

My lovely peaceful start soon disappeared and, at one point, we had a couple of senior managers in the office all talking in loud voices. Thanks very much! As I left, Jo had taken a call from a parent about swimming lessons and was having an argument with her. Just lately, we've found that people won't listen to us and just constantly interrupt! Another irritation!

I escaped and drove home in a warm car! I sat with Keith at the island and we chatted about our day. I think I would rather have been him as today had been quite stressful after my relaxed start!

Catching up.

After my short weekend, it was back to work and covering for Sheila who is on holiday this week. I had three days' worth of cash-ups to do and knew I wouldn't be able to do them all in the two hours before the phones opened, so I had to come off for a little while to finish them.

Jo was back today and she was even louder than normal! I sometimes find it very difficult to hear, and I thought back to last week when I had nobody working opposite me! It was a relief to get out at 4pm and drive home. It's been another warm day and the temperature was hovering around the 23c mark. It's due to get hotter again towards Thursday but it's Glastonbury this weekend so it's bound to rain!

At home, I did some housework and when Sophie arrived home we had a drink in the living room and watched Lottery Dream Home. Some of the houses were gorgeous!

An alarming incident!

We awoke to better weather this morning with the sun shining out of a blue sky. I was happily pottering about when Keith shouted for me to go into the cloakroom with him... the box which contains the battery for our burglar alarm had scorch marks on it and we could smell burning! Not what you want on a Sunday morning! 

Keith tried to remove the outer casing but he couldn't budge it, and we had no idea what was going on inside, but the smell was very frightening! We called the engineer who had installed a new battery previously, but he had retired. I looked on the internet for a local company but everything was closed. In the end, we called Josh, Dave's son, who very kindly came out straight away and disabled the electrics. When they removed the casing, one of the components had almost melted! I dread to think what could have happened!

After a lovely lunch of leftover Chinese takeaway, we drove to Sophie's gym to speak to a manager there about her parking ticket. They weren't that helpful, to be honest, and the manager said it would cost him £50 to get the ticket cancelled! I'm sure our parking firm at work doesn't charge that, and I got the feeling he was telling porky pies!

From Virgin, we drove to the care home to take Dad's presents and cards and sat chatting with my parents for a while. As we left, the staff were bringing around celebratory cocktails! It can't be bad! We took the scenic route home, prepared the coq au vin for dinner, and relaxed for an hour before a game of Scrabble.

One thing I forgot to mention was that Michelle messaged me last week about the family next door who rent the house. Michelle had spotted a man going in a few weeks ago who looked like an estate agent and that gave me some hope they were moving! She then told me that Richard had been speaking to them last Sunday and they are moving abroad for a year. We don't know what's happening with the house, but once they're gone, at the end of July, I'm hoping we'll have a respite from the constant ball games! I know I sound peevish and moany but it will be lovely to sit in the garden with a drink and just hear birdsong!

Dinner this evening was lovely and we had the most beautiful sunset this evening. It's almost the Summer Solstice!

Return of the rain.

It was a real pleasure to work with Tracie today, and we had a pleasant shift. We were busy at times, and most of the calls were to book swimming sessions, but I managed to get a lot done between answering the phone, so that was a bonus!

Outside, it was dark grey and raining, and the temperature had plummeted to about 15c. Crazy! How can two days be so different! It was lovely to be cooler, though!

Keith had given me a lift into work as the car parks are always busy, and he picked me up at 2pm. We went home and I made myself a mushroom omelette for my belated lunch. Sophie was out with Laura and they'd gone to The Whyte Melville in Boughton. She had received a parking ticket from the people who manage the car park at Virgin as she'd stayed over the four-hour limit last Friday. She stayed longer yesterday as well as she starts at 11am on a Friday and does a couple of classes, so she was spitting mad! We get this in three of our car parks and normally, for people visiting the centres, we manage to cancel them, so I told her not to worry.

When she returned home she was laden with gifts from Laura for looking after her cats the other week. She had a gorgeous bouquet of flowers, Italian snacks, a bottle of Limoncello, a beautiful Italian tile and a bottle of Sancerre. I'm happy to look after them again!

We'd booked to go out this evening to The Hare at Loddington and Keith went upstairs to have a bath. I went and lay on the bed for a while and felt tired, for some reason. I thought it would have been lovely to have ordered a takeaway tonight as I really didn't feel like going out! I suggested this to Keith and Sophie and they agreed! We cancelled the table and went downstairs to play Scrabble! We are turning into recluses!

It was lovely and cosy sitting at the kitchen island - outside it was pouring with rain and dark. Who would have believed it after yesterday! Sophie went out to go to the loo and shouted that our burglar alarm was ringing! Both Keith and I rushed out and tried to silence it but it took ages to get the code correct! Thankfully, we managed to turn it off but the "tamper" light was still showing and we hadn't a clue why!

Our meal arrived and we enjoyed the delicious food. After dinner, Keith watched some of the US Open and then we enjoyed a documentary on the Heatwave of 1976. Very apt at the moment! Keith said he didn't remember the year but I certainly did! I remember the reservoirs and lakes drying up and the never-ending heat!

The heat is on!

Today has been hot, hot, hot! The temperature in my car after work stated it was 34c but I always think that's hotter than it actually is. Anyway, it was uncomfortable!

Work was fine but we had a lot of swimming bookings. At about 2pm it really ramped up as if people had had enough of the heat. We don't have any sessions available in our pools between 4pm and 7pm as our swim school is taking place, and people couldn't believe that they were unable to take their children swimming after school!

I suggested an ice cream in the afternoon but Sara insisted on buying them, bless her. It cooled us down for a little bit but our office wasn't so bad. It was getting in the car after my shift that was the problem!

I drove home and tried to cool down by bringing the fan into the living room. Poor Monty was clearly uncomfortable and kept flopping down and looking pained. I would be if I had to wear a fur coat!

Keith went to the pub tonight and we decided to have fish and chips. It was too hot to cook! I think a lot of people had the same idea as the van spent ages in Walgrave. Sophie and I sipped a glass of Rose, the Etna one from Aldi and I thought it was horrible - it reminded me of the apple juice I'd had yesterday! We won't be buying that again!

The van trundled around to us at about 7.15pm and Sophie went to get our meal. She said the man serving was different from normal and was really grumpy. Perhaps he was too hot!

After we'd eaten Keith went upstairs to watch the US Open and Sophie and I revisited the past by watching Tame Impala at Glastonbury from 2019. When I look back on this year, I see it in a beautifully rosy glow. Seeing the masses of people at the festival, and seeing how happy and carefree they were brought tears to my eyes. Who could have dreamed what was ahead of us in the very first year of the new decade? And how bad things are continuing to happen? The pandemic, the war in Ukraine, the huge rise in the cost of living, and even today I learnt that covid cases are on the up again, thanks to two new variants.

It was lovely to sit in the living room with the candles flickering and listen to the music. I'm at work tomorrow but I'm very much looking forward to cooler temperatures!

Busy, busy!

Annoyingly I had to answer the phones today as we were one short. I did the cash-up first thing and today was Sheila's last day before she goes on holiday. Then it'll be down to me!

As well as answering the phones, I processed many, many orders... they just kept on coming relentlessly! As you can imagine, the time flew by!

At 2pm I sped home, changed into something cooler as it was very hot and dashed over to the care home to see Mum and Dad. I sat in their room with them and when Mum asked for a cold drink for all of us, one of the young, male, staff brought some apple juice that was so sweet I couldn't drink it. Bless him, the thought was there!

I stayed for over an hour and we had a good chat. It's Father's Day on Sunday so I will visit again then. Mum and Dad seemed quite happy so that was good.

Driving back the temperature was hovering around 30c but the one good thing is it's due to get cooler on Saturday, with rain forecast. Not that I'm looking forward to rain! I just want it to be a bit cooler!

Sad news...

I woke to find Sophie hadn't gone to the gym this morning as she'd been up until late talking to Zain, and they had ended their relationship. Naturally, Sophie was sad and upset about what happened, but I think he has a lot of issues at the moment and he was finding it hard to maintain a long-distance relationship with her. I'm hoping they will stay friends, but we'll have to wait and see.

As she was so upset, I gave her a lift into work so we could have a chat. I returned home and made a start on giving the conservatory a good clean. I pulled out the sofa and found a load of dead insects lurking behind it... horrible! It's been a warm and sunny day today and it's due to get hotter as the week goes on. Phew! Summer has definitely arrived!

I cleaned and pottered about until the afternoon but it was too hot to do a lot. Some tasks will have to wait for cooler weather! Keith went to have his hair cut just after lunchtime and I sat at the kitchen island and read the newspapers. It was cool with both the door and the window open.

Before collecting Sophie from work, we popped into the new Aldi at Moulton to buy a couple of bottles of wine that had been recommended by Olly Smith - a Greek white and an Italian Rose from the slopes of Mount Etna. This new supermarket has certainly taken off and every time we go in there it's busy. It's very handy for us!

Sophie seemed OK when we picked her up and we headed home to relax and think about dinner. We opened all the doors and windows and tried to keep cool!

We can dream!

Well, I spoke too soon yesterday! Today has been a frustrating day and I estimate the majority of our phone calls were from people who had trouble understanding what I was saying. There were only two of us answering calls as well, so we were busier, even though there were a few quiet moments.

I ploughed my way through the first week's swimming crash courses and did a load of invoices and orders, as well as taking calls. By the end of the day, I felt drained, as it was warm and sultry. I headed home, looking forward to my day off tomorrow!

Sophie and I cooked a delicious pasta carbonara tonight and enjoyed a glass of white wine with it. It's been ages since we cooked this meal and it went down very well! Keith watched television upstairs and Sophie and I explored Discovery+ a bit more, finding a programme we used to enjoy about lottery winners choosing their dream home. It was an hour of pure escapism!

A pleasant Monday!

Today has actually been a lovely and very pleasant day at work. and I don't say that very often! We had friendly people on the phone and there were no complicated queries to resolve. It was also a lot quieter as Jo was away and Tracie covered. Tracie has a lovely, soft voice so that was a bonus!

Nicola came back to work today after being off for three months with heart problems. She'd had open-heart surgery and delighted in showing us her scar! Only Nicola could do that! It was good to see her back and her laughter and voice echoed around the office!

I walked out with Kathy and we both agreed that today had been exceptional - why was it such a surprise?

I popped into the post office on the way home and sent off a parcel. We've had a couple of good sales this week so the Paypal account is looking healthy!

A relaxing Sunday!

We've spent another day pootling about and relaxing at home. For once, it was beautifully quiet, just how it used to be, which was wonderful! 

Mike had stayed out last night and Keith and I went to pick him up from Brixworth this morning. He said he was shattered from seeing his friends last night, and after a quick bite and a coffee, retreated to his room.

Sophie went to have lunch with Laura and Daisy at 1pm and Keith and Mike went to the pub (he had recovered a bit and the lure of beer was too much), so I had an hour to myself. Sitting at the island in the kitchen and reading the Sunday papers was utter bliss! There was not a sound to be heard, except the birds in the garden! 

I collected the boys from the pub and spent the rest of the afternoon doing very little. The next week is set to be warmer with the hottest day on Friday when temperatures get up to the 30s. Phew!

Sophie arrived home with salad ingredients and pressies from Daisy, and we played Scrabble twice. She beat me both times! Mike had asked if Abbie could come for dinner, which was great. and we enjoyed cold meats, salad and new potatoes, a perfect meal for the warm weather! It was lovely to sit and enjoy Mike and Abbie's company, and after eating we looked at old videos of the children when they were teenagers! Some of them were hilarious!

Niggling irritations!

Mike texted me this morning to say he was on his way to Northampton but didn't mention that he was going to be coming to the house. Keith, Sophie and I went to Jones's at midday as we needed some essentials, and this in itself was unusual as Keith rarely comes anywhere with us on a Saturday afternoon! You can tell the football season is over!

Mike texted me again to say he was at home, so we returned as quickly as we could to see him. He and Abbie were up this weekend for Abbie's grandfather's funeral on Monday, and Mike said he was going out with friends for a drink later. It was great to see him and catch up with what he'd been up to since he last visited.

The afternoon was spent doing very little, and I had a look at Airbnb houses again. With all the travel chaos at the moment, we are reluctant to book anything, but I feel like we could all do with a couple of weeks away. We have had the banging of the ball almost constantly today, from when we returned home at about 2pm, to 8pm this evening. As it's a noise I find very irritating, it means that we have to have the windows and doors closed, not a great idea when it's warm like it's been today! I am all for children playing out and having fun, but this seems to be relentless.

And talking of irritations, the cat has become very annoying lately. We put food down for him but he seems to think he should be eating what we have, so ignores any type of cat food. It's become so bad we've had to ban him from being in the house when we have dinner. He is like a crack addict with anything dairy - milk, butter, cheese, yoghurt and especially cream. We don't eat dessert very often, but whenever we venture into the kitchen at night, he thinks we're going to get something for pudding and literally screams at us. 

He is 16, bless him, so his behaviour may have something to do with his age, but it's very trying, especially for Keith who has him all day at home. Monty follows him around like a dog and won't settle until Keith sits with him on the sofa!

Sophie and I played two games of Scrabble in the evening and enjoyed an "Aperini" Spritz and a glass of Rose. We won a game each and Keith barbecued, setting it up on the driveway again even though the weather was lovely! Towards the end of cooking the gas ran out... let's hope there's not a shortage like last year!

Our viewing choice this evening was a good film starring Michelle Pfeiffer called The Deep End of the Ocean, about a family where the three-year-old son goes missing. It was the perfect choice for a Saturday evening - enjoyable and easy-going!

Mike came home halfway through the evening and said he was going straight back out again to have a drink with friends in Brixworth... what a great social life!

Phew! A better Friday!

Memories of the horrible Friday we experienced last week haunted me this morning, but today wasn't as bad as I feared thank goodness! We were pretty busy but nothing like last week!

At 4pm it was bliss to go home and look forward to two days off. Keith didn't go to the pub and made a chicken curry. We saw the fish and chip van and they were very early this week. They usually park up at about 7.15pm but they were an hour earlier than usual this evening. We now have another fish and chip service coming to Walgrave every other Tuesday evening, and you can choose to enjoy your meal in the village hall! Once we had nothing, just the odd delivery from a local takeaway, now we seem to be inundated with food choices!

Sophie and I started watching a new series of 90 Day Fiance, and this one seemed to have been filmed at the beginning of the pandemic. In future, we will be able to date programmes accurately if anyone is seen wearing masks or standing a good distance away from each other!

Money, money, money!

I arrived at work at the same time as Sara this morning, and she told me she'd spoken to a couple of managers about our wages and although nothing could be done immediately, they both agreed that we were worth a bit more, so watch this space!

I did the daily cash up today and called Sheila over a couple of times when I had queries. I did most of it by myself, though, so I'm feeling a bit happier about this new job. I shall probably only do it when Sheila's away so this means we can't take annual leave together!

I sped off at 2pm and collected Mum from the care home. We then returned to my house and enjoyed a cup of tea and a slice of cake. We sorted out some of the banking and printed off statements so she could take them back and show Dad.

Keith came with us when we took Mum back and she called into the Co-op to buy a bottle of wine for Dad. He had asked for something to drink but she didn't know what! I think it's time we took him out to do some shopping as well!

A little shopping trip.

Keith and I decided to go to Ikea this morning, to buy some things for the house, and to have lunch. We set off at 10.30am and managed to catch the second contestant on Ken Bruce's Popmaster! It's been so long since we've done that!

We took the A508 to Milton Keynes and became embroiled in heavy traffic at Junction 15 of the M1. They're constructing a rail terminal there and the roadworks were horrendous. We decided not to go that way home!

When we arrived, Ikea was very quiet and we had lunch first. As I'm an Ikea Family member we had free coffee which is always a bonus! Lunch came to £8 which was a bargain!

After we'd eaten we had a look around and I bought some small kitchen utensils as well as spare bedding. I wanted some pretty containers for the cleaning products in the laundry room but didn't see any I liked. In fact, both of us were a bit disappointed today. Nothing really caught our eye and an office chair we saw seemed very expensive.

We set off for home and we chose the M1, which was extremely busy. There were sections when I thought the road was dangerous, to be honest. They're upgrading this section to a "smart" motorway and there was no hard shoulder at all. On some stretches, there was a concrete barrier alongside lane 1, so heaven knows what you'd do if your car broke down. I  hated every minute we spent on the road.

To make things worse, as we neared Junction 15 I passed a van and indicated to pull in but the horrible driver sped up and wouldn't let me in! The van had the name of the company on it - Adbly Construction - and I was furious! I hadn't tried to cut him up or anything,  but I had to brake and slot in behind him. When we eventually got home (the traffic carried on being heavy) I emailed the company to let them know! I am being Mrs Angry!

The rest of the day was spent pootling about and catching up with jobs. We had heavy showers of rain in the afternoon and dramatic skies. It's officially summer now, but the weather doesn't seem to realise that!

Something fishy!

I was kept busy this morning as I had a list of new films to put on, including the new Jurassic World film. I would love to go and see it at Cineworld in 4DX like we used to. It's about £20 each but worth it! I also noticed that we're showing Operation Mincemeat again so I'm determined to go and see it with Keith while I can!

The rest of the day was fairly uneventful and after work, I sped home to prepare dinner. I'm not a huge fan of fish pie, but Keith and Sophie love it so I give in! We sat and ate in the conservatory tonight as there's more space and it's more comfortable for Keith.

After dinner, Sophie and I indulged in 90 Day Fiance again. It's an addictive habit and Sophie's certainly getting her money's worth from the Discovery+ subscription fee!

Having conversations...

I was determined to have a word with Sara this morning about my hourly rate and try and see whether the management bigwigs had made any decisions about the team as a whole, as they were going to. I think Sara was a bit surprised when I started talking, but she agreed with everything I said, especially now when the cost of living is rocketing. 

I made the point that I do a lot more than some of the staff in the office and should be paid accordingly. She promised to talk to her boss and higher up in the organisation, so we'll just have to see. I have a feeling it may fall on deaf ears!

Today was busy first thing and then it quietened down. I sped home at 4pm to find Keith had forgotten to buy the fish for tomorrow's fish pie... we decided to pop over to Tesco to get some and bought a couple of treats as well. Well, if we can't enjoy a tipple in the evening, what is life all about?

Dinner tonight was enchiladas and then 90 Day Fiance. We are coming to the end of the series we're on, and there's been no mention of covid yet... just wait!

Scared silly!

The weather today has been terrible - what a shame for everyone who had planned garden parties, Jubilee lunches, and other outdoor events. The sky has remained solidly grey all day with not the tiniest hint of sunshine.

We had a relaxed morning, and at midday, drove to Laura's house to feed her cats for the last time. We then headed into town, parked in Albion Place next to Derngate, and walked to Pizza Express where we'd booked a table for 1pm.

The restaurant was quiet and we ordered a glass of wine each, with doppio doughballs and breaded halloumi bites to start, followed by a spicy chicken pizza. The food was delicious as always, and both of us were hungry after not having a lot for breakfast! We rounded off the meal by sharing a portion of Tiramisu, which was lovely and creamy, but not as good as Sophie's!

It was a very short walk to the Northampton Filmhouse and we were the first to be seated. I was hoping that lots of people would attend but there were no more than fifteen of us watching a re-mastered version of Psycho.

The film was brilliant on the big screen and as scary as ever. Even though we'd seen the film before and knew what to expect, the mother scene still sent a chill down our spines! We emerged into the grey afternoon and headed home where we relaxed before playing Scrabble. Keith had prepared the dinner of beef steaks in gravy served with our own homemade skinny fries and it was a delicious meal.

The Jubilee weekend is over and I confess I didn't see much of the coverage on television and didn't attend many of the events held in our village. However, it was lovely to see the country come together to celebrate a momentous occasion!

Washout Saturday...

Today has been spent mostly at home, and I was glad we hadn't agreed to go to the street party in the village as we had heavy rain for about two hours in the afternoon. Typical!

Sophie and I went out to the post office in Moulton to send off an eBay parcel that we hadn't been able to do until today. On our return, we pootled about and sorted out some more stuff to sell but it's hard work at the moment. I certainly wouldn't want to earn a good living from it, but it's perfect for raising cash for treats!

Sophie also spent a fair amount of time preparing the vegetables for a paella tonight and managed to smash a dish which was full of chopped up mushrooms and pepper. We both stared at the mess in horror - there were vegetables everywhere with pieces of broken china... I gave her a hug as she looked so sad!

At lunchtime, we went out to feed Laura's cats and it was pouring with rain. Not a great thing to happen, as I'm sure there are hundreds of outdoor events going on all around the country, and tomorrow we have weather warnings for thunderstorms and rain! Luckily, there was a Tesco Express near Laura's house so I bought another punnet of mushrooms to replace the ones that had landed up on the floor!

The afternoon was spent not doing a lot, and I felt guilty that I hadn't used the time more effectively. The sun did at least make an appearance, and we enjoyed a game of Scrabble with a glass of wine whilst listening to music. Sophie beat me.

Tonight, the paella was delicious and there was not much left when we'd finished! There was enough for Sophie's lunch on Monday which was great. I do hate food waste, but we try and put out scraps for the birds who are still feeding their young. Yesterday, Sophie and Keith rescued a baby sparrow that had become caught in one of the feeders that we'd put on the ground. We fill it with fat snax, and then try and close one end, so the big jackdaws, magpies and rooks can't carry them away whole. The sparrow had been after the fat snax and had managed to get its beak and wing stuck. Keith and Sophie spotted it and managed to get it out, poor thing!

After dinner, we decided to watch No Time To Die again on Amazon Prime. It went on late and I fell asleep!

Frightful Friday!

Today was certainly not the relaxed end to the week I was hoping for. In fact, it's been one of the worst days at work I can remember, which was a huge shame, as there was just Kathy and myself working and normally it's very relaxed.

Sophie took me to work and then went to the gym. I set everything up in the office and went to get a coffee, and was held up by some of my colleagues querying the time of our afternoon cinema screening. Because it's an official Bank Holiday today, we were closing early and the time of the film reflected that. There had been a problem with the posters and I said that was Marketing's domain! The discussion put me behind a bit, so when the phone lines opened at 9am I wasn't really ready! We had been hoping for a quiet day, but it was not to be. We were rammed with calls and the majority were swimming bookings...

Halfway through the morning, I took a call from one of the staff at another centre who said that tomorrow they would have less staff than they had planned for, and could we reduce the numbers who could book for the swimming sessions? I knew how to do it (or so I thought) so I said I'd sort it out.

We have nine sessions on a Saturday, every half an hour from midday onwards, so I asked Kathy if it was OK if I went off the phone to sort out the numbers. The sessions had been input right up until March 2023 and I did what I thought was correct and reduced the numbers for each session to 30 people.

However, when we both went to check that the sessions were on for next Saturday and after that, they had all disappeared! I had managed to wipe them out for the next ten months! I was horrified and went back onto the page to try and sort it out, managing to make it worse! I then wiped out all the sessions for Saturday even though we already had people booked on!

To cut a horrible story short, I had to call Sheila who very calmly put it right for me. Luckily, the software we use retains anyone booked onto a session so we didn't lose them, but I was mortified that I'd made such a mess of it. It's extremely easy to input sessions onto the system but a little more difficult to edit them, as I have found out!

The calls remained relentless for the whole shift and I was truly grateful we finished at 2pm. I didn't even have time to check my own emails, let alone the customer service ones! I just about managed to do the box office returns in between calls as they had to be sent off to the film distribution companies.

Sophie picked me up and we drove over to Laura's house to feed her two beautiful cats. They looked at us in alarm at first, but gradually became more bold and let us stroke them. I think feeding them helped them to overcome their shyness!

Back home, it was time to relax and enjoy the rest of Friday. Keith went to the pub and Sophie and I sipped a glass of Rose and watched 90 Day Fiance. There was no fish and chip van tonight, because of the Jubilee, so we enjoyed baked potatoes with salad for dinner!

The lighting of the beacon.

It's the start of the Jubilee weekend today and although I'm not much into royalty, it is amazing that the Queen is celebrating 70 years on the throne. I caught some of the Trooping of the Colour this morning and have to confess to not knowing what on earth was going on. We do have a lot of pomp and pageantry in Great Britain, but some of it is incomprehensible! I was more interested in spotting the royals at the window, and Kate looked gorgeous.

Sophie and I decided to pop to Market Harborough today and look in the shops, but we didn't realise that many of them were closed because of the Queen's Jubilee... We parked for free and had lunch at the little Garage Bakehouse near the car park. We arrived just in time, grabbed a small table on the pavement, and enjoyed sitting in the sunshine. After we'd ordered, a large crowd of people gathered!

A couple of charity shops were open, and Sophie found a pair of white plimsolls (like Vans) and a top, while I treated myself to a pair of brand new sunglasses for £4! I was on the lookout for a butter dish and a new mug as both of ours had been broken at home. 

It was quiet in the town, probably because some of the smaller, independent shops were closed, and we decided to have an ice cream in Gallone's before heading home. Predictably, the cafe was busy with lots of children running about! It is half-term after all!

We finished our sundaes and headed home via the scenic route. The weather today has been dry with a mix of sunshine and clouds. We're all hoping that the weather stays dry for the next four days as there are so many outdoor events planned!

Back home we relaxed and played Scrabble before Sophie cooked dinner. Unfortunately, tonight was not one of her best efforts -  Gino D'Acampo's pasta which we normally cook with sausage meat - but tonight we substituted the pork with turkey mince. All I will say is that the garlic bread was delicious!

We had arranged with Michelle and Richard to walk up to the village at 9pm and watch the lighting of the beacon, an event that was being repeated all over the United Kingdon and the Commonwealth. It was a beautiful evening with a pinky/peachy sunset sky, and it was great to get some exercise after dinner. None of us had eaten much so it wasn't lying heavily in our tummies!

We had hoped the White Horse would have re-opened but they have been experiencing difficulties, and the re-opening is now planned for the 1 July. They certainly missed a trick this evening as, after a slow start, lots of villagers turned out for the event. 

The Charities committee had thoughtfully laid on Pimms and nibbles, so we enjoyed some of that and listened to a choir singing for us.

The church bells rang at exactly 9.15pm and then the beacon was lit at 9.45pm. It was lovely to think this was being repeated all over the country, and even the world!

It was great to chat with Michelle and Richard and we walked home after the fire had died down. We arrived back at 10.30pm which was a bit of a shock! I'm back at work tomorrow!

Pastures re-visited...

After a morning spent pootling about and catching up with jobs, I picked my Mum up at 2pm and we drove over to Rushden to visit Waitrose for a change. I hadn't been for ages and their cafe had changed, just like the one at Kingsthorpe, and was now called Waite and Rose...

The place was quiet and they had very few staff about, so there was a long queue at the counter. One woman had been abandoned and was waiting for her hot drinks... I think the member of staff serving had forgotten about her! The shortage of staff seems to be affecting so many businesses these days. You only have to read the newspaper or turn on the television to see the chaos in the travel industry at the moment!

We had a tea and a coffee, and I enjoyed a cheese scone before having a good look around the store. Mum picked out a bottle of whisky for Dad and I suggested an orange Gin for her to enjoy in the evening. I looked at buying a bottle of something for myself but didn't fancy anything! I  have realised that Gin can keep me awake at night so I've avoided it, especially the night before I go to work! There were so many beverages on offer, though, and a whole section devoted to Gins, which came in many shapes and colours!

We drove home a different way, through heavy traffic, and it was almost 5pm before I returned her, just in time for her tea. I sped home to wait for Sophie as we planned to play Scrabble before dinner. Both of us are off tomorrow because it's the start of the Jubilee weekend! 

We barbecued tonight, and for once, the weather was dry and sunny!