A close call!

Sophie and I popped over to Tesco at  Kettering this morning as she had an appointment for an eye test at Vision Express within the supermarket. I left her to it and did some shopping, buying a lovely loaf of bread for lunch, garlic, a wedge of Comté cheese, and a bottle of Blanquette de Limoux, which was recommended on this morning's Saturday Kitchen Best Bites. I also hunted in vain for fresh ginger but had to buy a jar instead. Before we'd left, we'd prepared a paste for tonight's Thai Green Curry, and the ginger we had in the cupboard was well past its best!

I took the shopping back to the car and sat in Costa with a flat white to wait for Sophie. When she finished, she said she needed new glasses, so we went to choose a pair. She had fun trying on different styles, including a pair that matched the colour of her hair!

Back home, we finished the preparation of the curry paste and had fish finger sandwiches for lunch. Today's weather has been disappointing, with a chilly wind and grey skies, and so different to yesterday when it was beautiful!

We busied ourselves by sorting out loads of laundry and cleaning the house. Vikesh came over at 3pm, and he and Sophie walked to the pub for a drink. I carried on pootling about and watched North by Northwest for a while upstairs until they returned. While Vikesh and Keith watched the England game, Sophie and I sat and played cards, nibbled on cheese, and sipped the French sparkling wine I'd bought this morning. It was delicious!

Pretty in Pink!

We were stunned when Slovakia took the lead in the football, but very pleased when England equalised! This meant it went to extra time, so we had to delay the dinner! There was a huge cheer in our house when England took the lead in extra time and won the match! We're through to the quarter-finals!

Vikesh didn't stay for dinner, so we ate at about 7.45pm, and the meal was delicious, fragrant with coconut milk and all the spices we'd used. I boiled basmati rice and there was enough left over to make a rice pudding tomorrow. Yum!

After dinner, we watched Glastonbury, intending to see SZA at 9.30pm, but she was late appearing, so we went to bed in disgust!

A Saturday treat!

After our impromptu visit to Woburn last week, Keith had spotted two Greene King pubs, and as he loves their Abbot ale, he suggested we all go today and have a pub crawl around the pretty town. The weather was a little cloudy in the morning, but when we set off at 11am, the sun was peeping through the white fluffy clouds.

We called in to see George at Charity Recycling Milton Keynes first as we had a huge bagful of Pringles tubes (collected over many months, I have to say) and some unwanted cat food (one of his charities is a local cat rescue centre). Rather than take the M1 we went across country and then down the A5. After missing the exit we needed, I had to rely on Trish to get me back to his address and we were all surprised by the amount of traffic on the roads! 

After dropping our recycling off, we headed towards Woburn, via Wavendon and Woburn Sands. We parked easily in the car park and walked to the first pub, The Black Horse. We had a drink here, sitting in the pretty garden in the sunshine. Keith wasn't that inpressed by his beer, which was 5.2% but he was hoping for better things later in the day!

Sitting in the sun!

We were going to be eating at lunchtime today, so we looked at the menu to see what they had available and kept the pub in mind for later.

Our next pub was The Long Inn a bit further down the road and it was empty! Keith was not impressed with the beer selection but had to make do with the ales on offer! 

We sat in the garden and chatted about holidays next year… we wanted to go back to L’Escala again and drive down, staying for a couple of nights in Rocamadour. What bliss!

After one drink we left and walked to The Bell, which was a Greene King pub and where Keith was hoping for a good pint of Abbot. However, they didn’t have it available so we turned around and left!

We decided to try The Nook, which looked lovely but was empty! Why? We chose our drinks and sat inside on comfortable seats… in a little nook! Keith said his beer was the best of the ones he’d tried so far. It was a lovely little place and deserves to do well. The toilets were pristine!

We decided to return to The Black Horse for lunch and found a seat inside. I fancied something different, so I chose the noodle salad, bursting with vegetables and added crispy pork. We ordered courgettes in tempura batter, halloumi and buttermilk chicken to start to share between us. I also tried the Guinness 0% which was lovely and a little sweeter than the alcoholic version.

The meal was delicious and none of us had room for puds today. We paid the bill, a shade under £100, and waddled back to the car in the beautiful sunshine. Sophie wanted to see the deer before we left so we drove into the Woburn Abbey parkland and saw a herd of deer immediately! Two deer had enormous antlers covered in what looked like velvet. They were beautiful!

We drove home and relaxed by lying on the bed for a nap after our indulgences! Keith watched the football and Sophie and I tuned into Glastonbury before sitting in the garden with a drink for half an hour. The weather had turned a little cloudy and cool, so we didn't linger! Mooney came out with us and attacked the grass and a bamboo stick!

A wee bit frazzled!

I had to take calls at work today, so I was a tad frazzled by the end of my shift, as I answered some complicated calls, and dealt with all the customer service emails. I also tried to put on some of the swim camps for the second week of the school holidays. They are approaching fast!

By 4pm, I was more than ready to head home and look forward to a relaxing evening. Keith went to the pub, and Sophie and I opened a bottle of red wine and watched Death Becomes Her, starring the fantastic Meryl Streep, Goldie Hawn and Bruce Willis. It was funny and entertaining!

After dinner, we watched the coverage of Glastonbury on the BBC, which was great! I have never, ever, had a yearning to go to a music festival and camp but good luck to those who do! I prefer to watch the music from the comfort of my sofa and then retire to my lovely bed!

The heat is off!

The heat was supposed to wane a bit today, and it was cooler in the afternoon. I drove home and spent the afternoon doing admin chores, such as paying the council for my parents' care. The council is now, thankfully, sending me regular invoices, which is a relief! My parents have no idea what goes on with their finances, and there's no point explaining to them, which is sad. As they both ran successful businesses, I never thought I would see them so out of touch.

After I saw an urgent appeal on our Facebook page for crisp bags, I decided to sort out some carrier bags that Sophie had brought home from work. They can now go to the soft plastic recycling at most of the supermarkets, but our local charity, ROAR!, collects them and sends them to Terracycle and gets paid by weight. The money then goes to two local charities. I had no idea how many crisps bags we had but after half-filling a large box, I began to wish I'd never embarked on the exercise! Keith came out to help me and he soon began to get fed up as we unfolded several million crisp bags to pack them into the box! The fact that they were filled with the detritus of crisps and even a tissue - yuk! - didn't help! I was mightily glad when we finished and I could sweep up the crisps that had escaped!

It was definitely cooler in the evening, and the temperature went from 81f in the kitchen to a more acceptable 73c! Keith barbecued this evening, but instead of a lovely summer evening sky, we had some clouds high above us, so that was typical!

Sleepy cat!

We took Sophie's car to the garage at Moulton this morning, and before we dropped her off at work, we called into Café 900 for a coffee. It was a gorgeously sunny morning, and the heat was already building. Other office workers were queuing for hot drinks before they started work, and I chose a sausage bap for breakfast.

At 9am, we waved goodbye to Sophie, put some petrol in the VW, and Keith popped into Aldi for some lager. We drove home, and I did all my chores early because I was taking Mum to have her nails done in the afternoon. I was dreading the garage calling at the same time, as it would have been so inconvenient!

Luckily, Glen called at midday, and we picked up the car and dropped it at Sophie's office. He said he'd serviced it, but there was a problem with something (I didn't really understand) and that it would be fine for a while. As we are definitely thinking of getting Sophie a new car, this was reassuring.

We came home, I had lunch, and we reworked our shopping list to help Keith navigate the supermarkets more easily. The Gomes made an appearance and wanted to sleep on our bed, which was fine with me. He must have been shattered by his recent antics!

I collected Mum at 2.30pm (she was waiting for me!) and we drove over to Northampton. The temperature was hovering around 29c but the car was lovely and cool with the air-conditioning on. Mum had her nails painted a pretty pink today and we were all finished by 4pm. I dropped her back off and went home to relax, so pleased I'd done all of the hated chores this morning!

Gomez was still inside and ate a full pouch of food before disappearing back upstairs again! I do wonder whether he'd been locked inside somewhere -  maybe a shed or garage? Whatever, we were so glad he was back!

Keith and I played cards in the kitchen and it felt so warm! The temperature was showing 80f and I felt sticky and uncomfortable. Keith thrashed me while Sophie prepared a delicious paella for dinner. It was almost too hot to eat!

After dinner, Sophie and I walked up to the top green with Mooney again who had a mad time with a pigeon feather and kept chasing butterflies. We left Gomez snoozing... he really must be exhausted!

When we got back, we kept both of them inside for the night! I don't think I could handle any more drama!

Walking the cat!

It's been a hot one today with temperatures in the high 20s! Our office was quite cool because of the number of fans we had blowing so it was comfortable working. At 4pm I got into the car and the temperature registered 35c! Not an accurate reading I know, but bloomin' hot!

Sophie also finished at 4pm today and we decided to walk around the estate and call out for Gomez. Keith said he hadn't seen him at all today, so we were worried, especially as it was so warm. Mooney came with us because we were shouting "Gomey-grubs" and I think he really enjoyed it, miaowing loudly but not coming any further than the middle green.

It's amazing how much greenery and shrubbery we have on the estate, perfect places for cats to hide and keep out of the sun. We saw black feathers on the middle green so it looked like a bird had been killed there. We have another notorious cat wanderer nearby called Kinks who regularly goes missing, much to the despair of his owners!

Mooney re-joined us and accompanied us up to the top green where Sophie took several pics of him in amongst the clover and daisies. He was having the time of his life, rolling around and flattening the grass!

One happy cat!

Back home Mooney disappeared back into the cool of the garden, and Sophie put another application of colour onto her hair. It now really is a rich red!

We had a meal of cold meats and salad and settled down to watch the England game at 8pm. They were playing Slovenia but were guaranteed a place in the next leg of the tournament. This was good because the match was a dire 0-0 draw and there was more shouting and swearing from Keith!

Sophie and I, along with Moon Bums, went for another circuit of the estate and this time Mooney came with us for the whole way. He really loved it so it's something we may do regularly, as in days of old! There was no sign of the Gomes even though we shouted and shouted for him. He really is a little devil!

It was hot upstairs this evening and uncomfortable, but I was snoozing when Sophie woke me up to say Gomez was home at last! He ate two full pouches of food and some biscuits and had a cuddle with Sophie. We were all so relieved! I doubt, however, that it will be the last time!

Gomes AWOL...

Two hours of my shift were taken up with a meeting at work this morning. We gathered in the beautifully cool function area upstairs, and did some team exercises, including a fiendishly difficult riddle set by Einstein, apparently! It was good to put faces to names as people from other centres were there as well.

Poor Sara had been covering while we were away, and answering the phones on her own. Because of the meeting, the afternoon passed in a blur and it was great to escape out into the heat at 4pm. I was glad I'd taken the VW as I could put the aircon on full blast!

We haven't seen Gomez since yesterday morning and he didn't come home last night, as far as we were aware. We leave the conservatory door open for the cats to come and go during the day and lock our double doors at night so he would still be able to get in while we're asleep. We're not panicking just yet, but it would be great to see him come home!

Rescue mission!

Sophie wanted me to help her colour her hair today, and she'd chosen a rich copper red. Her hair is long and thick and we should really have bought two boxes, as I didn't manage to get the underneath of her hair covered... her hair looked OK, but I could have done a lot better, so we ordered another box from Amazon!

She left at midday to pick up Laura and drive to Woburn for lunch. I'd advised her not to go to Woburn as her car sounded a bit dodgy the other morning when she drove to the gym, and it seemed like the engine was going to fail. We have a "smart" motorway section on the M1 now, so there's no hard shoulder and four lanes of moving traffic. Every now and again, there's a layby for emergency use, and I really didn't want her to travel when I thought the car had a fault. She assured me she would be fine, so I waved her off and just hoped she was right!

I pootled about in the afternoon and Keith and I managed to sit in the sun in the garden for a little while. He had to put up an umbrella for me as the sun was beating down and it was hot! I dealt with mounds and mounds of washing, and dried it on the line in the sunshine so it smelt lovely and fresh!

Towards the late afternoon, I had a long, cool shower and laid on the bed to read with the fan full on! It was then that I had a phone call from Sophie to say her car wouldn't start... I said I would ring her back in five minutes and to try and start it again. She did this, but it still wouldn't start.

I hurriedly dressed and combed my wet hair and went downstairs to tell Keith. Sophie called again to say she'd managed to start the car but I told her to stay where she was and Keith and I would drive over. The last thing I wanted was for the car to conk out on the M1! I was just glad it was a glorious sunny day and Laura was with her!

Keith and I drove over to Woburn on our rescue mission and Keith took little ET back while I followed. This is something I hate doing, but needs must! We'll get the car booked into the garage next week to check it out and get it serviced.

I dropped Laura off at her Mum's house and we returned home to have an Aperol Spritz and a good chat around the island before we started dinner. Keith and I enjoyed a prawn salad for dinner, which was perfect for such a warm evening!

A fabulous day!

Sophie had booked an appointment at Steffan's Jewellers today to have her ears pierced, so we decided to head over to the town, do a little shopping and have lunch in a Thai restaurant. The morning started grey and cloudy, but as we drove towards Market Harborough, the sun came out.

We parked near the covered market today and headed to Waterstones first, where Sophie bought two novels and I noted down the titles of two more! There was a young traders' market taking place and Sophie spotted a beautiful silver ring which fitted on her thumb. She was delighted! We popped into several charity shops and Sophie found two exquisite little glasses, a dress and a pair of jeans. Another good haul today!

By 1pm, we were more than ready for lunch and walked to The Little Thai restaurant on the main high street. Two other tables were occupied and we took our seats and looked at the lunchtime menu. I chose the Thai Yellow curry with a side order of satay chicken, while Sophie opted for the Massamun curry with spring rolls. We shared a large bottle of Chang beer and munched on delicious prawn crackers while we waited for our food.

The food was utterly delicious and I've come to realise I love the flavours of Thai food. My curry was full of chicken, onions and potatoes in a gorgeous curry sauce of coconut. Mmmm! My chicken satay was equally good and served with peanut sauce. Sophie also loved her dish and we said we'd definitely be back again! We even found room for puds - vanilla cheesecake for Sophie and banana fritters for me. Yum! The bill came to a reasonable £60 with a tip included.

We walked the short distance to Steffan's and waited while two little girls were having their ears pierced. We chatted with the young lad who was working on the counter and he gave Sophie prices for studs. They started at about £40 but she had been looking at ones that were over £90! They were tiny! As she wanted two piercings, it was looking a bit expensive!

Finally, the little two girls had their ears pierced and the mum was happy. Sophie took a seat on a high chair and chatted to the woman carrying out the piercing. She was dubious that Sophie had room on her ears for two, so they settled for just one extra piercing. I sat on a comfortable seat with wedding rings spread out before me and we were offered a glass of Prosecco. I declined but Sophie enjoyed a glass after her ears had been pierced. She said it hadn't hurt at all and things have definitely moved on from when I had mine done decades ago! The staff had been great and very friendly and welcoming so it was a lovely experience.

We had a look in the PDSA charity shop and then decided to have one last peek in The Attic before going home. However, the shop was closed so we ended up in Duncan's shop for a wine tasting! We were in there for almost an hour and tried a white, a Rosé and an Italian Syrah. We chatted with Megan as Duncan was busy with other customers, and she said that business had been tough this year, mainly due to Brexit and the cost of living crisis. We had a look at the wines, bought two bottles of beer and a cider as gifts for the men, and Sophie tasted an "Aperol" Spritz made from an Italian Vermouth which she said was delicious. We also had a good chat with Duncan and I reminded him that I'd worked for him over twenty years ago! Where had the time gone?!

We also discussed whiskies and Duncan said a new distillery had opened on Skye, in the south of the island, whereas Talisker is in the north. Maybe, next time we visit I'll have a sample of a good Scottish dram!

As we'd paid for parking until 4pm, we hurriedly paid for our purchases and staggered off back to the car. It was still beautifully warm and sunny, and driving through our gorgeous countryside was wonderful. We took the scenic route and enjoyed seeing swathes of bright red poppies growing in the fields amongst the crops. Back home, I have to confess to having a nap on the bed with Sophie and a sleepy Gomez curled up between us. Heaven!

Keith enticed us downstairs and we played cards before retiring to the living room to watch the last half of Bridget Jones, and then continuing with Bridget Jones: Edge of Reason. Sophie and I had a cocktail (well, she had three while I moved on to wine) and some nibbles. After the film, we watched two hours of Fleetwood Mac in concert in Boston, and then some of the music festival coming from the Isle of Wight. Sophie was very merry and danced around the living room singing her head off. It had been a very good day!

Fresh meat!

We had Sharon training with us at work and this all fell to Sara to do as Sheila was on annual leave, and Jo doesn't work on a Friday. Sara was determined to get her to answer the phone today, and she did quite well for a newbie! The shift passed very quickly and it was bliss to leave at 4pm and go home. The car was hot inside, but it soon cooled down when I switched the air conditioning on! 

Sophie and I indulged in a bottle of Champagne this evening and we're determined to get this back on track over the summer! We also had nibbles and sat and watched Life After Life because Sophie had just finished the novel, which she enjoyed immensely.

Keith came home from the pub, we enjoyed fishcakes and potato wedges for dinner, and he disappeared upstairs while we carried on watching the drama on television. There is so much sport on television at the moment (football, cricket, tennis at Queens) and it was great to see something different for a change!

Looking back

My shift at work passed quickly and after getting home and changing, I went over to see Mum and Dad. The weather has improved over the last couple of days and today it felt a lot warmer than of late. It's due to get hotter in the early part of next week, but not thankfully the kind of heat being experienced in Greece at the moment where the temperatures are nearing 40c. It's early in the summer, so a little worrying.

We sat and chatted for an hour and I showed them photos of our Greek holiday in 1986. We all looked so young, because, of course, we were! I was 18!

This is one of my favourite photos and I loved my Roman Sandals! Mum seemed reluctant to look at the old photos, but I said we should cherish the memories and feel grateful that we were lucky to have had such great holidays. I am almost finished with the "Holiday Book" I'm compiling for them and just need to tidy it up and format it to the book publishing site I use.

Back home, I pootled about and Keith and I prepared dinner. We had chosen a broccoli and chicken stir fry and we wanted to get all the preparations done before England's game at 5pm. Sophie said that the driving was a bit manic on her commute home as people tried to rush and get back before the game!

The England team started well, but Denmark equalised and it all went a bit downhill after that! Keith spent a lot of time swearing at the television and said the same thing as the commentators! He should be a football pundit!

At half-time, we were treated to the sight and sound of a Spitfire doing several flypasts, soaring up into the beautiful summer sky and then swooping back down again! The game finished as a draw and Sophie cooked a delicious dinner, which we will definitely repeat!

A little different...

Keith and I were out early this morning and headed for Costa Coffee at Kettering for breakfast. The place was busy with people, many working away on laptops, obviously using the café as an office.

We enjoyed coffee, a sausage bap and a toastie, and after we'd eaten, we popped into B&M to buy some paint. I needed varnish for the front and garage doors, white gloss for the bannisters and more white satinwood paint for the skirting boards in the kitchen and cloakroom. I also bought brushes and paint cleaner. Now all I need is the motivation to do it!

Before going home, we called into Tesco to buy dinner for tonight. It's now getting critical that we can't decide on meals, and we wandered around the supermarket looking for inspiration. In the end, we went down the ready-meal route, something we try to avoid, but at least the dishes looked different from our usual fare. Keith and I chose a Tesco Finest gammon hock in a honey and mustard sauce, while we selected a garlic and mushroom chicken dish for Sophie. With added vegetables, new potatoes and mash for Soph, we at last had a meal to look forward to!

Back home, I spent the rest of the day catching up with jobs, and I cleaned and tidied our cutlery drawers, as well as the big cupboard which doubles as a dumping ground. I also cleaned out the fridge and our pantry cupboard to make the shopping list a little easier to compile! It all looked so much better when I finished, and now we can find things!

With all the usual Wednesday chores, the day flew past and the house was looking clean and tidy when Sophie arrived home from work.

Dinner was delicious (if a little fiddly with adding sauces) but Keith and I enjoyed our gammon on the bone and the taste was lovely. Maybe next time we're finding it difficult to come up with something, we'll venture down the ready-meal aisle again!

Our viewing pleasure this evening was more football... Sophie and I sat and read. I shall be glad when this tournament is over!

Hunter Mooney

My morning didn't get off to a good start when Mooney dashed into the kitchen with a live bird just as I was heating up my porridge. He ran into the living room with it, and it was still alive! Keith managed to catch it and put it outside, but I fear that the shock probably killed it. Mooney let out a series of deep-throated yowls as he kept looking for it! We thought that Gomez would be the better of the two at hunting, but Mooney has caught far more.

Work was more stressful today because of visitors in the office, and the noise level was a lot higher. It was bliss to get home and relax! Sophie went out for a meal straight from work with a couple of colleagues, so Keith and I sat in the kitchen and played cards before dinner. He told me that Mooney had caught another bird later in the day and was playing with it in the garden. I noticed blue tits feeding their young in our gravel garden this evening so I hope they'll stay safe.

Sophie came home at about 8pm and we sat and chatted while Keith watched yet another football match!

Cup calamity!

I really did not want to get up this morning, and Sophie woke me in the middle of a dream so it took me ages to feel conscious!

Work passed very quickly and our office was lovely and quiet. I had a bit of excitement when the bottom of my coffee cup fell out after I washed it...

It was a good job it didn't happen when it was full of hot coffee!

When Sophie returned home this evening, we sat in the garden with a drink, which was the highlight of my day. Sophie is adamant that a neighbour has installed a cat repellent as she can hear a high-pitched noise every now and again. Keith and I just cannot hear it at all. If it's true then it's a bit disappointing but there's not a lot we can do. We have no control over where the cats go and although I'd hate to think of them using nearby gardens as toilets, we're not prepared to stop them going out.

While we sat outside, Keith watched the football. I remember him saying, "I'm not going to watch the Euros... I have no interest in the games." Ha! I think he has watched every one!

Off to the coast!

We left for Southampton at 9am this morning and had an excellent journey down to the coast, stopping at Tot Hill Services for a McDonald's breakfast, as a treat. The weather was lovely and the traffic was free-flowing even when we reached the tricky bit going from the A34 to the M3.

I was able to park on the street outside Mike and Abbie's flat, which was a bonus as I didn't have to negotiate the tight corner into their rear car park. First up was a cuddle with an enormous Hugo who was happy to be passed around!

He was so heavy but lovely and cuddly! After a chat about Mike and Abbie's future plans (which include travel to Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam) we drove to Romsey for a drink. Luckily, the weather was still sunny and dry, and it was lovely to walk around the charming little town.

We had a drink in one pub and had a good chat about what we were all up to. Abbie has managed to secure a physiotherapy position in Nottingham and starts in November, so it's another change of scene for them both. We told them about going away for Christmas, which I had been dreading, but they both accepted it calmly! 

After a couple of drinks, we headed for another pub, with Sophie, Abbie and me calling into a charity shop on the way for a browse. Sophie found two unusual tiles that would look great in her bedroom.

At the pub, Keith and Mike were sitting inside, but people were able to sit in the sunny garden area outside and watch the football this afternoon.

From Romsey, we headed back in the direction of Southampton and found our pub for lunch, The Chilworth Arms. It was packed with people celebrating Father's Day and we were seated apart from the main dining room, so a little quieter.

We had a special Father's Day menu to choose from and four of us opted for the chipotle sticky chicken to start, while Mike had squid. Keith and Sophie chose a roast for a main course, Abbie and I opted for the fish and chips, while Mike had a dirty burger.

Our starters were delicious but I was disappointed with my fish and chips. Although the batter was lovely and crisp, it lacked taste. Keith was astounded at the size of his three-roast lunch! His Yorkshire pudding was huge!

He gamely made his way through his meal but he couldn't finish it, much to the delight of Mike who scoffed the lot! He hadn't been happy with his burger so I was glad he enjoyed the rest of Keith's roast meat and vegetables!

For dessert, both Keith and Mike decided to substitute their pud (it was a three-course set menu) for a cocktail. Naturally, they decided to have an Old-fashioned, but when the waitress came to take their order she said they'd "run out." How can you run out of a cocktail? Surely the pub stocked all the ingredients? Reluctantly, Keith and Mike were forced to have a Passionfruit Martini, a.k.a. a Pornstar Martini, much to the mirth of us all! I never thought I'd see the day when Keith chose a cocktail!

Sophie and I chose a much more sensible dessert, a chocolate brownie with ice cream. Delicious!

When we asked for the bill, we sent it back as they had charged us for two drinks we never received and they hadn't taken our £25 deposit off either! Huh! It'll take a lot to get one over on us!

We left the pub and headed back to Southampton to visit The Witches Brew for a last drink. Overhead, large grey clouds were gathering and I hoped it wouldn't rain on the way home! We parked easily and walked up to the quirky pub which was empty. I chose a stout and the rest of the beers were pulled straight from the barrel so looked a bit flat. It's quite sad that this will be our last time visiting Southampton as Mike and Abbie will be moving in August.

We dropped them both off at the flat and headed home as it was 6pm. Our journey was fine and although the traffic was a little heavier we made better time on the way home, and avoided the rain!

I managed to get Keith home just in time for the England-Serbia game at 8pm. Result!

April showers... in June!

We have had April weather today - heavy downpours and then bouts of brilliant sunshine, with the odd thunderstorm thrown into the mix!

I went to see my Dad this morning as we are going to Southampton to see Mike and Abbie tomorrow. I gave him his gifts - a new shirt and a bottle of wine - and stayed to chat. When I came out it was pouring again! I think I'll start researching how to build an ark!

Back home, Sophie had hoovered and was getting ready to see Vikesh. He was bringing Greek wraps around for us for lunch, and then they were going to brave the weather and walk to the pub. Our village has an Open Garden event on today and luckily it didn't start until 2pm, as we had a terrific thunderstorm at about 1pm that sent Mooney scuttling back into the house!

I sat with Vikesh and Sophie while we ate our wraps which were stuffed with chicken and salad and then waved them off. By now, the sun had come out and it was beautiful! I spent the afternoon trying to get my "Holiday Book" finished. I'm hoping it will be something lovely for my parents to look at and remember the fabulous holidays we went on, and I just need to upload it to a book publishing site.

Sophie came back and relaxed upstairs before coming down and making us delicious Negronis with the last of the Gin. We played cards and Sophie made a delicious dinner of beef stroganoff, served with rice and garlic bread. The wine we enjoyed, a Cotes du Rhone that we'd bought in Vacqueyras, was gorgeous which is always the case when you can't get another bottle easily!

Keith and I watched the golf all evening and I had plenty of glimpses of my favourite player, Bryson de Chambeau. He was playing very well, too!

A summer of sport

We had Denise help out today as Shirley was still on hols, so I was able to get on with the emails and write some more of the moan report. It was lovely in the office, as there were only three of us working, so a quiet end to the week!

Keith went to the pub this evening and Sophie and I sipped red wine and enjoyed some nibbles. We both said that our Special Wine Night has fallen by the wayside, so we're going to resurrect it next week! We watched another excellent documentary about a footballer who was living a double llife, something that only came to light when he died in a car crash.

And talking of football, the Euros start today with Scotland playing the hosts Germany. We have a summer of sport ahead of us: the Euros, Wimbledon, the Olympics, plus lots of other events to watch. I'm looking forward to Wimbledon and the Olympics and also, The Tour de France. This weekend is the US Open and I'll be watching that over the weekend!

We caught some of the football later in the evening and saw Scotland get defeated 5-1. Oh dear! I really don't think that England will do much better!

Not the best of meals!

I had a busy shift at work and it was great to look forward to going home at 2pm and relaxing. I hadn't anything planned this afternoon and felt a little weary, to be honest! 

The weather was gloomy and wet - what has happened to our summer? On the news, it said that this time last year, temperatures were hovering around 30c! I know of some people who have put their heating on at night to keep warm!

I sat with Keith on the sofa, and Mooney Bums joined us and was surprisingly affectionate! He never normally sits with us, preferring to lie on the Istanbul rug that Sophie brought home instead. He curled up next to us and was very loving! He can be like this when he wants food and has mastered the art of cupboard love!

Before Sophie came home, I busied myself with the jobs that needed doing. Unfortunately, dinner this evening was a bit of a disaster... I had suggested a chicken bake with bone-and-skin-on thighs and roasted vegetables, and I made my own marinade from honey, lemon juice, garlic and mustard. It smelt lovely while it was cooking but all of us agreed it wasn't my finest meal! The skin wasn't as crispy as I wanted and Sophie picked at it as she hates to eat chicken with bones! I am heartily sick of roasted vegetables, to be honest, and deciding what to eat every night is becoming a real chore!

A spot of gardening

This morning was spent pootling about and catching up with jobs, as is usual on a Wednesday. It was good to have a little lie-in and a relaxing morning. I did manage to get out into the garden and cut the grass as we had a spell of dry weather! I put more grass seed down and pottered about weeding and tidying everything up. The countryside is looking so green because of the rainfall we've had lately. All the verges have long grass and everything is growing so quickly!

In the afternoon I collected Mum and we popped into Tesco. We enjoyed a coffee first and then she bought some toiletries while I chose gifts for Dad and Keith, from Sophie. The supermarket was very quiet indeed, which was a bonus. I'm glad  I hadn't left buying gifts until Saturday!

I dropped Mum off and returned home to help Keith with the shopping list and do the usual chores. It was great when Sophie arrived home and we could relax and watch another episode of Come Dine With Me!

Two days in one

Monday

The first two working days of the week have been uneventful, so not a lot to report. I was busy with emails, and we had a new woman in to see how we worked, with the expectation that she'll take on a couple of shifts to help out. At first, she was a bit bemused and didn't realise how much goes on behind the scenes of running a gym and leisure company!

After a dinner of cottage pie this evening, Sophie took us through her Summer Solstice quiz to see how we did. It was fascinating to try and answer the questions, most of which I guessed! There doesn't seem to be much sign of the summer this year, though, and it's forecast to be chilly and wet for the next few days.

Tuesday

Our office was noisy today, which it often seems to be on a Tuesday. I dealt with all the emails and tried to do some more work on the moan report. As soon as it's done I will be so relieved! 

The cats joined us in the living room early this evening, as outside it was pouring with rain. Gomez came in and was soaked to the skin and I managed to dry him carefully with an old tea towel. I realise he doesn't like anything thrown over his head and I suspect that he was caught like this once, before he came to live with us. As soon as they'd had their dinner, both cats indulged in a long grooming fest to dry their fur.

Keith and I watched Springwatch after dinner, and the cats were fascinated by the birds on the screen, especially the webcams where there were close-ups of the baby birds! Thankfully, they were on the screen so safe from our hunter cats!

Missed meetings...

I came downstairs this morning to find both cats had eaten their breakfast and gone out, so Gomez must have been OK after his dramatic jump last night. It's something that we will definitely learn from, though, and make sure the bedroom doors are closed if we leave the windows open!

We heard the very sad news that Dr Michael Mosley had been found dead on the Greek island where he was holidaying with his wife. He had gone on a walk and she had reported him missing when he didn't return. It was the news everyone was dreading, and I felt so sorry for his wife and family.

The sunny skies gave way to clouds later in the morning, and Sophie and I went over to see Mum and Dad for an hour. However, when we opened their door, they weren't there! I checked the activity timetable to discover they were probably taking part in carpet bowls, so we returned home. Sophie needed petrol in her car and we drove to the garage in Moulton to fill up.

Back home, we reheated the leftover Chinese meal from last night for lunch and then pootled about, doing mounds and mounds of laundry, and cleaning upstairs. I saw an advert for The Cat Show taking place at the NEC in Birmingham in September, so I booked Sophie and me tickets to go! It's just a pity we can't take Gomez and Mooney!

By 5pm, we were ready for a cocktail and a game of Scrabble! Sophie made us both a Negroni and for our second drink, she added Prosecco. The drinks were delicious!

Dinner tonight was a very easy array of cold meats, salad, new potatoes and nibbles. After we'd eaten we decided to watch Notting Hill, which was great to see again!

"Catman!"

I woke up at about 8am this morning, but managed to fall asleep again! I had had two late nights, so that's my excuse! Sophie had an appointment at the beauty salon at 10am, so I said I'd go with her and drive. She was only in the salon for a few minutes to have a bikini wax, and we left to go back home to have another coffee and breakfast.

On the way, we could see a big, black cloud in the distance and the heavens opened as we drove along the A43. The temperature dropped from about 17c to 11c... brrr! We had sunshine and showers for the rest of the day and it was on the cool side! Not really June weather!

Sophie went out for lunch with Laura and Daisy, and they went to The Telegraph in Moulton, so very local to all three of them. I pootled about and didn't do a lot, except hoover, mop the conservatory and kitchen floors and dust the living room. I also cleaned the windowsills in the conservatory which had little brown spots on them. Is it fly poo? Whatever it was, it was horrible and our sunny room has been taken over by bees, flies and spiders. I expect it's because the door is open all the time to let the cats in and out.

At 3pm Keith and I both sat and watched the Rugby final between Northampton Saints (yay!) and Bath. I have to admit to dozing off in the second half, and I woke up to find that the Saints had won! Yippeee!

Sophie texted me to say she was going straight from the pub to see Vikesh, who is off to Florida tomorrow with his company for a works jamboree, lucky thing! Oh to be in Florida in June! Blue skies and endless sunshine!

Sophie arrived home and we ordered a Chinese takeaway for dinner. Sophie's lunch hadn't been that good - the pub offered just a breakfast/brunch menu when the girls were looking forward to sandwiches and salad. They asked if they could order off the normal menu so Sophie opted for a Caesar salad and chips. Consequently, she was definitely up for a Chinese meal!

The food arrived at 7.15pm and after we'd eaten, I suggested another film on Amazon Prime called The End We Start From. It starred Jodie Comer of Killing Eve, and I'd wanted to see it when it came out in cinemas. I'm glad I only paid £1.99 for it, as it was a bit strange and rather far-fetched in my opinion! Keith had gone upstairs to watch cricket as it definitely wasn't his kind of film!

When it finished, we went back onto normal television to find Skyfall on ITV. It had just got to a dramatic part of the film where Bond rescues Judi Dench from the mad, blond villain, Raoul Silva when we had an almighty shock... The cats had been in all night, which was a bonus, and Gomez wanted to go upstairs. He was closely followed by Mooney and we could hear them chasing each other along the landing and into Sophie's bedroom. Then I heard a loud thud, and Sophie screamed as she saw one of the cats flying past the living room window... he had obviously jumped or had fallen out of Sophie's open bedroom window.

We went running outside and Sophie was screaming and crying, but we didn't know which cat it was... I expected one of two things, to be honest... either a dead cat under the bushes or one who was injured after a fall like that. Sophie was sobbing her heart out, but then she spotted Mooney in the hallway. I took her phone and started scrabbling about in the bushes using the torch and trying to see if Gomez was injured. It was then that she spotted him coming down the driveway as if nothing had happened! The relief was enormous! 

He wouldn't come anywhere near us and disappeared into the bushes opposite, which made me worry that he was hurt internally. However, after a while, he appeared again and seemed to be absolutely fine. We had great difficulty getting him in as he kept coming near us and then having a mad minute and running away. I dread to think what the neighbours thought we were up to as it was now almost 11pm!

Eventually, Sophie managed to grab him and brought him into the house where we checked him all over. He was fine, thank goodness, but Sophie said she'll never get the sight of him flying past the window, legs outstretched and tail aloft, out of her mind! He's now been renamed, "Catman!"

Friday at last!

I was definitely glad today was Friday and I was looking forward to the weekend and a couple of lie-ins! Sophie didn't go to the gym this morning after our late night last night (it was past 11pm when we got to bed), so we sat and had a coffee before getting ready for work.

I was answering calls today because Shirley was on annual leave, but the phones weren't too bad. I dealt with all the emails in between calls so the time flew by. At 4pm I sped home to relax after a busy week. Sophie also finished at 4pm and, after a quick chat about our respective days, went to get ready for an evening out with Laura at their favourite pub in Yardley Hastings.

Keith went to the pub, so I had an hour to myself. I actually curled up on the sofa and read my latest book in peace and quiet. Bliss! When Keith arrived home we had a simple dinner of fishcakes and mashed potatoes, and then I went upstairs to watch the film, Wicked Little Letters starring Olivia Colman. I'd wanted to see it when it first came out, and I enjoyed it tremendously! 

Sophie rolled in at almost 11pm but had had a great night catching up with Laura. I'd managed to get both cats in so that pleased her! They were both curled up on the footstool and had great cuddlies!

An evening of laughter

This morning's news on the BBC was full of the 80th Anniversary of D-Day and it was great to see presenters in Arromanches and at the British-Normandy Memorial at Ver-sur-Mer. When we stumbled upon it in January, we hadn't even realised that this year it would be the 80th Anniversary, and watching the people gathering for the event made me feel very emotional. In our village, there will be a lighting of the beacon this evening, and I can remember going to The Royal Oak in Walgrave in 1994 for the 50th Anniversary!

I had a busy shift at work and left at 2pm to head home. Sophie left at the same time as this evening we were going to see Sam Campbell at Leicester's De Montfort Hall. We planned on driving to the city, parking behind The Golden Mile and doing some shopping before having an early dinner at Bobby's.

We had a lovely journey through the sunlit countryside and arrived in good time. The car park was empty, but we had to download an app to pay £2 for 24-hour parking. We went to a nearby supermarket first and bought some goodies, before heading across the road to Sharmilee for samosas and barfi. Next was the cellar shop where Sophie bought some pretty bowls for Laura and Daisy, and a sieve for cocktails.

We arrived at Bobby's at 5pm, perfect for an early dinner before the show. Sophie chose delicious food including the chaat sampler, the cassava fries, crispy okra, paneer tikka marsala, rice, chappatis and chilli paneer, which was delicious and reminded me of sweet and sour chicken. We ordered a Kingfisher beer to accompany the meal and thoroughly enjoyed the fabulous food and attentive service. 

We found room for dessert this evening: Rassomolai which is a milk cake surrounded by cardamom-flavoured milk, sprinkled with pistachios. It was gorgeous! We paid the bill, waddled over to the car park and drove the short distance to De Montfort Hall through heavy traffic.

I'd pre-booked parking and I knew that when we went into the car park nearby it was the wrong one... we drove over to a man standing near the entrance to the theatre and he told us where to go. £10 gave us premium parking extremely close to the building and I was glad I'd pre-paid.

After a few minutes, the doors opened and we were able to go in and have a drink in the lovely area next to the two bars. There was an outside terrace as well overlooking parkland and the nearby De Montfort University (where Sophie looked at going to do her degree).

We had a very pleasant drink and then went into the auditorium to take our seats, which were great with a good view of the stage. Sophie thought he might have a support act, but he didn't and he came on straight away!

We'd only ever seen him on Would I Lie To You on BBC1 so we weren't sure what to expect, but he was completely bonkers! The one thing we loved about Sam Campbell, though, was his interaction with the audience, especially those unfortunate enough to be sitting in the front row... they were made fun of, one man had his keys taken away and then dumped in a bucket containing cereal and milk, and a man a few rows in front of us had his clothes criticised with Sam Campbell jumping off the stage and coming right up into the audience!

He made a lot of use of the giant screen behind him and towards the end of the show, he invited different people up to take part in a silly show about life insurance. The final group were all those wearing shorts, which was hilarious!

I'd definitely go back and see him again as we both laughed a lot (although not as much as the two stupid women behind us who cackled at everything).

It was still light when we emerged from the theatre and we had a great journey home. In Lamport, the beacon was still burning, which was great to see. Our pub was definitely busy with after-beacon-lighting revellers!

Keith was waiting up for us, but the most awful smell of lamb meat met us in the kitchen where Keith had cooked chops for his dinner. Then, when I looked into the conservatory, I saw a black shape on the floor and discovered it was a dead blackbird or starling. Ugh! Absolutely horrible! Not the nicest of welcomes after a long day!

The 80th Anniversary

 Remembering all those who gave their lives on this day 80 years ago ❤️

A little spark!

Sophie went to the gym this morning but left a bit earlier to make her way to a llama farm near Towcester for a work team-building day! When she arrived she Facetimed me and showed me a couple of llamas in the fields! They looked lovely!

Keith and I went out this morning to run a few long overdue errands. I dropped off a parcel at Brixworth Library that I'd originally arranged to have collected by the Evri courier, and we went to get the VW washed and filled up with petrol. We also solved the problem with the tyre pressure icon lit up on the dashboard since our trip up north in February. I just went onto the car settings, confirmed the tyre pressures were correct and it disappeared! Keith was talking about taking the car to the VW garage and getting it fixed! I'm glad we didn't!

After getting the car washed we drove to the Co-op at Moulton and I dropped off four bags of Tassimo pods. I'm glad we can recycle them, but it's a pain having to drop them off at the stores that arrange Yodel deliveries. While we were in the Co-op, a young lad from the local school was caught shoplifting and the staff certainly didn't hold back when they found out. As the shop was full of students on exam leave, I think he was well and truly embarrassed, the idiot!

We returned home and I spent the rest of the afternoon pootling about doing more jobs in the house. I prepared a heap of vegetables for a Bolognese sauce and managed to blow the fuse in the blender because I put too many in for it to cope with. I noticed a burning smell and then Keith saw a blue spark! I thought I had killed it completely but Keith managed to fix it with a new fuse, thank goodness! It was only the third time we'd used it!

I put the Bolognese sauce on to cook slowly all afternoon and we tackled the dreaded shopping list. I also managed to write the blog, prepare the porridge for breakfast tomorrow, and hoover downstairs. Sophie had texted me throughout the day but said that the signal was terrible. She'd been for a walk with the llamas, had a lovely lunch and taken part in team-building exercises all afternoon so she was a bit weary when she arrived home!

We sat and chatted in the kitchen and she made garlic bread to go with the spaghetti Bolognese, which was lovely!

Getting organised!

Today has been uneventful although I did manage to get another couple of weeks of the playscheme on the system as we're starting to receive enquiries from parents who want to get organised for the summer holidays! I can hardly believe I'm saying this, but they will be upon us before we know it, and then it'll be September... and then Christmas will rear its ugly head! How can we be halfway through the year already!

It was lovely to go home and look forward to a lie-in tomorrow. Sophie is going to a llama farm tomorrow with her work colleagues but will pop to the gym first. I intend to go back to sleep!

Sophie had had a stressful day at work so we sat in the kitchen and chatted over a drink, and she made dinner which was an easy one - grilled hot dogs, salad and potato wedges. Simple but delicious!

It's been colder tonight, with dark grey skies and the chance of a heavy shower. I have a feeling we may have a wet and breezy summer this year, but I could be wrong!

Grey Monday

It was back to grey this morning and work was busy with emails. Nicola was clearly suffering from hay fever today and her sniffing was unbelievable!  I'd never heard anything like it in my life! Why not use a tissue?

The office was noisy all day today so it was a relief to get out at 4pm and head home in the silence of my car! I pootled about and when Sophie returned we sat and watched Come Dine With Me. As usual, the episodes we watched were highly enjoyable, made even better by Dave Lamb's narration!

Keith disappeared upstairs to watch football - I thought the season was over... oh no! The Euros are coming up soon!

Above is a photo of my soap collection. I've used the one Sophie bought home from Istanbul last year, and am cleansing with the Spanish one at the moment - Jabon Vegetal - which is lovely and creamy. I bought the Labre's Hope Blood Orange on Marylebone High Street and the Toasted Crumpet one in Weedon on Saturday. Happy suds!

Sun, glorious sun!

In complete contrast to yesterday, today has been beautifully warm and sunny, and we managed to get out into the garden and do some pottering about.

I planted the geraniums I'd bought and Keith pruned the bushes at the back of the garden. I also moved a rose bush against the wall and we tried to train the clematis along the back of the garage. Venturing into the gravel garden we noticed the clematis there had also flowered, which was great to see! We did some weeding and cut back some of the bushes and it looked a lot better!

Sophie went to Castle Ashby with Vikesh for lunch but was home far earlier than I'd anticipated. She'd had a disappointing lunch as Vikesh was worried about his forthcoming trip to Florida next Sunday. I wish I was going instead of him! How wonderful to visit the Sunshine State at this time of the year!

When Sophie returned we sat and enjoyed a cup of tea and an Indian coconut shortbread in the kitchen over a chat and then moved out to the conservatory where we all played cards. It was gorgeous to sit there and soak up the lovely sunshine! A blackbird was going mad in the garden as I think the cats were near to its nest. I had seen a baby up in the rafters of the garage this morning and I think an opportunistic mum had decided to build a nest there. The alarm call was loud and went on for ages as she attempted to distract the cats? away from her babies!

We barbecued this evening and Keith cooked steaks, along with a couple of sausages that had been hanging about, and onion rings. Sophie hadn't planned on eating with us, but had to make do with the leftover baked potato from Friday and the roasted vegetables! 

After eating, we watched a D-Day 80th-anniversary episode of the Antiques Roadshow from both Portsmouth and Normandy and saw Fiona Bruce visit the British-Normandy Memorial! We were there in January!

Out for lunch

Today has been disappointingly grey and overcast; I'm sure the forecast was originally for sunshine and warm temperatures!

We all had a relaxed start to the day with Wordle Off over coffee as usual! At 11am, Sophie and I drove to Weedon to visit the Antiques Emporium. First of all, we popped upstairs and had a coffee and a shortbread biscuit at a delightful second-hand bookstore. Sophie is now into books (hooray!) and is devouring Douglas Kennedy novels, just like me! I love to see her curled up on the armchair in the living room absorbed in a good book!

We wandered around the books, and I looked for an old collection of children's stories I used to have as a child (A Treasury of Children's Stories by Hilda Boswell), but I had no luck. I've loved reading all my life, and my favourite authors were C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien and, of course, Enid Blyton when I was growing up. 

We looked around the Antique Emporium as I was set on finding an antique cocktail trolley and drinks-related objects, but nothing was suitable. Next door, I found a lovely metal plaque stating "Wine Diva... Life's too short to drink cheap wine," which sums us up totally!

Sophie bought gifts for her friends, Laura and Daisy, and we made our way to The Heart of the Shires Shopping Village and did a little more browsing. We'd booked a table at The 1861 restaurant for lunch at 1.30pm and took our seats in the airy dining room. We waited a far while to have our order taken and Sophie looked annoyed that it had taken so long. The restaurant is under new management and we miss the old Darlington's!

Sophie chose a Coronation chicken wrap while I opted for the quiche. Both our meals were served with salad and crisps. We indulged in a glass of wine to accompany our food, which could have done with a bit more chilling. I'm not a fan of warmish white wine!

Sophie was happy with her choice, but my Quiche Lorraine lacked flavour and the filling was a bit watery, with the ham languishing at the bottom. I was disappointed, I have to admit. We decided to skip cake and made our way to Abraxas where I treated myself to a rotary grater, another bar of soap and some fondant baking pots. 

Before going home, Sophie popped into Boots new Sixfields, and the whole area was busy with people shopping. It was still better than Riverside, though! We sped home and relaxed on the sofa, enjoying nibbles with wine later in the evening. A lovely end to a great day!