A little fragile...

Sophie's actual birthday dawned, and she was thrilled with her card from us. I popped some pastries in the oven and we sat in the kitchen to eat them with a coffee. The plan for today was to go with Keith to see Sileby play this afternoon, but mid-way through the morning, Sophie said she didn't feel too good and would rather stay at home. She developed a cold on Thursday night, and it was so lucky she was able to taste and smell yesterday!

I made her a concoction with grated ginger, soda water, lemon juice and whisky, and she sipped that before eating some toast. I think she was a little hungover from yesterday, and I suggested a long bath to clear her sinuses and a nap.

Keith went to see the football match and I dealt with loads of laundry, managing to get it all dry on the line. It's been another glorious day, but the wind is still about, perfect for drying our washing in the sunshine.

While Sophie was in the bath, I read my latest book and the house was blissfully quiet. After her bath and a nap, Sophie said she felt a lot better and more than able to indulge in a Chinese takeaway tonight. I thought Keith and I would be eating beans on toast instead!

We sat at the kitchen island and chatted. Sophie and I have changed our minds about going to Oslo in March 2026, as we did a little research and discovered that it's not cheap to eat and drink in the restaurants. We looked at a menu and saw that normal pasta dishes were about £30 and bottles of wine about £40-£50! No thanks! Instead, we might plan a holiday in May 2026 to celebrate two big birthdays next year, and visit Belgium, France, Switzerland, Liechtenstein (where I've always wanted to go) and Austria again. Sophie had noticed that of the five times she's flown over the last two years, she has been ill after four flights... driving is definitely the way to go!

Our meal arrived at about 7:30pm and we ordered enough to have leftovers tomorrow night. Once we'd eaten and cleared away, Keith and I watched the last episode of Death in Paradise and then turned over to watch BBC2 and some great music to take us up to bedtime!

Champagne and oysters!

After an argument with an idiotic driver in Cut Throat Alley in Holcot, and then thinking I'd left my phone at home, Sophie and I caught the 9:30am train from Wellingborough this morning for our birthday trip to London. We had toyed with the idea of booking a chauffeur-driven car back from St Pancras, but it was proving to be ridiculously expensive! Instead, we paid a few pounds more and went from Wellingborough rather than Northampton, meaning we only had a short walk from The Booking Office to the platform.

We were half an hour early for the train, so we had a coffee and a sausage bap in the lovely waiting room at Wellingborough. Our train was quiet and we had a choice of seats... what a difference to the crowded trains from Northampton!

We arrived at St Pancras and walked outside to hail a black cab to take us to Marylebone High Street. It was a gorgeous day with blue skies and plenty of sunshine. Later in the day, the temperatures were set to rise to about 20 °C!

Our first stop was Daunts Books, where we had a good browse. I bought three books for Sophie as a birthday present, and I looked at a travel book about Oslo, where we're thinking of going next year. From Daunts, we popped into an Oxfam charity shop and Sophie bought a load of tie-dye T-shirts, a pretty blouse and a pair of trousers for £40! I bought three books for £11!

We then bagged a seat near the window in 31 Below and enjoyed a glass of Prosecco each and a plate of padron peppers. They were hot and delicious! It was bliss sitting and chatting and watching people walk by. 

We think there may have been a celebrity sitting at a table at the front of the café as a woman stopped and asked for a selfie. However, we had no clue as to who it was!

31 Below

Spring has sprung!

Easter is on its way!

Our happy place!

After we'd finished our drinks, we popped into Bayley and Sage and Sophie bought a couple of cheeses and a jar of mayonnaise. No sausage this time! We had one last stop in an upmarket charity shop before heading the short distance to Le Relais de Venise: L'Entrecote.

As it was just after 12pm, we expected a queue of people waiting to go in, but there wasn't one, and there were plenty of tables free. A waitress asked if we'd been before - definitely, yes! - and we were asked how we wanted our steaks cooked. Sophie asked for rare while I chose medium. 

We were both surprised at how quiet the restaurant was, but maybe people take a half-day on a Friday, so there weren't so many workers about? Or perhaps all the city-types who work at the Stock Exchange were in mourning over Trump's tariffs?! Who knows?

We enjoyed our walnut salad with crusty bread and ordered a bottle of the house red, a Bordeaux wine made from Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon. Next up was the steak, accompanied by a mound of crispy French Fries in a delicious sauce. Yum!

Empty tables for a change - notice it's mostly men!

The meal was delicious and the steak as tender as butter. We cleaned our plates and had a little rest before we ordered dessert! I opted for creme brulée while Sophie chose profiteroles. We polished off the wine and sat back, replete! No dinner for us tonight!

Although some more diners did appear, the restaurant was much quieter than we were used to. We had no close neighbours today! Sophie paid the bill (she insisted it was her treat) and we ambled slowly to Inn 1888 for another glass of wine and a natter.

London mews and gorgeous April sky

As we strolled back to Inn 1888, Marylebone High Street had come alive with people sitting outside cafés, pubs and restaurants, enjoying the warm sunshine. There was a real air of festivity and a great atmosphere. We couldn't sit outside the pub, so we sat inside next to an open door. We ordered a glass of red wine each and chatted for an hour, doing some people-watching at the same time!

At about 3pm, we went outside and managed to get a black cab back to St Pancras. He dropped us outside the entrance to the station, and Sophie made straight for the Mac store. Queues of people were lining up for the Eurostar, and everywhere we could see passengers dragging suitcases behind them, bound, no doubt, for Paris or Brussels.

I sat outside while Sophie bought herself make-up as a birthday treat. We then made our way to The Booking Office, where we had a reservation at 4pm for drinks and nibbles. The woman who greeted us was lovely and asked whose birthday it was! She made a fuss of Sophie and showed us to a table next to the long wooden central bar. We were delighted to see Rosario was on duty, and he came over and said he would be our waiter. 

Sophie ordered a Negroni Sbagliato - Campari, sweet Vermouth and Prosecco. I was feeling a little tipsy, so I ordered a mocktail called a Berry Garden, which was Seedlip Garden, strawberries and Fevertree Mediterranean tonic. It was delicious!

We sat back and enjoyed the beautiful ambiance of the surroundings. The only fly in the ointment was the two men sitting at the bar near us who sounded like complete prats... oh well!

Sophie was presented with a plate with "Happy Birthday" written on it in chocolate and three gorgeous macarons! What a lovely touch! 

The bar manager (we think that's who he was, he looked very important) came over and chatted to us, and was lovely. He was from Albania and asked Sophie whether it was traditional to treat friends and family on your birthday, as she'd told him this treat was on her. We had a long conversation and he was great! 

At 5:05pm, the story began of the hotel, the bar and the cocktail. The men next to us gathered around the waiter who was telling the story, but at the end, the manager brought us a cocktail over, which was lovely. Sophie felt so spoilt!

We ordered another round of drinks, this time I had the Negroni Sbagliato while Sophie treated herself to a glass of Champagne. Our train wasn't leaving until about 6:20pm, so we had plenty of time to sit and chat and people-watch. For our final treat of the day, Sophie ordered a French Martini, I had another Negroni, and my daughter ordered two oysters for herself! She had never eaten them before and was keen to try them! We also ordered a little bowl of peppery cashew nuts.

I took a video of her eating the oysters, which was hilarious, but she loved them! She has expensive taste! They were served with a delicious sauce, and a waiter brought over a small bottle of Tabasco sauce as well.

The last final birthday flourish was a card from the staff wishing Sophie a happy birthday! She paid the bill, again insisting it was her treat, and we waddled off to Platform 1 where our train was waiting. We found seats easily and the journey back to Wellingborough passed quickly. Keith was waiting for us in the small pick-up area of the car park, and he drove us home with a gorgeous sunset keeping us company. The sun was like a huge orange orb in the sky. It was lovely to get home in the daylight!

I'm afraid neither of us was much good for anything in the evening! It was a case of collapsing on the sofa and chilling out!

Confusion reigns!

Sara texted me before I left this morning to warn me that things had changed at work and I might not be able to access our files and folders. She told me not to worry about the moan report, but to concentrate on the customer service emails instead. 

Our new IT man came in at 9am to help us access everything we needed on the computer, but I had to go incognito when I accessed our emails. It was all a bit confusing, and it will be like this for the next few days until things are sorted out. We also had some of our senior management team in to get them sorted, so the office was a bit lively! Shirley kept asking me questions, which I patiently tried to deal with, but I felt, when I left, I had hardly done anything. What makes it worse is that I'm off tomorrow and Monday!

I left at 2pm and headed home briefly, before going to see my parents. My Mum was very confused when I said it was Sophie's birthday on Saturday and asked her to sign a card. She thought, for some reason, it was November! With the sun shining outside and warm temperatures today, I didn't think so!

I stayed and chatted for an hour before returning home. It was a lovely thought that tomorrow both Sophie and I are off, so no porridges or lunches had to be sorted out! And we'd been shopping as well! Yeeha!

We started the birthday celebrations this evening with Prosecco and nibbles, and then a buffet-style meal. We treated this evening like Friday wine night and watched another episode of Grand Designs, this time with the project a floating boat!

Our buffet supper

A charitable donation

After a mini lie-in, I enjoyed a coffee and sorted out the charity shop donations for my appointment at the Cynthia Spencer shop on Moulton Park. It was another gorgeous, but breezy day, with plenty of lovely sunshine. 

While Keith and I were sorting out the pictures in the garage, Lynn came past bearing information from the Parish Council, and we chatted about the cats. They stray into her garden and tease her own moggy, Cora! Lynn was OK about it, though, but as cat owners, there's not much we can do to stop them from going wherever they want!

We dropped the box of ornaments and pictures off at the charity shop, wheeling it all in with a trolley, which was very helpful. I just hope they make lots of money for the charity. From there, we drove to Tesco and did the shopping for the rest of the week. At least it means we don't have to compile the list tonight!

It was then home for lunch and an afternoon spent pootling about. Sophie was late home again, many due to major roadworks taking place on a busy roundabout near where she works. This is going to be happening for the next nine months! I just hope her journey every night won't be affected!

Keith and I played cards before dinner, and after we'd eaten, Sophie and I watched the new series of Grand Designs. A couple had bought a decrepit barn for £400,000 and were spending another £500,000 making it into their home. As with so many of these projects, we thought they were mad! 

A better day!

Sophie went to the gym this morning, so normal service was resumed. I was hoping for a better day at work, and it was! I was still hectically busy, though, and I dealt with as many emails as I could as well as doing my monthly reports. 

Outside, the weather was gorgeous again, and it's set to stay like this for the next few days. I hope it will last until Friday when Sophie and I are in London to celebrate her birthday.

Before dinner this evening, Keith and I played cards while Sophie prepared a chicken pasta bake that was delicious. After we'd eaten, Keith watched football and Sophie and I headed upstairs with Mooney to watch the penultimate episode of The White Lotus. This has been hugely enjoyable and we can't decide what will happen in the last episode next week!