A change in the weather

Keith took me to work this morning, which always makes the start of my day a little easier. I tried to get as much done as I could before 10:00am, when I would be on the phones again. I had three hours until Shirley came in to relieve me at 1:00pm.

It was manic first thing with about ten calls waiting, so Sara had to jump on as well. Some people seem to think that we have answers to their queries about the new company taking over and what they will be offering! I think we will get a lot of calls next week in the Easter holidays about our general swims that take place at one of the centres we're losing. The Everyone Active website is not the easiest to use, and I learnt that you have to register for an account to see bookings and timetables.

All day, it gradually grew darker, and we were forced to put the lights on in the office, as I couldn't see the keyboard to type! On a sunny day, the light from outside is enough, but we were in for a spell of wind and rain, and we needed the lights on as we neared 4:00pm.

Sophie was going out for a Turkish meal with her work buddies this evening, so it was just Keith and me for dinner. I nodded off on the sofa and then read my book until dinner. Outside, the wind was blowing, and it started to pour with rain. Sophie arrived home at 8:00pm, which was earlier than I had expected, so that was a bonus!

As we were getting ready for bed, the wind was so strong that it made us rush to the window to look out. I was fully expecting some damage to have taken place, but it was just very windy and wet!

Back to the grind...

I knew there would be many emails waiting for us today, and I wasn't wrong. We had about 600 to deal with, and we just can't make any inroads into them. We are now into the last week of our contract with the council, and next week it will be very different. Sara is organising a collection for Sheila, who will be working for the new company as of next Wednesday. When we first heard the news, it was ages ago; how the time has flown by. I have also heard that our grumpy Finance Director is retiring, so that was good news! No more awkward meetings in the kitchen!

I had to answer calls from 2:00pm until we finished, which put a stop to my answering as many emails as I wanted. It was great to escape at 4:00pm and drive home. Tonight, I had no excuse for not cooking one of my favourite meals, liver and bacon, and I consulted a Hairy Bikers' recipe to see if I could get any tips. They recommended rinsing the liver first, which I have never done, or even soaking it in milk to get rid of the strong taste (probably works better with pigs' liver).

I duly rinsed the offal, then coated it in seasoned flour. Keith had prepared the vegetables for me, so all I had to do was lightly fry the liver, bacon and onions and cook the potatoes, Brussels sprouts, carrots and swede.

Sophie refused to eat the liver, so she had lasagne with vegetables. When we sat down to eat, the meal was delicious, and I think the best I've ever cooked!

After the meal, we continued watching Silent Witness, which is very gory. Hmmm! Below is a much nicer image!

A spot of gardening

It was lovely to pootle about today and not have any plans, other than an appointment at the tip to take the rest of our garden waste. Sophie was meeting Laura and her dog, Wilbur, at lunchtime for a walk to the pub in the village, so she would be out for most of the afternoon.

Keith and I brought our appointment forward as we were ready to go by 10:30am. We heaved the huge bag of garden material into the back of the car and managed to get it all in one of the big skips, which was already almost full. The council are charging £69 to empty the garden bin every other week (but not over Christmas and New Year), which I think is expensive. Normally, we would have very little in our bin, so it would be a waste of money! The garden waste skip now seems to be the most popular one at the site! I wonder why!

Back at home, I hoovered the back of the VW and then, when the sun had come out, and it had warmed up a little, I ventured out into the garden to cut the grass. It was very long and lush, so it took me a fair while to get it done, with many empties of cuttings into a big box. As well as mowing the lawn, I strimmed the edges and picked up more branches. I can't decide whether to grass over the whole area, including the former border, or try to plant some shrubs. However, this area is shaded by trees, so I might just put some pots down to add colour. When I finished, the garden looked a lot neater, and the big box was full, but there was still much to do. One job at a time!

Sophie was out the whole afternoon, and she arrived back as I was having a long soak in the bath. Afterwards, I just fancied curling up on the sofa with my book, which I am enjoying immensely. I have never read any of Daphne du Maurier's novels, and had no idea she was such a brilliant writer. I love the original film of Rebecca and have seen The Birds and Don't Look Now, but I'm definitely going to be reading many more of her works.

We were planning on having liver and bacon tonight for dinner, but I pleaded weariness, so Keith reluctantly agreed to have the meal tomorrow instead, but that was the last time we would postpone it! We cooked fish (for Keith) and chicken escalopes for Sophie and me, and I have to say the meal was tasteless. Serves me right!

From the sublime to the ridiculous...

Bird strike...

Sophie and I had been looking forward to our trip to London ever since I booked tickets to see a Georges Seurat exhibition at The Courtauld Institute. Sophie had also booked a table at one of the restaurants she'd always wanted to go to - Roka, on Charlotte Street.

We booked a train from Wellingborough at 9:30am, and Keith dropped us off. We just had time for a coffee and a pastry in Bewiched before our train left for St Pancras. The train was lovely and quiet, and we had good seats.

Just after stopping at Bedford, the train came to a halt. We thought it was to let a faster train come through, but then we heard an announcement that a bird (a seagull, we found out later) had hit the train's windscreen and cracked it. A maintenance team would have to be called out. Sophie groaned because she knew what was coming. We might not make it to London...

Finally, we got moving again, but very slowly, and we limped our way into Flitwick station, where we were told to stay on the platform as a train following us would take us to St Pancras. We all disembarked and stood on the platform. Everyone seemed to be in good spirits, and we started talking to a woman who was going to see her daughter. We could also have taken a Thames Link train, but we decided to stay with the EMR one following us. 

As we stood in the sunshine, the crowd began to move forward, and people told us the train we needed to be on was arriving at platform 3. We all surged ahead, up and over a bridge, and down to the platform. As we had guessed, the train was already full, so we were all packed in like sardines...

We stood all the way to St Pancras, and it was an uncomfortable journey. It was heaven to get off the train and emerge into the sunshine outside of The Renaissance Hotel and catch a black cab. There were a lot of police vans about, and our driver said there were protests taking place today, and some of the roads were closed. He dropped us off close to Somerset House, and we walked the short distance in lovely sunshine.

The sublime...

It was so warm and sunny that we decided to sit outside in the courtyard and enjoy a drink. Sophie bought us both an upmarket ginger drink and a pastel de nata, which we enjoyed while people-watching and soaking up the rays. Perfect!

At 12:00pm, we went into the building and up to the 3rd floor. Another member of staff checked our tickets, and we went into the two rooms holding the Seascapes exhibition by Georges Seurat. It was very busy, but we managed to have a good look at the paintings, some of which were of Honfleur. Georges Seurat employed the practice of "pointillism", the painting made up of tiny dots of colour.

I particularly liked the way he'd caught the light in his paintings and learned that he'd spent summers in Normandy and also further up the coast at a town called Gravelines.

After seeing Seurat's paintings, we wandered into the main rooms and admired works by Monet, Manet, Gauguin, Modigliani, Cézanne and Renoir. The paintings were stunning.

Cézanne

Cézanne

Renoir

Renoir

Deauville

Tourist central

Before we retrieved our bags from our locker, we visited the shop, and Sophie bought a postcard. She suggested we walk down to the river and find somewhere to have a drink before catching a cab to Charlotte Street.

We walked down to The Embankment, and marvelled at the vista in front of us - we could see Big Ben, the London Eye, Cleopatra's Needle and the Shard. People were out, and the pretty gardens, full of tulips and spring flowers, were packed with people enjoying the sunshine and warm temperatures.

We spotted a boat on the river, which had been converted into a pub and had a look, but the place was noisy and crammed with people drinking. It wasn't our sort of thing at all!

From the river, we walked past the Ministry of Defence building to Horseguards Parade, which was heaving with crowds of tourists, and then towards Trafalgar Square. There were several pubs here, but they were all busy, and we both agreed that this was a part of London that we rarely visit. We hailed a black cab and asked the driver to take us to Charlotte Street, where we hoped it would be quieter!

Our journey took us through packed streets where we gazed at the crowds of people out enjoying the sunshine, shopping and looking at the sights. Luckily, Charlotte Street was a lot quieter, and we passed Roka as we ambled down the street. There were a lot of very attractive women sitting by the windows, who Sophie said were probably influencers. Long blonde hair, false nails and thick eyelashes seemed to be the fashion...

The wine bar that Sophie wanted to try was closed, but we found another quirky one called Vagabond. The only visible member of staff showed us how to go about sampling the wines and explained about ordering food. We found a table near the window and ordered a plate of Padron peppers, a bowl of French fries and vegan aioli. There were two rows of wines, all behind glass, where you could choose 25ml (a tasting sample), 125ml or 175 ml. Some of the prices were astronomical: over £20 for the 175ml sample!

We found a Portuguese Alvarinho for about £11 and paid on the pad next to the wine. It was all very high-tech! Our food was delivered to our table by Sophie using the QR code and was very good. The small pastries we'd had earlier seemed a long time ago! It was lovely to sit and chat over the food and wine, and look forward to our late lunch (or brunch).

Maybe one to try if we can find it!

The ridiculous...

Just before 3pm, we walked the short distance to Roka, and we were shown to a table downstairs in the Shochu Lounge, which was a very dark space with tables closely packed together and boughs of artificial trees loaded with blossom above us. I sat facing the restaurant while Sophie could only see me and the wall behind me. To my right was a large party of drunk girls, who were on the point of leaving (thank goodness), and to my left was a table of two young girls who must have arrived shortly before us.

It was like being on the set of Love Island. Never have I seen so many pouty lips, hair extensions, false eyelashes and phones being brandished about. Virtually every table was full of young women, preening, pouting and posing. 

We had two menus on our table, and I didn't realise they were different. I had the standard brunch menu at £58 per person, with an additional £20 for wine to accompany the dishes, whereas Sophie had the more expensive version. We decided to go with the standard set menu. 

There was an array of starters, and then we each needed to choose a main course. We were given a Bellini, and our food started to arrive. First up was a mixed lettuce salad with caramelised onion dressing. We were so close to the two girls next to us that we could hear every word of their conversation (some of which I wouldn't like to repeat). More starters arrived:

Steamed edamame with sea salt 

Cucumber maki with umeboshi and roasted sesame seeds 

Fermented chilli cabbage

Crispy prawn and avocado maki

Selection of spicy sashimi and cucumber maki

Japanese potato croquettes with sweet den miso mayo (v)

Japanese fried chicken with chilli mayo

Prawn dumplings with yuzu truffle dressing

The food was good, but we forgot what we were eating as the waiter had taken our menu away with him! He kept foisting sparkling wine on us, which was fine to start with, but Sophie was under the impression that we were going to get a wine pairing with each course. I had noticed a disclaimer on the menu which said, "The Management reserve the right to stop serving alcohol at their discretion." To me, that meant they regularly had groups of drunken women rampaging around the restaurant! I don't think the waiters were going to recommend a wine with each course!

We made our way through the starters, the cold sushi dishes first, followed by the potato croquettes, fried chicken and dumplings, and Sophie looked increasingly uncomfortable. She had been wanting to dine here for about six years and regularly chatted to her Dr Bawa about the experience. She looked very glum.

We had ordered the sirloin steak and pork ribs for a main course to share, so while Sophie disappeared to the bathroom, I ordered a glass of white and one of red. When she came back, my daughter looked shell-shocked and told me not to go there. Later, she told me it was just a mass of preening women taking selfies in front of a large mirror...

Our main courses arrived and, again, the food was good, but certainly not in the same league as Inko Nito in Soho, where we have been twice. I would have liked a bowl of rice to accompany the meat and soak up the juices.

Our glasses of wine were fine (Portuguese), and I was determined to get our £20 worth, so we each ordered another glass. I had noticed a man of about my age come in with his companion and sit at the bar until their table was ready. When they sat down, they seemed to be a very mismatched couple! He was scruffy in jeans and a creased top, while she trout-pouted and posed in knee-length cowboy boots, a short skirt and a vest top with a plunging neckline. I had been feeling ancient and very country-bumpkinish since arriving, but at least there was one other person my age, even if his partner wasn't!

Our dessert platter arrived, and it was beautiful to look at, but mainly consisted of fruit, half a mochi each (why not a whole one?) and a scoop of cheesecake, which was delicious.

By now, Sophie was itching to pay the bill and leave, so we left half a glass of wine each, paid the bill (with a 14.5% service charge added) and fled back up the stairs to the street. Sophie was bitterly disappointed by the experience and the fact that the restaurant had been taken over by influencers. She told me that some of the words used by the two girls at the next table were awful, and the fact that we were crammed in so closely was obviously a way of making as much money as possible.

Not what we know and love...

We hailed a black cab, and Sophie asked the driver to take us to The Renaissance Hotel, where we could at least have a civilised cocktail before catching our 6:45pm train home. On the journey, we mulled over our meal at Roka and decided to put it down to experience! "It's for the blog!"

At the hotel, Sophie chatted to the doorman as he opened the taxi door for us, and we made our way to The Booking Office. It looked packed... Sophie joined the queue and asked about a table, but we were advised to wait as there weren't any available. A mass of people surrounded the central table where the 5:05pm cocktail ritual was about to start. We had never seen The Booking Office like this, visiting on a weekday as we normally do. It was a different beast on a Saturday evening, and one we weren't sure we liked!

As we waited, I was fascinated by another couple, sitting at the bar. They were in their late 50s, and he kept touching her arm while she gazed adoringly into his eyes. They were totally captivated by each other, in what I would presume was the first stages of a newborn romance. 

We waited for about five minutes, and I suggested gently to Sophie that we give it up and head home. She argued and said we could try The Hansom Bar instead, but they were full as well. We used the beautiful facilities of the hotel, and then decided to cut our losses and leave. As we walked to our platform, we passed a couple having a drink, both engrossed in their phones, and not each other... the other extreme to what I'd witnessed in The Booking Office!

It was very, very lucky that we caught an earlier train, as we later found out that our 6:45pm train had been cancelled. Even the one we were on was delayed due to problems further along the line, and we arrived back at Wellingborough at 6.30pm, much to Keith's annoyance as he'd had to wait twenty minutes for us. Our train had emptied out at Bedford, and we struck up a conversation with a woman who lived in Scaldwell, the next village to ours. Small world, eh?

The rest of our evening was spent discussing the day and relaxing with a drink. Definitely a day of experiences!

Friday... again!

I dealt with the complaints about the removal of the gym equipment this morning and arranged for some customers to have refunds. Doing this just added to the workload, and we saw more and more emails flood in during the afternoon. We did have a thank you email from our MD, though, so he does know what we're going through at the moment.

It was bliss to escape at 4:00pm and drive home. When Sophie arrived, she came bearing snacks, and we settled down to watch the film, Serendipity. She'd had a bad day at work and wanted to watch something happy, and it was a lovely film starring John Cusack and Kate Beckinsale. 

We had soup, sourdough bread and croutons for dinner and then watched the last half an hour of the film. I then suggested we see the second episode of Silent Witness, which rounded off the day well! Tomorrow, we're in London for the day, and we're both looking forward to a day of culture and good food!

I lose my head...

My shorter shift passed rapidly today, as I tried to deal with as many emails as I could. At 2pm, I drove home, briefly chatted with Keith, and went over to see my Mum. 

I found her wandering about in her room, clothes strewn everywhere, and most shockingly, their beautiful bronze statue of a man and woman was broken. The woman's head had been snapped off. How on earth she'd managed it, I'll never know. The television was also blaring out, and I couldn't turn down the volume as Mum had lost the remote. I felt like screaming and running out. 

I saw one of the carers and asked about the sculpture, but she didn't know it had been broken, so she couldn't help. Back in the room, I put the clothes away, tidied up, and sat with my Mum on the sofa, but I was very angry about the broken sculpture as I'd bought it in 2006 for their 40th Wedding Anniversary. It's extremely heavy, so I can't think how it was broken.

It wasn't the most successful of visits, and before I left, lugging the sculpture and the head with me so that Keith could glue it back, I asked how Mum was when I wasn't there. The carer assured me she was fine, so I'm starting to wonder whether her behaviour is just for my benefit... Last week, she was lovely, and we had a wonderful time looking at old photos, but today she was emotional and moody. Sometimes, I feel as if she's punishing me.

I returned home in the gloomiest of moods, and didn't feel like doing anything, and certainly not cooking liver, bacon and onions as we'd planned. I didn't even feel like making my porridge for tomorrow's breakfast at work! Keith managed to glue the woman's head back on, but there is a chip next to the head, so it will never be the same. 

Instead of liver for dinner, we had sausages, and Keith made a batter to make a toad in the hole. After we'd eaten, we watched the first episode of Silent Witness, and it was great, if a little dated!

A date with the garden

I set my alarm for 8:30am this morning  but snoozed on until 9:00am. I felt tired, and I'm beginning to wonder if giving blood now makes me feel weary the day afterwards.

Keith and I had a date with the garden today; he wanted to finish pruning the trees in the back border and I wanted to cut down one of the bushes that suffers from an insect attack, as all the leaves have been nibbled. I helped him with the pruning and a few of the branches fell into next door's garden... oops!

We then cut down the bush and piled up all the branches into a heap to be taken to the tip. I made a start on putting them into our big yellow bag for a booking at the tip this afternoon. I felt even more weary with the constant bending down, so after I'd filled the bag, I asked if we could gather up the rest of the cuttings at the weekend instead, when hopefully, I'd be feeling more energetic! It was also warm in the sun and we sat down a couple of times to enjoy the peace and quiet. I'm looking forward to buying a new bench for the garden in the summer, if we ever get the garden tidied up! I looked around me in despair; the garden looked such a mess!

I had also booked a doorstep collection of bits we no longer needed - it's a great service offered by our council and they collect books, CDs, DVDs, kitchen ware, clothes, shoes and bric-a-brac. I wanted to get rid of a large bag of DVDs that were taking up space in the garage, some CDs and glasses. I made sure they were all clean, boxed them up and attached a label for tomorrow's collection. I also picked a charity to benefit, so it's a win-win!

We went to the tip at 2:00pm and popped to Mawsley on the way home to get a newspaper and something for my lunch. I chose a tin of spaghetti with mini sausages, something I haven't eaten for years and served them on top of a couple of slices of toasted sourdough bread! I put the rest of the tin aside for my lunch at work tomorrow.

I spent the rest of the afternoon pottering about, hoovered downstairs and did the usual chores. We were supposed to have had soup for dinner tonight, but added some nachos to the beef and vegetables we'd had in tacos yesterday and made another dish instead. It was delicious!

Keith and I watched the last episode of Shetland tonight, and I felt a little emotional at the end. I knew I would! We have decided to start watching Silent Witness, right from episode 1 with Amanda Burton, first screened in 1996!

My 48th pint... roll on 50!

I faced another day of dealing with emails... It's a bit like Groundhog Day at the moment! I had a nice chat with our MD this morning when he came in to say hello, and he asked about how customers were reacting to the removal of the gym equipment from the centres. I had added them to a folder to deal with, but the reaction wasn't great! I said that with all that's going on in the world at the moment, perhaps our members need a little perspective! He agreed!

The rest of the day flew by, and I emerged into a beautifully sunny and mild day. Keith picked me up, and I went home to pootle about for an hour before going to Moulton to give my 47th pint of blood at 6:00pm. Sophie waved me off and said she would have dinner ready for when I got home. Lovely!

My blood donation was straightforward as usual, and my carer said I could probably get to my 50th donation this year! Fab! After a little chat with a fellow donor and a Kit Kat, I drove home and joined Keith and Sophie in the kitchen, where dinner was almost ready. Sophie had cooked beef tacos this evening, and the meal was delicious.

Keith and I watched the penultimate episode of series 7, and we won't know what to do with ourselves when we finish it! Look forward to series 11, I suppose, but it won't be the same without Douglas Henshall! We enjoyed the three series with Alison O'Donnell and Ashley Jensen, but I think Douglas was excellent!

A waste of time!

Sophie and I weren't looking forward to today as we had a dentist appointment in Kettering at 9:00am. We left home and arrived nice and early, even though we'd had to park a little way away. We sat and waited, and waited, and by 9:10am, we were both feeling annoyed. We knew we were the first appointments for our dentist, so why were we waiting? 

Sophie went to reception to ask how much longer we'd have to wait, and she was told it wouldn't be too long. Five minutes later, we learnt that our dentist was stuck in traffic and would be late. We simply didn't have time to wait any longer, so we cancelled the appointment, made another for June, and fled back to the car. Both of us were seriously annoyed at the time we'd wasted.

Sopihe dropped me off at work, and I started at 10:00am, so that was two hours wasted, when we have so much to do at the moment. I then discovered I was manning the phones from 2:00pm until 4:00pm,  but at least I was working until 5:00pm today, so I had an hour to try and catch up!

Sophie collected me at 5:00pm and looked traumatised when she got out of the car! She urged me to drive home and said she'd hated the pedestrians and crossings on the route through the hospital grounds! It's something I have now got used to!

Back home, it was lovely to relax, and I opened a bottle of Italian red to go with the beef stroganoff. I think we deserved it after our stressful day!

Celebrating Mums!

It was officially Mother's Day today, but yesterday had been very special with Sophie's afternoon tea and the walk to the pub. I tackled a load of laundry and tried to sort out what pillowcases and sheets we have. I think it's time for some new ones, to be honest!

Most of the morning was spent pottering about, and after lunch of leftovers from yesterday, Sophie and I went to Tesco as I needed to get Mum some things. I'd already bought her a card and chocolates, but I wanted to get her a bunch of flowers as well. Imagine my shock when every single tub was empty! Not one bunch to be had! In the end, I settled for two bunches of daffodils!

The previously good weather turned to rain, and it was lashing down when we drove to the care home. Predictably, it was busy, and I had a feeling my Mum was going to be in a bad mood today. It was just a premonition I had, and I was proved correct when we walked into her room. 

She seemed preoccupied with a woman whom she said had ignored her, and wouldn't stop talking about it for the whole time we were there. We tried to steer her away from the subject, but she was morose and not at all like she was last Thursday when I visited.

We stayed and chatted and opened a bottle of non-alcoholic Prosecco, and enjoyed some chocolate cakes we'd bought in Tesco. It wasn't the best of visits!

Back home, I relaxed in the living room, and the curse of Sunday Syndrome descended again... to chase it away, Sophie and I played Scrabble and opened a bottle of Rosé. It was an excellent game, and it was neck and neck right up to the last tile! I beat Sophie, and she was very gracious in defeat!

Our planned meal of beef stroganoff was postponed until tomorrow, and Keith and Sophie just had a snack. I had enjoyed a slice of Sophie's delicious Victoria sponge cake at lunchtime, and that did me for the rest of the day!

A perfect Saturday!

Earlier in the week, Mike had texted me to say he was moving to Nottingham to live with Abbie. It was a bit of a shock as he had always resisted giving up his greenkeeper's job and moving, but obviously, he had had a change of heart. He sent me a text this morning to ask if he could pop in on his way to collect some stuff and say goodbye.

Keith went shopping this morning, armed with a long list of things to get for Sophie, who was planning a special afternoon tea for later today. Mike arrived mid-morning and gave me a lovely hug, facing our barrage of questions with a grin on his face. He had given in his notice at work and was going to find a job in Nottingham (hopefully). He also told us about his travel plans, and I do hope he manages to get away and see some of the world.

He went and fetched his huge collection of lighters, which were contained in two boxes, and he showed us his prized ones, some of which were like little works of art! I then gave him one of my Dad's watches, which he was pleased about, so he went off to Nottingham in a very good mood! We said we'd visit him when he got settled in and take him and Abbie out for a meal. We're glad that Nottingham isn't as far as Southampton!

Sophie spent the morning preparing for the afternoon tea, making a Victoria sponge cake, and whipping up various fillings for sandwiches. What a treat to look forward to! She suggested a walk to the pub in the early afternoon, and Keith said he would come with us!

We all walked up just after lunchtime and parked Keith on a bench in the community field. Sophie and I had a squelchy walk around the perimeter of the meadow and then rejoined him to walk to the pub.

Perfect for a picnic in the summer!

It was a beautiful day, with fluffy white clouds scudding across the blue sky. At the pub, we ordered drinks and a bowl of chips to share and sat in the window to chat. The pub wasn't overly busy, and it was bliss to sit and relax for a couple of hours.

After our drinks, we ambled back home, and Sophie carried on with her preparations, bless her! Within an hour, she was calling us to the table for Champagne and a selection of goodies! We enjoyed a selection of sandwiches (coronation chicken, egg mayonnaise, cheese and ham with chutney and smoked salmon, cream cheese and cucumber), sausage rolls, Scotch eggs and quiche. 

After the savoury, we enjoyed scones with jam and clotted cream and cups of tea. We had no room whatsoever for Sophie's cake, so it had to wait for later!

It was time to relax, and we sat in the living room and watched Newcastle v Chelsea. Newcastle won, much to our delight! What a great end to a truly lovely day!

Phew! It's Friday!

So, another week has whizzed by, and time is flying because we're so busy! We're now coming into the last two weeks of our contract, and I can see things getting more difficult before we finally exit the three sites. Customers have started hearing about the removal of the gym equipment, which is not going down well! What else are we expected to do, though? It's like moving house; you don't leave everything until the last minute!

In the afternoon, I was asked to send out 1,960 emails to the parents of our junior members. I had to be very, very careful to make sure I bcc'd the email addresses because of GDPR rules! I sent the emails with an attachment (another worry) to forty addresses at a time, and soon enough, we started receiving calls and emails! I was glad we only had another couple of hours to go until 4:00pm!

It was bliss to go home and look forward to the weekend. Keith went to the pub this evening, Sophie and I opened a bottle of Chilean Pinot Gris, and we watched a Danish documentary about a woman who went missing in a small town.

Our dinner tonight was not a success as we had baked potatoes which went very mushy when I cooked them... Sophie and I left ours, and it's put us off having them again. I am known in our household for liking my baked potatoes firm (and my mashed spuds with lumps, weirdly enough), but these were horrible!

The evening was saved by watching an entertaining show hosted by Alexander Armstrong as he travelled around India. An enjoyable end to Friday the 13th!

Good communications!

I have started arriving at work early and eating my porridge in the car while reading. I can also listen to the Easiest Quiz on the Radio again on Scott Mills's show! It gives me twenty minutes of peace before I go into the office and face the deluge of emails!

I was tasked with replying to a particularly irritating customer's email by our MD, which pleased me! This customer had been posting negative comments about us on Facebook, so I was careful in the way I replied to him! Let's see how he responds!

At 2:00pm, I sped home, typed a letter to be signed by Mum, so I could liaise with my Dad's pension company on her behalf, and drove to Kettering to see her. She was having her feet seen to when I arrived and was in a good mood. I chatted with the podiatrist, and when she had gone, I had a very pleasant visit with Mum. What a difference it makes! We looked at photographs and some of them were very poignant, especially one of my Dad, both Grandmothers, and my Aunt and Uncle, all of whom have now passed away. I loved a photo of my two Grandmothers in a pool, laughing in the sunshine. It's moments like that which are so precious.

Back home, I pootled about and did the usual evening chores. There is always so much to be done! After a simple dinner of fishcakes, Keith and I watched another episode of Shetland. We are nearing the end of series six now, and things are hotting up!

A lunchtime treat

I saw Sophie off to work this morning and then sent Keith off to Tesco to do the shopping for the rest of the week. He's enjoying Cheltenham, but he hasn't had any big wins, sadly!

I pottered about while Keith was away, and at lunchtime, drove to meet Sophie to go for a matcha at Costa Coffee on Riverside. It was a gorgeous Spring day with sunshine and blue skies, but it was still breezy with a chill in the air.

We went to the Costa within Next and found the place packed. I grabbed the last small table and asked Sophie to get our drinks and sandwiches for lunch. She came back with two matchas, and my first sip was delicious, but as I worked my way down the drink, it tasted a little bit green! It is green tea after all!

After we'd eaten, we had a wander around the shop, and I was surprised to see so many tacky things for sale. I only really shop in Next for perfume, but there seemed to be some sort of obsession for gaudy peacocks and Highland cattle! Weird! There were some seriously ugly things on the shelves!

I took Sophie back to work and went to get the VW washed at a garage in Kingsthorpe. I had to wait again, but it was worth it when the car was all shiny and clean! Before heading home, I popped into the Aldi in Moulton to get the minced beef that Keith had forgotten in Tesco this morning!

I spent the rest of the day pottering about and cleaned the downstairs of the house before Sophie arrived home from work. Keith and I did the preparations for tonight's dinner, a savoury mince crumble, which was delicious!

"Compact it!"

I had another busy shift, and we're starting to make inroads into the cancellation emails. We have definitely passed the peak now! It was lovely to leave at 4:00pm and look forward to a day off tomorrow!

Sophie had suggested we go and watch Sileby play tonight at the O.N. Chenecks ground, on the Billing Road, in Northampton. I don't think Keith was too keen, but he agreed, so we decided to have beef and salad rolls before the game rather than eat dinner at home.

When Sophie came home, she made the baps for us, and we left at 6:30pm, as parking is notoriously bad at the ground. It's the main home of Old Northamptonians Rugby Club, and the Boys' School is opposite, so we weren't surprised when we arrived to see only a few spaces. I just felt lucky to get one! The car park was chaos!

We sat and ate our rolls in the car and then went in search of the bar. Keith paid £21 for us to see the match, and we asked a grumpy man selling soft drinks and sweets where the bar was. It was up a set of iron steps, with views over the pitches, and was busy with what looked like a committee meeting in progress, and a gathering of pupils from the school across the road stuffing themselves with pizza while their parents looked on.

There was an unappetising aroma of sweaty jockstrap lingering in the clubroom and lots of beefy men wearing club ties. It was all very cliquey! Keith ordered a pint of lager, while Sophie and I had halves of Guinness, and we sat at one of the tables. I contented myself with people-watching while Keith and Sophie watched football on a large screen in front of us.

At 7:45pm, the match between ON Chenecks and Sileby kicked off, and we went down to the pitch. Both Keith and Sophie disappeared to the loo, while I attracted the attention of an old man who asked if I'd ever played football... er, no! He then proceeded to try to tell me his life story, but thankfully, I was rescued by my family, who bore me off to the stand! Phew!

Keith said he felt seriously cold, so Sophie and I sat on either side of him to try to warm him up. There was a nasty, bitterly cold wind blowing, and I looked at the players wearing tee-shirts and shorts and shuddered!

Unfortunately, the game wasn't very good, and Keith said that one of the best players was missing this evening. In front of us, one of the Sileby coaches constantly screamed at the players, shouting, "Compact it!" and "Bodies around!" throughout the first half! He also kept referring to one of the players as "Shag", which was a bit disconcerting! When he screamed, "Quality, Shag!" I wondered what on earth he was referring to!

A few of Keith's cronies were present, and they all agreed that the performance was dire. We decided to leave at half-time as Keith was clearly freezing, and the match was so bad, it wasn't worth staying! We thankfully returned to the car, cranked the heating up high and drove home!

We were lucky to catch a great show on BBC2 with Katya Adler in Europe. It was a real treat to see her in Berlin and visiting the Russian Memorial in Treptower Park!

Shock news!

Today was the last day this week that Keith was going to take me to work, as Cheltenham is on from tomorrow, and he will be glued to the television every afternoon!

Work was as busy as ever, and in the afternoon, we learnt that from next week, all the gym equipment and spin bikes will be moved out of the three centres we're losing. We'll only be offering racquet sports, basketball, swimming and classes that don't need equipment, so that was a bit of a shock! I have no idea what customers are going to say, but I don't think they will be pleased! The end of the contract is getting so near now, and it's going to be a turbulent couple of weeks.

We spent the evening relaxing and enjoying roast chicken, new potatoes and salad for dinner. Keith and I watched the second episode of series five of Shetland and enjoyed it slightly more than the first one, which was very confusing!

Sunday syndrome strikes again...

It's been yet another grey and miserable day - when are we going to get a run of beautiful Spring days? The house was awash with laundry this morning as we changed beds and put some throws in the machine. I also put a colour on my hair, and I was mightily glad when I had finished two hated chores!

We had Friday's leftover Chinese for lunch before Sophie and I drove to the carwash in Kingsthorpe to tackle filthy Olive. Yesterday, I had followed two old Land Rovers that had liberally splattered the front of the car with what looked like manure! Horrible! She was well overdue for a good wash, and I was determined to get her cleaned today!

There was a long queue, and it took us an hour to get through, but she was back to her lovely white self afterwards. Now we just need to take the VW in for a cleaning!

Once Olive was all shiny again, I drove to the care home to see Mum for a little while. She kept thinking that today was Mother's Day, but it's next weekend. The care home has a little event planned in the afternoon, so I'm hoping we can go to that.

Back home, we both felt a bit glum, so we decided that from now on, we'll try to do something cheerful on a Sunday afternoon! We played Scrabble with a David McCloskey cocktail, and I narrowly beat Sophie for once!

Dinner was easy chicken burgers, and then it was time for a new episode of Shetland! We had sneaked the last episode of the previous series in yesterday!

A tale of two towns

After a lazyish start to the day, Sophie and I headed over to Olney to have a coffee and a pastry. The weather was grey and miserable, with heavy cloud cover. We queued to get to the centre of Olney, and couldn't get parked as the small area in the middle of the town was already rammed with cars, even at 11:00am!

We had no choice but to backtrack and park by the rugby club, a short walk away. Our first port of call was JJ's café opposite the market square. Sophie ordered a matcha made with oat milk while I settled for a flat white. I wanted to try her drink first before committing! We also indulged in a small cake each, as we hadn't had any breakfast.

I loved Sophie's drink, so when I'd finished my coffee, she went back to the counter and ordered me a matcha as well. I'm a convert! The café was pleasantly busy, and outside, there was a non-stop procession of people walking past. Olney has become very popular!

After our drinks, we called into the Oxfam bookshop, a second bookshop, which had a very eclectic range, and one of our favourite charity shops, where Sophie spotted a brand new pair of Birkenstocks for just £15! What a bargain! She could hardly believe her luck as they normally retail for about £90!

Suitably jubilant, we returned to the car and made our way to Woburn for the second half of our day out. Again, we had terrible trouble finding a space, and after about four circuits, we were forced to wait for a couple who had returned from a walk and were changing their boots!

We did a short walk towards the grounds of Woburn Abbey, but as the day was so grey and miserable, we walked back to the main street and had a look in Zoohaus. We both spotted the most beautiful leather-lined bar that would look fabulous in the conservatory!

At £1955, as well as the two bar stools, it was a serious investment! Maybe one day!

Amazing homeware!

Before our lunchtime booking at The Black Horse, we crossed the road and had a drink in The Nook. Sophie ordered half a Guinness, while I opted for a half pint of Witchstone, a malty dark beer, which was delicious.

We took our drinks and sat in the quiet lounge, enjoying the peaceful ambience of this little bar. However, the peace and quiet were short-lived when a group of three people came in with a dog and started playing a noisy game on one of the counters. The dog then started barking... We finished our drinks and fled next door to the pub!

We were seated deep in the pub, away from the noisy bar area, and studied the menu. Sophie was tempted to have one of the specials, a ham and leek pie, so I chose the chicken Milanese served with French fries and a green salad. We chose starters of padron peppers and halloumi sticks served with a delicious dip.

The starters vanished quickly, and Sophie enjoyed a glass of Chardonnay. Being good, I stuck to sparkling water! My main course had a hint of a herb about it that I didn't like, and was also very garlicky, so I was a little disappointed, but Sophie's pie went down very well, and it was just what she wanted.

As a treat, I ordered the chocolate fondant on the menu, but it must have thrown the kitchen into a real tizzy as my dessert took ages to appear, with the waitress even coming out to apologise and say the first one they had cooked wasn't up to standard! When my chocolate cake did appear, it oozed beautifully and was worth the wait!

We paid the bill, ambled back to the car and drove into Woburn Abbey's parkland to see the deer. Numerous herds were grazing the extensive grounds, with cars slowing down to look at them. We decided to make a detour to Ampthill to have a look around, and the town was very pleasant with an array of interesting shops. We will be back!

Our journey home took us towards Bedford and then back along the A428. We drove through Castle Ashby, Whiston and Cogenhoe before turning onto the A43 and home. The weather hadn't improved at all and was still grey and misty. When are we going to see the sun?

Keith had been to see Sileby today and was home watching the rugby between England and Italy. We mooched about, and Keith decided to record the football match this evening between Newcastle and Manchester City. I was pleased as I didn't fancy watching football on a Saturday evening!

The end of an era...

My shift passed in another dizzying blur, but before I tackled the emails, I put on the last of our films up until the 31st of March. Our last ever film will be an animated children's film, Hoppers. It will be screened on the 31st, at 2pm, and that's it. The end of an era. I felt very sad, as I've enjoyed working on the cinema stuff and reporting the box office returns. Some of our members can't take it in that we will no longer have the cinema, and I find it hard to believe as well!

Keith and I were celebrating 38 (38!) years together today, and he wasn't going to the pub, so we ordered a  Chinese takeaway and cracked open a bottle of Champagne. Sophie lit all the candles, and the house looked lovely. Our usual restaurant was closed, so we ordered from Brixworth and were pleasantly surprised by how good the food was! Sophie and I chose the set meal for two and tried dishes we wouldn't normally choose. The food was delicious, with enough left for lunch on Sunday.

Sophie and I watched Sabrina, a remake of the original 1954 film, starring Julia Ormond and Harrison Ford, who was a much better choice than Humphrey Bogart in the older brother role! 

Yippee! It's Saturday tomorrow and a lie-in beckons!

A flying visit

I took myself to work this morning, and we faced another mountain of emails. I think we have passed the peak, though, and Bob has been turned off. Customers must now email us directly.

My shift passed very quickly, and I sped home to find Kym already attending to Keith's feet. When it was my turn, she told me about the problems she'd been having with her wedding venue, and how the woman running it had conned about thirty brides out of their money. It sounded terrible, and she was furious! She also kept me entertained with her story about her Hen Night in Newcastle, and not being told what she was doing over the weekend. When she finished, we made another appointment, so I'm dying to hear all about it!

Once Kym had gone, we dashed over to the care home to see Mum, who was sitting in the dining room having tea. I stayed for a quick chat and then returned home to do the usual chores before Sophie arrived.

Dinner tonight was a delicious beef pie with loads of vegetables and a return to Shetland. We have one episode of series 5 to watch, and the tension is building!

Having a clear out!

I had a lovely lie-in this morning, and it was great not to have to rush about as I normally do. Keith had an appointment with the GP, and then he went to shop for tomorrow's dinner as he won't be able to go on Thursday. We have Kym coming at 2.30pm to see to our feet, and she always arrives early!

I pootled about and made an appointment for the tip, for 11:30am. When Keith arrived home, he backed the car up the drive, and together, we heaved the huge bag of garden rubbish into the boot. I made sure I wore gloves and a long-sleeved top! My arms are almost back to normal now, and I don't want the rash coming back!

Just before our allotted time, we drove to Brixworth and got rid of our rubbish, which included our BBQ as well. Back home, I made another appointment for 1:30pm, as we still had a large box of greenery, some electrical items, and batteries. I was glad that none of the stuff we took today went into the landfill skip!

I swept the garage and tidied up a bit, but there's still stuff that needs to be cleared out. We'll wait for slightly warmer weather!

The rest of the afternoon was spent pottering about doing jobs, and I had a soak in the bath. When I undressed, I found bits of leaves and twigs down the front of my top!

Keith had made a delicious curry for dinner, and then he retired to the living room to watch Newcastle play football. No Shetland tonight, then!

A little bicker

It's so much easier when Keith drives me to work, as we don't have to leave so early, and there's no worry about finding a space! I called into Tesco to buy myself a sandwich and arrived nice and early, ready to start another day!

I put my head down and dealt with all the Bob conversations, and then switched to normal emails. We're not behind in terms of age, just sheer volume! I didn't volunteer to go to work on Wednesday, as Keith and I need to go to the tip to get rid of all the garden rubbish. And I'm going to wear long sleeves and gloves!

When Sophie arrived home, we had a bit of a bicker about how much water I'd drunk during the day. I am notoriously bad about this, but I'd had three coffees, a bottle of orange juice (rare for me) and eaten fruit. She wouldn't join us in the kitchen when Keith and I played cards, and the atmosphere was a bit tense all night...

Apparently, Mercury is in retrograde again... I'm blaming it on that!

Who's in, and who's out...

Sara told me this morning that I would have to man the phones from 2:00pm until 4:00pm, as Shirley wasn't able to cover. It was a bit of a blow as we had so much work to do. However, I was resigned to it!

The shock I'd received on Friday was common knowledge today, when some of the staff discovered if they had been transferred to Everyone Active on the 1st of April. To my huge surprise, Sheila had been TUPE'd over... I'm not sure what she'll be doing, as she is a manager who looks after the banking and finance side of the business. She's due to retire in November, which was one of the main reasons behind the decision. So, there were a lot of meetings going on today, and hushed conversations. I already knew I was staying with the company, which was a huge relief!

Around midday, we had another fire alarm, so we all had to troop outside until it was safe to go back in. Luckily, it was a lovely day, and the sun was shining! Some poor people who'd been in the pool joined us, wrapped in towels! 

At the end of the day, we hadn't made much inroads into the emails, so tomorrow it will be more of the same old, same old!

Lazy Sunday

In complete contrast to yesterday, today has been very lazy, which is just what we planned! We did do laundry, and we washed up the last few glasses from yesterday evening, but it was lovely to potter about and relax. The house was clean, supper tonight was simple, and both Sophie and I would be busy back at work tomorrow. I had sneaked a peek at the work emails and was horrified to see so many coming in. I knew I'd be in for a busy week!

In the evening, Sophie and I played Scrabble, and she made us both Mexican Mule cocktails with the last of the Tequila and ginger beer. They were delicious! She beat me at the game, though!

Spring is finally here (the meteorological Spring, anyway!), and we said we'd have to use the conservatory more often. I have put my bed throw over the sofa, and it looked cosy and inviting. A perfect place to sit and read on a Sunday afternoon in the future!

Dinner was cold meats and cheeses, and then it was time for an episode of Shetland before an early night. The working week beckons!