What a row!

This morning came around far too fast, and I could have done with another day off! Just after I arrived, a painter and decorator arrived to paint the walls outside the office and brought his radio with him, which he switched on loudly! It was a bloody good thing that it wasn't payroll week; if it had been, I would have had a few words to say! Liam came into the office this morning, and I steeled myself for more pen clicking, but he didn't make a sound, thank goodness. He did have a few loud meetings, though, and by the time I left at 4:00pm, I was yearning for peace and quiet!

Back home, I vacuumed again and then caught up with writing this! There's always something to do! Sophie came home and made a start on the beef stroganoff after packing up two more parcels again. She had posted a couple more on her way home, and we decided to end the current listings for the time being.

After a delicious and spicy dinner, Sophie and I went upstairs to watch a new drama on Sky, called War. It starred Samuel West and Sienna Miller. It looks very promising indeed!

Busy Sunday!

We have managed to cram a lot into today, and it's been busier than a normal laid-back Sunday! Last night, we sold a few bits and pieces on eBay, and Sophie packed them up so we could post them today. 

We went to Milton Keynes because Sophie needed to go to M&S for a new sports bra, and I wanted to visit The Perfume Shop to recycle a whole bag of empty perfume bottles I'd been collecting and couldn't bear to throw out. It was the first time I'd taken Celine onto the motorway, and she drove beautifully, something I couldn't say about some of the other drivers who thought it was acceptable to sit in one lane and stay there, oblivious to all around them. I turned on the hybrid part on the first part of the journey, but switched to electric when we turned off the M1.

Parking outside M&S was difficult, so we headed to the multi-storey and parked on the very top level where there were loads of spaces. It must be about six years since we visited, and definitely not since covid, so I was interested to see what changes had taken place. 

Well, Debenhams had gone, and H&M had moved, and some other shops had also changed locations, including Levi's. We headed for M&S first and had difficulty finding the sports clothes. When we eventually located them, Sophie picked out a lovely T-shirt to wear, and then we returned to the first floor to get her a sports bra, which she tried on, just in case. She was pleased with her choice and jumped about a bit in the changing room to make sure nothing jiggled about!

Being in M&S brought back a flood of memories: shopping in there for the children's clothes when they were small, meeting friends for coffee, Christmas shopping and enjoying lunches in the café. I also loved shopping in the Food Hall, especially choosing items for Christmas hampers for the grandmothers. Perhaps we'll go over a bit more often!

We decided to walk to John Lewis and have lunch, depositing the perfume bottles on the way. It was busy, but not uncomfortably so, and it didn't take us long to get to John Lewis, stopping briefly in the Bath and Body Shop on the way to see if I could get a replacement car air freshener.

John Lewis was stuffed with a huge choice of clothes, homeware, shoes, handbags and cosmetics. It really was a shopping-lover's dream, and we marvelled at the items on offer, including special tableware for Halloween and Christmas. We saw Christmas trees on the ground floor, and it won't be long before the festive season is really making its presence felt!

We took the escalator up to the top floor, where the café is situated, and made a beeline for the soup stand as we had fond memories of their Moroccan chicken soup. Sadly, they had changed it to a creamy, coconutty chicken laksa soup, accompanied by a crusty bread roll and butter.

The café wasn't busy at all, and there were lots of free tables. I chatted to Sophie about how we used to visit to buy school uniform for her and Mike, which was near the café, but they don't seem to be selling uniform anymore. I think the standards have slipped a little; there were no napkins, the cutlery was grubby, and trolleys full of dirty trays stood waiting to be emptied. The soup was delicious, though, and filled us up! When we finished, we walked back to the car, visiting a busy Waterstones on the way. It was a good trip, and I enjoyed visiting again after such a long absence. We'll definitely have to go again!

We headed back to Northampton and made a detour to Moulton to send off our parcels, which was very easy. We even managed to get rid of a parcel with Royal Mail as they had a locker, too. From Moulton, we drove to Kettering to see my Mum and stayed with her for a chat. I feel a bit guilty that I haven't spent much time with her lately, but I've been so busy with work and life! It's her birthday next month, so I will try to spoil her then.

Back home, it was time to relax, and Sophie asked if we could have breaded chicken for dinner with salad rather than the planned beef stroganoff. I readily agreed! It had been a busy day!

An indulgent day!

We all had a lazy start to the weekend and enjoyed a couple of coffees first thing. Keith put our new vacuum cleaner together, and I gave it a whizz around the house! It certainly brought up the pile of the carpet, and I was impressed! It doesn't take a lot to please me!

Mid-morning, Sophie and I drove to Market Harborough in Celine. Sophie was able to pair her phone with the car so we could listen to our playlists, very important for when we go to France next week! After parking, we headed straight for Just So Italian and as it was almost lunchtime, I chose a sausage roll with my coffee, while Sophie settled for an almond croissant.

When my sausage roll arrived, it was accompanied by a huge pile of rocket salad and some crisps. I wasn't expecting that! It was delicious, though, and filled me up! From the café, we went to Denham's to ask for their advice about one of my rings and a Tiffany necklace that Sophie wanted to sell. The two women were offhand and dismissive, and sneered when we asked if they bought Tiffany's jewellery. We left and went across the road to Steffan's, where the shop was packed, and the staff were much friendlier! Sophie left her necklace with them, and they said they would verify it and get back to her.

We then spent a happy hour browsing in the array of charity shops on the High Street and looking at books in Waterstones. I spotted a copy of David McCloskey's latest novel, which had been signed by him, and Sophie couldn't resist buying it. I also treated myself to two new books. I haven't read a novel on my Kindle for a while now, and I've gone back to reading proper books, as encouraged by my daughter!

When we were all shopped out (Sophie bought two lovely dresses), we headed for The Wine Shed and managed to get a cosy table inside. We ordered a glass of wine each; I chose a white Rioja while Sophie opted for a Riesling. We also ordered a platter of nibbles and paté and bread.

It was lovely to sit and chat and enjoy the food and wine. A fair few other people had the same idea, and the place was busy and buzzing with locals having a pleasant afternoon. We didn't want to leave, so we ordered a cake apiece - a cornflake cake for Sophie, and a frangipani concoction for me, which we ended up swapping!

A group of women had come in, and I'm guessing it was some kind of hen party, as the noise levels rose a bit, which propelled us out of our comfortable seats and back into the Autumn afternoon.

We had a lovely drive home, and before relaxing, Sophie took Mooney for a walk around the estate. He loved squirming about in the fallen leaves on the green!

Owl face

When Sophie returned, we started watching Anora, starring Mikey Madison and Yura Borisov, who was in Compartment No. 6 the other night. It was a fabulous film, a bit sweary and sexy, but very funny, and we all thoroughly enjoyed it. I was particularly pleased that real Russian actors played the parts of Russians, not people pretending to be Russian! 

We had a late, light supper of fish finger sandwiches and watched BBC2 and hits from 1976. What memories came flooding back!

A good ending to the week!

Liam came waltzing into the office this morning, and my heart sank. He's a lovely lad, but the pen clicking the other day drove me crazy. I had vowed that if he started again, I would say something, and I did... he was absolutely fine about it and said he didn't realise he was doing it! He also asked for another pen to use, so all was good!

I struggled with the cinema at first, but then, miraculously, it all fell into place. I replayed the meeting that I'd recorded the other morning and managed to get Digger, Verity, Tad the Magic Lamp, and Heart of the Beast onto our system, with the resized images on the website. I was so relieved and proud that I had persevered and done it! Hooray! I spent the whole day on the cinema admin and sent off the figures to the various companies, as our contact at the Independent Cinema Office had asked where they were! This was another aspect I had to figure out for myself and decide which report to use!

It was great to escape at 4:00pm and go home to relax. Keith went to the pub, and Sophie and I opened a bottle of Chardonnay and watched Compartment No. 6. As I predicted, Sophie loved the film but not, sadly, the wine, and switched to a Viognier instead!

Sophie and I stayed up late this evening to watch Graham Norton as Alexander Skarsgård was on the show with Olivia Colman to promote their new film, Wicker, which looks a bit quirky!

Early morning frustrations!

I hit a new low this morning when I went to work and discovered that Sheila had ignored the list of things I'd asked her to do and had concentrated on the payroll instead, something I was planning to do today. I was furious, as what's the point of asking her to do things I need help with? She had printed off the corrections sheets, which I wasn't planning to do (there's absolutely no need) and had even queried what I'd done! I felt utterly despondent. She called me mid-morning, and I was quite short with her, which then made me feel guilty!

As the day wore on, I felt a bit better and managed to get a lot done. I am going to concentrate on the cinema admin tomorrow, as I have to master how to put films onto the system! Before going at 4:00pm, I submitted the corrections sheets even though there were no corrections to be made! I just hope I've done everything correctly!

Sophie went out for a meal with her friends Daisy and Laura in the evening, and Keith and I had a lacklustre dinner. He ate one of the ready meals he'd bought, while I settled for cheese on toast. After eating, I soaked in the bath as it's been colder today and we had the heating on for the first time since last winter. Brrrr!

Sophie arrived home at about 10:45 pm, and we had a chat before going to bed. I'm so glad it's Friday tomorrow!

Splashing out!

Keith and I were determined to sort out the en-suite today, and choose the shower, sink and loo, as well as the tiles. Sophie woke me just before she went to work, and I had a coffee before getting ready to go to Wickes.

We drove to Riverside in pouring rain; it was a horrible day and was chilly and wet with heavy grey cloud. We had a look at the tiles first, and Keith was amused that I was carrying a beautiful bottle around with me, my inspiration for the en-suite colour scheme! Upstairs in Wickes, where various bathrooms were set out, I found a lovely shower enclosure that was bigger than the one we have now. This set off a slight bickerfest about the space we have available, but I loved the roomier shower and made a note of the make.

We wandered around some more and spotted a loo/sink combination, but on reflection, I think the sink is too tiny!

Too small? And the cabinet in green.

And I loved these tiles for the walls:

I'm going for a green theme, carried over from the bedroom, which is teal/greeny blue.

Jamie wasn't in, so we left a message with one of his colleagues and asked if he could call us to make another appointment. We have abandoned the idea of a pocket door and moving the radiator to simplify the plan.

Before going home, we went to depression central, the Weston Favell Centre. I avoid going here as much as I can, but I needed to go to the post office to pay in a cheque for the unused car tax on the VW, for the grand sum of £8.75!

We decided to have a coffee and something to eat in Greggs, and we both chose a corned beef pasty. This was a big mistake, as it was so hot that we could barely eat it, and I burnt my mouth. I won't have that again!

After popping to the post office, we bought a few bits in Tesco, and I treated Sophie and me to a bottle of white Burgundy as an antidote to the misery that's the Weston Favell Centre! We sloshed our way home, where I did some housework and tidied up. Jamie called us in the afternoon, and we arranged to go and see him again on the 21st of October. I'm hoping we can get the en-suite plans finalised and everything ordered. I would love to be able to use my en-suite again!

Later in the afternoon, I hoovered, but there is something wrong with our vacuum cleaner now! The brush wasn't turning properly, and the lights were going on and off. Keith suggested we get a new one from Amazon, so we did! We chose a Vacmaster vacuum with a pet attachment, due to be delivered on Friday. Hooray! Our old Shark vacuum hasn't worked properly for ages and makes hoovering an even bigger chore!

We watched the last two episodes of The Little Drummer Girl this evening, and the ending was most satisfactory, even though we are sad it's now finished. I don't think we watched the series in its entirety last time, as I didn't remember much beyond episode three! We now need to find a good alternative!

White Burgundy and the en-suite inspiration bottle!

Frustrations!

I decided to concentrate on the cinema admin today and arranged a meeting with one of the staff from our support hub to go through how to input the films again. I asked if I could record the meeting, so I had it for reference later, but I still struggled, especially with resizing the film stills that had to be uploaded to our website. In my old job, our marketing manager did this, and I have had no training on this aspect at all!

It was extremely frustrating, and I hated that I didn't know what I was doing. I've had no training on Teams either, which I loathe - seeing myself on the screen is a form of torture - and the young man who I had the meeting with must have thought I was a complete idiot as he sent me stuff via the portal, which I then couldn't find. I went through exactly what he told me to do with resizing the images on Adobe Express, but it wouldn't work. I even enlisted the help of two of our younger staff, but they were perplexed as well!

I had a long, hard think about this job on the drive home; I gave up my old position in which I knew how to do almost everything, to go through the ordeal of not having a clue most of the time what I'm doing, and having nobody with me to help. Dan is off sick still, and will be for the next month at least, so I don't have him as a sounding board.

Back at home, I relaxed on the sofa with Sophie, who had a headache and then fell asleep. We left Keith to cook dinner tonight and afterwards went upstairs to watch episode six of The Little Drummer Girl. It was riveting!

A frantic day!

I have had a frantic day doing the payroll, made worse by the fact that one of the centres was late bringing their timesheets to me. I sat in splendid isolation all day, which made me miss my old colleagues! I closed the door for most of the day, though, so I could concentrate!

It has been warm for October today, but this is set to change midweek. I will have to bring out the winter boots, which is not an enticing thought! Oh, how we moaned about the heat in the summer! That's a distant memory now, and the fierce temperatures of France, when it was an ordeal to walk short distances, seem unbelievable!

It was great to leave at 4:00pm and head home. Keith hadn't charged up Celine after he got back from Tesco, so the car switched over to hybrid for the last few miles. Even so, the petrol gauge didn't change!

Keith and I played cards this evening while Sophie read for a while and then prepared dinner, the meal we should have had on Saturday night!

Disappointing dishes...

Sophie's friend, Becky, came over this morning and did a 5k run with her. They walked into the village, ran along the single-track road towards Mawsley, and then returned to the pub for lunch.

Keith and I were going to look at shower enclosures and tiles for the en-suite, but we postponed until next Wednesday. I pootled about doing laundry and housework before going to Tesco, and then to see my Mum in the afternoon. It was not the most cheerful of visits, unfortunately, and she shed a few tears while I was there.

Back home, Sophie had returned and made us a cup of tea. We sat and chatted about her run and lunch, and I tackled yet more laundry! I was just glad I could get it out on the line, but I fear these days will soon be over as it's set to get wetter and windier next week. Autumn has arrived!

Sophie and I played Scrabble in the early evening, and after Sophie had beaten me (what a surprise!) I prepared a lacklustre dinner of leftover Chinese takeaway and a chicken chow mein ready meal that Keith had bought in Tesco. We knew that Sophie wouldn't be eating with us this evening, so I had asked him to get a Tesco Finest meal to enjoy, but he came back with the chow mein meal, an uninspiring pasta dish and a fish pie of all things. Yuk! He maintained there was no choice, but I saw plenty of options while I was in Tesco today! Neither of us enjoyed the meal this evening, even though I had padded it out with some Chinese spring rolls and prawn toasts. I think we will leave off the Chinese takeaway for a while!

After eating, we watched two more episodes of The Little Drummer Girl, and I couldn't remember any of it from when we watched it back in 2018!

Getting things done!

We were due to see Sharon, Sophie's old boss, today about buying a property in France, but sadly she had to cancel because of a family bereavement. We were able, therefore, to tick off some jobs on our lists, and we had a few! These included changing the car for our trip to France in a couple of weeks, and we were hoping there wouldn't be an additional charge.

After a coffee, I changed bedding and coloured my hair, while Sophie put some unwanted clothes on eBay. I also sorted out items to send to Vintage Cash Cow. It was surprising how much we had to send off and everything had been languishing in drawers and cupboards for ages, just gathering dust. All proceeds will go towards some treats! 

It was a beautiful day outside, so we managed to get some laundry on the line and used our new tumble dryer as well, which dried the towels and the bedding very well. Just before Keith was due to go and see Sileby, Sophie made us a cup of tea, and we sent poor Keith off to the village shop for some chocolate! He grumbled about going but felt it wasn't a good idea to stand in the way of two women who crave chocolate!

We also chose three Airbnbs for our holiday to France next September, and one was in the village of Meursault, which produces beautiful creamy Chardonnay wines. Sophie and I have decided to return to the lovely house in Sablet that we visited in 2024 for ten days, and we're hoping the weather will still be warm when we go!

Sophie poured us both a Negroni in the early evening, and the bottle was so beautiful I couldn't bring myself to put it in the recycling bin, so I kept it. It will provide the inspiration for my colour scheme in the en-suite shower room and may take pride of place in there!

Keith suggested a Chinese takeaway tonight, rather than chicken wraps, so we ordered the set meal for three again as we'd enjoyed it last time.  It took us ages to settle on something to watch after dinner, and in the end we settled on The Little Drummer Girl again. We had watched episode one a while ago, so we rewatched it and then the next. It was a real treat seeing the gorgeous Alexander Skarsgård in the drama!

Hooray! It's Friday!

I closed my office door this morning and worked on the payroll, but I still had people coming in and out. It's mainly because we have the photocopier in the office, and people need to get to it at all times. This Friday has flown by as I've been so busy, and it was 4:00pm before I knew it and the start of the weekend! Hooray!

Keith went to the pub to have a drink with John, while Sophie and I decided to watch a film called Cold Creek Manor starring Dennis Quaid and Sharon Stone. It was a bit silly and quite predictable, but I enjoyed it nonetheless, and  it was interesting to see a very young Kristen Stewart (of Twilight fame) appearing as the young daughter.

Sophie and I couldn't find a wine we liked this evening, so we gave up on a Chenin Blanc and tried a Viognier instead. We found both a bit tart and acidic. Maybe it's time to concentrate on reds now that it's Autumn!

Here's a belated pic of Celine, nose to nose with Olive:

Getting to know you!

I drove to work on my own today, and felt a little nervous. We had charged up Celine last night, and it only took a couple of hours, as her battery is not as big as Olive's. However, I was delighted to discover that my entire journey was all electric, so I didn't use any petrol at all! 

I gave my order to Amanda for our Greggs breakfast and spoke with her about my manager, Dan, who is off ill at the moment. He had complained of a bad headache on Monday, so maybe it was connected.

I had a busy day, and Kally came in to see me so we could go over a few things. It's the start of the month, so the payroll run is looming, but I have decided to spend all day on it tomorrow. I made sure I checked every folder this morning!

When I arrived home, I put Celine on charge again and was hoping that, with my journeys to work and back, I would be able to run on electric only, thereby saving on petrol! Let's hope so!

A new addition to the family!

We took Sophie to work this morning in the usual heavy traffic, which was worse on the way home because of problems on the A45.

We just had time to get showered and then drive to Corby for our 11:00am appointment with Cinch. I had booked a slot to have a look at the Citroen and arrange a test drive, and we were shown to a comfortable seating area to wait for someone to show us the car. We had already seen it in the car park, and it was a lot bigger than I had expected!  

Just as we went out to have a proper look at the car, it began to rain! We sat inside, and I asked the man, who was known as JP, if he could drive, as I was a bit nervous about taking it out and driving! He agreed, and we went for a short drive towards Corby. It felt beautiful and smooth and seemed to be very responsive when he put his foot down! We explained about driving to France frequently, and I joked about buying a French car so I would please the French drivers! He showed me how the controls worked and explained the hybrid engine and how it switched from petrol to electric.

Back at the Cinch office, we sat down, went through all the paperwork and paid for the car. We then booked a slot to pick it up after we'd arranged the tax and insurance. JP said there was a café nearby, so we set off and found a large Tesco supermarket with a café. 

By now, we were both ready for lunch and had to order on large screens! It was all very high-tech! The wifi signal kept dropping while we were sitting in the café, so after eating and buying something for my lunch on Thursday, we sat in Olive, and I managed to contact my insurance company, pay a small amount to change the car, and then pay for a year's road tax.

The earlier rain had passed, and it was a glorious day. We had a call from JP at about 1:00 pm, and we went back to pick it up, which was a very easy process. When I got in, I realised that it was both empty of petrol and had no charge, so we had to call at the fuel station next door to fill it up with petrol. 

We set off for home, and Keith followed me in Olive. It was beautiful to drive, but I was a little concerned that at a higher speed, I could feel a slight vibration on the steering wheel, almost as if the tyres weren't aligned properly. I told Keith and said he would need to drive it today so he was familiar with it when he popped to Tesco.

We put Celine (as she is now known) on charge for a short while, before we went to see my Mum. I explained to her that I didn't have a lot of time to be with her today, as we were running short of time! The day was speeding past!

Once I said goodbye to Mum, Keith took Celine for a spin along the A14 and drove faster than I had on the way home, but said he couldn't detect any vibration at all. Perhaps it was the road surface? Anyway, I was hugely relieved as I am in love with the car and very pleased with it!

We had about half an hour at home before it was time to collect Sophie, and we took Celine, despite the heavy traffic. She was delighted to see us and came out with Becky and Grace, who admired Celine as well!

I was well and truly glad to get home and relax!

Bombarded!

To my delight, Sheila came to see me at work this morning after an early morning swim. We hugged, and I told her about my woes from yesterday. She sympathised with me, and we sat with a hot drink and a Northumberland biscuit while having a chat. She wanted to know what I'd put aside for her to do tomorrow, and I was grateful that she was in to take over for a day!

The rest of the shift went quickly, and it was great to go home at 4:00pm and catch up with Sophie, who had been working all day at home, but had managed to escape at lunchtime to take the cats for a walk! How lovely!

Sophie and a delighted Gomez

She told me all about them and how they had been at the house for most of the day, clearly happy that Sophie was at home! I think they missed us last weekend, even though they would never admit it!

The courtesy car had been picked up today, and I had been inundated with texts and calls from various companies (the repair people, Cinch), including the care home, which said that Mum had taken a tumble and hit her head. They called for an ambulance, and when the paramedics arrived, they decided to take her to A&E as her blood pressure was low. I was dismayed by this news, as I really don't want her to go to the hospital. They said they were going to do some tests and then hopefully take her straight back. This was just another thing to worry about, but at 11:00pm they rang to say she was home, which was a huge relief. I am planning on visiting her tomorrow after we have sorted the car out. I'm just hoping it will all turn out to be OK!

Work troubles!

Last night, I had a burst of inspiration and saw a car I liked on Cinch. It's a 23-registered Citroën C5 Aircross and is a petrol hybrid in a midnight metallic blue. I made an appointment to view it on Wednesday, as I just knew that the repair people would call today and ask for the courtesy car back, which they did. I asked if we could keep it for another day, but they refused. So that was that! I texted Sophie and asked if she could work from home tomorrow, and thankfully, she was able to, so that solved a problem!

Work hadn't been pleasant today; we all got paid last week, so I had quite a few queries from staff about their wages today, and I realised I had made a mistake last month, which I was mortified about. I felt like sitting and crying, to be honest. I still don't have access to the payroll software at work, and it's hugely frustrating. I needed to text Sheila again, poor thing, so she could give me access with her login. It's not ideal!

So, it was a bit of a subdued evening, but at least Monday is over, and I was glad Sophie was working from home tomorrow!

Birthday celebrations in Northumberland 25th - 27th September 2026

Homeward bound

We had toyed with the idea of going to Durham this morning, but with the charging issues, we decided to head home and stop for a late lunch at The Dovecote Inn in Laxton, Nottinghamshire. We'd stopped at this pub before, and it was a convenient place to have a bite to eat before continuing our journey.

I'd had a better night's sleep and felt a little more refreshed than yesterday! We showered (perhaps the worst shower we'd ever used, unfortunately), packed the car and made sure we left the cottage clean and tidy. Sophie had had an altercation last week with the owner of the Airbnb who had cancelled our April booking in Annecy, and we'd reported her in the end because of her offensive messages. We didn't want to annoy our lovely host in Northumberland! It had been a lovely, very comfortable stay in a gorgeous cottage that had everything we needed. We just didn't like the weak electric shower!

We set off at 9:00am and turned onto the A697 towards Morpeth. From here, we joined the A1 and headed for Washington Services, where we intended to charge up Olive to 100%. Even this would only get us to Nottinghamshire, though, where we'd identified another rapid charger at Blyth Services. 

The roads were good, and we had a great journey to Washington, passing Newcastle again and seeing The Angel of the North. At the services, we charged up Olive at a Gridserve charging point that was very rapid indeed. It gave us a chance to use the facilities and partake of a Greggs breakfast. We had a slight bickerfest in Greggs when I threatened to stuff a stottie cake in Keith's mouth as he kept wittering on about bringing Olive and that we should have taken the courtesy car. Sophie collapsed into giggles, making everyone in the queue turn around to see what was so funny!

Once Olive was charged, we set off, taking the A1(M) but deciding to follow the advice from Jeeves about avoiding Doncaster, where there were hold-ups. We briefly went onto the M62 towards Hull, then the M18, and then back onto the A1. All the way, we stared at cars on the road, trying to get some inspiration for our next vehicle. To me, a lot of cars look alike, especially the SUVs!

Our next stop was at Blyth Services and another Gridserve charger. We joined some hefty cars here, including a big Audi, Teslas and BMWs. It was nice to sit and relax for about forty-five minutes, giving us just enough time to get to the pub at Laxton, where we had a 2:30pm lunch booking.

We had stopped here a while ago, on our way back from the North-East, and I was keen to have a meal here again. There were already quite a few people eating, and we were taken to a table at the back of the pub.

We perused the menu, choosing roast chicken and lamb and Sophie and I shared a bottle of Portuguese Rosé, which was an agreeable 9.5% alcohol. The staff didn't appear to know what they were doing, and we eventually gave our orders and settled down to wait. We were all starving!

Sophie was looking forward to her lunch and had been craving a roast all weekend! However, when our roast chicken arrived, we were disappointed to see the promised crispy skin looking pale and anaemic... Keith had chosen a lamb shank, and our meals were accompanied by a Yorkshire pudding, runner beans, cabbage and leeks, roast potatoes, mashed potatoes, heritage carrots (they looked like dead fingers), underdone parsnips, a wedge of rock-hard stuffing and extra portions of pigs in blankets and broccoli and cauliflower cheese. Sadly, the meal was disappointing, with the gravy tasteless and thin. We suspected most items had been frozen, especially the roast potatoes, which were dense and unappetising. When I think about how we turn out a roast at home, I could have cried...

We decided to forgo a pud, paid the bill and fled. We all wanted to get home now, see the cats and relax before work tomorrow. The unpacking and washing could wait!

We had a good journey home and turned off the A1 and onto the A43 at Stamford. Overhead, the skies were cloudy, and it looked like there had been rain. We made a brief stop at the Co-op at Kettering, and I bought another pack of sticky toffee pudding and custard.

Of course, there were no cats around, so we unpacked the car, put away as much as we could, and collapsed on the sofa. I had an indulgent hour watching All Creatures Great and Small, and we enjoyed our puds with lashings of creamy custard. Both cats came in eventually and were hugged and kissed!

Tomorrow it's back to reality!

Birthday celebrations in Northumberland 25th - 27th September 2026

Charge anxiety...

I did not have the best night's sleep, unfortunately. I found it difficult to drop off and then was awake several times; I have no idea why! We woke to a grey day, and before we set off, it started to rain. The poor cattle opposite were all huddled together trying to find some shelter, bless them!

View from the kitchen of the surrounding hills under a leaden sky!

We had decided to leave at about 9:30am and drive to Lindisfarne, where we were hoping to be able to charge Olive in a car park. We had about 100 miles of charge, and we were all starting to get worried about the lack of rapid chargers nearby. It had never been our intention to take Olive, and we hadn't rented accommodation with a charging point. The remote location didn't help!

Northumberland is very rural, with small towns and villages dotted about the fells, and it took us over an hour to get to Holy Island, as it's also called, along a series of narrow, winding roads. We had rain for the first part of the journey and then the skies cleared to brilliant sunshine. The scenery was staggeringly beautiful, but I had to concentrate on the challenging roads!

As we turned off the A1, we could see the island in the distance. We had looked up the tide times and knew that we had to be off the island by 1:15pm at the very latest. Getting caught halfway between the island and the mainland would be disastrous! It was amusing to see our satnav enter the sea as we drove along, passing the refuge point halfway. Sand covered the road, and there were pools of seawater everywhere. As we entered the island, we passed sand dunes covered in coarse grass. Some people had parked their cars and were no doubt hiking on the island.

This was our fifth (I think) visit to the island, and we were astonished at how busy it was. On previous visits, we had found the small village quiet and peaceful, and had even stayed overnight on two occasions, enjoying the feeling of being cut off from the mainland by the tide.

Sophie directed us to the car park where we found a small row of charging points. We had enormous difficulty hooking up to one, and had to use our own charging cable. In the end, Sophie had to download an app to use the charger, and became stressed about the whole experience. It certainly wasn't feeling like a holiday for her, poor thing.

Amid the crowds...

We could see a long line of people walking towards Lindisfarne Castle, but as we'd been there before (and there wasn't much to see), we walked into the village. I was determined to buy a bottle of the island's famous mead, and Sophie was desperate for a pint of Guinness. The streets were busy with people wandering about, with many carrying bags from Lindisfarne Mead.

We came to The Manor House Hotel, where Keith and I stayed on our first visit, and went into The Crown and Anchor pub, which was lovely and quiet. Sophie ordered a pint of Guinness, I had a half, and Keith chose a pint of real ale. We sat and chatted, and several people came in, including a couple with two dogs. It was their first visit, and they quizzed the young woman behind the bar, who said she had lived on Holy Island for eight years and loved it. I'm not sure how I'd feel about being cut off from the mainland twice a day! We were keeping a close eye on the time, as we didn't want to cross with hordes of cars!

They had a beautiful poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow on the blackboard over the bar:

"The tide rises, the tide falls,

The twilight darkens, the curlew calls;

Along the sea-sands damp and brown

The traveller hastens toward the town,

And the tide rises, the tide falls.

Darkness settles on roofs and walls,

But the sea, the sea in the darkness calls;

The little waves, with their soft, white hands,

Efface the footprints in the sands,

And the tide rises, the tide falls.

The morning breaks; the steeds in their stalls

Stamp and neigh, as the hostler calls;

The day returns, but nevermore

Returns the traveller to the shore,

And the tide rises, the tide falls."

After our drink, we walked to Lindisfarne Mead, tried tiny samples of three versions, and bought some booze! I chose a bottle of normal Mead and a liqueur, while Sophie treated us to a bottle of ready-made Negroni. I also splashed out on a new glasses case and a Christmas decoration.

The Manor House, where Keith and I stayed in 1988

We had a slow amble back to the car, found it had charged up to about 100 miles, and managed to get the charger out once we'd locked and unlocked the car. These things are sent to try us! The journey back to the mainland went without mishap, and we stopped halfway to take some photos.

Our plan for lunch was to go to Bamburgh and have something to eat there. We had been before on numerous occasions and had enjoyed eating at the pubs there, as well as walking on the beach and gazing at the impressive castle which dominates the village. It was one of our favourite places to visit in Northumberland, and we were looking forward to showing Sophie the village now that she was older.

It was a lovely journey once we'd turned off the A1, and we followed the Northumberland Coastal Route. The sea looked beautifully blue, and cars were parked along the road with people on the beach. We reached Bamburgh, and I was astonished to see how many people were about, and how many cars were parked along the road. The place was rammed! We had never seen it like that before!

Bamburgh in 2007: empty!

Bamburgh 2007

We knew there was a charging point in the car park on the edge of the village, but unfortunately, there was no space. An ice cream van was occupying two of the charging points, so we gave up and returned to the village so Sophie could use the loo. We realised that even if we had managed to park, it would have been difficult to grab a table for lunch, judging by how many people were about!

We continued to Seahouses, but it was rammed with people there as well, all of them meandering about enjoying the sunshine and partaking of the many fish and chip outlets dotted about.

We gave up and decided to head for Rothbury, our nearest town, where we knew there was a charging point in the car park of the cottage hospital. The route we took was undeniably gorgeous and wound its way up and down, around and about, through remote villages and farmhouses, with stunning views and fields of sheep and cows.

It took us a while to get to Rothbury, and we had a short, sharp argument when we arrived at the hospital, as it was a fair walk from the town, and I suggested having lunch first before going back and charging up Olive.

I managed to park on the street, and we entered the first pub we came to, The Queen's Head. It was busy and lively, so we decided to have a drink and visit a nearby restaurant for something to eat. There was a very convivial atmosphere in the pub, and we sat and did a fair amount of people-watching!

It was a short walk to Bewick's restaurant, an eatery that was run by a London chef who used to have a Michelin star, no less! The restaurant was in a lovely old building overlooking the main street and had an outdoor eating area where people were enjoying the afternoon sunshine. We chose to sit indoors and had a good look at the menu. Sophie said it was different to the one she'd seen online, and we opted for three "small plates" consisting of a Scotch egg, pâté with toast and olives. Sophie ordered a glass of Rosé, Keith had an expensive bottle of beer (£7.95), while I stuck to fizzy water.

By now, we were all hungry, and the food was delicious, but there wasn't enough toast, and the pâté was served in a fiddly little jar. Keith kept vainly trying to get as much out as he could, but failed! He also ate all the salad! How dare he! We would have loved more bread to mop up the sauce from the egg and the olives!

It looks like a lot of bread, but it wasn't!

After we'd eaten and paid the bill, Keith walked back to the car while Sophie and I did some shopping in a nearby Co-op. We bought a pizza and quiche for dinner this evening, as well as wine and beer and salad.

Hanging about!

It was then time to go and park up for a while and charge the car so we could get to the services on the A1 tomorrow! The car park was quieter now, with another car using the second charging point. Sophie had already downloaded the app and put some money on her account, so we hooked Olive up and relaxed. Keith stayed in the car to read the newspaper, while Sophie and I wandered over to a wooden bench and table and scoffed a wrap each as we were still hungry! The views were beautiful, and we could see the surrounding hills and the town spread out below us. It was beautifully peaceful, apart from the happy sounds of children playing in a nearby playground. We could see signs of Autumn everywhere, with the trees changing colour.

We had to wait over an hour to charge Olive up to 150 miles. A rapid charger it was not! Once we had reached our goal, we drove to the cottage and, to our shock, found the front door open... Luckily, nothing had been taken, and we think that the lock was a little faulty and we hadn't closed the door properly this morning. It was a bit alarming, though!

We spent the evening relaxing. Sophie and I sat outside at the front with a glass of wine until the stiff breeze sent us back inside, and I watched a Netflix show about renovating houses in Mississippi. Sophie read while Keith played games on my laptop, and it was lovely and relaxed!

Keith and I watched Unabomber on Netflix over the course of the evening, while Sophie was engrossed in her book. We ate about 8:00pm and even enjoyed a portion of sticky toffee pudding afterwards! Well, we were on holiday!

Birthday celebrations in Northumberland 25th - 27th September 2026

The long, hard slog...

We were up, showered, dressed, and packed by 8:15am this morning, and Sophie did most of the work, putting everything in the car and making a flask of coffee to drink on the journey. We had no choice but to take Olive, as I certainly didn't want to take our courtesy car with "Crash Repairs" emblazoned all over it! This meant we had to research charging stations along the way, and we planned to stop near Wetherby.

The sun was shining when we left, but we encountered cloud and a bit of fog on the A14 and M1. The traffic was heavy and stayed that way for the whole journey. I know I shouldn't compare the roads in the UK to France, but I thought fondly of the empty autoroutes in my favourite country, and the congestion made for unpleasant driving. I had to keep my wits about me the whole time! 

As we made our slow progress north, the weather worsened, and we had rain when we reached the huge services at Wetherby. We were able to grab a rapid charging station and went into the services to use the facilities, buy a newspaper and some food from Greggs. On the journey, we've been on the lookout for inspiration for my next car, and we admired a new Renault Scenic but then found out the new versions are electric only...

It took almost an hour to recharge Olive to 99%, and we set off again on the A1(M), passing Scotch Corner, Durham and then weaving our way through heavy traffic in Newcastle. Sophie had planned on taking us through the Tyne Tunnel, but Jeeves must have had a change of plan, and he took us through the city on the motorway.

Once through Newcastle, we were on a two-lane highway, and the traffic did calm down a bit. Sophie directed me to the coastal town of Amble, where we planned on having lunch at a seafood restaurant called The Fish Shack. Since Wetherby, the charge had dropped again, and we realised that when Sophie charged her phone in the car, this gobbled up electricity as well!

We found a small car park with a charging point where we had planned on powering up Olive while we had lunch, but the time limit was just one hour... We gave up on that, found another car park, but the Pay and Display machines didn't accept cards. We were starting to feel extremely fed up, but the car park next door did take cards. Strange!

We walked the short distance to The Fish Shack to find out they were full and wouldn't be able to seat us for lunch. Arrghhh! One of the staff then told us about their sister restaurant, The Boat House, which might have free tables. It was a short walk away, across a grey expanse of tarmac bordered by an inlet of the sea where rusty fishing boats were moored. It was obvious that Amble was very much a working fishing town.

I was wearing totally the wrong clothes for the weather today, and had on a short-sleeved dress. Other, more sensible people were warmly clothed in jeans, jumpers and coats. Luckily, the restaurant had a table free, and we took our seats before perusing the huge menus. Chalkboards also advertised daily specials, and the dishes were not cheap! Our choice of fish and chips was £22.95.

The service was slow, and the waiter kept apologising, even though his colleague was more interested in clearing tables rather than taking our order. Eventually, our order was taken, and Sophie and I chose a 500ml carafe of French Sauvignon Blanc to drink with our meal, while Keith stuck to lager.

The food was very good, the portions large and the batter wonderfully crispy, with succulent haddock cooked to perfection. Keith was impressed! Sophie and I shared a creme brulée for pud, and we paid the bill.

"I'm not crossing the A1!"

Before heading to our Airbnb in the village of Netherton, we popped into a Morrisons supermarket on the outskirts of Amble and charged up Olive. We bought milk and pastries for tomorrow's breakfast and then sat in the car until we had 150 miles on the clock, watching people arrive to do their weekly shopping or collect their groceries. The experience today has made me determined not to buy an electric car until the range increases and the availability of rapid chargers increases. Travelling abroad with an electric car would make for a very long journey!

We followed Jeeves's directions to get to the house, but he wanted me to turn right over the hectically busy, two-lane A1, and I refused. Cars were travelling at speeds of 70 mph, and the thought of doing this broke me out in a cold sweat. When I was learning to drive, my instructor once wanted me to turn right across a dual carriageway near my house in rush hour, and she had to use her dual controls to get me across. It has been a problem for me ever since, and I look at cars waiting to cross on the busy A43 or A14 with horror!

Instead, I turned left, and when the road narrowed to one lane, I made a right turn. We then followed a very windey, up-and-downy road to the house. It was like being on a roller coaster! I pulled over twice to let locals whizz past me.

When we arrived at the group of holiday cottages, we found someone had taken our space, so we nicked another space and unpacked the car. We were delighted with the cottage, a four-bedroom barn conversion all on one level with a beautiful kitchen, living room with log burner and views across the Northumberland fells.

Once we'd unpacked, we sat on the terrace with glasses of wine and a beer, and chatted. We took blankets out with us as it was quite chilly! In the distance was a herd of cattle (male, I think), and we saw lots more people arriving to stay for the weekend.

The sun came out and bathed the distant hills in a golden light, and we all hoped the weather would be fine for the rest of the weekend! Those hot and sunny days are a distant memory!

Our evening was spent watching BBC1 and we had no inclination at all to eat anything else!

Frustrating issues!

Today has been frustrating at work, mainly due to computer issues and I wrote down a list of things that we've had problems with this week! I asked Sophie if Mercury was retrograde, but it wasn't! I finally managed, with the help of someone from payroll, to get onto one of our systems that I need for my job, but there were still glitches that affected the whole company.

Thankfully, the day passed swiftly, and it was great to be driving home and looking forward to a three-day weekend! We are going away to an Airbnb in Northumberland tomorrow, but I haven't even packed yet or thought about what clothes to take. The weather forecast is mixed for the weekend, so it's difficult to choose what to take!

As it was Keith's birthday today, we toasted him with Champagne, and he opened his cards and my gift of aftershave (Sophie bought dinner and the wine), and he FaceTimed with Mike. We ordered a Chinese takeaway for three people, which was delicious, with a couple of dishes we hadn't tried before.  

We made plans to leave at 8:00am in the morning, slightly later than originally planned, but at least we could have a little lie-in!                                                                                                                                                                                        

Happy Birthday, Keith!!

80 years young today!