France

Well, we had a great time and came back with a boot full of some great wines - and a few beers!

The journey to Dover yesterday was not very good. It took us four hours and the stretch by the Dartford Bridge was very slow indeed. However, we were sitting in the bar at just after 8pm with a drink so it wasn't that bad. We stayed at the Premier Inn right next to the ferry terminal and it was well worth the £60 we paid. We had a lovely meal and a good night's sleep. The beds in the hotel are wonderful and I even think they're the best beds I've ever slept in in a hotel which is saying something as my bed at home is my haven.

We were up and ready to go at 7.30am this morning but we needn't have rushed as the ferry terminal was like a ghost town - nobody stopped us to look at pasports or anything and there wasn't even a queue at the check-in desk. We sailed with Seafrance on the Berlioz and it was a lovely ship, very clean and quiet. We had a light breakfast as we'd planned to have lunch in Arras but it wasn't to be. We were late sailing and had to wait outside Calais to dock so we arrived almost an hour later than planned. It just wasn't worth it driving the hour's journey to Arras, having lunch and then trying to get back for shopping.

It took us a wee while to get to Cite Europe as we can never remember the way from the port! From the Eurotunnel it's easy, so we just headed for that and eventually stumbled upon the shopping centre. Again, it was very quiet and within an hour our trolley was full of wine, some of which was very reasonable. None of our wine was over 6 euros and most of it was Vin de Pays at around 3 euros. We'd been impressed with a lot of the Languedoc wines from last summer so I chose quite a few bottles of those, plus some of our old favourites such as Rasteau from the Cotes du Rhone, Julienas from Beaujolais and some Vouvray. Keith treated me to a bottle of Grants which was the same price as on the boat, but came with a glass!

Keith, much to my disgust, bought a few bottles of the beer he was drinking in the summer, in Narbonne...the ones the local hobos drank! One of them was 11%! I think he's mad but that was all he bought so I couldn't really complain!

We had lunch at our favourite place which is also a brewery and came away from there with three bottles of their brune beer. Lunch was OK but a bit on the expensive side. The children had two cokes which came to 9 euros which I was unhappy about. The bill was 88 euros in total (including a tip and the extra beer) which seemed a bit high for what we had, and certainly more expensive than the meals we had in the Languedoc last summer.

After lunch, Sophie and I went and did some shopping in New Look (much nicer than in the UK) and Pimkie where she bought some leggings and a very pretty top. We then found a shop selling some lovely New York pictures and she treated herself to two for when we finally get around to decorating her bedroom!

The journey home was great - the ferry was quiet and not as rough as it had been this morning. Even the M25 behaved itself and we came home on the M20 rather than the M2 this time so we were back before my planned time of 9pm.

So...it was great to have a break and get away even for a short time. It was a shame we never made it to Arras but there's always next time!

Off to France!

I won't have time to write this tonight so just a quick blog today.

I don't know where this week has gone! Or February for that matter! It's been another day of rushing around here and getting things ready for the weekend and there's still lots to do, so I'm going to keep this very short and hope everyone has a good weekend and that the weather improves just a little bit! I'm not too convinced on that one, though! It's been dull, cold and and wet today and I just pray that it won't be windy tomorrow in the English Channel!

The shortest blog!

A really quick one today. I've been in Kent all day and didn't get home until 7.30pm. I was due to meet friends at 8pm so it was in, quick wash and then back out again!! We had a terrible journey home - a slow crawl around the M25 and a crawl up the M1! The weather was horrible - wet and yuk!

I did have a good meal at The Brampton Halt though! More tomorrow!

A bit quieter!

Well, things have quietened down now in our household and have returned to normal! Nothing much happened yesterday except for a fresh snowfall in the afternoon which carried on into the evening, but turned to rain.

Sue came around while Keith and I were having a game of cards, all tanned and refreshed from her trip to the Maldives. Ironically, they were both worried about the trip home and a tight connection but it was the outward flight from Dohar they missed due to a technical problem with their plane from Heathrow...typical! To thank me for looking after the house, she brought me some beautiful flowers and gorgeous smelly candles! I was delighted!

Keith came to work with me today, giving mum and dad a well-earned rest from work. I told them to stay away today and go and relax, so I hope they have. Keith went to the Britannia pub at lunchtime to meet some old workfriends. They were due to meet in December but had to cancel when Keith had his first stent fitted so I'm sure the conversation will be full of his op and also B&D talk. As I write they are still there and I'm just waiting for a phonecall to go and pick him up!

Today we booked a ferry to France for Saturday and an overnight stay in Dover as a treat to ourselves. We need some wine and we have 150 euros left over from our break in Berlin so that will buy a few bottles! I'm going to take Keith to Arras for lunch as I loved it there when I visited with my parents and Sophie back in 2008. I'm just hoping the weather will be kind and not snow or be windy!

Recovering

An early blog today, to make up for the short one yesterday!

We are both glad that Keith has had his surgery and is now back at home. Yesterday was a long day. We left home at 6am and managed to get to the John Radcliffe by 7.20am. All our planning was a waste of time as we should have entered the Heart Centre by an outside door and found ourselves (with another patient) waiting outside the department and seeing a "Staff Only" notice!! Luckily a student was waiting to go in and she called a nurse for us! There were a lot of people waiting and at 7.45am we were all called through and Keith was allocated a bed. I stayed for a little while but left at 8.30am as there was no point me hanging about. Both journeys were made in the snow which didn't make for pleasant driving!

We were closed today at work and mum had brought the children in for me. They were both brilliant. We'd left them at home as it just wasn't fair to drag them down to Oxford with us and they'd phoned mum when they'd woken up. Michael was actually in the shower washing his hair when mum arrived! Miracle! Why is it that they behave so well when we're not around?

We spent the day cleaning as usual and I left at 4pm after phoning the hospital. I'm sure the nurse said to me to collect Keith by 8pm so we went home, I had a bath (much needed for the relaxation factor!) and then we set off at 5.30pm.

I'm really not a fan of the A43 despite the new road making it a lot easier to get to the M40. It's so fast, very dark except one stretch by Silverstone, and full of lorries who I always meet on the numerous roundabouts!

We arrived at the hospital by 7pm to find Keith still attached to a monitor and wearing a very fetching gown! He couldn't be released until 8pm so, feeling a bit annoyed, we went to the main hospital to find a cafe...which had closed at 4pm...

I now had two hungry children so we set off in the car in search of something! Luckily, two minutes from the hospital we came upon a Hungry Horse pub which was perfect. We had a drink and shared a plate of nachos before going back and picking up Keith. The journey home was good - the road was very quiet and much more pleasant than the morning's trip!

Keith and I, despite being tired, spent an hour relaxing and chatting before bed. He was so pleased that the surgery had been successful and grateful to Professor Channon who had managed to insert the stent which had been a very complicated procedure. I suppose that's why he's a Professor!

Just a quick note...

A very short blog this evening - it's been a very long day and I'm shattered. Keith is home, the stent was successful and he is very relieved it's all over. I'm just glad to be home and off the horrible A43!

More tomorrow! And thank you for all your good wishes. They're much appreciated.

Magical mystery tour

It snowed again today and mum phoned me first thing (very early...) worried about what we were going to do at work. She needn't have worried because by 10am, the snow had stopped and it really didn't cause any inconvenience at all.

We went ahead with our trip to Oxford to find out where Keith has to go tomorrow. The hospital was very quiet and we found our way easily to the Heart Centre so that should avoid any panic tomorrow morning. We'd planned on having lunch at The Crewe Arms in Hinton-in-the-Hedges but due to our early start, we would have arrived when the pub was still closed, so we took a detour through Oxford (no wonder the Americans love it there) and then Woodstock which I have earmarked for another day. On the way back to the A43 we drove through Upper Heyford which has some very good memories for me as my parents were friends with a family who were stationed there at the American Air Base. Sadly, the place had been abandoned long ago but I could remember going there and drinking 7Up when you couldn't get it here and having a great time on the base.

We had lunch at The Crew Arms and very good it was too! Three of us had the roast of the day, while Sophie had chicken breast in a mushroom and stilton sauce. We couldn't resist the desserts (well, three of us couldn't!) and everything was homemade especially the Yorkshire puddings which rivalled Keith's!! And that's saying something!!

A lazy afternoon followed and I managed to watch two films back to back, much to the annoyance of the children!!

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