A Birthday treat!

When I checked the weather forecast early last week, today was supposed to have been sunny and dry but it has rained all day! And it was that steady drizzle that really soaks into everything and makes driving very difficult!

We set off at 10am after I'd opened my cards and presents and I was very happy with what I received - money and wine - what's better than that! We had a good journey down the M1 to London but driving was unpleasant as my windscreen wipers were constantly going and the spray and rain were horrible. We remembered the route from the M1 to Exhibition Road and although the traffic was busy, we made good time. However, driving along Cromwell Road we realised that we couldn't turn left to head up to Hyde Park we so we had to carry on and find a alternative turning. Just before we reached Harrods we found a turning and drove along some very narrow - and extremely posh - streets. I've never seen such a concentration of prestige cars parked along the road in my life!

Eventually, after a few more turns and U-turns, we reached Hyde Park and managed to find a space on the main road that runs through. We fed £7 into the meter which gave us five hours of parking and enjoyed our pic-nic before hitting the streets!

As it was such a horrible day, going to a museum seemed like a good idea to lots of people and the Science and Natural History museums were already busy with queues waiting to get in. The V&A was a little quieter and we decided to wander around the halls dedicated to Europe from the 16th century first. There was lots to look at and some really beautiful objects on display and we wandered from hall to hall marvelling at all the history.

Main entrance hall

Not the real one!

A fine specimen of a man!

The V&A is a lovely, really light and airy museum and we had a good look around for about three hours. I loved seeing artefacts from Nepal, India and Tibet, some of which were extremely old. We all fancied a hot drink but the cafe was bursting to the seams so we decided to leave it and try and find somewhere outside the museum. Our last stop was a hall dedicated to objects from 300AD and Mike tried on some replica clothes from about 1000AD:

The kids took lots of selfies and although by the end of our tour they were getting a bit bored, I still think they enjoyed the experience.

We left the V&A and by now the queues were really long as the museum was at capacity. We trudged back up Exhibition road in the misty drizzle and had a peek at the menu of a Hungarian restaurant that we remembered from previous visits. One day we'll go! This road has been turned into one of those "shared" roads with no pavements or kerbs and it was quite confusing as to who could go where!

Opposite our car was one of the Serpentine galleries and as it was free to enter we went in, hoping there would be a small cafe. Alas, there was not, and the exhibition itself was weird in the extreme! It was by a woman called Lucy Raven and none of us had a clue as to what was going on! It was very dark with lights and sound and after a few minutes we beat a rapid retreat! Not really our sort of thing!

Another of the Serpentine galleries was a five minute walk away so we headed there and had a look at paintings by someone called Zaha Hadid. The cafe here was called The Magazine Restaurant and at first we thought they were just serving meals but when we asked if we could have a drink they were very welcoming.

Keith and I had a pot of tea while Mike and Soph enjoyed a creamy hot chocolate and it was very pleasant sitting in the cafe and looking out over the misty park. Outside it grew dark and misty but inside it was cosy and the place had a lovely atmosphere.

I paid the bill (£14 including service charge!) and we returned to the car. Gladys refused to turn on and direct us to Hammersmith so we used Sophie's phone instead which turned out to be wonderful. We drove straight there and managed to park on a side street a couple of minute's walk away, which was a bonus. I had worried we would find it difficult to park.

The Cross Keys in Hammersmith is situated in a lovely area of London with narrow side streets and terraced houses that look very cosy. As there was a football match on between Liverpool and Manchester United, the pub was packed to the rafters so we squeezed ourselves into a quiet corner and Keith went to the bar. We had a view of the televisions so Keith was delighted to be able to watch the last twenty minutes while sipping a pint of Fuller's London Pride. When Man U scored the equaliser, the whole pub erupted!

As we were sipping our drinks, Sophie gasped and whispered to me that one of the men sitting at a nearby table was Will Poulter who had starred alongside Leonardo di Caprio in The Revenant. He was wearing a baseball cap and if Sophie hadn't said anything I would never have known! She said that he'd looked at her and in that instant she knew exactly who he was. It was all very exciting!

Thankfully, after the match the pub emptied out a bit and we were able to sit down. We had a look at the menu and we were a bit disappointed to see that it wasn't the usual fare on offer, but a much more limited choice.

We swapped tables again and sat down where Will Poulter had been sitting...this gave us all a little thrill! Our food was OK, but I have to say it was nothing exceptional. I had Black Pudding Scotch egg to start and there wasn't a huge amount of taste. Sophie had asked if the kitchen could make her garlic bread and they happily obliged which was great. Mike had fish goujons and Keith had flat bread served with a harissa dip. For mains, Keith, Sophie and I opted for the battered fish with chips and peas while Mike went vegetarian with pasta in a very spicy sauce. The batter was nice and crispy, but again, there wasn't a lot of taste to my meal.

None of us had room for dessert and by now it was past 8pm so we paid the bill (£66 including drinks which I thought was very reasonable) and walked back to the car. We used Sophie's satnav on her phone again and before long we were on the M1 and heading north.

We arrived home at 10pm and I had a whisky and ginger wine to celebrate. Cheers!

An indulgent day!

The snow all went by yesterday afternoon and this morning we awoke to grey skies. Keith and I took Sophie to work and then called to see Mum and Dad for a coffee before popping to Tesco to buy picnic food for our trip to London tomorrow.

Tesco was very busy so I was relieved neither of us have to go at the weekend to do our weekly shop! I would rather have it delivered! We bought some rolls, ham and beef and some cocktail sausages and thankfully headed home to have a late breakfast.

In the afternoon the sun came out and the skies cleared but I stayed inside in the warm while Mike went to Brixworth and Keith went off to watch Sileby play. I had a very indulgent afternoon, watching an episode of "Delicious" and having a long bath. Perfect!

Unfortunately, Sophie was really busy at work and we had to wait until 7pm to go and collect her. She was shattered, poor thing, and said she'd hardly had a break all day. We had picked Mike up on the way and when we all finally arrived home it was almost 7.30pm. Keith immediately started dinner - a lovely homemade beef pie - and it wasn't until nearly 9pm that we had eaten and washed up. We were going to watch a film but decided to put it off for another time. We had an early start in the morning so it was off to bed!

A covering of snow...

Well, we awoke to frost but that was it this morning. After yesterday and all the dire warnings for snow and ice, it all felt very flat!

However, as we were all getting ready to get the kids off to uni and college, it did start to snow. Just small flakes at first but then it started to come down quite heavily. Sophie had a doctor's appointment before she went to uni and when we came out the roads were covered. I wasn't expecting this!

Driving to uni was a bit hazardous - at one point I applied my brakes and nothing happened which was very alarming! Luckily nothing was in front or behind me and I did eventually slow down, but it made me very cautious!

We crawled into Northampton and I dropped Sophie off at a very snowy campus. I then gingerly made my way home on the main A43 rather than risk the quieter country roads. The snow stopped and the skies cleared so that was a relief!

Keith was waiting for me and we decided to go ahead with our walk. On Wednesday he and Sophie had been for a walk around the nature reserve and had spotted an injured (they think) buzzard. The huge, beautiful bird hadn't seemed able to fly so they reported it to the staff at the fishing lodge and they hoped that someone had gone to investigate. Keith wanted to walk the route to see if anything had happened.

We parked the car at the top bridleway between Walgrave and Holcot and while I put my walking boots on I gasped at how cold and fierce the wind was! Freezing! Luckily I had my hat with me and some gloves so I was well-prepared. We walked down to the nature reserve and then back towards Walgrave. The wind abated a bit while we were in the reserve and I took some photos:

When we came to the place where the buzzard had been there was no sign of it, and thankfully no feathers or anything to show that it had been attacked. Either it had managed to fly off or had been picked up by the bird team who patrol the reserve. Keith was very relieved!

We carried on and then turned up the hill to Walgrave. We decided to go and collect the car rather than walk home and get it later, but we had another steep hill to climb before we got to it. It was still very windy and cold and both of us were very glad to get back in, drive home and get warm again!

We enjoyed a lunch of leftover nibbles and then I checked my emails, delighted to find I'd passed my latest assignment, so that was a relief! I also saw a job I liked the look of and applied for it. Fingers crossed!

A forecast of snow...

I woke early this morning and was able to sit and watch an episode of "The Affair" in peace and quiet, which was bliss. This series is really excellent and I will be very sorry when it ends. The acting has been brilliant.

It was down to me to take the kids to college and uni today as Keith had a blood test at 9am. Unfortunately, the road we normally use was closed because of an accident (on a bend...no surprise as people drive around it like lunatics) so we had a diversion to make first of all. I dread the morning school run but although we were stuck for a while it wasn't too bad, thank goodness.

When Keith arrived home we drove over to Aldi and Tesco and did our weekly shopping. For some reason Sophie and Mike had got involved with our list and had ordered various items including a jar of Jalapenos and lemon curd (Mike) and cleansing water and mayonnaise (Sophie). Heaven forbid if we forgot them!

Because of the warning of snow for our area both supermarkets were busy, presumably everyone out getting their supplies in before the end of the world approached (or 1-2 cm of snow). Once back home I wrote my CV and emailed it to Andy who I had met on Tuesday. If it's OK I'll then put it on various job websites and see what happens...

Keith and I left at about 3.30pm to pick up Soph and Mike and went to get Sophie first. MIke called us to ask where we were as by now it was raining but there was definitely some sleet mixed in with it. We told him we wouldn't be long and to stay inside the foyer at college until we got there.

We collected Sophie and then drove to get Mike but the traffic was horrendous, presumably because everyone had left work early. I managed to turn around as I didn't fancy sitting in traffic for ages and we went another way to get Mike but it took us half an hour, rather than the ten minutes it usually does.

Back home I prepared some nibbles as Sue came over for a glass of wine. She brought a lovely bottle of Prosecco and we had a good chat until almost 8pm. Outside the threatened snow never arrived - what a surprise!

A busy day!

Today has been very busy at the Citizens Advice Bureau and I've really enjoyed it, which is great as the last couple of weeks have been quiet with not a lot happening.

We had a visit from Tina first thing and she asked us to telephone people who had booked appointments for tomorrow, to ensure they were going to show up and also to ask the clients if they wanted to take part in a short online survey about their experience with us.

We had Bill in as one of the advisers and he is very efficient and whips through the clients quickly, which is how it should be. The assessments should only really last about ten minutes as then we can point them in the right direction or make appointments for a longer time. We had a couple of emotional clients in this morning but I suppose it's the time of year with post-Christmas blues rearing their ugly heads.

As usual, the weather was beautiful and I managed to have a short walk at lunchtime to get some fresh air as our office can get a bit stuffy! Things overran a bit in the afternoon as we had a new adviser in and some of the issues were more complicated but I was walking out at about 3.15pm which wasn't too bad.

We played cards in the conservatory before dinner although Sophie and I were a bit subdued as we have decided to not have any alcohol during the week. Having said that, Sue is coming over for wine and nibbles tomorrow so I will fall off the wagon then!

Help needed!

Today I finished my latest assignment, a source of huge relief, as I had found this one particularly difficult for some reason.

At 1pm I had an appointment at Kettering library to see a National Careers adviser who I hoped was going to help me with my CV. I was early (as usual) and parked in the nearest car park before trying to find my way to the library. I don't visit Kettering very often and I was surprised to see museums and lovely little tearooms nearby. It's an area I'd like to explore again.

I met Andy who was very helpful and made some great suggestions for what to include (and what not to include). I was there for about 45 minutes and before heading home I popped to see Mum and Dad but they were out, so it was home to eat a slice of cake and enjoy a cup of tea in the short amount of time we had until it was time to pick Sophie up.

Today has been lovely and sunny but we have snow forecast for Thursday...I'll believe it when I see it, but I am really hoping we'll have a covering!

In search of sauce...

We were able to have another lie-in this morning as Mike wasn't at college and Sophie didn't have to go to uni until midday.

We dropped her off and headed to Aldi to get some things we'd forgotten last week and then drove to B&Q as I wanted to buy some paint for our hallway and landing, a job I am dreading doing! B&Q has been cut in half and we noticed signs going up for a new Aldi within the store...Lidl is right next door!

I also bought a new lamp for the landing and suggested to Keith that we go and have a cup of tea in Waitrose until it was time to collect Sophie from uni. This is becoming a regular thing on a Monday!

Sophie's friend Danni hitched a lift with us and after we'd dropped her off we went over to the Weston Favell Centre to go to the bank and Tesco. Sophie wants to buy Mike some very hot chilli sauces for his birthday and the store had several varieties available. Phew!