Not the best of days!

Ugh! Monday again and I was facing a half-term week at work, which is always busy! How did I find myself in a job that's still affected by the school holidays?!

I busied myself for the first two hours by completing the box office returns from the weekend and was pleasantly surprised at how busy we were! The weather had obviously played a part!

When the phone lines opened at 10am there was just Jo, Kathy and I taking calls and it was horrendous. At one point we had almost 20 calls waiting and in the first half-hour, we lost 21 calls. Sara didn't get Louiza to help, which was surprising, and very annoying. Surely the most important thing is to answer the calls and try and help as many people as we can? I would say 90% of the calls were to book swimming sessions, and by the end of the shift, we had all had enough! Kathy agreed with me that it was silly to have Louiza making outbound calls in the first hour when we were so busy! The worst is yet to come, though, as tomorrow there will only be Jo and I on the phones...

I drove home feeling very dispirited and told Keith all about our horrible day. I can't even look forward to a quieter day tomorrow and I'm working on Thursday this week, as well. I must be mad!

A tale of two pubs...

The weather today has been truly awful, with constant rain and a cold wind. Keith went to Tesco this morning to do some shopping, and when he returned we took Sophie to the train station. Her ticket to Milton Keynes was only about £7 so much cheaper than driving! 

We dropped our daughter off and drove into town as we had decided to visit The Malt Shovel for a lunchtime drink. The place wasn't busy at all and we took our drinks to a quiet corner. Both of us were hungry so we ordered sausage baps and chips and sipped our beers - a Ratliffe's stout for me and a beer called Bishop's Farewell for Keith.

Outside it was pouring with rain but the pub was warm thank goodness! We only had two hours as the car was parked in Morrison's car park over the road, and after a couple of drinks and our lunch we left. Before going home, though, we decided to call into a pub I had always wanted to visit a short drive away. It used to be part of the Phipps brewery and I hadn't realised it was The Old White Hart! I had thought this was the pub opposite, called The Pomfret Arms!

We splashed our way inside and found the interior much more modern than I'd been expecting! It reminded me of a nightclub, rather than a pub and seemed soulless! There was a large dining area where people were having lunch and a curtained off area behind the bar where there was some sort of function happening. I think it was a baby or wedding shower as it was a constant stream of women arriving.

Keith was very disappointed there was no draught beer and he ordered a pint of Carlsberg Export, which he had difficulty getting through! We sat with our coats on as it was chilly and I found it quite a depressing experience, to be honest! We definitely won't be returning, but at least I can say we've been in there now!

After our drink, we returned home, and within half an hour Sophie called to ask me to pick her up. It was still raining and continued like this for the rest of the day. Horrible! The very worst kind of Sunday weather! 

Back home, we didn't feel like playing Scrabble so we stayed in the living room where it was lovely and warm and relaxed. As we had all eaten at lunchtime, we didn't cook in the evening. The planned beef casserole will do for tomorrow!

Valentine's treats!

We all had a lovely lazy start to the day and pottered about, managing to watch some of Saturday Morning Kitchen. As usual, I caught up with some things I hadn't been able to do while I was at work, and Sophie hoovered the house, bless her!

The weather in the morning was sunny and dry, and I've noticed all the bulbs I planted in the Autumn starting to really poke their way through the soil. Hopefully, it won't be long before we have a riot of Spring colour!

For lunch, we enjoyed the leftover pasta dish I'd made on Thursday and after we'd eaten and cleared away, we decided to pop to Beckworth so Sophie could get some foodie treats for Zain and Laura as Valentine's gifts. 

The restaurant looked busy, and I was glad we'd eaten lunch at home! We pottered about and I bought two beautiful iced muffins and a bottle of Prosecco for my Mum and Dad from each other as a surprise. Sophie bought cards and some sweets. There were red hearts and Easter goodies everywhere!

We drove down to Riverside and I treated Sophie to a coffee in the Costa outlet in Next. Afterwards, we had a look around the housewares part of the shop and I was astounded to see some strange things for sale, at ridiculous prices!

£44 - I mean, why?

Why would anyone part with good money for this tat? There was also a sheep with a bear doing a piggyback over it... the mind boggles! The most bizarre one, for me though, was an umbrella stand made of fake wood with a bear on a swing priced at an astonishing £72!

Maybe I'm missing the point, and there were a lot of good reviews, but I can think of better ways to spend my money!

After Next we briefly called into Boots and then made our way to Laura's house to drop off her card and sweets. The traffic was horrendous as the A45 from the large Queen Eleanor roundabout to junction 15 of the M1 had been closed and would remain that way all weekend for roadworks. Sophie was due to drive to Milton Keynes tomorrow to meet Zain so she decided, very sensibly, to take the train instead, and Zain could pick her up from the station.

Laura was delighted with her gifts, and we made our way home through the town which was a bit of pain as the traffic was heavy again. We got home after Keith, who'd been to see Sileby play, and enjoyed a drink and a game of Scrabble. We had decided to cook pork steaks in homemade breadcrumbs with a cheese sauce, and to be honest, I don't think any of us wanted to do this so late in the day, but we prepared everything before we sat down to relax.

After dinner (which was delicious) we watched an Oscar-nominated film, The Power of the Dog. Halfway through, I could see Keith wasn't enjoying it so we turned it off. No doubt it will probably win, but it was a bit strange!

Today was murder!

Sara was off today so I took care of the customer service emails and put a tranche of new films onto the system. Kathy came in a bit later than normal as she had a painful shoulder, and our first hour was very busy indeed with non-stop phone calls until well past 11am. Thankfully, it then quietened down a bit so we were able to get some other jobs done!

Kathy's shoulder carried on being painful so she went home a bit early. The pain had spread down her left arm which was slightly alarming, so Sheila urged her to phone the NHS helpline for advice. It was heaven to reach 4pm and log off! Here comes the weekend!

Keith stayed at home this evening again, but broke his no-drink rule and had a beer. Sophie and I shared a bottle of Pinot Gris and watched Flightplan starring Jodie Foster. We love the opening scenes in Berlin, and especially the bit where she's sitting at Alexanderplatz station. We have sat there, too!

Dinner was breaded fish, crispy potatoes and roasted veggies. After we'd eaten we were transported to the Caribbean for a murder! A great way to end a quiet week!

Making plans

I was back at work today but I didn't have to be in until 10am, so I had a bit of a lie-in until 7am. It's amazing what a difference it makes!

Work was fine, and Sara said that yesterday had been horrendous - noisy and busy with some long complicated calls. I was just hoping today would be different, and it was! My shift seemed very short compared to normal, and it was lovely to drive home in the sunshine.

I cooked a delicious pasta, chicken and bacon dish this evening and before we ate, we sat around the kitchen island and discussed France. We will need to get a move on soon and book the ferry. We are there for five days, including Sophie's birthday, so it was lovely to sit and discuss what we'd like to do. We even dug out some maps of France and talked about going a  bit further afield while we're there. France is such a huge country, but we did reminisce about St Omer and Arras. It would be great if even more restrictions were eased by the time we go!

The dinner was delicious, and we made some garlic bread to go with the meal and served it with a salad, which cut through the creaminess a bit!

Peering into the past!

Keith and I haven't ventured anywhere today, so it's been a day spent at home pottering about and getting various jobs done. I am back at work tomorrow as cover, so today was a precious day off!

I really didn't feel like doing any housework but I did change our bed and put lovely fresh bedding on. I can't wait for the days when I can get it out onto the line to dry. I have a feeling our new tumble dryer is shrinking everything, so it will be great to have that sunshine dried smell to our laundry and clothes!

I spent the afternoon doing some more research on my family tree and splashed out £6 to look at my grandmother's family's entry in the 1921 census. At the moment the census is only available on Find My Past which is a bit annoying, but it was fascinating to see their entries and see that my grandmother was only 1! I also corrected her name which had been transcribed in error. She was living with extended family, one of which, James Griggs, is even more elusive than my great grandfather on my Dad's side! I come to a complete brick wall with him as I can't find a birth or baptism record, and no census from 1871 which is when he would have been about 10 years old. This would then have given me any siblings and the name of his mother. Sometimes it's so frustrating!

The daily grind...

Today, as expected, has been a repeat of yesterday! Up with Sophie, coffee and the news, get showered and go to work! I managed to put on some after school clubs and under 5 activities up until the summer holidays, and I always wonder what I'll be doing when I click onto future dates? Will it be more of the same or will I magically find myself living a different life? More of the same, probably!

I think it's the time of year, but I feel like I need to do some different things or try something new! Perhaps when the days lengthen we can go for walks in the evening as we used to, or maybe go and see a new film every week. I am aware that this blog is quite boring at the moment!

After dinner Keith watched Newcastle play downstairs while Sophie and I lounged on the bed and watched two new dramas - Chloe (which was quite dark) and This Is Going to Hurt, which I found funny but quite disturbing... I just hope I don't need to go to hospital any time soon!