Something fishy!

I was kept busy this morning as I had a list of new films to put on, including the new Jurassic World film. I would love to go and see it at Cineworld in 4DX like we used to. It's about £20 each but worth it! I also noticed that we're showing Operation Mincemeat again so I'm determined to go and see it with Keith while I can!

The rest of the day was fairly uneventful and after work, I sped home to prepare dinner. I'm not a huge fan of fish pie, but Keith and Sophie love it so I give in! We sat and ate in the conservatory tonight as there's more space and it's more comfortable for Keith.

After dinner, Sophie and I indulged in 90 Day Fiance again. It's an addictive habit and Sophie's certainly getting her money's worth from the Discovery+ subscription fee!

Having conversations...

I was determined to have a word with Sara this morning about my hourly rate and try and see whether the management bigwigs had made any decisions about the team as a whole, as they were going to. I think Sara was a bit surprised when I started talking, but she agreed with everything I said, especially now when the cost of living is rocketing. 

I made the point that I do a lot more than some of the staff in the office and should be paid accordingly. She promised to talk to her boss and higher up in the organisation, so we'll just have to see. I have a feeling it may fall on deaf ears!

Today was busy first thing and then it quietened down. I sped home at 4pm to find Keith had forgotten to buy the fish for tomorrow's fish pie... we decided to pop over to Tesco to get some and bought a couple of treats as well. Well, if we can't enjoy a tipple in the evening, what is life all about?

Dinner tonight was enchiladas and then 90 Day Fiance. We are coming to the end of the series we're on, and there's been no mention of covid yet... just wait!

Scared silly!

The weather today has been terrible - what a shame for everyone who had planned garden parties, Jubilee lunches, and other outdoor events. The sky has remained solidly grey all day with not the tiniest hint of sunshine.

We had a relaxed morning, and at midday, drove to Laura's house to feed her cats for the last time. We then headed into town, parked in Albion Place next to Derngate, and walked to Pizza Express where we'd booked a table for 1pm.

The restaurant was quiet and we ordered a glass of wine each, with doppio doughballs and breaded halloumi bites to start, followed by a spicy chicken pizza. The food was delicious as always, and both of us were hungry after not having a lot for breakfast! We rounded off the meal by sharing a portion of Tiramisu, which was lovely and creamy, but not as good as Sophie's!

It was a very short walk to the Northampton Filmhouse and we were the first to be seated. I was hoping that lots of people would attend but there were no more than fifteen of us watching a re-mastered version of Psycho.

The film was brilliant on the big screen and as scary as ever. Even though we'd seen the film before and knew what to expect, the mother scene still sent a chill down our spines! We emerged into the grey afternoon and headed home where we relaxed before playing Scrabble. Keith had prepared the dinner of beef steaks in gravy served with our own homemade skinny fries and it was a delicious meal.

The Jubilee weekend is over and I confess I didn't see much of the coverage on television and didn't attend many of the events held in our village. However, it was lovely to see the country come together to celebrate a momentous occasion!

Washout Saturday...

Today has been spent mostly at home, and I was glad we hadn't agreed to go to the street party in the village as we had heavy rain for about two hours in the afternoon. Typical!

Sophie and I went out to the post office in Moulton to send off an eBay parcel that we hadn't been able to do until today. On our return, we pootled about and sorted out some more stuff to sell but it's hard work at the moment. I certainly wouldn't want to earn a good living from it, but it's perfect for raising cash for treats!

Sophie also spent a fair amount of time preparing the vegetables for a paella tonight and managed to smash a dish which was full of chopped up mushrooms and pepper. We both stared at the mess in horror - there were vegetables everywhere with pieces of broken china... I gave her a hug as she looked so sad!

At lunchtime, we went out to feed Laura's cats and it was pouring with rain. Not a great thing to happen, as I'm sure there are hundreds of outdoor events going on all around the country, and tomorrow we have weather warnings for thunderstorms and rain! Luckily, there was a Tesco Express near Laura's house so I bought another punnet of mushrooms to replace the ones that had landed up on the floor!

The afternoon was spent not doing a lot, and I felt guilty that I hadn't used the time more effectively. The sun did at least make an appearance, and we enjoyed a game of Scrabble with a glass of wine whilst listening to music. Sophie beat me.

Tonight, the paella was delicious and there was not much left when we'd finished! There was enough for Sophie's lunch on Monday which was great. I do hate food waste, but we try and put out scraps for the birds who are still feeding their young. Yesterday, Sophie and Keith rescued a baby sparrow that had become caught in one of the feeders that we'd put on the ground. We fill it with fat snax, and then try and close one end, so the big jackdaws, magpies and rooks can't carry them away whole. The sparrow had been after the fat snax and had managed to get its beak and wing stuck. Keith and Sophie spotted it and managed to get it out, poor thing!

After dinner, we decided to watch No Time To Die again on Amazon Prime. It went on late and I fell asleep!

Frightful Friday!

Today was certainly not the relaxed end to the week I was hoping for. In fact, it's been one of the worst days at work I can remember, which was a huge shame, as there was just Kathy and myself working and normally it's very relaxed.

Sophie took me to work and then went to the gym. I set everything up in the office and went to get a coffee, and was held up by some of my colleagues querying the time of our afternoon cinema screening. Because it's an official Bank Holiday today, we were closing early and the time of the film reflected that. There had been a problem with the posters and I said that was Marketing's domain! The discussion put me behind a bit, so when the phone lines opened at 9am I wasn't really ready! We had been hoping for a quiet day, but it was not to be. We were rammed with calls and the majority were swimming bookings...

Halfway through the morning, I took a call from one of the staff at another centre who said that tomorrow they would have less staff than they had planned for, and could we reduce the numbers who could book for the swimming sessions? I knew how to do it (or so I thought) so I said I'd sort it out.

We have nine sessions on a Saturday, every half an hour from midday onwards, so I asked Kathy if it was OK if I went off the phone to sort out the numbers. The sessions had been input right up until March 2023 and I did what I thought was correct and reduced the numbers for each session to 30 people.

However, when we both went to check that the sessions were on for next Saturday and after that, they had all disappeared! I had managed to wipe them out for the next ten months! I was horrified and went back onto the page to try and sort it out, managing to make it worse! I then wiped out all the sessions for Saturday even though we already had people booked on!

To cut a horrible story short, I had to call Sheila who very calmly put it right for me. Luckily, the software we use retains anyone booked onto a session so we didn't lose them, but I was mortified that I'd made such a mess of it. It's extremely easy to input sessions onto the system but a little more difficult to edit them, as I have found out!

The calls remained relentless for the whole shift and I was truly grateful we finished at 2pm. I didn't even have time to check my own emails, let alone the customer service ones! I just about managed to do the box office returns in between calls as they had to be sent off to the film distribution companies.

Sophie picked me up and we drove over to Laura's house to feed her two beautiful cats. They looked at us in alarm at first, but gradually became more bold and let us stroke them. I think feeding them helped them to overcome their shyness!

Back home, it was time to relax and enjoy the rest of Friday. Keith went to the pub and Sophie and I sipped a glass of Rose and watched 90 Day Fiance. There was no fish and chip van tonight, because of the Jubilee, so we enjoyed baked potatoes with salad for dinner!

The lighting of the beacon.

It's the start of the Jubilee weekend today and although I'm not much into royalty, it is amazing that the Queen is celebrating 70 years on the throne. I caught some of the Trooping of the Colour this morning and have to confess to not knowing what on earth was going on. We do have a lot of pomp and pageantry in Great Britain, but some of it is incomprehensible! I was more interested in spotting the royals at the window, and Kate looked gorgeous.

Sophie and I decided to pop to Market Harborough today and look in the shops, but we didn't realise that many of them were closed because of the Queen's Jubilee... We parked for free and had lunch at the little Garage Bakehouse near the car park. We arrived just in time, grabbed a small table on the pavement, and enjoyed sitting in the sunshine. After we'd ordered, a large crowd of people gathered!

A couple of charity shops were open, and Sophie found a pair of white plimsolls (like Vans) and a top, while I treated myself to a pair of brand new sunglasses for £4! I was on the lookout for a butter dish and a new mug as both of ours had been broken at home. 

It was quiet in the town, probably because some of the smaller, independent shops were closed, and we decided to have an ice cream in Gallone's before heading home. Predictably, the cafe was busy with lots of children running about! It is half-term after all!

We finished our sundaes and headed home via the scenic route. The weather today has been dry with a mix of sunshine and clouds. We're all hoping that the weather stays dry for the next four days as there are so many outdoor events planned!

Back home we relaxed and played Scrabble before Sophie cooked dinner. Unfortunately, tonight was not one of her best efforts -  Gino D'Acampo's pasta which we normally cook with sausage meat - but tonight we substituted the pork with turkey mince. All I will say is that the garlic bread was delicious!

We had arranged with Michelle and Richard to walk up to the village at 9pm and watch the lighting of the beacon, an event that was being repeated all over the United Kingdon and the Commonwealth. It was a beautiful evening with a pinky/peachy sunset sky, and it was great to get some exercise after dinner. None of us had eaten much so it wasn't lying heavily in our tummies!

We had hoped the White Horse would have re-opened but they have been experiencing difficulties, and the re-opening is now planned for the 1 July. They certainly missed a trick this evening as, after a slow start, lots of villagers turned out for the event. 

The Charities committee had thoughtfully laid on Pimms and nibbles, so we enjoyed some of that and listened to a choir singing for us.

The church bells rang at exactly 9.15pm and then the beacon was lit at 9.45pm. It was lovely to think this was being repeated all over the country, and even the world!

It was great to chat with Michelle and Richard and we walked home after the fire had died down. We arrived back at 10.30pm which was a bit of a shock! I'm back at work tomorrow!

Pastures re-visited...

After a morning spent pootling about and catching up with jobs, I picked my Mum up at 2pm and we drove over to Rushden to visit Waitrose for a change. I hadn't been for ages and their cafe had changed, just like the one at Kingsthorpe, and was now called Waite and Rose...

The place was quiet and they had very few staff about, so there was a long queue at the counter. One woman had been abandoned and was waiting for her hot drinks... I think the member of staff serving had forgotten about her! The shortage of staff seems to be affecting so many businesses these days. You only have to read the newspaper or turn on the television to see the chaos in the travel industry at the moment!

We had a tea and a coffee, and I enjoyed a cheese scone before having a good look around the store. Mum picked out a bottle of whisky for Dad and I suggested an orange Gin for her to enjoy in the evening. I looked at buying a bottle of something for myself but didn't fancy anything! I  have realised that Gin can keep me awake at night so I've avoided it, especially the night before I go to work! There were so many beverages on offer, though, and a whole section devoted to Gins, which came in many shapes and colours!

We drove home a different way, through heavy traffic, and it was almost 5pm before I returned her, just in time for her tea. I sped home to wait for Sophie as we planned to play Scrabble before dinner. Both of us are off tomorrow because it's the start of the Jubilee weekend! 

We barbecued tonight, and for once, the weather was dry and sunny!