What riots?

This morning, I enjoyed a little lie-in and pootled about catching up with jobs. I  had an appointment for an eye test at midday because I think I now need glasses to drive at night. My multifocal lenses are great for work as I can read easily, but driving at night is a different matter.

I had a thorough eye test, and she said my prescription hadn't changed. I then saw the branch manager about varifocal glasses and ordered a special pair for driving at night. I just hope I can get on with them! Sophie had texted me to ask to meet for lunch, so I sped back to Keith who was waiting in the car, and we drove to Riverside for lunch at Costa in the Next store.

Sophie was slightly agitated as she had problems with staff at work, so we sat and had a good chat over lunch. She rushed back to work after we'd eaten, and Keith and I popped into a very dismal Homebase to look for large garden waste bags. There was hardly anything left in the DIY store so it was sad to see all the things that people didn't want including a couple of kitchens that had been slashed in price by 60%!

From Homebase, we drove to B&Q and found a large Hippo bag that would take a good amount of our garden rubbish. I decided to drive back through town and see what was happening along the Kettering Road, where a planned "protest" was due to take place this evening.

Yesterday, at work, we received an email from a customer about one of our leisure centres that is close to this area, asking if we were going to close early? It was the first any of us had heard about it but of course, the youngsters had all seen the news on social media that a far-right group were going to meet at an immigration lawyer's office near the junction with Clare Street.

We drove into town and as we waited at traffic lights to turn right onto Clare Street, we saw a very sinister character go past on a quad bike, dressed from head to toe in black and wearing a black mask over their face. Further down Clare Street, we saw two policemen, and there was more of a police presence at the junction. The immigration lawyer's office was shuttered and I would estimate that about 90% of shops, restaurants and take-aways were either shuttered up or boarded with thick panels of wood. This part of Northampton is mainly ethnic restaurants and supermarkets, and I felt sorry for all the businesses who were obviously scared of what was going to happen. The police were very visible and talking to the business owners so the threats had been taken seriously.

We returned home and after sitting with a cup of tea and reading the paper for half an hour, we tackled the usual chores, I hoovered and dusted the living room and started the shopping list. Over a drink, we sat and chatted about our forthcoming breaks and worked out what had been paid for and what hadn't!

After dinner, I received a WhatsApp message from a colleague with a link to TikTok and live footage of the Kettering Road in Northampton. There were a lot of people about but they seemed to be anti-racist and the gathering was peaceful. The road had been shut but it appeared that any far-right demonstrators had decided not to go out! This seemed to be the case all over England and there were far more anti-racism crowds so the planned 100 gatherings didn't happen, which was great news. Perhaps good sense had prevailed!

Electricity talk!

It's been a bit frustrating at work today as the madness continues and we receive many, many calls. For some reason, Angela didn't log on until almost 10.30am this morning, leaving Jo and me to take all the calls... Am I missing something here? I thought our job was to answer the phone and help people? I was mighty miffed!

It was a huge relief to leave at 4pm and head home. Just as I arrived, a van drew up and it was an electrician that Sophie had contacted about the outside charging unit. He peered into our meter cupboard, looked at the fusebox in the cloakroom, and took a photo of it, and then gave us lots of information about charging up Sophie's car. We can contact our electricity supplier and ask them to put us on an overnight EV tariff, which sounds good and will help with the bills.

He waffled on for another twenty minutes and left, saying he would send Sophie a quote over the next couple of days. Our daughter arrived home, bringing the car manual with her as she hadn't been able to adjust the wing mirrors! She said the car had warned her about her position in the lanes on the road and whether she was too close to the vehicle in front... haha! 

We had a quiet evening with sausages and loads of vegetables for dinner, and the Olympics after we'd eaten. Don't get me wrong I love watching the games but I will be glad when all this sport is over!

A new addition to the family!

The school holidays rumble on, and we're on week three, so three more weeks after this one. Not that I'm counting, of course! In the afternoon, we had a fire alarm and everyone, including those who were swimming, had to evacuate the building! I felt so sorry for the swimmers wrapped in towels! Luckily, we weren't outside for long, but this tends to happen every school holiday!

Keith picked me up at 4pm and we drove to the VW dealership on Riverside. Sophie arrived five minutes after us and we went into the showroom to complete the paperwork. It was all done within half an hour and we went over to where Sophie's new car was charging. The salesman explained the charging process and showed us the two cables in the boot. Until we get the outside charger fitted, we can connect one of the cables to a normal plug socket, but it does take a while to charge this way, and it's not recommended.

He then showed Sophie the controls and that was it! I went with her while Keith drove the Golf home. I was impressed with her driving on the way home, as it was rush hour and she was in a new car. It was lovely, though, and the ride was smooth and comfortable.

Back home, Sophie gingerly manoeuvred the car onto the driveway and we waited for Keith, who had become stuck in the car park. He had the house keys so we had to loiter about until he returned! I think Sophie will have to have a good read of the manual to find out how everything works!

Mike gone AWOL!

Mike didn't come home last night, but as I now have FindMyPhone for him, I could see where he was - in Daventry, so not lying in a ditch somewhere! He could have texted me last night to say he was staying out with friends! He arrived home just as we were tucking into more bacon sandwiches but disappeared upstairs to have a shower. Not much changes!

I tackled the inside of the conservatory today as it's been taken over by spiders and flies. I washed the windows and cleaned all the frames so they looked a lot better. I took photos of the three glass panels I'd like replacing and we're also talking about having a new door with an inbuilt cat flap at the bottom so the moggies can come and go as they please. Having the door open throughout the winter was not a good idea!

Sophie drove to Wellingborough to see Vikesh in the afternoon for sushi at Rushden Lakes. However, she texted me to say it was busy so they went to Wellingborough instead. I'm not sure she was happy as she'd been looking forward to going to Yo! Sushi.

Mike returned to Abbie's house later in the afternoon and I said we'd see him again when we're due to take them to the airport on the 16th of August. I then looked at drop-off parking at Stansted and arranged a loan with the bank (!). Actually, I found out that taking them to the mid-stay car park is free, and they can get a shuttle bus to the terminal!

Sophie came home, and we sat and talked at the kitchen island with a drink. Dinner tonight was barbecued steak with Dauphinoise potatoes, a dish I'd never made before. I prepared the potatoes, mixed them with garlic and cream and popped them into the oven a good two hours before we were due to eat. I learnt that if you cook them on a gentle heat for a long time, the cream won't curdle.

Keith went out to barbecue the steaks, and Sophie and I popped asparagus and long-stem broccoli into the oven. We sat down to eat and I was disappointed to see that the cream had curdled and looked like over-done scrambled eggs. The dish still tasted good but I was annoyed. If I'd cooked them on a lower heat they would have been raw! I'll try again with this dish as I won't be beaten!

Tidying up!

I discovered this morning that in the night, Mike had wandered into Sophie's room by mistake and had become quite aggressive when she told him to go back to his own room... She had been scared to wake up and find him standing at the foot of her bed, and as this wasn't the first time it had happened when he stayed over, she was naturally quite upset. He had almost no recollection of it and apologised but it did make things a bit tense this morning.

I sent Keith out for bacon, and we had sandwiches and coffee for breakfast before I gave Sophie a lift to the beauty salon in Northampton. The weather this morning has been disappointing with heavy clouds and no hint of sunshine. 

When we arrived back, I decided to tackle the back garden which had been left in a mess after the men's work yesterday. I mowed up lots of the scattered leaves and small twigs and raked up the bits the mower missed so it looked a lot neater. The poor garden was parched because of the lack of good rainfall recently, so I watered all the pots and threw out some plants that were past their best.

Sophie made me a cup of tea and came out to read her book as I worked, so it was very pleasant. We even had a visit from Mooney! When I finished I was a lot happier, but now we need to go to the tip in Brixworth with all the cuttings.

Keith went to see Sileby play for the first time this season, and Sophie and I had a sneaky drink and booked a girls' getaway in Vienna for next March. We were so excited and had a good look at the hotel we'd booked and restaurants nearby, but I think that's it for now! We have lots to look forward to in the next few months!

Mike joined us and we watched an episode of Travel Man in Vienna. Sophie had made me a G&T and she made Mike and herself a Negroni. It was exceedingly pleasant sitting and chatting and watching the Olympics after the travel show. Keith came home with news of a 1-1 draw and he and Mike went to the pub for an early drink. We have been trying to get quotes for an outside charging point for Sophie's new car and they were hoping to see Josh in the pub, who's a qualified electrician. I was amazed at the quotes we've been getting, all in the region of about £1000!

Sophie and I decided to walk Mooney to the green and shout for Gomez, and it was a very sociable stroll, saying hello to our neighbours, and chatting with Paul and Sharon who were walking their dogs, Bailey and Archie.

I was going to post a letter but Mooney followed me so I returned to the green! I thought he would have stayed close to Sophie so I was surprised to see him walking behind me! We returned to the house and sat in the garden. It was blissfully quiet, which is just as it should be in the cocktail hour!

Sophie made beef stroganoff for dinner and it was delicious served with rice and garlic bread. We watched the Olympics after dinner and enjoyed the athletics and swimming. Mike went out again, this time to see friends further afield, but he certainly wasn't going to drive after the drinks he'd enjoyed this afternoon!

Slasher Keith strikes again...

We now have a new rota on Fridays at work, and Sharon is in with Kathy and me. She is still learning, but I get the feeling she's not really treating the job seriously! It's almost as if answering the phone is an option and she spent more time on "admin" than she did taking calls, which was frustrating for Kathy and me. She also disappeared at lunchtime for nearly half an hour, which was taking the proverbial! 

I put more films on until early September, managed to put a handful of swim camps on and dealt with the emails. I was horrified at 3.55pm to discover I'd missed one of our holiday activities which can be booked on Sunday, so I hurriedly did that! It was a popular activity so I'm sure there would have been queries as to why it wasn't bookable!

When I got home I saw Mike's Ford Fiesta was parked outside. It was lovely to see him again and we had a quick catch-up before Keith asked me to go outside to look at the garden. Mike had arrived in the early afternoon and had helped Keith prune some of the bushes in the garden. However, between them, they had massacred my beautiful Clematis that had been growing at the back of the garage. It was no more. I said a few choice words and they both tried to vindicate what they'd done by saying the plant was pulling off the drainpipe and growing under the roof... Hmmm! They said it would grow back! Yes, one day in the distant future!

They then disappeared to the pub, and I hoovered up all the bits of leaves and twigs that had been trodden through the house. I was not happy. Sophie arrived home and we opened a bottle of Italian Pinot Grigio and relaxed with a Netflix documentary about a female Sherpa climbing Everest.

Keith and Mike arrived home before 7pm, and Keith started banging about in the kitchen sorting dinner, even though Sophie and I were happy to do it. He'd prepared a curry earlier and all we needed to do was boil the rice and heat up the naan bread.

We sat in the conservatory to enjoy dinner and watched the Olympics after we'd eaten. Mike went to the village to see some mates, and I gave him the front door key, forbidding him to come in through the kitchen because of the cats. Mooney and Gomez are still very wary of him and we hadn't seen either cat all evening. Mooney had come into the house when Mike was in the kitchen and had done a runner straight away!

Another month arrives!

I was hoping for a few quiet days now, and praying that the niggles we experienced in July were behind us!

Keith took me to work this morning and went to do the shopping. I had a busy shift at work and was glad to finish at 2pm. I dropped Keith off at home and carried on over to Kettering to pick up my Mum and take her to have her nails done.

The area behind Natalia's house, where I park the car, resembled Old Steptoe's Yard even more today. I parked next to an ancient Mercedes that obviously hadn't moved for a while, as it was covered in dust, tree resin and bird poop. I think Natalia and her husband own an old truck that they're converting into a camper van, and that was parked right next to her gate so we had difficulty getting into her garden and the little room she uses for her nail business!

Her daughter met us and started the process by removing the old gel nail polish. She was lovely and friendly and chatted with us until her Mum turned up to take over. By about 4.30pm Mum was done and sporting beautiful grey nails with a French polish finish. 

I took her back and it was lovely to have the air-conditioning on in the car! I almost fell asleep in the salon as it was so warm! The heatwave is set to continue for another day and the forecast thunderstorms never happened here today, although we did have some rain this morning. It was cloudy and overcast and therefore humid and uncomfortable. It's always the way; we get a warning and nothing happens!