A tale of two towns

After a lazyish start to the day, Sophie and I headed over to Olney to have a coffee and a pastry. The weather was grey and miserable, with heavy cloud cover. We queued to get to the centre of Olney, and couldn't get parked as the small area in the middle of the town was already rammed with cars, even at 11:00am!

We had no choice but to backtrack and park by the rugby club, a short walk away. Our first port of call was JJ's café opposite the market square. Sophie ordered a matcha made with oat milk while I settled for a flat white. I wanted to try her drink first before committing! We also indulged in a small cake each, as we hadn't had any breakfast.

I loved Sophie's drink, so when I'd finished my coffee, she went back to the counter and ordered me a matcha as well. I'm a convert! The café was pleasantly busy, and outside, there was a non-stop procession of people walking past. Olney has become very popular!

After our drinks, we called into the Oxfam bookshop, a second bookshop, which had a very eclectic range, and one of our favourite charity shops, where Sophie spotted a brand new pair of Birkenstocks for just £15! What a bargain! She could hardly believe her luck as they normally retail for about £90!

Suitably jubilant, we returned to the car and made our way to Woburn for the second half of our day out. Again, we had terrible trouble finding a space, and after about four circuits, we were forced to wait for a couple who had returned from a walk and were changing their boots!

We did a short walk towards the grounds of Woburn Abbey, but as the day was so grey and miserable, we walked back to the main street and had a look in Zoohaus. We both spotted the most beautiful leather-lined bar that would look fabulous in the conservatory!

At £1955, as well as the two bar stools, it was a serious investment! Maybe one day!

Amazing homeware!

Before our lunchtime booking at The Black Horse, we crossed the road and had a drink in The Nook. Sophie ordered half a Guinness, while I opted for a half pint of Witchstone, a malty dark beer, which was delicious.

We took our drinks and sat in the quiet lounge, enjoying the peaceful ambience of this little bar. However, the peace and quiet were short-lived when a group of three people came in with a dog and started playing a noisy game on one of the counters. The dog then started barking... We finished our drinks and fled next door to the pub!

We were seated deep in the pub, away from the noisy bar area, and studied the menu. Sophie was tempted to have one of the specials, a ham and leek pie, so I chose the chicken Milanese served with French fries and a green salad. We chose starters of padron peppers and halloumi sticks served with a delicious dip.

The starters vanished quickly, and Sophie enjoyed a glass of Chardonnay. Being good, I stuck to sparkling water! My main course had a hint of a herb about it that I didn't like, and was also very garlicky, so I was a little disappointed, but Sophie's pie went down very well, and it was just what she wanted.

As a treat, I ordered the chocolate fondant on the menu, but it must have thrown the kitchen into a real tizzy as my dessert took ages to appear, with the waitress even coming out to apologise and say the first one they had cooked wasn't up to standard! When my chocolate cake did appear, it oozed beautifully and was worth the wait!

We paid the bill, ambled back to the car and drove into Woburn Abbey's parkland to see the deer. Numerous herds were grazing the extensive grounds, with cars slowing down to look at them. We decided to make a detour to Ampthill to have a look around, and the town was very pleasant with an array of interesting shops. We will be back!

Our journey home took us towards Bedford and then back along the A428. We drove through Castle Ashby, Whiston and Cogenhoe before turning onto the A43 and home. The weather hadn't improved at all and was still grey and misty. When are we going to see the sun?

Keith had been to see Sileby today and was home watching the rugby between England and Italy. We mooched about, and Keith decided to record the football match this evening between Newcastle and Manchester City. I was pleased as I didn't fancy watching football on a Saturday evening!

The end of an era...

My shift passed in another dizzying blur, but before I tackled the emails, I put on the last of our films up until the 31st of March. Our last ever film will be an animated children's film, Hoppers. It will be screened on the 31st, at 2pm, and that's it. The end of an era. I felt very sad, as I've enjoyed working on the cinema stuff and reporting the box office returns. Some of our members can't take it in that we will no longer have the cinema, and I find it hard to believe as well!

Keith and I were celebrating 38 (38!) years together today, and he wasn't going to the pub, so we ordered a  Chinese takeaway and cracked open a bottle of Champagne. Sophie lit all the candles, and the house looked lovely. Our usual restaurant was closed, so we ordered from Brixworth and were pleasantly surprised by how good the food was! Sophie and I chose the set meal for two and tried dishes we wouldn't normally choose. The food was delicious, with enough left for lunch on Sunday.

Sophie and I watched Sabrina, a remake of the original 1954 film, starring Julia Ormond and Harrison Ford, who was a much better choice than Humphrey Bogart in the older brother role! 

Yippee! It's Saturday tomorrow and a lie-in beckons!

A flying visit

I took myself to work this morning, and we faced another mountain of emails. I think we have passed the peak, though, and Bob has been turned off. Customers must now email us directly.

My shift passed very quickly, and I sped home to find Kym already attending to Keith's feet. When it was my turn, she told me about the problems she'd been having with her wedding venue, and how the woman running it had conned about thirty brides out of their money. It sounded terrible, and she was furious! She also kept me entertained with her story about her Hen Night in Newcastle, and not being told what she was doing over the weekend. When she finished, we made another appointment, so I'm dying to hear all about it!

Once Kym had gone, we dashed over to the care home to see Mum, who was sitting in the dining room having tea. I stayed for a quick chat and then returned home to do the usual chores before Sophie arrived.

Dinner tonight was a delicious beef pie with loads of vegetables and a return to Shetland. We have one episode of series 5 to watch, and the tension is building!

Having a clear out!

I had a lovely lie-in this morning, and it was great not to have to rush about as I normally do. Keith had an appointment with the GP, and then he went to shop for tomorrow's dinner as he won't be able to go on Thursday. We have Kym coming at 2.30pm to see to our feet, and she always arrives early!

I pootled about and made an appointment for the tip, for 11:30am. When Keith arrived home, he backed the car up the drive, and together, we heaved the huge bag of garden rubbish into the boot. I made sure I wore gloves and a long-sleeved top! My arms are almost back to normal now, and I don't want the rash coming back!

Just before our allotted time, we drove to Brixworth and got rid of our rubbish, which included our BBQ as well. Back home, I made another appointment for 1:30pm, as we still had a large box of greenery, some electrical items, and batteries. I was glad that none of the stuff we took today went into the landfill skip!

I swept the garage and tidied up a bit, but there's still stuff that needs to be cleared out. We'll wait for slightly warmer weather!

The rest of the afternoon was spent pottering about doing jobs, and I had a soak in the bath. When I undressed, I found bits of leaves and twigs down the front of my top!

Keith had made a delicious curry for dinner, and then he retired to the living room to watch Newcastle play football. No Shetland tonight, then!

A little bicker

It's so much easier when Keith drives me to work, as we don't have to leave so early, and there's no worry about finding a space! I called into Tesco to buy myself a sandwich and arrived nice and early, ready to start another day!

I put my head down and dealt with all the Bob conversations, and then switched to normal emails. We're not behind in terms of age, just sheer volume! I didn't volunteer to go to work on Wednesday, as Keith and I need to go to the tip to get rid of all the garden rubbish. And I'm going to wear long sleeves and gloves!

When Sophie arrived home, we had a bit of a bicker about how much water I'd drunk during the day. I am notoriously bad about this, but I'd had three coffees, a bottle of orange juice (rare for me) and eaten fruit. She wouldn't join us in the kitchen when Keith and I played cards, and the atmosphere was a bit tense all night...

Apparently, Mercury is in retrograde again... I'm blaming it on that!

Who's in, and who's out...

Sara told me this morning that I would have to man the phones from 2:00pm until 4:00pm, as Shirley wasn't able to cover. It was a bit of a blow as we had so much work to do. However, I was resigned to it!

The shock I'd received on Friday was common knowledge today, when some of the staff discovered if they had been transferred to Everyone Active on the 1st of April. To my huge surprise, Sheila had been TUPE'd over... I'm not sure what she'll be doing, as she is a manager who looks after the banking and finance side of the business. She's due to retire in November, which was one of the main reasons behind the decision. So, there were a lot of meetings going on today, and hushed conversations. I already knew I was staying with the company, which was a huge relief!

Around midday, we had another fire alarm, so we all had to troop outside until it was safe to go back in. Luckily, it was a lovely day, and the sun was shining! Some poor people who'd been in the pool joined us, wrapped in towels! 

At the end of the day, we hadn't made much inroads into the emails, so tomorrow it will be more of the same old, same old!

Lazy Sunday

In complete contrast to yesterday, today has been very lazy, which is just what we planned! We did do laundry, and we washed up the last few glasses from yesterday evening, but it was lovely to potter about and relax. The house was clean, supper tonight was simple, and both Sophie and I would be busy back at work tomorrow. I had sneaked a peek at the work emails and was horrified to see so many coming in. I knew I'd be in for a busy week!

In the evening, Sophie and I played Scrabble, and she made us both Mexican Mule cocktails with the last of the Tequila and ginger beer. They were delicious! She beat me at the game, though!

Spring is finally here (the meteorological Spring, anyway!), and we said we'd have to use the conservatory more often. I have put my bed throw over the sofa, and it looked cosy and inviting. A perfect place to sit and read on a Sunday afternoon in the future!

Dinner was cold meats and cheeses, and then it was time for an episode of Shetland before an early night. The working week beckons!