Ahhh! The weekend beckons!

I was very glad (as I always am!) that today was Friday. It seems to have been a busy week! I went into work slightly later this morning and went to feed Hector and Lily at 7.30am. It was a glorious morning and while Keith made friends with Lily I fed them both and cleaned out the litter tray before sweeping up. There was litter all over the floor!

Work was fine and the phone calls weren't bad which meant I could do lots of other work. It was great to escape at 4pm and go home in the sunshine, which then turned into thick cloud. This evening we were determined not to have the fish and chips and Keith had already prepared a chilli con Carne.

He went to the pub while Sophie and I sipped our drinks and watched a new series called The Staircase starring Colin Firth and Toni Collette. It's based on a true story of a woman dying from falling down the stairs at home. Was it an accident or murder? I thought Colin Firth was a rather strange choice as his accent wasn't that good! Why not get an American actor to play the part?

This evening, then, was not like the previous three Fridays with sunshine, fish and chips and Stanley Tucci... never mind! It's the weekend!

Back to reality

It was back to reality after our lovely day in London, and for me, work passed very pleasantly. I managed to get through a fair amount of work and started on the monthly complaints/compliments report for Sara. Sometimes doing this can be a litany of woe!

At 2pm I sped home and caught up with some jobs before hoovering and cleaning the kitchen. Keith had made some delicious sausage rolls with the leftover pastry from the weekend and they were delicious, as always.

As I was pottering about in the kitchen, a woman appeared at the door and I realised it was our friend, Richard's, mum. She had been looking after their cats for them while they were away, but had developed gout and asked if I could do the remainder of the week? It was fine with me, as Michelle and Richard had taken care of Monty several times while we were away, and we agreed I would feed them tomorrow and Saturday morning.

Tonight was the final of this year's Masterchef and Sophie and I wanted Pookie to win. However, it was clear after the three contestants had cooked their meals that Eddie was going to go away with the trophy. It was a very emotional final!

Departure to London

Sophie and I had a bit of a lie-in this morning and woke up at 7.30am... well, that is an hour and a half longer than usual!

We caught the train just before 10am and had a pleasant journey down to Euston despite the train being quite busy. From Euston, we took an Uber to Marylebone High Street and headed straight for Le Pain Quotidien, where, after a short wait, we were seated for breakfast.

I chose scrambled eggs with bacon and crusty bread while Sophie decided on posh baked beans on toast served with spinach. She splashed out with a glass of Bellini while I settled for a flat white coffee.

The food was delicious and it was great to do a spot of people watching! The restaurant was full of all different sorts of people, and we couldn't help eavesdropping on some of the conversations as we were seated so closely together!

After breakfast, we had a wander down the High Street and found, to our delight, two charity shops. This is definitely the place to shop with houses close by commanding millions of pounds! In the first shop, Sophie found a lovely shirt, which, when she Googled the brand, cost hundreds of dollars! She bought it for £8!

Across the road was an Oxfam shop and she bought a lovely dress which was brand new and from Oasis. I bought some wildflower seeds, a bar of chocolate and some soap!

The weather wasn't as good today, and we had light drizzle when we walked to Harley Street. We took a different route and I realised this is a part of London that I like very much. Lovely old buildings line the streets, and tucked away down narrow alleys are mews houses which must cost a fortune!

We had a short wait in the clinic to see Dr Bawa who was on very good form today. After taking some more photos of Sophie, he injected just a little more botox into her nose and that was it! They then spent a pleasant few minutes discussing restaurants in London and they have very similar tastes in food!

From Harley Street, we took an Uber to St Pancras International station and joined the throngs of people travelling to destinations all over the UK and Europe. There were queues of people waiting to check in and we could see noticeboards with Paris and Brussels leaving in the afternoon. We did a dummy booking and saw tickets going to Paris costing about £300! I would like, one day, to take the train to Berlin as I love train travel and find the motion of the train very soothing!

We took the escalator to the next level and saw two Eurostar trains waiting to depart. Their noses were filthy and the one nearest to us had a pipe sticking out of the bottom making it look like it was smoking a cigarette!

We ambled around, looking at the menus of the various restaurants and bars (we were tempted by a Champagne bar, but didn't fancy paying £20 for a 125ml glass!) and soaking up the atmosphere. The glass roof of St Pancras is beautiful.

We had a booking at The Hansom, part of the St Pancras Renaissance Hotel, at 3.30pm but we pulled it forward to 2.30pm as some of the trains were being cancelled again, and we wanted to leave before 5pm.

They had no record of the change in our booking but were able to accommodate us, which was a relief! We were seated at the side of the huge room in comfortable chairs and ordered a Zig-A-Zig-Ah! cocktail in honour of the Spice Girls' song! It consisted of Gin, Campari, Aperol, Creme de Peche, orange juice and ginger beer. It was delicious!

The surroundings were gorgeous and next time we'll try and have dinner in The Booking Office, which doesn't open until 4pm. There were lots of people appearing to do business, including two men next to us talking in loud voices. We wished they'd shut up!

With our second cocktail, we enjoyed cajun fried chicken goujons and ham and cheese croquettes with a pickled walnut dip. They were scrumptious and perfectly adequate as I was still full from breakfast!

The time was getting on, so we paid the bill (£74) and as the waitress collected our glasses and plates, she dropped the pot of pickled walnut dip... it went everywhere! All over Sophie's boots, her dress, the waitress, even the banquette seat! It looked like somebody had had an unfortunate accident! The poor girl was distraught and we all mopped up as much as we could with wet wipes and napkins. She kept apologising, but it was just one of those things! I'm glad it wasn't me!

Outside the hotel

We walked the short distance back to Euston and managed to get a train leaving at about 4.15. It was a slow train which meant it stopped at every station between Euston and Northampton! Along the way, we had rain and sunshine, with some very dramatic clouds!

Keith met us, and we popped to The Whyte Melville in Boughton for a quick drink before home!

Train troubles...

We were up early this morning, but at least both Sophie and I have tomorrow off, and the prospect of a lie-in!

Work was OK and the shift passed pleasantly enough. It was a bit worrying that we had a lot of calls about membership cancellations. One woman said she'd been going through her bank statements and was getting rid of any payments she didn't need... she hadn't been to the gym for two years! We call these members "sleepers" as they still pay but never attend! The newspapers at the moment are full of ways to save money and cut down on bills, as our cost of living rockets, so it's no surprise.

Sophie has been in London today, seeing Zain, and having lunch at a very expensive restaurant called Novikov... to me, it sounds like a Russian poison! She texted me to say their lunch came to an incredible £225 and that the food was just "nice". She hadn't really wanted to go as it was so expensive, but Zain was keen to celebrate getting a job after qualifying as a solicitor, so I hope he paid the lion's share!

She let me know she was getting a train from Euston which would arrive at about 6pm, but then she received notifications that a whole lot of trains had been cancelled. She was forced to get another, but there weren't any seats as everybody had the same idea... Poor thing!

We drove down to collect her from the station and the train was late. Sophie said it crawled slowly all the way from Milton Keynes to Northampton, and she was pretty tired by the time she arrived. She'll be doing the journey all over again with me tomorrow!

A Bank Holiday treat

This morning was a lot quieter, and we had a lazy start to the May Day holiday. Keith had offered to take us out for lunch and after a lot of thought, we'd picked The Red Lion at Sibbertoft. Keith and I had visited years ago and I remember it as being a little hidden gem, cosy and interesting with an extensive wine list. It must have been pre-2010 as I don't remember writing about it on my blog, and I have a feeling I was working at Duncan's shop in Market Harborough. We'd tried to visit it a few years back on a Bank Holiday Monday, but it had been closed.

We'd booked a table yesterday to make sure, and we were told there was a large party due in at 1pm. We made our way over, through beautiful Northamptonshire countryside, to a village that really is hidden away. Keith tried the door at the back of the pub and it was locked, so he said the place was closed and we'd made a mistake... Luckily, the front door was open with a couple of people standing at the bar.

We sat in the window, Keith ordered our drinks, and we had a good look at the menu. Sophie looked like she had a bad smell under her nose, and her mood really didn't improve the whole time we were there. Later, she told us that the menus were scruffy, and the landlady wasn't much better!

In the blurb on the website, the owners had said that the pub had been "rejuvenated" but it wasn't as we'd remembered it at all. I thought back over the years and recalled sitting in a cosy, dimly-lit lounge and chatting to the landlord about wine, but today we were in a bare room with wood-panelled walls and not a lot of character!

The menu was fine, and I chose the baby rack of ribs (I was very hungry!) while Sophie went for a curry and Keith chose the steak and kidney pudding (which I wish I'd had!). The large party were nowhere to be seen... had they cancelled or was it a fib?

I have to admit we seemed a dismal little party this lunchtime - Sophie seemed unhappy but Keith did like his beer which was well-kept. One of the locals at the bar spoke loudly to his companion and every other word was a swear word, so that wasn't good! I'm just glad we didn't have young children with us! Was he saying it because it was obvious we weren't local? I have no idea...

Our food arrived and Keith enjoyed his pudding which looked delicious. My ribs were far smaller than I'd imagined, and had obviously been on a diet as there wasn't a lot of meat on them! I was still hungry when I finished my meal! The ribs came accompanied by a tiny corn on the cob, coleslaw, homemade chips and a thick barbecue sauce that covered everything.

Keith passed on a dessert as he was full but Sophie and I packed away a rhubarb crumble (me) and treacle sponge, both served with custard. The desserts made up for the disappointment with the food.

Another couple had arrived to eat, but that was it, so the pub was very quiet. I doubt we will return, which is a shame as I'd been wanting to go back for ages. Before we drove home we went to see a horse in a small field near to the pub to say hello. He was the most chilled horse I'd ever seen, and seemed to enjoy us talking to him and stroking his velvety nose!

We took a longer route home and drove past the Battle of Naseby site (1645) before going to the village itself. We'd overheard the people at the bar talking about a pub in Naseby re-opening and wondered if our old favourite, The Fitzgerald Arms, was in business again. It wasn't but it looked like the other pub in the village, The Royal Oak, was busy.

Back home it was time for a nap (I can't eat a big meal at lunchtime) and then Scrabble in the evening. It was heavenly not to have to cook and think about dinner for a change!

What a day!

Today has been very busy indeed and I'm just glad I have tomorrow off work! 

After a breakfast of pastries and coffee, Sophie made a start on the preparations for some little egg custard tarts she wanted to make. Keith tackled the shelf in our tiny laundry room and cut it to size. I amused myself by cleaning out the filter in the tumble dryer and giving the cupboard a good clean. I know how to enjoy myself on a Bank Holiday weekend!

After a lot of grappling, being stuck in a confined space and some swearing, the shelf was done and looked lovely with our laundry basket on top. Keith had done a good job with the old shelf but it certainly wasn't wide enough and things fell off the back, never to be seen again! Now we're going to use it as an extra shelf and arrange some pretty jars on it. I'm determined to have a lovely little laundry "room"!

Sophie's recipe said the prep for the tarts would take 30 minutes but she was at it for far longer than that, bless her! She made the cinnamon custard and then rolled out two sheets of pastry, one liberally sprinkled with more spice and icing sugar. She then had to roll them out together and form a long sausage before cutting into rounds. These were then rolled out into circles, popped into a muffin tray and filled with the custard.

While they were cooking I peeled and cooked potatoes and cod for the fishcakes for our dinner this evening. I hadn't bargained for spending the whole day preparing food, but that's what happened! We had some lunch (leftover mince and dumplings) and Sophie helped me put clean sheets and a duvet cover on my bed. Not the best of days to decide to wash the bedding as the weather was grey and drizzly!

We quickly had a shower and went to pick up my Mum. Back home, Sophie made a big pot of masala tea and we sat in the conservatory with our custard tarts and drinks. Delicious!

We sat and chatted for a couple of hours, then we returned Mum, and drove home via the scenic route, No hot air balloons about tonight - no sunshine either! Before we were able to relax and play Scrabble, Sophie and I coated the already formed fishcakes with breadcrumbs ready to cook later. One of them threatened to fall apart as I dipped it in the egg,  but I saved it! I had a dread they would all collapse which is why I decided to cook them in the oven, rather than risk frying them!

We had a great game of Scrabble and then popped everything in the oven to cook - the fishcakes, asparagus and cubed potatoes to roast. Simples! The meal was lovely and we'll definitely cook them from scratch again, even if it does take a bit of effort!

A working Saturday.

I was at work today so Sophie gave me a lift and then went to the gym. After a busy first half-hour, the phones calmed down a bit and I was able to get lots of other jobs completed. I was working with Sue, so we had a very pleasant shift. 

At 2pm Sophie came to collect me and before going home I popped into Aldi to buy the ingredients for some little cakes that Sophie was planning to make, and to get something for our lunch. The supermarket was packed with people and the salad and deli aisles were the busiest! Today, the weather has been gorgeous with blue skies and sunshine which is typical seeing as I was working!

Back home we enjoyed a delicious Caesar salad and crusty bread for lunch and relaxed for the rest of the afternoon. Sophie had cleaned the house for me and had had a good workout at the gym, so she felt justified in lolling about on the bed and catching up with a recorded programme! Good for her!

In the evening we played Scrabble and enjoyed an Aldi Aperini and Prosecco cocktail. I had picked the Aperini up for about £7 so considerably less than a bottle of Aperol! Our game of Scrabble was very close - I think Sophie beat me by about 5 points!

Dinner tonight was minced beef and dumplings - not really what we'd had planned but the homemade fishcakes have been put on hold until tomorrow, seeing as we had fish last night!