The honeymoon period is over.......

After the excitement of the Surrey wedding reception, the days that have followed have been fairly dull and monotonous.   Don’t get me wrong, Phil & I love to party, sing, dance, drink and be very merry with the youngest (and fairest of them) but boy when we do, it takes days to recover. I bode a little fairer than Phil but that’s only to be expected when you think I’m 10 years younger, but hey, anything less than 9 hours sleep, and I’m a waste of space. God knows, how will I fair when I’m back in the swing of full time hours (that is if anyone is brave enough to employ me); how on earth will I cope???

Honest to god, my brain is foggy and it’s difficult to recall just what unexciting events that have occurred so far this week; Phil is still obsessed with the lawn and on finding a bag of lawn feed has been watering our small oblong piece of grass non stop.  I’ve collected the PO box post (x 2), been to the CF flat to chuck out the free papers, encountering the mad neighbour next door (she should really be sectioned); I’ve filled out sent off a couple of job applications, visited the gym a couple of times and generally gone about my business. I have not been idle.  I am not an idle person full stop and if any future employer should accidentally stumble across this blog detailing the futile grumbles and groans of a middle aged woman, then please, don’t believe all you read, you’ve just caught me on an off day. 

Today is Thursday and already I have deviated from the new wonder diet so called lean-cum-mean as featured in the supplement in the Daily Mail magazine last Sunday.  It’s a shame and I am disappointed with myself, especially after Phil went to all the trouble of going out and buying the many and all expensive ingredients on Monday.  The trouble is, on this regime, you can’t have fruit (too much sugar) and my best love of all, potatoes, are banned as well; this is the stumbling block for me as are the breakfasts.  Try as I may, but I simply can’t stomach chicken breast with steamed asparagus sticks for breakfast.  I struggle with breakfast enough as it is. That goes back to my smoking days when breakfast was 5 fags and endless cups of coffee in the garden.  A few berries with a tablespoon of organic low fat yogurt with a sprinkling of linseed seeds is just about bearable (my own diet) but hey, what they call a ‘big lunch’ for breakfast before lunch is difficult to get my head around.

I am a wimp, a lightweight or maybe a failure, probably the latter.  I am not abandoning the Mail on Sunday diet altogether but it’s true to say, I am adapting it.  I am still following the ‘8’ minute exercise which I find bloody difficult but still I am persevering.  I may be a short arse but I don’t have a flexible body, honestly I don’t’, even when I was 11 yrs old and a budding wannabe ballerina.  Even way back then, I couldn’t do a ‘crab shape’.  Well could you????  Phil isn’t flexible either and maybe that’s why we are compatible, connected someway in our un-bendy bodies: Okay just a theory. Our best move (together) is lying vertical on the reclining sofas in front of the telly with a glass of something cold in hand!  I have to say that Phil is far better at this than moi. I crouch, I squat, I resist pressing the reclining button until the very last, than I surrender, ease back, and life, all of a sudden is so much better!  Then I immediately fall asleep and start snoring!

The truth be told, I am not all that impressed with my DH at the moment.  Before I start my rant, I have to say I’m not perfect (no way hosai) and if he, my DH that is, wants to retaliate than he can; after all, he is a joint author of this blog (my blog) and I won’t stand in his way even if he wants (or is that dares?) to air his woes!  NO, honestly I won’t, but if it’s damming, at the very least I may edit and if’s real bad, I may just delete him (temporarily) as an author.  See, at least I’m honest!   Goodness, I really wish I didn’t have to moan and nag so much.  Harriet is always saying to me “take a chill pill mum”, and well, believe me I would, if only there was such a thing on the market.

This is a girlie moan, so any guys reading this blog, skip the next paragraph. One thing of many daily gripes is Phil’s inability to put stuff in the dishwasher.  Despite my protests, he persists on leaving his knives, forks, plates, saucepans by the side of the dishwasher or otherwise he dumps them in the washing up bowl. Several times a day I have to dip my hand into the washing bowl full of cold, murky water to fish them out them (reluctantly, always reluctantly) and sling the offending items noisily in to the dishwasher.  Why oh why, he can’t just simply put the dirty dishes straight into the dishwasher wracks is beyond me.

My other gripe with Phil is his inability to listen to anything I say and lodge it in his brain.  And it is an intelligent brain, as he so often reminds me, more intelligent than mine. An example I hear you ask? well here is one, on Monday I told Phil that I was going out to see a girlfriend and on Tuesday evening, I said “okay honey, I’m off, see you later”.  He said “whoa baby where you going?” and I replied “grumpy old man, have you got senile dementia, I told you last night”.  I’ll spare you the rest of the conversation, but you get the gist, I think whilst a man has hold of a remote control they cannot hold a conversation, let alone recall one.

Realising that Phil doesn’t listen to a thing I say, I have taken to emailing him a list. Yeah you guessed right, a list of ‘things to do’. Now, you may laugh, but I’m at my wits end.  My email to Phil earlier this week was a serious one, sent with bold headings and bullet points, formatted to perfection.  How more serious can you can get??   I was careful of my tone because after all, I wanted action and didn’t want to piss him off.  I thought I’d achieved this but despite the seriousness and tactful tone of my email, my DH still chooses to ignore me but believe me, he does so at his peril !

Actually this morning I have to eat humble pie and retract the paragraph above.  I have come out in a cold so last night I took a couple of Night Nurse Capsules before I went to bed. These made me sleep like a baby, but I had a real foggy, fuzzy head and struggled to get out of bed this morning.  But what a surprise, when I finally made it downstairs, Phil had cleared all the paperwork from the table in the conservatory, sorted out the PAYE and even applied for a couple of jobs.  Result!  So you may mock me for my email but just goes to show that it works, even if it did take a few days.  I got there in the end!

I could do without having this head cold, I still have 2 applications to complete before the end of play tomorrow and some other important paperwork that require clear thought and attention to detail.   I managed to get to David Lloyd for a swim yesterday but I wasn’t up to doing a circuit in the gym.  Phil is out to lunch with Steve today, he really doesn’t care much for the diet food in the fridge and I can’t really say I blame him.   He’s going to complain like crazy when he’s reads today’s posting but in the event of anything else to talk about, I can always something to say about Phil!

Weddings & Wasps

Well, what a lovely weekend we have just had.  Fabulous dusk to dawn sunshine with soaring temperatures that I reckon must have been nearing the 80’s.  Amber invited us to her wedding reception in the village of Aldbury in Surrey.   Although we hadn’t been invited to the ceremony itself, we decided to pack an overnight bag and leave early on Saturday morning to beat the traffic on the M25.  In the end we managed to get away just after 10am which wasn’t too bad.  Traffic was heavy on the M1, not helped by the roadworks and also extra traffic from Blackpool fans on their way to a football match.  The traffic was already queuing when we reached the M25 and it was stop start for miles.  Eventually we arrived at The Drummond Arms in the windy village of Aldbury just after midday.  The rooms weren’t ready so we decided to have a walk and find out where the wedding reception venue so we knew where to go in the evening.  It wasn’t straight forward navigation, we overshot the right turn on to New Road
so we had to back track, but in the end we found it.  

We walked back to the pub and ordered half a pint of cider and checked out the menu whilst waiting for the key to our room.  I saw 3 people at the bar and judging by their lovely summer dresses and suits, I guessed that they were guests at the wedding.  I overheard them asking the manager where the church was as they intending to walk.  One of the girls had high heeled shoes on and I knew she would struggle, so I butted in and offered Phil to give them a lift.  He didn’t mind in the slightest and they were really grateful.  When he got back we decided to not eat at The Drummond Arms, the menu was very good but a little on the expensive side.  Instead, on the recommendation of Christine, we drove to the nearby village of Shere.  Christine had told me Shere was very pretty and she wasn’t wrong but with the glorious weather, every man and his dog were in Shere and it was very busy.  We had some pub grub at The White Horse, average food but it was lovely sitting out in the garden.

After lunch we drove back to Aldbury, put the bags in our room and set off on foot towards Little London and back.  Phil had printed off a walk from the internet and we followed the instructions with the aim of reaching our end goal, the remains of a roman church. The instructions took us past the post office, the church and the bowling club and way into the forest.  The sheet said it was only 2 hours but it seemed much further to me and it was also uphill.   I was moaning because we had no water which wasn’t ideal because it was hot and muggy.  I wanted to turn back but Phil wasn’t having any of it, so, some hours later we arrived at the roman remains which were basically a few old stones showing the outline of a building.  Phil took photos and we turned around and headed back to the pub.   Unfortunately, we got lost in the woods and walked further then we wanted.  Eventually, with aching legs, we found our way out and managed to get back to the village, and the bar!   Another half pint of cold cider and then it was time to get ready for the reception.

The venue, Aldbury Park was magnificent.   We walked up the sweeping drive, through the lambs in the fields either side.  Absolutely spectacular venue.  I think we were the first evening guests to arrive promptly at seven thirty.   As we entered the building we were ushered to a side room and given a glass of champagne.  We took this and went outside to the front terrace where most of the guests were still finishing their coffee at the wedding tables.  Whoops I thought to myself, we are way too early, but actually it was fine and Christine was soon with us, introducing us to everyone.  Amber, the bride looked amazing in a simple white gown which was stunning.   I told her she looked like a blonde Greek goddess.  The bridesmaids all look pretty in simple but elegant purple frocks and the groom and the ushers didn’t look half bad, in their grey suits with matching purple cravats. 

While champagne was served, there was a musician playing on the terrace and a magician going round the guests showing them tricks.  I actually didn’t see him in action but Phil did, and he said he was amazing.  The band started to play soon after and then the dancing began.  The evening went in a whirl, I danced for hours and Phil chatted to everyone and anyone.  Actually thinking back, he seemed to spend most of his time by the free bar!   Much later in the evening, food was laid out, beef burgers, hot dogs and cake which sounds naff, but actually it was superb.  After my long walk in the woods and jumping around on the dance floor, I was starving and scoffed a hotdog and a beef burger.  Obviously, a great deal of thought and planning had gone into the evening and it paid off, everyone looked like they were having a great time.   All too soon it was time to say goodbyes and go home.   Fortunately Eulina was staying at the pub in Aldbury and gave us a lift back.  I wasn’t too drunk but I think I may have wobbled a bit if I’d had to walk home.  It was nearly 2 o’clock in the morning by the time we fell into bed.

Phil was reluctant to open his eyes but the sun was shining and I dragged him downstairs for breakfast.   We were the first guests in he dining room which surprised me but then it was only half eight.  Of course, we had to have the full English breakfast which was delicious.  Afterwards, Phil wanted to have another walk to clear his fuzzy head but I was anxious to get home and get in the garden.  The M25 was clear and we made it back home well before midday.  I am ashamed to say that we had a really lazy day, spent lolling on the sofa watching hours of crap films. I hate wasting days like this; I couldn’t even be bothered to sunbathe in the garden.  Harriet popped by to borrow some sun cream; she is as white as a lily and had burnt her shoulders the day before.   Phil hadn’t made any preparations for lunch so ended up going to the Kentucky for a takeaway.  He came back with a bargain bucket which was fairly disgusting but filled a hole.  Don’t ask me why we opted for Kentucky, we hardly ever eat takeaways, least of all, Kentucky.

Teatime came and a knock at the door.  It was Emma to say that she thought we might have a wasps nest in our roof, just above our little bedroom window.  Emma said that she’d had a few wasps buzzing by her bedroom window. She put up some blue tack but then she noticed them buzzing around our house.   Now, Emma knows I am wasp phobic so she did the right thing alerting me.   This is a complete nightmare for me. Although I love the summer weather, wasps make my life a misery and cause me much anxiety. I made Phil come out and look and we think they are going in under a roof tile. Phil is going into the attic today to check that they haven’t got into the loft.  He is not keen to get up on a ladder and spray so I will call the council and pay them to come out to kill the nest.  Sooner, rather than later.

And so we start another week.  Another Monday and I start the jobs search and another new diet.   I spotted a diet and fitness regime in the Mail on Sunday magazine.  It was an 8 page article which promises a clean and lean body in just 14 days!   It’s a fairly limiting eating plan but I am determined to give it a go.  There are some fairly unusual foods listed, foods that I don’t have in my cupboards.  So right after clicking the publish button, I’m off to Tesco’s with my list and shopping bags.   Best hurry, because it will soon be lunchtime!

 

Beetroot, Kettle Bells & Nights Out

I seem to keep having some real clumsy mishaps of late.  If spilling a whole tub of paint in the back of my car wasn’t bad enough, last week I dropped a full jar of beetroot in the kitchen.  I was putting it on the shelf in the fridge and somehow I missed and it smashed on the floor and went everywhere.  Phil took one look, swore at me and then scarpered off to the conservatory leaving me to clean up the mess.  And what a mess it made. I cleaned up as much of the glass and the slices of beetroot with kitchen roll and then swept with the dustpan and brush. Smithereens of glass were everywhere so I had to get out the hover.  I also had to get the fridge right out to the middle of the kitchen because the beetroot juice had gone underneath.  It was a right mess and took me a whole hour of scrubbing.   I was so cross with myself, won’t be doing that again in a hurry!

I don’t if I have mentioned that we fell out with our gym, David Lloyd before going away to Australia?   We phoned to tell them that we wanted to freeze our membership while we were away and they said that’s fine but they would charge us £70 for each month we were in Australia.  Of course, Phil said sod that and immediately stopped the standing order.  He then wrote a long letter cancelling our membership enclosing our cut up membership cards.   They didn’t reply before we flew away so we assumed, that was that.   Anyway we got back, there were a few letters to and fro and some nasty phone calls but in the end Phil got so fed up that the matter couldn’t be resolved that he wrote a letter to the MD.   This worked and within a couple of days, the general manager called to say that they wouldn’t charge us for the time that we were away as long as we paid up 2 months as a notice period.  Phil agreed to this on the provision that we could use the club in the 2 month notice period.  He went into the club to pay and they gave him 2 letters (one for me and one for him) signed the GM giving us temporary membership.    So for the first time yesterday, we went to use the club which was the first time in 7 months.  Of course we still have membership at DW but Phil hasn’t been for weeks and whilst I have been going daily, I find it a real pain driving all the way to Bletchley.

It felt strange at first going back in to the club but as soon as I got my kit on, I felt like I’d never been away.  I know I may come across as a snob but there is definitely a better class of clientele at David Lloyd, not many beer bellies (bar Phil’s) and no tattoos, well at least not any on show.   Phil managed a fairly good workout which was surprising seeing as he hadn’t been for weeks but I on the other hand, was not in such great shape.  On Tuesday I did some time on the bike, went to do 20 minutes on the cross trainer but had to get off because my ankle was really hurting.  This is an old injury which I think has flared up because all of the walking I’ve been doing lately.  Anyway, I decided to try out the kettle bells, I heard Jonathan Ross say on the radio that his personal trainer said that you can burn 400 calories in 20 minutes.   I didn’t really know how to use them properly and this was evident because one of the personal trainers came up and told me to stop because if I carried on doing it ‘my way’ then I’d hurt my back.  She said I needed a lighter bell and brought me an 8kg bell and showed me some moves.   Sam offered me a free training session and I booked my slot.  I used the bells for only a couple of minutes after she left and then gave up.

When I got up on Wednesday morning I could hardly move.  My ankle was still hurting and I was barely able to get out of the car let along manage a workout.  I had a rather pathetic attempt on a few machines and we finished our workout with a steam.  So, my first visit wasn’t a great success but it felt good to be back and I shall be making the most of it for the next 2 months.

On Wednesday night Phil & I walked to the pub Ship Ashore in Willen. It was only a 10 minute walk but I really struggled as I was in agony from the kettle bells.  We met up with Chris & Vanessa & Jim, Shirley & Tom.   It was a change for the girlies to go out on a Wednesday night but George is still away and Alfie is in hospital recovering from his operation.  Jim says he phoned the ward and the nurse said Alfie was sitting up in bed having his lunch, so fingers crossed the operation was a success and that he makes a full and speedy recovery. 

It was good seeing everyone especially Vanessa & Shirley.  Shirley has lost 2 stone and is looking really good for it, as is Vanessa, who has lost a stone and a half from all her training.  I wish the same could be said for me.  Phil was good and just had some nachos but I had steak & chips and a gallon of wine so bang goes my diet once again.  I’m going to have to rethink strategy because I’m not getting anywhere.  I think a complete abstinence from alcohol is probably the only answer.  Water instead of wine, that’s the key. Unfortunately we are away for the weekend so my new regime will have to start on Monday.  Why do we always start diets on a Monday????

I had booked my free training on session on Thursday morning but had the sense to cancel on Wednesday afternoon a) because I was going out in the evening and b) I ached so badly from my Tuesday session, there was no way I could face picking up a kettle bell.  This turned out to be a wise move because on Thursday I had a real thick head and didn’t get out of bed until half nine.  I pondered whether to go to the gym but decided to give my old body a rest and tackle the housework instead.  I have been a bit lax with the cleaning so the house needed a really good going over.  I was slow to start but once I got going there was no stopping me.   I cleaned all the windows inside out and even got the hover in the garage which I have been meaning to do for ages.  Whilst I was out clearing the leaves in the front drive, actually I was taking a break and chatting to Emma, I spotted Phil on a ladder.  Emma asked me what him what he was doing; he shouted back that he was filling the holes in the conservatory roof.  After lunch, chicken on the BBQ and salad, Phil worked out how to take down the blinds in the conservatory and for first time ever, we were able to clear out the dead leaves.  These have been bugging me for 2 years so I felt really happy.  I did contemplate getting the hose on the conservatory but then realised this would mess up my newly cleaned windows.  In the afternoon I changed the bed & all the towels and emptied the ironing basket.  A very productive day even if it did start a little late.

I managed to force myself to sit and fill in 2 job applications, a very long, laborious and tedious task.  Phil said he applied for a few jobs but I don’t know any details.  I also filled a rather long online application to appear on the next serious of Channel 4’s ‘Coach Trip’.  We first started watching this when we got back from Oz and were hooked.  I told Jim that we’d applied & he said that we would be good contestant but that we’d either be booted off on the first day or would stay until the end.  I this is right but I don’t think they we stand much chance of getting on. Applications had to be in by the 24^th and even if you’re considered then you have to go to an interval panel.  On the first I had to fill out there were lots of questions about what countries we’d visited.  Obviously we’ve been to a quite a few so they may think that we’re too well travelled.   I was scant in answering some of the questions and in the end I put  a link to the Oz blog which may, or may not go in our favour.  We shall just have to wait and see.

The weather has been fairly good this week and the forecast is hot and sunny for the weekend.   I was wondering whether to get out our posh garden furniture but you can bet if I do, then it will rain.   I must apologise for the lack of photographs, as you can tell, I have had to improvise!   The good news is that my muscles don’t hurt anymore, so I am going to post this blog and get going.  Places to go and people to see! 

Have a good weekend everyone and make the most of the sunshine……… 

Fancy a Doughnut?

Well here we are at the start of another jobless week and I find myself wondering what we did last week.  I am struggling to remember but I seemed to think it was fairly unremarkable.   Two trips to the cinema, 10 hours in gym and 8 hours walking mostly along the canal.  Jane & Ian invited us over for dinner at their new house in Flitton on Saturday evening.  I had seen their new house before they moved in but this was the first time Phil had seen it.  Ian & Jane gave us a guided tour and Phil agreed that it really is a beautiful, dream home. Unfortunately, as with any new house, there have been some snags, and in their case, some quite substantial snags; only last week they found out their upstairs floors have dropped which means that the floor tiles have cracked.   As a result all the tiles have to come up in the bathrooms, the floor problem fixed and then retiling everywhere.  Like me, Jane can’t bear mess and is not relishing the idea of contractors and the whole upheaval.  But it’s got to be done, and I suppose sooner rather than later whilst the house is still under guarantee. 

This was the first time we had caught up with Jane & Ian since they flew out to see us in Melbourne so we had a lot of catching up to do.  The dinner Jane cooked us was top class, spicy fishcakes with salad to start followed by stuffed chicken.  Unfortunately, I was stuffed at the first course, and several gin and tonics and white wines, I was the first to drop, literally!   I don’t know what’s wrong with me, these days I just can’t stand the pace.  Phil and I stayed in their spare bedroom and Jane served us up mugs of tea and bacon sarnies for breakfast.   On the way back we stopped off at Tesco’s in Kingston a) to get petrol because Phil was on the red light and b) to get supplies for lunch.

I had invited Harriet & Shane over to watch the Monaco Grand Prix.   We did discuss having a barbeque but the forecast was rain for the weekend.  In the end we opted for simple spaghetti bolognaise and garlic bread.  I cooked the lunch and chatted to Harriet in the kitchen whilst the boys sipped beer and watch the race on the big plasma in the lounge.  The spag bol was very nice even if I do say so myself.   Now Harriet’s not living at home, I forget about her diet restrictions, but even she managed to finish her plate.  Phil couldn’t resist the big box of doughnut from Tesco’s and everyone dug into these for pudding.  Not me, I don’t really like doughnuts and besides, I’m meant to be on a diet.   That’s pretty much gone out the window this weekend and actually I have banned the word ‘diet’ from this house because ever since I’ve been on the ‘diet’ I’ve actually gained weight! Why is it once you diet and start to deprive yourself you actually crave foods that you wouldn’t normally eat! It’s a bit like bad sex, when you don’t get any, even the bad sort seems is tempting.  Well that’s my theory anyway; from now on I’m concentrating on healthy eating and not falling off the wagon.

Harriet had brought Coke the dog to our house and after sorting out the dirty dishes, I persuaded her to get the lead and take Coke out for a walk along the canal.  We only did a 20 minute circular trip, up to the pub bridge and back to our house but this knackered Harriet.   Unlike her mum, she doesn’t do exercise. They left at teatime and we settled down to watch on the sofas to watch the telly.  Unfortunately our week started with a bang this morning.  I had booked Nigel (Bald man with Van) to come to the cul-de-sac and take the white IKEA unit in our bedroom to the TMA flat.  This was fine but he was booked for 9.30am and I had to clear all the stuff out off the unit so it was all a bit of a rush to get it done before he arrived.  Fortunately for me, for some reason Nigel thought we lived in Castlethorpe and not surprisingly couldn’t find our house.  It wasn’t until Phil switched on his mobile to pick up his messages was he able to call him back with directions.  So thankfully he was late which gave me time to get my act together.  Phil went to the flat with Nigel which gave me a chance to get on with the domestics.  Normally I’d go to the gym but thought after a lazy weekend I thought best get my jobs out of the way and start the week off in the right foot.  The sun is shining so lets hope the good weather is here to stay.

Good Luck ALFI

We managed to get together again on Wednesday night which is our last one before Alfi goes into hospital. Poor Alfi has been suffering for a couple of years now, first with Diabetes and now with a brain tumour. He wondered why his vision seemed to be deteriate so quickly and it became impossible for him to drive. The tumour that they discovered is about the size of a pigeon’s egg and on the base of his spine. If this had happened anytime over 5 years ago there was nothing that could have been done but a medical breakthrough now sees this operation regularly and has a great success rate. The operation is done through the patient’s nose by drilling into the scull through the nose and inserting a camera, scalpel and vacuum tube to hover up the bits cut off with the scalpel. They then drill a hole in the roof of the mouth to gain access to patch up the hole in the scull and then patch up the hole in the roof of the mouth. It sounds awful, but apparently has a much better success rate than going in through the scull leaving an open wound and damage to the brain. Alfi goes into the Radcliff hospital in Oxford on Sunday in preparation for his operation on Monday. We will all be thinking of him, and good luck, it might even improve his intelligence if that’s possible. On the down side, it might be the tumour that gives him his intelligence like in the film Phanonamum (I can never say that).

Talking of films, Jim and Tom said that the new film about the Muslim suicide terrorists called “Four Lions” was the funniest film ever. Claire and I had another walk along the canal to see it on Thursday afternoon but as we were there early we had a quick look in the snowdome first. Well, we are all different and we didn’t find it particularly funny. I know that it make a real difference to how you perceive a film from how the audience reacts and we saw it virtually on our own. I guess that when Jim and Tom went it would have been a good crowd in there which would have created some form of atmosphere. The only bits I found funny were the clips that I had already seen to advertise it.

Friday morning was nice and sunny although quite cool so we decided to have a canal walk again. Some years ago, we started walking from Milton Keynes along the canal towards Birmingham. We would walk for a few hours there, stop for lunch somewhere and then walk back to where we had parked the car. Next time we would drive to where we got to and continue our trek. We didn’t go at all last year but I could remember where we got to because it was where the canal splits into 2 and there were no roads around so it would be difficult to drive to our starting point this time so we looked at where we would walk to and drove there and walked back to our ending point of our last trip. Our starting point was therefore Braunston which must be at least half way there I guess, and we parked outside a pub which served food so thought that we could eat upon our return. Unfortunately, the tow path was blocked by the tunnel for maintenance and it wasn’t possible to get to where we intended to so we walked back and tried to find it in the car. We didn’t have any luck and were now hungry so decided to find a nice place to eat on our way back down the A5 choosing the Red lion. Not bad and it was all home cooked food rather than that microwave stuff that lots of places seem to be doing these days.

Tomorrow evening we are over to Ian and Jane who came to stay with us while we were on holiday in Berwick, Victoria. They have now moved house and we are going over for the first time to see it. Luckily we are staying over so I guess that a few drinks will be had by all. I must remember to take Claire’s camera as it fits lovely in my top pocket. Claire can carry the wine in her saddle bag.

Anyway, good luck Alfi!

Fed Up..............

I’m fed up, not just normal fed up but really fed up.   Phil says that if you haven’t got anything worthwhile to say then you shouldn’t say it.  But, after not blogging for nearly a week, I thought I’d better give it a go.  Life has been as a flat as a pancake so this blog may be short and maybe a bit on the sour side.   Since I have been on my diet, I have actually managed to put on 4 pounds!  I’m dumb founded as to why because I have spent at least 2 hours in the gym every day without fail.  Not only that, but I’ve been swimming most days and have been doing my weights in the lounge in the evening as well as doing a half walk, half run circuit around the canal in the evenings.  I also went out and brought a special exercise cum-diet book and have added these exercises to my regime.  None of which has helped.   I do feel a bit less flabby and more toned than before I started but that is not good enough given all my efforts.  Take Monday for example; I spent over 2 hours at the gym, then me and Phil walked to the city centre, approx 50 minutes there and 45 minutes back.  And I still gained weight.  Life sucks; from now on it’s going to be a diet of G&T’s and fish salads.  Let’s see if that works.

The weekend was okay but really cold, crap weather on Saturday. On Sunday it was a little brighter and I met up with Christine at the Barge for lunch.  We both opted for the fishcakes with salad and okay a few chips but I was good and didn’t finish the bowl.  On Monday afternoon, me and Phil went to the cinema to watch the Hot Tub Time Machine. It was alright but I wouldn’t recommend a viewing or even a DVD rental.  Basically the story is about a bunch of middle aged blokes revisiting their youth back in the 80’s.   It whiled away a couple of hours but I felt guilty because I should have stayed home and done the housework.  Still, I was glad of the long walk along the canal which is always pretty and relaxing if not a little chilly on the way home.  I really wanted to go and see ‘The Disappearance of Alice Creed’ but it wasn’t on until way past my bedtime. Never mind, hopefully I’ll get to see this next week; otherwise I shall wait for the DVD to come out. 

Yesterday morning Phil went food shopping.  I’m not sure his doing the shopping is working out for me; we seem to have a full fridge but nothing that I fancy to eat.  I think he or we need to get into more of a routine.  More lists I think are the answer. Actually I shouldn’t complain too much because he did get everything on my wish list yesterday and he is the better cook.   He also made me a lovely fresh tuna steak yesterday with a chilli and lemon sauce which was yummy.

I did something really stupid last week which really messed up the back of my car.  I brought a new tin of Dulux white emulsion from B&Q and went over to touch up the ceilings in the TMA flat.  When I finished I put the tin behind my driving seat but unfortunately I hadn’t put the lid on properly. When I got home, I went to unload only to find that the tin had tipped over and the entire contents of the tin had spilled out all over the passenger floor.   This is not the first time this has happened, so I was really cross myself especially as it was virtually the whole tin.  You wouldn’t believe what a mess it was clearing it up.  I had to use an old quilt cover, 2 rolls of newspaper and tons of newspaper.   Phil stayed well away but even Emma from next door came out to see if she could help.  In the clearing up process, somehow I got paint on the back seat, all over me and all over the block paving.  Nightmare!

Things are ticking away quietly on the flat front.  The CF flat is now on the market and we are pleased with the marketing details.  Haven’ received any offers yet but in this current market, one has to be patient.   The agent did a viewing at the TMA flat yesterday and we have agreed to a short 4 month let at £250 over the normal rent for the inconvenience.  It’s not all extra profit though as we have agreed to pay the council tax and the water rates.  The new tenant has asked for crockery, cutlery, glasses etc but this is not a big deal because I will pop over sometime today to the CF flat and simply take these out and put them in the TMA flat.  The stuff is all fairly new so it will be just a case of robbing Peter to pay Paul. Can’t I say I relish another encounter with mad Betty and of course she’ll want to know all the details but it has to be done.

Derek called over the weekend and we went to view his 2 bed house on Great Holm with a view to buying.   Derek wants to retire and go travelling and wants to sell up which is fair enough because he will be 60 this year.   The house, a 2 bed terrace is on the small side and parking is an issue but Phil is keen to buy Derek’s 10% share.  There is a tenant already in situ who wants to stay long term, so if we go ahead, it will just be a case of paying the money, signing the contracts and then just collecting the rent every month. This will be our experience of buying a shared ownership so it will be interesting.  The other ‘big’ project is still very much in its infant stage at the moment which is fine by me.  One thing at a time.

Photo's to follow later when my battery is charged

Election Results

Well, it looks like we are heading towards the result that I wanted most, a coalition between the LDP and Conservatives. Prior to the election, everyone expected the LDP to get a much higher proportion of the votes than they actually achieved. I think this is because, at the end of the day, everyone knew they had to vote for one of the two major parties because it was going to be tight. I’m not a very political person, but I do agree with the LDP that the voting system does require changing to make it fairer. “Why should one vote be worth more than any other?”

Just look at these results; Labour got 29% of the voting population whilst LDP got lower than expected at 23% of the voting population; just 6% lower than Labour. These percentages translated into 258 seats for Labour and 57 seats for LDP or Labour won over 450% more seats than LDP. How can that be right? I’m sure that if the LDP had won more votes than Labour they would still have won far less seats than them. I ask again, “Why should one vote be worth so much more than any other?”

I really hope that the two leaders negotiating manage to find some common ground and are both willing to compromise. From what I have seen of these two leaders, I believe that they can, they are both capable of acting mature enough to pull it off in these difficult financial times. The only “spanner in the works” are the rest of the MP’s, I can’t see them compromising or agreeing so easily.

And when will Gordon Brown leave 10 Downing Street? He’s lost; even if he were to form a coalition with LDP he still wouldn’t have enough votes for a majority government. And how would the public feel about the 2 losers forming a government, net alone a minority one? No party had enough votes to win outright but one thing for sure was that Brown was voted out. The last time we were in this position was when Wilson won a minority government over Ted Heath, Ted wouldn’t leave Downing Street either. He almost barricaded himself in and was there until the Monday; it looks like Brown is after his record this time. He really is a “desperate politician”.

I feel that the most important thing to remember about politics is, never get fanatical about it. Don’t treat political parties like a football club where you support one side until you die. Grow up, and evaluate the situation each time you need to and be prepared to change according to yours and your countries circumstances. For our countries sake, let’s hope that these two leaders have the maturity to overcome their differences and work together to solve our current problems. Let’s hope that the public have the maturity to support them if they do. The one thing that has made the human race so successful is our ability to work together towards one aim.