Last of the Summer ?

I don’t know if it’s the same for anyone else but the August bank holiday signifies the end of the summer.  The mornings are chilly and the nights are drawing in. The kids go back to school this week and very soon, before you know, it will be time to turn back the clocks in readiness for the onset of winter.  I went to the gym on Saturday morning leaving Phil to watch the Grand Prix qualifying.  I did try and coax him to coming with me and record the qualifying but he couldn’t be persuaded.   I dropped by the market on the way home to get flowers, 8 bunches in total for only five quid, a real bargain if you ask me.  I also stopped off at the Co-op to stock up with some red wine that Phil really likes that is on offer until the 6^th September.  It’s a French 2009 Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve which is currently reduced from £8.49 to £4.49 which is a real bargain.   It’s called Saraphine in case anyone is interested and they also have a Chardonnay on offer at the same price.  

We finished off the last of the lasagne for lunch then decided to walk to the city centre to watch a film at The Odeon.  Phil wanted to see The Expendables which I wasn’t too keen to see but I figured the walk would be good exercise for Phil.   Although the sun was shining when we set off, by the time we got to John Lewis car park the skies darkened and it bucketed it down with rain.  We walked through the centre to look at the new restaurants in the square but weren’t terribly impressed. It’s good to have some eateries in the main centre but I think the planners could have done much more with the middle of the square; it was fairly unremarkable.

The film was crap but my expectations were already low when I read in the opening credits that the film was directed and produced by Sylvester Stallone.  It was a real boy’s film with lots of action but even Phil thought the plot was pointless and pathetic.  Thankfully it wasn’t on for too long and we were out of the cinema by quarter past six.  Unfortunately it was still raining when we came out of the cinema so walking back home wasn’t an option.  Phil phoned Harriet to see if we could scrounge a lift but unfortunately she was in the pub with her mates.   We couldn’t suss out the bus timetable so in the end we got a taxi home.  Saturday night was The X-Factor and Big Brother and bed by 10pm.

On Sunday morning I managed to persuade Phil to join me in the gym where he had a reasonable workout.   It wasn’t a mammoth one because we had to be home for the start of the Belgium Grand Prix which started at midday.  All the cold wet weather we have been experiencing lately makes me want to eat comfort food and Sunday was no exception.  Whilst Phil watched the race from the comfort of the reclining sofa I cooked a roast leg of lamb with all the usual trimmings. It was lovely even if I do say so myself.  When the race was finished we programmed the Tom Tom to take us to Christine’s new house in a rural village called Charlwood in Surrey.  The road works on the M1 slowed us and our journey wasn’t helped by a breakdown near Junction 11.  Still the M25 wasn’t too bad and we arrived at Christine’s cottage just before 5pm. 

Christine has only been in possession of her house keys for just over a week and in that time, she has been rewired, had a new fuse box installed, and has had a new course of damp proof.  Last week she had new carpets fitted and last Friday she took delivery of her furniture which had been in storage.  She had emailed me photographs of works in progress, and well, I was amazed with what she has achieved in such a short space of time.  Christine had obviously worked her socks in readiness for us, her first house guests (apart from Paul) and with a little help from Stan, her handyman, has achieved wonders.  I wasn’t too sure what to expect but I guess, if I’m completely honest, I thought we’d be virtually camping for our overnight stay.  How wrong I was.  The only downside when we arrived was that the electrics had gone down at the sub-station which meant no electric for the whole village since 2pm that afternoon.

Paul arrived shortly before 6pm having travelled down from Sheffield.   Christine had planned to cook us all dinner in her new home but come 8pm the electric still hadn’t come on.  There was no choice but to get in the car and drive to the next village for a pub meal.  The boys opted for cheese burger and chips, Christine had a risotto and yours truly had the fish pie.  It was okay’; posh pub Surrey food at posh prices;  Unfortunately when we got back to Friars Cottage the electrics were still out so Paul lit the log fire and we drank wine with candlelight until midnight.

Our bed was so comfortable and we slept entwined until the dogs, Purdy & Buffy, came in to lick us awake and the electric came back on at 6am having been off for off for 16 hours.   A little while later Phil snoozed, Paul went for a run and Christine & I walked the dogs around the cricket pitch.  The village of Charlwood is pretty, it has 3 pubs, a church and a newsagents oh and a posh kitchen shop all of which were closed on bank holiday Monday.  We had a fry up for breakfast and then Phil put up a curtain rail in the lounge.   He also measured up the kitchen.  One of the reasons for going to Surrey was to measure up and design a new kitchen for Christine.   It makes sense because after all me and Phil have fitted quite a few kitchens in the last couple of years.  The problem with Christine’s kitchen is that it’s a galley kitchen and the space is small compared to the rest of the cottage.  Still I’m sure we can up with a design that will maximise the space.

The drive back on the M25 & M1 wasn’t too bad given that it was the bank holiday.  Traffic was heavy on the M1 because of the road works but the journey home took us roughly about an hour and a half.  Phil cooked us mash with pork chops in an apple and onion gravy which we had with some left over vegetables.  A late night and an early start and we were both knackered so it was a quiet afternoon in front of the telly and an early night in readiness for the week.   At least this week is a short one.  Phil has already left for work; unfortunately he had the radio on in the shower way too loud and woke Harriet up.  She’s just stomped down in a hump to get a bowl of cornflakes.   Unlike her mum, she is not a morning person.   I have just realised we have no milk; it’s time to get this blog posted and get the show on the road.

August Bank Holiday

This week seems to have flown by but I’m not sure Phil would agree.  I received an email from him this morning which I picked up before I went to the gym telling me how many minutes he had left before he could leave work for the weekend! Yesterday was a busy day with the usual 6am alarm call.  I was first out of bed because Phil had put in a special request for cray fish sandwiches with lemon mayonnaise and chopped coriander.   Apparently they supply these on his food wagon at work and he is rather partial to them.   Harriet had left a note outside my bedroom door asking me to wake her up at 6.45 on the dot. She had the day off from work and was going down to see her cousin in hospital in London.  Harriet wanted me to give her a lift to the station which meant I was late getting to the gym.  I didn’t mind really because it gave me a chance to post a quick blog whilst I was waiting for her to get ready.

I had a decent workout, popped into Asda to get a bit of shopping then I went to Surperdrug in the city centre to get my eyebrows and upper lip threaded.  They are doing a deal at the moment where you get the cheapest treatment for free.   So it only cost me ten quid which is cheap.  The beautician was good but she did hurt me.  It’s been years since I have had threading and I forgotten just how painful it is.   Still these things have to be done and a few minutes of pain are worth it.  While I was up the city centre I went and exchanged Phil’s shirt for an 18” colour white and blue stripe with a breast pocket.  It’s okay but not as nice as the pink shirt that I originally choose for him.   I had just had time for a quick sandwich at home before meeting up with Jan for a coffee in the café at the OU.  It seems weird being back in the business school, I can’t believe that I worked there for 5 years, seems like the OU was another lifetime.  My last job of the day was a visit to Fast Fit in Kingston to get the tyres checked on the KA.  Turns out that I only needed one new tyre and they topped up the air in the other three tyres.   Thursday was a quiet night.  Phil had another nightmare journey in the rain and Harriet didn’t get back in from London until 9pm.  It was lights out and early to bed for everyone in our house.

It’s no secret that me and Phil watch Big Brother although Phil is much more of a follower than me.  I usually fall asleep well before the 10pm show and generally end up watching the repeats the next day.   Series 11 has been okay, some of the tasks have been good and I’m a big fan of Josie and was really pleased that she won.  We switched on to watch Big Brother’s Little Brother last night and were really shocked to see George Lamb interviewing Josie.   It took me a few minutes to suss that she’d walked out of the Ultimate Big Brother show.   I wasn’t surprised when I heard her reasons and it’s a little sad because I don’t think I want to watch the Ultimate Big Brother show now that she’s not in it.  Who wants to watch a bunch of B celebs with their heads up their own arses nursing their already swollen egos?  Phil of course will watch the Ultimate until the bitter end.

The weather has been vile this week.  With nearly two whole days of rain day and night it was nice to wake up to see that the rain had finally abated.  I know I keep banging on about the shit summer but it gets me down, August has been horrible and cold.  I’ve had to put the heating on twice this week.  After Phil left for work this morning I went back to bed and slept until 8am.  I hadn’t reset the alarm so it was lucky that I woke in time to wake Harriet up for work.   She’d turned her alarm off and was late getting up even though I shouted her several times.  I only had time for a quick workout at the gym this morning because I had to get back to tackle the housework.  It’s all done now. The house is clean, I’ve changed both beds and there is plenty of food in the cupboards.  Phil is back from work and is finished for the weekend.  He’s already done his paperwork and in a minute or two we’re off for a walk along the canal to the pub for a pint to celebrate the start of the long weekend.  

Happy Bank holiday weekend everyone, lets hope the rain stays away.

Birthday at Barcelo

We were late leaving the house on Tuesday morning.  I don’t know why, we got up right away when the alarm went off and I’d packed the car the night before.  I felt a little guilty because I sneaked into Harriet’s room to borrow her long black cardigan and also to get her whites washing and woke her up in the process.   It was nearly twenty to seven by the time we pulled out of the cul-de-sac and already Phil was stressed.  He reckons that ten minutes makes all the difference with the traffic.  The drive to Abingdon from MK really winds him up and I can quite understand why.  It’s heavy traffic all the way as soon as you get to the Little Chef roundabout.   I switched on my mobile when we got to the Oxford ring road and had to laugh when it beeped to tell me I had a text.  It was Emma from next door to say that Jason was travelling on the same road as us and had just had to brake hard as Phil overtook him, a lorry and 2other cars in one go.  I do remember the manoeuvre and breathing a large sigh of relief when we made it back to the right side of the road.   I am not sure where Jason was heading to; I know that sometimes he has to do some repairs in Jamie Oliver’s kitchen in Oxford so maybe that’s where he was heading.

Thankfully we made it to Abingdon in one piece; I dropped Phil off at work then went to get cream cakes from the Tesco Extra so Phil could hand these out at work for his birthday.   I then programmed the Tom Tom to take me to the leisure centre for a workout.  I did deliberate whether to jump on the Park and Ride and visit Oxford for the morning but then decided this wouldn’t be much fun on my own.  The gym was quiet and in spite of my early start I managed a good 2 hour workout followed by a swim.  Afterwards I made my way back to Abingdon town and did my usual routine, visiting the library for internet access followed by a bit of shopping in the high street.

I picked Phil up at 2pm; luckily he had enough hours in the bank which meant he was able to leave early for his birthday.   The hotel that I had booked for his special day was the Barcelo Oxford, situated just off the ring road and about 15 minutes drive from Abingdon.   I had managed to get a dinner, bed and breakfast rate for £99 which was by no means cheap but a bargain price for the normal Barcelo rates.   I booked on line and put in a special request for a ‘nice standard room’ as we were celebrating a birthday.   This hotel had been recommended to me but after I’d booked I checked out Trip Advisor and saw the reviews which weren’t great I didn’t have any great expectations.  However I was pleasantly surprised when we got to room 140 to see that the reception had upgraded us to a premier room which was huge.  Phil was delighted as we had a king size bed and a sofa and two chairs.  The hotel itself was a little bland, ultra modern but the gym and the pool were tiny and the restaurant lacked ambience.  Still the free upgrade to a premier room made up for it. 

The plan was that we would work out in the gym and then chill out in the pool and the steam room but Phil was tired and I’d already worked out so we decided to go back to the room and relax.  Phil opened his cards and his presents that I’d brought from home.   Harriet got him boxers and posh hankies and I’d brought him a digital camera and a shirt and tie from Hawes & Curtis.  He wasn’t too impressed with the shirt as he said it was probably too small and even if it did fit, it was too pink, so I shall have to return this to the shop.  He was, however, very pleased with his digital camera.  I get fed up of him hijacking my camera and although he has the Olympus, he likes to have a camera that he can fit into his camera.  I also got him a memory card which mega memory which he was really happy with. 

We watched some telly then got ready for dinner.   The table was booked for 7pm but we had a drink in the bar before.  Phil ordered a pint of larger and a glass of wine and nearly had a heart attack when the barman asked for £9.50!  The three course dinner which was included in our room rate was excellent as was the service.  This normally costs £23.50 pp so I was feeling even more pleased with my room deal price.   We ordered cheese and biscuits as our sweet and decided to take this back to our room because Phil didn’t want to miss the start of the Big Brother final.  I saw the first 15 minutes but as soon as I climbed onto the king size bed I fell fast asleep.  It wasn't the most exciting of birthday but I think Phil enjoyed himself.

The big bed was so comfy and we slept like logs until 6am. We hadn’t set any alarm so it was amazing that we awoke at our normal time.   Breakfast started at 7am and we were one of the first ones in.  It was a great breakfast, loads of fresh fruit and lots of items to choose for the cooked breakfast.  It was serve yourself which was fine because we were out by quarter past seven and Phil was in his office just after half past.

I went back to the hotel and watched the repeat of the Big Brother Final and then packed the car and went to the gym in the hotel for a workout.  It was okay, the equipment was a bit old but I managed an hour or so.  I think being a member of  David Lloyd and DW, I am a little spoilt and am used to using state of the arc equipment. I didn’t bother with the pool, it wasn’t really big enough to swim any lengths and there were a few mums and toddlers already in there.  So I showered and dressed, checked out and then drove back to Abingdon.   Unfortunately the rain had kicked in by the time I had parked up and the town centre was soggy and miserable.   I wasted some time in the library, did a bit of shopping, and then went to a local hairdressers where I had booked in the day before for a whole head of mesh highlights.  Going to a new hairdressers is always a worry but to be honest I was glad that I had booked because I didn’t fancy walking around Abingdon for another 3 hours in the rain.  Jodie in The Look salon was very nice and I was pleased with my colour when I came out at quarters to four.  My timing was perfect because I just had 5 minutes to spare for when Phil came out of work at 4pm.

The drive home was awful; it was pouring with rain and visibility was poor, also there was a lane closed on the approach to the Peartree Bridge roundabout on the A34.  The tyres on the KA are not good and we aqua planed in all the surplus water driving round the roundabout.   This was a little scary and I was anxious the whole way home.   It took us an hour and a half to get back which was not too bad considering the awful weather. 

Last night Phil went out with the Wednesday night boys.   Phil was considering whether to walk to the pub in the rain when Steve knocked on the door offering Phil a lift which a godsend because it saved him getting soaked.  I briefly saw him when he came home last night and we spoke a few words before he left this morning.  Both the back tyres are bald and illegal on the KA and I think the front tyres need some air so I’ve made him take the Land Rover to work this morning because it’s safer.  I see it’s still pissing down outside which I suppose is just typical English weather as we approach a bank holiday weekend.  Its days like today when I wished I lived somewhere hot.      

Happy Birthday Phil!

It’s Phil’s birthday today; he is 55 years old or should I say 55 yrs young.  He’s very excited to be 55 because it means that he is now eligible to buy and live in a retirement village.  I can’t say this is high on my wish list but I guess each to his own.   We’ve done birthday cards over a nice cup of tea this morning but his presents will have to wait until later when he’s finished work.  Happy birthday darling husband, I hope you enjoy your special day!

Our weekend was quiet and fairly laid back.   I managed to persuade Phil to come to the gym with me on Saturday and he managed a fairly impressive workout seeing as he hadn’t been for so long.  Afterwards we went food shopping and then back home for fried liver and bacon made by Phil.  Our only excitement for Saturday evening was the new series of X-Factor.  Very sad I know. 

We awoke to a lovely day on Sunday morning, amazingly, the skies were clear and it wasn’t raining.   Phil looked on the internet and we decided to walk to the city centre and watch a movie.  There wasn’t much on that I really wanted to see but we agreed on seeing ‘Salt,' staring Angeline Jolie; a contemporary espionage thriller about a CIA agent who is accused of being a Russian spy and becomes a federal fugitive.   It was quite exciting and kept us hanging on to the edge of our seats but I see in the Sunday Times it has had crap reviews.  Still, it got us out of the house and we had a good walk along, nearly 2 hours there and back.   They were many floods on the pathways which we had to wade through making our shoes soggy.

It was good that Phil managed a blog yesterday; it’s always interesting to know what’s going on in his head.  However, it’s rather upset my blogging routine and I feel a little out of sorts today.  As a general rule of thumb, I tend to blog Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays and occasionally at the weekend if something exciting has happened.  It seems a little strange posting on a Tuesday.

Whilst our life is fairly dull at present, this can’t be said for some of our friends.   Sue & Alan crossed the channel last Wednesday and are staying somewhere in Europe, making their way to Italy.  I can’t remember when they reach their final destination although I’m sure they told me.  Where ever you are Sue & Alan, I hope you having a fab time and that all is going to plan.  Jill & Tony are flying off tomorrow for a 26 day holiday in their little house in the mountains of northern Cyprus.  Lucky buggers!   And finally we have our Vanessa who jets off on Friday to climb Kilimanjaro in aid of Willen Hospice.  It’s probably the biggest challenge she has faced, so of course, we wish her the very best of luck.  We shall look forward to hearing all about her experience!

This Tuesday post is going to have to be short and sweet today.  In a minute I’m going down to Abingdon with Phil.  We are not staying in our usual hotel; instead I have booked a hotel recommended to me by the area manager in the leisure centre that I got talking too.  It’s on the Oxford ring road so it’s a little distance from Abingdon which I didn’t realize this when I booked.   I can’t tell you the name of the hotel because it’s a surprise for Phil’s birthday.  I managed to get a deal on a dinner, bed and breakfast rate but I am a little worried because the recent Trip Advisor reviews were not brilliant.   Fingers crossed all will be okay; either way, all will be revealed in the blog tomorrow!

  

Five days a week

I don't think I'v written a blog since we were on holiday because I have been busy working again like everyone else. Claire has done a sterling job holding the fort as she still has plenty of time.

Starting back to work so abruptly was a bit of a shock to the system being told on Monday afternoon that I should start on Tuesday didn’t leave much time to tie up any loose ends. When I started I found out why I had to start in such a hurry. I wasn’t their first choice, which is understandable when I haven’t done any similar work for at least 8 years. Their first choice didn’t turn up on the Monday so that’s why I got the phone call but the trouble was that the guy that interviewed me on the phone was on holiday for a week so he had left instructions with his engineering manager that I was second in line. When I arrived on Tuesday morning I met Alex, the Engineering manager who is Russian which I think is unusual in England. Trouble was that Alex was already looking after Steve, the other guy that was starting at the same time so he handed me over to Martin, another contractor that had only been there for 3 or 4 weeks. It was from Martin that I found out that the other guy hadn’t turned in the previous day. It was all starting to look a little unprofessional and confused. The desk that I was given had a computer without any software on it so I had to install all the relevant software that I needed. I kept getting dodgy messages which said that the hard disk was about to fall down and programs frequently crashed out. As you can see from the photograph of my desk, it is used by another employee who seems to turn in around 2pm some days and work until about 9pm in the evening. It is in a bit of a mess, as is the rest of the office which is normally full up but I took these pictures early one morning.

The reason that OpTek (www.opteksystems.com )is a little chaotic became clear when I found out that there are only 10 permanent employees, the other 10 or 11 are all contractors like me, most of which have only recently started. Even Alex, the Engineering manager is another contractor working for the same agent as me. He has been there for a while though, over a year I gather. Alex commutes from London everyday; in fact there are at least 3 other contractors that live in London but they stay over in the week, as does Martin who lives in Nottingham. OpTek have had so much work come in at the same time that they are really struggling to handle it all especially as its holiday time and lots of staff are away each week. I am working on a new machine that must be designed, built and tested ready for an exhibition on 15th September where it will be launched. It is a new concept so has to be proved before it appears at the show which puts the pressure on even more. I get the feeling that this exhibition, if successful will provide OpTek with even more work. A Chinese company has found out about the machine already somehow and has already ordered two machines before they have seen them. For this reason we have to order 3 of everything even for the prototype so that we can get on with them as soon as the first one is finished. The machine should cut fibre optic fibres cleanly using a carbon dioxide laser operating at 20kHz. The usual way of cutting these fibres is using a scribed line, breaking the fibre and polishing the ends similar to glass cutting. Trouble is this leaves considerable a polishing exercise and to get good quality ends requires 4 operations of polishing each taking around 10 minutes. This machine should eliminate 3 of these polishing operations leaving only the final fine polishing operation and is being designed to have a cycle time of 4 seconds. Any company that has lots of optical fibres to terminate should benefit hugely by this machine once proved. Lots of other similar projects are going on at the same time and there are not enough hours in the day for people working at OpTek. It’s not their fault that they are becoming successful so quickly and they are a very nice bunch of people. I enjoy working there, like the people, I can definitely appreciate the income but the only thing wrong for me is the travelling. Claire has helped as much as she can and even comes to stay a night as often as practical which really does help me giving me a break between journeys. Claire is coming down for my birthday tomorrow and I hope to finish around 2pm making the hours up today and later in the week. It might even be worth looking for a room that we can stay in whenever we want rather than paying for hotel rooms a night at a time. I couldn’t resist putting this photo of Claire making herself look beautiful for me last week when she came down.

Abingdon is a very pretty little town and we managed to have a quick walk along the Thames last week. Where we have had lunch twice so far is the Nags Head which is on Nags head Island where the bridge is also. The Thames splits into two for about half a mile leaving a river island where we went for a walk. I think that the pub was named after the island rather than the other way around as the island is roughly shaped like a Nags head. However, I wonder why all the other pubs with the same name got their names.

Steve B has been coming out with us on a Wednesday night the last two weeks but starts his new contract in London this week so not sure if he will make it this week. Good luck Steve, I hope your journey is better than mine. Here we are having a quick one before we went out last week.

We received a claim form for a court hearing at Sheffield County Court regarding a traffic accident that happened on 20 July 2009 in Northampton. The claim was addressed to our company, Tristar Technical Services UK Ltd and it referenced a car and registration that we didn’t recognise. The document issue date was 5th August 2010 but we didn’t receive it until 12th August and we have to respond within 14 days otherwise they assume that we accept responsibility for the accident and a judgement will be made against us. That means that it had to be back by 19th August which was on Thursday effectively leaving us only 5 working days to sort it out. I have no reception at work for my mobile so I was forced to sort it out on a day off. It’s all very odd as we don’t even have a car registered to the company, the government tax incentives have made it better to own a car personally these days. I rang the solicitor at 9am but the person that I needed to talk to was on the phone and they promised to ring me back. They didn’t so I rang again at 10.45 and again, they promised to ring back. Again they didn’t so I rang back at 1.45 and was put on hold for 10 minutes and eventually got to speak to someone called Adam. To cut a very long story short they had filed the claim against the wrong company called Tristar Technical Services; a non-limited company. It’s a good job we weren’t away on holiday or we would have come back to a fine. Nice of the solicitor to phone me back when they had realized their error; I don’t think they were ever going to ring me back.

This last picture is of Harriet and her cousin who she went to see last weekend in Jersey where she lives and took our camera to record her visit. I think she had a bit of a hangover the next day but you are only young once.

Sad News........

Drove down to Abingdon yesterday morning with Phil; we left at the usual time and the journey was good.  Phil said this was most unusual but maybe Thursdays are quiet.  I dropped him off at work at twenty past seven then drove to the big Tesco’s extra just off the roundabout.  I went to the loo and tried to get a coffee but the café didn’t open until 8am.   I managed to get a Costa coffee to go from the garage nearby and drank that on the garage forecourt. After my caffeine fix I programmed the Tom Tom to go to the White Horse Tennis & leisure centre.   There seems to be quite a lot road works going on in Abingdon at the moment and several diversions are in place.  Still, with a little help from the sat nav I found my way and was parked up, changed and in the gym by quarter past eight.

The last time I was here the gym was closing for refurbishment.  I couldn’t see that much had changed, structurally it looked the same but they have added some soft mat areas and they’ve now got dumbbells.   The gym reminds me of the gym in David Lloyd although on a much smaller scale.  They’ve got large windows looking out on to the green which is nice as all the equipment is facing this way.  There are a couple of things that I don’t like in the ladies changing room.  My main gripe is that if you want a swim you have to get changed into your cossie then go out into the main gym to get to the pool.   My other complaint is the showers; there are only 3 of them and they are totally open.  I am not a prude so I couldn’t care less but I expect there are some ladies that might have a problem with this.   But these are only small gripes, the pool is fantastic and after my workout I did my 20 lengths. 

The White Horse Leisure centre was a great find for me as it gives me a place to while away a few hours.   After I was all showered and changed I got back in the car and made my way to the Waitrose free car park in the town centre.  It was bright and sunny in Abingdon and I spent an hour or so exploring all the little shops.  I ended up in the library where I was able to check my emails.  It was approaching midday and my free parking was nearly up so I made quickly walked to The Crown & Thistle to see if I could book us a room for the night.  My luck was in and I was able to get a room at the special rate which was a relief because I didn’t really have a backup plan, well not one that was within the budget.

I was getting bored by this time and had another hour to occupy myself before I could collect Phil from work.  I decided to use the hour and drive to the hotel that I’ve booked for Phil’s birthday next week.  I programmed the Tom Tom and was surprised that the hotel I had chosen was 10 miles away.  Not to worry, I had time to kill so I thought I would do a reckie.   The sat nav took me out of Abingdon and on to the ring road and right to the outskirts of Oxford.   I could see the sign for the hotel as I approached a very busy and very complicated roundabout.   I got my knickers in a twist and missed my turning.  I then got stuck on a road full of cars and there was nowhere that I could turn round. Eventually I spotted a food wagon in a lay-by so I turned the car around and headed back on the road to Abingdon.

Phil finished at 2pm and we went drove straight to The Crown & Thistle to check in.  There was no receptionist so we went to the pub next door for a 2-4-1 meal and a pint.  Phil chose the gammon which was very good but I opted for the meat pie which tasted very weird.   Still I was ravenous, having only eaten one piece of toast since breakfast so I managed to eat most of it.  After lunch we checked in and took the luggage up to the room.  Phil was disappointed because we were not in room 5 with the poster bed.   Instead we got room 3 which was much smaller and looked out onto the busy main road.  It was still comfortable but not a patch on the other room.

The sun had gone in and the sky was cloudy but we decided to have a walk along the Thames.   We got as far as we could go and had to turn back because of building works on the river bank.   On the way back both our mobiles rang and we had stuff to sort and then it started to rain.  We made a trip to the Co-Op before going back to our hotel room.

I switched on my laptop in the room to check my emails and there was one in my in-box which I knew was going to be sad news even before I clicked on it to open.  It was an email from Ian to say that my friend Jess had lost her battle with cancer and died yesterday morning.   I worked with Jess in marketing at the OU for 5 years and she was a great lady; clever, funny, direct and kind.   Jess gave the impression of being tough but there was vulnerability about her that not many people got to see.   Jess worked at the OU for 33 years before retiring at 58 in 2008.  She was diagnosed with ovarian cancer last year and went through horrible surgery and treatments only to be told last summer that it was terminal and there nothing more they could do.  Jess knew she had a timescale so she and her husband moved from the UK to stay in the villa they’d had built in Portugal last summer.  So after working all her adult life, she got 12 months.  I can only hope that these last months have been happy ones and pray that her passing was peaceful. 

With news of Jess yesterday it makes all my worries about weight, wobbles and wrinkles pale into total insignificance.  You only get one life and you’ve got to make the most of it because none of us knows how long we’ve got.  Not sure where this blog is going today and how to finish off. But time is running out, check out is 11am so it’s time for me to pack up the room, get showered and then I think I shall go for a walk along the Thames and contemplate life.

      

Sunshine, Showers & General Stuff

I don’t know about anyone else but I am really fed up with the awful weather we’ve been having.  I know it’s a very English thing to talk about the weather but I can’t refrain from having a moan.  On Monday we woke to rain, it was cold, grim with dark grey clouds.  It was so dark that we had to put all the downstairs lights on and Phil told me he even had to put his headlights on as he drove out of the cul-de-sac.  Sure, it brightened up on Monday afternoon which was good because it gave me the opportunity to cut the grass but come tea time the skies had clouded over again.  It was pretty much the same yesterday, dark clouds, rain followed by sunshine finishing off with torrential rain showers at the end of the day.  It reminded me of the weather in Melbourne.  The Oz say that you can experience all of the seasons in just one day in Melbourne and they are right, I should know, I experienced 5 weeks of this sort of weather.   At the moment I feel like autumn is already upon us, it’s darker in the mornings and the nights are drawing in.  The forecast is promising us 14 days of rain showers but they are predicting a nice September.  Ummm we shall see……

Four weeks of going to the gym nearly every day and at long last I’m beginning to see some results.  I’m only a few pounds away from my target weight but still not happy because I’ve still got some wobbly bits.  It’s my fault; I’ve been concentrating on the cardio and haven’t spent much time doing weights and resistance training.  This is going to change especially since I found some exercises in my Total Body Plan book at the weekend that you can do to stop your boobs from sagging.   Shame I didn’t find out about these 20 years ago, it’s probably too late now but I’m going to start including my exercise regime.  I’ve had a couple of sessions with my weights at home this week because we’re going to a wedding in a couple of week’s time and I want to wear a sleeveless dress. I have got just 19 days to make these bat wings disappear.

Phil had another long day on Monday which wasn’t helped by a traffic accident which meant he didn’t get home much before 8pm.  He was very tired and very grumpy which I’m beginning to get used too these days.  Tuesday was a better day; he left his office at 4pm and was home by 5pm.   It’s amazing just how much this journey affects him.  I was contemplating going down yesterday to Abingdon with him and staying the night but Phil worked out his hours and said it would be better if I came down on Thursday, tomorrow.  I’m hoping I can get the special room rate of 50 quid, same as last time, but I’m going to have a back up plan just in case.

It’s been an easy week for me.  I’ve had to do the usual domestics, some paperwork and an early trip to the gym each day.  Yesterday morning I went round to Emma’s for coffee and a catch up with gossip.   After lunch Steve B popped round to have a look at my laptop.  Apparently my disk space is nearly full which would explain why it’s so slow.  Steve did several technical things and I felt a little bad because he was here for nearly 2 hours.  He’s back round tonight as he’s going to the pub with Phil and needs to do another application which will need to run over night.   If you’re reading this Steve, the beers are definitely on Phil tonight!

I’m afraid I haven’t got anything else to report; things have been fairly quiet in our household.  Same goes for next door, no more drug raids.  I have to apologise for the lack of photographs.  Harriet took my camera to Jersey at the weekend and for some reason Phil took it into work although I’ve no idea why.  My camera is now back in my possession; just a shame that I have nothing to photograph, maybe I’ll find something in Abingdon when I do some more exploring tomorrow.

Friends & Family

Well here we are another Monday morning and starting off a new week.   Another 6am alarm call which is always tough on a Monday morning.   I’ve fed and watered Phil and sent him, reluctantly on his way with bag of sandwiches.  We had a good weekend despite the awful weather on Saturday.  It was so miserable that on Saturday afternoon I actually put the central heating on.  We had 2 house viewings on Saturday but we were not present for either.   On Saturday morning we took ourselves to the gym although we didn’t actually get to workout in the gym.  Phil chickened out before we even swiped our membership cards but actually I didn’t mind because we had quite a lot to get done before midday. 

I knew the viewers had turned up because of the mucky foot prints they’d left on my kitchen floor.  The second viewing was a quarter past one and I just about had enough time to make a lasagne and get out of the house before they arrived; it was just in the nick because we drove past the agent and our house viewers as we pulled out of the cul-de-sac.  We haven’t had any feed back yet but that’s not uncommon for weekend viewings.

Jill & Tony turned up at teatime and we were ready for them.  We hadn’t seen Jill & Tony since last summer.  Jill reads our blog so she is fully up to date on our activities but we weren’t really sure what they’d been up to, so a face-to-face catch up was much overdo.  Jill & Tony brought a fridge full of wine and beer and we had quite few cans and (me) glasses of wine before settling in the conservatory for what I call a peasant supper.  

After Phil’s busy week I didn’t really want him to ask to cook, so we just had lasagne, baked spuds, and salad and garlic bread.  It was okay; it lined our stomachs which was the main thing.  After supper we walked along the canal for a couple pitches of beer in The Gifford.  The rain had stopped but it was a little soggy and very dark, not quite the balmy late evening walk that we quite often enjoy.  Never mind, we got home and had more beer and ending up doing karaoke using spoons as microphones.  Don’t ask!!!   It was great to see Jill & Tony, Jill & I email but it’s not quite the same.  J&T are off on the 25^th of August for a 26 day holiday in their house in Cyprus.  The lucky pair!   Life is going to be changing for them next year as they plan to take a year out and go and live in their villa in Turkey.  They’ve got a couple of projects to complete before they take time out but I’m sure they’ll get these completed before the big day.  I wonder after they finish their gap year whether they will be able to go back to their 9-5 routine in the UK but hopefully they won’t have too.  Thanks for coming down to see us guys, you were excellent house guests!

We were late to bed and up fairly early.  I was first up and was surprised that there wasn’t too much devastation from the night before.  Luckily it wasn’t raining so Phil cooked sausages, eggs and bacon on the BBQ, the best cure for a hangover.   Jill & Tony & Phil all left at the same time, somewhere around half past 10.  I think J&T had some shopping to do and Phil had to pick up Georgina to take her to his mum and dad’s.  When everybody had gone I did some cleaning, changed Harriet’s bed, put on the dishwasher and put some washing in.   When I was finished I went to the gym.  I wasn’t sure whether I was up to it but I’d missed 2 days so it had to be done.   Amazingly I managed a 5k run quite easily and then swam afterwards.  Phil phoned to get Harriet’s flight details and also the post code for East Midlands airport.  I was meant to be picking Harriet up from the airport but as Phil had to drop Georgina off in Loughborough it made sense for him to collect her as he was only 10 miles away.  They arrived home at half past five, both were absolutely shattered.  We watched some TV and then it was an early night for everyone in our household.

The ‘things to do’ list is not overflowing for today, or indeed for the week.  Which is just as well really, because I’m off to stay with Phil in Abingdon later this in the week which will mean a couple of days and a night away from home.  Actually I quite enjoy these mini breaks and I’m sure Harriet appreciates having the house all to herself for a change.  Last week was quite a social week for me, catching up with friends and lots of eating and drinking.  I’ve kept off the weight by working out in the gym but this week I’m going for a quiet one.  Definitely alcohol free as I need to detoxify and some early nights.  These days I just can’t take the pace.