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.