Western Super-Mare

Feeling more than a little ropey we set off home but had already decided to stop off at Western Super-Mare on our way back. This is only about the only bit of coast on our way back to Milton Keynes and is in Somerset where we had hardly been before.

Claire had already booked one night at the Oakover guest house close to the sea front. There are only 6 rooms but have all been recently redecorated and upgraded and it it now an AA 4 star guest house. Our room has a lovely en-suite with spa bath and a large bay window, room 2 (www.oakover.co.uk).

It is a very cold miserable day, but it is the end of January; we must have been lucky yesterday when it was clear and sunny in Okehampton. We dropped off our bags and set off for a nice cold walk along the sea front towards the town passing the Pier that was being rebuilt after a fire had destroyed it.

Western Super-Mare looks quite a nice seaside town but the sea seemed a long way out exposing what looked like mud flats. By this time it was about 3pm and our breakfast had worn off and we were starving. We found a nice little place called the Old Thatched Cottage offering a lunchtime 2 course special that we both had. The main menu was very tempting and we nearly faltered but I am pleased we didn’t as I had local fish and chips which were lovely and fresh while Claire had roast beef and Yorkshire pudding. I already feel hungry again just talking about it. Good job we had the very substantial full English breakfast before driving home in the morning.

Devon with the Sopers

I always thought that Chris was from Cornwall but it turns out he is from Okehampton in Devon. We set off at about 9.30 and with only one toilet stop, arrived at Chris and Christine’s new flat by about 11.50. Okehampton is a lovely little town with the Dartmoor hills in the background. No sooner had we arrived and had a look around their lovely flat than Chris and I set off to Waitrose and the butchers for tonight’s dinner. Of course we also bought enough wine for a month, even though we had taken 3 liters of white, a bottle of port and a bottle of Bombay Safire.
















All sorted and Christine and Claire got back from their walk around the park we all set off to the pub that was full of Chris’s old school mates. Quite an early start, I know but we are on holiday. Chris is currently reading a book by one of his old school mates which seems quite an appropriate title for this visit.

Chris cooked a superb dinner of duck breast with chili noodles and salad followed by Barnsley chops, potatoes veg with leek gravy. All polished off with lemon sponge and clotted cream, cheese board and port. Wowee, I can hardly remember going to the Kings Head afterwards where I got beat by Eric Bristow at darts. I certainly couldn’t remember getting home and still drinking more wine, especially after all that rough cider from the pub.

Before we knew it we were eating a hearty breakfast of local bacon and sausage with farm eggs, tomatoes and beans. It was so good I set off to the butchers for some more sausages to take home with us. As Chris and Christine are off back to Cyprus on Saturday they gave us their remaining eggs as well. Christine took me for a walk around the park following the river with lovely little bridges along the way. We even went into the farm where we got the eggs from and had a chat to the farmer who it turns out also went to school with Chris.

We first met Chris and Christine the first time we went on holiday to North Cyprus one Christmas about 10 years ago. We both caught a nasty flu on arrival and so spent our first 4 days in bed freezing. Suddenly the weather turned and we got better and so started going out. We met Chris and Christine in the Aphrodite restaurant in Lapta which is quite close to our hotel Sampati and also close to Chris and Christine’s villa. The Sopers had been retired and living in North Cyprus for about 18 months when we met them and we have remained friends ever since. They moved from North to South Cyprus about 3 years ago so Chris only has to pay 5% tax on his pension there. There might be a couple of other reasons as well but being resident in Cyprus is very sensible when you get to penionable age or are lucky enough to take early retirement like Chris did. Having just sold their North Cyprus villa they decided to rent a 2 bed flat back in Chris’s home town. They are the first to rent it as the block is new and right in the town centre so its very convenient. Claire got real jealous as it is about twice the area as our kebab flat. Looks like we might be moving again soon. I wish I could get a job in Devon as it’s a lovely part of the country and rentals are so cheap. I think we might be coming back to Okehampton again this summer if we are still allowed.

Legend has it that the little bus shelter type building was the venue where Chris had his first taste of a local lass. Let’s hope that Louise is not following this blog.

Well, thank you guys, we had a great time in Devon and what a great cook Chris is, we could never have got such a lovely meal in a restaurant. We are too old now to last more than one night with the pase of the Sopers. One night is enough, we need to recover, thanx!

Big Girls Night Out

Last night Harriet picked me up from the kebab flat (bless her) and we went to meet up with Jane, Charlotte & Lauren for a meal at the Barge in Woolstone. It’s been a good few years since Harriet and Charlotte met up so both the girls had a lot of catching up to do. Charlotte returned to the UK in December after spending a gap year in Australia and New Zealand. Harriet has spent a couple of months in Australia on holiday so she was familiar with some of the places that Charlotte has been. I was going to be good and go for the Caesar salad but somehow I ended up with beef curry and poppadoms. How did that happen? As always, everyone’s food was good and I was surprised with the credit crunch and all, to see that the pub was packed out. Charlotte had brought along her laptop and it was really interesting to see pictures of her trip. It’s was strange to see C & H chatting away, doesn’t seem so long ago since they were little girlies. Big girls now though and both of them will be 20 years old in March. Even little Lauren who by the way is taller than all of us, turned sweet 16 in January. Where oh where does the time go?

I am going to have to be quick this morning because after a cup of tea and a jump in the shower, we’re driving down to Okehampton in Devon to visit and stay with The Sopers. Chris and Christine have rented an apartment for 12 months and left Larnaca to spend January in the UK. Christine emailed me whilst we were away in Goa and I had completely forgotten they were in this country until she called and left a message on my voicemail. They are flying back to Cyprus early Saturday morning so this will be our last chance to catch up with them before they go home. I’m not quite sure what their overall plan is but I am sure they will tell us all about it this evening over a few drinks. Conscious that they have to pack up the house, we’ve decided to only stay the one night and on Thursday morning we have booked a guest house in Weston-Super-Mare.

The reason we choose W-S-M was because it seemed to be a half way mark on the map and also neither of us have been there before. I think it will be good for Phil to get out (he had another day yesterday of not showering and not getting out of his pyjamas) plus the mini break will get me away from my inbox. I loose count of the number of times I check my mail on the chance of getting a reply from my many job applications; it’s almost bordering on the lines OCD. Hopefully the sea wind will blow away all thoughts of rejection and I can return on Friday, a new woman.

Girl on the run

I managed to sort of stay awake on Saturday night to see the grand finale of celebrity big brother. I was surprised but very pleased that Ulrika won. Phil wasn’t so sure about her, but despite a bad press over the years, I think she came across very well on the show. I was so relieved that Coolio didn’t get the top spot and I wasn’t so keen on Verne, he freaked me out. It was funny when he got pissed and drove his scooter into the diary room door but the incident with the doll was proper weird.

Phil got stuck into his OU course on Saturday. I don’t know if I’ve mentioned it before, but he’s studying ‘evolution’ for a half credit. It must be engrossing because he pretty much stayed put on the sofa all day, only getting up to make us lunch and clean his teeth. He didn’t even make it to the shower. I didn’t go to David Lloyd; having received another job rejection in the mail, I spent the whole morning on job websites applying for anything and everything. It would have been nice just to apply for jobs that I was interested in but beggars can’t be choosers and I shall have to take whatever is offered to me.

Phil made us a liver and bacon casserole with a mound of mash potatoes with cabbage, carrots, brocolli and sprouts. Unfortunately he could only get pigs liver in Waitrose and the casserole itself was a bit tough and I left most of it. This meant that later in the evening I was starving and found myself in the kebab shop ordering burger and chips. Why do I do these things???

Yesterday Phil took Georgina to see Slumdog Millionaire even though he had already seen it. He reckons it was much better the second time round. I tidied up and took myself off to the gym only to find that it jammed pack when I got there. In fact it was so packed I almost struggled to find a cross trainer. I must remember that if you don’t make it to the gym before 8am at the weekends, you may as well not bother. After my workout I picked up Christine and we went to The Old Green Man in Little Brickhill for lunch. We didn’t go into the main restaurant but instead settled ourselves by the fire in the bar. The bar menu wasn’t bad but we both opted for the Sunday Lunch. http://www.oldgreenman.com/ It was £8.50 which wasn’t the cheapest, but nonetheless, the lunch tasted good and was freshly cooked. After lunch we drove back to Christine’s and took Purdy and Buffy for a long walk around the lake. It was a bit wet and soggy underfoot but the early morning rain had disappeared and it was actually quite mild. I had a cup of tea and a mince pie when I got back to Christine’s and returned to the kebab flat just after dark.

And that, as they say, was the weekend. Today I have been across to the centre to get some new trainers because I am going to start running again. The plan is start off slowly and train up to do longer distances. Phil questioned why I needed new trainers and I told him that I had the same pair for 20 years. I was going to start on the diet today but Phil said we had to finish off the liver casserole and he’s just made bubble and squeak with the leftover mash and vegetables, which I’m sure, must be calorific. So much for the diet! I’m off out for a meal tomorrow night and then we’re probably going to go down to Devon to see some friends for a few days which will mean more and eating and drinking. But more about this trip tomorrow, for now I have to get to the gym for my first run.

Moans, Groans & Grub!

There is a rule of thumb which says that if you haven’t got anything nice to say then you shouldn’t say anything at all. So basically, keep your mouth tightly shut. If this is so then I shouldn’t really be doing a blog today because I certainly haven’t got anything good to report, quite the opposite in fact. I struggled to string a post together on Wednesday then ending up by ranting on for ages. This won’t be the case today and I apologise in advance for the fact that this posting will be will be brief and most certainly dull.

And so we end the week with more doom and gloom, an official recession, grey skies and still jobless. I had yet another job rejection letter in the post this morning which did nothing to improve my pre-weekend mood. You may think that every day is a weekend day with us being out of work but in fact we do tend to stay away from our laptops and avoid job applications where possible. Not that there are many jobs out there, mind you. I am applying for anything and everything and Phil is sticking to the technical websites. He’s getting calls from agents but he either hasn’t got the right skill set or he hasn’t used the software for a long time. I am beginning to get worried, but Phil forever the optimist, is still hopeful that a well-paid interesting post will fall out of the sky and drop directly into his email box. I wish I had his self belief and optimism.

Phil eventually took his land rover in to get the brake pads fixed. The garage only charged 80 quid and gave him a 2007 black Ford KA for the day, which I though was very good service. I have been nagging him to get his brakes done ever since we got back from Goa. My KA is still playing up and I must take this to the garage and get it sorted once and for all.

Yesterday as Phil & I sat across the table whilst trawling the website for jobs, we spotted out of the window, an official looking man with a clipboard taking pictures of all the sky dishes erected on the external walls in the blocks surrounding the communal green area. As we were watching he suddenly turned round to our block and immediately spotted our enormous aerial standing proudly on the top of our block. Of course he took a photo and now we are worried that we will be asked to take it down which will mean no more Sky Vision and no internet. We knew it was against the leasehold laws when we paid the aerial man to put it up but we figured with all the other illegal sky dishes and aerials, it wouldn’t matter. I agree that they make the buildings look even uglier but then the council should have made some provision for future communications when they built the flats. We certainly won’t take our aerial down without a fight and if MKCC wish to fight me then they have picked the wrong person. Bring it on!

Fed up with soups and baked potatoes we took ourselves off to the carvery at Peartree Bridge for lunch yesterday. Unfortunately we arrived just after a van carrying a group of old age pensioners and Phil was chapping at the bit to push past them. I have to admit they were slow and taking ages to get into the main restaurant but I made Phil wait in line and help the carers hold open the doors. Luckily we beat them to the queue for the carvery which cheered Phil up no end!

Phil slept in this morning; he did wake up at 4am because he needed the loo but luckily for him, he managed to go back to sleep. I must have dozed off too but I was awakened a bit later by the puppy yapping and thumping around in the flat above. Now I know for sure they have a pet but I’m undecided what to do about this yet. It’s not giving me too much grief as yet and I don’t want to appear mean and vindictive. Especially as I speak I can see one of the many crack heads that live nearby outside with his two staff’s fighting practically right outside our lounge window. I see that whilst is he watching his 2 horrible dogs he is chatting to another crack head in the block to our left of us, who is smoking and swigging beer from a can whilst practically hanging out of his window. This is the same guy that Phil saw earlier chucking his empty cans out of the window onto the grass which is the same grass that I campaigned for the council to clean up just before Christmas. Now I wonder why I bothered; I tell you, people around here have no respect for the environment they live in.

We didn't have food to cook so we decided to go The Giffard as they currently have an offer of 2 meals for £5. Phil went to the cashpoint at the shop and as I was sat waiting in the car, Emma bounded up along with Kai that she'd just picked up from pre-school. I haven't seen her since before Christmas and she took take great delight informing me that Ash our tenant had a new girlfriend who has an 8 yr old son. Apparently they stay at our old house most weekends. It'd nice to know what is going on in the cul-de-sac but sometimes you can have too much information. Emma has been going to weight watchers and has lost 10 pounds since christmas which is fantastic and I thought she looked very well. We waved Emma off and got to the pub and were the first ones through the door. Phil had lasagne and garlic bread and I had tipsy beef pie with peas and chips and very nice it was too.

We have no firm plans for the weekend. Tonight I shall try my hardest to stay up for the Big Brother finale and tomorrow Phil is cooking liver & bacon casserole with onion gravy and a big pot of mash potatoes and greens. Comfort food that will do nothing for my waistline but hopefully may help improve my miserable mood.

Random Stuff

Things have been pretty quiet so not sure what I’m going to say but I’ll have a go anyway and see what comes out. On Monday we pretty much stuck to the cabbage soup which although it tasted alright it wasn’t very satisfying and I felt hungry for most of the day. I was disappointed not to have lost any weight when I got on the scales on Tuesday morning. Phil and I went to the health-cub and as we sat in the steam room we decided that we need something more sustaining for lunch. Phil’s first choice was tipsy steak pie, 2 for 1 at The Giffard Park but I managed to persuade him to keep on the healthy route so we opted for baked spuds with tuna, sweet corn, onion and mayonnaise. I can’t tell you how good it felt to have solid food. These January days are so depressing though, deep down, I don’t think we are really serious about the diet.

Yesterday Phil made it to the health-club with me and we had a reasonable workout. We were a bit late and didn’t have time for a swim. You may not believe this, but honestly it’s true. After lunch I went to the OU to meet Janet for a walk around the campus. The sun was shining and it really was a beautiful day but that said, it was still quite cold. It was busy at the campus yesterday and there were cars everywhere. When I left Janet I drove the post office to pick up the post from the PO Box. There wasn’t much really to collect, just my credit card statement and a couple of bills.

I have been rather lazy these last few days with only one job application. I’ve applied for a job admin job at Stantonbury Campus. I like the fact that it’s only 39 weeks a year, I could handle that! I went to pick up the Tuesday Citizen but they had sold out so I shall just have to wait for the Thursday Citizen so I can search for more jobs. Normally on a Tuesday we would go to the cinema because it’s half price night but last night we didn’t go. We were supposed to attend the AGM at the Lionhearts Cruising Club in the church hall in Leighton Buzzard. You may remember that we got accepted as members way back in October but to date haven’t attended a single meeting. We were feeling a bit guilty about this and so decided we would make our debut at the AGM last night. Honestly we had every good intention but when I got out the Lionhearts December newsletter and read the items on the agenda and noted the fact that we should have gone into the clubhouse and selected the buffet item to bring to the meeting, I changed my mind. Phil ummed and arrhed about whether to go but in the end he agreed with me and said that we should make our debut in a more local arena and not the AGM. I wonder whether I am ready to commit to the Lionhearts?; I also wonder whether the Lionhearts are ready for me and Phil!

Today we’ve had a late start, having been disturbed in the early hours by the tenants living directly above us. They have been making quite a lot of noise of late and I suspect they have acquired a new puppy. Indeed last night as we were watching ‘Secret Millionaire’ we heard a dog yapping and someone saying “shush” before running up the stairs. I have no proof yet but if it turns out to be true and they are disturbing us, I will of course have to report them. It is against the leasehold rules to have a pet in the block, plus you know, I don’t think its fair on the dog. Watch this space, I hope I am wrong.

For now I must get on and start the day. Phil is sitting on the sofa in his pyjamas doing his daily Sudoku from his 2009 desk diary. If he thinks he is going to sit there all day, he has got another thing coming. There’s a list of jobs for him to do and he needs to get started. Even though he is jobless it doesn’t mean he has to turn into a complete slob. MEN!

Lazy men always loose though, check out the joke below!

A woman could never get her husband to do anything around the house. He would come home from work, sit in front of the TV, eat dinner, and sit some more -- would never do those little household repairs that most husbands take care of. This frustrated the woman quite a bit. One day the toilet stopped up. When her husband got home, she said sweetly, 'Honey, the toilet is clogged. Would you look at it?' Her husband snarled, 'What do I look like? The tidy-bowl man?' and sat down on the sofa. The next day, the garbage disposal wouldn't work. When her husband got home, she said, very nicely, 'Honey, the disposal won't work. Would you try to fix it for me?' Once again, he growled, 'What do I look like? Mr. Plumber?' The next day, the washing machine was on the blink. When her husband got home, she steeled her courage and said, 'Honey, the washer isn't running. Would you check on it?' And again was met with a snarl, 'What do I look like? The repairman?' Finally, she had had enough. The next morning, the woman called three repairmen to fix the toilet, the garbage disposal, and the washer. When her husband got home, she said, 'Honey, I had the repairmen out today.' He frowned, 'Well, how much is that going to cost?' 'Well, honey, they all said I could pay them by baking them a cake or having sex with them.' 'Well, what kind of cakes did you bake them?' he asked. She smiled. 'What do I look like? Delia Smith?'

Friends, Flowers & Super Bugs

It’s been a fairly unremarkable few days but not without incident. I went to the gym on Friday morning whilst Phil took the microwave back to Curry’s. Luckily we had the receipt and even though it said to phone a helpline number in case of a fault, he decided to go to the shop and get an exchange instead. They didn’t have the same model as the one we had but Phil spotted a Kenwood combi oven in the sale knocked down from £200 to £115. It was a much better microwave then the one we had before and Phil only had to pay an extra 20 quid.

In the afternoon Jane popped round with Charlotte to the kebab flat for a cup of coffee. Charlotte has just got home after a gap year in Australia and New Zealand. I lent her my car whilst we were in Goa and she brought me a card and the biggest bunch of flowers to say thank you. They were lovely but it s a shame because they won’t last long in the flat. I tell you, I do not exaggerate when I say it’s like a sauna in here, even with all the radiators turned down.

Julia turned up just before 6pm having got a little lost even though she had a sat nav. I got her a beer and showed her round the kebab flat. She seemed a bit god-smacked and somewhat surprised at how small the place is. She said it made her house seem really big. We had beer, wine and champagne and spent the evening catching up with news and watching the big brother eviction. Julia didn’t want dinner as she’d had a big lunch so we just nibbled on cheese and biscuits and Bombay mix. A late night and needless to say, hangovers all round the next morning. Phil made a big greasy spoon breakfast for us all which seemed to help our heads. Harriet was going to come round to see Auntie Julia but she’s not good at early mornings and in the end Julia had to get off without seeing her.

After she left, Phil and I got her gym bags and were just about to get in the car to go to David Lloyd when Harriet turned up. We went back into the flat for a quick chat and then finally went to the gym. The plan was to have a swim in the outside pool and then have a Jacuzzi and a steam but the place was full of screaming kids so we just had a Jacuzzi and a 5 minute steam and then came home. As the sun was shining Phil thought it would be a good idea to walk to Furzton Lake. We got as far as the train station and I managed to persuade Phil to turn back. It wasn’t that I didn’t want a walk but it was colder than I thought and I only had my leather bomber jacket on and was feeling cold. Still it was still nearly an hour’s walk and we stopped off via M&S so Phil could stock up with half price puddings and a luxury pot of custard. Very naughty!

Phil made us steak, salad and M&S potatoes but unfortunately it wasn’t very nice. The steak had a funny taste, the dressing which Phil had smothered all over the salad wasn’t nice and the potatoes were soggy. Never mind, I washed up and we settled down on the sofas in front of the telly. We weren’t long into viewing when the buzzer went. It was David (posh plumber) and Pat who just happened to be shopping in the city centre and thought they’d pop in to see if we had a nice holiday. Actually it was nice to see them and I really should have phoned them when we got home to wish them a happy New Year.

Saturday night was spent on the sofas with a film. I went to bed relatively early and was blissfully unaware that Phil had spent the whole night in the toilet throwing up. I do remember at one point, him cuddling me and thinking he felt quite hot which is unusual because he’s normally freezing because I steal all the covers off him. Anyway, it was obvious on Sunday morning when he got out of bed and slumped himself on the sofa that he definitely had some kind of bug. When Phil doesn’t eat I know that he really is ill. He had a temperature and he said he felt like he had the flu. I left him to sleep it off and went to the gym for a quick workout. When I got back I went to M&S for ingredients to make cabbage soup. I have decided that we are going to follow the cabbage soup diet this week. Drastic measures are needed. I don’t know why but my stomach has been so bloated and distended these last few days and I now only have one pair of jeans that I can get into which are comfortable. If I don’t loose 10 pounds this week I am going to have to go out and buy a whole new wardrobe.

The soup took ages to prepare and 2 hours to cook. Phil was well enough to have a small bowl but then went on to have a bramble apple pudding with custard afterwards which made him go to the toilet again. He went to bed at 6 o’clock last night. I fell asleep on the sofa and got into bed at 1pm. I slept like a log so I’m not sure what sort of a night he’s had. He is, as I type up today’s entry, still fast asleep in bed. I just hope it’s a 24 hour bug and that he’s fully recovered when he wakes up this morning. I have a list of things for him to do and we both need to get our bums off the sofas and get back onto the job hunt.

Thank God it's Friday

Just for a change, I shall start this blog today with a joke:

A business man got on an elevator in a building. When he entered the elevator, there was a blonde already inside and she greeted him by saying, "T-G-I-F" (letters only).

He smiled at her and replied, "S-H-I-T" (letters only)."

She looked at him, puzzled, and said, "T-G-I-F" again.

He acknowledged her remark again by answering,

"S-H-I-T."

The blonde was trying to be friendly, so she smiled her biggest smile and said as sweetly as possibly "T-G-I-F" another time.

The man smiled back to her and once again replied with a quizzical expression, "S-H-I-T."

The blonde finally decided to explain things, and this time she said, "T-G-I-F, Thank Goodness It's Friday, get it?"

The man answered, "Sorry, Honey, It's Thursday."

Another Friday morning looms its head and the weekend sits on the horizon; which is a good thing I guess, but for me, I just don’t know where the week has gone. My strategy in the job department is one application per day which satisfies Phil and makes me feel like I’m at least doing something. Okay I still fit in a visit to the health-club and spend many hours in front of the TV, but even so, applying for jobs has left me physically and mentally exhausted. I have put together a kind of a generic statement and hopefully on the CV, I’m coming across as ‘a good all rounder’; I’m left almost believing all the made-up crap about myself and am in wonder why nobody wants to interview me, let alone employ me! If nothing happens by the end of January I’m going to become a professional cleaner.

On Wednesday lunchtime I met up with Janet for our usual walk around the OU campus. Funmi was meant to come along but she was tied up with meetings. I hadn’t realised that it was foggy and very damp with droplets from the trees dumping on our heads all along the way. Not the best weather but it got Jan away from her desk and more importantly, gave me a break away from Phil. Wednesday wasn’t a good day for Phil; it was another pyjama day and I don’t think he actually left the kebab flat. On Wednesday night Harriet came over after work for supper; I cooked a roast chicken with frozen Yorkshire puddings and some green beans but unfortunately my roast spuds were not quite cooked. Weary by my culinary exertions, I was in bed before 9pm which was fortunate because I gather from Phil that all the electric tripped when Phil was cooking his sneaky midnight snacks, which he often does when I go to bed. He will never ever be thin and I say to him that it was a sign that he mustn’t eat late at night. Actually I’m just pissed off that my super duper combi oven is now f**ked as this is the only oven we have.

Yesterday Phil picked up Georgina and drove her to his mum and dads in Melton Mowbray for lunch which meant I had the whole day to myself. Actually I was up at 5am doing yet another job application. I find the morning is the best time for lying and abetting. Phil got up late and after breakfast I tidied the flat and when he’d left, I took myself off to the gym. I had a good workout, the best I’d had in a long while even though my ankle is playing up in the cold weather and I desperately need some new trainers. It was way past midday when I got back home for lunch. Phil made a hotpot of mince and veggies on Tuesday after seeing Tina on Big Brother make the same but unfortunately he made so much that I’ve had to eat it all week long. Don’t get me wrong, I love it and I’m grateful for the food on my table, but the same grub for 4 days in row sends me slightly round the bend in the taste department. For a brief moment I debated going AWOL and having a plate at David Lloyd but the credit crunch thing together with my unemployment status got to my conscience and in the end I just couldn’t do it and came home.

Carters phoned Phil yesterday to say that the investment buyer that put in an offer of £85k on the kebab flat a couple of months back had seen that the flat was still on the market and wanted to know whether we would re-consider his offer. Phil said “no way hosay” but suggested that the agent come back round to take some photo’s of the flat since the original photographs were taken before we did the flat up. It will be interesting to see if the investment buyer ups his offer. Phil did some research with the property pages from The Citizen yesterday and even in a depressed market, he thinks that the kebab flat is way underpriced. We certainly won’t sell it for a song, if we do go back to the Giffard Park house, we will simply rent the flat out and sit it out until the market is buoyant again.

My sister Julia is coming to stay tonight and I’ve made up the futon bed in the spare room in readiness for her arrival this evening. I’m excited as this will be the first guest that we have had to stay in the kebab flat. It will be good to see Julia and catch up with all her news and I’ve got some nice steak in the fridge for Phil to cook us and some cheese & biscuits, and a box of Elizabeth Shaw chocolate orange flutes and a gallon of beer and white wine. So we should be in for a good evening. Shame about the diet though. I will start again on Monday. I promise.

Click Therapy

I read an interesting article in the Sunday Mail supplement entitled ‘Therapy at a click’ written by writer and author Jane Alexander. It was all about how she uses her blog to help cope with depression. A most interesting article and endorsed my own thoughts and theories about writing on-line journals as a form of self help. http://www.exmoorjane.blogspot.com/ Of course, it’s not everyone’s cup of tea, but for me, writing about life’s trials and tribulations certainly brings some relief. It’s also a bonus with my rapidly diminishing memory, being able to go back to look at previous postings to look up things that I can’t remember like dates and names. Believe me; I use this tool all the time.

The continued horrible, bleak winter weather is not doing much to improve my mood and I am still hiding away in my little rabbit hole. Trouble is, Phil has joined me and also seems reluctant to venture far from the kebab flat. We did go out to The Odeon on Friday night to see Defiance with Daniel Craig. Christine joined us and I think she was quite bemused with our smuggled bike bottles full of wine together with plastic cups and scubbie snacks. The film was quite good in spite of the poor reviews, certainly had our full attention for 2 hours and 37 minutes.

Phil failed to mention in his last blog that not only did he not go out of the flat all day on Saturday; he didn’t change out of his PJ's all day. I think he did clean his teeth but he certainly didn’t make it into the shower. I was a bit better and went to David Lloyd in the morning but I did join Phil on the sofa and we spent the whole afternoon and all of the evening watching films. Sunday wasn’t much better either. We walked to The Giffard for a roast beef and Yorkshire pudding washed down with a bottle of house wine. It took us an hour each way. The walk to the pub was quite pleasant but our return walk was uphill and very cold and windy. I can tell you, we were pleased when we walked back into the kebab flat which is like a sauna at the moment.

On Monday I caught up with some domestic jobs before getting picked up by Christine just after 11am leaving Phil ‘home alone’ to his own devices. The weather wasn’t brilliant but it was mild and we had a good old wander around Olney. Christine was looking for a piece of furniture for her lounge and we found something that she liked that was within her price range. When the rain started we retreated into The Bull for a pub lunch. I have to say I was quite impressed with the food, although it was pub grub; it was good portions, tasty and well presented. Somehow the diet has slipped onto the back burner these last few days together with all my good intentions. I got back just after 2.30pm to find Phil already in his nightwear on the sofa in readiness for some serious TV viewing!

Yesterday morning we made it to the gym. It was packed with every member trying to stick to their new year’s resolutions. I hate it when it’s like this but I know things will ease off and by the beginning of February things will be back to normal. Phil had to go to Northampton to give Georgina a lift home from school and I went to the hairdressers for a few hours of stress and misery. I am now shorter and brighter but sadly lighter in the pocket department.

Last night as it was half price night at the cinema, we went to The Odeon to see Slumdog millionaire. This film has had some excellent reviews and I can tell you we were impressed. A bit of ‘Bollywood’ and ‘Hollywood’ all mixed together but none the less an excellent film. Poverty, deprivation, murder, love, family bonds, and TV game shows. A great film and I can certainly recommend it.

As I sit here at my laptop typing right next to the radiator, I see out of the window that Jack Frost has been out last night. It looks like its going to be cold out there this morning. I think I shall catch up reading all my blog sites and then I suppose I must fire off another job application.

MK in winter

Starting out with a quick photo of the Bowling club in Melton Mowbray as I think it is our only excursion outside of Milton Keynes since we got back from Goa. Mum treated Claire Glad and me so she didn’t have to cook for a change. It’s a little more expensive than our Calvary in MK but its lots better, especially the gravy.

Having been stuck in the city centre for so long, only venturing out to David Lloyd or the market across the road, we decided on a nice long walk to the Giffard Park on Sunday to try their roast. Its about an hours walk so we set off at about 11am from Lloyds Court past the new insurance glass building. I suppose that most financial institutions are made of glass at the moment; how will it all end?

Not long before we reach the canal which was frozen over except for a channel in the middle where the odd boat had ventured. The ducks and geese had to settle under the bridges where the water is a little protected from the frost. They all looked pretty hungry; we should have brought our old loaf from home. How does a duck look hungry?

Past my favorite photo opportunity, the “Brick Kilns” and through Linford Park until, at last we could see the Giffard Park pub. Their menu has changed a little recently and although we didn’t try it, they are offering 2 meals for £5. This includes quite a range of their meals such as scampi and chips, lasagna and tipsy steak pie and chips. We might be back to sample this soon. We both settled for the roast beef and Yorkshire pudding and I couldn’t resist “going large”. Not quite sure how they got all mine on the plate and normally it would have fed Claire and I but we have been on a diet.

Talk to you again next time we go out.

January Blues

I really hate this time of year and wish I could bury myself in a hole and hide away until the spring. January just has to be the most depressing month of the whole year. Sorry for the lack of postings but really we haven’t done much so hence nothing to blog about. Phil fancied getting some pyjamas so he took himself off to M&S to get some. He came back with a navy striped lounge suit comprising of t-shirt and knee length shorts. I had to laugh when I came back yesterday from running some errands only to find him in his PJ’s lounging on the sofa and it was only 2.45pm!

On Tuesday night we went to see ‘Yes Man’ with Jim Carey at The Odeon. It was a lightweight movie but it made us giggle and cheered up, what was otherwise, a bloody freezing, miserable night. Other than that, we haven’t done much, other than apply for jobs and watch TV. How exciting are we?

Even though it’s only the first week into the start of the year, I have already broken all of my new years’ resolutions – big time. The only thing I can boast about is the fact that we have made it to the health club every single morning this week without fail. Phil has been good with his diet and has lost a total of 6 pounds since we got back from Goa, 3 pounds this week. Although I haven’t been too naughty, I haven’t lost a single pound. Probably a direct result of too many hours spent sitting on my bottom watching TV. I must up the anti in the exercise department, actually think I need to ‘up the anti’ in every department of my life.

I am having a day off from applying for jobs and am going to catch up with domestics today. We have nothing whatsoever planned for the weekend so we’ll take it as it comes I guess. Hopefully next week, I shall come back a much happier bunny. For now, I shall publish this miserable entry and go back in my hole………….