A Chard Life

The last couple of days have been fairly quiet all round. Apart from a trip to Tesco’s and going to Phil’s work to take him some noodles and salad, I stayed in the house for most of Tuesday going through the Excel lessons on my borrowed copy of my ECDL disk. Although I am familiar with Excel having used it for ever I am pretty much self taught and have bluffed my way through over the years so I am forcing myself to go through all the lessons from start to finish. Its’ such basic stuff that it’s like watching paint dry and my mind gets distracted but I did learn more about formulas which in the past have always frightened me. Again it was a lovely day but it was cold in Phil’s room so I was brave and ventured into the conservatory and got out my laptop. It was baking hot in the conservatory but I persevered, the sun is such a rarity that it’s nice to bask in it when it does come out.



The hours soon went by and before I knew it, it was time to jump in the car and go and pick up Phil from work. I can pretty much make my way around Chard now without having to use the sat nav which is amazing for me because I have absolutely no sense of direction and I mean NONE! Phil was fairly upbeat when he jumped in the passenger seat and after a 10 hour stint at the sweat shop, said he felt like going for a pint. We drove to a pub called Ye Olde Poppy Inn on the way to Uxminster, which I had heard one of the locals talking about. Unfortunately it didn’t open till 6pm but we decided to wait the 10 minutes in the car-park rather than go elsewhere. Phil saw this horse in the pub garden and couldn’t resist taking a picture. Things are very traditional here in Somerset; the pubs open for lunch 12-2pm and don’t seem to open again until 6 or 7pm, unlike in Milton Keynes where they seem to be open all hours.



We ordered a pint and a half of the local cider and this is the first pint of cider that Phil has had since he’s been working here. It was okay, cold but a little on the sweet side. Unfortunately Phil spotted the menu which I have to say was most impressive and eventually persuaded me they we should eat. We both went for the steak and Guinness pie with new potatoes and fresh vegetables. We thought we would get the normal frozen pub grub but amazingly the pie was homemade and the veggies were fresh. Only down side, and yes I am sorry to be negative once again, was that none of the food had been seasoned. Unlike Phil, I don’t need a shed full of salt but even my taste buds detected the blandness. Still, not bad for £7.95 and maybe we shall go there again. After the pub it was straight back to the house for pyjamas, some TV and lights out at 10pm.





Having decided to dedicate all of yesterday to Excel stuff, I decided to let Phil take the car and drive himself to work. I was still up at 6am making tea and sandwiches for Phil to take for lunch and felt really in the wide awake club by the time Phil left for work at quarter to 7. Unfortunately probably so did the other house guests because I inadvertently set off the fire alarm when I was toasting hot cross buns for Phil in the microwave grill. This is the second time this week that I’ve set off the smoke detector and I don’t think I will be welcomed back. Especially, as I also decided to strip the bed and put the washing machine on, not realising my mistake until the spinning programme came on making a real ding dong. I quickly hung the stuff on the line and slinked back to our room as soon as I could. The house rules state that you must not use the washing machine after 8pm but I stupidly didn’t think about putting it on early in the morning.


The owners of no 14H (Phil’s Somerset home) are Mike & Grace whom seem nice although I haven’t spoken to them much. Grace scuttles away every time I use the kitchen and Mike seems to spend all of his time in his office at the back of the garage. Phil tells me that Mike is an architect and did the plans for their house extension so they could rent out rooms. Phil’s room is on the ground floor just to the left of the front door and all the other bedrooms are upstairs. We can’t quite make out how many rooms they have altogether but we know that M&G let out 4 rooms including ours. I am curious to know what living accommodation they have kept for themselves because as far as I can make out, they only have an en-suite bedroom and the office. The kitchen, conservatory, driveway, front door and garden are all communal.



Having stayed here for 4 days I think their set up just about works, of course I haven’t seen the other rooms so can only comment on my experience. Phil’s room is okay, very compact; the en-suite is even more compact, very slim space and not good for a big boy. We haven’t spent much time in our room, what time we have spent, has been in bed (watching TV) but when here together we have been stepping on each toes. In the short space of time that Phil has been staying here, I think he has got his own places for things with his own little routines and my being here has upset the balance. If I am honest, it’s probably the same for me in the kebab flat during the week but at least I do have my creature comforts. I tell you, the kebab flat will feel like a mansion when we step through the front door tonight!


I cooked a Thai green curry in the kitchen yesterday and felt really uncomfortable using all of Grace’s stuff. She didn’t seem to mind, I guess this is part of the deal for her, but even so, I still felt weird. I met Irish Steve who has been staying here a while, he’s not all that bright but he’s got a smiley face and showed me how to put on the economy programme on the washing machine. Steve tells me there is a Chinese couple staying, Rowena and sorry can’t remember the name of her husband. Apparently Rowena works nights but I’ve never seen her or her husband although I have heard them. The 4th room above Phil’s room is vacant at the moment. Phil had I were discussing the idea of doing the same thing when we were in the pub the other night. Not right now because we haven’t got money to buy but 4 rooms at a hundred a quid a week is a good source of income. Mind you it would have to the ‘right’ house and it would have to have its own private entrance, kitchen, lounge and garden, so private in fact, that I wouldn’t have to see a soul! Ummm on second thoughts perhaps I’m not cut out to be a residential landlady!!





I spent yesterday afternoon learning about complex formulas and learning the difference between absolute and relative cells, all very boring stuff. I am two thirds of the way through the module and just want to get it over and done with now. Phil came back from work and feeling how cold our room was suggested we go out for a quick pint. We drove into Chard and went to check out a restaurant that I spotted. We went in and met the owner but although she still runs the B&B cum hotel, she no longer runs the restaurant. Apparently her son who was the chef has moved to France. She did however recommend The Kings Arms in Stockland http://www.thekingsarmsinn.org.uk/ just outside of Chard. We eventually found our way to the pub getting lost up and down country lanes and what a charming little place it was. Unfortunately they were doing 2 courses for just £9 and even though we had green curry and rice in the fridge at no 14, we had to eat! Phil had the duck pate and the steak pie and I had chicken to start and steak to follow. It was fantastic, good choice of wine as well, log fires and linen napkins and if I ever come this way again I will definitely eat here again. Phil drove home and it was back to bed to watch some telly before lights out.


Thursday is the new Friday for us and today we are going home. It’s been a funny old week for me, although I’m not sure what I expected. I haven’t read any of the magazines or books that I packed in my case and neither has Phil studied any of his OU course. We’ve enjoyed some fine wines and meals and the weather has been wonderful. The week hasn’t been without stress though; our Cranfield tenant phoned to say his electric meter key had stopped working. I spent 45 minutes on the phone to E-on the supplier but in the end I had to get mad Betty from next door to go round and help Abdullah. We also have had a half serious offer on the kebab flat so I have been fielding calls from the agent and going back and forth between them and Phil. I missed a call last night so I have yet to hear what the latest is. We don’t want to give the flat away and we both agree we will not be bullied into accepting a low price. We have no mortgage on the flat, the council plan to replace all the windows and modernise the communal areas (although god knows when) so if need be, we can do a re-let and hang it out for a few years until the market prices increase.


Today is a day for packing up; I need to wash, iron and replace Phil’s bedding and towels, clean his room and en-suite and make sure his cupboards are stocked for next week. I plan to do a few more hours on complex formulas and may drive into Yeovil if time. Then I’ll pick up Phil at 4.30 and we will start on the long drive home just praying that we don’t get held up on the M25.