Some you win, some you loose

Life seems to present Phil and I with many battles, just the same as everyone else I suppose; some you win and some you loose but just recently I am pleased to report that we have fought and won a couple of long standing battles. You may recall that we had a fairly serious leak from in the kebab flat last July when the shoddy council contractors installed a new bathroom in the flat above us. The water leaks deemed our electrics unsafe and meant that our tenants had to move out leaving us with no rental income and a flat unfit to live in. Phil has been fighting Milton Keynes council for compensation and finally last week after a 10 month battle we finally received a cheque for the full amount that we’d claimed for. Yes, RESULT!

We have also been fighting the council on a land registry issue. This battle hasn’t been as long but it has been equally frustrating as the fight for compensation for the leak. While Will, the gardener, was killing the weeds in Harriet’s flat I got him to quote me for clearing the 2 borders either side of the block paving as you enter the driveway to our flats. His quote came in at £195 which wasn’t bad because there is quite a lot of work to do but Phil and I knew for certain that this land is owned by the council and we thought to ourselves “why should we fork out for the work??? “ Several phone calls and 3 visits to various departments and the council were still denying they owned the land. In the end, Phil downloaded all the title deeds for our flats and got hold of the title deed which clearly stated that the land either side of the entry, was indeed, owned by the council. We have got the parks trust department, as well as street lighting department involved, because the land is so overgrown that you can’t see the light at night. No doubt it will take weeks before council contractors come out and actually do the work needed but at least we have set the wheels in motion.

Last week I caught up with Sandy from the cul-de-sac for a coffee in Starbucks. She was up the city as she had been to sign on at the job centre. She seemed in good form and is just about managing to hold on to her house. It sounds like she has umpteen lodgers but you have to do, what you have to do, to keep a roof over your head in the current economic climate. Sandy’s love life is as complicated as ever but I don’t expect anything less from Sandy, she is a gall!

On Thursday night Christine picked me up and we went for a bite to eat at Café Rouge situated in the hub. The food was just mediocre but we didn’t mind because we had much to catch up with. We both choose the fishcakes which were slightly overcooked when they arrived. Service was swift, efficient and friendly. The house wine was very nice but overall I thought it was expensive and just over-rated.

We were slightly late waking up on Friday and Phil was moaning that we would be late for our appointment with Rashmi in Maidenhead. But he needn’t have worried and could have waited for me to finish my breakfast before shoving me out of the door because the M1 and M25 were unbelievably clear for a Friday morning. We arrived in Money Row Green just after 9am and ended up going to the local garage for a Costa coffee and a pastry for Phil. It was a miserable morning but we had our coffee and were sat in Rashmi’s office with all of our files on the dot of 10 o’clock, like good clients.

Rashmi likes his holidays as much as we do so we always start our meeting catching up with tales about our latest holidays. Rashmi and his family went to Goa in February; he had a week in Goa first and then he had a week in Gujarat. Sounded like he had a good time, although he did say that things were so much cheaper in Gujarat than in Goa. Trouble is though, that Gujarat is a dry state and wouldn’t do much for the likes of me and Phil. Holidays aside, Rashmi didn’t find any major errors in the accounts and he was able to file our P35 online. We’d overpaid on the VAT and the national insurance but this wasn’t such a big deal, I’d rather overpay than underpay and have the tax man knocking on our kebab door.

In all the years that we have been going to see Rashmi, we never realised that his offices in Money Row Green were so close to the village of Bray. We once stayed on Monkey Island and went to eat at the Riverside restaurant. This is the same village that has the famous Fat Duck restaurant. Rashmi said he didn’t think much to the Fat Duck and much preferred the Riverside. He recommended another restaurant also owned by Heston Blumenthal, The Hinds Head. http://www.thehindsheadhotel.com/. We took his advice and after our meeting finished we headed into the village of Bray.

We were fairly early for lunch so there weren’t many people in the pub when we arrived. Phil decided that we’d eat in the restaurant. The menu was fairly simple but we obviously hadn’t understood it because we thought that the main didn’t come with vedgtables and that you had to order these extra, as side dishes. The waiter didn’t say anything and when our food arrived we realised that we’d overdosed on potatoes and veggies. However, that said, the food was very good, the service was spot on and we would definitely eat there again.

The sun had come out when we came out of the pub and the drive back to Milton Keynes was not unpleasant. We had a slight hold-up on the MI just before junction 14 but otherwise we were back in MK just after half past two. Pat (David the posh plumber’s wife) was in town and popped into the kebab flat for a diet coke. She wasn’t very well a month or so back, the doctor said she’d had a very mini stroke, but she looked very well and she told me her blood pressure was normal and said she felt much better.

Saturday was a day lost at sea. We had no planned strategy and when this happens the day just flies away before you know it, such a waste. I went to collect my Hoover from the repair man and on the way back we picked up fish & chips, steak and kidney pie and mushy peas. In the afternoon we watched about 10 episodes of The Sopranos. We’re really into this now (thanks to Jimmy) and I hope we get to watch the whole series before it disappears from our Bt Vision memory. Steve B (Barker) came to collect us from the kebab flat on Saturday night and we went to have a glass of bubbly at their place in Westcroft before going to the Papaya Thai restaurant in Oxley Park. Steve and Jan had been a few times before and so it came with a pre-disposed recommendation. The food was excellent and it was good to have a green curry with a bit of spice. The restaurant was packed but even so, the service was excellent. Afterwards, it was back to Jan & Steve’s for wine, port and a really impressive cheese board. Some time later (not sure what time) the taxi picked us up and it was back home to bed. Steve and Jan are off next Sunday to the island of Kefolonia in Greece for a much needed 2 week holiday. I know I shouldn't but I envy them.

I knew when I put my dentures in the pot on Saturday night that Sunday was going to be a ‘lost at sea duvet day’ what with a late night and a hangover to boot, but what I hadn’t anticipated was that for some bizarre reason, Phil would be in the wide awake club at 6.30am on Sunday morning. He did his upmost to raise me from the depths of the dead and he succeeded; even though I wanted more sleep I found myself at the newsagents getting some electric for the meter and the Sunday papers at just gone seven thirty. Not good for the mind, body or soul!

Phil slumbered in the morning and watched a crap film while I drove over to Willen to see Funmi. Funmi faces a panel in a campaign to get her son into Ousedale School and wanted to sound me out with her reasons. I just hope she gets him in, she is a very private person and has faced many hard life challenges and after what she has been through, she deserves to win.

Sunday afternoon was beer, wine and the Spanish Grand Prix. Harriet popped round with some post for Simon, the ex-tenant. Phil got all grumpy and shuffled in his pyjamas with his bottle of beer to the bedroom. Harriet has never seen Phil in his ‘grumpy old man mood’ and was surprised and a little bewildered. She said to me “mum, we could have moved to the bedroom if he wanted to watch the race in silence”. I said “welcome to my world”. Phil came in for the last 11 laps and we talked quietly for the last 10 minutes before she left. Harriet sounds like she is getting on good in the flat with her and Shane and seems happy at last, to have her own place. Mental note though: all daughters (and I guess sons come to that) need pampering and I must invite her round and cook a meal one night sometime soon.

To end on a more exciting note though, we have booked a ‘last minute’ break away. On Tuesday we leave on a 4 day, 3 night narrow boat cruise on the River Soar. Don’t ask me how it came about because I can’t quite remember but bearing in mind that a cruise on the canal is one of Phil’s ’50 things to do before you Die’ and also taking on board that Phil wants to live on a barge, then it seems a good idea to me to test the waters for a few nights before we commit. Also I’d like to experiment on the waterways before I dedicate a significant part of my life to the Lion Hearts Cruising Club especially as the next general meeting is on the 18th May, a week tomorrow. To date, the only type of cruising that I have enjoyed is our Caribbean trip on the Queen Mary 2. Somehow I doubt I am cut out for this camping malarky! Watch this space! We may be sporadic over the next few days without a Wi-Fi connection but there is no doubt at all, that we will record the experience and publish at some later date in time!!!!!!!!