My original plan was to be leaving Sheffield on Saturday 3rd August but things were a bit fluid on the arrangements for various reasons. Ma & Pa had a great idea that they wanted to celebrate me leaving Sheffield and, as they had not fancied joining us last night, suggested we go to The British Oak later and I was definitely up for that. I had a tea and buttered crumpet for breakfast then I got everything packed and weighed. Dad had to help lift my suitcase which was 22kg – 2kg over! But my hand luggage, with 500 teabags in a wine bucket inside, was surprisingly bulky but underweight. I still had a week down south but it did mean I couldn’t put any more into my luggage. My new Herdy backpack had ripped so I called the shop to let them know. Kathy, the assistant, remembered Captain Caveman and I and said to call back on Monday to get a replacement sent, which was great service – Nationwide could certainly learn a lot! I did 6 hours of work as I knew that tomorrow I would be on a bus and I had my leftover curry for lunch followed by a chocolate bar I’d never tried before – a caramel KitKat. We booked the table at the British Oak for 7pm but Dad was ready early and we decided a drink in the bar first was a good idea. I got a couple of rounds in, and was surprised that 4 pints and 2 halves of cider came to only £22. For dinner we ordered a nice bottle of red wine and starters of calamari for Mom and tomato soup for Dad and me. The soup was overly peppery but Dad was convinced it had chillies in it and that I would be ill but all was good and I quite enjoyed it. For mains I was torn between having pork or a pie, neither of which I will eat back in Turkey so I went for the steak pie. Dad went for the pork and Mom had a crispy lamb dish. All the food was excellent and probably the best I’ve had in there, ever. Dad ordered well this time and I was even envious of his big rib. The total bill came to £89.10 and included a bottle of Merlot and a large glass of Chardonnay. I tried to contribute and suggested I get the wine but my parents insisted they treat me for my final supper! It was a fabulous evening and a small miracle occurred; I got a wonderful photo of my parents where Dad wasn’t larking about and my Mom wasn’t looking away. The walk back at 9.30pm was so cold that we were all shivering and it had dropped down to 17.5 degrees! Back home, Mom and I had a Baileys and Dad had a wine nightcap. We all agreed we would get up early tomorrow as Ma & Pa had decided to come in to town with me to see me off!
I got up really early on Friday 2nd August so that I could do some work before Mom got up, as she had kindly offered to take me shopping to Aldi before I left. I’d had to amend my shopping list as I didn’t want to be struggling to carry everything. At one point there was a suggestion from me that the wine bucket in my hand luggage was perhaps over ambitious but I feared that if it didn’t go this time, it would be at the charity shop or tip very soon. We didn’t stop out long as I needed to be out in the afternoon because I was having some leaving drinks in Sheffield later. There is a new Aldi near my parents’ house so we went there and I was very impressed. Here’s what I bought, prices in pounds;
Aldi Supermarket 1 packet mix £0.36 Cream Crackers £0.49 Garam Masala powder £0.75 Sandwich bags £1.15 2 packs of vegetable stock cubes £1.30 Antihistamine tablets (2 packs) £1.58 Marmite £2.99 Yorkshire Teabags £5.49 Total spent £14.11
On the way back, I was going to pop in to say bye to my sister, brother-in-law and nieces as they were off on holiday this weekend, but Gayle was at the gym. Instead, we went back home and I had a cheese sandwich and some pickled onions for lunch. That afternoon, I caught the bus in to town and wandered via the bank to put in the £50 I had been told I needed to do to close my bank account. Unfortunately, the guy at the counter told me I was mistaken and that the charges had all been removed and left the balance with £2 something in. I made him print it out and check 3 times because I didn’t actually believe him. The print out showed it was no longer in a negative balance so I asked to close it. Unfortunately, the man at the counter couldn’t do that as Jeff does that job but only works Monday to Wednesday. I was fuming and left, knowing another charge would be on it later in the month of £13 which would make me overdrawn again! I was told to come back Monday but I knew I would be in London so made a note to find a branch down south to try again.
I’d arranged to meet friends at The Grapes where they still operate an old style boozer; the bar staff chat pleasantries, add up in their head, top your drink up and let you pay by cash – marvellous. Becca and Steve, who make my face ache from laughing so much, were already there, Steve got me a cider and we went to the beer garden at the back. Before long we weren’t absolutely howling with hysterics as I confused Steve about anything to do with my itinerary. They had just moved house so none of us were familiar with bus routes round that area and weren’t sure of the last bus back. They don’t use cash much so I gave them some and they transferred to my Wise account to make it easier. Next to arrive was Holly, who I knew from when she worked at Easy Tiger in Phong Nha, Vietnam, and had recently moved to Mosborough – what a freaky coincidence and good to see her again. Paul & Natalie arrived and they were shocked at the no card rule so I got the drinks in and they could get the next one in my second venue choice.
We met Louisa, Linda, Martin, Adam, Kerrie, Paul, Nikola and Tom at Fagan’s as I thought it would be a good place to go before our curry. It was so good to see everyone and I didn’t even realise that some of the crowd from the old Aviva times, I hadn’t met up with for almost 10 years! We even established that I’d known Natalie’s Paul the longest and I was a bit gutted that I couldn’t see even more people while I was back but it was the school holidays and people were already busy with other plans. I needed to appreciate more that it’s not all about me, sometimes!
The time went so quickly that I almost felt bad that I had booked a table for a curry at Butler’s Balti for 8pm. Everyone was invited but most people were only able to come for drinks. I didn’t know if it might be my last proper Indian meal for a while. I said my goodbyes but not without some amazing photos in front of The Snog – a Pete McKee picture with Frank & Joy and one of my favourites. It was only right that Kerrie should take the photos as she has a connection to Pete.
At Butler’s there were Louisa, Linda, Martin, Adam and later Rachel joined us, after getting the kids to bed. The meal turned out to be quite pricey but delicious and I did have a bit left over for tomorrow. We had 2 poppadoms each and a pickle tray, I had veggie samosas to start, a chicken tikka masala for main, shared some rice, a garlic naan and I had a glass of the bottle of red wine. We nearly got another bottle when it didn’t stretch to 8 glasses but I still had to get the last bus home so was happy with the one. We were quite a walk from Pond Street bus station and I was bound to need a wee. As I was due to leave, the usual shenanigans of it not being enough money to cover the bill occurred and it took a lot of faffing about. I put £32 in which should have covered the tip as well but it didn’t and Rach ended up putting £15 in for a chicken pakora starter and a pint of lager. After saying final farewells and legging it for the bus with Rach, we reached Norfolk Street out of breath and desperate for a pee. We decided we would have a swift half and a pee in the Brown Bear, while I called Mom to tell her I had missed the last bus and might only be able to get as far as Birley or Halfway and to not lock me out of the gate if they went to bed. The Brown Bear was now a Digital Detox Pub with a strongly upheld No Swearing Policy! FFS! I couldn’t believe it and I got told off for using my phone! With a water bottle full of cider we headed for a bus, dodging the Spice heads on route. I made it to the bus station unscathed as I looked like a mental person carrying a bottle of piss! I finally got home, phone on silent so had not noticed Louisa checking I was home! What a great Sheffield send off and tomorrow would sadly be time to say bye to my parents.
I was awake really early on Thursday 1st August, contemplating life in general with it being the start of the month. It had been over 3 weeks since I arrived in England, half expecting not to really like being back, but I had loved it so far. August looked to be a busy and expensive month, though, so I was trying to focus on only spending time and money on the things that were worth it. I was leaving Sheffield this weekend and I was definitely going to miss it and had not had nearly enough time to see everyone. I had cereal and a cup of tea for breakfast and carried on with work. I didn’t get much done though as, when Mom was up and about, the pressure was on to start the shredding. I could tell Mom was impatient to have me get it out of the way and it took a lot longer than she, or I, wanted it to. It felt very odd shredding any evidence of my existence and made me a bit nervous that I no longer would have any paperwork aside from birth, marriage and divorce proof plus some pension statements. I’d always kept at least 7 years of stuff, just in case, so it made me worry that I’d be asked to provide something that I’d shredded. Some people save birthday cards and all sorts of memorabilia and now I hardly existed. For lunch I warmed up leftover sweet and sour chicken and added more veg to it and some cooked egg noodles – it was lovely. More shredding happened, and again after work, but I had a deadline of 5.30pm as we were all off out for my last night of favourites. My parents and I got to The Alma for 6pm to meet up with Chris and Amanda for an after work beer garden drink. I had the obligatory 3 pints of cider and we had a great night, but I refrained from wearing Amanda’s clothes as it was now sunny. The dogs came too and loved that the beer garden was busy. We did have to set an alarm to make sure we got to Tony’s chip shop on time as we were chatting on so much. This time, I got my hand in my pocket – it was the least I could do with Amanda and Chris treating us last week to drinks and my parents had splashed out on me quite a bit while I’d been in Mosborough. Fish, chips and peas for the 5 of us came to £43 and a round of drinks in The Alma had only been about £20. It had been amazing to spend time together, and lucky to do so more than once this trip. A definite highlight of my visit as I do love a local boozer and a chippy tea. That chippy tea, cooked perfectly by Rob, was spot on and I would definitely miss his fish & chips.
It was another busy day on Tuesday 30th July, I did a couple of hours work before breakfast of cereals and a cup of Yorkshire tea. I got the bus in to town to go meet another friend, Helen H. I’m not sure how long it’d been since I saw her but she hadn’t changed and still looked classy and very well. We’d chosen Lloyds, another Wetherspoons, and Helen had been lucky to find a seat in a shady spot – it was certainly too warm for a pashmina. I was desperate for a drink after walking from the bus station so went inside to grab a menu and help myself to the free iced water at the end of the bar – impressive. As it happened, it was Steak Tuesday today so I had steak with a jacket potato and Helen had a chicken salad. Even Helen was doing what Louisa had done and using the app on her phone to order food and drink. We both had a glass of wine and I was impressed that it had only cost me £11 for my meal and drink. I wasn’t expecting much from the meal but I was very impressed with how nicely cooked the steak was and how soft the inside of my potato was. We had a great catch up, reminiscing of all the ‘fun’ times when we worked together and all the laughs. After lunch, we said our farewells as I needed to sort something with my bank, which had been an ongoing saga and ultimate nightmare.
I had an old account I set up years ago that I’d been trying to close since Covid times when I found out they were charging me £13 a month for an unused account which had since got to almost £500 overdrawn. I did keep contacting them to sort it but, for various ridiculous reasons, it never got resolved and I got told it would have to be sorted out in person at the branch. I was at the branch and a lovely lady there tried to help but couldn’t so put me on the phone to the head office call centre, the same place I had spoken to many times without successful resolution. I explained everything again and there was nothing the woman could do except to refer to her manager. At last it was being escalated and I expected a call back later this afternoon. I left the bank, bumping in to my sister and April. April had just passed her driving theory test so was pleased and ready to go for her test. I had to dash as I was off to meet more friends for drinks at Kelham Island. I was going to walk it but then thought better of it and got the tram, unfortunately I shouldn’t have bothered as it wasn’t any quicker and they overcharged me. It was only £2.80 instead of £2.40 but it meant I had to have a purse full of coins because of changing a £20 note, when I’d only had £2.50 in change. I queried it but the conducted insisted he was right and I was wrong. Obviously, I found out much later on that I was right when I got charged £2.40 on the return journey. As I approached the entrance to Kelham Island Tavern, my phone rang and it was the bank. The same woman I had spoken to less than 1 hour ago had called me back, profusely apologised it had come to this and explained her manager had agreed to remove all the charges up to 21st August 2021. This came to £450 approximately so meant I would need to put in £50. I wasn’t happy at having to do that, given £50 was put in in January 2023 and got eaten by fees and charges. Nevertheless I agreed just to get the bloody account back to zero so that I could close it. She advised I had to do it well before the end of August as the next £13 charge would be due again. I was late so Linda had been waiting on her own for a while and I felt bad, Louisa was also late but arrived not long after with Charlie. I felt like one of those aunties who comments on how much kids had grown since last seeing them, but my gosh Charlie really had. He was a man now and looked like he worked out! We had a drink in the Kelham Island Tavern and celebrated him recently graduating with a first, while we waited for Kerrie to come down after work. It was good to catch up and our next stop was the Fat Cat. It was beer garden weather and we had a good laugh, before Kerrie had to leave. Our final pub was The Wellington, one of mine and Captain Caveman’s favourites. There was talk of us getting a takeaway at one point, but I was good and went home, getting in to town about 8.30pm. I should’ve got a day ticket as I’d ended up wasting £9.20 on bus and tram fares today but I’d not really known exactly how I was going to be travelling. Back home, I was delighted to find that Ma had made a sweet and sour chicken and had saved me some. It was so tasty and just what I needed.
Wednesday 31st July was meant to be a productive day because I’d promised my Mom I would stay at home today to sort out the rest of my stuff from the loft. My first job though was to get weighed and measured. To my amazement, I was the same weight as last week despite having 383 syns. I’d lost 1cm from my bust and waist and 2cm from my hips. I have no idea how. I had beans on toast and a hot chocolate for breakfast then I did 5.5 hours work with a break in the middle. I managed to find my school certificates, pension documents, as well as birth, marriage and divorce documents. The tenants in Dalyan complained about the disappearing gardener again and I asked him to cut the bush as they were getting spiked coming in the gate. I was still fed up of our bloke but was even more cheesed off when he posted photos of a fab looking complex on his business page. I took a screenshot of it and sent it to him saying ‘why can’t you make our complex as nice as this is!!?’ He didn’t reply but he did get the bougainvillea bushes tended to. I didn’t have time for lunch but did eat some crisps and a Double Decker chocolate bar while sifting through paperwork to shred. For dinner my Mom made sausages with potatoes and vegetables and I really enjoyed it. We had some wine and then played Scrabble outside.
I woke up to a message from Captain Caveman on Monday 29th July who had booked me a National Express bus. I would be leaving at the weekend and going from Sheffield to London by coach for less than £10. The train would’ve cost around £70 so I was pleased with that bargain and that I would be able to get my heavy bags to Claire’s without any hassle. I had tea and a toasted teacake for breakfast and did just an hour of work as I was off on a family walk today. Gayle and Neil had invited Ma, Pa, me and their kids on a walk in Derbyshire with lunch at The Maynard Arms. I’d not been since my old boss, Lindsey, got married there so it was definitely a while ago and they had renovated it again since. Me, Ma & Pa got in the car which Neil was driving and had Sumo in, while Gayle came in Morgan’s car with April. The route we walked was familiar to the rest of the family whereas I didn’t really recognise it. It was a nice walk which finished with a hill to reach the pub. It was a warm sunny day and none of the outdoor tables had full shade so Neil and I had to take the sunny seats – I didn’t think I’d be needing sun cream on in England. I’d forgotten to bring my phone as I’d left it on charge so Mom lent me hers to take a few photos, which was good. Dad and I ordered the steak sandwich, Mom chose duck, Neil I think had a burger, Gayle ordered a poke bowl, and the girls went mad with a greek sharing plate, extra chips and extra halloumi. We shared some bread and olives to start with. The food was very nice and I really enjoyed my steak sandwich which came with cheese and fig chutney. I also had a glass of red wine and we had a laugh at Gayle and April who were arguing, mainly because they were both hangry. It got very sunny and even Mom was in the sun by the end of the meal. When I went inside to go to the loo and get the bill, we found out that Neil had quietly already gone in and paid. What a treat and to give an idea of cost as I didn’t see the final bill here’s what I had with the prices in pounds; Steak sandwich £12.95 Skinny fries £4.50 Tap water Free 1 large red wine £8.00 Total £25.45
As April had to get to work, we all decided what a good idea it would be to go to the pub where she works. Gayle had to pick up her car from the garage too so she was going to do that and meet us at the Queen’s Head. I got my emergency midget gems out in the car on the way back and we shared them. Sumo was super tired and was trying not to fall asleep as he put his head on my lap. When we arrived at the pub, I got the first round in; Mom had a pint of John Smith’s, Dad a cider, Neil a Moretti shandy and me a Coors – it was only £17 for the 4 drinks. Morgan arrived after and April twisted he arm to have an Aperol Spritz which I bought for £8 (not bad for a cocktail). When Gayle arrived, I asked if she wanted a soft drink or an Aperol Spritz and she said yes to the cocktail and Neil had another shandy but neither drank them straight away because they realised Gayle’s car had been pranged and they had to take it back to the garage. We stayed in the beer garden for more drinks as Mom wanted to get another round in and we also got some pork scratchings and crisps between us all. It had turned out quite an expensive day for Gayle and Neil as we said bye and Neil dropped us off. We sat in the garden, Dad had to get the cushions out again, and we had some wine meaning I was on 320 syns for the week already and still had one more day to go before weigh day!
I managed to work for 5 hours on Sunday 28th July so that I’d done 35 hours this week, as I only did 17.5 last week. I was back on track but I did feel like I was never drinking again when I woke up. I had tea and a toasted tea cake for breakfast and I was astonished to see Dad was fine. He had no recollection of him being a handful last night and he wasn’t hungover! Mom was still mad with him for being so drunk. I could see he’d been so excited to be out that he’d overdone it. I read in the Vietnam news that the train I’d got from Dong Hoi to Danang, and one Captain Caveman gets fairly often had a carriage come off the track and people were evacuated. I also messaged Captain Caveman to help me with sorting out how I was going to get to my next stop off. Claire had invited me down south to stay with her for a week and was initially going to pick me up but there were dog arrangements which prevented this. I was a bit concerned that I had a 20kg suitcase as well as 8kg of hand luggage (including a wine bucket!) to cart through the London underground and I would struggle. Captain Caveman recommended the National Express which he had got as it avoided the tube and I could get a train from London Victoria, straight to Sevenoaks, where Claire lived. It was also a lot cheaper than the train so I left him with it to book my tickets for me. I had a cheese toastie for lunch and carried on with work until 3pm. In the afternoon we had a little reunion for Briony planned at The Phoenix in Ridgeway. Sara had managed to get some of the old Aviva Sales Support team out and I’d invited Paz from the Berlin 10 crowd. My parents walked as far as the back of the Ridgeway Arms with me and, when they turned back, I continued on to The Phoenix. I was the first there so I got a drink at the bar. I was still feeling quite delicate and the walk up the big hill had not helped with my dehydration. I decided to have a pint of water with cordial which cost £1.85 and went to find a seat outside. It was so busy inside and only 3 or 4 tables left outside but it was 4.30pm on a Sunday. First to arrive were Sarah Saynor and Mick. Sarah had not changed a bit in either looks or mannerisms as she flicked her hair and told me she’d just had an expensive hair cut but still wanted to do her fringe herself! Mick was still the same funny bloke and was only slightly older looking and had filled out a bit more (Sarah’s words, not mine). Next to arrive in the taxi together were Sara, Helen and Briony. As they walked over to the table, it was like I’d been transported back in time to when we all worked together in Nick Reynold’s face to face team. We all hugged and got drinks, I was still sipping my cordial while the others were on it. I just couldn’t face any alcohol after yesterday’s party. Paz arrived and I instantly remembered that they all worked in the same building now at Aviva. I also realised that my old team may just be a bit ‘too much’ for Paz to take, on a nice relaxing quiet Sunday. It was great to see Paz and she looked so well, she’d driven all the way over just to catch up which was lovely. The conversation topics got more and more crude as the day went on and we all had some funny memories to share with each other. Once again I was in a position where I didn’t really get to speak to anyone one on one but we did have some laughs reminiscing of some of the tangles we all used to get ourselves in. It turned out that I was still remembered for forcing my team on to terrible low budget team building events (camping) as well as hiring a boogie bus to a Christmas party. That boogie bus stank of debauchery which really wasn’t pleasant on the way back in to work the following morning. They also took the mickey out of the time I drunkenly agreed to play my violin at Briony and Shaun’s wedding, thinking I was only doing the wedding march but the CD player wasn’t working and I had to improvise without any written music. Our cheeks hurt from so much laughing and we had a great time! After saying bye to everyone and walking home through the field path just as it was getting dark, I noticed it was quite cold but I had Captain Caveman’s down jacket on. When I got in at 9.30pm, having had no alcohol at all, I was a bit peckish so I made myself some noodles with chicken and vegetables, then went to bed.
Gayle & Neil were throwing a party for April’s 18th birthday on Saturday 27th July from 2pm. My parents and I were all excited and there was talk of what we were wearing, how we were getting there and even which door we would be leaving from. I carried on trying to get as much work done as possible but I could tell Dad was excited to be going. Before we left for the walk up the hill, wearing sandals, out of the garage door, I had some beans on toast (I was too busy for breakfast) and had a quick video call with Captain Caveman who had returned from the cave yesterday. At Gayle and Neil’s we were unfashionably bang on time and the birthday girl was still getting ready. It wasn’t her actual birthday yet so we put the presents and card on a table to be opened another time and admired the lengths my sister had gone to, to trim up the house. It reminded me of when I see American’s having a party as there were nicely arranged balloons and a light up massive number 18 in the living room. The table was ladened with treats and nibbles, outside was fizz in an ice bucket and more garlands/swathes of balloons on the pergola. The kitchen was jam packed with so much food that I wondered who was coming to ‘the small party just for close family’. We all had a glass of champagne, avoiding the larger champagne flutes which Gayle went for. April came out to say hello and fixed herself an Aperol spritz while Gayle, in her lovely summery dress, wrestled with Sumo, the dog, over a cardboard box for empties. Morgan and her boyfriend, Harry, joined April and Harley and I got to meet Harry for the first time. I was already eyeing up the beautifully presented charcuterie board and macaroons while I helped myself to a top up of Prosecco. By 3.20pm I was in the kitchen videoing the extravaganza as Gayle did some last minute preparation while chatting on. There was lots of red wine I noticed too and I was intrigued as to what the shell full of blue balloons was for – maybe a party game was coming later!
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Video of all the food in the kitchen
Neil’s parents, Susan & David, and their 2 dogs arrived who I don’t think I’d seen since Gayle and Neil got married over 20 years ago. I got Sue a fizz, Dave was driving, and the adults went to sit on the decking area while I chatted about music with the kids. I noticed Gayle had accidentally on purpose got herself a bit tiddly with the extra large champagne flute of champers and she flashed her knickers. She decided that she would take her dress off as she was too cold. Just as we were getting comfy there was a bit of excitement as it was time to have a go on the piñata. Much hilarity ensued and the funniest people to have a go were my Dad and Neil. Poor Neil seemed like he might’ve been working out some stress or anger and we all couldn’t stop laughing!!!
April, before the piñata bashing started
April V Piñata
Dad V Piñata
Neil V Piñata (1)
Neil V Piñata (2)
Jill and Rita, our aunties, arrived just after we had finished the piñata. They brought their new dog, Seacole, who joined Sumo, Milly and Holly. Neil was on with the massive BBQ mission and the food was fantastic. My diet was once again on hold as I wolfed down a burger and a hot dog. I got caught out by the chillies in the rice and had to have more Prosecco to get over it. By this time Dad had switched up to a larger champagne flute and I noticed Mom had slowed down on the booze. I went on to red wine as I ploughed through the cheeses and meats. Around 7.30pm I realised we hadn’t taken any birthday photos so we did our best to get a few group and individual photos. Of course, I took so many where Dad was messing about and would not face the camera.
Gayle had done some games, with prizes, to see how well we knew April with some hilarious answers that even April didn’t know. It was funny and tricky to concentrate as Sumo had taken a romantic interest in Seacole and we had to keep them separate which was hard to do. Harley did a really good music quiz and I teamed up with Neil and Jill. We did well but didn’t win, which was a shame. It was easily gone 9pm by the time any one left and my sister dished out food to take away as they had so much left. It would have been prudent for my parents and I to have taken a doggy bag and walked home too but we’re not well known for having sensible family shindigs. Gayle had asked us before we came if we wanted to stay over and my Mom had said no. I also had to work tomorrow so would rather get a good night’s sleep and be up early at my parents’ house, where my laptop was. Some sausages were warmed up for a midnight snack and I knew Dad was drunk when he ate 2, with onions on, and didn’t mention eating late or indigestion. Mom and I also had a hot dog and I had another red wine. As Dad was getting more merry I could see that Mom was considering staying over but she didn’t want me to walk home on my own and I couldn’t because she knew the alarm system which was on and I didn’t. To me, it seemed silly for me to stay over to wake up really early tomorrow morning to go to my parents’ house to still not be able to go in because of the alarm so I insisted I would leave that night. I didn’t realise it would take so long to walk home as Dad kept trying to walk on the road and take his sandals off. Mom was in a right mood with him and it was such hard work trying to get him to walk home properly without putting himself in danger. We eventually got in and messaged Gayle to say we made it in one piece (only just, for Dad) and I was gutted we forgot our leftovers. 12 hours after the party started, I was finally in bed having had a great day and night.
Briony’s plane was delayed by at least a couple of hours on Thursday 25th July so I got on with work until I heard from her to set off to go to meet her. I’d also bought a bottle of pink prosecco and a punnet of strawberries to welcome her for just £10 from M&S. I knew she’d be jetlagged and possibly hungover or hungry. Louisa was on standby to meet as she had the day off and we were all just waiting excitedly on Briony’s arrival. I eventually went to the Mercure hotel to meet Briony and she looked so good. America had been kind to her, her hair was a different colour and looked great. She had got a taxi from the train station as her suitcase was so heavy. We drank some Prosecco and ate a few strawberries as we messaged Louisa to say to come join us. She had missed a bus so had to drive and we said we would meet her at the car park. As we shared how excited we were to be drinking tap water again, Louisa was on her way and we walked towards a strange looking multi story car park. It was very windy and really cold for both me and Briony so we messaged Louisa to say we had gone to find a warm pub. Once again, I found myself in town looking for a pub that was open in the day time on a Thursday. Briony and I could only remember the Benjamin Huntsman as we’d had many a cheap drink in there over the years so we headed there. I dont think Louisa was enamoured with the choice of bar but Briony and I were very pleasantly surprised. You can pay cash, they have wine on tap and the prices are good as it’s a Wetherspoons. This time it was Briony’s turn to go for a pie, I chose the curry deal that is on the Thursday Curry Club and I had the spinach and chickpea curry with rice, poppadoms and a naan bread, plus another wine for £11. Louisa went for a coke, some chicken nuggets and onion rings and ordered it all on an App where the order arrives, miraculously, to your table. Time went too fast as my alarm went off to tell me I needed to go get the bus. I’d arranged to meet Chris & Amanda at The Alma tonight so I needed to get back. I said my goodbyes with promises of meeting up again and hurried for the bus. I got to The Alma a bit late, Amanda and Chris were already there and had got the drinks in, including for my parents who I joined along the walk from the bus stop. They remembered what we drank which was really kind but they hadn’t brought the dogs this time. We had a great catch up and such a laugh trying to remember everyone we used to work with back in my Aviva days. It was such a good couple of hours and I was a bit tipsy by the time we left to go for fish and chips at Tony’s. We only just made it to the chip shop before it closed, too. My parents took their’s back home but I joined Chris and Amanda as I wanted to see the dogs and Amanda had some clothes for me to try on. The dogs were so fussy but soon calmed down when they saw me putting a bit of fish to one side for them to have when I had finished my dinner. The fish and chips are just so good and it’s a good job I don’t live in that area as I would be too tempted to eat them more often. Trying clothes on after fish and chips and several ciders wasn’t the best idea but I went for it. Amanda knew I’d been feeling the cold and had no clothes with me so gave me 3 pairs of jeans, a T-Shirt, a shirt and a jumper. I loved the clothes and they all fit really well so I was happy. Downstairs I caused havoc when I threw the ball for the dogs in the lounge, which isn’t allowed so it was time to leave before Bruno or Ted damaged something.
On Friday 26th July I was working very early so that I could finish at lunch time. The jeweller at Crystal Peaks had let me know that they needed to send my G-Shock watch off to be fixed and it could take up to a month to come back but would most likely be as good as new for £60. I agreed and he asked me to call in to get the necessary paperwork and receipt so that my Mom could collect it when it was fixed. While we were at Crystal Peaks, Mom picked up a couple of things and then I popped to Beres sandwich shop. I got 3 roast pork sandwiches for £3.90 each and we took them home for lunch. Dad was in a better mood on our return this time, but we hadn’t been out long. I carried on with some work emails until it was time to meet Briony. Even though she didn’t have a phone SIM while in the UK, she had decided she would chance getting on a bus to Mosborough and I would meet her at the bus stop. It was a nice day, my parents had already gone for a walk so they had declined to come and meet Briony with me. She managed the bus fine and we had a wander around Mosborough while chatting. It was just like old times even though it was now 10 years since her and husband had got married, then moved to the USA. We walked via the kid’s park then we had a drink in the British Oak where we sat outside but got moved due to a private party coming at 4pm when it was 2.30pm. The round of 2 halves came to £6.40 and it was quite pleasant sat outside chatting about anything and everything. Our next stop was at The Alma beer garden where 2 pints came to £9.60 and the weather was pretty nice. We turned the Mosborough walk in to a pub crawl and finished off at Craftworks. Here we discovered the Fuggle Bunny Jammy Dodger ruby ale which was only £2.60 for ⅔ of a pint. We had 2 of these each and then missed the bus Briony was thinking of getting. After seeing Briony on to the later bus, I walked home to find Mom had saved me some dinner, another favourite of chicken fajitas. We had also forgotten about the strawberries and cream we bought in Sainsbury’s so I had some of those saved for me too. I’d really enjoyed today but as the weekend approached, I still needed to fit in a bit more work this week to make up for doing a few hours less last week.
While Captain Caveman had gone back in to his next Son Doong cave tour on Tuesday 23rd July, I did a morning of work. I had Shreddies and a cup of tea for breakfast and cracked on until just before lunch time. My Mom had kindly offered to take me to Crystal Peaks so that we could do a bit of shopping. We called at the Charity shop for me to drop off a load of old CDs which I was getting rid of from the loft stuff. When we got there, one of the boxes was of my own photos – it was a good job it was spotted and I put them back in the boot. Our first stop was Asda supermarket where I bought the following; 2 packs of Ibuprofen 0.78 Pickled onions 1.00 Crisps 1.35 Midget Gems 1.35 Posh crisps 1.50 Dairy Milk 1.75 Birthday card 2.28 4 packet mix sauces 3.05 2 blocks of cheese 5.50 Sleeveless play suit 10.00 Total spent £28.56
I would have bought more clothes there but there were no changing rooms and I put most of the stuff I’d picked up, back on the shelves. Next, we drove to the Crystal Peaks shopping centre and had some lunch. Mom chose MacDonald’s for the quickest and I paid as a treat, seeing as my parents had been feeding me and putting me up for almost a week now. I’d also dropped the bombshell that I was planning to stay another 2 weeks too. I was surprised that it wasn’t more expensive to be honest as it was only £12.78 for a chicken sandwich meal and a Big Mac meal. I was able to order at the counter and also was successful in getting Mom’s meal without mayonnaise. My diet was already screwed and I actually enjoyed my meal which had hot chips. With full bellies, we went to look at clothes in Sainsbury’s where Mom and I picked up loads of bargains. Again, there were no longer any changing rooms so Mom and I decided to try stuff on over our clothes on the homewares aisle so that we could look in the mirrors. This was a great idea until halfway through our activity, lots of customers suddenly needed the mirrors and book sections of the store! Mom and I couldn’t stop laughing. Here’s what I bought at Sainsbury’s, prices in £;
Single cream 0.99 400g strawberries 2.00 1 vest top 3.00 Socks 3.50 1 mouse (for laptop) 5.99 Printed long sleeve play suit 6.00 Blondie T-shirt 9.80 2 bottles of Prosecco 13.50 Total spent £44.28
I was pleased with my purchases and even had some size 12 items which actually fitted. The next shops were to look for a birthday gift for my niece’s 18th birthday and I had a bit of an idea. On the way, mom and I found a 2025 diary in the market for £1 and bought one each. I took my G-Shock watch to the jewellers to see if they could fix it and the nice young man in F. Hinds said they would have a look. I bought a couple of trinkets in Card Factory for £3.49 and then found a useful gift for April. I decided an Air Tag with matching key ring so that she can connect it to her keys and track with her phone. I did keep the receipt in case it wasn’t suitable. Back home, Dad was out of sorts and moody but I’m guessing it was because we had been out having fun without him. We had invited him but he didn’t want to come and even when Mom cooked a nice dinner he was being a bit odd and wouldn’t speak to us. I did more work in the afternoon while mom chopped the vegetables. Dinner was amazing and we had pork with vegetables – I was on 558 syns for the week, though, so I was definitely going to have put on weight tomorrow.
I got weighed on my parents scales on Wednesday 24th July to find I had put on just 0.15kg (0.3lb). This was amazing, given the amount of eating and drinking of unhealthy proportions I had been doing. My measurements were not quite as lenient but still not what I was expecting or deserved; Bust and waist – no change, Hips +3cm! I sang ‘My Hips don’t Lie’ by Shakira and decided the prawn fried rice I’d forgotten about yesterday would be an ideal breakfast choice. I also calculated my spending and really needed to reign it in a bit. I’d got some foreign currency but I really wanted to save that to meet my minimum amount for residency in to my Turkish bank account. I knew August was going to be my tightest month in a while and September would be the highest for paying for stuff. I worked from 8am until 1pm as Ma & Pa had invited me out for a walk with them. Compared to when they are in Dalyan, they don’t really go out to pubs much so this was going to be a nice treat for them. They had suggested we go on a walk, as the weather was still fairly nice, to Ridgeway and have a late lunch at The Bridge Inn. The walk there was lovely and when we got to the bar I ordered a Guiness but the pump wasn’t working, so I asked for cider and that was off too. Remembering I had tried Madri lager before, I had that and we sat down to peruse the menu. I chose unwisely for my Slimming World plan, with a steak and ale pie, Mom went for steak and Dad plumped for salmon. When the food came, it was so delicious and I loved that pie! We were joking about fitting in a pudding as I was stuffed but Mom ordered me a sticky toffee pudding and Dad an apple pie. I thought she would share mine but she didn’t but I did manage to eat it all – it was amazing! The prices weren’t bad either; my pie was £12.95, Mom’s steak was £19.50 and Dad’s salmon £16.95. The puds were £5.95 and £6.50 which were the most expensive desserts on the menu but they were huge portions and really should’ve been shared. The pump was back on so Dad and I got a cider to round off a brilliant lunch which my parents very kindly treated me to. Back home, we rounded off the afternoon with wine. At dinner time, I was too full for anything proper so I opened the pickled onions I’d bought and had them with some cheese and a mini sausage roll. Tomorrow I had more excitement planned as my friend, Briony, was currently on a flight from America and we had planned to meet up in Sheffield.
I had arranged to meet my friend, Louisa, on Monday 22nd July so I worked 9am to 2pm, while she was sleeping after her night shift. Mom was a bit disappointed that she had got all my belongings out of the loft but I had still not gone through them to throw them away yet. I promised I would later in the week because she wanted to take stuff to charity/the tip or put it in the bin. I knew I had paperwork going back over the last 7 years which my Mom had said I could use her shredder to get rid of it all. The Pampered Chef wine bucket which I purchased about 10 years ago was still amongst the tranklements, having never made it in to anyone’s suitcase or hand luggage over the years. I was as annoyed at not having it Turkey as my Mom was at still having it at her place, so I decided I was taking it back this year – even if I had to take it as a handbag! Ma had gone out to meet a friend for lunch so Dad was going to be left home alone, probably reading a book or playing his guitar. I had a cheese sandwich with salt & vinegar crisps for lunch. I got the 2.30pm bus to town and walked to The Moor to meet Louisa outside Primark. I needed something to sleep in, and some clothes to wear but I wasn’t entirely sure what. Once in the shop, I was surprised how empty it was and Louisa reminded me that since Covid a lot of shops were suffering as more people continued to work from home and were buying things online. I found it difficult to buy anything there as I’m no longer in touch with fashion and found the flowery things with frills on were just hideous and something that did not suit me at all. By 4pm we were in the paying queue and I had myself a new outfit for less than £15. Here’s what I bought, prices in English pounds;
Primark Leopard print flip flops £0.50 Hair bobbles £1.00 Red & white flip flops £1.30 Black leggings £4.00 Red dress £8.00 Total spent £14.80
Our next stop off was for a drink at The Furnace, round the back of a sadly closed Debenhams. We had a pint of Madri lager, a first for me (but wouldn’t be my last) and I hadn’t heard of it before. It’s weird that even being away for just 2.5 years that the beers available on the draft pumps in bars are unfamiliar to me. After one drink in there, we decided to walk to a place that had been added to my list of places to visit. The owner of the Milestone restaurant on Green Lane, Matt, had been forced to close up during Covid. He had now opened the largest food court in Europe (apparently) called Cambridge Street Collective. Once inside it was a bit overwhelming as there are so many different food stalls from all over the world. I’ve never tried food from Eritrea or Ethiopia but, me being fussy, we decided to choose something I knew I’d like. We found a little gyoza/dumpling place first and had a starter. Louisa was super whizzy at ordering things on a QR code and an app. A lot of places didn’t like cash so this worked ok but I was finding it a bit too laborious, especially as my GiffGaff SIM didn’t have any signal in the building. The starter was lovely and then we had a walk around. I went to the toilet and got a bit confused when there was a man in there but it turns out that the toilets are not separated by gender any more. Very modern but slightly off putting as I had to put the seat down and clean pee off the seat before I could go. My guess is the men were complaining there were no urinals and they had to lift the seat up. Most people that came in to the toilets thought they were in the wrong ones and did a double take each time they saw a person of the opposite sex, which was funny. It took us a while to decide what to eat next but Louisa had something from Gyros Express, a gyros with pitta and chips which looked amazing. I decided on Asia Thai Street Food where I got a bit excited and ordered a Pad Thai and a prawn fried rice to share with Louisa. I had a pint of cider and Louisa stuck to the Madri lager and the prices (in £) are below.
Cambridge Street Collective 1 pad Thai 1 prawn fried rice Total spent £16.50
1 pint of cider 1 pint of lager Total spent £11. 10
Unfortunately, when I saw the size of Louisa’s Gyros, I knew we wouldn’t eat the prawn fried rice so I asked if we could have a box for takeaway. Surprisingly, they do not do takeaway so I had to pinch a paper cup from a closed coffee stall and cram the rice dish in to it. I thought I would take it home and have it tomorrow for breakfast. After a lovely afternoon and evening out it was time to make our way to our respective buses.
On Saturday 20th July the weather was glorious which was a shame as I was catching up on work, having taken yesterday off. I’d done 2 hours work before Ma got up and I was having Shreddies and a cup of Yorkshire tea for breakfast. Ma and Pa had no set plans for the weekend but we were thinking we might see Gayle and family as Neil, her husband, was back from working in Scotland. Ma got the washing out as the sun was out and ideal for getting the bedding dry. Lunch time bacon sandwiches from Mom were much appreciated even though I was on 50% more syns than at the same time last week. I managed to get 7 hours of work under my belt before the garden furniture cushions needed putting out. Gayle was popping over for a cup of tea but I knew what that really meant. Dad had already been checking the wine stocks in each fridge. Captain Caveman was getting his flight from Heathrow at 5pm and had already checked in when Gayle arrived with cakes for the cup of tea. I don’t think she even got offered a tea as I cracked open the Prosecco, another thing on the must do list. We all sat outside, ate the cakes, drank the fizz, went on to the other wine and then started snacking on mini cheddars or Seabrook’s salt and vinegar crisps. There was discussions about an impromptu BBQ or pizza for dinner but with Gayle being coeliac Ma wasn’t sure if she had any suitable foods in. She decided we should ring Neil and the kids and see if they fancied an Indian at The Vine in Mosborough. Before Dad could enquire about whether he should open the Chardonnay, we were booked in and it was all systems go as we needed to get there. April was working and couldn’t make it, but Morgan and Neil didn’t need asking twice.
The Vine was absolutely packed full and we had been lucky to get a table for the 6 of us. The food was amazing, both Gayle and I tried something different due to us being a bit tiddly. We all had drinks, starters, mains and sides and it came to £35 per person, which was the most expensive meal I’d paid for so far but I did get a really good doggy bag to take home and I’d thoroughly enjoyed my 4th curry in the 12 days of being in England.
It was Captain Caveman’s last day off on Sunday 21st July as he landed in Saigon just before midday. He had his next Oxalis briefing tomorrow evening and I think he was happy to be going back for his final few weeks of this year’s season. The UK is 6 hours behind Vietnam so he had already landed before I woke up. There was some issue with his flight from Saigon to Dong Hoi that afternoon being cancelled, meaning he had to stay overnight in Saigon. I was a bit hungover and I just had tea and toast for breakfast. I’d been invited to a music event in Leopold Square in Sheffield but I was working today so I declined. My parents were invited but they prefer not to go in to town and didn’t accept either. For lunch I had my left over curry which was still as delicious as last night. For dinner Mom cooked pizzas and garlic bread which were very nice but I was now on 430 syns for the week already and it was still Sunday. At 7.15pm I met my friend, Kerrie, who I hadn’t seen for 2.5 years but it felt like longer. I was still hungover and she was driving so I had a nice cup of tea and then we went on to the alcohol free Erdinger beer which was only £3.50 for 500ml. We had a good catch up and a laugh while reminiscing and then it was time to say bye but with plans to meet up again. I wrote down Kerrie’s availability for the next week or so which I could refer to as she’s usually such a busy person. It wasn’t a late one as we both had work in the morning and I’d got plans to go clothes shopping in the afternoon.
joloyolo 