I had to reign it in a bit on Monday 21st July as I had so much work to get through. I had enjoyed such an eventful weekend and was so grateful to have had the chance to be back in the UK. Both Claire and I worked all day; I had several zoom meetings/trainings including one with Matt Hall about audience growth and another session with Katrina Young about the use of AI in a more structured and professional way. I also managed to order a test notebook for my travel planner as part of the process to see how the cover looks, ready for my real travel planner and my next handy travel tips book. When Claire broke for lunch she made us prawn and avocado wraps which were delicious. In the evening we had a family meal of a chilli with rice but without the spice for me and the youngest child in the family. It was very tasty and we managed to avoid any silly singing antics this evening and had a sensible one. Before bed, I spoke to Captain Caveman who had moved in to his new home in Pontefract and seemed to be doing ok, although he looked tired.
Gratitude List 1. Useful and free training 2. Finally getting my test book ordered 3. Spending time with Claire and her family.
Claire was working in London on Tuesday 22nd July and I had initially agreed to go in with her and perhaps meet the girls. Liz and Clare often work in London on a Tuesday and although Kelly wasn’t going to be there it did mean 4 out of the 5 of us could catch up. However, it turned out none of them were in London today and I also had so much going on with work and my book projects that I decided to stay home and work from Claire’s office. Reg the dog kept me company and I managed to also squeeze in another session on audience growth with Matt Hall then a live group call with Lisa Johnson which was also interesting. At 5pm I went to meet Claire at Otford train station so that we could walk to meet her daughter from a friend. It had been the last day of school today so all the kids were giddy for the holidays and there was going to be a sleep over at Claire’s tonight. After meeting Claire’s friend with her daughter and grabbing a few of the school bags, we headed off to start the fun with an ice-cream to walk home with. The kids played in the garden while the adults tried to stop Reg from joining in on the trampoline. The kids had a Macdonald’s for dinner while we had a very lovely sausage and veg pasta with a glass of water – we were trying our best to be good! It was probably a good idea even though we had no clue, at the time, that the next 2 days would be busy with adventure. The kids were very well behaved and managed to put us on a show but they were still a bit shy so went back to practice more.
Gratitude List 1. Getting through a busy day 2. Ice-cream to celebrate the end of term 3. Another great evening with Claire and her family.
While Captain Caveman was due back to London on the morning of Sunday 20th July, I was settling in to my new home in Otford, near Sevenoaks, for the next 5 nights. It was cold, I wish I’d brought more clothes and Captain Caveman bought me a train ticket up to Sheffield for Friday so that we could see family, friends and go to the Tramlines music festival. Claire drove us to the station so that I could pick up my tickets and Captain Caveman could get his train back to Barnes. I was both sad to say bye to Captain Caveman, after 9 days together, but excited to be spending some time with Claire and her family, plus Reg the dog! Claire and I popped to Sainsbury’s where I wanted to pay for the shopping but she was having none of it as she grabbed some food for a Sunday roast. Of course we had to take a photo of us messing about at the scanner! I accompanied Claire and Reg to take her daughter to an activity in the afternoon, while Claire’s hubby, Mark, sorted out a roast dinner with help from his daughter who was on to Yorkshire pudding and cookies. The Go Active briefing was interesting and I even ventured in to the venue to go to the loo. While all the other parents got to chat on, Claire and I took off with Reg the dog for a walk. We’d just set off when it started to rain – thankfully I had left my raincoat there last time!
Back home, we had a nice cup of tea and sampled Mark’s daughter’s cookies – that girl is a talented chef! I was also treated to an amazing Sunday roast with pork and crackling, roast potatoes, plenty of fresh vegetables, gravy and the most amazing Yorkshires I’d had in a while! Of course, there was wine which then lead on to us having an absolutely hilarious and random evening! It started with the cheese slapping game – let me explain for those not familiar; 2 people take it in turns to ask each other questions about themselves and if they get a wrong answer they are slapped in the face with a cheese slice! It was my first time playing it with Claire’s daughter and my face hurt from laughing, everyone was surprised how many I got right and Reg the dog loved it when the cheese fell on the floor. There was much laughter and confusion when Claire did selfies on Snapchat and made us in to men – both of us decided we were much more attractive as fellas too! We played more games – this time there was Claire, Mark, the 2 daughters and me. It was so funny and I wasn’t as good at the next game.
I’m not sure who had the bright idea of getting the karaoke out (it was Claire!) at 9pm on a school night but – I loved it! It was so funny when I was being told off by a kid for not knowing the lyrics to a Taylor Swift song. Poor Mark was probably wondering what on earth he had let himself in for by agreeing to me staying!
Gratitude List 1. Spending time with Claire and her family 2. Roast Pork dinner with all the trimmings 3. Evening entertainment to rival a weekend at Butlins!
It was raining in Barnes on the morning of Saturday 19th July when I said goodbye to Fred. He’s the toilet roll holder who I often chatted to while on the loo at Captain Caveman’s parents’ home in Barnes. He was a bit tight with the toilet paper but we had reached an understanding. Today we had lovely plans to be at Clare’s Birthday BBQ Bash in Burlesden, Southampton. It would turn out that the weather was the least of our problems. We said bye to Mike in a usual manner, with me not knowing that it was his birthday on Monday and Captain Caveman didn’t mention it. As it was raining, Gill gave Captain Caveman and I a lift to Barnes Station where we had train tickets booked to go to Southampton. Our other friend Claire, was driving from Sevenoaks to pick us up from Southampton station. The BBQ was planned for a 1pm start and we had timed it well to arrive bang on time. Unfortunately, Waterloo Station had come to a halt and we didn’t realise there was a signalling issue until it was too late. We were already at Clapham Junction walking quickly between different platforms, me with pretty much all of my belongings on my back, as I would be away for a week. It was very frustrating and I felt better knowing we only had 2 bottles of fizz and a chilli gift set as extras to carry – thankfully no Zebra print footstool! At Clapham Junction we came to the realisation that the train was not coming and we were going to have to make alternative arrangements. Needless to say we ended up going out of our way, including via Reading and Basingstoke, before arriving 4.5 hours late.
Claire’s Mom, Lesley, picked us up but it did mean we didn’t have an awfully long time at the BBQ. Captain Caveman was in a mood with the railway company as he felt that the incident could have been solved in a much better way, so he was on one. I suggested he send them a strongly worded email complaint and he seemed happy to do that. He headed over to meet Jon at the BBQ where some burgers and sausages were going on for us. Clare greeted us with wine/beer and I popped to get my new dress on. I then said hello to a few people I recognised and all I could think about was food. I’d had a packet of mini cheddars for lunch on the way but I was so hungry. The burgers and hotdogs tasted like the best thing ever and then I could relax a bit. Luckily there was no rain so the BBQ party had gone well. It was so nice to see Clare, her family and friends – even if we did miss several hours of the fun. Luckily, I did manage to have some birthday cake which was lovely. I only fleetingly got to see Kelly and Nicky, Liz was unable to make it but I was so glad we had carried on our ridiculous journey to get there. I was sad to say bye but we hoped to catch up back in London while I was in the UK. Claire drove Captain Caveman and I back to her home in Sevenoaks where I was staying for the next week, Captain Caveman was just there for the night and going back to London tomorrow. We had a lovely evening catching up over a couple of drinks and I forgot to take photos.
Gratitude List 1. Finally getting to Clare’s Birthday BBQ Bash 2. Seeing friends and eating delicious food 3. Spending the evening with Claire and her family in Sevenoaks.
To celebrate Captain Caveman’s birthday on Friday 18th July I decided to get him out for a coffee and a croissant before work. We went to a local coffee shop called Hermanos, where I had a pain au chocolat with an earl grey tea and Captain Caveman had a plain croissant with a double espresso. I enjoyed mine but Captain Caveman wasn’t impressed. He popped to the shop while I drank my pot of tea and he bought a Hovis wholemeal loaf for £1.39 from Sainsbury’s.
We were back home and working before 9am and Captain Caveman had a very busy day ahead so we would celebrate his birthday tonight. I had a sandwich for lunch around 1pm and we finally finished work about 6pm. Captain Caveman’s Ma had been to get a cake so we all gathered in the garden. Captain Caveman’s Pa was in charge of beverages and opened a bottle of fizz to mark the occasion. I was surprised to find out that singing Happy Birthday wasn’t required. I was having none of that and we sang, even though Captain Caveman isn’t one for celebrating birthdays particularly. The carrot cake was delicious and the bubbles was such a lovely thing to do, sat in a sunny spot in the garden. I’d even popped on a dress to wear as Mike and Gill had booked us in at Omm, a Lebanese restaurant, for dinner.
We had a nice stroll to the restaurant, Barnes is such a lovely area of London. It was my first time visiting Omm and I was very impressed. The place was stylish, there was lots of staff and we had a nice table. We decided to share lots of sharing plates and some rather pleasant Lebanese rosé wine. The food was absolutely delicious and we all had a great time. At the end of the meal, Mike and I got chatting to the owner who was really friendly. It was another one of my new favourite places to eat now. Captain Caveman fancied a nightcap in the pub on the way home so we persuaded Ma & Pa to join us. It was gone 10pm when we got to the Coach & Horses where the men ordered pints, I had my usual red wine and Gill had already had sufficient so decided it was time to call it a night. Despite it being a normal working day for Captain Caveman and I, his birthday and turned out to be rather lovely – thanks to his parents. Tonight was my last night with Captain Caveman for a week, as we were going to be spending time apart, after a rather eventful Saturday!
Gratitude List 1. Getting to spend Captain Caveman’s birthday with him 2. Cake, candles and celebrations with the family 3. An excellent birthday meal at Omm.
Photo credit – some photos by Captain Caveman & Gill
I’d been in the UK less than 5 days on Wednesday 16th July, which was weigh day. I popped on the bathroom scales and had already put on weight since I’d been here. I was 0.9kg (2lb) heavier and wasn’t surprised given the amount of food and drink I had consumed. I did my measurements and found that I had already put 2cm on my bust, 1cm on my waist but my hips remained the same. It was cold and cloudy in Barnes today as I got on with some work. I also did some promoting of my book which I hoped I’d get more sales from. My friends Janet and Ian, in Dalyan, had finally got their copy and were having a good laugh at it, they sent me some funny photos. At 10am I attended the second Substack webinar with Ade and found it very interesting. I had a Lisa Johnson networking session at 1pm which was really different. There are certainly some very unusual people working in the online space and I got to meet a few of them. My book had arrived in Phong Nha at last, courtesy of Jamie, and she had passed it to Ben at the Phong Nha Farmstay. At 4pm I finished work early to go to the post office with my friend’s passports. It was just £8.75 to post them recorded delivery to Edinburgh and the man in the post office said they would arrive tomorrow. I thought that seemed quick but surely he must know. I messaged the lady and let her know my return fare to London had been £10.50 and the postage just £8.50 so she just owed me £19. She replied straight away to say she was transferring the money and I nipped in to Barnes Pantry. It was Captain Caveman’s birthday in a couple of days and I wanted to get him a little something, perhaps a bottle of wine. In the shop the wine was quite pricey so instead I bought something to go with our curry night dinner. Here’s what I bought with the prices in pounds;
I decided I would make my way to M&S where they had cheaper wine available and I set off walking. My phone pinged to say I had received money in to my Wise account. I checked and the Passport lady had transferred me more than she should have. I called her straight away to alert her to the mistake and for me to transfer back the extra amount. I was a bit overwhelmed as she had meant to pay me extra for doing it which I had not expected at all. We talked for quite some time and had a good chat, I came off the call feeling quite emotional and this time I couldn’t blame it on the menopause. What a lovely thing to do and she also told me to enjoy time with Captain Caveman for his birthday. I completely forgot about wine buying and walked back eating the chocolate. Back home, while Captain Caveman finished off some work, I put some washing on and made a new friend, Motthew the Moth. For dinner, I put the Indian starter items in to the oven and we had them with the chutney and a couple of poppadoms.
Captain Caveman had suffered a hectic day so he was quite shattered but in need of fresh air. It wasn’t raining so we decided to have a break and eat the mains later so we had a walk through Barnes Green, and had a drink in the Sun Inn. Captain Caveman had a beer and I had a red wine for a total of £16. We wanted to sit inside the pub as it was cold but there was a singer giving it full pelt. I was fine with it but Captain Caveman needed quiet so we sat outside, with me shivering. I listened as Captain Caveman offloaded the frustrations of his day and I tried to help where I could. Back home, neither of us were hungry so we didn’t bother with the rest of our Indian meal and both fell asleep in the lounge.
Gratitude List 1. Good free training on things that were new to me 2. Unexpected payment for doing a friend a favour 3. Spending time after work with Captain Caveman.
Both Captain Caveman and I had very busy days on Thursday 17th July which meant we just cracked on with our mornings. I had a Resort Experts team meeting which I dialed in to, followed by a 121 training session on Quote Away where I was using version 2 to make bespoke holiday quotes. We went for a walk at lunchtime and as we were coming back to the house, we saw Captain Caveman’s parents arriving back from their holiday in Europe. They were unloading the car so Captain Caveman went to help his Dad, who had practically finished. It was good to see Mike and Gill as the last time I’d seen them, I’d not been feeling 100%. I think both Gill and I could smell it at the same time; I thought it was the bin that might have needed emptying but Gill knew it was the bananas that were on the turn. Before we really knew what was going on, we were having a bit of a laugh over my slapdash approach to making a banana loaf. Gill got the scales, bowls and ingredients out as well as leafing through the pages of her Delia Smith recipe book. Obviously, I had one more banana than was needed and I wanted to use less sugar, we didn’t have large eggs so I used 2 small ones. We adjusted the flour but we both agreed we didn’t need walnuts in it and I continued with the large tin when the smaller one may just have sufficed. Of course, Gill offered to get the electric mixer out, however, I’ve never used one so I opted for the special mixing fork and did it by hand. Captain Caveman thought it a bit odd when he came to see what the nice smell was. He was a bit surprised that we’d just rustled up a treat to have with a cup of tea that afternoon. It came out a bit too moist but the bottom was not too soggy. Once cooled a little, I sliced some up and Captain Caveman carried up the tea tray for us all to try it in the living room, some of us with a little butter. It tasted rather nice but it was a little too wet. Captain Caveman and his Ma did have a little bit more and I wasn’t sure if it was just to be polite or not. Even though it hadn’t turned out as Delia would have expected, I’d actually enjoyed doing this impromptu activity with Gill. That evening Captain Caveman and I ate the Indian meal we should’ve had last night which was very nice. Tomorrow was Captain Caveman’s birthday so we had plans to all celebrate as a family after work.
Gratitude List 1. Being busy with Resort Experts stuff 2. Baking with Captain Caveman’s Ma 3. Afternoon tea with an over moist banana loaf.
On Tuesday 15th July I had a mission to do for a lady I hadn’t seen for a while. We used to go to the same Turkish class in Dalyan a few years ago and she lives in Scotland. I’d responded to a request for help on Facebook as she needed her passports picking up from London and I was in London, or certainly a lot nearer than she was. I decided to take the morning off work and head in to the city. I got the train to Tottenham Court Road and then walked towards the British Museum to collect the passports at a small office. I’d got all the relevant paperwork and permission so I picked up the passports in a straightforward manner. I was going to visit the British museum afterwards but it was still closed.
By 10.45am I had wandered down the very empty street to a Burger King where I got myself a cup of tea and a sausage sandwich for just under a fiver. I let my friend know I had her passports and they were safe, I would post them up to Scotland from Barnes tomorrow. I was going to go straight back to Barnes but the weather started to take a bit of a turn, it started to rain and was extremely windy. Luckily, I wanted to buy a strapless bra and some hand luggage/wheelie case so I headed back towards the tube station to Uniqlo and Primark. Captain Caveman had booked me my flight back to Dalaman and we had chosen to return on the 11th of next month. As the rain came down and it got chilly I wondered if a month in England was wise. I would be on the same flight as Drew and I just had hand luggage so I wanted to get something more useful than what I had now. I browsed for ages but only managed to buy a dress for £20 in Uniqlo and try on far too many bras which didn’t fit! I didn’t manage to find any bras but I did buy some treats instead, here’s the info with prices in pounds;
Primark 1 pack of travel bottles 1.00 Zebra Print Flipflops 1.50 A black backpack 10.00 Total spent £12.50
The backpack had been reduced from £24 and had a separate laptop section which I was pleased with. It came in handy to put all my stuff in as I braved the weather on Oxford Street. By 1.20pm the rain had eased off and the panic buying of umbrellas had subsided. I’d messaged a friend who works in London to see if she was free for lunch. She wasn’t, but could meet around 3.30pm so I decided to find something free to do until then.
Captain Caveman had recommended places nearby that I could do some sightseeing at, which was good. It might not have been the best choice given the weather, but I’d picked the Post Building which has a Roof Terrace worthy of checking out. If you’ve not been, it’s worth a look if you’re in the area and the man on the security desk is very nice and helpful. I did have to show photo ID and put my backpack through a scanner which I guess is the norm in London now. The rain stopped and although it was quite blowy at the top of the Post Building, the views were amazing. It’s only on the 9th floor but it feels higher, there’s nowhere to sit, it’s just a view point and some pretty plants. There is also a toilet which I, of course, took advantage of. After taking some photos and chatting to a lady from Grantham about Doris Stokes, I made my way back down and out to Oxford Street. It had been a nice way to spend half an hour and it’s free so even better. I’d even learned something about mailbag delivery and chutes!
I decided to make my way back to Waterloo, hoping to catch a quick meet up with my friend when she finished work. I managed to resist a full English breakfast, fish and chips or anything else that wasn’t healthy. When I got to Waterloo I was hungry so I grabbed a late lunch of my favourite Super Nutty Wholefood salad from M&S and a chocolate bar for £4.80. I ate it in the station while keeping an eye out for pesky pigeons then I wandered up to the pub to meet Liz. I bought a pint of Inchs cider for £7.20 and sat at a table next to the toilets. When Liz arrived it was so good to see her, even if it was just for an hour before she got her train home. We laughed, chatted, almost cried and made the most of our catch up. I completely forgot to get a photo too, which I regretted as soon as I got on my train back to Barnes.
I messaged Captain Caveman to say I was on my way back and he was just finishing a taxing day at work. When I got back, Captain Caveman looked tired and we decided to go for a walk to the Coach and Horses and the shops. Captain Caveman bought me a glass of red wine and he had a pint of beer which was around £15 for the two. My red wine was really nice and I asked to get a photo of the bottle for future reference. We decided to buy stuff for tomorrow’s meal too as we had both got very busy work days coming up. Here’s what we bought at Marks and Spencer, prices in pounds;
M&S Fusilli pasta 0.75 Garlic baguette 1.30 Pilau rice 2.20 Indian starters 4.25 Lamb Rogan josh 4.15 Chicken tikka 4.40 Raspberries and blackcurrants 5.25 4 cans of Guiness 5.75 1 bottle of red wine 6.00 2 bottles of fizz 13.00 Total spent £47.05
Captain Caveman made sausage and veg pasta for dinner which we had with garlic bread. I was conscious to try not to eat so much bread so I only had 3 pieces and Captain Caveman polished off the rest. By 9.15pm we were on the sofa in the lounge, trying not to fall asleep when the heavy rain came. I remembered that Captain Caveman had opened the upstairs bedroom window and went up to check it was closed in case rain could get in. I hadn’t seen rain for a bit so I stood and watched it, feeling quite chilly and wishing I’d brought some socks!
Gratitude List 1. Being able to help save time, money and stress for a friend by picking up her passports 2. Sightseeing and seeing Liz in London 3. Spending time with Captain Caveman after our busy days.
Monday 14th July was a normal working day for both Captain Caveman and I, as we plonked ourselves at desks in different parts of his parents’ house. I had lots on my To Do list, including booking in more training, attending an online Hotseat session with Lisa Johnson and then catching up on some content ideas with a couple of other Resort Experts. I was meant to be cracking on with a test book for a travel planner I was doing too, but that would have to wait. Today was meant to be my pay day, but this month I hadn’t earned that much so I’d rolled it over in to next month’s. Next month’s pay day was looking quite good but as I get paid based on when people travel then it’s not always consistent. I was slowly building up a more regular income and word was starting to get out a bit more about me. At lunch, we had a sandwich and I decided to peel some veg to make a sausage casserole for dinner. I found a very oddly shaped carrot which caused a bit of a giggle before going back to work. At 5pm I started to look into a company called Intele Travel as someone I follow on social media had started working for them and was encouraging people I knew to join. I’d recently started using my ChatGPT assistant to fact check stuff and asked my ‘JoBot’ about it. It told me to stay clear and gave me a run down of how it was similar to an MLM (Multi Level Marketing) scheme. I thanked my JoBot and got a really lovely answer. It said that my authentic independent approach suited me much better and mentioned my genuine passion for travel. Captain Caveman and I had a walk through the park to get some fresh air and call at the shop for ‘essentials’. Here’s what we bought with prices in pounds;
Marks & Spencers 6 eggs 1.45 Butter 2.00 1 bottle of red wine 6.00 Total spent £9.45
The sausage casserole went down well with roast potatoes and the smooth bottle of red from M&S but, once again, I fell asleep on the sofa before I’d finished my wine.
Gratitude List 1. Having a nice house and space to be able to work from home in 2. Working better with AI following some of the courses and training I was going on to learn more about effective use of it 3. A lovely meal at home, with wine.
Captain Caveman had arranged a day out on Sunday 13th July and the main event was a surprise – it would turn out to be one of the most memorable days in a long time. All I knew was that we were going out for lunch and that I should wear something nice. I had brought my favourite black dress but it required a strapless bra and I’d yet to go shopping for one, so that was out. I didn’t know what else I could wear as I’d only brought cycling shorts and t-shirts which, apparently, would not be suitable. I also only had Vietnamese porter sandals, one of which had a tear down the back. Captain Caveman said that wouldn’t matter and no one would notice my feet. Even though I was having a day off, I still started the day with checking my Jo Lo – Resort Experts business page on Facebook. I noticed I had finally got my 300th follower and was really happy about that. These days it’s all about growing an audience and it’s something I was still struggling to do, despite having a lot of contacts in real life and 1700 friends on Facebook, it was one of the hardest things to do to get people to follow and like my travel page. I wasn’t sure why, especially when some of my colleagues were in the thousands on theirs. Captain Caveman made me beans on sourdough toast with bacon and a cup of tea for breakfast. I probably shouldn’t have bothered eating so much but I was unaware of what the surprise was for today, at this point. I put on my cycling shorts, porter sandals and the only other dress I had with me, over the top – my £8 red Primark one from my last visit. Captain Caveman was wearing his bespoke shirt made in Saigon, with storks on. I had a feeling we were going somewhere nice. We walked to Barnes station, got the train, all with me asking questions about the surprise. I only knew we were going for lunch and Captain Caveman had booked us in for 1pm. We arrived at a fairly ordinary looking building in Clapham and Captain Caveman said we were here and we were going upstairs. What I didn’t realise at the time was that we were at Trinity, a Michelin star restaurant which has a second restaurant, above it, called Upstairs (I saw what they did there)!
We walked in, were greeted professionally and shown to a table, which were all high tables and stools. I did my best to get seated without flashing my cycling shorts but couldn’t be certain the polite staff hadn’t clocked them. The place was small and pleasantly decorated with an open plan kitchen area. We were given water (choice of still or sparkling for free), and of course we opted for ordinary tap water. A set menu and wine list were popped on the table as the lady attending to us explained that we would be enjoying a 3 course set Sunday lunch which would be served to everyone in the Upstairs restaurant at the same time. I was impressed already and started to peruse the wine menu. When I saw the prices, I passed the menu to Captain Caveman and thought we may be sticking with just water. Of course, I was still used to tight budgeting and living in Dalyan which is super cheap compared to London. Captain Caveman ordered a bottle of the Falanghina Di Majo Norante, an Italian white wine, at £46 per bottle. The place started to fill up and I was obviously the cheapest dressed person in the room, including the staff!
When our first course of chilled Ajo Bianco came, I had no clue what it was so I tried it tentatively at first. It was basically a cold almond soup which, if I’m honest, sounds unpleasant but it was absolutely fantastic. It was served with toasted chunky bread and went well with the wine. I even asked for the recipe, as did fellow diners near to me. They gave me a card with the recipe on which I thought was great. Our next course was the best Sunday dinner I’ve had in a very long time. Veal with carrots and potatoes which was amazingly tasty, I even had seconds and gravy. We’d polished off the wine, before finishing our second helping so Captain Caveman insisted we have a glass each of the Chateau La Marche Canon red wine. I was so full but I continued to eat every mouthful, completely forgetting we had dessert to follow. Captain Caveman is not a sweet person but he had eaten his fig leaf panna cotta before I could even ask if he liked it, he then ate the other half of mine that I couldn’t manage. The whole experience had been fantastic and a total surprise. To be able to see all the dishes being prepped too was great and I was so full I could have had a sleep. Captain Caveman paid the bill, here’s what the prices were;
Upstairs 2 Sunday lunches £90 1 bottle of white wine £46 2 glasses of red wine £24 Service/tip £20 Total spent £180
While I wrestled with the notion that we had just spent on one meal what, only 6 months ago, was more than my monthly budget, Captain Caveman went to the upstairs toilet. I hadn’t realised there was an upstairs toilet so I had been going downstairs each time, through the Trinity restaurant to use that toilet. I felt quite emotional that I had been treated to such an experience, it was also quite difficult not to feel guilty at spending so much. However, the day wasn’t over and we had more to come as Captain Caveman navigated us to our next event.
By 3.30pm, Captain Caveman and I were walking from Upstairs and Trinity, in Clapham, to our next venue. I was quite sluggish, having eaten one of the best Sunday lunches for a while. We passed Joe Public which sold pizza and the smell made me queasy. Captain Caveman has a habit of being close by one minute and then zooming off so when I pointed out the Dubai Bun chocolate stall, it was to another man who stopped and bought one, on my suggestion, when I’d thought it was my other half. We passed a museum and I took photos of buildings I liked but there was no sauntering involved.
We arrived around 5pm to the Physic Garden in Chelsea where we were booked to listen to live music outside. The weather was very pleasant as Captain Caveman got out his picnic blanket and we sat down on the grass. Everyone else arrived and were getting out their picnics, we just sipped water and tried not to fall asleep before it started. The concert in Physic Garden started at 6.30pm and was absolutely amazing. Hanzhi Zhang on the piano was phenomenal and didn’t really get any recognition as she was just accompanying, but she was top notch. There was a German born opera singer who was very talented and I forget his name. My favourite performer was the Japanese violinist Ryo Koyama who I had already read about and he even did an improvised session with the opera singer. There was a Vietnamese guy who was outstanding at playing the zither while singing and it was great to watch and listen to. The main act of the show was Sarah Small on her Viola da Gamba which she had been cycling around with on tour. She was extremely good too, although how she held her bow really bothered me, and we both enjoyed all of the performers. I was surprised that Captain Caveman was into it as string concerts are more my thing. The cost of the ticket was just £20 each which was a bargain. The concert finished around 9.15pm and we left to go back to Barnes, passing a house where a blue plaque showed that Bob Marley had lived there 48 years ago. Today had been a really special day that I would remember for a very long time – I felt extremely lucky and happy to be in London with Captain Caveman.
Gratitude List 1. Reaching the 300 follower mark on my business page 2. Being surprised with a fabulous meal at Upstairs of Trinity restaurant 3. Enjoying live music in the beautiful Physic Garden.
Saturday 12th July was such a wonderful day which started with me waking up cold at 7am – I was still on Turkish time. I got weighed on the bathroom scales, more as a benchmark to see what I weighed on those scales and to track while I was in the UK. The scales said I was 1.3kg (2.9lb) lighter than I had been on Carol’s scales last Wednesday. That meant I was only 1.1kg (2.4lb) over target and I knew that I was going to be enjoying quite a few treats that weren’t Slimming World friendly while I was in England. Captain Caveman made me bacon sandwiches for breakfast and I had a cup of tea. Shockingly, it wasn’t Yorkshire tea but I still drank it. We had a trip out to the Farmer’s Market and the supermarket where I got my first glimpse of a couple of things; 1) how expensive things were going to be compared to Dalyan and 2) how much more choice there would be available to me. Here’s what we bought with the prices in pounds;
Farmers Market 1 Black pudding 1 Sausage roll 1 Scotch Egg 1 Pork Belly Total spent £15
M&S Milk 0.75 1 bag of salad 1.70 Cream cheese 2.50 Sourdough 2.65 Shropshire blue cheese 2.75 2 Avocados 3.70 Red Leicester cheese 3.80 250g Raspberries 3.90 Total spent £21.75
Today was an important date in the Barnes calendar as it was the day of the Barnes Fair. We’d planned my trip especially so that I could experience it for the first time. Luckily, I had arrived in the heatwave of England as all of my UK friends had been warning me about. I’d only brought summer clothes, sandals and flipflops with high expectations of enjoying the English summer while escaping the heat in Dalyan. By 1pm we had started to browse the stalls of the fantastic Barnes Fair and I had spotted a Zebra stool that I thought would make a great present for a friend, who’s birthday BBQ we were going to next weekend. We ummed and ahhed about the logistics of taking it on a train and whether it would even fit with their design of the new house and decided to leave it for now. We wandered round the various stalls which were really good but I was conscious not to buy anything I didn’t need. We did stumble upon a gift that was easier to carry and bought artisan chilli jam products from a lovely lady at Chilli Porter. While Captain Caveman took the stuff back to the house, I perused the list of stalls and took a photo of the map in case I got lost. I spoke to one of the organisers and volunteered Captain Caveman for the hold a plank competition. Upon his return, Captain Caveman was not up for the competition and we went off to the Sun Inn pub for a lunchtime beverage. Here 2 pints were £15 and everything was being served in plastic cups because of the event. We shared a table with a few interesting people and the atmosphere was very nice. Back home, I posted some photos on the family WhatsApp group as I was so impressed with the fair. It was very warm for London and we had a bite to eat, some water and some raspberries at home. I then fell asleep on the sofa (perhaps from too much excitement)!
At 5pm, Captain Caveman woke me up and we went back to Barnes Fair for another look around. We wanted to find certain stalls on our list and end at the Brown Dog. We didn’t find the Brown Dog stall so settled for the Wimbledon Brewery one. I chose a glass of pink fizz for £8.50 but they didn’t have any left. There was champagne for £11 but I was reluctant to pay that much to drink it from a plastic flute, so I didn’t bother. Captain Caveman ordered a pint of SW19 for £7.50 and had to pay an extra £2 for the plastic cup deposit. I was a bit shocked by this and even more surprised when they couldn’t give the refund at the end as they had no process in place. It was getting a bit busy, lots of families with prams and dogs and it was actually a bit sweaty.
We decided to stroll round to the Coach and Horses for a pint, still £14 for 2, but served with a better service, a friendlier attitude and an apology for their plastic cups. Next, we wandered round to the Brown Dog where it was only £12 for 2 pints, in glasses, and I had a rhubarb beer which was great. Back home, Captain Caveman made pasta for dinner, which should have been last night’s meal. It was good but I was so tired that as soon as I got on the sofa, I fell asleep.
Gratitude List 1. Barnes Fair 2. Sunny England 3. Having fun with Captain Caveman.
On Friday 11th July I was off back to England for at least a couple of weeks to celebrate Captain Caveman’s birthday with him and see his new home. I’d not booked my flight back but I knew the absolute latest would be 12th August as I had an event to attend in Dalyan. I was only taking hand luggage but I’d not finished packing yet as I was still doing some last minute bits and bobs for work. My pick up wasn’t until 2.30pm with Sonuç at Dalyan Airport Transfers so I had time to faff about. I made wraps with what was left of the chicken tikka to take on the plane but started to wonder if they might be a bit too spicy for travelling, as I have a delicate stomach at the best of times. After a call with a friend in the UK, who I was arranging to meet while there, I finished my packing and then decided to order an airport sandwich from Ela’s Kitchen. I chose a bacon and brown sauce sandwich which cost 350 lira (£6.50) and was delivered by Sev. Unfortunately, it didn’t make it as far as the airport as I snaffled it down before I left and it was very tasty. The transfer to Dalaman airport was pleasant and the journey cost £30, which is the going rate for transfer or taxi. I didn’t spend any money in Dalaman airport as I refuse to support the extortionate pricing they have. I did get my frozen bottle of water through security though and I swerved the Duty Free, realising it would be cheaper to buy once in the UK. My flight was on time at 5.30pm and I got to switch my window seat for a middle seat with a lady who was already sat in the middle. The flight was actually full and there were no spare seats in our row. I tried to watch a film called Havoc but I accidentally deleted it after about 20 minutes. We landed at Gatwick at 7.50pm and I made my way to the train station where I got the train to Barnes, changing at Clapham Junction. My frozen water was still half frozen and I was quite thirsty now. Captain Caveman met me at Barnes station, he took my bag and we walked to his parents’ house. They were on holiday so, once in the house Captain Caveman opened a bottle of red wine that he had got for us to have with dinner. I downed 3 glasses of water and we laughed that my frozen water had made it almost door to door, still frozen. I was hungry but Captain Caveman wasn’t so we just had cheese on toast for dinner. Tomorrow we had an exciting day planned.
Gratitude List 1. To be going to see Captain Caveman after only 19 days apart 2. A smooth trip from Dalyan to Barnes in just under 7 hours 3. Cheese on toast & wine for dinner with Captain Caveman.
It was a fairly busy day on Thursday 10th July and I was up and a out early. My Mom had asked me to collect her key from the estate agents so I did that first thing. Luckily, when I got to King Emlak, just after 9am, the cleaner was in and was able to help me. She unlocked the massive key cupboards and asked me which one it was – you’d be surprised how many other keys with just one ordinary key and a small blue keyring there was! We eventually found it and I was on my way back to crack on with work. I noticed that our gardener was still not keeping on top of trimming the bushes and I also noticed that littering very close to the bins outside our complex seemed to be getting worse. It was getting hotter and people were getting lazier. I’d offered to pop over to Jamie & Drew’s villa around lunch time to let Norman out and give him some attention, while they were out of Dalyan. I managed to speak to Captain Caveman who was excited for my arrival tomorrow and had already bought food and wine for dinner in London. I attended the Resort Experts team meeting which was good, as always.
Norman was pleased to see me, even if he was a bit snoozy, when I arrived. I went outside with him to make sure he stayed in the shady spots and then I gave him a treat. We had cuddles and I sorted out his eye bogies, which used to be Edna’s job. She had a habit of licking Norman’s eyes to give them a wash and I noticed he was a bit crusty. He let me wet a tissue and wash them without any fuss and seemed quite happy about it. I checked in for my flight which was with Sun Express at 5.30pm tomorrow night. I didn’t pay to choose a seat but then it allocated me a window seat which I don’t like. Hopefully, the plane wouldn’t be full and I could swap to an aisle seat. After a bit more work, I left Norman around 4.30pm, once I knew Jamie was on his way back home. On the way I witnessed a man drive past a bin on a motorbike and then throw litter on to the floor! What is wrong with people!? I shouted out but he’s gone so I picked it up! That evening I had chicken fajita pasta which was rather lovely and there was plenty of the fajita mixture for tomorrow. As it was weekend eve, I poured myself a White Russian and finally had a sit on the sofa around 9.45pm, knowing I still needed to pack for my trip to England.
Gratitude List 1. Chatting with Captain Caveman 2. Seeing Norman 3. Fajita pasta and a White Russian for dinner.
It was my last weigh day for at least a couple of weeks on Wednesday 9th July. I was feeling quite confident that I would have lost weight, especially as I had not touched a drop of alcohol for 5 days. I did my measurements and had lost 1cm from my bust and waist and lost 3cm off my hips. I was pleased with that as I was 2cm under target on my bust and only over by 1cm on both waist and hips. When I got on the home scales, I was disappointed to find I had put 0.15kg (0.3lb) on. Hopefully Carol’s scales would be kinder at Fat Club later. I shoved the ingredients for a chicken fajita dish in the slow cooker, which would be ready for mid afternoon. I worked until midday when I was learning something new (again). I had decided to join a free zoom call about Substack. I’d only just found out about this new platform which is ideal for writers and I wanted to find out more. The session with Ade went well and I got a lot out of it, I decided to wait until I had attended the next session before setting up my Substack. I carried on with work and stopped to go to Fat Club at 3pm. To my further disappointment, I had put on 0.6kg (1.3lb) so I wasn’t too pleased. On the way back home I popped in to Migros where I bought several packs of sweets and chocolate to restock my collection. I bought 7 items for 225.95 lira (£4.18) and decided I would pack some in my hand luggage for my trip to the UK this weekend. I quickly had a chicken fajita wrap, then I worked until almost 7pm. I went to meet friends at Kaunos tea garden, which was nice and I paid just 40 lira (74p) for a lemon soda. Captain Caveman had wanted to have a call but I had to say I’d ring when I got home. I finally got to chat with him at 11.15pm so we didn’t really talk much.
Gratitude List 1. Losing centimetres 2. Substack training 3. An evening out with friends but no alcohol.
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Norman and I were awake early on Monday 7th July, both needing a pee. The temperature at that time of day was much cooler and comfortable. After tea and toast it was time to crack on with Resort Experts work for the day. I often get friend requests on Facebook from people I’ve not met and don’t know but this morning I got one from a lady called Liz. I never add people I don’t at least know, even if we haven’t met in person. We had a friend in common from Rhodes and I recognised her from posts on a group I’m in. However, when I looked at her Facebook profile, the last 3 posts were saying it was a fake/scam profile and not to share posts. I messaged the woman to ask what was going on and she seemed real and fairly normal. I still didn’t accept the friend request though. By 9am, Norman was fast asleep and snoring away again. At midday I attended a webinar session with Lisa Johnson where she was sharing some thoughts and knowledge which I thought might help me. It was only for 30 minutes but was useful. Jamie and Drew arrived back a little earlier than expected, I went back to Fire Opal as I had another webinar booked in. This next one was some training with a lady called Katrina Young who was delivering a session on AI. Primarily on keeping ChatGPT in check, powerful prompts, scaling up a business and automating certain tasks using AI. It was interesting, although most of it went above my head. I took lots of notes though. After the training, I put some of what I’d learned in to place and it was really good. I just needed more practice and more time to do it, now.
Gratitude List 1. Norman being so easy to look after 2. Insights from Lisa Johnson 3. Learning more about AI from Katrina Young.
I didn’t get up until 8.30am on Tuesday 8th July and then I got on with writing content for my various social media pages. I am an agent for a supplier called Classic Collection and they had some great deals on for city breaks as well as summer holidays so I got involved in searching those. I’d seen a couple of city breaks that I liked the look of myself, including a 4 star mini break in Nantes, France, in August for £199 and a 3 star weekend in Krakow, Poland, in January for £125. They also had some luxury 5 Star holidays in Greece which looked fantastic. After working until 3pm and not having had any lunch, I decided to take a break and walk around the town, calling at the shops. Here’s what I bought with prices in lira;
Migros Supermarket Green Peppers 13.99 Mentos 20.95 Haribo jellies 22.45 Biscuits 32.95 Salt & Vinegar crisps 48.95 Pasta sauce 52.95 2 croissants 69.90 Cooked chicken pieces 69.95 Total spent 332.09 lira (£6.15)
Jamie, Drew and Nanny Kay were off to Kuşadası on Sunday 6th July for a couple of days. They were staying in the same hotel Captain Caveman and I had stayed in on our last visit, Sunday Beach at Ladies Beach. I was in charge of Norman and I arrived at 8.30am, to a snoring Norman who didn’t even hear me come in. As it was a lovely sunny day, I decided to plonk myself down by the pool before it got too hot. When Norman woke up he came over for some attention and a lay on the sunbed for a couple of minutes. It was strange there only being Norman, now that Edna had passed away, and I felt a little bit sad. A white feather came down between me and Norman on the sunbed and, if you believe in things like that, it might have symbolised Edna. We moved in to the shade and got some water then I had mushroom and pepper pasta for lunch.
When it got too hot, Norman took himself off for an afternoon nap on the sofa, in the AC. By 6pm I decided I would have a swim. Usually, when I’m at Jamie’s, I don’t go in the pool but it was very hot today. I waited until the sun had gone in to take Norman for a walk and I’d thought we might go to Lukka and have a drink there. Norman had other ideas and, after a walk almost as far as Lukka, he decided he wasn’t up for socialising and wanted to go back home. I hadn’t brought anything over for dinner so I decided to have another walk, without Norman, and get some food on the way home. I called at the shop and bought the following, prices in lira;
I’d intended to buy something to cook for dinner but it was already 8.30pm and I couldn’t be bothered.
Sheche Burger was the last place I walked past on my way home so I couldn’t resist. I decided to order the original burger with french fries and a homemade lemonade to take out. My dinner cost 500 lira (£9.26) and was really tasty for a treat, which I enjoyed more than I thought I would. At bedtime, Norman was keen to come with me so he slept on my bed – snoring contentedly away.
Gratitude List 1. A bit of a rest day with only minimal work done 2. Sheche Burger for dinner 3. Norman, he’s just so cute.
Friday 4th July was my last day with Lady C, it was also just one week until I would be back in the UK. Penny and Phil were flying back tonight but didn’t land until almost 4am tomorrow. I spent the day working and making sure Lady C was ok. I had a sandwich then walked Lady C, she was fine and didn’t seem bothered from the dog issue yesterday. When we got back, she let me check out where the other dog had tried to bite her and there was a bit of a cut. I messaged Penny to let her know and described which street it had happened near but I had no idea where the young boy and the dogs lived. It was a pretty quiet day really.
Gratitude List 1. Last day with Caramel 2. It being a Friday 3. Being ready for Penny & Phil’s return.
On Saturday 5th July I had woken up early, my care of Lady C had come to an end and I’d arranged to meet Jamie. The neighbour opposite had closed the stair door so there were no more cat shit incidents, which was nice! I had a curry for lunch and then went to the shops to get some essentials and restock up on wine. It had slipped my mind to check if there was still wine in the fridge after the comings and goings of the week. Here’s what I spent with prices in lira;
A101 Supermarket Washing up sponges 22.50 Frozen berries 179.00 Total spent 201.50 lira (£3.73)
Yaman Büfe 3 bottles of wine 709 lira (£13.13)
After more curry for dinner, I walked over to Penny and Phil’s with the wine and we had a bit of a catch up. Lady C was happy to have her owners back too. Back home, I had a much needed early night after doing the washing.
Gratitude List 1. A quick catch up with Jamie 2. Being home to a cat shit free apartment 3. Home made curry from the freezer.
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