Sheffield – 14th August

Captain Caveman was working on site again of Friday 14th August, so it looked like he might be late for the night out that he had set the date for. Ages ago, we had arranged we would catch up with some of the Berlin 10 and tonight was in the diary for drinks in Kelham Island. More recently I’d invited the friends who had needed to cancel last month as well as Louisa and Linda. I worked all day and Captain Caveman made it back by 6pm, which was good. We decided to get our going out clothes on and see if we could find somewhere to get food too. Captain Caveman had bought me a dress from Uniqlo so I wore that with my Vietnamese porter sandals and loved it. We had a quick drink in the Kelham Wine Bar, where it was £17.68 for a couple of cocktails. Captain Caveman guzzled his down in about 2 minutes and then decided we would get snacks at Salt. Unfortunately, they didn’t have the kitchen open so we had pork scratchings for dinner with my Hugo Spritz (classy!) at a total of £15.60. The drink was very nice and I had another round as others joined. Caz & Tim arrived and they were on a bit of a curfew as they had to be back by 9.30pm for their son. Caz had invited the rest of the gang on the WhatsApp group but no one else could make it. Natalie & Paul came too, and I was glad that they could make it. Unfortunately, Louisa decided she wasn’t coming as she had got busy with dog walking and decluttering. Linda arrived and was the life and soul of the party when she mulled over 2 for 1 on the cocktails or jagermeister shots – she might have been the oldest there but she was certainly the most lively out of us all. Luan, Paul, Drexy & Jeff (of the Berlin 10) arrived next and we had a very good evening. It was broken up by a series of emergency alarms that there were wild fires nearby and that we were to remain in doors. Everyone ignored the alarms but they kept coming and we could see on social media that some areas of Sheffield did have spreading wildfires. We were fine where we were and continued in the beer garden. Our last pub was the Kelham Island Tavern, another favourite, and we had a couple of drinks in there before Caz and Tim had to get back to relieve their babysitter. They kindly dropped Linda off at home even though it was a little early to be going but Captain Caveman’s gout was still giving him issues and it would have been quite far for him to walk her home.
It was a while since I’d been drinking with these friends so it was great to laugh and reminisce. We had a great time and I spent a total of £47 and Captain Caveman probably spent more.
As we said our farewells to half the Berlin 10, Captain Caveman made arrangements to meet up again tomorrow and go for a curry at Butlers.

Gratitude List
1. Captain Caveman making it back to Sheffield in good time for our night out
2. My new Uniqlo dress
3. A night out in Kelham Island with lovely friends.

Sheffield – 11th to 13th August

My new whiteboard was a game changer on Tuesday 11th August and I had popped it on the spare room windowsill. Captain Caveman was working on site today and tomorrow so it meant I could borrow his work desk. It was great to have more space and I had started to really get through my tasks today. At lunch time I met Vanessa who had popped over to see me. I’d had the great idea to go to The Grind cafe but it was a bit much for Vanessa’s stomach and she just had toast and I had a Greek salad. We both had a cuppa and, as the weather was nice, we sat outside. One of Vanessa’s favourite places at Kelham Island is the Fat Cat so we went there next and had just a quick drink. We chatted on about how good the 60th birthday 80s night had been and Vanessa still had some more celebrations to do next month.
Back home it was a busy admin afternoon/evening and I forgot to have any dinner.

Gratitude List
1. My improved productivity from having a new whiteboard
2. Using Captain Caveman’s desk
3. Meeting Vanessa for lunch.

Ordinarily, if I’d been in Dalyan, Wednesday 12th August would be weigh day and I’d be going to Fat Club. It had now been 7 weeks since I had last been to the group and got weighed. I knew I had put weight on, even without any weighing scales, because I could tell on photos of my face!
I decided to still take my measurements which I last did a month ago and it wasn’t quite as shocking as I’d expected. I’d lost 1cm from my bust, put 4cm on my waist (that will be the bread) and my hips had stayed the same. I decided I would walk in to town for some exercise and also I wanted to see if I could order The Handy Travel Planner at Waterstones yet. It turned out I could and they said they would order it in for me and call me when it arrived, which could take 2 weeks. I nipped in to Barclays to ask if it was ok for Captain Caveman to bring his bicycle in when he came for the mortgage appointment and while I was there I met the mortgage advisor and asked some generic questions. The mortgage advisor was very helpful and the branch had been done up very nicely. Next, I popped in to TK Maxx where I noticed a men’s manicure kit for £3 so I bought it for Captain Caveman ready for his forthcoming holidays. In Holland & Barrett I picked up some Gin Gins, tea for a bad stomach and some healthy snacks, spending a total of £9.32. I took photos of the cherry supplements for Captain Caveman so he could decide if he wanted any to help with his gout symptoms.
I had also arranged to meet my parents in town and then we were going to be doing another pub crawl in Kelham Island. Captain Caveman was working so he couldn’t be there. Ma & Pa met me outside Boots and we got on the tram and went to the Wellington for a pint. Mom got the round in and it was very reasonably priced in there and is one of our favourites. It was warm enough for a sit out in the beer garden too. Our next stop was the Alder for a quick pint each at a total of £12.46 and then we decided to try the Neepsend Social Club which is very nice and had ice cold Aircon on. We decided to order some halloumi fries and chips with our drinks and I decided to go on to wine. The round worked out slightly cheaper at £12.19 and we were the only ones in there. We also did a video message to Nanny Kay who was in the UK celebrating her birthday this year.
By this time we were peckish again but Ma & Pa didn’t fancy the main meals in the Neepsend Social Club so we decided to go for pizza at B’Reyt Dough, just round the corner. I had a pepperoni pizza and a large glass of red wine, Dad had Margherita pizza and a large red wine and Mom had a calzone and a smaller white wine. Dad ended up having a laugh with the waiter and we completely missed the eclipse. The total bill came to £62.25 for the 3 of us which my parents paid and I ended up with some leftover pizza to take home. I walked them back to the tram stop as we were all a bit merry, having had a really good time. It was also a farewell drink as all of us were going to be away on our holidays soon.

Gratitude List
1. A successful trip to town
2. Another Kelham Island pub crawl with Ma & Pa
3. Pizza and wine.

On Thursday 13th August it was more holiday planning for both me and friends. As we would be joined by Briony in Vegas she had sent her flight details through and we were lucky to be landing within 10 minutes of each other.
There was a Resort Experts Team Meeting where updates of the eagerly awaited websites were spoken of and were looking likely for next month.
In the afternoon I met with a friend who had booked to holiday in Dalyan while I was there so we had a walk to Tescos. I finally found some rice noodles and we carried on to her house for a late lunch and a glass of wine while we sorted out boat trips and taxi pick ups. I had a Greek salad pitta pocket while my fellow diner had tuna and cucumber in hers. It was a nice afternoon and we planned to meet up for drinks again very soon.
As Captain Caveman was not back until late, I got to occupy the beanbag at home but I did have trouble getting back off it.
I totted up the 2nd week of the month’s spending and it was much better than last week at £131.69, so less than £19 per day, but still too much and I needed to be more frugal next week, even though I had plans which required spending money.

Gratitude List
1. Knowing the Las Vegas arrival times were lining up nicely.
2. Rice noodles
3. Catching up with a client and friend for more holiday planning.

Sheffield – 8th August

Saturday 8th August was a very busy day for me. I was at the laptop in the morning and then Captain Caveman and I had the viewing of the nearby flat that we both liked the look of. Captain Caveman had put both of us down to help with a neighbourhood litter picking mission at 10am but he was unable to go because of a gout flare up. Instead, I went and I met some new people and had quite a good time. It was hot and sweaty by the time we finished and I had to have a shower before our next appointment at noon. The property was a 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom flat with a decent sized hall way and kitchen/living space and even an outdoor area with views of the River Don and a parking space. We both liked it and decided that Captain Caveman was going to look into getting a mortgage appointment so that he could perhaps put in an offer. The mortgage appointment was made but the next available one with Captain Caveman’s preferred provider wasn’t until the second week of September.

Our next mission was for me to return to the opticians, with Captain Caveman so he could help me choose my glasses and pay for them. Vision Express do an eye care plan where you pay a monthly direct debit over 2 years (interest free) and it works out 20% cheaper than paying for the glasses. It also includes a free eye test, accidental breakage and loss protection as well as free adjustments and servicing. Captain Caveman was very helpful at the opticians but we did make the lady serving us laugh at his bluntness. When we were choosing the colour of the prescription sunglasses and my transitional lenses in the normal glasses – he made some comment about not getting the colour that made me look like a sex offender!

I ordered my 2 pairs which apparently was a good deal and came to a total of £436, after discount, despite me picking the lowest priced frames and that included 50% off the second pair. I paid the first £19 to set up the plan but Captain Caveman had to put the direct debit in his name starting from September. I was so happy and they would be ready in less than 2 week’s time.

I was ready to get back home as I had a headache but Captain Caveman fancied a pint in the Fargate pub. It had opened earlier this year and we’d not been in yet. It was £8.44 for a pint and a half and, although the pub was nicely done out, I wasn’t a fan of it. It was dark inside and a somewhat depressing feel to it. The clientele was a bit to be desired too and it reminded me of a flat roofed boozer on a rough estate. Captain Caveman had started to have a flare up of gout so I’d questioned him drinking beer (a trigger for gout) but he insisted beer or wine doesn’t affect it, just prawns or mushrooms which I’d not seen him have in over a year! We had to go to Boots to buy paracetamol and ibuprofen for £1.74 so that he could relieve the pain a bit.

In the evening I had been invited to one of Vanessa’s 60th birthday celebrations, which we had planned in the diary for quite some time. It was an 80s night at OEC in Hillsborough, next door to the dog track.
I met Vanessa and her gang of celebrators in the foyer at 6.30pm and most people, especially Vanessa, had made an effort to dress up in the appropriate 80s gear. Luckily, Vanessa had brought some extra props too so I could borrow some to jazz up my outfit.

The cost of the ticket which included the meal, a band, singers and the DJ was £35 and it was definitely worth it. The food was excellent, the music was brilliant and we all had a lot of fun – with lots of dancing. Vanessa had a plan to avoid drinking too much or spending loads on wine which was a genius move too. She bought a bottle of wine and some soda water (which came with an ice bucket) for about £24 and lasted her all night. I didn’t do this as wasn’t sure if I’d drink a full bottle but still spent £15.53 on 2 glasses so Vanessa’s idea was a good one. There were 10 of us in total and I’d already met 2 of Vanessa’s entourage which was nice but it was great to meet the others. I managed to insult Vanessa’s best mate by commenting on her wig which turned out to be her real hair! One of the youngest in the group had to get the Rennie’s out as the meal was fantastic and the puddings very rich! The food was delicious and plenty of it too, I had the chicken with lots of roast potatoes and vegetables. The chocolate brownie was super sickly but fabulous and I managed to eat most of it.

By 11pm some of us were already flagging a little and couldn’t see us going the full distance to the 1am finish! The less mobile of the group got a second wind at some point and was giving it what for on the dancefloor, having ditched her walking stick! It was such a fun night and we all really enjoyed it. Taxis and lifts were sorted and we were on our way home before midnight. Vanessa’s son dropped me off so I didn’t have to get a taxi alone or walk home which was very kind and Captain Caveman was already in bed when I got back. He’d been out to support friends at the Transplant Games in Sheffield and his foot was really hurting him.

Gratitude List

1. Flat viewing and finding a potential new home for Captain Caveman
2. New Glasses with help from Captain Caveman
3. A fab night out for Vanessa’s 60th birthday.

Sheffield – 5th & 6th August

On Wednesday 5th August, Captain Caveman and I had decided to support a good friend by attending her mother’s funeral. It was at Hutcliffe Wood, where I’d not visited since my grandparents’ funerals some years ago. I didn’t have an appropriate outfit to wear so I wore a bright coral dress with a zip up black hoodie. Captain Caveman, for once, had the appropriate garments. We arrived early and wandered round the neat gardens, with me trying to see if I could see Bill & Marion, my grandparents.
I’d remembered my friend telling me a story that her mum had worried she wouldn’t have many people at her funeral as she outlived many of her friends and family. That had stuck with me so I thought it would be nice to make sure she had a good send off and obviously it was good to support our friend who is always there to help everyone else. The service was so nicely done with many music references and I did have tears in my eyes.
We joined the rest of the friends and family at the Phoenix pub afterwards and it was so lovely to see so many people there. Of course, it didn’t occur to any of us to take photos but we did say afterwards that we thought my friend’s mother would have been impressed with her send off and perhaps we should’ve taken a few photos of the attendees. The food put on at the Phoenix was lovely and I ended up having a rather tasty sausage roll which I probably shouldn’t have.
We had planned to go back home but Captain Caveman had a surprise booked for me at 7pm. We got the bus into town and stopped off at the Rutland Arms for a pint and a wine before walking to a new pizza place, called Forbici. We shared a salad and a pizza with a half carafe of wine and then made our way to the Show Room cinema. I wasn’t allowed to look at the tickets or the sign for what was on so it was a total surprise when David Byrne’s American Utopia came on. The film was amazing and it had a very uplifting end to an emotional day.

Gratitude List
1. Being able to show support for our friend at her mother’s funeral
2. Dinner at Forbici with Captain Caveman
3. Seeing David Byrne’s American Utopia at Show Room cinema.

It was a busy day at my desk (Captain Caveman’s kitchen table) on Thursday 6th August. I did manage to eat healthier with a sandwich for lunch and a chicken salad for dinner. I bought sourdough from the bakery for £4.16 and I applied for my ESTA for visiting the USA, which cost £30.86. I found some nice European breaks that didn’t involve flying for a potential client who was scared of planes.
I also managed to get out of the flat for 2 walks, one for the sourdough and one on the evening with Captain Caveman – and we weren’t tempted to nip to the pub. The weather was finally warm again in Sheffield.
We popped to Tesco so that I could buy some contraceptive pills which were £19.75 for 3 month’s worth.

Gratitude List
1. Enjoying being outside twice in one day
2. Good homemade food
3. Staying in Kelham Island with interesting buildings around.

Sheffield – 2nd August

While Captain Caveman was leading a group of people through the underground canals of Sheffield, on Sunday 2nd August, I was booking the return airport bus tickets for my September holiday. A saving of almost £70, plus the cost of petrol, was definitely worth it for me even if we did have to select the bus that got us to the airport 6 hours before the flight, and left at 3am! I would have taken the bus that got in 2 hours before the international flight but my travel buddy had a case to drop off and wanted to stick to being there 3 hours before, which was probably the right thing to do. I find that travelling with just hand luggage means you can arrive a bit later as you don’t need to stand in the check-in or bag drop queue. I was fine going early, though, even if it meant leaving the house at 2.15am for a 2.30pm flight, as it was saving me money and was just £27.30 each, including picking the row 2 seats. I had a bacon muffin for breakfast, sausages and beans for lunch and the Slimming World healthy eating had definitely gone on a back burner.
I did a bit of blogging and some admin before popping in to town to meet Ma & Pa. They were coming over to Kelham Island for the first time and it was a bit of a treat as they don’t normally venture this far, or in to town. I bought a weekly tram pass for £20 and met them off the bus in Pond Street at 1.45pm.
We walked to the train station to get the tram, calling at the toilets on the way. We got off the tram at Shalesmoor and Captain Caveman was cycling home from the Twisted Burger Company so he could drop his bicycle off and then meet us in the Wellington pub. I got the first drinks in for the 3 of us at £19.38 for 1 pale ale, 1 cider and 1 stout. We sat in the beer garden as the weather was quite nice, for a change.
When Captain Caveman arrived we had another round before heading off to the next bar. On the way, Mom’s shoe broke so the 3 of them managed to get to the Gardener’s Rest while I went home to get a pair of my Vietnamese porter sandals for her to wear. When I got back there was another pint waiting for me and we mentioned to Ma & Pa about the flat Captain Caveman was interested in buying. They agreed it looked a good deal so I went online and requested a viewing.
We were getting peckish so decided to go to Heist, a place I’d not been to before. I paid £26.95 for the round of drinks as Captain Caveman’s choice was a pricey IPA. This time Ma and I only had halves but Captain Caveman and Dad stuck to pints. We also ordered a Firepit meat tray which Mom paid for at £30 plus another round of drinks. We also added sweet potato fries as an extra for another £5. I decided to go on to wine with Dad as it was only £7 for a large Merlot.
The food was good and included chicken, brisket, pork, burnt ends, sausage, fried pickles, gravy, fries and slaw.
We finished off the Kelham Island pub crawl at the Alder where I introduced Mom to my new favourite beer, Schöfferhofer Grapefruit, which is also low alcohol and tastes so good. The round in our last pub was the cheapest yet at only £18 for 4 pints. I also really like the staff in the Alder as they are nice and friendly.
We had a great time and my parents left around 8.45pm so that they could get their bus back to Mosborough. They seemed to really enjoy Kelham Island and said they would visit again.

Gratitude List
1. Saving money on Flix buses to the airport
2. Ma & Pa joining Captain Caveman and I in Kelham Island
3. Good food and drink in our local boozers.

Sheffield – 30th & 31st July

Thursday 30th July was another busy day of working from home, while Captain Caveman had meetings in Bristol and then the drive back to Sheffield. I attended a Resort Expert’s team meeting where we were told of more developments which had been delayed, including our own individual new websites.
Captain Caveman got back early evening and we decided to have a walk to the Gardeners Rest as it wasn’t raining. He was meant to be going to a caving group meet up but he didn’t go. He had a stout and I had a red wine while sat in the conservatory as it wasn’t that warm. Tomorrow was the last day of the month and would also be the day of checking the July finances, which I wasn’t looking forward to this month.

Gratitude List
1. Captain Caveman taking me to the pub
2. Spending July having some fun trips
3. Surviving the cold weather.

Captain Caveman was up very early (again) on Friday 31st July as he had some site visits near Clitheroe. He was then staying at the Bradford Pothole Club for the weekend. I had been invited but after being scarred for life on my last visit, I politely declined. I was looking forward to a weekend of getting up to date with a few projects I’d started. What I’d not realised is that he was visiting friends, Watto and Chrissy, which I then ended up missing out on.
I was having tea and toast when the postman knocked and had a delivery for me. Gold Medal Travel had sent me a Pure Luxury prize of a home diffuser set, a spa candle set and some hair and skin products. It was really lovely and went well with the travel towel they had already sent me. The suncream to go with it had gone missing so I asked the postman if he’d seen it and there was no sign.
After finishing work late, I totted up the July spending and it wasn’t quite as bad as I’d expected, given I had been on 2 holidays in Europe and was staying in the UK. Unfortunately, I had spent £861 which equated to just under £28 per day as an average. I was meant to get paid from Resort Experts this month but due to a change in the way we get paid, it meant I had not received a pay day. Captain Caveman had given me £400 but I was about to start August in a deficit of almost £500. This was not good and I started to think about more ways to make an extra income. I needed to make more time to get on with my books so I could sell more of those. I also needed to cut the spending a lot more.
I decided I would stay in tonight and tomorrow and try to save from spending any money – there was food in the house so I didn’t need to buy anything.
I had pasta for dinner and an early night. August was going to be a busy month too as Captain Caveman and I had more plans for spending the month together.

Gratitude List
1. Being disciplined and saying no to going out/spending
2. Managing to get through July with no pay day, due to Captain Caveman’s help
3. Pasta for dinner.

Buxton and Sheffield – 28th & 29th July

It was time to say farewell to Claire on Tuesday 28th July as she was off back to Kent and I was going back to Sheffield. We both had a busy rest of the week work-wise and were sad to be leaving Buxton. Claire was lucky to be going back to hot weather as the heatwave was still on in the south of England. It had been pretty cold and grey in Buxton but we had still had a great time. We had a leisurely hotel breakfast, then a walk round the park in Buxton and a look at the old cars on display.

Back in the hotel, we packed, checked out and I did some work on a couple of bookings. I was getting enquiries for 2028 holidays coming through, which was good. We said our goodbyes and I walked to the bus stop. The bus didn’t come as expected and right next to the bus stop a couple of workmen had an accident with some paint when one of them picked it up by the lid that was not on properly. The owner of the building had to come out and deter people from walking through a pile of spilled paint while the workmen went off to change and, presumably, get more paint. The bus eventually arrived late and was just £3 from Buxton to Sheffield. It took 2 hours on a very hot bus, where the heating was belting out, unnecessarily. I felt so travel sick when I got off on Paternoster Row and walked to the train station to get the tram back to Kelham Island.

Captain Caveman was in his office working from home when I arrived so I set up in the kitchen to do my work. Unfortunately, I felt unwell from the bus journey and had to have a lay down. I’d managed to bring the leftover afternoon tea items back and they were a bit warm so had to go straight in the fridge.
While I’d been away, Captain Caveman had been busy and he’d found space in the cupboard for the new wine glasses I’d bought last week, made a pasta Bolognese for dinner and seen a flat for sale. It was next to the river and had a small outdoor space so we decided we would go and view it together to see if he liked it.
The Bolognese was tasty and we even had garlic bread with it, but no wine as it was a school night and I’d had enough recently.

Gratitude List
1. Another hotel breakfast in Buxton with Claire
2. Surviving the hot bus journey back to Sheffield
3. A tasty dinner with Captain Caveman.

I was very busy on Wednesday 29th July and barely stopped to look up. Captain Caveman left at 6.30am to go to Bristol for work and was due back about 4pm tomorrow.
I had training on our Resort Experts internal system with one of the owners of the business and it was looking good. More improvements were promised for the summer to make the marketing part of our jobs easier. I still wanted to get more followers on my business page as it was less than 500 and once over that, Facebook would pay me for my content. If you still haven’t clicked the follow button on my page, please do so – here’s the link:
https://www.facebook.com/share/1EdhDS4uom/

In the afternoon I learned that Wendy Wu would be sending me a £25 voucher for booking a client’s holiday with them, which was nice. I was meant to make a curry for dinner but I forgot and ended up having just toast as I was too busy. With Captain Caveman being away it did mean I had the bed to myself and I wouldn’t be woken up tomorrow with his 6am alarm.

Gratitude List
1. Being busy and not having any time spare
2. Being told I will get a £25 voucher from a supplier
3. A relaxing evening at Captain Caveman’s home.

Bakewell & Buxton – 27th July

Claire and I were both up early on Monday 27th July as we were continuing our staycation while doing some work at the Buxton Palace Hotel & Spa. The breakfast was a self-service one which had pretty much anything you fancied and we had the cooked English breakfast with a hot chocolate and juice.

Inbetween working remotely, we also managed to do some lengths in the pool, where I used the sauna and steam room. We found out that we could have had free parking at the spa side of the building and that the roof had recently had a leak in the ladies changing room. It was certainly old fashioned and could’ve benefited from some loungers but it was good enough to relax and have a quick dip in before getting back to the laptops. We didn’t have lunch at the hotel as we had something exciting planned. We had a wander in to the park for a bit of exercise and bird spotting before checking out the shops for souvenirs (for Claire) and old fashioned sweets (for me). There was a car show just setting up round the back of the opera house too so we thought we might come back to look at that later on.

Claire and I absolutely love an afternoon tea and were booked in at 6 The Square Tea Rooms for a veritable feast. I can honestly say it was one of the best afternoon teas I’ve had (and I’ve had a few), where the cherry scones were the absolute dog’s doodahs. I imagine anyone listening to us making ‘sex’ noises over the food wouldn’t have believed we were simply eating quiche, finger sandwiches and a selection of sweet treats. The staff were lovely and not shy with the tea, either! I absolutely loved the whole thing and it was a real bargain at £58.00 for the 2 of us – especially as we took a considerable amount away with us and had to have a lay on the bed back at the hotel, to recover!

We obviously didn’t need any dinner as we were so stuffed but that evening we ventured to the bar where we had about 3 rounds of wine at £15/£16 per round. We played games again and had a great night in the lounge area of the hotel.

Gratitude List
1. A hotel breakfast
2. Swimming
3. Afternoon tea in Buxton with Claire.

Bakewell & Buxton – 26th July

The weather looked promising at 7am on Sunday 26th July and I was optimistic for our next trip. Claire and I were booked in for 2 nights in Buxton but first we were off to Bakewell, with Captain Caveman, for lunch. By the time we arrived at the Woodyard it was cold and raining and we all had to put rain coats on. For lunch we shared a cheesy garlic bread starter, I had mushroom risotto, Captain Caveman had a lamb tagine and Claire a chicken dish. We had drinks with plenty of tap water and our bill came to £95 before the tip.

After the meal, it started raining a bit more so Captain Caveman went to get the bus back to Sheffield, Claire and I had a quick wander round Bakewell before we drove on to Buxton.

We checked in to the rather lovely Palace Hotel & Spa which Claire had booked directly with the hotel. They had a good deal on their executive twin room with a desk and a bath in it and included breakfast. It was really lovely – I do love an old fashioned hotel. They did charge separately for the car park (£10) and the use of the spa depending on what you wanted to do.

We had a little walk round the centre of Buxton but, as it was raining, we ended up in the nearest pub. We had a bottle of cheap white wine in the Railway, which wasn’t great but was cheaper for the bottle than buying 2 glasses so we were persuaded easily.

Back at the hotel, we made use of the bar with a couple of nicer white wines for £15 and a game or 2 of Scrabble – we know how to have a good time! It was a great day and evening despite the cold, wet weather and it was nice to spend more time with Claire.

Gratitude List
1. Lunch at the Woodyard in Bakewell with Captain Caveman and Claire
2. A staycation at the Buxton Palace Hotel & Spa with Claire
3. Playing Scrabble in the bar with Claire.

Sheffield – 25th July

This weekend in Sheffield was the popular Tramlines festival so, on Saturday 25th July, I had arranged to check out the fringe part of it in the centre of town. After breakfast, Claire and I found ourselves in The Bed Shop at Kelham Island, where she bought a new pillow for £12 reduced from £40 so that she would have a comfier night’s sleep! The guy holding the fort in the bed shop was really nice and we liked the shop which had lamps, mirrors, furniture and a lot of beds.
Next, we walked in to town, getting a bit lost along the way and I bought a hand held fan from the tat shop. We also saw some of the lions as part of a charity initiative set up in Sheffield.

Our next mission was to meet Captain Caveman at The Twisted Burger Company at 1pm. He had been taking a group of walkers through the Sheffield Calverts, as a volunteer. He was late, we were early and we had a cup of Yorkshire tea each while we waited. We were meant to be meeting several friends, 2 of whom had to cancel due to childcare issues and hangovers so it meant we just needed to see Vanessa who was still celebrating her 60th birthday.
That didn’t work out well as we missed lunch to go meet her at a pub in the town centre. When we arrived, she wasn’t there but had text to say she was now at another pub, we went there and she was already at the next pub. It was getting a bit silly trying to catch up with Vanessa and her entourage as they were clearly drinking fast and we hadn’t even bought a drink in any of the 3 venues we had tried to find them in. Plus we had missed lunch and Captain Caveman had his bicycle with him. We decided to head to the Dog & Partridge and get a drink there, Claire and I shared a quick sandwich as we walked, not realising Captain Caveman would not have eaten.

The Dog & Partridge was good, had live music on and we got some crisps with our drinks. I was in the toilet and when I came out, I had a surprise. My friend, Becca, had decided to surprise me by turning up to say hello. It made me jump but it was fab and Steve was in the bar with Captain Caveman and Claire.
We had some drinks and Vanessa messaged to say she was now at the Dog & Partridge so we met her and her family and friends for a very quick drink.

Later, we headed back to Kelham Island and we decided to go for a meal at Domo. It was my first visit and I really enjoyed it. We paid £88.38, including a 10% tip, for the 3 of us. We had 2 glasses of wine, a jug of tap water, veggies, caprese salad, aubergine, a spicy pizza and a calzone – all excellent. It was busy but the service was good and it was a real treat.

Gratitude List
1. Spending time with friends in Sheffield
2. Finally buying a handheld fan
3. Great food at Domo.

London to Sheffield – 24th July

I had been looking forward to Friday 24th July for a while, and not just because Captain Caveman and I would be going to Sheffield. I’d planned in the diary to spend the weekend with Captain Caveman and our friend, Claire. I’d not seen her since Spain in June, so we were excited. I left Barnes around 9.30am so that I could use my train ticket from St Pancras and I worked on the train. I managed to go from Barnes via Vauxhall and didn’t get lost. I arrived in to Sheffield at 1pm and made my way to Captain Caveman’s flat. It was quite cool compared to London and I hoped the Sheffield summer wasn’t over. Captain Caveman worked all day in London and was getting back very late so I planned a girls night in. I tidied the flat up and made up a bed with an airbed in the spare room. The flat doesn’t have much in the way of furniture on account of Captain Caveman wanting to buy a place so not really wanting to buy stuff he needs to move up to the 2nd floor, only to have to take it out again when he moves out.
Claire arrived around 5pm, after she had finished her working day near Manchester.
We had a wander round the Kelham Island area and then called in to one of my favourite local pubs. The beer garden at the Gardener’s Rest was very nice with a pint of cider, scampi fries and bacon fries. We had a good laugh with a lady on a 3 wheeler mobility scooter who was manoeuvreing between the tables and benches.
Back home, Claire and I were in our pyjamas while it was still daylight, drinking red wine and eating snacks with cheese. We shared a beanbag on account of not having a sofa and laughed a lot. We also put a plan together for a bit of a staycation early next week.
Captain Caveman got back late and we made plans for more fun tomorrow.

Gratitude List
1. Getting back to Sheffield after being away for over 8 weeks
2. Spending time with Claire
3. Having a night in with cheese and wine.

London – 21st to 23rd July

After a few more days of galavanting and travel I was back at the temporary desk in Barnes early on Tuesday 21st July. I didn’t even have tea and toast until far too late. At 5pm Captain Caveman and I both finished work as we had quite a bit of excitement planned for the evening. A friend from Dalyan was also in London and had invited us to the Victory Services Club for dinner. It meant wearing smart clothing so I wore a dress with my Vietnamese porter sandals while Captain Caveman had to borrow something as he only had casual/shorts.
We met our friend in the bar, where we had already bought a drink each. We ordered water and wine with dinner, Captain Caveman ordered the schnitzel while my friend and I had a curry special that was on. It was delicious. All 3 of us had a cheese board for dessert which was lovely and we went through to the bar for a last drink of wine/coffee. It was a really lovely evening with lots of chatter and laughter plus some organising of plans in Dalyan for when we were all going to be there.
We got the train back and it was quite late when we got back to Barnes with more plans to meet again tomorrow.

Gratitude List
1. A busy and productive day
2. Meeting a Dalyan friend in London
3. Being wined and dined at the Victory Services Club.

It was another busy morning at the office for both Captain Caveman and I on Wednesday 22nd July. I nipped in to town at lunch time to meet one of the owners of Resort Experts. It was my first time meeting Paul, who’s based near London, and it was a good job I had got there early as I was in the middle of a last minute cruise booking and was taking payment when he arrived.
We met at the Beer House in Waterloo Station, which I’d suggested knowing that Paul could only spare an hour before he went to meet his walking buddies. It was good to meet in person, share ideas and have a drink together before each going to our next appointments.
I was meeting Clare and Captain Caveman at the King’s Arms pub and our friend from last night also popped along with a former colleague of her’s too. It was a good night and quite boozy. For dinner I had pork scratchings with my white wine. It was a lovely evening catching up with and introducing friends. When we got back to Barnes we had a ready meal and some stuffed potato skins. I expected to be hungover in the morning.

Gratitude List
1. Meeting Paul from Resort Experts at Waterloo
2. Meeting up with friends for drinks in the King’s Arms
3. Being too busy enjoying myself to take many photos.

Captain Caveman had booked tickets for us to see Faithless on Thursday 23rd July, in Reading with cousin Anna. We had train tickets booked from London to Reading and then up to Sheffield the next day as Anna had kindly agreed for us to stay at hers. Unfortunately, the Faithless gig had been cancelled but, as we had already got the train tickets, we decided to still meet Anna in Reading but just for lunch. This meant that we could still see Anna and use the train tickets in a slightly practical way so as not to completely waste all the train tickets. Due to a slight misunderstanding on the communication, I didn’t realise that Captain Caveman had took the day off and we were getting the 9.20am train to Reading. I had to work on the train, in a cafe and on a platform for my work from home schedule as I had not planned ahead.
I’d not seen Anna since a family wedding last year so it was really lovely that we managed to cram in a walk by the river and lunch at a cute little cafe where Anna treated us to delicious sandwiches and a cuppa. It was great to catch up and talk about future plans and how the rest of that side of Captain Caveman’s family were.
As we said our farewells and got ready to go back to the train station, I got a bit of a rumble in my tummy. By the time we were at the platform I was desperate for the loo again and sweating profusely. We got back to London with me being thankful for working train toilets. The train cost £22 for the one way ticket. I worked in the Richmond library for a couple of hours while Captain Caveman went to a Bridge game.
Our next engagement involved a trip to the Roebuck pub in Richmond to meet some friends for a drink. We were late as I needed to stop off for another toilet stop and therefore had to buy a beverage in a pub and some crisps to put me on.
At the Roebuck, we had 2 bottles of the very nice rosé wine at £34 per bottle between 4 of us. We had lots of laughs and got back to Barnes late for beans on toast.
Tomorrow we would use the rest of the train tickets to head to Sheffield where we had more excitement planned.

Gratitude List
1. A lovely lunch meet up with cousin Anna
2. Toilets on trains
3. Drinks with friends in Richmond.

Plovdiv, Sofia & London – 20th July

Our flight from Bulgaria to the UK wasn’t until 8pm on Monday 20th July. We planned to get the train at midday from Plovdiv back to Sofia, arriving around 2.45pm. The train was hot and sweaty, no AC and had 8 of us per compartment. I couldn’t do any work until I got to Sofia so we decided to go back to the 5 Corners bar for a late lunch. Captain Caveman ordered the meatballs and I had pork schnitzel, both of which were really good. Our bill came to a total of €32.60 (£28) including drinks.
At 5.15pm we headed off to Sofia airport by Metro and I reset up my office there too. It’s very convenient being able to work anywhere but it is getting more difficult to take a full day off now.
On the flight home, I had an aisle seat and Captain Caveman had a window seat – the middle seat was empty! The flight landed in Heathrow at 9.20pm and we got the bus back, following a quick stop at M&S for some snacks.
We were back ‘home’ in Barnes before midnight and quickly scoffed the snacks before bed. It had been a brilliant trip to Bulgaria and it was firmly on our list to return. The fun wasn’t about to stop just yet though as we had more plans for the summer.

Gratitude List
1. Surviving a hot and busy train from Plovdiv to Sofia
2. 5 Corners bar in Sofia
3. Back safely in Barnes with some M&S snacks, after a wonderful trip.

Plovdiv – 19th July

It was another great day in Plovdiv on Sunday 19th July and it was the last day of the Phillgood Festival. We ate breakfast at the hotel, which was nice. For lunch we decided to go to La Casa, a pizza place not far from our hotel. The pizza was huge and very tasty which I couldn’t finish all of mine. We also had a carafe of white wine to go with it and the obligatory litre of water too. Our bill came to €33.10 (£28.44) which wasn’t bad considering I had leftovers for the hotel room fridge.

For dinner we went to a local Bulgarian cafe where Captain Caveman tried the cucumber soup then pork and chips, I just had chicken skewers and corn. All the dishes actually tasted better than they looked and we also had more wine. The bill came to €49.40 (£42.45) which I thought was a little expensive but not extortionate. On our way to the last day of the music festival we bought 2 bottles of water at €1.60 (£1.37) to take in with us as there was no running tap water. Generally in Bulgaria though the tap water is safe to drink and is really good.

We got to the last day of Phillgood a little later than previous days, as I really wanted to see Suede at 9pm. Captain Caveman was more up for Moby who wasn’t on until 10.45pm and the rest of the bands we hadn’t heard of. I’d always been a fan of Suede but they were absolutely incredible. It was hot and sweaty but it did not stop Brett throwing himself around the stage and in to the crowd like he’d not aged a bit! I was so impressed.
By the time Moby came on, I was so tired and Captain Caveman needed a sit down too, so we ended up watching from the back, having a sit on an uncomfortable wall like a couple of old codgers. I’ve never been a fan of Moby’s music but I like what he tries to do. Captain Caveman enjoyed that set more than I did but it was still a good experience to share. My top 3 favourite acts of the whole 3 days had been Suede, The Cure and Kneecap – all incredibly impressive and very different to each other. We walked back to the hotel for the last time and I was so shattered, I was desperately in need of a lay in tomorrow. We polished off the leftover pizza before falling asleep.

Gratitude List
1. More lovely food out in Plovdiv
2. Seeing more amazing live music
3. Spending even more time with Captain Caveman.

Plovdiv – 18th July

We were celebrating Captain Caveman’s birthday on Saturday 18th July and it started with the hotel’s buffet breakfast. After eating, we took a walk up the cobbled hills to the ancient amphitheatre and got some photos. It was hot but not quite Madrid heat so we were coping fine.
We called at the pharmacy for talc and insect repellent at a cost of €9.91 (£8.50) then walked back to the cafe we went to yesterday, this time for birthday ice-cream. Captain Caveman wanted to try their pistachio flavour, I don’t like ice-cream that much so I had a pomegranate frozen yogurt and a raspberry sorbet. It cost €7 (£6) for both of us but, unfortunately, I got belly ache right after eating mine.
We did some more walking around Plovdiv which is a lovely place and decided on an early birthday dinner before day 2 of the Phillgood festival.

Captain Caveman had already researched a place near to our hotel and we had to queue at Shevitsa as it was full. We ordered pints of Hoegaarden and some food. I chose a cheese salad for the starter, Captain Caveman ordered chicken liver. For main I had chicken and sweetcorn while Captain Caveman chose meatballs with potatoes and gherkins. The food was lovely and Captain Caveman ordered a 2nd beer, which again didn’t end up on the bill. Our meal came to a total of €54 (£46.27).

At the Phillgood festival we watched all 4 mainstage acts, starting with Los Bitchos who were better than I expected. Sleaford Mods were not to my taste on account of him being pretty crude and his act seemed somewhat dated but I could see why the Bulgarian men thought he was good. They were definitely not for the easily offended, that’s for sure. We were also more prepared for the mosquitos as we had very strong repellent which we had to put on lots of times – they were rife!
The highlight for me on day 2 was Kneecap who were absolutely fantastic. Gorillaz finished the night off but I was a bit disappointed with them. The crowd was massive though but I did take myself off for a toilet break and a sangria for €7 (£6) half way through.
The walk back to our hotel was long and tiring after being stood up for so long and I was very happy to get in bed at the end of the night. It had definitely been a good way to spend Captain Caveman’s birthday.

Gratitude List
1. Spending Captain Caveman’s birthday with him
2. Day 2 of the Phillgood Festival
3. Great food.