Captain Caveman came back to the Jonas Hotel in Sheffield in the early hours of Saturday 31st May. I woke up because he had to turn on the light and go to the bathroom. He’d also not been able to get in with his key as, when I had asked for another, they had cancelled the first one. I didn’t get much sleep due to Captain Caveman’s snoring and we were up for breakfast early. The hotel included a hot beverage and a croissant (plain or chocolate) which was very nice and meant I could take a tablet. I was meant to be calling in to see my parents but I was still quite unwell and decided it would be better to push on and get the journey down to London over with. I’d already warned Captain Caveman that I’d need to stop for several toilet breaks along the way. Our first stop off was at Dunston Hall Garden Centre where I had a soup with a pot of herbal tea, Captain Caveman ordered a sausage sandwich and chips with a coffee. The food was good but the service seemed a bit chaotic and amateur. Captain Caveman paid the bill while I had another toilet visit and got stuck in the one way system of the Garden Centre. We drove down to London, with just one more very brief pee stop and finally got to Barnes in the late afternoon. Captain Caveman and I were welcomed by his parents and sat out in the garden, meeting some friends of theirs. There was wine but I just had a juice and some of the crisps. I went to unpack and managed to have a little lay down but no sleep and then we were given a lovely home cooked pasta dish for dinner. I was fit for nothing and in bed very early which was a shame as I’d not seen the in-laws for such a long time. I managed to check my finances as I was very keen to see if I’d managed to come in within the £400 budget I had set for myself this month. With 11 days in the UK, mostly with Captain Caveman, I doubted that I had managed it so at first I was only going to count my Turkish Bank, which I only use in Turkey. I had put 20,716 lira (approx £400) in to that account for my budget. Unbelievably I had managed to spend 20,598 lira including 2 water bills, the electric bill and paying my credit card off in full. I was pleased at that but then I looked at my Wise account which I use mainly in the UK. Between me and Captain Caveman we had deposited £603 in total, unfortunately we had then spent £673, with £261.55 being spent on stuff that was only related to me! This meant I’d gone over budget by £260 at least in May, this also didn’t include anything that Captain Caveman had paid for directly. June was going to be tough and I needed to keep under budget to be able to start to get some savings in again. May had been such a fantastic month, though, and I was finally feeling like things were getting better financially.
Gratitude List 1. Making it to London despite feeling rather unwell 2. Seeing Captain Caveman’s parents 3. Being able to have some treats which meant going over budget.
Friday 30th was meant to have been my last day to catch up with various people I’d not seen yet, as well as some I already had. The plan had been to finish work early and meet Louisa then, when Captain Caveman finished work, he would come join along with Vanessa and some of her family before attending Caz’s birthday celebrations that night. My sister was hoping to be able to meet me too before she went on holiday and I needed to say bye to my parents before I went back to Turkey. Captain Caveman and I were driving back to London the next day and I would get to see his parents before I flew back to Dalaman on Monday. Unfortunately, I woke up feeling worse and the cystitis medication was doing bugger all to alleviate the pain, or the symptoms. Most of the day was spent in pain, feeling nauseous and a bit blurry. Vanessa was dealing with a delivery of a couple of sofa throws which had been ordered for her settee in Dalyan and they were really nice, but heavy and big. She’d asked Matt to get some made in Dalyan to save paying for luggage but he’d not been able to get any. I agreed to take one in my suitcase as I had enough room and was already taking a jar of Branston, which they had forgotten on their last trip out, plus a couple of bits. I didn’t mind at all but I only had space for 1 of them, poor Vanessa would have to take the other in her under seat bag. I started doing some packing while Captain Caveman was in meetings and Vanessa went out to meet her son and his girlfriend, with arrangements to see us at the Lescar pub later. I doubted I would be able to go but I really wanted to see people before I left as I didn’t know when I would be back. At lunch time, Captain Caveman gave me a 2 minute warning that we needed to pack up and leave during his lunch hour as he had another important meeting and we needed to get across town. Months ago when Captain Caveman had arranged to go to Caz’s birthday celebrations he had thought he would stay at a hotel he had used before, the Jonas hotel, Endcliffe. I wasn’t quite with it as I hastily packed and rushed to the toilet in between as I still was in a predicament.
We arrived at the hotel which is located in a student area and is really stylish. Captain Caveman logged on in the communal working area ready for his 2pm meeting and I ordered a cup of Yorkshire tea and a cake for £4.50 as my lunch (there were no sandwiches left). I took the key and went up to the room where I tried to have a little sleep but I felt quite sick. I googled my symptoms and decided I needed to see if I could get antibiotics from somewhere and set off walking to Boots on Ecclesall Road. I got as far as the Tesco Supermarket and was nearly peeing my pants so went in to find a toilet. They didn’t have one, but I did find an adaptor plug for £4. At the pharmacy, still desperate for a wee, there was a massive queue and I could hear the on duty pharmacist saying he would love to visit Turkey for a holiday to one of the staff. That member of staff then told the woman in front of me that there was not a prescribing pharmacist on duty today so she would need to go to the walk-in centre. I was already distressed and desperate for a pee so I decided to ask the lady at the counter if I could speak to the pharmacist in private. Mo, the on duty pharmacist, obliged and we went in to the room next door where I explained my predicament. I also told a bit of a fib that I was due to drive to Gatwick tomorrow to get my flight back to Turkey and that I was so worried I wouldn’t be able to travel. We chatted about Turkey, politics and how if he needed a pee sample I could probably fill a bucket while crying, right now. He prescribed me Nitrofurantoin and said it was probably a bladder infection. By 4pm, I left the Boots Pharmacy, having paid £9.90 and was so relieved to have seen Mo. He was a lovely fella and really helped me out in a predicament. I located the nearest chain coffee shop for the toilet, in desperation. I had to buy an overpriced bottle of water (£2.25) to get a code to get in for the biggest (painful) pee of the day. I was so relieved and took my first tablet while on the loo. I walked back to the hotel but got lost and ended up walking quite far out of my way, up and down big hills, which I’m no longer used to. I got back and went to bed, which was super comfy but would’ve benefited from extra pillows.
I’m not much of a tablet taker so I immediately noticed that the Nitrofurantoin was having a weird effect on me, in the afternoon. I’d already had to start letting people know I wouldn’t be in any fit state to see them today. I needed to take my next tablet with or after food and needed to avoid citrus and spicy food. It was such a shame as Captain Caveman had finished work and wanted to go out for a nice meal before going to meet Caz and all the others at the Lescar for drinks. We decided to walk down the hill and find a restaurant to get a meal and I could take my next tablet. After mooching about and me not fancying anything because the thought of eating didn’t appeal, we settled on a Spanish Tapas place. That way, I could nibble on something and Captain Caveman could enjoy a nice meal with a drink or two. Here’s what we had with prices in pounds;
Iberico Restaurant Olive oil with Balsamic 1.00 Alioli (extra) 1.00 Bread 3.50 75ml sherry 4.00 Belly pork 5.00 Chorizo with honey and toast 5.00 Artichokes 5.00 Tortilla 7.00 Ham Croquettes 9.00 250ml red wine 11.00 2 Manchego with Membrillo 12.00 Lots of tap water (free) Total spent £63.50
I loved the Manchego cheese and even managed to eat the meat dishes but, when the tortilla came, I had to make a dash for the toilet to be sick. Eggs can often make me feel nauseous when I’m ill but I was in a state and needed to lay down. As we were so near to the Lescar, we decided I would go and wish Caz a Happy Birthday, say thank you and farewell to Vanessa and hopefully see some of the other friends while I was there. Captain Caveman and I were the first there, shortly followed by Caz and Tim. I said hello, apologised for being ill, found out water infections are more common during menopause and drank just half of my tap water. I was in a bit of a state but I did have time to at least say hello to Caz and friends and get in a photo. I had to run to the loo to pee and throw up but was conscious of wasting the antibiotic so swallowed it! Vanessa and Brad didn’t arrive and I couldn’t wait any longer so Captain Caveman and I left, he would return after walking me back. My sister messaged to say she was sorry she hadn’t been able to meet me but was at a family meal at Gill’s & Co on Ecclesall Road. We were walking past it, so we went in just to say bye to everyone. I had a soda water, Captain Caveman had a drop of the bottle of wine on the table and my sister was on good form. It looked like a lovely place to dine. I paid visits to the toilet more than once and then I just had to get back to the hotel for a lay down. I said bye to everyone with promises to see them in the summer, so not too long to wait. Captain Caveman left to rejoin Caz’s birthday bash and I walked back up the hill to the hotel. I could see the hotel so went in my bag to get the hotel key, only to realise that I didn’t have it. I called Captain Caveman and text but no answer. When I did speak to him, I was already in the hotel reception toilets, trying not to throw up. He wasn’t about to come back with the key so he said to ask reception for a new one, which they were very accommodating about. I had the second shower of the day and put my PJs on to go to sleep, just hoping I would be well enough to get to London tomorrow. At 9.20pm Vanessa messaged to say they were still at Grandma’s having had a Chinese so wouldn’t be able to make it out, after all. She wished me well for my journey and I her for her flight tomorrow and I would see her in Dalyan next week.
Gratitude List 1. Mo, the pharmacist – life saver! 2. Iberico – I will have to visit again when I’m better to fully appreciate it. 3. At least seeing Caz (and friends) on her birthday night out and saying bye to the Lessing family.
Having done sweet F A, but travel and eat yesterday, it was a day of grafting on Thursday 22nd April. It was only 9°C at 7am which I wasn’t used to so I got a cup of tea and went back to bed. It was weigh day and I had brought my tape measure but I didn’t take the measurements. I did get on the scales though and found I had put on 0.2kg (0.4lb). I cracked on at the living room desk while Vanessa pottered about. We had bacon sandwiches at lunch time and then I had an online meeting. I had forgotten to bring an adapter to plug my Turkish laptop plug in to the English socket and we said we would pop to Asda later to pick one up. After work, Vanessa’s son came to pick us up to go to his house for dinner. We called at Asda and had no joy with an adapter but we got some wine! Vanessa and I were excited as we were, not only seeing the rest of the family, but we were having fish and chips with them. We decided that we would share a portion between us, which was plenty and really good. We got a taxi back so the whole night had cost me £20 and I’d had a really great time.
Gratitude List 1. Bacon 2. Spending time with Vanessa and her family 3. Fish and chips.
I had a good night’s sleep and woke up just after 6am on Friday 23rd May, it was 7°C in Sheffield. I worked all day and Vanessa was the hostest with the mostest as she made me pancakes which I ate with strawberries. She had a busy weekend planned because it was her grandson’s birthday celebrations and I had some plans too. Captain Caveman still hadn’t moved in to a house up north and was using his parents’ place in London as a base these days. Vanessa had kindly agreed for him to come and stay for the weekend and he was driving back from Scotland today. As Vanessa and I don’t have any transport and the nearest local shop is a 10 minute walk away, I asked him to get a load of shopping in for us. He arrived at a decent hour, having had an eventful shopping trip to Aldi. He’d not got everything on the list as he didn’t have a pound coin for the trolley and had to do it all by basket and his arms. I imagined it was like a Friday Crackerjack where they had the game of holding lots of stuff, including cabbages. I am showing my age now! Anyway, here’s what he bought with the prices in pounds and listed cheapest to dearest;
Aldi Supermarket
1 plastic bag 0.30 Garlic 0.37 1 tin of tomatoes 0.45 Chickpeas 0.49 Tomato puree 0.59 Cucumber 0.69 Mushrooms 0.69 Toothpaste 0.69 Lettuce 0.77 Carrots 0.79 Red onions 0.95 Spinach 0.99 Brown sauce 0.99 Baby potatoes 1.09 3 tins Baked beans 1.23 Pasta 1.29 Double cream 1.39 4 pints of milk 1.55 White onions 1.59 Peppers 1.60 Red potatoes 1.95 Bacon lardons 1.99 Wafer thin ham 2.29 Tomatoes 2.35 12 eggs 2.45 Cumberland sausage 3.49 500g beef mince 4.19 Chicken fillets 4.65 2 bottles of Champagne 30.00 Total spent £71.76
I thought tomatoes and eggs seemed more expensive than I’m used to. We opened a bottle of the champagne and had a toast to all being in Sheffield, before going out for the evening.
Captain Caveman had decided he wanted to take me out on the town on Friday night, well down to Woodseats at least. We figured we could get the bus to Norton and then walk down. We did invite Vanessa to join us but they were off out for a family birthday meal. After a very steep downhill walk we arrived at Guzzle, a micro pub that Captain Caveman had been to before. The lady behind the bar was fun and friendly and she had 2 cute little dogs. They also served Prosecco on tap and had pork scratchings – it was my perfect pub. We had a few drinks there and I petted Commander Riker, the friendliest and younger of the 2 pooches. We were getting ready to leave when an ex Aviva colleague arrived to join a group of fellas at the bar. We’d been having a bit of Sheffield banter with them and I’d had a few drinks so we said hello to Richard and he went for a toilet visit. His mates asked how I knew him and I lied and said I couldn’t say much but we went way back to when he was involved in the sex industry. They weren’t sure whether to believe me at first but I was convincing and they left. Captain Caveman and I were laughing at the conversation they were going to have in the next pub! We also decided to move on to The Herd where we were hoping to get some pizza for dinner. It had gone 9.30pm so no food was being served but we were offered Salty Dog nuts with our pints of beer. We decided on an Indian and went to Viraaj, also at Woodseats, for what ended up being a feast. The food was amazing and we had more drinks but when we came to leave it was pissing down with rain. We had to wait a bit for a taxi outside while talking to some German customers. When we got home, Vanessa was still out!
Gratitude List 1. Aldi shopping 2. Captain Caveman coming to Sheffield 3. Meeting Commander Riker.
After a lovely breakfast on Sunday 27th April, at the Kerman hotel in Çeşme, it was time to check out and restart the 2 car convoy. The plan for today was for the 6 of us to drive to Kuşadası with a stop or two on the way. I took a last photo of the small beach beside the hotel and I got in the car with Captain Caveman while Sezgin took the others in his car. Captain Caveman had got his phone on Google Maps and had programmed our hotel address in, for if we got lost. That turned out to be a good move as we lost the other car when we stopped for petrol. I paid 691.92 lira (£13.51) for petrol for Captain Caveman’s hire car and 15 lira (29p) for a small bottle of water before we decided what to do. There was no sign of Sezgin and we thought he may even have been taking the toll road. Captain Caveman wasn’t sure how the toll road worked for a tourist in a hire car and wanted to avoid it so we chose to head directly to Kuşadası. We arrived around 1.30pm and couldn’t work out where the car park was, I went to the hotel reception and asked and it was in the main public car park behind the hotel – and free. At the Sunday Beach hotel reception we had a bit of confusion as they weren’t sure the rooms were ready to check in. After explaining there was just 2 of us and 4 would arrive later, we were given a key. I paid 2600 lira (£50.78) for 1 night in a double room with sea view and breakfast. and the room was really lovely with a great view, it even had tea and coffee making facilities so I had myself a cup of tea. Captain Caveman was tired so he had a bit of a rest while I had a shower, unpacked, repacked and did a bit of work. Although Captain Caveman had taken Friday and Monday off, I hadn’t so I was a bit behind on my posts for this week – ironically, while in a great holiday resort in Turkey!
In the afternoon, while our friends were still making their way to Kuşadası, Captain Caveman and I had a stroll along Ladies Beach, all the way to the end then back. I noticed there were waiters at most places trying to encourage you in to their establishments, some trying to insult us to make us laugh which had the opposite effect.
Captain Caveman and I decided to have a late lunch at Blu Notte as the others were still off exploring the area and hadn’t arrived yet. I had a glass of red wine, and Captain Caveman ordered an Efes Malt while we perused the very promising menu. We decided to share a vegetarian pizza and admire the sea view on such a lovely sunny day. There were quite a few people in the sea which I was surprised about – I hadn’t brought my swimmers. Captain Caveman is always prepared for any eventuality so had packed his. We had another round of drinks before paying the bill, prices in lira;
Blu Notte 1 veggie pizza 310 2 Efes Malt 280 2 glasses of Red wine 400 Total spent 990 lira (£19.34)
It was funny that I would ordinarily have found that expensive for Turkish prices but we had being pay that for just 2 drinks in a London pub so Captain Caveman found it cheap.
After a short walk, we decided to find another bar and let the others know where we were, we were at Ladies Beach Hotel and Restaurant which you couldn’t miss. We had another round of drinks, which were a bit more pricey. An Efes Malt was 150 lira (£2.93) and a red wine was 240 lira (£4.69). By 6pm it was getting a bit chilly so Captain Caveman nipped back to the hotel to get jumpers while I sat admiring the sea view.
By 7pm we were back in the room, watching the sunset from the balcony. We had some wine left from last night, which Mike had given us to bring back. We didn’t drink it as we were saving it for the others, who unbeknown to me had arrived but I didn’t realise it at the time and thought we were waiting for them.
I took my time getting changed in the room and put on my recently purchased New Look size 12 dress. When we went downstairs, our friends were sat in the hotel bar having a drink. Sezgin looked tired from all the driving. Debbie filled us in on what a great day they had seeing the sights today. It was a shame we had missed it however, it had been nice to relax a bit with Captain Caveman. We ordered a beer and a red wine but I was already quite merry by this time. All of us agreed that we had really enjoyed our weekend roadtrip and we would have to plan another one later in the year, it had been too short. We got chatting and we had not realised that the others weren’t going to be going out for dinner so we had another round and our 4 drinks came to 800 lira (£15.63) – half the price of a similar round in Barnes, London. When we realised Sezgin, Nur, Debbie and Mike had already eaten, it was 9.15pm so Captain Caveman had a look of urgency in his eyes – he’d only had half a pizza 6 hours ago! We decided to go get some food and, as it was our last night together, we splashed out a bit, at the only decent place still serving food. It was cleverly called Somewhere Else and was rather busy inside. We threw caution to the wind, as we were tiddly, and Captain Caveman ordered a bottle of Angora red wine with our meal of 2 starters and 2 main courses. Here’s what we had, with prices in lira;
Somewhere Else Garlic Mushrooms 198.50 Onion rings 207.50 Smash Burger 487.50 Sweet & Sour chicken 699.50 1 bottle of Angora red wine 990.00 Total spent 2,583.00 lira (£50.45)
Our day and hotel stay in Kuşadası had cost approximately £160 in total but I’d really enjoyed myself and at least Captain Caveman had got the chance to unwind. I wasn’t looking forward to saying goodbye to him tomorrow. When we got back to the room it was late, Captain Caveman checked the times and feasibility of buses from Kuşadası to Dalyan so that we might perhaps have another day together tomorrow, before Captain Caveman’s late flight back to the UK. It was doable but with changes that could go wrong and I didn’t think I should risk it. It had started to rain and there were storm warnings so I preferred to get back safely with our friends.
Gratitude List 1. Time spent with Captain Caveman 2. Sunday Beach hotel and the stunning Ladies Beach, Kuşadası 3. Having more than my fair share of wine to celebrate our last night together.
I was not enamoured with the alarm going off at 4.30am on Thursday 17th April! Captain Caveman was working all day in the Tunstall office, near Stoke on Trent, so we left Barnes at 5am. I was hungover and tired but we had travel sweets and plenty of water. While Captain Caveman went to work, I was the first in to the Asda cafe. I bought a cup of a Yorkshire tea for £1.30 and found myself a table so that I could do some work. The tables were a bit grubby and the clientele rather dubious but it would do for my office for the day. I had a 45 minute Webinar in the morning after which I decided to treat myself to breakfast. The hangover was getting worse as I ordered another cup of tea and a couple of slices of toast with butter. A bargain £2.60 in total and came with the bare hands of the server who couldn’t find a plate and had my unbuttered toast in the palms of his hands. I was bound to be ill!! Next was our team meeting and an amazing training session with Gold Medal travel. I learned so much and was looking forward to quoting and booking some amazing holidays. They do a Pure Luxury range which is fabulous and I really fancied some of those for myself. In the afternoon, I finished off more work before having a walk to the Tunstall cafe for a much needed bacon & mushroom sandwich with more tea at a cost of £5.70 and they only take cash. I tried to find somewhere else to work but it was the school holidays and everywhere was rammed with screaming kids. I walked back to the Asda carpark, planning on getting some shopping in but I felt rather queasy. Captain Caveman arrived earlier than expected and we drove directly to Chesterfield without stopping at the shops. We arrived empty handed and with me feeling like death at the lovely Becca & Steve’s house. It was like checking in to a hotel and we were really grateful to be staying in their new house for a couple of nights. Becca was like the hostess with mostest and had made us a lasagne. Steve was up and down to make sure we were all happy and had a glass of something, plus the right nibbles! It was so thoughtful of them and we absolutely loved the meal and our evening together. I wasn’t going to ever drink again, red wine was definitely off the cards after last night, but I had a couple of white wines to be sociable. We ended up having a right laugh and watching game shows which Captain Caveman fell asleep during.
Gratitude List 1. Asda being my temporary office 2. Chesterfield check-in 3. Spending time with Becca and Steve.
We had planned some excitement on Wednesday 16th April, as we were off in to London to meet friends after work. Captain Caveman and I both worked all day with various meetings and calls. We had a late lunch of Tesco pizza which were surprisingly good. I finished at 4pm and headed off on my own to meet Clare & Claire at the New Moon pub. Both Captain Caveman and Clare had given me directions meaning I couldn’t fail to find the pub. Of course, I couldn’t find exit 4 and came out of the wrong exit but I did find the pub. It turned out I had been there before, years ago, and it’s quite an impressive place right next to Leadenhall Market. It does allow dogs, I didn’t see any but the house wine was good and only £6.80 for a good measure. Probably the cheapest I’d bought in London. Clare was the next to arrive as she worked not too far away and we had hugs and more wine. A couple of rather large house wines were £19.00 which I didn’t think bad for London. We chatted and waited for Claire to arrive as she had been on a work call until 5pm but arrived soon after that. Again more hugs, Claire was running a marathon soon and not drinking alcohol. That didn’t stop Clare and I as we had another wine. Captain Caveman was last to join us as he’d been working and he also had to be alert for work tomorrow so had a pint of beer. The round of 2 large wines and a beer came to £26.90 so not as expensive as the pubs in Barnes. We had a good laugh and Claire had reviewed my book to say she wished it had been longer and was eagerly awaiting the next one.
Claire had to get back home so she said her farewells and the remaining 3 of us were getting peckish and I was a bit tiddly. At Pizza Express we ordered dough ball starters, pizzas each and a bottle of red wine. The waiter probably thought we were strange as Clare and I took a selfie of us with the book (an original copy). I signed it for her and we ate like kings, Captain Caveman even had a dessert which is unusual.
After saying our farewells it was Captain Caveman’s job to get me back home. He knew the way but we had to stop for a toilet and to get some water to drink. We had enjoyed ourselves so much and it had been great to see the girls but I was already thinking I may have had a bit too much wine!!
Here’s a summary of what I spent on one night in London – it’s a good job it was a rare occasion.
New Moon Round 1, just my wine £6.80 Round 2, 2 large wines £19.00 Round 3, 2 large wines and a pint of beer £26.90
Pizza Express £84
Train £10.50
Sainsbury’s Water, crisps and a sandwich £3.60
Total spent £150.80
Gratitude List 1. Seeing Clare 2. Seeing Claire 3. Having pizza twice in one day.
It was back to work after a rare weekend off together on Monday 14th April. I had muesli for breakfast after a cup of tea in bed from Captain Caveman. He had his morning meeting while I cracked on with Resort Experts work. At lunch time, Captain Caveman and I had a quick walk to the shop where we bought sourdough bread for sandwiches. Then it was back to work for the afternoon. I had my day brightened up so much when 2 of my best mates both sent me (separately) selfies of them with my book. I was looking forward to seeing Caz and Becca at the Easter weekend so I promised to sign their books. For dinner we had more ham hock with potatoes and vegetables and a quiet night in.
Gratitude List 1. Sourdough bread 2. Book selfies from 2 friends 3. More Ham Hock!
It was a busy working day on Tuesday 15th April as I rattled through my To Do list. I also had 2 online meetings in the morning. At lunch time, Captain Caveman was too busy to take a walk so I went by myself to the shops. It was a bit odd as there didn’t seem to be an awful lot of choice and they had run out of some of the items on my list. I had to call Captain Caveman to ask what I should get instead of chicken as there was none! Here’s what I ended up buying, prices in pounds;
Tesco Supermarket Jammie Dodgers 0.95 Fruit Pastilles 1.65 2 Stone baked pizzas 7.50 Total spent £10.10
Morrison’s Express Lucozade, Wine Gums and Sports Mix Total spent £6.05
Barnes Pantry Hummus £1.99
I’d bought the sweet stuff for the journey back up to the North this coming weekend. We had sandwiches for lunch, I had a banana and an apple too as I was conscious I was not sticking to the Slimming World plan. I’d not even written down my food or syns this week and was likely to have put weight on. Back in Sheffield my Dad was having a knee op so I was waiting to hear how that went. All went fine and hopefully he would be going home tomorrow. After work, Captain Caveman suggested a walk to the Brown Dog where we had a pint. I had the Gelato beer which is very nice and then we walked back home. It was really cold after the sun went in so we were both shivering by the time we got ‘home’. The last of the ham was had for dinner and I worked on my laptop in the evening while Captain Caveman watched TV.
Gratitude List 1. Dad finally getting his surgery 2. The Brown Dog 3. More Ham hock!
It was my first time at the Oxford and Cambridge boat race on Sunday 13th April. As Captain Caveman had grown up in Barnes, he had often been a keen observer so I was looking forward to the experience. We even had free tickets to the Bull’s Head where live band, The Brockalites, were playing later on. But first we had a breakfast of champions; beans on toast with bacon and potatoes for me, a full on fry up with uncle Paul’s eggs and some extra black pudding for Captain Caveman. I was glad of it and the 2 cups of tea, as I was a bit woolly headed from the drinks yesterday! Captain Caveman was annoyingly sprightly and even booked my flight back to Turkey for in 10 days time. This meant I was staying longer than I thought I would be but it was going so fast and I still had plenty to keep me occupied in the UK. After being apart for 3 months it was good to spend time together even if it was just for 3 weeks and we were both working.
After making sure all my quotes and social media posts were done we headed out to the River Thames to watch the race. It was quite exciting and I should have put money on Cambridge winning as it was a clean sweep in all the races. We got chatting with some other spectators, had a beer (£6 each) from the Bull’s Head, which I couldn’t finish and gave it to Captain Caveman.
…………
Captain Caveman’s video
Captain Caveman’s video
After the race it started to rain, the first time it had rained in my 13 days of being in England so we walked quickly to the next nearest pub. At the Sun Inn we met up with an old friend and Aviva colleague, Jacky, who I’d not seen in ages. Jacky was still exactly the same funny guy and he introduced us to his partner, Michael, who was great fun too. We had a fantastic and hilarious afternoon, sheltering from the rain in the pub. I spent £68.70 on a couple of rounds of drinks, Jacky and Michael also got a few rounds in so it was an expensive and fairly merry Sunday but I absolutely loved it. We met a funny local guy and his Australian lady. We nicknamed him Pissy Steve on account of the amount of toilet visits he had. He accused me of being too funny and that I was making him laugh too much – I came to the conclusion he either had a bladder the size of a peanut or a recreational drug habbit. At the bar I bumped in to a young man we had seen at the boat race and he was from Manchester so we got chatting – us northerners always find each other in a London pub! He was only the new brand manager from a well known biscuit company and we discussed the product in-depth! The day was a really lovely one full of more laughter – something I had missed a lot recently. At just after 7pm, as the rain stopped, we all said our goodbyes and we headed to Sainsbury’s for some vegetables. We bought 500g of carrots for a bargain of 60p and splashed out on 120g of green beans for £1.10. I saw that they had Jammy Dodgers on the shelves and sent a photo to Hugo as proof they were available in Barnes. While Captain Caveman rustled us up some potatoes with the ham hock and veg, for dinner, I tried not to eat too many Mini Cheddars (which I had no idea where they had come from)! We were in bed so early as we both had a busy week ahead.
Gratitude List 1. Breakfast of champions 2. The Oxford & Cambridge Boat Race 3. Having such a laugh with the fellas in the Sun Inn.
Saturday 12th April was full of surprises and so much laughter. Captain Caveman brought me tea and toast for breakfast in bed then I did a little bit of work. There was a promotion on the Mitsis hotels with Classic Collection which I’d previously attended a training session on so I got busy with that. I’ve often been in countries with a Mitsis but not had the good fortune to stay in one, they looked great and the food choices looked fab. Uncle Paul arrived as he was having a brief visit for a birthday celebration and Captain Caveman was so excited that he had brought fresh eggs from home. Captain Caveman suggested we get the train in to London and we were just wondering what we might do there when I spotted a Facebook status update of a good friend. Becca and Steve were in the rooftop swimming pool of their rather swish hotel near Battersea Power Station. Captain Caveman had worked out we could be there with them within the hour (37 minutes to be precise) so I messaged Becca. Of course, she invited us over and to bring our swimmers. I hadn’t brought any back from Turkey and it wasn’t that warm so we decided to meet up in that area after they had eaten lunch. I wanted to go to the Barnes Farmers market this morning to see if we could get some nice food for tomorrow. We bought a ham hock, black pudding, a sausage roll and a piece of cooked belly pork with crackling, for around £10-£15. The vegetables looked fantastic but were so expensive at £6.50 for a cauliflower (we didn’t buy it). We also resisted all the lovely cakes, cheeses and chocolate which looked amazing, too. I thought we were going back home to eat our sausage roll and belly pork but Captain Caveman had other ideas and wanted us to walk down the street with it to get the train. I had a bite of the sausage roll and realised it might be prudent to avoid so that I didn’t get a poorly tum. Instead, I was trying to break off bits of pork from the crispy crackling in the brown paper bag without being wrist deep in grease! By the time I got on the train we’d managed to eat our very unhealthy lunch and I needed hosing down. I then had to walk past Battersea dog shelter and not go in, which was hard.
Becca and Steve were with her brother, Leon, too so we headed through the amazing shopping precinct at Battersea Power Station. Captain Caveman found them straight away and the 5 of us had hugs all round. I got something in my eye as I’d not seen Becca for some time and there was so much to catch up on. She was in the process of waiting for a kidney transplant and I learned so much in our short walk. The process for not only going through the ordeal of getting a new kidney, but getting people to be tested has its obstacles. It’s not just as simple as shouting out to all and sundry to please give me your kidney – there are rules in place to prevent coercion in to doing that. A couple of her friends had put ourselves up for getting tested but I was not aware of the process particularly. I just knew that it would be good to know if there was even a possibility of helping my friend have a better (longer) life, I couldn’t not at least get the test. We laughed and joked about what is actually such a serious subject but we’ve always been the type of friends who can laugh at anything. As we learned Steve was a match and was going to give a kidney – it was the first time I’d heard of a real life miracle. I’m not good with anything to do with blood so I had to really concentrate on not fainting when Becca got me to put my hand on her dialysis fistula (Google that – it is very interesting). It vibrates and made me feel a bit funny, while Captain Caveman loved it and was now getting in to finding out more. We said our farewells to Leon and decided to take a walk along the river, through the very lovely park. It was a beautiful day and so good to see Becca and Steve.
Of course we had to call for a drink in a couple of pubs where I took no notice of the name of them or how much the rounds cost! I was too busy catching up and enjoying my day off. In one place it was so crowded that we found it difficult to find anywhere to sit. This did not put Captain Caveman off vetting which reserved guests were already 20 minutes late. Sarah at 2pm was still not there so Captain Caveman had turned in to a member of the Punctuality Police and insisted we take the table – we did. It was a brilliant day and I was sad to say goodbye at the end of it. We decided that on our way back up North we would go visit Becca and Steve and they invited us to stay with them, which was lovely.
Back home, Uncle Paul had left a note to say he’d already driven home and wouldn’t be staying after all. Captain Caveman knocked up a sausage casserole for dinner and I fell asleep on the sofa as soon as he put the TV on.
Gratitude List 1. Barnes Farmers market 2. A fantastic and impromptu day with friends in Battersea 3. Knowing that Becca and Steve were a match for the kidney transplant.
Photo credit – Some photos by Captain Caveman and Becca
Sunday 6th April would turn out to be quite an expensive day. The Flixbus I had booked for £35 was leaving London Victoria at 1.30pm. Captain Caveman had worked out when we needed to get the bus from Barnes to get there on time. I suggested that, because I walk slower and had my wheelie case with me, we could go earlier ‘just in case’. Captain Caveman wasn’t bothered about getting there too early and we stuck to his original plan. The bus came but we didn’t go the whole distance on it due to a traffic jam and us being stuck not moving for about 20 minutes. We were likely to miss the bus if we didn’t get off and walk but, of course, bus drivers these days will only let you get off at an actual bus stop. When we did eventually get off we had to run through Putney and over the bridge, full of tourists. It was hard work and we made it to a train station just as a football match was starting so it was busy. On the tube we went slightly wrong and had to backtrack but eventually got to Victoria station and ran to the bus station. It was a good job I was a stone or two lighter than I used to be as I would never have managed the run otherwise but I was quite pleased to even keep up. We had a feeling we were going to have missed the bus but still ran in to the Victoria Bus Station where I shouted that I was ‘coming through’ as I ran to the departure lane. There was no Flixbus to be seen so we assumed we had missed it, as we were 5 minutes after the departure time. I went for a pee while Captain Caveman went online to buy new tickets for the next bus. He couldn’t get it to work so he walked off to the ticket office when I returned. I checked my phone and had a text from Flixbus saying it was delayed by 15 minutes so it hadn’t arrived yet!!! I called, text and messaged Captain Caveman but he didn’t answer and came back with 2 National Express tickets for £54, leaving from the opposite end of the station at 2pm. I was a bit peeved we had wasted more money on this but we didn’t see the Flixbus and might have been stuck in London until the evening if we didn’t get the 2pm bus, which we decided to do. The journey went well and we got off in the Sheffield bus station to then have to walk to the Hampton by Hilton at West Bar. It was £59.85 for the 2 of us including breakfast and was very comfortable. Captain Caveman had already set his mind on going to a restaurant in Kelham Island which sold burgers. I’m not a burger fan really so asked if they did anything else. I also pointed out that it might be a bit of a waste of a hotel bed for me to eat a burger as, if I did, there was probably little chance of any romance – for me, burgers are the worst thing to eat on a date night! Captain Caveman was still adamant that he wanted the burger and said I could have cheesy chips, instead. On the way Captain Caveman bought us a pint each and some pork scratchings (back in Yorkshire!) in The Shakespeare. Next, we went to Saw Grinders Union and ordered a pint each and the bacon cheeseburger with fries. I had high hopes for it at £15.50 each, after all we were no longer in London. When it came it looked like a better version of a Big Mac and it tasted pretty good. I don’t understand the need to cover fries in red powdery dust, though. Captain Caveman had another pint and our whole meal came to a whopping £48.50. My stomach issues started before we even left the building and I made full use of the bathroom facilities back at the hotel. I knew I shouldn’t have eaten it – it was a bit of a waste of money too.
Gratitude List 1. Still getting to Sheffield from Barnes 2. The Hampton by Hilton Hotel being very nice 3. Still smiling despite today being a bit of a to-do, costing us £200 and ending on a belly ache!
Both Captain Caveman and I continued to have a busy working day on Friday 4th April. The difference being that I’d got used to working the evenings and weekends so I wasn’t used to logging off at 5pm on a Friday night. Captain Caveman had plans for us and we had also toyed with the idea of catching up with friends in London. I had 2 friends cancel so we decided we would have a night in Barnes rather than heading in to the Big Smoke. My friend and Resort Experts colleague in Majorca, Dagne, had finished my book and sent me a review which I was really pleased with. While Captain Caveman was in his morning meeting, I had my breakfast of beans on wholemeal toast, which I loved! At lunch we both ate at the table together and had sandwiches; mine was cheese and rocket (pickled onions on the side!), his was peanut butter and marmite. We both had meetings or training sessions in the afternoon and I was making progress on my Planner Ideation course.
After work, we walked along the river again and I got a text from one of my old school friends, Joanne, who had bought my book and I was so happy to hear from her. She sent me a fab selfie with the book and it made my day. Captain Caveman took us for a drink in a pub which could have been the White Hart, where he had beer and I had cider for £15. Our next pub was a visit to the really lovely Brown Dog. It was easily my favourite on account of it having several dogs in. I also ended up having a pint of rather strong rhubarb flavoured beer and being a bit tipsy on the walk home. It was £16.50 for 2 pints in there and a bag of crisps were £1.50!! We walked home and, while Captain Caveman made us a chicken pasta dinner, I went back out to the shop to buy bread and wine. It all got a bit complicated at the self scanner when the assistant had to put in a code for me buying alcohol and then didn’t give me the wine back. He had taken the anti-stealing device off but left the wine by the door. I had to check with the Sainsbury’s security guard if it was my wine, he didn’t know, but said to take it. I paid £1.39 for a loaf and £9.50 for the wine. Our dinner was really tasty and we tried to watch Celebrity Big Brother. Unfortunately, even after googling the contestants we only knew a couple of them and thought it was a bit boring.
Gratitude List 1. More great feedback for my book 2. English food 3. Going down the pub on a Friday night.
We had ideas on Saturday 5th April to either go to see a friend presenting at the Ideal Home Exhibition, do a trip to MI5, or spend some time at Richmond park. It was cold and I ended up doing some work, eating beans on toast again and then we didn’t go to any of our ideas. Instead, we decided to visit Marc Bolan’s memorial at the tree where he died in Putney. We decided to have a walk around the area and the sun did come out so it got warmer. We stopped at a cafe in a park for a hot beverage. Loo Loo’s cafe in Putney had homemade sausage rolls which we shared one of, with mint tea for me and a double espresso for Captain Caveman. It came to £10.50 and we sat outside the cafe looking at all the dogs that came in. So many more people in the UK seemed to have dogs than I remembered.
After the park, we walked towards Fulham football ground and, of course, my stomach had started to react badly to the sausage roll. We had to motor on until we found a pub so I could go to the toilet. The Crabtree in Fulham was the busiest pub I’d seen in a long time and there were 3 deep at the bar and queuing in the toilets. I almost shit myself outside a disabled toilet but I managed to make it to the normal toilet. When I got back, Captain Caveman was only just being served and when we found somewhere to sit we realised why it was so busy.
We watched the Grand National where Nick Rocket won and no horses died. We also did some banking while waiting to see if my sausage roll situation was over. It was, so we continued walking along the river and nearly got involved in learning how to argue better. I had a laugh at the Learn to Row poster which I’d pronounced as in arguement, as we didn’t need any help in that area. We saw Hammersmith bridge and then had another drink in the George & Devonshire in Chiswick. Compared to the last pub, it was so quiet but was a lovely pub with comfy seating. We decided to splash out for dinner tonight and get the Indian Dine in deal from Marks & Spencer where we got the following;
M&S Food Starter – Baji, pakora and samosa Chicken Tikka Masala Lamb Rogan Josh Pilau Rice £15 for the Indian meal deal Carton of mixed Crackers £2.90 Brie £2.10 Total spent £20.00
It was a bargain and tasted amazing. I’d not had Indian food for quite a while and I guessed it wouldn’t be my first while in the UK. Captain Caveman drank Guinness with his and I just had tap water. Tonight was our last night in Barnes as we were heading north tomorrow for just a few days.
Gratitude List 1. Having a day off with Captain Caveman 2. Going for a walk around the area 3. Curry for dinner.
Wednesday 2nd April would usually have been weigh day but I was away from Dalyan, and in Barnes. I got weighed on Captain Caveman’s parents’ scales, I weighed 0.7kg (1.5lb) under target and was 1kg (2.2lb) less than last week. I actually didn’t think it would be accurate that I’d lost weight this week but it was good to check. My measurements showed that I had put 1cm on my bust and hips but I had lost 1cm from my waist (all were still under target).
It was a normal working day for both of us, so Captain Caveman went to his parents’ office upstairs and I set up at the desk in Captain Caveman’s old bedroom. We met up for breakfast at 10.30am and had my warmed up pizza from last night. Captain Caveman had lots of meetings while I cracked on with attracting new customers. We had a late lunch where Captain Caveman cooked us a brunch style meal. I had beans on toast with proper butter and 2 pork sausages – it was so good!!! He had egg and tomatoes with his. We both worked the rest of the day, me until 6.30pm. Captain Caveman suggested a walk with a trip to the pub and the supermarket and I was up for that. It was great to see and smell the freshness of Barnes, it was chilly but not raining. There were lots of fancy charity shops, dock leaves in the park and the cinema was finished. I had it on my list to go but at £20 a ticket I decided to leave it. I got a bit of a shock in the Red Lion when I paid for our round of 1 red wine and 1 pint of beer at £18.15. Our next drinks were in the Sun Inn and the same round came to ‘just’ £15.20. On the way home we popped to the shop again to get something for dinner. Here’s what we bought and the prices in pounds;
I was surprised to see that fag shelters had got fancier but the shops didn’t trust us not to steal mince! Captain Caveman knocked up a superb pasta bolognese and we shared a bottle of Primitivo red wine. I fell asleep on the sofa before I’d finished my wine as I was still a bit tired.
Gratitude List 1. A nice desk to work from with views of the garden 2. Going for an after work drink with Captain Caveman. 3. Great food, cooked by Captain Caveman.
Thursday 3rd April was another busy day in our world, we both had a lot on at work so we had arranged to squeeze in a 1 hour lunch date at noon. Cote restaurant was an Ask pizza place the last time I had been in Barnes so it was nice to try out this new place which had a lunch special on. Captain Caveman had a Crab Croque Madame and I had a steak baguette with fries, we both drank tap water and I really enjoyed it. It was quite fancy for a Thursday lunch and we had to rush as we both had meetings and calls from 1pm. The total bill, because of the offer, was only £18.65 for the 2 of us. We discussed plans for the weekend and decided we would travel up to Sheffield, my home town, on Sunday. My afternoon job was to book the bus tickets and find us a hotel to stay in on Sunday night as well as a hotel at Manchester airport for when Captain Caveman flew over to İzmir. I had a bit of time back as my Team Meeting had been postponed. Working for Resort Experts means that we get great prices on hotels so I booked both, including breakfasts, for less than £60 per night. The Flixbus for the 2 of us from Victoria to Meadowhall was a total of £34.98. At 6pm, as agreed, Captain Caveman and I finished work and decided to have a long walk along the River Thames, calling at the Ship Inn. He had a pint of IPA and I had a pint of Aspall’s cider for a total of £13. I was keen to find Pork Scratchings but I had a feeling that Barnes was a bit posh for that kind of snack, and never did. The next pub was the cheapest in the area I’d been in so far. The Hare & Hounds in East Sheen was just £13 for a pint of ale and a large red win. On our way home we called in to Waitrose (it was a sign we were both working now!) and bought provisions;
Waitrose Supermarket Baby potatoes 0.61 1 orange pepper 0.65 Penne pasta 0.75 1 Garlic Baguette 1.25 Wild Rocket 1.49 Pack of pears 2.00 Chicken fillets 3.49 Total spent £10.24
I also bought a folder from a newsagents and it cost a whopping £2.99 but I needed it for the next part of my Planner Ideation course. For dinner, Captain Caveman made a lovely chicken pasta with salad and we finished off the wine from yesterday with it.
Gratitude List 1. A fab lunch date with Captain Caveman 2. An after work walk and a drink along the Thames 3. Great food for dinner.
Where was the time going!? I was finding it hard to believe that it was already Tuesday 1st April and I had so much to do. All with a hangover, too!!!! I still needed to calculate my budget v actual spending at the end of March, I was behind on my blog posts and I hadn’t even checked how many books I had sold in my first full month of trading! All this and we were off to the prison restaurant for a hello/farewell lunch with Jamie and then to the airport for our 2.30pm flight to Gatwick! I’d had a wonderful message from my friend and colleague, Dagne, yesterday but had not had chance to post it on social media. She had finally got her copy of ‘You Can’t Shit Yourself on a Bicycle’ and was on the beach in Majorca, reading my book. The photo was perfect! I wondered if the British humour would still translate well enough. I needn’t have worried as she was already enjoying it and said she felt like she was getting friendly travel advice from a friend over a glass of wine! Amazing, and that is all I could have wished for! Dagne was also the first person to send me a photo where it was the new version of the book! It was also the first one to be bought in Spain! I think this was the 5th country to have someone reading my book in, and that felt good! When I checked how many books I had sold it wasn’t as many as I had hoped for but it averaged at over 1 per day. Apparently, that is good for a self published one with zero marketing budget/adverts. Still, it meant I had earned less than £150 for the month, which I would not get until the end of May. I needed to sell more and I needed a smarter way to do that. I was grateful for everyone who had bought it already and I needed a way to get it out to more people, particularly who would benefit from the travel advice. I think using Amazon puts some people off, and I’m not a massive fan of it either, but it’s the biggest seller of books in the world. If I couldn’t cut it using Amazon as a free platform, then it wasn’t wise to pay for a different platform. I was also surprised at how few ebook/kindle versions I had sold as I thought that was a popular way to read books these days. I would persevere and hope more people would buy it in the coming weeks and months. I’d already started a list of chapter titles for the next one. My next task was to check the money situation; unsurprisingly I had gone over my £300 budget. In March I had spent a grand total of £370 including bills (but not rent or council tax). I was a bit disappointed at going over by 23% but I had splashed out on my hair this month plus some extra treats. April was going to be tough to set a budget for as I was off to the UK for at least a week and we had a holiday in the İzmir area planned. Captain Caveman was also planning to move out of Sheffield as his 3 months renting in a shared place was up and he had decided to rent a house to himself in a more convenient location for work. I didn’t eat any breakfast on account of feeling sickly from too much booze last night. I’d had a whole bottle of red wine and one whisky and I really felt it!!! I was doing all I could to not be sick by the time Jamie picked us up. Unfortunately, the storm last night had blown the adjacent new build’s roof off, some of it was on our balcony and some in the garden. We drove to the prison and we ordered food, I just copied what Captain Caveman had, köfte, hoping he’d eat some of mine anyway. As Jamie was kind enough to drive us to the airport I bought the lunch which only came to 985 lira (£20) for 3 meals and 3 soft drinks – impressive.
We drove to the airport and said our farewells to Jamie, it felt weird that I was going back to the UK after almost 9 months and I wasn’t sure when I would be back exactly. At the airport they let us go through to the lounge with our water and Captain Caveman went off to do a reccy in the Duty Free. It works out cheaper to get the small wines or spirit miniatures at the Duty Free shop, than buying in the bar but I had no plans on drinking or eating anything. On the easyJet plane, I had a whole row to myself, Captain Caveman was sat in front of me with just 2 of them in a row of 3. We took off on time and then Captain Caveman came and sat in my row, taking the window seat and I had the aisle. Luckily, I had brought chocolate Dido bars for a snack but we didn’t bother buying any food or drink on the entire journey. We were due to land about 5pm and Captain Caveman managed to get quite a bit of sleep.
We landed in to Gatwick airport on time on and got the train to Barnes. Captain Caveman and I were staying at his parents while they were away. We were walking in to the house just before 6pm, having cost £15.60 using my Wise card to get from Gatwick. I was really excited as I had a package, it was 3 copies of my book. It was the first time I’d touched or seen a copy of it and I was actually quite happy with it. It was small enough to fit in to a handbag which was a good selling point. I took a couple of photos and then we unpacked.
Captain Caveman suggested we have a walk around Barnes, get some dinner and do some shoping ready for us both being back to work tomorrow. Barnes was really beautiful and it wasn’t as cold as I thought it was going to be. Captain Caveman treated us to dinner at Base Face Pizza which was just amazing. I wasn’t going to be drinking but I ended up with a red wine and a pizza with ham and pineapple on. Captain Caveman had beer and a spicy pizza. He paid the bill so I wasn’t sure of the exact total but it came to about £50 for the 2 of us, including a drink each. Tap water was free and I just couldn’t get enough of it – it’s one of the things I miss when I’m not in England. Our food was so delicious, the waitress was really good and I took half of my pizza home as I was trying to be good. We saw the sunset over the river Thames and it was so nice to be in London together. Our next stop off was at Sainsbury’s where I was gobsmacked at how much chocolate they had. Cadbury’s Cream Eggs were in abundance at 85p each or 5 for £3 but I resisted the urge to buy any chocolate. Here’s what was in our shopping basket (prices in pounds) and doing the self scan, which Captain Caveman was really good at;
I was shocked at the price of tomatoes and bread but pleased with the baked beans and sausages. We didn’t even watch any TV as we were both tired so we had an early night.
Gratitude List 1. Jamie taking us to the airport 2. Being able to go back to the UK with Captain Caveman 3. A night out with pizza in Barnes.
There was another breakthrough with Lady C on the morning of Friday 24th January, she actually came to the bin with me and walked the opposite direction to what she would usually want to go. The big cockerel wasn’t there so she wasn’t scared. I decided to attempt to list my book on Amazon again and reset my password but then it sent me a code again to a phone number I didn’t have. I decided I would look in to other options as I wasn’t an Amazon fan anyway. After my new breakfast option, which was just as good cold, I cracked on with work so that I could perhaps finish early. I was pleased for Captain Caveman that he was going to the cinema and London today, and I wished I was joining him. The last time I went to the cinema was probably to see the Barbie film in Fethiye ages ago. At home, I noticed that the building next door, which had been demolished and rebuilt, had a concrete roof on but no metal reinforcement in. This either meant that they were not replacing the second floor or that the next floor they added would not be earthquake proof. It was apparent from speaking to some locals that the authorities were cracking down on illegal builds and structures that didn’t comply with the rules. For dinner I had made a lentil bolognese in the slow cooker which I had with some of my recently purchased Gamay wine after a nice dog walk.
Gratitude List 1. Lady C coming to the bin with me 2. Finishing work early on a Friday 3. Slow cookers and wine.
Claire and I were up very early to get ready for our busy working day on Thursday 8th August in Knutsford. I ate muesli, half a croissant and a sausage and bacon muffin for breakfast with a couple of cups of tea. We drove to Claire’s work where she signed me in with the meticulous health and safety security man and I got positioned in the delightful kitchen/canteen area. I was so happy when Claire told me to help myself to hot drinks and that the hot chocolate was amazing. For future reference, I found 3 was probably one too many. I also had a couple of herbal teas and worked for a few hours in my new office. Mr Meticulous came in a few times to risk assess me and warn me of the plague of people due to hit the area at noon – that was actually Claire and her colleagues and there were certainly no more than 12 of them. MI5 was definitely missing a trick, not having this employee! When we finished at noon, Claire had a client meeting and I wanted to attempt to close that bank account at Nationwide. We parked in Knutsford town, where I had been before, and I walked down the main road, Claire went the opposite way but gave me the car keys thinking I wouldn’t be too long. She was correct, as the Knutsford branch of Nationwide was closed today! Instead, I went to the post office to change some US Dollars where I only got £187.50 for $270 and I thought that wasn’t great. I tried to get in touch with Claire to see if she needed anything getting for the journey back but noticed my phone didn’t seem to be working. I topped up my GiffGaff SIM with another £10 for good measure and hoped it would work but there was still no signal. I sat in the car as it had started to rain and Claire arrived shortly after for us to set off back to Kent.
On the way back we stopped for petrol and I bought some healthy food at South Corley services, here’s what I bought with prices in pounds;
The salad (poke bowl) had edamame in with all sorts of veg/salad and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Once eaten, I was back to concentrate on our Caraoke!!! Claire and I sang pretty solidly for about 3 and a half hours and had a right laugh. Back home, we were running late but luckily had timed it right with our arrangements for a meet up with another friend.
Clare had come over on the train from London, following her after-work drinks and we were off to the local India restaurant. Our fine dining experience at the Tamarind restaurant was so good and here’s what we had with prices in English;
I thought the meal, at less than £23 each, was an absolute bargain and tasted so good, we even took some home for me and for Mark for the next day. It was a lovely meal but the restaurant was very warm and we are ladies of a certain age so we didn’t hang about, apart from to partake in the free Baileys and shots of Baby Guinness, obviously. Outside was cold and dark on the way home but it was nice to have some fresh air. Clare doesn’t work Fridays so we had arranged to go in to town while the other Claire was working tomorrow and I was going to also meet up with Holly’s mom, Lynda, who didn’t live far away.
joloyolo 