I’d taken the day off work on Sunday 4th August as I was leaving Sheffield and going to visit Claire in Sevenoaks for a week, before flying back to Turkey in 8 days’ time. Claire had already offered to take me to Gatwick airport when I left so that I could get back in time for Nanny Kay’s birthday meal on the 12th. Even though my National Express bus from Sheffield bus station was at 12.45pm, I had decided to go early because of the delays we had with Captain Caveman’s departure. At 10am I was outside the garage door with my suitcase, waiting for my parents to lock up and come with me. Dad had my rucksack, complete with teabags and wine bucket – it was finally leaving Mosborough! We arrived in to the bus station before 11am and decided to walk over to the nearby train station. None of us had eaten breakfast but when I take a bus I refrain from it so that I don’t have a bad stomach. While Ma went and got her and Pa bacon sandwiches and coffee at the Starbucks, I bought a bottle of water for £2.49 in WH Smiths – how much!? I should’ve brought tap water but I didn’t have a bottle to put it in. When the Sheffield Tap opened (at 11am) my parents were still eating their bacon sandwiches as there had been a long queue. We decided to have a pint in the pub before it was time for me to walk back to the bus station. A pint of pale ale, a stout and a cider cost me about £15 – better value than bottled water! We walked back to the National Express stop where there were 2 buses and I said my goodbyes and thanks to my parents. I got on the second bus which wouldn’t be stopping at Golders Green but going directly to Victoria, just what I wanted. I sat about 3 seats from the front next to a man who, when he was on the phone was quiet, so I liked that. The drivers were not quiet, however, and we had to listen to endless drivel about their colleagues and political opinions all the way. We stopped off at Northampton services for a toilet break and I bought some sweets and some chocolate as I was peckish. £5.50 for 2 bags was a bit of an extravagance but that included a supposed £2.48 discount and I did have to use a self-scan check-out. We arrived in to London Victoria bus station on time at 5.15pm and I had a train to Otford due at 5.42pm. I went straight for the information desk and they told me which platform. Captain Caveman had already bought me the train ticket when he bought me the bus one and I just made the train. By the time we were pulling in to Otford station I didn’t even realise mine was that stop but saw Claire waiting on the platform. It was great to see her after what we think is probably over 5 years! We got to her house and was met by Reg, the cute pup. I met 3 of the 4 kids as Bee, ironically, was in Turkey and Mark for the first time. The Prosecco was opened and an amazing roast pork Sunday dinner was dished up – my first since being in England! We had a great night, drinking fizz and later rum while catching up and I felt like we’d not really been apart. My bedroom was so lovely with a comfy bed and I slept so well that night.
On Saturday 20th July the weather was glorious which was a shame as I was catching up on work, having taken yesterday off. I’d done 2 hours work before Ma got up and I was having Shreddies and a cup of Yorkshire tea for breakfast. Ma and Pa had no set plans for the weekend but we were thinking we might see Gayle and family as Neil, her husband, was back from working in Scotland. Ma got the washing out as the sun was out and ideal for getting the bedding dry. Lunch time bacon sandwiches from Mom were much appreciated even though I was on 50% more syns than at the same time last week. I managed to get 7 hours of work under my belt before the garden furniture cushions needed putting out. Gayle was popping over for a cup of tea but I knew what that really meant. Dad had already been checking the wine stocks in each fridge. Captain Caveman was getting his flight from Heathrow at 5pm and had already checked in when Gayle arrived with cakes for the cup of tea. I don’t think she even got offered a tea as I cracked open the Prosecco, another thing on the must do list. We all sat outside, ate the cakes, drank the fizz, went on to the other wine and then started snacking on mini cheddars or Seabrook’s salt and vinegar crisps. There was discussions about an impromptu BBQ or pizza for dinner but with Gayle being coeliac Ma wasn’t sure if she had any suitable foods in. She decided we should ring Neil and the kids and see if they fancied an Indian at The Vine in Mosborough. Before Dad could enquire about whether he should open the Chardonnay, we were booked in and it was all systems go as we needed to get there. April was working and couldn’t make it, but Morgan and Neil didn’t need asking twice.
The Vine was absolutely packed full and we had been lucky to get a table for the 6 of us. The food was amazing, both Gayle and I tried something different due to us being a bit tiddly. We all had drinks, starters, mains and sides and it came to £35 per person, which was the most expensive meal I’d paid for so far but I did get a really good doggy bag to take home and I’d thoroughly enjoyed my 4th curry in the 12 days of being in England.
It was Captain Caveman’s last day off on Sunday 21st July as he landed in Saigon just before midday. He had his next Oxalis briefing tomorrow evening and I think he was happy to be going back for his final few weeks of this year’s season. The UK is 6 hours behind Vietnam so he had already landed before I woke up. There was some issue with his flight from Saigon to Dong Hoi that afternoon being cancelled, meaning he had to stay overnight in Saigon. I was a bit hungover and I just had tea and toast for breakfast. I’d been invited to a music event in Leopold Square in Sheffield but I was working today so I declined. My parents were invited but they prefer not to go in to town and didn’t accept either. For lunch I had my left over curry which was still as delicious as last night. For dinner Mom cooked pizzas and garlic bread which were very nice but I was now on 430 syns for the week already and it was still Sunday. At 7.15pm I met my friend, Kerrie, who I hadn’t seen for 2.5 years but it felt like longer. I was still hungover and she was driving so I had a nice cup of tea and then we went on to the alcohol free Erdinger beer which was only £3.50 for 500ml. We had a good catch up and a laugh while reminiscing and then it was time to say bye but with plans to meet up again. I wrote down Kerrie’s availability for the next week or so which I could refer to as she’s usually such a busy person. It wasn’t a late one as we both had work in the morning and I’d got plans to go clothes shopping in the afternoon.
It was crumpets for breakfast with a hangover on Friday 19th July. Last night had really been so good, I had no regrets and I was a bit sad to be seeing Captain Caveman off today. He decided it would be a good idea for us to go into town early so we could get some lunch, our last meal together before I met him in Turkey in just over 10 weeks’ time. It was time for him to say farewell to my parents but they would also be in Turkey when he returned. My Mom mentioned that there was some global IT system outage and we dismissed her when she suggested that the buses may be affected because of it. Leaving me with a suitcase half full of his clothes and shoes, we went for the 10.55am bus in to town. Unfortunately, it didn’t turn up until 11.22am and then it had a driver being trained by a gobby woman from Chesterfield who was doing nothing for my hangover! We’d gone about 6 or 7 stops and when we had to stop at Birley and wait for a mechanic. The Chezzy trainer shouted to us all that we would just be 2 minutes as they needed to fill up the water. Unfortunately, this was not true and 2 buses, which we could have got on to, sailed past. Captain Caveman’s National Express bus to London Victoria was leaving Sheffield at 12.45 pm so now we didn’t have time to go anywhere for lunch. Instead, when we got to town we rushed to Marks & Spencer’s – our first walk on Fargate and we were shocked at the state of it. Captain Caveman got himself a Roast Beef sandwich (£3.90) and an Orange & Mango juice (£2) but we didn’t have time for me to choose or even fathom what you can get in a meal deal these days. Captain Caveman was determined to have a coffee from Macdonald’s on our way back to the bus station. It was £1.59 for a double Espresso and you buy it by touching a massive screen and paying on card , which felt weird to me. Then you still went to the counter to collect it but there were staff stood around and no customers at the till. On the way to Pond Street there were a few too many obvious druggies around and it was so noticeable. At the National Express bus, it was busy with the driver faffing about with a ramp user who he had left to sit in his wheelchair in the bright sun for too long. I said my goodbyes to Captain Caveman and he did remember to give me a kiss and a hug this time, which was nice! I waved the bus off and then went to get my bus ‘home’ which was meant to be at 1pm but was late. This was fortunate as I had time to buy my lunch from WH Smith where I took advantage of the meal deal, thinking I was getting a bargain. I had a chicken wrap, some salt ‘n’ vinegar Walker’s crisps and a juice for £5.99 and it was nowhere near as good as a M&S sandwich. The bus finally arrived at 1.14pm and the young chirpy driver explained that my Mom was correct and the world had come to a bit of an IT related standstill. He had a giant sippy cup of Yorkshire tea and was ready for the abuse from all the passengers he was late for. Back home, my parents decided it had heated up enough for some outdoor lounging, drinking and eating. I helped Dad move the garden furniture and put out the cushions, a job that would become more frequent over the next few days. Ma made a curry and Dad got the wine out, but not the Chardonnay that was in the garage fridge – he was saving that. The chicken bhuna was excellent and Ma even surprised us with a couple of naans and some onion bhajis. The Pinot Grigio went down well too and it was nice to be out in the garden still at 8.30pm in a summer dress and not complaining I was cold!
Captain Caveman treated the 4 of us to another cooked breakfast at White Cottage on the morning of Sunday 14th July. His family were leaving today but Captain Caveman had booked us in for 3 nights so we had the place to ourselves tonight. As part of the wedding celebrations there was a morning walk at 11am but I needed to work, as I had took tomorrow off, and I had a bit of a woolly head. The rest of the family decided not to go either as they wanted to avoid traffic, Captain Caveman didn’t go because of the rain (which isn’t like him). Everyone met at White Cottage to say farewell, with The Sprouts heading further north to Darlington. Then Ben and Lola joined Captain Caveman’s parents for the long journey back to London. By midday I was back on the laptop while under a blanket on the sofa, trying to keep warm. We walked across to the Queen’s Head pub for lunch where we shared a very good pizza and had a pint each for a total of £30 before calling at the local shop to see what we could get to cook for dinner. We bought pork sausages, an onion, a carrot and some crisps for £8 and Captain Caveman decided he would make a sausage casserole with the leftover tomatoes from breakfast.
While Captain Caveman got to work in the kitchen, I carried on with some work. When I finished and the slow cooker had done it’s magic, we opened the bottle of wine left by the owner and ate our lovely dinner. Tomorrow we had more excitement planned as we were meeting up with 2 lots of friends, both who I’d originally met in Phong Nha.
On Friday 12th July the Turkish lira was now up to 42.7 to the pound, the highest I’d known it. We had to strip our bed and put fresh bedding on as Captain Caveman’s middle brother and his niece would be coming back down to London with their parents after the wedding weekend. Captain Caveman and I had a bit of an adventure planned until he returned next Friday. Captain Caveman ended up with feathers all over from the pillows and then was sneezing. I picked them all up by hand as best I could and then we packed our stuff for the long drive from London to Penrith. Breakfast was another family affair where I had tea, toast and cereal. Captain Caveman made sandwiches for the journey and the parents car set off before The Sprouts. I took a travel sickness pill, the expensive ones and I didn’t see anything until I woke up near the Birmingham toll. We had a stop at the services along the way and we ate our butties outside. When we eventually arrived in Penrith Captain Caveman and I were dropped off at White Cottage in Askham, where we were staying with Ben and Lola. Captain Caveman’s parents were staying at the Punch Bowl pub nearby and The Sprouts were staying at an Airbnb in Penrith. That evening, all 11 of us dined at The Punch Bowl together and the food was extremely good. I had steak pie with chips, gravy and extra veg instead of peas. I also had a pint of cider and 2 glasses of red wine. A few people had desserts but Captain Caveman and I shared a lovely cheese board. I was already on 195 syns for the week and we had the wedding tomorrow plus an extra night in Askham for Captain Caveman and I. I was quite glad that there were no scales around.
On Tuesday 9th July I got up early and positioned myself at the desk in our bedroom. I rattled through some work while Captain Caveman played Bridge on his phone, his Mom went to tennis and his Dad was up a ladder pruning some trees. It felt nice to be back but I was a bit nippy and never took my fleece off. At 11am I broke off from work for Captain Caveman to walk me to the Virgin Active gym to meet his Mom. She had very kindly organised a gym pass for me so that we could enjoy a swim, jacuzzi, steam room and sauna together. Captain Caveman handed me over and then went to get the train to Fulham where he was off to the bridge club. On mentioning to his mom that he seemed to be getting rather obsessed with this new hobby of Bridge she put me straight. Apparently, he had been playing it since a child and obviously, he was somewhat of an expert at it! I loved the swimming pool and managed 20 X 25m lengths so I was pleased with that. The best bit was the water jets in the jacuzzi pool which were so good on my left buttock where I’d started to suffer with sciatica on my good leg. It was also really nice to spend time with Captain Caveman’s mom too. Back at home, she and I had some lunch of cheese sandwiches and an apple – easily one of my favourite lunch time meals. The bread was soft granary and there was a selection of cheese. There is nothing better than an English apple with that extra juicy crunch. I resumed work after lunch and then went for a short walk with Captain Caveman. It started to rain so we came home and I booked my flight back to Dalaman. I had decided I would stay until the 11th August and would incorporate a trip down south after I’d been up north. In the afternoon it continued to rain but we still managed a family trip to the local Sun Inn for a cheeky pre dinner pint. I had my first cider in a while and it was so refreshing. Captain Caveman’s Mom cooked a roast chicken with garlic, chips and salad for dinner. It was very tasty and it went down rather well. Just before bed, I noticed a friend from over 12 years ago had written on Facebook to say he was going to be in London tomorrow and was anyone about. Captain Caveman and I were already meeting Clare at Waterloo after she finished work so I sent Shaun a message to see if he wanted to join us.
Wednesday 10th July was weigh day and I should’ve been going to Fat Club, however I was in London and couldn’t. I had consumed 374 syns which was only 6 less than last week and still over 3 times the allocated amount. 156 syns were used on alcohol so the 0.9kg (2lb) weight gain this week was not unexpected. My measurements, however, were a lot more favourable; bust no change, both waist and hips -4cm! I had tea and toast for breakfast which Captain Caveman brought up to the bedroom so I could crack on with work. He was off to the Fulham Bridge Club for the whole day. His parents were off to meet friends for lunch and would probably be out all afternoon. At 12.30pm I broke off for lunch and decided to walk to the post office. My next stop was Marks and Spencer in Barnes where the security guard made me jump by greeting me, very pleasantly and calling me Ma’am. I didn’t even know M&S had security guards!!! I bought a sandwich, some pasta and a loaf of bread for £8.25 which I had to put on card but was served by an actual person this time. Back ‘home’, I ate the food and checked my phone to find I had a complaint from our Dalyan tenant. They had not seen the pool and garden man since they had arrived, 3 days ago, there was also no sign of the new hose which each of the 10 property owners had been charged £10 for so had cost us £100 in total! The tenant had told me she had cleaned the pool herself and then found some chemicals with the lid off that she was concerned for the kids around there. I messaged the maintenance company who told me they were there this morning and had been speaking to my neighbours. He said he didn’t get what my problem was and would be back there in 30 minutes. I messaged the tenant and told her to meet him. In a mood, the only thing to cheer me up was the frog toilet roll holder at Captain Caveman’s parents’ house, it is so cute! I went back to work knowing I needed to finish by 4pm to meet Captain Caveman, Clare and my old friend Shaun in Waterloo. Captain Caveman had told me the directions but that meant nothing to me, I got lost on the way to Barnes station as I followed the road sign, which apparently pointed the wrong way. Captain Caveman didn’t answer his phone or read his messages because he was at Bridge Club so I had to follow people with wheely suitcases along the road, in the hope they were going to the train station. Luckily, they were and I got on the train, which was absolutely rammed and people were squeezing themselves in the doors but they weren’t closing. There were delays as people wouldn’t move to let the doors close and I stood near the toilet trying not to feel claustrophobic. I got an update message from the tenant and the garden guy, they had exchanged phone numbers and she had given him what for – there is no messing with her! The maintenance guy, once again, agreed to go daily and had said he’d been told by one of the other residents that he couldn’t go in the mornings – what!? She had told him that was bullshit and to bloody get on with it! Luckily, I had set off early as, at Waterloo, I couldn’t find the King’s Arms and went the wrong way. Captain Caveman had to come out and get me and walk me back to the rather busy pub. I had a lovely pint of cider, Captain Caveman had a pint of IPA and I didn’t notice the cost. Clare arrived and she looked so lovely, I think she may even have lost a bit of weight since I saw her just shy of a year ago. I had another pint of cider, Captain Caveman had another IPA and Clare had a white wine spritzer which I think the round came to about £22. Shaun joined us shortly after and also chose cider and we enjoyed a bit of reminiscing. He fitted in ever so well with the 2 others, considering they had never met, but we had to keep our eye on the time as Clare was getting the train back to Southampton. It turned out that I had wrongly believed that Shaun had left Norwich Union when he moved to Capita to then go to KPMG. I had it completely wrong as he didn’t go there but he had moved to Suffolk. I also let him know that I once mislead people on a conference call when I had to leave exactly on time to sell my French Horn. Everyone had misheard that I was rushing off to sell my Friend Shaun – you can see how the confusion may have arose. We had one more drink after Clare left the King’s Arms but then Captain Caveman got peckish. He’d located a restaurant not too far away called Flat Iron and the 3 of us went there. The food was amazing, I had one of the best steaks I’d had in a while and we shared some sides including mac n cheese and creamed spinach. I was very impressed with prices and service. The steaks (we all had the same) were £14.50 and were fantastic, the sides were all £5.50 each and weren’t massive but they were delicious. We also had a lovely bottle of wine, the bottles of red wine ranged from £22 to £39 but I can’t remember which one Captain Caveman chose. After our mains, we got given a tiny silver cleaver at the end of the meal. This was a token to be redeemed for an ice-cream at the counter on the way out. Captain Caveman and I are not fans of ice-cream and weren’t going to bother but it was free. I’m so glad we did as they were so good and really finished off a lovely evening. We said our goodbyes to my Friend Shaun around 10.30pm, it was a school night after all and he had work meetings in the morning. We didn’t get back to Barnes until 11.30pm and it was very cold on the way back. Captain Caveman also fell asleep on the train and we were both a bit squiffy. I had been using my Turkish bank card as an Oyster card and today’s transport had cost me 304.98 lira (£7.26).
On Thursday 11th July I had tea and toast in bed then cracked on with work. Captain Caveman pottered about a little, as did his Dad while his Mom was at tennis. Some news came in mid morning that some family plans had changed so The Sprouts were on their way. I was working as Captain Caveman was updated that his youngest brother, sister-in-law and 3 nephews were on their way over from Brussels, they were no longer going straight up north as planned. I hadn’t heard their nickname before but it was amusing and obviously very fitting as they live in Brussels and were affectionately called The Sprouts. We had meant to be meeting them at the wedding in Penrith but they were going to stay in Barnes tonight instead. Tomorrow The Sprouts and the rest of us would drive up there and meet the other brother and Captain Caveman’s only niece. Captain Caveman popped to the shop to get some travel sickness pills for me which cost £7.59 so had better be good. When Captain Caveman’s Mom returned from tennis it was all systems go while she made all the practicalities happen for putting up the 5 extra guests tonight. We had lunch of quiche available which I’m normally not a fan of so I had a cheese sandwich but I did try the 2 different quiches to find the feta and spinach one was rather good. I carried on working in the afternoon until The Sprouts arrived only stopping for a quick walk to the shop for travel provisions. At Morrisons we bought a lucozade, midget gems, tic-tacs and a twirl chocolate bar for £5.70. back at home, we all sat in the garden with wine and nibbles and had a catch up in what was actually quite a sunny spell. The kids found the cherries were almost ready and ate a few but they were still a little sour. That evening, we were spoiled with a feast for the whole 9 of us; there was a ham joint, potatoes, carrots with a white sauce, broccoli and green beans and it was an absolute delight. It was lovely to sit at the table for a family meal together as it’s a rare event for Captain Caveman. The excitement must’ve got to him though, as once on the sofa he instantly nodded off. We were in bed by 10pm and had the alarm set to get up early for our family road trip up north!
I managed to go without buying any food or drink at Dalaman airport in the early hours of Monday 8th July. I absolutely begrudged paying the ridiculous rip-off prices but with a 2 hour delay to the flight and the AC not being particularly cool due to how crowded it was, it was tough going. By the time I got on the plane, I was thirsty so I bought a cup of tea, a water and one of those vegan snack boxes which had hummus, oatcakes, dried mango and chocolate in. I paid on card and got no receipt but later checked to find it had cost me 345.44 lira (£8.22) so was much cheaper than buying at the airport. The flight went ok but of course, we were later than planned and I was meeting Captain Caveman in London. We were meant to have landed at 3am in Gatwick but at 4.20am we were still in the air, although I could see land. When we landed, I had no working phone but managed to log on to the free WiFi. Captain Caveman had tracked the flight so wouldn’t be waiting the extra 2 hours for me in a 24 hour cafe in Farringdon, where we had arranged to meet. At the airport I was peckish and thirsty again so I went to the shop and here’s what I bought, priced in English pounds;
Marks and Spencer 2 pack of sausage rolls £1.10 1 pack of Salt & Vinegar crisps £1.30 Water £1.65 Total spent £4.05
There were staff stood chatting but not allowed to serve me and I had to scan my own items. This turned out to be a bit of a faff but I did manage to pay with a £50 note, a feat that would prove more and more difficult the further north I went. I made my way to the train station where I managed to buy a £14.40 one way ticket to Farringdon station. Nowhere would allow cash so I had to pay on my Turkish card. I followed explicit instructions from Captain Caveman on how to get the 300m to La Forcetta cafe, including the walk with the Pret a Manger on my left. It turned out that there was quite a few Pret a Manger shops on that stretch but I finally found it. Unfortunately, Captain Caveman’s idea of a 24 hour cafe so that I would have somewhere to go on arrival did not have a toilet and I was busting for a wee. I ordered a cup of tea but the breakfasts weren’t ready to order yet and Captain Caveman had much more pressing issues to deal with. He’d hardly welcomed me when he was insisting on inserting my Giffgaff SIM card in to my phone so that I had credit. He had ordered it to come to his mom’s and all I had to do was top it up with £10 credit. The current exchange rate was 41.9 lira to the pound but my £10 top up took 428.84 lira out of my Turkish account. Finally, we ordered the Full English Breakfast and I was so pleased with the buttered white toast. The breakfast came with chips and lots of baked beans, my bacon was too salty so I gave that, along with my eggs and tomatoes, to Captain Caveman. I did wonder if I was doing the right thing eating it when I needed the toilet and I had an appointment for my passport renewal this morning.
There were so many coffee shops in the area and I really needed the loo so badly, I’d not been since on the plane and it was already 8.20am. I had taken the day off work today as I needed to be at the passport office at 11.50am. Captain Caveman felt certain if we headed to a Macdonald’s there would be a toilet but I was concerned there would be a big Monday morning queue and that we would have to buy something to get a code for the toilet door first. MacDonald’s didn’t have a toilet so we nipped in to a nearby Cafe Nero and Captain Caveman got himself a second breakfast of juice and a croissant. I didn’t ask how much it cost but those places aren’t cheap. Our next stop was a walk through Bloomsbury and on to a Wetherspoons where Captain Caveman left me with the bags while he ran errands. I was delighted with a hot beverage refill for only £1.56 a cup and proceeded to have 3 hot chocolates and an earl grey tea plus 2 more toilet visits – bargain. This would not be my first visit to a Wetherspoons and I was rather impressed with this one. We walked to the train and went a few stops to the passport office at Warehouse K and it has The Fox pub almost next door. I left Captain Caveman having a pint of Guinness while I went for my appointment. The queue to go in was only about 10 minutes and that was the longest part of the whole thing. I was a total of 15 minutes and I had my new passport. I wasn’t impressed that the passports aren’t as firm as the old ones and they feel rather flimsy but, for an outrageous £220, I now had my new extra pages passport and could travel abroad again. I got myself a Guinness which was £6.75 and thought that would equate to about 280 lira if I was in Dalyan. In the afternoon we went to an Indian restaurant which was rammed full. Captain Caveman got us a tali to share but I could barely eat any of the mains due to the chillies. I ate bread and rice then we left to wander through a strange exhibition with butterflies before getting the train to Barnes. I got a lovely welcome from Captain Caveman’s parents who I probably hadn’t seen for about 4 or 5 years. They hadn’t changed a bit. It was 3pm and I hadn’t slept since Saturday night so I had a little nap before dinner. Captain Caveman’s Ma made a lovely risotto for dinner and we had a glass or 2 of wine with it. At bedtime I unpacked and Captain Caveman had bought a lightweight down jacket from Uniqlo which he said I could have when he left. London felt extremely cold to me but it probably wasn’t too bad – passengers had been wearing coats and jeans at Barnes station though. The bed was super comfy and I think I fell asleep immediately!
joloyolo 