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.
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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.
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 