The End

I have been very bad at this blog, in fact I can't even bother to check when I last posted which says a lot in itself. Excuses I have none except that I have 3 laptops which barely function but it boils down I guess to that I haven't been up to much. December is depressing as am I.

It's hard to recall what I've been up to for the last 3 weeks so I shall have to skim. I went over to Overstone and a nice lunch at Sue's new caravan while Ian went out to lunch with Roger. I went to Melton on the 12^th of December and took mum to Alfs's funeral. It was a good turn out seeing as Alf was 92 when he died. It was a bitter freezing day so we didn't hang around the crematorium. We did however go to the wake which was at the British Legion in Melton. Mum wasn't sure she wanted to go to the Legion but it was a good wake and we stayed for a good couple of hours. I didn't want to drive home in the dark so I stayed the night in Melton and went home the following morning. I drove home via Overstone so stopped off to have a cup of tea with Sue and Ian.

After all my rejections and with Christmas looming I had more or less given up the up job hunt but I did make one last ditch attempt and did sign up with an agency that were recruiting for cleaners at the conference centre at Kents Hill. The hours are 9 to 5, Tuesday through to Friday and the pay is £7.50 per hour which is a pound more than the going rate. I was so nervous at the interview that I could hardly write my name, it sounds ridiculous but such is my self esteem and self confidence which has stooped to such low levels that I don't even recognise myself. The girl said that I had got the job and would probably start before Christmas. I did phone on the Monday last but the girl at the agency said she hadn't heard. I am hoping to start on Tuesday the 6^th. Fingers crossed.

Depressing December has been quiet on the social side; I had a nice lunch with Sue and Ian at The Lamb in Stoke Goldington. Phil and I met up with with Jim and Shirley at The Giffard on the last Wednesday night before Christmas. The pub was packed and we had quite a while for our meals. I went out with Sue and a group of mutual friends for a girlie night at Wilton Hall in Bletchley. The tickets at £38 a head were not cheap and I'm not sure it was worth it. The food was okay but they had crammed in so many people that there was hardly any room to to dance. I think I much preferred it when we went there for Ian's birthday in August. It wasn't a late night, Ian very kindly picked me up and collected us at 11 pm. Thank you so much Ian Hughes for being a chauffeur for the evening, it was very much appreciated.

Phil has hardly worked in December. His last day at work was Wednesday the 18^th of December and he doesn't go back until the 15^th of January. He hasn't been getting on very well with his MSC at Cranfield, he is finding the C++ very difficult and this is heeding him in his assignments. I have to say to say that this course isn't bringing Phil much pleasure or me. But hey ho, I'm no academic and I can't see the point of studying unless you have to. I guess that sums up why I am going to work as a scrubber.

Christmas this year was one of the more boring Christmas's I have ever endured. We went to mum's in Melton on Christmas Eve in the afternoon. Mum wasn't feeling very well, she had knocked herself out making all sorts of home made foods for the holiday which was completely wasted on me and Phil, we hardly ate any of it. Phil's way of coping with Christmas Day was to plug in his ear phones and listen to pod casts although I have to say he did chop up the veggies and practically cooked the Christmas dinner. We played a couple of games of scrabble after lunch and then watched crap TV in the evening. I do feel sorry for mum but I am not doing the same next year. 

We were back home for 10 am on Boxing Day, just in time to pay a quick visit to the gym before meeting Billy and Harriet at The Giffard for lunch. The pub wasn't busy and lunch wasn't a long one and we were back home by half two. Phil spoke to Georgina on Xmas Day and the only day she was free to visit her grandma was last Saturday which wasn't ideal as we had only got back from Melton the day before. Mum phoned on Saturday morning to say that they had had 4 inches of snow in Melton but Phil still decided to go. He had a nightmare journey there and struggled to get out of the cul-de-sac because of the snow when he came to leave. The journey home was also a nightmare and took him 3 hours.

The highlight of Christmas was Jim and Shirley's party on Saturday evening. It was nice to catch up with them and the family, and of course, Dan who was back on a flying visit from Australia. The Robb parties are always good and this one was no exception. Shirley had done curry and chilli and a massive bit of pork which she sliced and solved in baps later in the evening. I ate like a king which was just as well because it soaked up some of the wine. Of course we were almost the last to leave and it was half one in the morning by the time we got to bed. Sunday was a duvet day and we did nothing but eat and sleep.

In fact we have had lots of duvet days and watched an unhealthy amount of TV, mostly box sets of Greys Anatomy, we are nearly at the end of series 8. It is such a waste of a life. Talking of life, my Uncle Richard died on Boxing Day. We weren't close and I won't be going to the funeral, I've certainly had my fair share of these this year.

Things need to change in 2015. Normally I have a long list of New Years Resolutions which I normally give up on before the end of the first week. I do have a long list of good intentions this year but I am going to keep them to myself so only I will know if I fail. We are celebrating this new year with Sue and Ian at the caravan. First up supper with Sue and Ian at their caravan and then a band at the clubhouse. We will close up the caravan tomorrow and then head back home ready to start the new year.

That's me done for 2014,nothing more to add other to wish everyone I know a very happy and healthy new year. Let's hope it's a good one for all of us. 2015, bring it on!

Rejection hurts

I didn’t get the job and yes I was very disappointed. I did fine in the test and thought the interview went well but all to no avail. Harriet told me that that a temp was doing the job and had applied for the role that I applied for so it was obvious that the temp would get the role. If I had of known this beforehand I wouldn’t have applied. My last resort was Asda and even they have blown me out. When I came out of the OU interview I picked up a voice message from Asda telling me that the training day was cancelled and that they would be touch. Yeah right.

I feel total disillusioned with the whole job thing and am not sure where to go next. Maybe I need to volunteer or maybe I should go back to the cleaning. I am taking a week off the job hunt but Sue tells me there is a 2 day job fair at the Centre MK next week so maybe that will open a few doors. I certainly hope so, feels like all the doors are being slammed right in my face.

With all this cold weather I haven’t really been out anywhere. Ian picked me up last Wednesday evening and me and Sue went for a meal at Giraffe at Kingston. It was nice but we were all done by half seven so we got a taxi back to my flat. I am such a lightweight these days.

Phil had big problems with downloading programmes for his course on Friday and Saturday and nearly lost the will to live. This MSC course seems to be ruling our lives, I try and remind myself that Phil wanted to do this course but I have to say he doesn’t seem to be enjoying it very much. Maybe now that the IT department at Cranfield have finally managed to resolves Phil’s computer problems, things will start to improve. One can only hope.

On Sunday Phil picked up Georgina from the train station and drove to Melton Mowbray to see mum. They went to the Bowls Club for lunch to celebrate mum’s birthday which is actually today. Happy Birthday Mum! Harriet came to the flat for lunch and afterwards we went shopping at Costco. It was jam packed and it was a nightmare just to get parked. Harriet got a few bits and I got tea bags. 

I was expecting Phil back from Melton around 5’ish and was surprised to get a call from him about that time to say that he had broken down on the A46. Luckily I have just renewed our breakdown policy and had got one that included national recovery. Both he and Georgina plus the car got brought back to Days garage in Blakelands and they then walked from the roundabout back to the flat. By this time it was 7pm; the plan was to drive Georgina back to the train station in my car but when Phil went to start my car my battery was as flat as a pancake. Apparently, I had not shut my car door properly so the interior light had drained my battery. Georgina had to get a taxi to the station.

I was up bright and early yesterday and put a call into Green Flag to come and charge my battery. I got a call at half seven to say they were busy and it would be at least another hour. Phil had to be in Cranfield for lectures so I got dressed and walked to the garage in Blakelands to drop off Phil’s car key. Luckily for me they had a courtesy car. I drove this back to the flat so Phil could drive to Cranfield and waited for Green Flag. They eventually turned up at half nine, they got my car started and I drove round for half an hour to charge up the battery. Not the best start to a Monday morning. I didn’t do much yesterday, I went to the gym and made a curry and that was about it.

You would have thought I’d had enough funerals this year and even I thought that Marie’s funeral would be the last for 2014 but oh no. Last week two of mum’s friends died. Alf died on Monday at Leicester Infirmary. He was frail and had had a few falls this year but his death was not expected. George (Phil’s dad’s best German friend) died last Thursday. George had been in and out of hospital all year so we didn’t expect him to last much longer. I am going to take mum to Alf’s funeral on Friday and will stay overnight as I don’t want to drive back in the dark, especially on a busy Friday night. George’s funeral is next Thursday and I think Phil is going to try and take mum to that one. God knows, there is only so many funerals a girl can do. I will be glad when 2014 is finally over.

Challenges with Spaghetti & Marshmellows

These last few weeks have been stressful and I have put myself in situations that have taken me totally out of my comfort zone but more about that in a bit.  Not this Saturday but the one before we went and
stayed over at the caravan.  I invited Sue and Ian over for supper as I realised that Phil hadn’t seen them since we went to Egypt which was mid October.  I only did lasagne with home made garlic bread but it was enough to fill out stomaches before going for a few drinks at the clubhouse.  We wanted to go to check out the band that night as it is the same band playing on NYE.  They were okay not brilliant but what can you expect for 10 quid on NYE.  It wasn’t a late night and we didn’t stay until the end.

Unfortunately for Phil, I woke up really early on the Sunday morning.It was such a miserable day outside so we decided to pack up and leave.  Infact we were back at the flat by half eight.  Phil had his assignments to work on plus it was a grand prix weekend and I had an interview at MK Stadium.


My interview was at 2pm and I admit to being quite nervous.  I had asked prior to interview for a job description and a person specification but none came.  I had a bad feeling that it would be a group interview and I was proved right.  There were seven applicants and eight assessors in the same room. First we had to fill in a form and the HR person said that the pay was £6.50 whatever job we were applying for.  Personally I thought 8 assessors lurking in corners of the room while we had to conduct a debate on customer service was a bit OTT.  I did speak up because I knew it wouldn’t do me any good being a wall flower but it was painful.

After this exercise we were then split into 2 teams and asked to build a tower out of marshmallows and spaghetti.  Which ever team built the biggest tower won, my team lost.  To be honest I couldn’t see the point of the exercise.  The whole procedure took 2 hours and I came away thinking I don’t really want to be part of this team.  I had high expectations for Stadium MK so felt let down.   I thought I did okay but it was a bit of a blow to get a rejection letter even if I didn’t want to work for them.


On Tuesday I was back for another group interview, this time it was for Asda.  This time we had 5 minutes to get to know the person next to us and then had to talk about them for 5 minutes.  It wasn’t too bad but then we were given a product and had to sell it to the team in form of a presentation.  I felt really uncomfortable doing this and was glad when it was all over.  We were then assessed tidying shelves on the shop floor. Yes really, all this for £6.55 ph.  The whole process finished with a  one-to-one interview in which I was offered a job as a checkout girl subject to completing a training day the following day.  Unfortunately I had plans so was told I could do the training day when the next one came up.  I went into Asda that morning at 9.45 am and came out at 1.15pm.  I went home afterwards and caught up with some domestics.


My sleeping habits have gone crazy; on Wednesday I was up at quarter to three drinking tea.  I was due to go to Phil’s mum’s so I decided to leave at half six and go the back way. Big mistake, it was very dark and very foggy so I had to drive really slowly.  I was knackered when I arrived there at half eight.  I had gone down to take her to the local hospital to get fitted for a hearing aid.  Mum told me to drive into entrance 1 which I thought was strange, and in hindsight should have questioned her.  We parked up and literally walked for what felt like miles, finally ended up in the new part of the hospital which is accessed by entrance 2.  At one point I didn’t think she would make it but we got there eventually.  A short wait to get moulds for her ears and we were done.  I made her wait in reception whilst I ran and got the car.  We had fish and chips at The Harborough and were back home after done shopping by quarter to two.  Another foggy trip back to MK which seemed to take forever but I got there safely.


Having been up so early I felt shattered but I had promised to take down a lasagne to Suffolk so we could have after the funeral.  Finger buffets never do it for me and I always forget to eat so seemed like a good idea to take a dish down.  On Thursday morning we left in funeral attire and landed at Step dad’s place in Suffolk just after 11 am.John had made sandwiches for everyone but Marie’s daughters and their kids didn’t even both to come in, instead they prepared the club house for the wake.  To say things were awkward would be putting it mildly.

The funeral cars came to the house at quarter past one but Phil drove us in his car.  The crematorium was packed so I was pleased for a good turn out.  Lots of Marie’s daughters and their family but also a very good turn out from the Park.  The service was nice but not how I would have done things.  They had this thing with the grandchildren lighting candles in the middle of the service and it broke my heart to see the 6 year sobbing her little heart out. It also upset me that step dad wasn’t mentioned in the eulogy.  Unfortunately this was noticed by one of the neighbours because she questioned me afterwards.  Sue and Ian came to support John and me and Phil and I was very glad of their company.  They left shortly before it all finished.  We stayed but were back at the house having packed up at half five. It had felt like a very long day.


Nobody slept much slept well that night and we were all up and dressed by half six the following morning.  Phil booked step-dad a flight back to La Manga as he has decided to return and come back next March as originally planned.  I don’t know what is going to happen re the will or the estate but he has decided to see what demands are made and then take it from there.  This makes sense as it will give him time to think.  I think the old saying goes “act in haste, repent at leisure or something like that anyway. Phil took step dad into Colchester to get some copies of the death certificate as the daughters refused to give him one and then we left Suffolk and got back to MK about 1pm. We were knackered, Phil had study to do but we just unpacked, stuck
some washing on and washed TV.


Last weekend was nothing to write home about. I left the flat early to go to the gym and then went to the city centre to do some shopping. Big mistake, it was jam packed and I was lucky to get parked.  I hadn’t realised that there was some kind of cycling event in Campbell Park and also it was the end of the month so people with money in their pockets were getting their Christmas shopping.  I stuck it out until nearly 3pm and then went home.  Sunday was nothing to write home about, gym for me, cooked a roast dinner and then watched unhealthy amounts of TV.


Today I had my interview at the OU.  I was extremely nervous and spent most of the morning cramming up on Excel, data sorting, pivot tables and cell manipulation, not terribly exciting.  My interview was at 1pm; first I had a 30 minute admin test which wasn’t too difficult. I completely forgot all that I had learnt that morning about data sorting so ended up inputting by hand.  Got there in the end even if it was the long roundabout way.  I was interviewed by a panel of 3,they were friendly enough but I am not sure if I gave the right answers, sometimes I can be too honest and not terribly PC.  But I did my best and gave it my best shot.  Keep your fingers crossed; I need this job, my life depends on it.

Seeing life through new eyes

I’ve been really bad at blogging these last few months. I don’t really have any excuse aside from the fact that once the clocks go back I tend to hibernate so hence I haven’t been up to much. It hasn’t helped that my computer problems have gotten much worse. The Compaq pc which I inherited from Phil has been shaky and slow for a while but a few weeks ago it stopped loading Google Chrome which is the browser that I use. I have tried reloading but to no avail. Phil stepped in and defragged and uninstalled loads of programmes and it has speeded up a little but internet is still iffy and I still can’t load Google Chrome so I am having to use Internet Explorer version 7 which is basic. I have tried loading IE8 but it won’t let me. My backup Acer PC is behaving even more badly and has just about stopped working. I need to have another go because I use Basic Real Time PAYE once a month and am not sure if I can just load onto another PC. Ian very kindly lent me his old work laptop and I can get quite a good internet connection but I can’t print to the wireless printer and also it doesn’t have Word or Excel. Last week was uneventful. Mum phoned up early last Tuesday to say that her TV had gone wrong. Now it’s a fairly new TV so initially I thought she’d pressed a wrong button. I decided to call out a TV engineer from Melton who were able to get to her mid morning. I was glad I did because it turned out mum needed a new aerial and replacement cable because of water damage. You never know if you are being ripped off but they sounded genuine and at the end of the day, TV is mum’s life so it was worth paying out for. Emma my next door neighbour from no 11 came round for a cup of tea last Thursday and we caught up with gossip. I miss living in number 11, I love our little flat but some days these 4 walls seem to cave in on you. Life seems pretty good for Emma, Jason’s business is thriving and the children are doing well at school, so all is good. I went to Tesco’s at Kingston last Friday to get my eyes tested. I knew that my prescription had changed because one night I struggled watching the telly in the bedroom. I put it down to tiredness but turns out that my long distance sight had got worse and so had my near vision. I now need glasses to drive and watch the telly. I ordered 2 pairs but it was BOGOF so the total price came to £95 which I didn’t think was bad. The trouble with me and glasses is that I tend to loose them, or break them, which is why, for the last couple of years I have been buying £2 specs from Primark. I need to be more careful with these new pairs, glasses don’t grow on trees. On Saturday morning I went shopping for curtains at the city centre with Harriet. We got there early so had no problems parking. I guessed we shopped for a couple of hours and ended up getting curtains from BHS. I dropped Harriet off at Newport and then went back to the flat to iron the new curtains before going back to Newport to hang them. The new curtains in the bedroom fitted lovely but the curtains in the dining room were a couple of inches too short which was a pain. There was no way I was going back to the city to change them so instead I went to kill a few hours in the gym. I was up way early on Sunday morning which was just as well because I was going to mum’s for the day. I was on the road by quarter past seven and arrived in Melton before 9 am. Mum had quite a bit of paperwork for me to go through and I had to sort out the new mobile phone that I had brought her. I thought I could just switch the sim card but the phone was locked so I had to add contacts and credit. Actually I don’t know why mum has a mobile, she carries it in her hand bag whenever she goes out but I don’t think she has ever used it. Still she has it if she has an emergency. On the way home I stopped off to see Sue & Ian at their new caravan. It made sense seeing I was driving right past the park. Ian’s daughter had been to stay for the weekend with her 2 children and I don’t think her visit was a success; both Sue & Ian looked done in. I stayed for about an hour and then went back to the flat. I had been up since 4 am so it felt like it had been a very long day. I have spent the last couple of days applying for jobs; I’ve got an application in for a job at The Stadium MK, I’ve also applied to be a check out girl at Asda (28 hours per week) and after posting this blog, I am submitting an application for an admin job at the OU. All of these jobs I could do standing on my head, but whether I will be invited to interview remains to be seen. Jobs aside, I feel like I have got my life on hold at the moment. The funeral for Marie is next Thursday and I will be glad when it’s over. The results of the post mortem showed that Marie had an oedema which burst in her heart, it would have been instant and she wouldn’t have felt anything. Marie also had high cholesterol, high BP and hyper tension. She was 66 years old and otherwise healthy. Step dad is not doing so well which is not surprising really. I phone him every night at 6 pm and some nights it can be quite hard work. Actually step dad has taken mum’s phone spot so now I try to fit her phone call in either late afternoon or while the ads are on in Emmerdale. So now I have 2 depressed people to call every night. Maybe I should apply to be a Samaritan? Step-dad John & Marie on holiiday

You just never know

So much has happened this past couple of weeks that I’m not sure where to start; probably best to start where I left off. The Sunday after returning from holiday I went to see mum in Melton. Phil hadn’t been down since the start of his MSC so she was really pleased to see me which was sweet. She cooked us a really lovely roast lamb dinner which was good of her because of trouble with her dentures she was barely able to eat any of it. I did the usual jobs, opening jars, sorting out the post and put all the clocks back. Why do old people have so many clocks, Bett has 4 clocks just in her lounge alone.

I am not sure if I have talked about my cleaning jobs but whilst I was in Egypt I accepted 3 cleaning clients and the first started at 9.00 am on the Monday morning. I’ll admit to being a bit nervous which is crazy because I know I am a good cleaner. My first clean was for Normal and Ann who have a 4 bed house on the Poet’s estate. Norman showed me the house and told me where the cleaning stuff was and basically left me to get on with it. The house was immaculate; I don’t think I have ever cleaned such a ‘clean house! I had a job spec to follow and I had done this and more and still had 40 minutes to spare. I ended up cleaning the insides of the windows just to make up the time of 2 and a half hours.

My next job was an hour and a half clean for Becky in New Bradwell. I knew that Becky was a child minder with several pre school children, 2 dogs, 2 cats and a snake in a cage. The house was an old rectory and it was pure chaos when I arrived. The kitchen was filthy but I was fine once I got stuck in. Once again I found myself with half an hour spare so I cleaned the utility room and scrubbed the dog’s bowls. After I finished there I ate my sandwich in the car and went to the gym. Four hours cleaning and 2 hours in the gym and I was knackered after my first day!

I was back cleaning at New Bradwell on the Thursday but this time for a 2 and a half hour clean as I had to do the upstairs. I wasn’t too comfortable cleaning the room with the snake in but I did make myself peer into its cage but I didn’t see it.

On Friday I had a 6 hour clean at a big house in Bozeat. By chance I discovered that the client was a friend of Emma’s (next door neighbour from number 11) on Facebook. I sent Emma a text on Thursday evening and she gave me some background which was really useful. Just goes to show it’s who you know and not what you know! The client Annika showed me round the house which was massive. They had a gym with a pool which was actually bigger than the gym at DW. It wasn’t ideal because the kids were home and also the grandparents were staying. Again, I had a job spec to follow and I worked like a Trojan not evening stopping to go for a wee. I was exhausted by the time I got home just before teatime.

I won’t name the company that I am cleaning for but I have not been impressed with the way they operate. The deal is the company charge a monthly management fee and then the clients pay you in cash, and of course if you are doing it by the book, this income has to be declared. This is not a biggie but the thing that pissed me off was the agreed days and times with the clients and turns out they had double booked me, leaving it to me to negotiate different days and times when I could clean which was not want they originally asked for. I am certainly not afraid of hard work but I need to earn more than a 100 quid a week so suffice to say I was certainly having second thoughts last weekend. Events sorted out my dilemma but I will come on to that next.

Phil went into Cranfield to study last Saturday and I went to the gym in the morning and then went over to the caravan. I paid Dennis next door and stripped the beds. I checked to see what was in the fridge only to discover that we must have had a power cut and the fridge had defrosted. It was a right mess. I am thinking now that I really should have turned the fridge off but I can do that another time. After cleaning up I went round to have a cup of tea with Sue and Ian. It was a lovely day and initially we sat outside but then the sun went in so we had to go outside. I guess I stayed for an hour.

We did the usual on Saturday night, a light supper and then X-factor which I fell asleep in the middle of. I woke up around 10 only to find that Sue had received a call from Kay in Spain telling her that Marie, step-dad’s partner had dropped down dead at Stansted airport. To say that I was shocked was an under statement. Unbeknown to me Marie had flow back to the UK for a couple of weeks to get some dental work privately. She was flying back to La Manga on Saturday evening and taking her oldest Granddaughter. Becky had gone through to the departure gate with the cases and Marie I think had gone out to have a last fag and was just approaching the departure gate when she collapsed and died. Meanwhile friend Kay and step dad were having a Chinese meal in a restaurant near Mercia before heading out to the airport to collect Marie and Becky. Kay took the call from Marie’s daughter and had to break the news to John. When I came round I had to speak to Sue, Kay and John who was booked on a Ryanair flight back to Stansted.

I later found out that Marie had collapsed and died instantly. She was attended to straight away by a Swedish doctor who was travelling and happened to be close by. The paramedics and even the air ambulance were called out but it was too late. As it happened in a public place the police were involved. Nikki, Marie’s eldest daughter drove to Stansted and the other daughter, Lorraine, who was travelling back from a holiday in Cornwall with her family, also drove to the airport. John was escorted off the plane by police when he landed and I think it was 4 am by the time they got back to Nikki’s. I know it was half one in the morning by the time we went to bed.

Unfortunately I was due to go to Melton to see mum so I had to phone first thing to let her know what had happened. I spoke to step dad and arranged to meet him and Marie’s daughters at the Princess Alexander hospital in Harlow. There was a problem on the M1 so I was forced to go the back way, I got horribly lost even with the sav nav but eventually got there 2 hours later. I met up with Nikki, Lorraine, Harry, Becky and John and we were taken to see Marie. I didn’t really want to see the body but I didn’t really have a choice. She just looked like she was asleep.

Afterwards I drove John back to Suffolk. As him and Marie had intended to spend 6 months in Spain everything was switched off, I left John to open up the house and quickly nipped to Waitrose to get some food. John was a complete mess and although I was reeling from the shock, I knew that I had to get my practical head on. On Monday after we all met up a funeral directors in Ipswich and then went to check out the new cemetery. It wasn’t a fun afternoon not helped by grey skies and torrential rain.

Everyone came back to John’s house and it was then that Nikki and Lorraine produced a will that Marie had done in 2007. John wasn’t aware of this so it was another shock, he thought the wills they had done together in 2004 were the only wills. We checked the drawers on Tuesday morning and sure enough his will was still in the drawer but Marie’s was gone. Although we searched we couldn’t find another will for Marie.

I know this blog is private but its not my place to share someone else’s business but what I will say is that Marie left everything to her daughters including her 50% share of their park home. From what I understand, John will have to either sell or buy the daughters out. The situation is not helped by the fact that John doesn’t get on with Nicky. We had a few meetings whilst I was in Suffolk and the atmosphere was very strained.

My sister Julia only lives a couple of miles from John so I arranged for him to have dinner with some neighbours and I went to have supper with Julia. It was nice to get away for a couple of hours. I had planned to come back to MK on Friday but as we hadn’t had the results of the post mortem I decided to go home. The park where John lives is a very nice place and his neighbours, since hearing the news, have been brilliant so I left knowing that he has a good support network. Whether he uses it, is entirely up to him.

I was so glad to be home, I got back at 2pm and Phil was already home. I sent him a text before I left and I think he came home so he could tidy up before I got back! To give him credit he’d done all his washing and ironing, he done the towels and even the dishwasher was empty. Just a shame he didn’t think to buy some milk and bread but hey, a girl can’t have everything.

Thursday was a big day for Phil because he had his first exam. He thinks he did okayish, he has to do a project as part of his mark so he is hoping that this will save him. Phil went to Cranfield to study on Friday and well, I just caught up with domestics. I wasn’t in the mood for the gym but I did have to get some shopping from Tesco’s.

On Saturday I went over to Overstone as Sue & Ian had invited me for lunch. It was another miserable day, I had to get some stuff from my caravan before going to Sue’s but I got to them at midday. I have to say I do like Sue’s new caravan, it is very homely and cosy. Sue had done fajitas for lunch and it was just nice to catch up with them both. Obviously we talked about John and Marie, Sue and Alan had a pitch next door to John & Marie in La Mange knows them quite well. Actually it was through John and Marie that we met Sue & Alan.

Yesterday Phil went to Melton to see mum and cut her grass. She has been whittling on about it for ages but Phil hadn’t seen his mum in ages so a visit was much overdue. I was in no mood to go to the gym and neither did I have the energy. I spent the more doing little jobs, just pottering really. Harriet came for lunch and stayed for a few hours; we were discussing Christmas decorations and she did make me laugh when she said that Billy came home with a box of coloured lights (everyone knows that white lights are more stylish right?). Apparently Billy had asked to have red tinsel and those paper lantern things that you hang on the ceiling. Poor Billy, his Christmas wishes will not come true in a million years.

Not much else has happened. I ripped half my fingernail off whilst changing the master bed in the Bozeat house and ripped it even more when I was unpacked my case. It is taped up and doesn’t hurt as much but I do need to get it seen too. I also got a £60 fine for driving in a bus lane en route to the hospital in Harlow last week.

I feel in limbo land right now just waiting to hear when the funeral will be. It’s very unlikely that it will be this week and maybe not even next. Still life goes on and this week I need to pull all the stops and try and find myself a 'proper' job

My Egyptian Experience

Phil drove us to the airport, it was a bit, stop start but we arrived in plenty of time. Unfortunately after checking in I got a text from Phil to say that it had taken him 40 minutes in the road works just to get to the motorway. Anyway, the Easyjet flight was on time and we arrived in Sharm el Sheikh at 6 pm local time.   It was just a shame that it was already dark.   A short transfer and we soon got dropped off at our hotel, The Jolie Royal Peninsular Hotel, http://www.maritim.com/en/hotels/egypt/royal-peninsula-hotel-resort-sharm-el-sheikh/hotel-overview#hotel_content.

Our hotel hadn’t got very good reviews on Trip Advisor so I didn’t have any high expectations but I have to say that I was very pleasantly surprised.  My room was massive; it had a great queen bed with white good quality Egyptian sheets which are my absolute favourite.  I had a massive bathroom, a fridge, a kettle and a good sized television with lots of English channels.   Sue had Ian said their room wasn’t as nice as the room they had the last time they stayed so they paid to upgrade.  They were still in the same block as me but just round the corner.

The resort was quite big and very spaced out but our block was near to the restaurant and bar.  The grounds were green and very well maintained.  It was a good ten minute walk to reception which was okay; I did this trip many times, as it was only place where you could get the free wi-fi.   The pool was massive with lots of free sun beds to choose from.  We were all inclusive; the staff were really friendly but I do think that was because we tipped quite generously.  Overall I thought are hotel was good, not five stars but maybe four stars, of course I have never been to Egypt before so I have nothing to compare it with.

The main slate on Trip Advisor was about the food but actually I thought it was some of best AI food that I have had.  I think this was because the food was prepared on site which I think makes a huge difference.  Okay, some of the dishes were bland and not very hot, but overall there was a selection with lots of good quality meat cooked on the BBQ outside.  That said, and I have to be honest, I had the shits all week with some days worse than others.  Whether this can be attributed to the food alone I don’t know, it could have been ice in the drinks, tap water for cleaning teeth and in the kettle, maybe a change of climate or just too much sun.  From what I have heard and read, this is one of the down sides of visiting Egypt.

One day we took a taxi and went to visit Naama Bay, just 10 minutes from our hotel.  It was a bit of a dump and walking down the main strip was a complete nightmare.  Lots of shops and stalls but we were hassled endlessly, so much so, that we didn’t buy anything.  Sue did buy some tobacco for her son but when she opened it, the packaging was rather dog-eared and the tobacco felt very hard.  We had a beer at a nice roof top terrace bar and then we went back to the hotel.

Sue and Ian did their best to include me (big thank you to both) but I have to say that I missed Phil, actually more than I thought I would.  Phil normally sorts out the luggage, he works out the safe and air conditioning, he also deals with all the money and tipping.  It felt like a part of me was missing.  I think he missed me as well, he was finding his course hard and one day I picked up an email saying that he was thinking of jacking it all in and flying out to join me.  I was half hoping that he would but I knew that Phil wasn’t a quitter so I was happy to pick up another email a couple of days later to say that things were going much better.

It was a short shuttle ride to the private beach which was lovely.  You could only get in the water via steps on a jetty because of the coral but that wasn’t a problem.  The waiters were friendly and helpful and the food at the bar was very good.  We had some nice days there.  Sue and Ian went to Soho Square to have a meal but I decided to opt out.  I spent time by the pool but I admit also to spending a lot of time in my room watching movies.  Some of this was by choice but some times I just had to be near a toilet!

I am not sure if I would go back to Egypt. I think it’s great that the sunshine is guaranteed but the Pharaoph's revenge is not a good experience. I have never been than comfortable in Muslim countries and from what I could see it wasn’t much to see outside of the hotel complex.  Okay I didn’t venture out much but when I could there was just a load of old buildings that I couldn’t work out whether they were has beens or going to be’s.  Certainly not a very pretty landscape.  I am sure the Pyramids are a sight to see and there are many artefacts along the Nile but that’s not really my bag.

We got picked up from the hotel just before 5 pm on Thursday and were all checked in for our flight by 6 pm.  Sharm airport was mad, we had a slice of pizza and a glass of red wine for a rip off price and then it was time to board.  The down side of flying to Egypt is the flight time, some 5 and half hours which seemed to drag.  I was quite lucky because I had a spare seat next to me which gave me extra room and the opportunity to sleep, which I did for 2 whole hours.  We arrived back in Luton at 5 past midnight; the pre-ordered taxi picked us up with no problems and I was back at the flat for quarter past one.  Of course in Egyptian time this was quarter past two.

Not surprisingly Phil was fast asleep in bed; it was quite comforting to hear his snoring from the bedroom. Yep I had a lovely time in the sunshine but I was glad to be home.  I think in some ways the time apart did us some good; Phil and I have known each for over 30 years and have been living together for 15 years. I think you do take each for granted sometimes and can get complacent.  Ten days apart has taught us that we do need each other, not in a lovey dovey way but it’s a bit like the feeling you get when you sink in to your favourite chair or sofa, it’s safe, comfy and familiar.  I don’t to liken by husband to a piece of old furniture but hopefully you all get my drift.

Phil was a very good boy whilst I was gone, he had done all his washing and ironing so I came back to an empty wash basket.  We have a very cheap crap washing machine so I had to laugh when he told me the cycle that he used took 2 and half hours. I had already left it on the speedy setting by the way.  Our tumble dryer on the other hand is very efficient and Phil put his washing in for way too long so it was over dry when it came out which made is difficult for him to iron.  He had also cleaned the toilet and washed the towels.  I also had a chuckle to see that the fridge was almost completely empty, obviously he hadn’t gotten round to doing a food shop. I had left Phil 5 ready meals and lots of snacks; he said he had 3 takeaways so I am guessing that he didn’t do any cooking.   Yes I think it can be safely said that my husband did miss me, if only for my domestic skills, lol.

Phil went to Cranfield on Friday giving me the whole day to sort myself out.  Lack of sleep and a different time zone left me feeling a bit zoned out but I slowly got throw my jobs.  Unpacking and then 6 loads of washing followed by drying and a huge pile of ironing.  I changed my bed and then went to Asda to do a huge food drop.  I went to DW for a work out but felt too knackered so just had a shower. I did visit the gym a few times whilst on holiday and with my dodgy tummy I did think I would have lost weight but nah, I weigh the same.  Diet starts tomorrow.

It felt good to fill my fridge and the cupboards again.  I made a corn beef hash which was Phil’s choice of homecoming meal and I was surprised and pleased when he got home early.  He said that he was going to take a night off from study, so we ate supper and then settled in to watch all of the recordings that he hadn’t watched whilst I was gone.  Not the soaps of course, I already caught up with these whilst doing the ironing.  Phil and I have recently started watching Goggle Box and on Friday night we watched the Celebrity Goggle Box.  This couple, Steph and Dom Parker are my favourites.

Yesterday Phil wanted the flat to himself so he could study so I took myself out just after 8 am. First up a quick trip to Asda and then Primark and then the gym.  I had a good workout and it didn’t hurt which surprised me.  I did go home to make us a quick lunch, quiche, salad and new potatoes and then it was straight back out to visit Harriet and Billy.  There new sofas arrived during the week and they look very nice.  They didn’t pick the cheapest but you tell the quality and they were very comfortable.  A comfy sofa/chair is a must in life!  

Their house is coming along and they are gradually adding bits of furniture, the house just needs a bit more colour and some soft furnishings. I have agreed to meet Harriet after work on Thursday and we are going to look for curtains.  They do have a few jobs for Phil to do but I have told them these will have to wait until Phil finishes his exam in a couple of week’s time.

I picked up some bits and pieces in Newport and got home for 3 pm as I couldn’t think of anywhere else to go.  Phil was still studying but luckily I had a few phone calls to make and then my sister called so this killed some time.  Last night was a Ploughman’s for tea followed by catching up with X-Factor.  My time zone is all out and I got up at half four this morning.  Having been up for a couple of hours, feel tired now and am tempted to go to bed but I am afraid of waking up Phil.  I will probably catch up with paperwork and then get ready to drive to Melton to see Phil’s mum.  I think she has missed my weekly visits.  She is making me roast lamb with all the trimmings, my absolute favourite.  Good job the diet is staring tomorrow.