Never Quite Enough Time

The alarm went off at 5.20am.     I am not a morning person but London beckoned for the Friday ahead of the long awaited (it’s the best part of a year since we last got back) ski trip.     S dropped me at Peterborough Station and once onboard the train a (actually two) very nice stewards served me tea, a bacon roll and a satsuma on the 50min train journey to Kings Cross.     From there things were a little slower and the Lizzy line does not do refreshments to seats which is a shame but entirely understandable. The working day was book(train)ended with the Stansted Express from Liverpool Street to the Airport.    Not being peak hours this meant I could use my Senior Railcard for the first time.   I met S at the Radisson Blu, the car was safely ensconced in the multi storey and all our bags were piled on a trolley in our room.    I avoided the trolley and luggage negotiation nightmare in England but checked in to our French hotel...

……she’s singing along to Another Day In Paradise while she is replacing your filling.     I can’t say I was exactly echoing the sentiment, not that I could sing at that point even if I wanted but I view a happy dentist as a good thing.       Certainly better than the alternative when they have a drill in my mouth. The timing for this was not ideal so close to skiing.    I didn’t know it needed doing until a check up a couple of weeks ago but I’m not sure pushing these things back is something that can be got away with quite so easily as they once were (and perhaps didn’t ought to have been then). It was also two hours out of my day that I could have done without but it is done and hopefully all will be fine with the filling.    There are many advantages to living out in the sticks but the time taken to get anywhere really isn’t one of them though that may also apply to living in a city so maybe I should take a leaf out of my Dentist’s book an...

  Hardly balmy but not a bad day out here in the flat lands. NHS My Dad had an appointment this am for a CT scan.    It had been playing on his mind a little and Mum is seldom an enthusiastic driver so I offered to drive them there.    The letter wasn’t as clear as it might have been for where to go but Pilgrim really isn’t that big, the information desk has always proved helpful and we had allowed loads of time.    Turns out the information desk doesn’t open until noon on a Saturday but a short recce later, they were in the correct waiting room and I went to get a cup of tea and run through my emails.   Fat chance!    I had barely started on my tea before they were back.    All done, nearly 20 minutes before their actual scheduled appointment.    It was so quick it had been less than 30 minutes since we entered the car park and the payment machine was not charging me.   The MiL is also going from stren...

There is a theme to this January or certainly this week that I shall be pleased to see the back of.      We have checked in for the ski trip.     Seems early to me but they do keep reminding me so we shall see if this stops the emails. There was then the booking the campsite for our main holiday in the South of France.    When I say ‘campsite’ please do not get the idea we will be in a tent.    We will have a chalet.    I have friends who camp at festivals and even one who is seemingly comfortable wild camping complete with a trowel.    I wish them well but we are unlikely to be joining them.     By ‘unlikely’ I mean that I expect the Winter Olympics will be held in Hades before S and I holiday in a tent. For skiing I have everything printing out and in a clear plastic wallet because that is what I do.    Quite why when it is also on my phone even I am beginning to question.     For ...

The Tour de France has announced a number of stages in Britain for 2027.     The last time it was here we had breakfast at Browns (where we had an excellent lunch last Saturday) and saw the start of a stage in Cambridge and then hopped on a train to see the riders in London and had dinner there. For 2027 the starts and finishes are Edinburgh, Carlisle, Keswick, Liverpool, Welshpool and Cardiff.    Lovely though those places and the points on route are my immediate thoughts are it is going to be a bit like hard work and possibly quite expensive to get a peloton fix from over this side of the country.    I don’t entirely rule it out but the women’s race is looking a little more of a prospect this time round.    I’m thinking train up to Skipton some point on Thursday, train Skipton to Leeds to catch the start on Friday, mooch round Leeds listening to S telling me how much everything has changed since he was at uni then train back to Skipton, may be a...

  I have sold some roof bars for the Ford Transit.     We needed them when we were doing the kitchen/utility/shower room build/refit. We do not need them any longer.     Another item (arguably 2) on its way out of our lives.     Can’t claim things are moving quickly on the decluttering front but at least the roof bars are going.     Now, if only I could get rid of the set of Transit wing mirrors that have taken up residence under my study desk…….   They have been on for 66 days, have only had 4 views and have 1 watcher so are likely to be restricting my foot space for a while longer.    There does, however, seem to be some interest in a coat I put on at the weekend.    23 views and 4 watchers.    This would suggest it is in with a chance though since it is only on for £11 one might have hoped that someone would have taken the plunge by now.    I’m told that Vinted is better for selling clothes but ...

……has clearly been doing overtime.    The door of the larder unit has not been true for a while so S sorted that after I had emptied it.    Given the amount that came out we may have identified the source of the shift on the door.    Let’s just say the door is now looking good and there is less inside than there was.    In part this is down to a review of the best before dates.    A bag of gram flour, a bag of Einkorn flour, a box of medjoul dates, a block of marzipan, a block of Halva and a block of muscovado sugar (no that last one does not usually come in a block but this was pretty solid), have all gone to landfill.    My mean streak is busy berating my lazier self but neither have yet identified what I thought I was going to be making with that little selection, not least, as I am not exactly big on baking.   There was an interesting collection of tins also.    The fruit cocktail is a trifle staple for ...

  The big advantage of a Boxing Day birthday is that you are never likely to be in the office, the disadvantages, arguably, include log splitting or skip filling (we’ve done that in previous years) starting to sound almost celebratory in a way others seem to greet a bottomless brunch.     Another might be considered to being caught very much on the hop when you do get back to the office.     Last Tuesday saw me put my phone on DND so I could prepare in peace ahead of an important video call.     One of my colleagues came to my room because Reception couldn’t get through and (ostensibly) someone was in reception needing to talk to me.     She’s very good at a straight face, even when my language was perhaps less than it ought to be in the office.     Suffice to say I walked straight into a presentation with a very personalised birthday card (I know exactly who collaborated with the photos for that!), several short poems inside the ca...

  One of S’s new ski boots was causing some very specific discomfort on the slopes back at the beginning of last year.     As is the way with these things he has waited until the annual ski trip is imminent to get the offending boot refitted.     We headed out to Cambridge yesterday morning on roads which were treacherous locally but better than expected after a few miles.     The boot has remained at Ellis Brigham for later collection so they can stretch it or whatever it is they are going to do.     The next issue is whether we can get our skis serviced in time though, with my untrained eye, I think they are fine so I am not going to worry about that.     I’m probably not going to worry about hopalong much either.     Worst case scenario he has to hire and that may persuade him to address kit issues more timely in future.     Given I am queen of the last minute that might be a little unfair but we only get a we...