Friday 30th Oct

Up at eight and had the usual morning, spoke to Mandy on skype for a while, she was looking forward to getting hold of mum. I went round to Marte's with the dogs at eleven and we went for our walk and i returned about twelve thirty. I made a cake again but it did not turn out so well, it collapsed in the middle and then refused to come out of the tin, so i ended up with a very ugly looking cake. Jacqui arrived mid afternoon and we sat and chatted for a couple of hours, she thought the cake was very tasty, so that was something. I had an email from Mandy saying she had had a long chat with mum so thats good.
I had a very long chat with gran mid evening, i couldn't decide what to have for dinner as i was not really hungry so i opened a tin of tuna and mixed in mayo and had that, not too bad. The evenings veiwing was a bit ropey but i enjoyed Benidorm, it seems a little better now than when it started. I had a chat with ant before going to sleep, he is home on saturday so it will be a housework day and a nice evening together.

Thursday 29th Oct

I arose at the usual time and filled in a couple of hours on the internet,i had the Adelaide radio on in the background, and had a look at fantasy properties for when we win 75 million on Friday. At eleven Marte arrived and we went in to Hesdin to have a look around the market, i also had a letter to post and needed to pop in to a tabac. I stopped in to say hello to Marion and Maggie, and then we headed back to the village. I made some lunch and watched an episode or two of Are You Being Served, then at two thirty Marte arrived again and we went for our walk with the dogs, Banjo was so annoying whining that i let her off the lead. We had a good walk down to Willeman again and were out for around an hour and a half. When i got back i watched a couple more episodes then had some dinner, i finished off the chicken and pumpkin curry from a couple of weeks ago, it had been in the freezer. After a very sparce tv evening and a bit of internet i went up to bed and read for an hour then went to sleep.

the week so far 29th Oct

For some reason my blogging has dropped off a little this week, so here is the week so far:
Ant and i had a quiet day on Sunday, we didn't go anywhere or see anyone, had a quiet evening then Monday i took him to Lille early for the train to work, i did very little for the rest of the day. On Tuesday i was unsure of what i would do with the day, so on the suggestion of Jacqui i created a website for the sale of the house and put it online, at lunch time Janine and Martè arrived, i had a cup of tea with Janine then Martè returned later in the afternoon and we had a long walk together down to Willeman and back, we arranged to have another walk the next morning. I had a quiet evening in front of the tv and headed to bed earlish to read.
Wednesday morning i got up and did online stuff, had a chat with mum on Skype, then got ready and went round to Martès with the dogs, we headed off for a walk. At one point i was yattering on, in french, about how i found Ruby's tail enchanting when she was walking, Marte was looking at me as if i was a little strange, then she explained i was talking about Ruby's arse not her tail, the words are very similar, so we had a good laugh about that. When i got back there was a message from ant so i phoned the hotel only to be told he had a do not disturb on his phone, i tried the mobile but it went straight to answer. There then followed one of those annoying situations where i tried to get hold of him and vice versa. He phoned while i was mixing ingredients for a cake so i didn't hear the phone. Janine phoned at about six to ask if i would help her load her flowers for all saints day in to her car, it is traditional here to put flowers on the graves of your relatives on this day, and when i was out he phoned again, starting to worry. I eventually got hold of him at about nine in the evening. Another earlish evening to be and time to read.

Our Loire Experience

Due to a generous birthday gift ant and i headed off to the Loire Valley for a week with the dogs, here is a brief outline of what we did:

Saturday; We headed off about ten thirty, as soon as the man fitting our new gates arrived and let us out of the garden. The drive down was relatively stress free and the roads were quiet, driving on the motorways here is very boring due to the lack of anything to see or do apart from drive. We arrived just after four, found the place really easily, we got out of the car and had a look around, found the keys and let ourselves in, the dogs explored the garden, Banjo fell in to the mill stream and i had to fish her out, typical!! The interior was very quaint and attractive, it had every thing we would need for the week, we took a load of photos before our bits were unloaded so it would look a little tidier. The owner arrived to welcome us and sort anything out we had issues with, she was really nice and stayed for a coffee and chatted to us for a good while. After our period of settling in i set too to make some bread, then we got changed into our pj's and had a night of champagne and pizza, chat and music, a most enjoyable day.
Sun; We headed over to a local town called Sille le Guillame where we had read there was a brocant, it was quite a decent size and we pottered about with the dogs, it was very similar to the ones we have here, except there was no food tent. We had a sandwich each as a kind of brunch, bought a book, Far Country by Neville Shute, then had a look around the town, quite a beautiful place with an impressive early Chateau. We headed back to the house before lunch and decided we would take the dogs a walk and have a picnic, originally this was envisaged as a ten km walk but turned out being more like 18, so by the time we got back we were both a bit done in, but we had enjoyed it. Set too making dinner, a pork stew and we had another evening of wine with games, ant almost won a game of scrabble, he is getting better at it and really gave me a run for my money but i just held on to my unbeaten champion title.
Monday; We had a day trip out to Le Mans, quite a big place famous for its 24 hour race, it was quite a beauty, the old town was very picturesque with many half timbered buildings in good condition, the cathedral was also quite a good example of a transitional Gothic building with a fine multi chapeled apse sporting many graceful flying buttresses. We had a good wander around with the dogs, from old to 19th century and beyond. After a good mornings walking we headed back to the house, with a trip to a supermarket on the way, and spent the afternoon with our noses in books. Ant cooked fish, chips and mushy peas for dinner then we had another games night, a game of Monopoly and then a Master quiz championship.
Tuesday; A two city day, we headed in the direction of Alençon but went straight through and went to Sées, a very pretty town with a very fine cathedral all in an early Gothic period, very fine features inside. We went to a small sandwich place for lunch and i had one of the best cheeseburgers i have had in ages, the dogs behaved themselves well, then we had a good wander around the town, a very pretty place. We headed back and stopped off in Alençon on the way back, again a very fine place, the birth place of St. Terese, a very popular french saint from the last century, naturally there was a shrine to her in the church, her bones however were doing a tour of England at the time so the shrine was bare. The town again was a beautiful mix of old and new with some very pretty 17th century buildings mixed in with some fine later ones, including a fantastic round market building. On return i set too on the dinner then relaxed with my book, then we had another evening of food, wine and games.
Wednesday; We woke to a grey rainy day, which was a bit of a shame as the weather had been good up till then, we could not think what to do with ourselves, i had finished my book and felt disinclined to start another, in the end ant suggested we go to a supermarket and see if we could find some dvds to watch, we did, and had to drive all the way to Le Mans to find anything. We bought four dvds and a jigsaw with Asterix the Gaul and the entire village on it, this was a bit of a sweetener for me to stop me grumbling. When we got back we set to on the jigsaw, little knowing it would take most of that evening and the whole of the next day, but it was good fun. We settled down to dinner in front of the dvd of Dungeons and Dragons, which was appalling, though Ant said he had enjoyed it!
Thursday; We spent the entire day working on the jigsaw, only pausing momentarily to eat, it was a bit obsessive but we almost finished it, only to find we were missing a pair of trousers, which Ant found calamitous. We had a very poor dinner as we had planned a Tuna Pasta Bake but there was no tin opener so i had to improvise with hot dogs, very unpleasant.
Friday; We decided to head home on Friday as the weather had taken a turn for the worst and the novelty of having no modern day conveniences had worn off a little, so we packed up and cleaned up and headed home. The return trip was far more enjoyable as we took the normal road home, passing through pretty villages and plenty to see, we got home by four in the afternoon and set too unpacking and settling back in to our home.

Thursday 15th Oct

I woke around the usual time and came down, a frosty morning, put the dogs out and had coffee and an online session, about an hour later ant surfaced. We had a bit of a internet morning, i had a chat with mum on face book, which was nice, then spoke to Jacqui on the phone and said we would pop round and visit later. Mum had suggested i listened to ABC Adelaide on the internet, so i messed around with that and it is playing now, i am listening to drive time with Lachlan Colquhoun as i type and spent a couple of hours listening yesterday morning. Just before lunch the postwoman arrived with a package from mum, two maps and a walking guide, thanks so much mum, i studied both maps with great interest and then had a look through some of the walks, which i am sure the dogs are going to love.
I eventually dragged ant off the computer, he is now truly addicted to cafe world and keeps asking me 'how do i do this', and we headed round to Jacqui's with our fish, she is sitting for us. When we were there i had a go on her Wii Fit, it was really good and i did twenty mins of exercise without even realizing it. After i had had a go, the machine said i was overweight but not obese so that was a little better than i had hoped, ant was at his desired weight but his Wii Fit age was fifty five!! We had a game of trivial pursuits on the wii then a game of monopoly, by which time it was after six so we headed home.
I put dinner together, spicy meatballs and taboulè, which was really nice, then we decided we would have a games night. We played a game of Monopoly, which ant won, then a game of Scrabble, which i won. We watched a little tv then headed up to bed, had a read for half an hour then went to sleep.

Wednesday 14th October

I got up about nine and left ant sleeping, came down and did some online stuff, then Marion phoned to say the roofer was in the office and was i available for him to come round this morning, of course. Camile the roofer arrived about thirty mins later so i had to get ant up, he had a look at the roof but could not see a problem so i had to take him up to the attic and show him the loose tile. He said there was nothing wrong with the tile it was just a bit loose, which i already knew, so he made the tile waterproof with silicon, fingers crossed this will solve the problem, he only charged us 15euros so it was a bit of a bargain. I decided it was my last chance to get the lawn mowed, as we had had a couple of dry days, so i set to mowing whilst ant got himself up and ready, the mowing was pretty heavy going, i should not have left it so long, but at least it is now done.
Once ant was ready we headed out to see Jackie and Tony, just a social call, they already had visitors so it was quite busy but we had a good time, played a game of ten pin bowling on their wii, which Tony won, he may have had a bit more practice than us!! We then headed down to Carrefour and did a little shopping then came home, there was a message from the people who own the holiday cottage saying they had my message and were expecting us at four thirty on Saturday, so that's a load off. I went back online and messed around with my new cafe on facebook, i sent ant an invitation to join, he doesn't normally have any truck with these things but got really in to it and could hardly be dragged off the computer, an ironic twist. I gave gran a call to see how she was, quite good by all accounts, and ant had a good long chat before we sat down with a beer to watch the film Milk, about Harvey Milk, the first openly gay political figure in the US, possibly world i am not sure.
I had read a book about his life some years ago and was quite intrigued, then the film came out and i had wanted to see it for some time. I heard on the radio on the way to Brussels that Arnold Schwarzenegger had decreed the birthday of Milk to be Harvey Milk day, such a turn around from the times he was actually in office. After watching it ant and i decided we would need to become more politically active on the gay rights stage, i used to march in the pride marches, and have never denied who i am but the placatory rights given to us by the uk government seem to have squashed any real search for equality, i know we now have civil partnerships and anti discrimination laws, but we still have a lot of homophobia in society.
Anyhoo, that's a bit of a rant for you, we headed up to bed after watching the dvd extra bits and had a much better nights sleep than the night before, now we are back in our room.

Mon and Tues 13th Oct

I got up and spent some time on line with my coffee, i seem to be loosing interest in the farmville app but am keeping it going. I had a bit of a fiddle about with the loose tile in the roof to see what i could do but it was clear i needed the advice of a professional so i gave Marion a phone to see if she could recommend someone, she could but didn't know his number so i had to phone Maggie, who gave me his number and i left a message, fortunately it didn't rain. I gave David a call in hospital, he said he was much better and had high hopes of being released so fingers crossed. I did a bit of sorting out of the house, still bits left from the party, and spent some time with the dogs. In the afternoon i had another session on line, then Mark phoned to say David would not be released today, perhaps not untill Friday, so that will please him.
A quiet evening in front of the tv for a change then off to bed for a read, i have moved to one of the spare rooms, which i don't really like as i am used to my own bed, but i got a good nights sleep.
Ant due home on Tuesday so i did the customary housework to get the place sorted for his return. He phoned mid morning to say he was home, which was good, then later phoned to say he had a seat on the flight, so i headed off to Brussels to pick him up, the usual humdrum journey up there. When i got there he was not stood at the kiss and drop so i circled round again, still not there so i parked the car and went in to arrivals. I stood about for about twenty mins and still no sign, i thought he was possibly stood in the wrong place so i went and had a look for him, no sign, so i decided to give him a call. He had been taken off the flight he was supposed to be on and put on the next one so i had a good hour to sit about and wait. I didn't mind this too much had a mooch around a couple of the shops then sat and watched folks coming and going in arrivals, airports are such unpleasant places.
He eventually arrived, apologetic and annoyed that he had been offloaded, we headed home, got stuck in the rush hour traffic on the Brussels ring road and then i took a wrong turn and had to double back, quite unusual for me. We finally made it home by seven forty, a whole seven hours after i had set off. The dogs were delighted to see us, unsurprisingly, and i set to on a cottage pie whilst ant sorted himself out. We had a relaxing night in front of the tv whilst ant slipped in and out of sleep, making the odd comment then snoring, a lovely evening. We headed up to bed by eleven and i sat and read for a bit, which ant took to signify i was in a mood with him, which may have held the tiniest grain of truth. When we settled down to go to sleep i was either too hot, or too cold, itchy for some reason, and just unable to get to sleep, eventually i gave up and moved back to our bedroom, read a little longer then headed off to sleep.

Sunday 11th Oct

It was a long weekend of hangovers or early mornings, so, sorry i have missed three days but here they are. We spent all day Friday sorting out the buffet and house for the party in the evening, we did manage to get a couple of hours rest in before the first guest arrived at seven. I think we both had a really good time and got to bed around two in the morning, every one seemed to enjoy themselves and most of the birthday cake went. As a result i woke on Saturday with an unpleasant headache and languished on the the sofa whilst ant cleared away most of the mess. Just after lunch we went down to David and Mark's and headed with Mark to the hospital to visit David, he seemed to be in good health and chatted away, though he was frustrated at being made to stay in bed. When we got back we settled in for a restful rest of day, i did go online for a little while but could not really be bothered, and the headache wasn't helping matters.
On Sunday we were up at three in the morning to get ant to Brussels for his flight to work, i was amazed how many cars were about at that time on a Sunday morning. It all went well and i was back by half eight. Needles to say i was a little tired so i did a bit of housework, cleared some of the washing backlog, gave the kitchen a bit of a going over, then settled down for a restful afternoon, watched season one of are you being served. I phoned gran later in the day, and as i was chatting went upstairs to find water dripping from the ceiling of our bedroom onto our bed, which sent me in to a bit of a flutter as i dragged the feather duvet off and got a bucket under it asap. I don't think it did too much damage, as i had the fire on i put the duvet in the living room and it has dried out nicely. I watched a bit more tv in the evening then went to bed by ten and read, Feral Future is a really interesting but also slightly scary book, i would highly recommend it.
So the birthday season is at an end, all over and done with, but from it we now have a lovely holiday to look forward to, in less than a week, the girls are being a bit funny about food as they got so much rubish off the buffet they are now turning thier noses up at normal food, so that will have to be nipped in the bud, and i have to find and solve the hole in our roof, i think it is just a slipped tile, or at least i hope it is, once i get it sorted i will have the ceiling to paint, so thats a bit of fun for the future.

Thursday 8th Oct

I woke to a happy birthday from ant, a little hung over from games night, and a little tired due to the dogs being in bed with us. We went down together and ant made coffee and i listened to the two messages on the answer machine, one from gran and one from Anne with birthday wishes. The rest of the morning was pretty normal, Tony and Jackie phoned to wish happy birthday, did the online bits then headed out to Carrefour to buy some extra bits. We had some lunch, Mark phoned to let us know David has been taken in to hospital, i don't know how serious it is yet.
Mums birthday card arrived with the post, perfect timing mum, ant is very taken with her beautiful hand writing.
We had a lazy afternoon, read for a bit, then watched some tv, made some vol au vent fillings, messed about on the computer, then finally got ready to go bowling. We headed down to Maggie and Mike's for seven then all loaded into Tony's Land rover and went down to Abbeville, Tony and Jackie gave me an aussie themed bar towel and a some aussie bumper stickers, which was fun. We easily found the bowling place and got set to sorting out shoes and balls. I didn't fair too well in the first game, but ant did well, then the second game i finally found my form, a little too late as Tony also found his and took the game. We had a really nice time, all good camaraderie and laughs, after the bowling we went to McDonalds for dinner, big Macs all round. We were home just after eleven, the girls were pleased to see us, we put them out for the shortest time then headed up to bed. A nice day all in all, friday see's the actual party but the thing i am most looking forward to from my birthday is the week we will have away together, thanks mum

wednesday 07th Oct

It was yet another rainy morning when i came down so the dogs lost out on another walk and had to content themselves with running around the garden and barking at every little thing they could. I went online and did some bits and ant finally surfaced. Ant gave Ian a call to wish him good luck with his interview, and i chatted to him for a while. Ant had read yesterdays blog so decreed that tonight we would have a games night, something to look forward to. We then both had baths and got ourselves ready properly.
We decided to get the cake iced and decorated, it didn't end up looking as good as i had imagined but it was ok, i bought some cute sugar animals to give it a quasi farmville look but now it looks more like a cake for a baby than for a thirty six year old man. At midday the postwonam arrived with a package and a birthday card, Feral Future by Tim Low was in the package, which i look forward to reading, and a card from Harry and Debbie.
After lunch we decided to head in to town to check the bank and get some little bits to make up the buffet on Friday night, we stopped in to say hello to Marion and had a mooch round Lidl and Aldi, where i found an automatic tin opener that i knew David and Mark were looking for so i got that and we headed up to their house to present them with it, we stayed for some time and chatted over coffee.
When we got home we realized the chicken we were going to make curry with still hadn't defrosted so that went in the fridge for another day and we had a quandary about what we would do for dinner, i was not really hungry so could not be bothered deciding so we left it. We had about an hour reading before the Simpsons, in the middle of which the phone rang, we left it to go to answering machine, it was Maggie. Once the Simpsons were over i listened to the message, Maggie was saying the bowling alley we had hoped to go to on Thursday night was closed for refurbishment so we would not be able to go unless she found another one. I phoned her back to the joyous news she had located another one in Abbeville and everything was organized and we would be picked up just after six thirty.
Finally we made a start on games night, i dug several of our large stash of board games out of the cupboard and set them up on the table, ant decided he wanted to start with Monopoly, so that is what we did, we had a couple of bottles of wine and had a great night, Pizzas, originally destined for the buffet, were cooked. I won at Monopoly, after a bit of a financial crisis early in the game which gave ant an air of superiority until i bankrupted him. We then played Masterquiz, similar to Trivial Pursuits but very hard questions, ant won the first game and then went on to win the second, just goes to show who has the brains in this house, even if they are hidden under a bushel!! After several hours of game play and three bottles of wine between us we decided to call it a night, we brought the dogs up with us went to sleep en famile.

Tuesday 6th Oct

I woke to another grey rainy day, so i put the dogs out and went online, the new walking the dogs regime is not really taking off. Ant came down about an hour later and we sat and chatted over coffee, not quite sure what we would do with the day. We both spent some time on line then had some lunch. After lunch we made the cake, it went very well and smelt lovely before it went in the oven, four and a half hours of cooking time, quite an expensive cake to make. In the afternoon we put a fire on and decided to watch an afternoon movie, ant was asleep with in a little while so i went back on my computer and whiled away a couple of hours.
When the cake was done we took it out and it looks perfect, perhaps not as deep as it could be but that should make it easier to ice, we left it to cool on the rack and will look at decorating it tomorrow. We had a chat with gran on the phone, BA has stated they are looking to loose 1700 cabin crew, mainly through voluntary redundancy, so we wanted to reassure her we are ok, naturally it set off quite a flurry of discussion here, if we could just get a buyer for this place we could put in for redundancy and fill up our pot a little.
Another evening in front of the tv, i really should make an effort to do something more constructive, i know ant loves games nights but we don't seem to have done anything like that for an age. The tv was quite good, our 'Tales from the green valley' about a reconstructed 17th century farm, then the History of Scotland, which seemed to glide over the stupidity of Mary Queen of Scots and paint Elisabeth as a bit of a monster, then a design program, a family living in the age of the 1980's, plenty for ant and i to reminisce about, quite good stuff. We had sausage chips and beans for dinner, all it needed was a cup of tea and some slices of white bread with cheap margarine and we could have been on the Royale Family. We got off to bed and i finished a Short History of Australia, the end is a little disappointing as it only goes as far as the mid sixties, and i had not realised Australia had had it's fingers in the Vietnam war, well you live and learn. I am in a bit of a funk as i only have a couple of pages of Fatal Shore left, but then i have the illustrated history of Adelaide to get through and a couple of others expected any min through the post.

Monday 5th Oct

I woke about nine and left ant in bed, came down to a wet and grey day, so the dog walking was out, i went on line and did some bits. At eleven i went up and woke ant to say i was heading out to pick up my birthday pressie from mum, i headed down to Auchy Les Hesdin only to be told they didn't deal with western union so i had to go to Hesdin. The post office was not very busy and the woman was very nice and helpful, we sorted everything out and she wished me a happy birthday, which was nice. When i got back home i gave mum a call to thank her for her pressie, very extravagant, but very welcome, we chatted for a bit, then ant chatted.
I helped ant make a start on the birthday cake, but realized we were missing quite a few ingredients so we headed off to Carrefore and did some extra shopping. I had discussed with ant what i should do with the money from mum, it was too much to fritter away so i wanted to do something special with it. Half of me wanted us to go on a holiday with it, the other half wanted a nintendo wii, so when we got to Carrefore i looked at them but then thought it is a lot of money for something that will get less and less use so i decided not to buy one.
When we got home we realized the fruit for the cake should have been steeping in brandy over night, so that kicked our plans for making a cake in to touch, we smothered the fruit in brandy and left it to sit overnight. In the afternoon ant had his usual nap and i started a search for a place for a little holiday for us. Ant is on holiday for a week from the eighteenth so it is an ideal time. After an exhaustive search i settled on a place in the Loire, a converted watermill which accepts dogs and was within my price range, so it is all booked and ready for us to arrive a week on Saturday. The holiday will be something to look forward to, plenty to see and do in the area and it has central heating, which will be a luxury for us, so we may take a load of books and a few bottles of wine and settle in for a comfy week.
Ant had just woken when Tony arrived, he brought the details of a house they are very interested in and stayed for a good while chatting, once he had gone ant made a start on the dinner, meat balls and chips, quite an unusual mix but very nice none the less. After dinner we both had a good long chat to gran on the phone and then settled in to a bottle of wine and the tv, another design show on BBC4 and then Ross Noble again, he seemed to think that small town Australia would find it hilariously funny if he just insulted their towns, which they may well have done, but it did nothing for me. And so to bed, quite merry and all chatted out.

Sunday 4th Oct

I woke about eight, went down and made coffee and put the dogs out, i had to be out for ten to drive to the uk to pick up ant so went online and did bits. I had a good long chat to Harry and Debbie, who i haven't spoken to in a while, Harry used to be my head of department when i was teaching and we have been good friends ever since. I headed out at ten to ten and went into Hesdin to put some petrol in the car then drove over to the eurotunnel to cross the channel. Once in England i headed to Tesco in Ashford to get stuff for the party and the cake i am going to help ant make. I arrived at Heathrow a little too early so drove around a little then decided to park up and find ant, he was there in plenty of time and we headed back, after paying a rediculous price for parking all of ten minutes. We had a nice journey home and were back before eight, the poor dogs were desperate to get out when we arrived but the did not mess the hall so that was a blessing. After a bath each we settled down to some wine and pizza, this used to be a friday night staple for me, a little treat for the end of the working week, and we enjoyed it. We watched the antiques road show and some other bits before finally heading off to bed.

Friday 2nd Sept

a very early morning, up at four, but we did sleep so i was not too tired, after a quick get ready and coffee we headed over to David and Mark's as Mark had asked if he could take ant to work. I left them and came back but it was still pitch black outside so i went online and spent some time on the computer until daylight arrived. Once it was light enough i took the dogs out on a nice walk, the weather is turning a little now so it was less pleasant than the day before, but the girls enjoyed it. When i got home i did the farm and blog, ant phoned to say he had arrived safely, i messed around for a little longer on the computer then put the radio on and read for a while. At lunch time the post person brought one of my new books, Adelaide a Pictorial History, and i had a skim through that then fell asleep on the sofa. I woke about two hours later and watched a film, then spent a little more time down on the farm. At seven thirty, after the simpsons, i made myself a chicken stir fry with satay sauce and noodles, quite nice, then watched some tv, i got a bit bored with it and decided i would read some more. At ten i watched the first of the new season of Benidorm, it was quite good but did not seem to have the same appeal as the first two series, isn't it always the way, but ant will be keen to watch it when he is home. Off to bed by eleven and an hour with Fatal Shore, then off to sleep.

Thursday 01 Oct

Woke about eight thirty and left ant sleeping in bed, i came down, watched the news again and then headed out with the dogs, we had quite a nice walk but Banjo is getting more and more troublesome and needs to be put back on the leash. When i got back ant was up, i went online and did my bits, then we decided we would have a hunt through our wardrobes for things to get rid of, about an hour later we had a huge bag of things ready to go for donation, so we headed off towards Hesdin with them. We stopped in at David and Mark's and had a coffee with them, we were there for quite a long while, looking at old photos and chatting. When we got home ant went off for a nap and i sat and read, i am coming to the end of Fatal Shore now, but i have ordered some new books to take its place.
Just before seven ant came down, i made a quiche for dinner and we sat and watched the simpsons, ant had a bath a little later and we both chatted to gran on the phone. I sat and read for a good while longer and then we decided we would head up to bed by ten as we had an early morning again the next day, we sat and read in bed for about an hour and then tried to get some sleep, i slept much better this time, though was woken at one point by ant muttering and grinding his teeth.

Wednesday 30th Sept

I woke just before nine and came down, made coffee and sat and watched the news for half an hour, then in a change to the usual took the dogs out for a good long walk, which we all enjoyed. When i got home i did the online stuff by which time ant had come down. Once he was dressed and ready we headed out to David and Mark's, sat with them for a coffee and a chat then went up to Tony and Jackie's and sat out in their courtyard and had a chat with them. We headed back to Hesdin and did the shopping, it is the season of cheap wine deals at the moment so we bought two cases of red to stock our empty cave. We had decided i would be having a birthday bash so when we got home i rang round inviting folks, now i will need to sort out food and all that, ant was going to take charge of it but i will help him out a little. I sorted out the sky box so it is now downstairs and we don't have to bounce the signal any more, which is a bit of a blessing, and ant made dinner, cottage pie.
After i had cleared away my working equipment we put the radio on and read for a bit, then ant had a nap. Just before the simpsons i had a nice relaxing bath, then settled in to an evening in front of the tv, not quite so good as it was the previous evening, but you can't always win, ant decided to crack open a bottle of wine and we sat and chatted throughout the evening.
After a nice relaxing evening we headed off to bed, quite tired but i am glad i have broken my morning regime and hope to keep it that way;