Thursday 17th June

I am now back in France, we have had a very good time with mum but i am not going to put it all down here, there is too much to relate. After a day of journeying home on Wednesday i got home late, spoke to ant and then went to bed. I woke around eight on Thursday to a very pleasant looking day, got up, stripped our bed and went down, started the washing marathon and made coffee, using the new kettle, which worked very well. I spent a little time online, phoned a few people to let them know i was back, arranged to go for a tea with Janine and expected Tony to drop in at some point. I got on with the washing, sorted out the wardrobes upstairs, got in to the garden and sorted out the dead heading and mowing, it has gone from being a slumbering garden to a riot of activity in the last ten days, i can't believe how much further on it is.
I did about seven loads of washing altogether but got everything washed and dried, made our bed up, had a cheese sandwich for lunch then went to Janine's for tea about three, we sat and chatted for an hour then i got back and watched a couple of episodes of American Dad season 5. Tony arrived just before seven, i was a bit surprised as i thought he wasn't coming, we sat and chatted for a bit over coffee then he headed home. I had a pizza for dinner and carried on with AD, dogs on the bed, perfect relaxing evening, it feels good to be back in our kingdom! I had a bit of read a little later then headed off to sleep, didn't even have time to dream of winning the lottery.

Tuesday 18th May

Woke just before nine and came down, had coffee and went on line and did a few bit, spoke to ant then had a bath and got dressed. I drove up to Lille in plenty of time, parking at the station was full so had to hunt for a space in the shopping center next door. Got to the train station but there was no train due in at ten past twelve so i got a little worried, spoke to the guy in the info desk and he told me it would be arriving at Lille Flanders so i sprinted over there, the train was delayed, i had a little look on one of their machines and realized there were two trains, one arriving at Lille Europe so i ran back over there just in case and hunted through the station. I realized mum was not there so ran back and finally found her, thank god.
We had a hug and left the station and took her case to the car then settled down in Paul the Boulangers tea room for a bit of lunch, quite a nice quiche and salad followed by a nice cake. We headed over to Lille Europe and sat with coffee whilst we waited for ant to arrive, which he did on time. We headed home, got back around five and showed mum around the estate, she seemed quite taken with it, we had a cup of tea, phoned Mandy and got ant bathed. When everyone was in and settled we cracked open a bottle of sparkles and sat and chatted, then had a nice dinner, beuf en daube with roasties, a bit of cheese and a bit of tart tartin for desert then sat and chatted over more wine till we were ready for bed then said our good nights, i had a very nice cuddle with mum.

Monday 17th May

Got up, came down, had coffee and watched the news, went online and spoke to mum, she informed me Mike had had an accident and broken his wrist and shoulder, poor Mandy. I tried to phone Mandy but got no reply so sent her a text. I got dressed and made a start on the house work, giving the whole place a good going over. I started tidying up the car, gave it a good clean and then drove to Hesdin and got a few bit and pieces and washed the car at L'Elephant Bleu.
I came home and sorted out a couple more bits before heading up to Tony and Jackie's to assist them with the Septic Tank checking guy, when he arrived he spoke quite good English so i was a little superfluous, they got a clean bill of health, good news as it is quite an expensive thing to replace. Jackie made a very nice cottage pie for dinner, i had taken up some cakes so we had one after. Whilst we were eating we listened to the news, only to hear the strike had been canceled due to a legal technicality, which did not impress and poor Jackie had to make plans to get to work tomorrow.
I headed home about seven thirty, chatted to ant on skype and mum then got sorted upstairs and went up with the dogs to watch tv, watched Glee, think i most definitely not interested in it now, then the Cleveland Show, I read for a couple of hours and finished my book, it finished in a very unsatisfactory manner and no one got any comeuppance, leaving you with a real sense of the lack of justice in the world.

Weekend 16th May

I woke on Saturday and came down, had coffee, watched the news, did the blog and had a little internet time, ant came down a little later. At ten thirty Marte arrived, we were still in pajamas, she was a little earlier than i had thought. I made her a coffee and we quickly got dressed, then we all went for a walk for a couple of hours and ant and Marte chatted away. When we got back Usha phoned to say they were popping round, so we sat and chatted to them for a while and then headed to St Pol to drop our id in to the estate agents. We bought a couple of sandwiches and three cream cakes in a shop in St Pol then drove home and sat out to eat them.
I had planned to invite Janine over for the third cream cake but she was not in so we ate ours and then started doing bits and pieces, then Janine returned and i invited her over. We sat and chatted to Janine for a good while then she headed home and we decided to cocoon ourselves upstairs, ant packed and i watched the tv. We had dinner, a nice sausage stew, and an evening in front of the tv, an early night.
We woke at five on sunday, ant got himself ready and i made coffee, at five thirty we headed off to Calais, had a bit of a panic when the petrol station at Fruges was closed but the one further on was open. We got to the tunnel in plenty of time and then had a clear and easy drive up to Heathrow. I dropped ant off about an hour before he needed to be there then headed back, made good time again and was at Ashford Tesco before it opened. I had a good mooch round Tesco and bought plenty of meat and a couple of bottles of New Zealand white for Tuesday night. I made it back to the tunnel in time for my train, then drove back on clear roads, stopped in on Jackie and Tony to drop off some milk and then got home and let the dogs out, no mess fortunately.
I had an easy going afternoon, watched a bit of tv, did a bit on line, spoke to mum for a good while, sounds like she had a good day, and spoke to gran. I had a nice long bath, coq au vin for dinner, which was very nice, and then had a Family Guy evening in bed, watching the two new episodes on bbc 3, then went to sleep around twelve. I am still finding the spare bed a little less than comfortable, i cant quite figure out why, think i am sleeping on the wrong side of the bed.

Friday 14th May

Came down and left ant in bed, didnt sleep too well, had coffee and went online, watched a bit of news, ant came down and we had coffee together. We headed out to St Pol, dropped a form in to the estate agents then went up to see Tony and Jackie with a box of cakes. We sat and chatted to them for a while then headed down to Hesdin and did a little shop before stopping in at Davids for coffee.
I mowed the lawn when we got home and ant did the edging, then i hosed down the garden furniture and the car, then ironed a load of bedding for the guest bedroom, looks quite nice. In the early afternoon we headed upstairs for a bedroom evening, watched some American Dad, had a bit of quiche for dinner, watched Glee, then more American Dad before going to sleep.

Thursday 13th May

Woke about nine and left ant in bed for a bit, had coffee, watched the news, had a bit of a headache, went online and did bits and pieces. Ant came down and had his coffee, i looked in to booking our hotel in Durham and decided on one, will have to get ant to ok with his mum the date so she will be free for dinner. After our morning routine we made a start on clearing out ants wardrobe and moving it to the spare room, and the unit in the ensuite, so that mum can be undisturbed by ants need of cloathing.
We had a spot of lunch and spent the afternoon trying to decide what to do with ourselves, it was a bank holiday, then decided we would have a relax day, we washed the dogs so they are nicely smelling now, then i made meatballs for dinner and left them stewing for a bit before heading upstairs to hunker down in bed. We watched all of Kath and Kim season three, ate dinner, Watched The Devil Wears Prada, ant phoned his mum and was on for ages whilst i watched some American Dad. We went to sleep around eleven, quite tired.

Wednesday 12th May

I was woken at seven by the birds on the roof, bloody annoying! Got up and came down had coffee and watched the news, nothing interesting. Went online for a bit and then got showered and dressed and gave the house a quick tidy. Ant phoned to let me know he had landed and was on his way home. I have some lunch, watched a little tv then went back on the computer.
At half four ant phoned to let me know he had made the Lille St Pol train so i had an hour before he arrived in St Pol, did a final shuffle about, made the bed up and set off to pick him up. I arrived just as he did and we headed home, he unloaded all his stuff and had a bath, i made steak and chips for dinner, did a nice mushroom sauce for the steak, we enjoyed it. We sat with a glass of wine and good music and chatted all evening, we managed not to fall out, which was good. We headed up to bed relatively early as ant was tired, and i was too.

Tuesday 11th May

I woke at half eight and suddenly realized the estate agent from St Pol was coming today at ten, i had a quick coffee then sorted out the house so it looked good. Spoke to Jackie and she reminded me they were going to Ikea and asked if i wanted to go, i said of course. Chloe the estate agent turned up a little early, we did the paper work and then she took some pictures, she is very friendly and had a coffee with her, i arranged for her to go to Tony and Jackie's place on Friday.
I got my online stuff done and had a bit of civilization whilst i waited to be picked up, Tony phoned to say they were running a little late but that was ok. They arrived about half eleven and we headed up to Henin Beaumont, had a mooch round the show bit then had some lunch in the cafe, the meatballs were very poor. We went down to the market bit and i made a couple of purchases including a nice bit of bright fabric to cover our boring tub chair. We headed home and got back around five thirty, they popped in for a tea before heading off to Lidl.
I finished off the game i had started earlier, then had a bit of dinner in front of the tv, got bored with the telly and went to have a look at Durham hotels, with little success, until Shameless, which i watched then headed up to bed and book.

Monday 10th May

We woke at four forty five and got ready with bleary eyes, had coffee and woke. I drove ant to St Pol and put him on the train. I came back and waited for the morning to be a reasonable time, watched the news went online and did a little civilization. I was supposed to be going for a walk with Marte in the afternoon put it was a windy, if sunny day so i presumed she would not show. I did manage to get through all the washing, four loads!! so that was good, i spent part of the day civilizing and part of the day reading, i still cant believe Rufus has not got his comeuppance and it seems the situation is about to get worse.
Jackie skyped late afternoon to inform me that strike dates had been announced, twenty days in all!! I was a little devastated by this at first, but then thought we will just have to find a way through it, can't wait till all this is behind us. Ironically the dates start when mum arrives and last until she is safely esconced in the uk, so ant will be home the whole time she is here. I watched tv in the evening, bit of Glee and the usual stuff, chatted to ant on skype just before going to sleep.

Weekend 9th May

On saturday we woke and had coffee then went down to Hesdin to do some shopping, met Chrissy in the supermarket. when we got back i made a start on the cooking and ant made a start in the garden, i finished my cooking and went out to help him, we reseeded the back lawn so hopefully it will look a little better in a couple of weeks. Ant had a nap in the afternoon and i got everything ready for the evening. Tony and Jackie arrived followed by Maggie and Mike, we had a very good evening, the food was good and the company good too. We went up to bed around two in the morning.
Woke on sunday with a bit of a hang over, had a long chat with mum and aunty m on skype, then phoned mandy and spoke to her for a good half hour too. Marte and Chrissy arrived at the gate and we arranged to have a soire at Chrissys house, said i would do a couple of dishes. ant had finished all the washing up by this point, bless him. I did a couple of bits to take, had a bath and then we went back to bed, he napped and i watched a couple of films. we got up about five and got ready then headed over to Chrissys, had a very nice time, didnt feel much like drinking and we set off home by nine. Spoke to gran for a bit then went up to bed and watched the family guy stuff before going to sleep, early morning for ant on monday.

Friday 7th May

We woke to another viewing day, came down and had coffee, no definitive news on the election and a major slump in the European markets, good job we don't have any shares or savings. We went down to Hesdin to buy flowers for the house then came home and started on the clean round, didn't take to long as i had just done it on Wednesday. After the house we started on the garden, Ant deweeded the front of the house and pulled up all the grass coming through the paths and i organised the garage, wood store and we both had a go at the outbuilding, which was disgusting.
At four we headed up to see Tony and be out of the way for the viewing, stopping to pick up cakes on the way, we sat and chatted over coffee for a bit then went out in to their huge garden with the dogs and played with them. Jackie returned just after five and we said hello then headed home after inviting them to dinner on Saturday. When we got home Maggie had put a note on the notice board to say the viewing had gone well, so that was hopeful. I phoned them and left a message inviting them to dinner to. We had baths and got into our pjs and relaxed, i hunted through recipe books to decide what to eat, ant wanted us to do the Coq au reisling he had seen Nigella do the other night, unfortunately i lent her book to someone so i went online to find it.
I made mince pie with chips and beans for dinner, i was chatting to gran on the phone as i was taking the pie out of the oven and dropped it on the floor, not all of it made it to the floor fortunately so we made do with what we could, good job we had cleaned and there was no dog hair in sight. After dinner, the floor pie was very good though had a tang of spring flowers about it, we relaxed infront of the tv, watched Glee then Irobot and then off to sleep, quite tired but hopeful of the multi millions!

Thursday 6th May

Up at the usual hour, watched the news and went online then had a bath and got dressed, stripped the bed and did some washing. Marion phoned to say we would be having a viewing on Friday so fingers crossed for that. Mark arrived just before eleven, David was not well enough to come, we had coffee and a chat for a bit then headed off to Henin Beaumont. I took Mark to Electro depot and we looked at washing Machines, theirs has gone the way of the Dodo, then we went to Ikea, i bought a couple of bits for the kitchen.
We set off for Lille and got there with about fifteen mins to spare so sat and waited for Ant to arrive, which he did on time and we headed home. Mark set off home when we got back and Ant was bathed and sent to bed for the remains of the afternoon whilst i entertained myself for a couple of hours. I made a Chicken Balti, a veg curry and a Thai green curry accompanied by mushroom rice, not bad, called Ant down and we ate. It was a little cold so after dinner we decided to head up to our bedroom and watch tv in bed with the dogs, which we did, we watched the film Keeping Mum with Maggie Smith, which i have seen before but Ant haddn't, he enjoyed it. We went to sleep around twelve, should know how the election has gone tomorrow.

wed 5th May

Up at the usual hour, had coffee and watched the news then went online, spoke to mum and did the blog then got off. I dressed and made a start on the housework, took about two hours, then went and changed, then mowed the lawns, so the place looked pretty good. I sat and read in the afternoon waiting for the estate agent to arrive, poor Rufus Dawes, i am almost despairing for him. The first estate agent arrived, nearly on time, looked around the place and gave me a quote, ten grand above what it is now priced at, i said i would let her know. sat and read for a little longer and the second estate agent arrived, much younger and a lot more friendly, she looked around and asked a lot of question, agreed to a cup of tea and we sat and chatted for a bit, commented on the poulet forrestier stewing in the slow cooker! I also said i would let her know, will discuss it with ant tomorrow when he gets back, though i have to say i am favoring the second as their website is better and they are part of a large group, and their take is less.
I sat and read for a little longer before eating dinner, watched George and Mildred, which was ok, Globe Trecker did Australia, including a visit to Port Arthur, so that was topical, I then started to watch Angels and Deamons, unfortunately the disc stopped about half an hour in, one of my most hated occurences, and it wasnt even a copy! I hunted for something else that would fill the void but the tv was terrible so decided to have a quick game of civilization, which saw me through to the witching hour. I went up to bed and read for another hour, i am still waiting for Rufus' justice but it is not existent as yet.

Tuesday 04th May

Woke a little later this morning, came down and had breakfast and watched the news, went online, found the St Pol estate agent and gave her a call, she was out so would phone me back. I did some other bits then got ready to go out. I went down to Hesdin, said hello to Maggie and Marion, Maggie said she had had an enquiry about the house so we may get another viewing, which would be good. I bought my euromillions ticket for friday, fingers crossed, and did a little shopping.
I stopped in at David's on the way home and chatted to them for a good while, eventually getting home about three thirty. I did a little cleaning then started putting some more music on the iplayer. The St Pol estate agent called and arranged to visit the house tomorrow at five thirty, so will get cleaned around tomorrow. Tony came round about sixish and brought a cake, very nice, we sat and chatted for a bit over a coffee, he left after seven and i made my dinner, Pork chops a la Nigella, not bad, though the sauce was a little thin.
I watched a little tv but got bored and went back to putting cds on the computer, looking at real estate as i did, this passed most of the evening, i read in bed for an hour or so then went to sleep

Monday 3rd May

I woke ridiculously early at seven thirty and came down to the empty house, had breakfast and watched the news before going online to check emails, i had one from vistaprint so looked at doing some invite postcards but they were going to cost 20 euros to get them in time so i didn't bother. I decided to do the invites anyway so mocked one up and fiddled about with it for about an hour, phoned Janine to check the wording, which she corrected! I printed one off and headed over to Janine's, she was quite impressed, it is double sided you know, we sat and chatted over a tea and a huge piece of chocolate cake with french style custard, very nice.
When i got back i printed off another fifteen sheets, folded and cut them and had thirty all together so headed out round the village popping them in letter boxes, it was a very windy cold day so it was not a pleasant task but that is it done now so there is no backing out! I returned to the house and had a bit of lunch, tried to watch 10000BC but really could not get in to it. I decided to have a quick game of Civilization, which last till nine thirty in the evening, it just eats up time and you don't realize the day has gone.
I had a healthy options tagliatelle with Cajun chicken for dinner, which was quite nice, and finished off the veg curry in the fridge, which was just as good as last week. I was watching an episode of Nigella Express whilst i ate and what she cooked looked really good, so i might try her pork chop Normandy with gnocchi for dinner tomorrow evening, if i can find some gnocchi. Watched Glee, and quite enjoyed it, they did one of my favorite songs, You Are Beautiful, which gave me goosebumps, then Ladies of Letters, not sure if this has transferred to Aus yet, but it stars two of our favorite comediens, Anne Reid and Maureen Lipman, and Lipmans character is now living in Melbourne, what a coincidence.
I headed up to bed with the girls and watched King of the Hill and The Cleveland Show, then read a chapter, the life story of the main character is so racked with being badly treated that it is starting to make me feel a little hopeless, you can't help hoping his tormentors are given their comeuppance. I gave the girls a last cuddle for the day and went to sleep.

Garden Party Invite

Spent a bit of time knocking this together, if you can't read it, click the image!

Sun 2nd May

We woke about eight thirty and came down for breakfast, watched the news and eased ourselves in to the day. Ant got ready for the off and we set off to St. Pol for the train to Lille, it left on time and i waved him off. I headed up to Tony and Jackie's, taking a different road for a change, when i neared their village i was struck by the number of wind turbines in view, there must be at least fifty, like a huge forest. I handed over the chair cushion we had bought for them at ikea and we sat and chatted over a cuppa for a bit. Tony and i headed over to Pip and Roland's place where Tony handed over a couple of language tapes, we chatted to them for a bit and i invited them to the garden party.
Tony and i then went to Azincourt, of the famous battle, for their broccant, it was very disappointing with just a few stalls which had been well and truly battered by the rain, so we didn't stay for too long. On the way back we stopped at a festival at the donkey sanctuary near Tony's, it was quite interesting with a lot of stalls selling organic produce, solar panels and domestic windmills, all sorts of eco stuff, much better than the broccant. I dropped Tony off and headed home, i think the girls were a bit disappointed i came back alone.
I had a little lunch and watched a bit of tv, then turned it off and spent a while on the computer and a little while reading before the evening kicked in. I spoke to gran on the phone, who had had a good day out with Judith and had utilized a mobility scooter for the first time and was quite taken with the idea of getting one, so we chatted about that for a bit. i had a nice gammon steak and salad for dinner and then settled down infront of the tv.
I headed up to bed and watched tv in bed for a while, eventually going to sleep around one in the morning, i let the girls sleep on the bed as it did seem a little empty.

Sat 1st May

May is here at last! and we decided to get out and do something with the day, Ant started the day by preparing a nice breakfast for me and we sat at the table and ate, very nice. I phoned Marion and Rosemary, i have decided the date of our garden party will be May 25th so i am giving people the heads up, unfortunatly ant is working both weekends during mum's visit so it has to be a week night but it will be very enjoyable all the same.
We got dressed and headed out to St Valerie, a very pretty port town on the Somme estuary, it was quite busy and we had a bit of a wander around, and an ice cream. We then headed to St Riquer, now a small town in the middle of nowhere but previously the site of a very important abbey. The result it a very attractive town with a huge Gothic splendor with some of the finest tracery around. Unfortunately there was a wedding on in the church so we could not go in but we had a wonder around the musuem next to it.
We headed home after this, arriving back about four, spent a bit of time messing around on the internet before starting on the dinner. We had planned to have pan fried lambs liver with a nice gravy of mushroom, bacon and onions, accompanied by new potatoes and mushy peas (ants insistance). Unfortunately i decided to do the peas in the microwave, which took about twice as long as i had thought and i still had to finish them in a pan, the liver was in too small bits to pan fry so i had to stew then in the gravy, the result being the liver was not how i had hoped and i was disapointed with the meal.
After dinner we sat and chatted listening to music and enjoying a glass or two of rosé, a very cheap Zinfandel from Lidl that is actually not bad at all, and finished the evening with a glass of decent whisky, we had a bit of a dance to All Around My Hat by Steeleye Span, blasting out of the new speakers and worrying the dogs. We headed up to bed quite merry after a very enjoyable day.

Friday 30th April

Had the usual morning with the addition of a very swolen eye for me which looked as if i had recieved a right hook from ant, then headed out to see Fruges to buy a new fork for the garden, then stopped in at Tony and Jackie's for a chat and a coffee, dropped off some of our excess leeks. We headed over to Henin Beaumont after this for something to eat in Ikea and a mooch round. We bought a fair few bits, including new curtains for the living/dining room and some decent speakers for the computer so we can use it as a music system.
We headed home and put all the new bits in place, hung the new curtains and sorted out the speakers, which do have a great sound. We sat and listened to music, i put some new cds on our i player, need to put a whole load more on. Ant made dinner and we sat and ate at the table before heading to the sofa for a bit of tv. We watched Glee, again for me, and something about the Mumbi railways, which was good, before heading up to bed to read for an hour or so. The book, for the Term of His Naturla Life, is incredibly interesting, and very close to the actual situation, you almost feel the despair of the leading character and the cuelty of those around him.

Thursday 30th April

I woke about eight thirty and left ant in bed, came down and did the usual then called ant down for his coffee. We watched the news for a bit the had baths and got dressed. We headed out to Hesdin, made a stop at the bank and then to Maggie before buying our euromillions ticket, 51 million this week, so fingers crossed! We had a bit of a mooch around the market whilst we were there then went to Point Vert, a garden centre, to have a look at stuff. I bought another sheet of weed suppressant to extend our veg patch and was toying with the idea of something tall in pots either side of the front door but ant cheaped me out so i flung my hands in the air and said forget it.
When we got home we had a bit of lunch then i set ant on the task of sorting out his strike pay while i started putting the leeks into the veg patch, they have been under plastic for a week or two. After i had put in about ten i went to see how ant was getting on, not too well, so i sorted it out for him and found the number he needed to phone, which he did. We spent an hour or so in the garden putting in leeks and extending the veg patch by turning over the weeds, unfortunately our fork broke, serves us right for buying cheap. We spent a pleasant hour or so in the hammocks until the sun went in then got the watering done before dinner.
I put together a veg curry with bits of veg that were on the turn then had another bath, i let the veg curry stew for a while, watched George and Mildred, then made a start on the dinner, three currys and some piri piri rice, one of the currys was sag aloo which i think looks awful but ant likes. We sat at the table and had dinner, chatted and stuff before finishing up and heading to the sofa for a night in front of the tv. There was very little on but we managed, one of my eyes started playing up, getting all watery and a little painful, i decided to go up to bed, ant came with, we had a cup of tea, my eye got a little worse so we went to sleep, hoping it would be better in the morning.

Wednesday 27th April

Up about eight thirty, came down for breakfast and watched the news, did some bits online, had a bath and got dressed ready to go and pick ant up. Ant phoned to say he was in the uk and everything was running to plan. I spent a little time online whilst waiting for the time to arrive, then headed out to pick him up. He arrived on time and we got home in good time so he was in bed by three. I headed down to Hesdin to do a shop, got veg and the like and bought a couple of very cheap free standing hammocks from Lidl then drove home. I put the shopping away then put the hammocks together and sat out in the sun for a while, called ant down and we sat together and had a beer.
I made steak and chips for dinner and we sat at the table and chatted on for a bit, had a little look at property in Adelaide, trying to keep the dream alive. After an evening of celebrating ants return home we got a little inebriated and fell out, we really should not drink so much on the day of his return. Ant went up to bed and i watched a bit of tv before following an hour later.

Tuesday 27th April

Woke at eight and came down for breakfast and watched the news. Got dressed and cleaned the kitchen, then decided to get all the housework done today so carried on through the house. I had finished all the cleaning by about two, did tons of washing and got most of it dried outside. In the afternoon i decided to sit out and read, i mowed the lawn first then settled down with For the Term of his Natural Life, it has been quite a tale so far and appears to be quite historically accurate.
I sat out till about six thirty enjoying the sun and the book, just a shale there was no one there to share it with. I made a chicken rissole for dinner, with a nice salad, and settled down in front of the tv. I watched Tristan and Isolde, the film, which was ok, if a bit shmulchy, then X Men the Last Stand, which i have seen several times but enjoyed none the less, i finished the evening with an episode of Shameless, poor Mikey.

Monday 26th April

I woke at seven and came down for breakfast, watched the news for a bit, then cleaned up the kitchen, did online stuff and watched a bit of tv. In deciding what to do with myself i phoned Tony to see if he fancied a day out, which he did. I gave David a phone to see if he wanted to go with us but he said he was too busy and needed a couple of days notice, lucky him. Tony arrived just after eleven and we headed up north towards Belgium, we took in a couple of interesting cemeteries on the way up, including one for Indian forces with an Indian theme.
We got to Ypres at about half one, it is a very attractive city that was completely ruined during WW1 and rebuilt in the same architectural style as it had been, the result is a town centre you would never know had not been there for the last two hundred years. We had something to eat in a frite shop on the main square, had a mooch around the tourist info office in the glorious cloth hall, which as you can see from the pictures, was completely decimated and took over ten years to rebuild after the war.
We walked from the main square to the Menin gate, Yres is a walled city and this was originally one of the gates in to the city. It is now a huge monument to the service men who died in the battles for Ypres but have no identified grave, the walls of the interior are completely covered by the names of the dead, every evening at eight the last post is sounded here but we did not stay late enough to see it.
We headed out of Ypres and up towards Passiondale, a small village that was completely leveled by the fighting in the area, we visited the Tyne Cot cemetery, the largest cemetery for soldiers of WW1 in the world, including over 700 diggers. We seemed to have hit the place on school trip day as the place was teeming with teenagers, but it was a huge complex and they were not too annoying. We spent a fair time at Tyne Cot and then headed back home, getting a little lost on the way.
We got back by six thirty, Tony headed home and i released the hounds, made some dinner, healthy living Chinese style chicken curry with a salad, not too bad. I had an evening in front of the tv, enjoyed Glee again but i get the suspicion i am going to go off it soon, it is starting to get a little grating. Went to sleep with the dogs on the bed, i am feeling a little guilty about not spending a lot of time with them, but they seemed happy enough.

Sunday 25th April

I got up at seven, came down and had coffee then set a big pan of water to boil and cooked up a large pan of rice, mixed together tuna and onion, sweetcorn and tomato with a little vinaigrette and then let it all sit. I got the dogs sorted and headed out to meet the others by the church, i had decided to do the long walk, last years parcour du couer only had one walk, this year there is a choice. When i got to the church Monique was there with her two dogs and a bunch of the village kids, we were later joined by Gerard mr la mayor and his dogs, and two other men. We set off, down the back routes to Humieres, then we were joined by two women i did know with thier dogs, eight dogs all together, the girls had a great time. The walk took two and a half hours and i really felt it by the time i got back, over ten kms.
I put the dogs in the house and then put my salad together then went round to the mayors house, within half an hour the rest of the village arrived and we set to enjoying ourselves, Janine was there, which was good as i knew she wanted to make it back in time. We had a bbq and salads and a fair bit of booze, a strange woman, who was well pickled, came and sat next to me and i couldnt shake her off for the rest of the afternoon, much to Janines amuzement and later annoyance. I got gently merry as the day went on and had a good time, by six it was all over and i came home, chatted to ant for a bit on the phone and headed upstairs to watch more American Dad and sober up.

Saturday 24th April

I woke early, went down and had breakfast went online and chatted to mum for a while then decided to head out to the Australian monument at Villiers Brettoneux for anzac weekend. I drove down to Amiens then across to Villiers Brettoneux and found my way to the monument, a huge site, very impressive, all set ready for the dawn service with a lot of people around. I had a good look around and then headed back to the town, had a wander about there, quite a lot of aussie themed things going on, including a footie match, which i didnt hang about for.
I headed over to another town with a nice church, had a sandwich on the square infront of it, the weather was great.
I headed back up north, got home, made some dinner and watched a bit of tv before heading up to bed and watching American Dad for a bit. Went to sleep about twelvish.

Friday 23rd April

We were up before eight, had breakfast and watched the news, no changes to ants rosta so we had baths and he got ready for the off. We drove up to Lille, very little traffic on the road, i dropped him off and headed home then got stuck in a huge traffic jam due to a crash, it took me an extra hour to get back. I had a bit of lunch when i got home, spent some time online then went round to see Marthe, she was not able to go for a walk so we sat on her step in the sun and chatted with a coffee.
I returned to the house and got my book, For the Term of His Natural Life, kindly brought back from Aus for me by ant, headed out in to the garden and read for a couple of hours. I had a healthy living dinner, sweet chilli chicken, with a nice salad and watched a bit of tv. Spent a bit more time online dreaming of my lottery win house, spotted the ideal one in unley, all glass and landscaping, for just two and a half million dollars, cheep! I headed up to bed with my book and read for an hour, something i have not done for a while as ant was at home and he always talks to me when i am trying to read. There is quite a big empty space in the house again now ant is back at work, no one here to chivy me along and get on with it.

Thursday 22 April

Got up and had breakfast, watched the news then did some online bits. We got out in to the garden, finished off the wall, it looks a whole lot better now. Mowed the lawns then ant started weeding, which we have plenty of. I made some lunch then went in to Hesdin to get a couple of bits and pieces. I spent some time on the computer in the afternoon whilst ant pottered about in the garden, Marthe arrived to ask about Janine, we will go for a walk tomorrow.
We had a gentle evening, watched the final episode of roots then the film Ned Kelly, which i felt was a bit of a fairy tale retelling. Then off to sleep, ant is off to work tomorrow, though not too early.

Wednesday 21st April

We woke a little later today, about nine, came down and had breakfast whilst watching the news, looks as though ant will be able to fly on Friday, so things should get back to normal, we hope. We gently got up, had baths and got dressed nicely then set off towards Hesdin. We stopped in for a coffee at David's and chatted to them for about an hour then carried on to Hesdin. We nipped in to La Bonbonier to buy a little bag of chocolates and then called in on Maggie for a quick chat and catch up. We headed out of Hesdin on the picturesque route to Montreuil, along the valley floor, then headed towards Berck. When we got to Berck we were going to have frites on the front but it was a little chilly and windy so we decided to eat in a bistro.
We had the exact same thing, Moule Marinere followed by Steak Frites, i had Pain Perdu for desert while ant had a Creme Caramel. After lunch we found our way to the hospital, a very imposing turn of the century building right on the front, we found the room Janine was in and went in. Janine was a little surprised we had found the place, the room was lovely, a single room looking straight on to the beach with a big balcony, almost like a fancy hotel, and with the sun out the view was lovely. We proffered the choccy's to Janine then sat and chatted for the best part of two hours before heading back inland. We took the direct route home, stopped in at Mr Bricolage to buy another tub of crepi, unfortunately one of the tubs i had got the other day turned out to be a noticeably different colour so we will have to go over the bits we did with that, no point doing the job shabbily.
When we got home we relaxed for a little while then i put together some meatballs and used up the gravy from the stew the other day, served it with peas and mashed potato, not too pleasant but it went down ok. We watched a bit of tv then decamped upstairs and watched Julie and Julia on dvd, which was ok. Then to sleep, to dream of lottery wins

Tuesday 21st April

We got up at eight thirty, came down for breakfast, watched the news, still a cloud of ash. the morning was a bit cloudy so we did independent bits until lunch time when the sun came shining through. Ant made some nice french toast for lunch, one of my old faves, so we enjoyed that. After lunch i dug out the crepi and made a start recrepiing the wall, it looked so much better from the start. Naturally the crepi we had didn't go far enough so i nipped down to Mr Bricolage to buy some more.
I finished the main body of the wall, ant following on doing the cutting in, i took our neighbor down to Le Parc to pick up his car then heade down to Hesdin to buy another tub of crepi. I finished up and sat out in the garden with a beer and a book for a bit, the weather was very good. Ant finished up and then we went in and i sorted out a nice Italian style beef stew to go with pasta for dinner. we watched a bit of tv then ant went up to bed for a nap.
I followed ant up about an hour later and watched the tv in bed, i watched Heston Blumenfeld but found his cooking a bit rediculous. We also watched a doc about the dancing boys of Afghanistan, which was quite an eye opener since pederasts are very rare these days and certainly not eager to talk about it. After this we went to sleep.

Mon 20th April

Up at eight, had coffee and watched the news, still no movement in the air here, we are hoping ant will be able to get back to work on friday but who knows. The morning was a bit cloudy so we had a morning in the house. One of the neighbors called, his car had broken down and wondered if i would drive him to Hesdin to buy some tobacco, which i did.
After lunch the weather was a little better so ant started on the second wall, i weed and feeded the lawn then joined at at the wall, we chipped a fair amount of the old crepi off, finishing at about five. Ant made a nice curry for dinner and we settled down to an evening in front of the tv, Glee is back on so that was good but i found it a little less interesting this time.

Sunday 18th April

We woke about eight, came down and had breakfast whilst watching the news, the volcanic ash is still grounding flights so ant is going nowhere. Phoned mum on skype, had a bath, clean the car and washed it then we headed up to Tony and Jackie's to pick them up. We went to the brocant at Monteuil Sur Mer, didn't buy anything. We had a frite van lunch, which was very good, the journeyed on to Le Touquet, there was supposed to be a vintage car thing on but we missed it. We had a walk allong the prom and a mooch around the shops. The sun was really nice and walm, making it seem like summer for the first time. Ant bought me a little selection of fancy chocolates, then we headed back to T and 's, we had a quick beer at thiers then headed home.
We settled down for a relax, watched tv, had something to eat, spoke to gran and then ant spoke to his mum, i went upstairs and watched tv in bed for a while then we went to sleep.

Sat 18th April

We woke about eight and came down for breakfast, due to volcanic ash ant is at home, probably for the whole week. ants laptop was still not working so i got on to Toshiba and someone is coming to pick it up on Monday. We went in to Hesdin and bought some smokes, saw Maggie and Marion then called in on David and Mark on the way home.
We had lunch sitting in the garden, a lovely sunny afternoon, then ant started doing a bit of weeding, i started on the stripping of the garden wall, the old crepy is in a terrible state, it came off quite easily on the whole though was a bit tricky in places, ant came and helped and we got one wall uncovered, we will do the other on Sunday.
After our afternoon of work we sat in the garden with a glass or two of rosé and listened to the radio until about six thirty, the we watched tv, had a beef stew for dinner. We watched Briton's Got Talent, which was a bit of an oxymoron, hopefully i won't have to watch it next weekend, then i watched the new version of The Prisoner, not as good as the origional.

Friday 16th April

We woke at about eight and came down to a slightly colder and overcast day, we had breakfast and watched the news, still no flights out of Heathrow. After our walk with the girls ant started in the garden and i drove down to Hesdin to buy herbs for our new herb patch, i bought sage, rosemary, oregano and thyme. When i got back i unloaded the car and then set too putting them in place, they look quite good, ant had made a good stab at the weeds and then got the lawnmower out, the garden really looked half decent after we had finished.
We spent a bit of time relaxing before Tony and Jackie arrived, we finished off the cake from the day before and sat chatting for a couple of hours. We had some dinner and watched Avatar, it was quite good but i think it would have been better on the big screen. Ant went online to find he was not to report to work on Saturday, then his laptop died so i had to dig out the warranty, which i will have to sort out tomorrow. We went up and watched Muriel's Wedding in bed before going to sleep.

Thursday 14th April

Up at eight, coffee and porridge, watched the news, a bit surprised by the airspace being closed due to a cloud of volcanic ash covering the uk, then we went for a walk with the dogs. I invited Janine over for tea so set to making a cake whilst ant worked in the garden. The cake done i went out and worked in the garden too, sprayed thez rough back lawn with weed and feed. We had a bit of lunch and then started again, i headed down to pointvert and bought some cabbage and cauliflower plants, some leeks and some anti weed sheeting. Janine arrived soon after i got back and we sat and chatted over tea and cake for about an hour. Ant and i got back into the garden put the sheeting down and then planted the brassiccas, then covered the whole area with soil, hopefully it will remove the need for weeding.
We finished in the garden at about seven, a bit tired and achy, we opened a bottle of rosé which seemed to evaporate in a matter of minutes, so had to open another. Very nice peice of smoked salmon with salad for dinner, had a chat with gran and then settled in front of the tv until we headed up to bed.

Wednesday 14th April

We came down about eight thirty had coffee and watched the news, walked the dogs and then went did some stuff online until lunch. After lunch we headed up to Jackie and Tony's who took us up to Calais, we had a look around the Tesco wine shop, bought a couple of boxes of cheap wine, had a look around another couple of shops then went to Leroy Merlin where i bought a box of solar lights for the garden. We got home by seven thirty, had a pizza for dinner and then watched Australia, the Baz Lehrman film, which was good. Ant had a call from his mum so chatted to her for a good while. We headed up to bed, watched a couple of episodes of Family Guy then went to sleep.

Mon and Tues 14th April

After nearly a fortnight without internet access the orange engineer arrived and fixed the problem, thank goodness. I went online and trawled through the hundreds of spam emails, i had not missed anything important. I phoned mum and we had a good chat then got back on with the housework, ant returns today after a nine day trip, so i have missed him a lot. I drove up to pick him up at Calais and we chatted all the way home, got him settled in, he gave me three dvds and a book, very nice. Jackie phoned and informed ant about travel concessions on Eurostar so i phoned them and sorted out all his commuting for the next six weeks, much better rates than we have been paying. after we had bathed and had something to eat we settled down to a Kath and Kim evening with a glass of wine or two, which we both enjoyed, before heading off to bed.
Tuesday we woke before eight, got up, had coffee and got ready to head off for the day. I had booked a cheap Eurotunnel ticket, so we headed back up to Calais and crossed under the channel. We drove up to Ashford and went to Asda, did a mega shop, some very good deals, then headed to Tescos to get some other bits a pieces, and a microwave. We were back at the Eurotunnel by ten to one and got back to France half an hour before i had planned. We stopped in on Jackie and Tony and dropped off the bits we had picked up for them, had a cup of tea then headed home. We unpacked enough food to feed an army and put it all away, should not need to buy any meat for a month. Then we gave the micro a test run on the curry in a bag we had got for dinner, it was quite nice and a lot easier and felt almost futuristic. I have not had a microwave for at least three years. We had another evening in front of the tv before heading to bed.

Mon Tue and Wed 31st March

We did very little on monday, on tuesday ant went to picket and i stayed home, he didnt get home until 11 in the evening, i was not amused, however Maggie phoned to say we had a viewing on thursday. Wednesday we spent all day cleaning the house, everything was taken out and given a good clean, we finished about six thirty in the evening then had pizza from a van and spent the evening watching tv in bed

Sunday 28th March

Another slow day today, we got up, had coffee went online, i spoke to mum, and then to Mandy, then we took the dogs out for a walk, which was nice. When we got home the weather was looking grim still so we did not get out into the garden as planned but spent all day on our respective computers, a bit of a waste of a day. I roasted a chicken for dinner and ant put a salad together, we watched a bit of sunday evening tv, spoke to gran on the phone and went to bed, very uneventful and we need to break the habit. We have decided to quit the smokes again on monday as we have run out and have been looking for a time to stop so this seems ideal, just hope it does not interfere with my weightloss programme.

Saturday 27th March

We got up about eight thirty and came down for coffee and spent time online, after our morning ritual we took the dogs out for a good long walk. We had lunch and were going to work on the garden but the weather was not great so ant read and i played on the computer. David and Usha called round for a coffee in the late afternoon and stayed for a couple of hours. When they left i put dinner together, liver, griddled, with an onion, lardon and mushroom gravy accompanied by chips, to my amazement ant enjoyed it.
We watched a film in the evening, ant had a good old nap in the middle of it, then we went up to bed and i read for a while before going to sleep, another hectic saturday!

Friday 27th March

We came down for about eight thirty, had coffee and did some bits online, ant is a bit obsessed with the strike, as you would imagine. We decided to take the dogs a good long walk, so walked them down to Willeman and back. We had decided to work on the garden in the afternoon so went down to Hesdin, i had hoped to buy a little plastic green house so we could grow salad stuff but i could not find one. I got some petrol for the lawn mower then we had a little look at Aldi and found some mini garden tunnels, which we bought, then a look in Lidl found seeds and troughs and soil.
We had lunch when we got home then ant started clearing and digging over the veg patch whilst i mowed the lawn. I put together the tunnels, they were a bit flimsy but not to bed for a fiver, then put them in the veg patch, i then seeded the seeds and put the troughs under the tunnels. ant had done a good job on the veg patch but there is more to do. When it got to the point when he had had enough we stopped, i had put together a turkey stew for dinner which was cooking away in the slow cooker. Ant had a bit of a nap whilst i had a game of civilisation for a couple of hours. At seven i put the dinner together and we ate, ant had some wine and i had some morgans spiced and coke. I had downloaded some Roseanne episodes so we watched those and had an enoyable evening before heading to bed.

Thursday 25th March

We woke at about half eight, came down had coffee and i did some bits online while ant looked at ba stuff on his computer. At about ten thirty we headed in to Hesdin, had a mooch around the market, saw Maggie and Marion then went and did a show at Carrefore and Lidl. We got back and i tried to burn one of the films i had downloaded, this took quite some time and did not go well so i was not best pleased, i ended up dragging ant back to Carrefore to buy a lead from the laptop to the tv.
We took the dogs out for a walk and then settled down to watch a bit of tv. We had a nice dinner of Crepinette with salad, back on the healty eating after grans. We watched a couple of films then watched a couple of tv programmes, went up to bed at eleven and watched Fast Food Nation before going to sleep.

Wednesday 24th March

We got up at sixish, went down and had coffee and got ourselves sorted for the trip home, waved good bye to gran and hit the road, the journey up was easy and we arrived at Prestwick in plenty of time for the flight. We had something to eat at the airport then went through security, ant got his bag riffled as usual. The flight was half empty and very easy and we arrived back in Belgium at about three in the afternoon. After a little upset over the free shuttle we got back to the car and headed home, the drive was ok and we were back by six. We dropped our stuff and headed down to pick up the dogs, they were particularly excited to see us.
We decamped in the house and had a bit of a got home time, phoned gran to let her know we were back, she had been to the doctors who were very pleased with her progress. We had a simple dinner of burgers beans and eggs then decided we would go and spend the evening in bed watching a bit of tv. Ant was asleep within about thirty mins but i enjoyed an evenings viewing, a program about a medieval woman and one about the history of bread a very interesting evening. We went to sleep at around eleven, happy to be back in our own bed.

Tuesday 23rd Feb

We woke about seven in the morning, grans curtains are a bit on the thin side and it was broad daylight in the room. I went down and gran was already up, i made a coffee and we sat and chatted for a little bit, ant came down a little later. Gran opened her presents and was very taken with the pearls, though we couldn't do the clasp very easily, she then opened her cards. Ant phoned in to scheduling to see what was happening but found out he had not been given a trip until monday. When grans friend Alwyn arrived i asked if we could borrow her internet so we went to her house and booked a ticket on ryan air for ant to come home with me the next day. When we got back we had to wait until gran got ready, Mandy's flowers arrived and then we set off in to town, we said hello to Wendy then went to several shops, gran was very pleased she had managed it, she said last week she could hardly walk to the front door, so it is a great improvement. We got new catches put on the pearls and had a mooch round a card shop, a chemists, a book shop and gran went in to the bank, during which time i saw Diane walking past so we had a chat to her.
All the shopping done we headed out to a pub for lunch, we drove over scouts scar into the lythe valley, the first pub we came to was shut so we carried on to Crosthwaite and went to the punchbowl there, the food was very good if a little pricey, ant had Devon Crab rarebit with twice cooked chips, gran had a twice baked cheese souffle and tempura prawns and i had the twice baked souffle and smoked venison. Gran was pleased with her meal and her and ant wittered on about for a bit. After lunch we headed to Morrisons the supermarket and did a bit of shopping before heading back to grans in time for aunty Ruth to arrive.
When Ruth arrived we set to preparing the food for the evenings party, we did a nice spread, then ant and i went up to get changed, then we all sat and waited. Mandy phoned to say she was not coming which was a bit of a shame. The first to arrive were Barry and Shiela, then Brian and Ruth and then the rest, Kendall arrived a little later as he was pricing up a job. The evening went very smoothly and we all enjoyed ourselves. Everyone had gone by ten in the evening so we sat and chatted for a little while and the got off to bed.

Monday 22nd March

I woke about seven, got up had a shower and got dressed, no coffee but i did have a bit of time online. I took the free shuttle to the airport, a five min journey, had a little look around and then went through to airside. I bought some smokes in duty free as directed then settled down with my book and ipod to wait for the flight. As i was sitting there a rather loud Scottish woman and her two pals walked to the front of the queuing area and settled down to wait, this was then followed by a huge serge of people, Ryan air does not designate seats so the closer to the head of the que you are the better choice of a seat, i didn't bother, everyone gets on. The boarding did not happen for another fifty mins so the standing people were stood for all that time, i waited until the last min and got on, had a whole row to myself.
The flight was easy, one and half hours, headphones on a reading my book it went really quickly and at five euros each way it was cheaper than getting the bus. When i got to Prestwick i picked up the car, a Ford Mondeo, very nice, spacious, drives really well, cruise control, automatic wipers and headlights, i hardly had to do anything. I got to grans about two and half hours later and was met with a great deal of enthusiasm by ant as he had arrived the day before. The strike took up a lot of conversation and we didn't know what they would do with ant the next day. Gran made a meal which we all enjoyed and then we sat and chatted for the rest of the evening. Gran was looking much better and seemed her usual self. We headed up to bed around ten and went off to sleep.

Sun 21st March

I woke at a decent hour on Sunday and came down , had coffee and did some bits online, did the washing up and sorted the dogs out ready for their trip to the kennels. I took the dogs to the kennels at about ten then came back and packed, i phoned Janine to let her know i was off and then set off for Charleroi. The drive was ok, pretty uneventful and i found the hotel easily, i checked in and sorted out the free shuttle to the airport for the next day then went up to the room. I could not get the window to shut so went back down and spoke to the receptionist who said he would get it fixed. I decided to go out and have a look round, i went in to the centre of Charleroi but found it very disappointing, and with it being Sunday everything was shut.
I drove around for a good half hour looking for somewhere to eat, eventually finding a Quick, which was down to it's usual standard, then drove back to the hotel. I had a little drive round the hotel to see if there was an eatery, there was not. I went back to my room and the window still didn't work so went back to reception who gave me a different room, the key didn't work on this so i had to go back again, eventually i got a room where everything worked. I settled in for the evening, spoke to ant and gran on skype and messed about online, joined a film downloading site and downloaded a couple of films as there was only one English channel, the news.
I went down to order a pizza at about seven, it came about an hour and a half later, rather tepid and uncut so i had to tear it apart. This done i got in to bed, watched a film and then headed off to sleep.

Sat 20th March

I got up and had coffee, went online, not sure what happened with yesterdays blog but i didnt do much anyway. Did my usual bits, called Tony and we arranged to go to Le Touquet for the day to watch a bit of the rally. I headed up to collect him then we drove down to the coast, we watched a few cars doing the circuit in the town, had some lunch at McDo's and had a little explore of Etaple. I drove Tony home then came home and started to get sorted for the evening, cleaned out the car and had a shower and shave and got something nice to wear sorted. Spoke to ant for a bit, he passed his sep so that was good news. Got dressed and sat for abit then at seven thirty i headed out. I met up with Marté, Jackie, her husband, and her friend and we all headed over to her brothers house. We had a very pleasant time there though the rugby was on and France beat England, much to the joy of the host. At eleven we all headed out to the nightclub, a very strange affair, like a social club for the aged with a few young people scattered about. I danced for a little while with Marté but the music was not very good. Eventually we decided we had had enogh and left. I drove home, chatted to ant for a bit then went to bed.

Thursday 18th March

Up at eight thirty again, had the usual morning, coffee and internet, did some bits of housework and got ready for my walk with Marté. We took the dogs with us and walked in the direction of Willeman, the walk took an hour and a half and we chatted on throughout. When i got back i had some lunch and watched a film, then spent a bit more time online before heading out to Hesdin to get a couple of bits and peices. I got back and spent some more time online before watching the simpsons and having dinner, chicken with garlic mushrooms and assorted veg.
I had a bitty evening, spoke to ant a couple of times, watched a bit of tv but there was not much on, messed about online for most of it before going to bed at eleven and reading for a while.

Wed 17th March

I woke about eight thirty and left ant in bed, had the usual morning with coffee and internet, i seem to be getting back in to facebook applications but it passes a bit of time. Ant came down and had coffee with me then he started to get himself sorted, had a bath, packed his case, i put some credit on his skype account for him and sorted a train ticket to grans in case the strike goes ahead. we set off for Calais at eleven and he was there by twelve thirty, he booked himself on the next available ferry and i headed home. I decided to drive back a more scenic route than the usual way and enjoyed seeing something a little different. I got back by two and spent a little more time online.
I eventually took the dogs out for a walk, and settled down in front of the tv for the simpsons, i made a thai chicken stir fry with noodles for dinner, which i enjoyed and then settled in for a night in front of the tv. I could not find anything i wanted to watch so played about on line for a while. Ant phoned a couple of times, he had arrived and was settled in ready for the course tomorrow. I went up to bed at eleven and read for an hour before going to sleep.

Tuesday 16th March

Came down as usual for coffee and internet, got a phone call from Marté, we arranged to go for a walk at eleven. I got ready and took the dogs out for their walk, came back had a quick coffee and then went over to Janine's and said good morning to her and Marté, Janine invited us for an apero in the evening. Martè and i had a good hour and a halfs walk and talked about all sorts of things, she has invited me out to a disco on saturday evening, with an eighties theme, so that will be interesting. I had a real feeling that winter is over for the first time, the weather was pleasant and nowhere near as cold as it has been.
When i got home i had some lunch with ant, i finished off the meatloaf from the night before, then we headed down to Hesdin, checked the bank, the refund from EDF has gone in so that was good. Stopped in at the office and had a chat with Maggie, went to Carrefore bought a box of chocs to take to Janine's and filled the car for the trip to Calais on wednesday. When we got back ant went upstairs in a sulk and i got the bike out and pumped up the tyres and went for a ride, it was a bit exhausting.
Made some meatballs for dinner and then we headed over to Janine's for a very pleasant evening, she had done a spread of soup, quiche and salad, cheese and a tiramisu, so it was a good job we had a light dinner. We all sat and chatted on for a good few hours before heading home. We put the tv on upstairs and wacthed Shameless in bed before heading off to sleep.

Monday 15th March

Got up about nine and had coffee and internet time, left ant in bed, then i took the dogs on a walk. When i came back ant was up and reminded me of the radio thing so i sat ready to receive the call, spoke to Peter on the radio for about eight mins, i couldn't hear myself as ant was listening in in the kitchen but he reassured me it was ok. Spoke to mum for a little bit afterward then we headed out. We sat in the suntrap in David's garden having coffee and the sun was wonderful. We did a quick shop in Hesdin before heading up to Tony's. Tony listened to the car and confirmed my fears, the brake pad had gone, so he told me to park up near their garage and proceeded to take the front wheel off, the pad on the drivers side was completely gone. We headed back to Hesdin and bought some new pads then back to Tony's where he put the new ones on, saving me a fortune at the garage, thank god for friends.
We got home about six and i made a start on the dinner, a meat loaf with veg puree, not too bad but i can't get the loaf to say together, the texture was better this time though. After dinner we had a drink, ant phoned his mum and was on with her for some time, he put me on at the end, she is planning to visit us from the 11th to the 18th august, so that will be nice. We settled down to monday nights TV, Glee, which we enjoyed, then a couple of cartoons. we got to bed before twelve and headed to sleep.

Sunday 14th March

Got up and had coffee and time online, spoke to mum, wished her a happy mothers day, spoke to Mandy for ages then started to get the housework done, had a real good sweep through of the house in readiness for ant coming home. After the house work i ironed something nice to wear and showered, got dressed and thought i had visually lost some weight so felt a little better about myself. Ant phoned to let me know all was running to plan, i had a little lunch and watched a bit of tv. Took the dogs out for a walk and vowed i would walk them day morning and afternoon now the weather is getting better. I spent the afternoon and evening in a mix of tv and internet before setting off to pick up ant at 8;45. The journey was easy, though the brakes are making an awful noise, he arrived a couple of mins after i did and we set off home. Naturally the conversation was all about the strike and we arranged what ant would do if the strike goes ahead, fingers crossed they sort something out before hand. We got home had a cup of tea, ant showed me the gift he had bought for grans birthday, a nice set of grey pearls, so that was ideal. We headed to bed and i read for a very short while before going to sleep.

Sat 13th March

Up at nine and down for coffee, my weight has leveled for the last few days so i am a bit pissed off by that. Had the usual first hour online, it was a bit of a grey day outside so i wasn't too sure what i would do with myself. I had a round of phone calls, spoke to Anne, William and Andrew, ironically it was Williams birthday so that was good timing. Had some lunch and watched a bit of tv before spending more time on the computer, had a chat to aunty m on skype. I spoke to ant a couple of times on skype and then watched a bit more tv. All in all it was a tv and internet day, had a sausgage stew again for dinner, watched crufts, which is still more about the presenters than the dogs, had an evening in front of the tv before going to bed at eleven and reading for an hour.

Friday 12th March

Well it looks as though it is going to happen, Walsh has turned down the offer of the union and a strike seems inevitable, i have to wonder if some higher being is taking the piss as it is due to happen when i am in the uk and ant will be stuck in heathrow. So God knows what situation we will be in by the end of the month and poor ant is in a hotel in Phoenix worrying himself sick about it all. I can't really describe the feeling of helplessness i have about this situation, there is nothing i can do to protect him from what is going on, we are locked in this property unable to move until it sells, there is no chance of finding a job here and i have nothing in reserve. I don't mean to rant but the minutia of what i did yesterday pails into insignificance in comparison to what will be happening in a weeks time.

Thursday 11th March

Ant got himself ready and i had a coffee whilst i waited, we left for Lille at five thirty, stopped at Arras for some petrol on the way. I dropped ant off in plenty of time and headed home, getting back just before eight. I settled down for a bit of a hap on the sofa as i was now a little tired, i slept for about two hours. I went online and did some bits, started a new app on fb, my diet, it is quite interesting, then had a bit of lunch. I took the dogs for a walk then got on with the washing up and gave the kitchen a bit of a tidy. I peeled some veg and made set them to steam ready to make a puree to go with my dinner. I did my bouncing, didn't manage the full thirty mins and ants suggestion of listening to gaydar radio whilst i was doing was not successful.
I had a bit more time on the computer in the afternoon before settling down to some tv, had dinner, a nice beef stew with pureed carrot, parsnip, swede and sweet potato, whilst watching the Simpsons. Crufts was on but i was a bit disapointed to see more of the presenters than the dogs or the show, two legs less interesting. At around ten i went up to bed, took the dogs with me, and read for an hour before falling asleep.

Wed 10th March

We woke quite late, came down and did our morning bits and spent quite a long time on line, i discovered a new application on facebook that i got a little engrossed in. We had lunch after twelve, the usual tuna salad for me, ant had some ravioli, out of a tin! but he enjoyed it. We took the dogs a walk and i did my bouncing for half an hour. Spent a little more time online until it was time for tv, ant watched come dine with me, it just isnt the same. We had chilli for dinner, there was so much i didnt bother with rice, and scoffed it down, very good.
We had a bitty night in front of the tv, ant spoke to his mum, her relationship has just come to an abrupt end but i think she was more annoyed at not being the one to end it than hurt. We went up to bed just after ten and i lay there for an hour or so before getting up and leaving ant to it, it is important he gets a good nights sleep. I spent some more time on the computer then watched a bit of tv until he came down at four thirty to get ready to go to work.

Tuesday 09th March

Ant got up first today and made coffee, i followed, feeling a lot better, went online and checked stuff, gave mum a call and we chatted about the upcoming visit and our trip to the Languedoc. Had an email from the peter goers show inquiring whether i would be interviewed on Thursday but replied in the negative as i have to take ant to Lille and might not be around. We headed off in to Hesdin, dropping in on David on the way, sat and chatted to him for a bit then carried on. Checked the bank, dropped in on Maggie and chatted for a bit then headed to her place to see Mike and borrow his books for ants tests this month. We went and bought some fuel at Cultivert then came home, took the dogs out for a walk and then i did my thirty mins on the trampette, it is starting to pay off, just three more pounds and i will have lost a stone!
Ant made dinner, steak and salad, very nice, the steak was just perfectly rare and the salad most enjoyable, then we had an evening in front of the tv, for a change, culminating in Shameless, one of our favorite shows, so that was good, we headed up to bed after this and ant wanted to watch My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding, so we did, and we enjoyed that immensly too, then off to sleep.

Sunday & Monday 08th March

Had a relatively lazy day on sunday, they are rarely packed with fun, spoke to a few people on the phone, took the dogs out walking and did some exercise. In the evening i watched the usual tv, had roast turkey for dinner with sweet potatoes, parsnips and carrots. Went to bed relatively early and read for a bit and the went to sleep. I woke at two thirty in the morning with quite bad stomach pains and a bit of nausia, went to the loo and made a bit of space then went back to bed but could not get ot sleep, a few mins later the worst happened and i had to sprint to the bathroom clamping my hands over my mouth, i just about made it. After playing the white trumpet i went back to bed and managed to get back to sleep.
When i woke on Monday i was still feeling under the weather but i got up and had coffee then got on with the housework in readines for his lordship getting home, i rang him and told him i wasnt to well. I set off to pick him up and collected him just before two, we came home and i sorted out the tv in the bedroom and we made camp in there for the rest of the day, apart from going to the loo i did not have to get out of bed all day, which was good. He made me a simple dinner and we watched tv until going to sleep.

Sat 06th March

The alarm went at five and ant jumped out of bed and started to ready himself for work, i came down and made coffee for us both and then sat and watched the news for a while, i hadn't slept too well so was feeling a little tired. Ant came down ready for the off, so we drank up and headed out. I made a quick stop at Hesdin to put some petrol in the car and then we high tailed it up to the Eurotunnel and made the train in plenty of time.
The traffic on the uk side was nice and quiet so i dropped ant off about an hour before his report time then headed back towards Ashford. I stopped at Tesco and got some bits and pieces, including two new books, then headed down to the Eurotunnel, tried to check in but i was too early, the next available free one was in an hour thirty so i accepted that and went to the terminal. I had a mooch around the WHSmiths, then the duty free and the cheap electrical shop then went back to the car, ate the chicken drumsticks i had bought from Tesco and read. The crossing was ok, there was a screaming baby in the car behind me but i put the windows up and got on with my book and it didn't bother me.
When I got back to France I sped down the motorway and was back within one hour, I got in and let the dogs out, much to their relief and sorted the shopping out. As i was feeling a little tired the dog walking and exercises were put on a back burner and I settled down to some Futurama dvds, which I enjoyed. I finished off the cake from the day before and made a bit of a pig of myself but today was spoil myself day due to the early start and the unexpected loss of ant for the day.
I had a nice meal a bit later on, chicken in bacon and cheese with sweet potato, and carried on watching Futurama till I had watched the three features I own. I put the dogs out quite early, went online to see if ant was about, to no avail, then went up to bed with my book and the dogs, read till half eleven then went to sleep.

Friday 05th March

We woke and had coffee together, i did the usual internet stuff and ant busied himself with bits and pieces around the house, i phoned a couple of people and invited Janine round for tea in the afternoon. We headed down to Hesdin to do a bit of shopping, got some more of the steaks ant enjoyed the night before and some bits to make a cake.
When we got home we took the girls out for a walk, had lunch when we got in, i did my half hour on the trampette then made the cake, it turned out ok and i did some chocolate swirl things to make it look a bit fancier. Janine called round at three and we all sat and chatted, enjoyed the cake and the tea, she left three hours later and we had a look at ants rosta, he had been given a trip on saturday morning, much to his annoyance, but i sorted everything out and arranged a eurotunnel so i could drop him off at heathrow in time. We settled down to dinner in front of the tv, watched a couple of programmes then had an early night for our early morning.

Thursday 4th March

We got up with all the intention of doing something today, the sun was out and we thought perhaps a day at the coast, so we had the usual morning, spoke to gran, then spoke to mum, i thought ant and i might have a week in the lakes in June, until i realized it was half term, nearly everything is booked up and the price of what is left is unreasonable, this is the problem with British holidays, they charge the earth for so very little, and i hate being ripped off.
Ant and i had a bit of lunch then discussed what we would do with the day, we were unaware that the temp outside was so low and the wind was blowing a gale so we had a day at the house instead, he read and snoozed for the afternoon and i looked further into accommodation in June. Ant woke from his snooze at five thirty, we set the fire going and then watched a bit of tv, after the Simpsons i made dinner, steak marinaded in a shallot sauce with salad, topped off with poached egg, ant thought these steaks were the best we had had so far from the supermarket so we may make a little trip down tomorrow to see if there are any left.
While we were eating I asked ant for his thoughts about the first week in June, after all it is his holiday, he thought he might like to go for a week in the Languedoc again, take the dogs with us and stay in a nice character property, rather than be ripped off for a week in kendal, so i looked in to this for a bit whilst ant watched tv. I joined ant on the sofa for a bit of tv, then went up to bed around eleven for a read, ant came up a few moments later, we read for an hour and then went to sleep.

Thursday 3rd March

Up at the usual sort of time, and to my amazement ant got up with me, we came down and did the usual, then got ready and headed down to Hesdin, checked the bank, the money was in, finally. We stopped in to the office and had a bit of a chat with Marion then bought a euro millions ticket for Friday at a tabac. We came home and i put the beef stew together for dinner, then we had lunch, the usual for me but ant had kippers on bread, a very unpleasant looking repas.
After lunch we took the dogs out on a brisk walk, came back, i did half an hour on the trampette then we both had a bath. Ant read for the rest of the afternoon and i played Sims, it has been a long time since i have played it but it passed a few hours. We watched the simpsons at seven then had dinner, not bad and again plenty left over for another day. We watched a number of things on the tv, there was an interesting thing on about Petra and its discovery. Anne phoned so ant was on the phone for a good while, then he phoned gran and they chatted for a bit before he put her on to me. We ended the evening with Come Dine With Me, it wasnt quite the same, and we had a couple of whiskys to round off the evening.

Tuesday 02 March

I woke about nine thirty and came down, had a bit of a fuzzy head from the wine the night before, checked my weight and was pleased to note i had not put anything on but had shed another two pounds, just another four pounds and i will have shed a whole stone, just another three stone to go!! I went online and did some bits before waking ant.
We had coffee together and then got ready to go out, i put the old manual lawn mower in the boot for David and ant picked up all the empty bottles for the bottle bank and we headed out. We stopped for a short while at David's, Mark was getting ready to go to the hospital for checks, we dropped off the lawn mower and headed in to Hesdin. Checked the bank, the transfer still hasn't come through, starting to get a bit worried now, it is normally quite good but it is five days now, ah well. We went and did food shopping, a weeks food for under fifty euro's, not bad, filled the car with petrol and still had thirty euros left in the budget, i will have to nip down tomorrow and check the bank again.
When we got back we had some lunch, a tuna salad thing for me and a bowl of soup with bread for ant, then we got ready to go out with the dogs, the day was shockingly pleasant with sun and warmth. We headed out and walked down to Willeman, then on to Fillievres, a very nice village with a shop, where ant bought some diet coke, and a little river where the dogs had a drink, we sat by the river for a while before heading back. When we got home we worked out we had been walking for three hours, my feet were killing me but it was a nice afternoon. Ant had a read and a snooze for a bit and i went back online, did the cafe and looked at holidays, i had no idea the Algarve was so cheap.
I made dinner after the Simpsons a chicken and bacon pasta thing, not to bad and a fair bit left over for another day with my new portion control. We watched a mixture of bits on the tv, Shogun, an animal thing and the Shameless, ant went off to phone his mum for forty five mins and missed a fair bit of Shameless, but i enjoyed it. We watched a couple of episodes of Family Guy before heading off to bed, nearly one in the morning!, but as i said we dont have any pressing engagements in the morning so it doesnt matter.

Mon 01 March

The alarm got me up at eight, i came down and watched the news for a little and then got on with cleaning the kitchen, then the living room, the hall, put the washing away, tidied the bedroom then dug out an outfit, had a shower and got dressed. I came down and had another coffee, then went online and did some bits and pieces, ant phoned to say he was at St. Pancras waiting for the train. I set off to pick him up at eleven, making a quick stop to check the bank, i got to Lille with about five mins to spare, only to see his train was delayed by ten mins, so i sat and people watched for fifteen mins.
We got back on the road and headed home as soon as he arrived, he talked on for a bit in the car, as per, and we both had a good chat, he intimated he fancied a drink this evening, another trip to Hesdin. When we got home he unloaded, put the flowers he had bought for me into a vase, nice variegated pink roses, and i opened his just to say i love you card. I went online and checked the electricity bill, it was still saying i could not open the bill so i got a bit fed up and phoned them. They told me because the refund was so large they had stopped it and couldn't tell me when it would be paid, i hit the roof a little, we are talking about nearly 1500 euro's we have over paid, and demanded to speak to a manager, this got something done as the operator then told me she had refunded the money and it will be in our account in a fortnight.
Ant went up to bed and i went in to Hesdin, the bank was shut so i couldn't nip in and top up the account, our transfer still hadn't hit the account, a bit of a pain. I headed up to Lidl and bought three bottles of wine and a couple of bags of rice cracker snacks and bits for the chili. When i got back i took the dogs on a fast walk for half an hour then got the trampette out and did half an hour on that. I put the chili together and left it to simmer for a good while then got ant up. We sat and chatted for a while then had some wine and tucked in to the chili, not bad considering it is something i never make, then followed the usual evening of wine and chat followed by Glee, which i don't really remember now, then tumbling upstairs to bed.

Sunday 28th Feb

Another Sunday boring Sunday, i got up at nine and went down to a rainy grey day, put the dogs out and had coffee whilst doing the online stuff. I had a real quandary what to do today, i had fancied going out for a drive and an explore but the rain was putting me off slightly, i hung about online hoping to catch ant but eventually i gave up. I gave David a call and he suggested i pop round to them for an hour or so. I made an omlette for lunch, with mushrooms and ham, very nice, then set off in to Hesdin to check the bank, they have taken the mortgage out a day early, which was a bit annoying but nothing i could do about it. I headed up to David's and had a coffee with them, i borrowed Priscilla Queen of the Desert and Querelle, a strange french film.
When i got back it was still raining so the dog walk was canceled, i made up the fire and got a pile of wood in for the afternoon then caught ant on skype, he was unsure of whether he would get home tomorrow, which was a bit annoying so we arranged i would phone back in two hours when he would know more. I settled down to Priscilla, i had forgotten how good a film it was, there were plenty of laughs and a couple of tears, and i got to see a little of Broken Hill and Alice. It is a little funny but i feel quite an affection for Alice, even though i have never been there, i think it was the way it was glowingly described in A Town Like Alice, one day we will see it. I must get a copy of Priscilla on amazon, and Muriel's Wedding, the classics of Australian cinema!
I phoned ant on skype and he was positioning back, unable to work due to his tummy bug, Anne messaged me on facebook to check he was ok, i said he was fine, he seemed a lot better. I had a chat with gran on the phone, very little info this week, and i have done very little, so it was uncharacteristically short, i will phone in the week when ant is home, she enjoys a good chat to him. I butterflied a chicken breast, caked it in curry pasted and then pan fried it and had it with a huge pile of veg, most enjoyable, then hunted about for something worth watching, Big Fish, not bad, then the Antiques Roadshow followed by Larkrise, which just seems to get on my nerves now.
I watched some of Querelle, a most disturbing film, very homoerotic but also full of dark images and murder, so i didn't manage to get to the end. I went up to bed by eleven and set an alarm to get me up in time to give the house the once over before going to pick up ant, read for about an hour and then went off to sleep.

Sat 27th Feb

A bit of a nothing kind of day, i woke at about nine, came down, did the usual then cleaned around in the kitchen and living room. I went in to Hesdin for a look at the bank and then headed back home. Had chicken burgers for lunch with a nice salad then messed about online a little longer. I took the dogs out for a walk for about thirty mins and then settled down in front of the tv, nothing much on so i went online again.
At about six i made a pork stir fry with a Thia sauce and some low fat noodles, which i did enjoy, then settled down to watch Total Wipeout and Harry Hill, followed by the Rise of the Silver Surfer, so the tv was ok. I went up to bed at eleven and spoke to ant for a bit on skype, he has been unwell and had to have the doctor out, there was little i could do for him here but when he gets home i will dole out some of my renouned sympathy and care! I read till about one and then went to sleep. I will need to try and get myself to do something on sunday, go out and find something on.

Friday 26th Feb

Up at nine, had a coffee and watch the news for a while then went up and showered and shaved and sorted out an outfit for the day. I left the house about ten thirty and headed to the decheterie, the dump, but it was shut so i had to carry on to David's with the old bumper still in the back of the car. I sat with a coffee and chatted to David for a while, Mark returned from his daily trip to the supermarket and i chatted to him for a bit. I left the bumper at David's and headed in to Hesdin, took the car to the controle technique place, vehicle roadworthy testing, and he told me to come back after three.
I went in to Hesdin and checked the bank, then bought a little cadeaux, present, for Marion, walked up to Carrefore and bought a bottle of diet coke then walked over the Marion's, i got there about twelve thirty. Marion and i chatted on for a little, she was very pleased with the cadeaux, before Rodger and Sue arrived, they have just been on a ten week holiday near Valencia and so were full of stories. Roger and Sue breed Bichon Frise and have recently sent one to Australia so i pumped them for info, Sue said she had used an agent to get the dog through all the paperwork and the tests and she would pass on the details so that would take the pressure off us, apparently we could drop the dogs off with her and she would take them right up to putting them on the plane, this would be great.
I left Marion's at three thirty after a very nice lunch and walked back down to the controle technique place, to my great relief the car had passed and didn't need any work, so that's out of the way for another two years. I stopped back in on David on the way home, to pick up the bumper, i had a coffee with them, David is thinking of buying a laptop and they wanted some info, i advised him not to go for an expensive one as he will never use all the bits on it any way. David had decided he could make use of the bumper for something so i left it there and headed home. I chatted to ant for a little when i got back and then tried to decide what to do with myself, i didn't really fancy trampetting as i was a bit stuffed from the lunch, so i went upstairs and dragged out the videos and had a look through to find something to watch.
I settled down to a video about Les Dawson, who wasn't as funny as i had remembered, then made dinner, stuffed tomatoes and salad again, still it was enjoyable. I watched a Frankie Howerd video then skyped ant. I sat on the sofa with the web cam pointing towards the sofa for about an hour whilst we chatted and he got ready to go out with the crew for something to eat, it was nice, like having him in the room in a way. He got ready and left me to a Victoria Wood video, she really is a very funny woman, given the choice of her or are you being I would be hard pressed to make the decision. I went up to bed by eleven and sat and read for an hour before heading off to sleep, a nice packed day.

Thursday 25th Feb

I woke about nine thirty and came down, put the dogs out, had coffee and went online for a short while before getting the bumper out of the back of the car and getting it ready for painting, i then sprayed it several times with fifteen minute drying periods in between, as per the instructions on the tin. During these breaks i wasted time online, and spoke to ant on skype, he had just arrived in his hotel and looked very tired. In the end the bumper did not look great but it looked better than the old one, there were a couple of dribbles on it but once it is dirty you will never know. I had a bit of lunch, tuna salad again, and then got ready to go up to Tony's.
The way up to Tony's it was raining again, typical, i arrived and we set to working on the car, the old bumper came off with a bit of a shove and then we put the new one on, it took about an hour altogether, then i had a cup of tea with Tony before heading home.
When i got back i looked at the tv, there was nothing i wanted to watch so i got the trampette out and had half an hour on that, bouncing like mad to the sounds of Stepps, before sorting out my dinner, chicken breast with roasted veg, it was quite good, if a little underdone. I still had the headphones on whilst i was doing the prep and had a good dance around the kitchen, it is a good job we are not overlooked. The girls and i settled down to a night in front of the tv, had a bit of a struggle to find something worth watching at one point, but enjoyed the ongoing saga, Shogun, then a docu on the Treasury, i put the dogs out for their evening constitutional and went online to catch ant, we chatted for a little then i went up for a read. I read for about an hour before heading off to sleep, dreaming of that big win on the euro millions!

Wed 24th Feb

Ant got up at seven and started on doing his bits ready for the off, I followed suit soon after and came down for coffee and watched the news, I forgot to mention that we had a hair cutting session on Tuesday so we both look like escaped crims. We set off just after nine to pick up Tony on the way to Calais, then headed up, the day was quite nice and roads quiet, when we got to the Eurotunnel ant got himself a nice sandwich, whilst Tony and i looked on in hunger.
The crossing was quick as usual and we were on the English roads before eleven, i made a stop at Ashford, we all had something to eat in McDonalds, a quick stop at pc world for Tony and then filled up the car at Tesco. Ant had a bit of a snooze in the back of the car on the way to Heathrow and woke with about fifteen mins before we arrived, we dropped him off and set off towards Romford, back on the M25, this took us about an hour.
We found the parts place and picked up the bumper with no hassle, i had already paid for it and it fitted in the back easily, back on the road. We made another short stop at Lakeside retail estate, an enormous shopping place, we found a Halfords to get some paint for the bumper and looked for some rivets but they didn't have any. We had high tea in Burger King before heading off again, over the Queen Elizabeth bridge and on to the M20, this is the first time i have ever driven all the way round the M25 and it was not too bad due to the time of day. On the way down towards Ashford Tony suddenly remembered he had some letters which had to go to the post office so we made an extra stop at a village called Snodland and found a post office.
We finally got back to Ashford just after four, we called in at Tesco where i bought several bits and filled the car up again before heading down to the channel tunnel. We arrived in plenty of time before our booked crossing and i nipped in to the shop to replace the bottle of Morgans Spiced ant and i had polished off the night before, and a bottle of Malibu, how long is it since i have had a Malibu and coke, all we need now is a bottle of Midori and some Dubbonett and my teenage drinking cabinet will be complete. When we got to France it was absolutely throwing it down making the drive back a little hairy but we got back, i dropped Tony off and arranged to go up the next day to fit the bumper after i have painted it.
When i got home the dogs were ecstatic, poor things had been left all day but they still hadn't made a mess so i was very pleased with them, I made some scrambled eggs with bacon for my dinner then settled down in front of the tv and relaxed, i had planned to start the paint spraying but couldn't be moved. I eventually went up to bed with one of the new books i had bought at Tesco, Martyr, it is very similar to the Sansom books i quite enjoyed, so i enjoyed an hour of that before going to sleep, i had the dogs at the bottom of the bed as a bit of a treat for being so good.

Tuesday 23rd Feb

Ant was up nice and early to catch the meter reader, i had a bit of a lie in and got up at nine thirty, i did the usual, the meter reader turned up at about ten, i went online and put the figure in and found we are due a nice big refund. We phoned Maggie, ant had left his work jacket at their place on Saturday, and arranged to drop in, and i bought the bumper for the car on the internet.
We headed in to Hesdin and sat in the office chatting with Maggie and Rosie for about half an hour, picked up the jacket and headed home. I phoned Tony to say i had bought the bumper and had arranged to have it delivered to Mary's but there was a problem with this so i went back online and organized to pick up the bumper on wed, dropping ant off at heathrow on the way. We took the dogs out for a walk then ant went upstairs for a nap, i spent a bit of time online then got the trampette out and had a half hour session on that. I put together a meat loaf for dinner then ant came down and we watched Billy Elliot on video, which was very enjoyable.
We had dinner, which was good, meat loaf with qinoa with Mediterranean veg, then watched a bit of tv, ant decided he fancied a drink so we let ourselves loose on the bacardi spiced and diet coke, we had a real good night and ended up going to bed after twelve, perhaps not such a good move with a long drive tomorrow.

Mon 22nd Feb

I came down with ant and we sat with a coffee and chatted for a little while then i went online, had a quote for a new bumper so will need to act on this. The weather was unpleasant and we had decided we would go out to the coast for the day so this put the mockers on it a little. I had a little chat with Tony and he reminded me of the scrap yard at Merlimont so i decided we would drive there and have a look. We set off before lunch, stopped in Hesdin to check the bank and refuel, then headed to the coast, we arrived too early, lunch time, so we headed off in search of McDonalds for lunch, where i had a chicken ceasar salad which was not too bad, ant tucked in to a couple of burgers and chips, greedy b! When we returned to the scrap yard it was open but he did not have any Fiesta bumpers, typical!! he had a fair selection of very nice cars which i would not have minded looking through but it was raining and ant wasn't for getting his do wet so we set off again. We stopped at a huge supermarket to get a couple of bits and pieces, a new set of light bulbs for the car to start. I threw my dummy out of the pram over a nintendo wii but it all settled down and we headed back to Hesdin where we had a bit of a look in Lydl and Aldi and Gifi, where we bought a new door mat, head phones, electric skipping rope, and a water filter.
When we got back we put all the bits together, i had a go on the skipping rope but it was not too good so i got the trampette out and did twenty mins on that instead. We had a bit of a lull in the late afternoon when ant went for a nap, i found a good dieting website, free which you can use to chart your progress and plan meals and exercise, www.projectweightloss.com, so i fiddled on with that for a bit, i thought it was quite good. I made dinner for ant and i, steak and salad, which was better than last week as the steak was a little better. We watched tv after dinner, nothing much, glee then shogun, then went up to bed.

Sunday 21st Feb

I got up just before ten and came down stairs leaving ant asleep, trundled about for a bit then went online with the usual coffee and flakes, i did the cafe and the blog and then had a look on Adelaide now. I woke ant around eleven thirty and he came down and had his coffee and we looked at a couple of rentals together. We had a bit of lunch, another tuna salad for me and soup for ant, then headed off to Jackie and Tony's, they had brought us back some dog food from the uk, it is much cheaper there, that we needed to pay for and pick up.
We sat and chatted for a bit, Tony suggested i try to find a new bumper for the car and he would help me fit it so i had a little search on line, he also suggested a scrap place out towards the coast. We went to look at the car and he noticed i had a couple of lights out so he helped me get the housings off, this took an age but we finally managed then he lent me a couple of bulbs, i must get a spare set. We headed home after this and had a quiet afternoon, ant snoozed on and i searched online for a new bumper, not to be had for ready cash by the looks of things. I gave up and started on the dinner, a nice roast chicken with sweet corn, lentils and carrots, which ant seemed to enjoy, then i phoned gran, then settled down to the antiques roadshow. Ant tried several times to phone his mam but she was engaged constantly so he eventually gave up.
we watched a bit of the winter Olympics, barracking for the aussie guy in the mens ski cross, to no avail, but it was fun, then ant watched something about the Dankworths and i headed to bed to finish Greg Bearup, i cant help thinking at the end of the book that i know little more about the land of Australia but i enjoyed reading it, his coverage of southern australia was woefully under par. Ant came up and ii handed the finished book to him and we headed off to sleep.