2024 Diary - Page 40

2 February

Went to the gym then work - unusual for a Friday but it was the only day I could do this week instead of Tuesday (train strike). Unfortunately it meant I had to miss Yoga.

Diane caught up with me on the way to the station and, because I wasn't able to buy a paper in Orpington this morning, I joined her on the faster train and had a good chat all the way to London Bridge. The faster train meant I arrived in town earlier than normal so I could have a bit longer walk on the way to the office.

I also went for a walk at lunch time to get away from the computer screen for a while. I'd finished what I needed to do by just after 4.30 pm. so I packed up my desk and left work a bit early.

3 February

Spring is definitely on its way with Bob's camellia and our quince both coming into flower.

I went to the gym after doing a load of stuff around the house. Got some bits and pieces from Sainsbury's, including milk for when Jonathon gets back (due home from Devon today).

I had a load of pots, bags and newspapers to deliver to Alicia for Greenwich Wildlife Foundation so went round with those. Her house backs onto Crofton Wood so I walked around there for a while to finish my steps for the day. It wasn't as muddy as I was expecting, and nowhere near as muddy as I've seen it in other years, but there were patches that had to navigated around. It was a shame to see one of the big trees was down - presumably a casualty of the recent storms.

Had a Skype call with Mum. She said she was feeling a bit better today (she's been a bit off colour all week) but still not 100%.

Jonathon got home from Devon at 6.15 p.m. so not too late. Oli wasn't over-friendly towards him as a punishment for being away twice in quick succession but I'm sure they'll soon settle down together again soon.

4 February

I went via Keswick Road and Broomhill and found a few documents blowing around the road. I then found a Jaguar wallet that the clearly belonged to so put them all back together, left them near where I found it and posted on the Knoll groups.

Jonathon picked it up later and brought it home and then a neighbour contacted us to say the wallet etc. had been stolen from her car so at least we know where it belongs.

I worked hard at the gym and had extra time because I didn't go to church this week.

It was lovely to see our first crocuses in flower when I got back home. I noticed that there were a couple of daffodils out at the end of the garden as well.

I led a walk for the Knoll Group. We went to Fordcroft and I'd printed off info from Historic England. Graham joined us when we got there (he lives nearby) and told us the real history of the site rather than the official version - very interesting.

We went back into Orpington beside the Cray and through Priory Gardens, enjoying seeing various flowers, blossom etc. along the way.

No phone call with Christine today because she had visitors.

5 February

A different kind of Monday for me today. Ela's class was cancelled and Gilda was in Nottingham so the day was my own!

I stayed in bed an extra hour then did a few jobs round the house before going to the gym.

I had some more stuff to drop off at Alicia's so went there then through the woods and met Jonathon for lunch at Aqua in Petts Wood - very tasty.

By the time we got home, Alma was beavering away doing the cleaning and I'd finished my steps for the day so we could relax.

6 February

Gym and work as normal. Work was pretty quiet but I had a nice chat with Chris (over from Belfast) and Nigel (he'd enjoyed his leaving dinner in Germany last week).

Jonathon had a far more interesting day, going to The British Library with Derek to see an exhibition and out for lunch.

Janet mentioned that more of the north bank had been opened up to walk along (between the City and Blackfriars) so I went to investigate at lunch time. It should definitely save me a bit of time when I need to get to Bromley for the theatre after work.

7 February

Gym then work. Work was really quiet so the day took forever. Our team call was cancelled so I didn't even have that to use up some of the time.

I met Mark after work and we went to the Ivy at Tower Bridge for dinner. The food was delicious but the service was a bit slower than we would have liked.

8 February

A very short visit to the gym because I started the screening today for the clinical trials at AccellarCare. They were certainly thorough. I don't think I've ever had so many tests done in my life before or so much blood taken into different phials.

The guidelines had mentioned that I might need a lift home but, although Jonathon drove me there - 8 a.m. start and pouring with rain - I was perfectly OK to walk home so that's what I did. I popped into Graham's on the way home to collect a new non-slip yoga mat that he was looking for a home for.

The cough monitor that I have to wear for 24 hours is a nuisance but in no way uncomfortable - I just hope it doesn't stop me sleeping.

I finished my steps by going to get some milk from Sainsbury's on a round about route. I spotted this amazing fungus on the way round - it was growing on a fence in Carol B's driveway.

I popped in to see John and Margaret while I was over that way. John is increasingly frail (physically) and was asleep for quite a lot of the time I was there. He is still as bright as anything mentally and would take very badly to moving into a care home. Margaret is exhausted but is determined that John should stay at home. I don't think they have much external help in the form of visiting carers so she's trying to do everything for him.

In the evening, Jonathon and I ventured to Sevenoaks to see Showaddywaddy at the Stag Theatre. They were the smallest theatre seats we've ever seen with hardly any leg room and definitely not enough room to dance. The show was briliant, full of great music and lots of humour. We got drenched getting home but at least the M25 had reopened by then (it was closed when we were trying to get there).

10 February

A busy morning but a lovely, quiet afternoon and evening!

The bonuses this morning were seeing Skittsi - he doesn't appear very often at the moment so it's always a treat to see him. I also saw a Great Spotted Woodpecker (J saw one later on the way to town as well). We didn't see any through January so Spring must be on its way!

I went to the gym for a quick blast on the treadmill before getting ready for the Charity Walk.

In the end, we had about a dozen walkers and raised £88.17. The charity whose name was picked out of the box at random was St. Christopher's Hospice and the money has already been sent off to them.

Interestingly, when I looked at all the charities nominated, 5 of the walkers had norminated St. Christopher's so definitely a popular choice.

The walk finished at The Cricketers. Not all the walkers came in to the pub because some were up against times of other appointments but everyone seemed to enjoy the walk, some even asking when the next one would be.

I spotted this very pretty garden just along the road from the pub - full of crocuses and snowdrops - very eye-catching.

I went to Tesco to get a missing ingredient for tomorrow's lunch and collected some 80th birthday bunting (ready for Jo's birthday in October - someone was getting rid of it).

Jonathon went to photograph Pixie and the Gypsies late afternoon / evening while Oli and I stayed at home!

11 February

More rain this morning so I got wet going to the gym. I bashed out most of my steps so I didn't need to go for a walk later (but it faired up in the afternoon so it wouldn't have been too bad).

I noticed that our Prunus is in flower so wandered round the garden. The Snowdrops are spreading nicely and the Helebore is now looking pretty as well. There's quite a few flowers out - the tete-a-tete daffodils will be out soon. We can see them from the kitchen window so that brightens up the house end of the garden.

Church was fun. Martin Leonard led the service, aimed at the children so it was very lighthearted with a serious message. It was parade service and seemed strange that we have no Guides or Brownies any more (not enough leaders / helpers). The girls are now members of Scouts and Cubs instead.

Had a Skype call with Mum - she seemed on decent form.

12 February

The sunrise was lovely and the sky was a beautiful blue. I don't often take photos of our house but it looked lovely in the morning light.

Gilda and I went for a walk. The woods were extremely muddy so we tried to stick to proper paths as much as possible.

We saw a Red Kite while we were walking about. Funnily enough, we saw one over our garden later that afternoon.

Jonathon met us at Aqua for lunch. It was lovely and Jonathon was spoilt with a double helping of panna cotta which was a nice surprise.

Alma was here when we got back and Oli was taking full advantage of the sunshine, sitting on Jonathon's car roof.

Caught up with Christine with our usual weekly phone call.

13 February

Gym and work.

Gilda and I met at Bromley to see Clueless (the name says it all - I would probably have enjoyed it more had I been 13 years old rather than 63 but it was harmless fun.

I had a lovely canine companion on the journey to Bromley (his human even gave me his seat which was really kind of him) and I enjoyed seeing the City from a different vantage point (Blackfriars Station).

14 February

Valentine's Day and I wasn't expecting to see Jonathon at all so the two minutes at either end of the day was a bonus!

No gym today because I had to be in the office early for my annual appraisal. It went pretty well so I should, hopefully, get a bonus in May (albeit on 2 days p.w. it won't be much!)

I went for a walk past the Tower of London and round St. Katharine Docks at lunchtime to get some air.

Pub quiz in the evening. There were only four of us on the Flamingos team - Ginny, Judy, Nick and me and we finished firmly mid-table so not too bad.

15 February

It was a proper spring day today so I had a lovely wander round the garden. There's lots of colour at the moment - looking very pretty.

I went to the gym this morning (but not early enough for Ela's class) then had to go to West Wickham for my eye test for AccellarCare. The optician was lovely but my eyes have changed so, although Accellar paid for the eye test but the new glasses were down to me!

We called into Dobbies for compost and Sainsbury's for shopping on the way back.

Jonathon cooked pancakes for tea because we didn't have them on Tuesday - they were delicious!

16 February

Went to yoga and tried out my new non-slip mat. It didn't slip on the floor but my feet felt like with were slipping from time to time so I'll need to keep an eye on that.

Met Jo and Coco and we went for a lovely, sunny walk at Crystal Palace Park. We bumped into Diane and her friend, Edua, so had a chat with them. We spent most of our time throwing the ball for Coco so she got a lot more exercise than we did!

Jonathon had gone out to the first of his two gigs when I got back and I went to Tai Chi / Qigong. I don't get to go very often but really enjoyed it.

In between our walk and Tai Chi, it was non-stop at home. I spoke to Mum's reflexologist to check her bank details (Mum had given me the wrong number); I spoke to Alex because there was quite a bit of adverse press coverage of Close Brothers (he assured me our funds were managed separately); Peter (next door) came round with our milk that had been delivered to them in error. It's been sitting outside all day so goodness knows if it will still be OK. Jenny came round to make sure it was our milk (I confirmed it was); Mary came round to let me know they'll be away on Monday night.

Thankfully, it was a lot quieter after I got home from Tai Chi!

17 February

I woke up not feeling quite as poorly this morning. Still coughing for England but at least it feels looser so perhaps it's starting to leave me. Hope so.

Did a whole load of jobs round the house before going for a walk to Priory Gardens and then to the gym to finish my steps. I can't remember the last time I walked on the treadmill so slowly but I did what I could and got there eventually.

18 February

No church today because of my cough but I still went to the gym. I timed leaving the gym with Tesco opening so I could do the shopping on the way home.

Jonathon had a lunchtime gig so he'd already gone by the time I got back.

I led a Knoll Active walk in the afternoon. The sun came out and it was a lovely stroll around local woods and alleyways with quite a few people, including some new ones (and Coco, of course).

We had dinner when we both got home then watched the final two episodes of the latest series of "Trigger Point" - very gripping.

19 February

Ela's class then home until Gilda got here.

Today's main job was delivering copies of the charity walk directions / clues to a few people who'd asked for a copy. I still have some more to do but they are at the other end of Orpington so I'll try and get them done tomorrow.

We went along a few alleys (including a new one) and covered some of the route I'd done with the Knoll Active walkers yesterday - it was nowhere near as wet today, despite the fact that Gilda and I got wet from drizzle for the first half of the morning.

We met Jonathon at Masala Dabbas for lunch. Alma came and did the cleaning, I went to Boots to get a few bits, Oli went in and out all afternoon so all quite normal.

Caught up with Christine. My cough is a bit better today but I still sound dreadful so I've told work I'll stay home tomorrow and go in on Wednesday and Thursday instead.

21 February

Gym and work so back to normal.

It was good to see I'd got another photo in the local paper this week. I did give them a few to choose fromso I was quite hopeful.

I was really pleased to see Michael's Gadwall photo in because I thought it was lovely when he first posted it.

Pete called me into his office this afternoon to tell me that I was moving teams. Apparently I'm going to be testing the new systems that will be introduced in May. I'm surprised he told me rather than Stephanie as she's my line manager (or was until today at least!). New boss is called Gabriella so let's see how that goes.

I was supposed to meet Mark for dinner but he was poorly so I went home instead.

23 February

Went to yoga this morning - I'm getting used to my new mat now so managing a bit better.

I did a session on the treadmill before I came home because I wasn't sure how much walking I'd be doing with Jo.

In the end we walked 6.85 km so plenty of steps and distance! We went round Goddington and across Chelsfield Recreation Ground - lovely views on such a clear day.

We saw a lovely bee on the way home - she was also enjoying the sunshine.

Jonathon and I went to Xi'an for lunch then I cut the cross into the grass (first cut this year). 10 minutes after I'd finished we had a hail storm - completely unexpected and I was very pleased to be inside.

Went to Tai Chi / Qigong in the evening which was fun.

24 February

It was really frosty when I got up this morning and the patterns on Jonathon's car were amazing - sooo pretty. I've submitted this frosty photo to the local paper so it will be interesting to see if they choose it for next week's copy or if it's a bit too artisitic for them!

Went to the gym to do some weights and a bit on the treadmill.

Main task for this morning was taking the Knoll Active group on a walk. Today we went on the train to Lewisham then walked over Blackheath and through Greenwich Park. We didn't have any dogs with us so we could go through the garden area which was lovely with quite a few spring flowers to admire.

I've already been asked it I'll do that walk again, mainly by people who weren't able to make it today.

Our main job for this afternoon was trying to fix my shower door. Unfortunately, it turned out that one of the runners was broken so we've had to take the door off and order some new ones. They should be here on Thursday so I've moved my bathroom stuff downstairs for the time being.

25 February

Graham was giving away a surge protector extension lead so I went to collect that after I'd done a few jobs around the house. Trisha was also getting a timer from him so I picked that up at the same time to save her a journey.

I walked from Graham's via the Cray and Priory Gardens and was really pleased to get a fairly decent photo of the Gadwall that's staying there at the moment (shame I chopped the tip of his tail off!).

Next stop was the gym to get steps finished off.

We went to Chapter One for lunch (yummy). The people at the next table kept us amused with the Queen Bee basically telling the rest of them how clever and successful she was. We guessed three were cousins with a couple of older generation (her mum and dad of one of the men) but we'll never know!

Trisha collected her timer and we noticed how cold it had become so we lit the fire to keep us nice and snug.

Had a Skype call with Mum but she didn't have anything much to tell me other than the sagas of Denise's family - sounds like she's having a terrible time with them all.

Caught up with Christine - usual long chat about not much!

26 February

It's our 19th Wedding Anniversary today!

Ela's class to start the day and a bit of treadmill then Jo and Coco came round and we went for a very chilly and windy local walk.

Dentist for me early in the afternoon for a repair to a filling. The filling was fine but the cleaning etc. was horrible - i hate having water sprayed into my mouth!

Alma was at our house doing the cleaning when we got back so we waited until she'd gone home before having tea - we were ready for it by then.

28 February

The sunrise was lovely this morning and it was good to be back to normal. I'd not set my alarm in case I wanted to sleep but I woke up naturally which is always the best thing to do.

I had to queue for a long way down the street to get into our building and had my pass checked four times before I finally got into our office. Everyone was on full alert after the demonstratons yesterday with threat of even more action today. As it was, several people tried to breach the cordon but our security team did a great job keeping them out.

29 February

These lovely primulas cheered me up as I walked through the rain to the gym for Ela's class. Did most of my steps on the treadmill before I went home so I didn't have to go out for a walk later.

We met up with Derek and Maureen at Manicomio for lunch (their turn to pay). The food was lovely as always and it was good to see that Maureen was less stressed and more like her normal self.

I exchanged messages with Liba. Her daughter, Lily, is in hospital at the moment. She still doesn't appear to want to tell me what's wrong - she's just said that it will be a long recovery and that Ella, Lily's twin, is being brilliant. Perhaps Liba will say more after they see the consultant tomorrow.

Jonathon ventured out into the rain again to go to a photoshoot at Piano Smithfield. Oli and I stayed home in the warm and dry!

2 March

Yet another very wet day on the way to the gym!

I waited until Roman was open so I could take the dress back and swapped it for a top (with a small price difference) so I can tick that of my To Do list.

I spent quite a bit of time in the gym doing a variety of things and it had just about stopped raining by the time I got home.

3 March

My gym challenge this month is to burn 901 active calories per day for 14 days of the month. I managed it yesterday and thought there would be a good chance today with a Knoll walk planned. I based through a load in the gym then finished them off on the walk (with a few additional). Thankfully, it was a lovely dry day so we had a good walk, even if there were only 7 of us.

I'd pre-cooked the stew for dinner yesterday so Jonathon was in charge of stirring it while I was out. It was good to come home and eat without having to start and cook something (and it was very tasty).

5 March

I stayed in bed a bit longer this morning after our late night so no gym. Instead, I went into work a bit earlier so I could have my profile rebuilt on the system (success!). It was lovely to see a couple of swans on The Thames as I was walking to work.

Chris, Tim and I went to Caravaggio for lunch at Stephanie's expense. It was in lieu of a Christmas lunch / dinner. The German team are having dinner at her house on Friday. We were invited to join them but we would have to fly to Germany at our own expense so we declined and said we'd do our own thing. With Tim's birthday yesterday, Chris's on the 10th and mine on the 12th, March is a good month for us to get together.

The evening light was quite spectacular over Canary Wharf, especailly with the dark, stormy sky.

I went to the gym when I got home to make up for not going this morning.

6 March

Another morning when I decided to sleep a bit longer and get into the work a bit earlier by missing the gym. I think I've finally caught up with my sleep now!

The swans had moved on but there were coots and cormorants for me to admire as I walked alongside The Thames to work.

Steve (Liba's husband) came to my office to collect a rucksack for Ella. Apparently she's been using Steve's old rucksack for school (so uncool!) so she'll be delighted to get her own.

Lily is now out of hospital and back home for a couple of weeks to see how she gets on. Steve mentioned that she was being bullied at school and it seems that was the final straw for her, hence her breakdown.

I took last week's local paper to a neighbour who wanted it, checked on Jo's flat and settled down for the evening.

7 March

Busy day today!

Ela's class to start the day but I didn't have time to go into the gym afterwards because I had to get to the clinic.

Apparently all my tests showed as "normal" with no deviancies either high or low, no TB, HIV or Hepatitis etc. so all good to go.

After almost two hours being questioned, tested etc. I as given my first batch of tablets for the "run in phase" - 4 tablets a day so I'll rattle by the end of it. Needless to say, my body had a bit of a reaction to the tablets but seemed to settle down by the evening.

Called in at Nugent on the way home to look for black trousers in M&S but they didn't have what I wanted so I'll have to try the shops in the High Street tomorrow.

Went to West Wickham in the afternoon to collect my new glasses. They are very light and will take some getting used to but feel good so far and I can see everything so all OK. We popped into Costa for drinkings before Jonathon visited the charity shops.

Had an email from the local collecting coordinator for Marie Curie. I collected £81.85 in my box last weekend so pretty happy with that.

Did the ironing so we have some hankies to pack then finally read the paper and watched some TV.

8 March

Another activity packed day but completely different to yesterday!

Yoga and treadmill to start the day (after I'd done a few household chores).

I went to the High Street to try and find some black trousers (still unsuccessful but found a couple of lovely nighties instead! Bought a few books for holiday from the YMCA and the cooked dinner.

Jonathon dropped me round to Alicia's to deliver a load of newspapers and Gu pots for Greenwich Wildlife Rescue then I walked home to finish my steps.

Main job for this afternoon was packing (with my helper). Oli is very unimpressed with us for packing because he knows it means we'll be going away.

Jonathon went into London for a photoshoot for an International Women's Day concert.

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