It was Phil’s mum’s birthday on Friday so we packed up the car and drove to Melton Mowbray to spend the day with her. She was surprised to see us so early, the back door was still locked and she didn’t have her teeth in and curlers were still in her hair. George was feeling a little better but not well enough to go out to lunch, so I’d cooked beef and onions in red wine in the slow cooker and we’d also taken down potatoes and veggies to cook. I didn’t want Phil’s mum to cook on her actual birthday, that wouldn’t be much fun and besides, food always tastes better when it’s cooked by someone else. We’d taken down a big box of chocolates, some flowers and a birthday cake so Bett was happy.
As soon we’d had a cup of tea and Phil’s mum had gotten her face on, we left dad at home and took mum in the car to deliver the German sausage that we got from Costco to their friend George. George invited us in even though we had said we couldn’t stay long. He was delighted with the sausage and duly paid Phil for his purchases. George’s wife is very ill in hospital and when he was telling Bett about his hospital visit the day before, he had tears in his eyes. It doesn’t sound very hopeful I’m afraid. Our next visit was to Glad’s bungalow to collect some magazines. Glad’s sister buys the magazines and then gives them to her and then when she’s read those, Bet gets them and then she passes them on to me. Neither Phil nor I had seen Glad for about year and we were shocked to see how frail she is. Out of the three them, Gladys was always the fittest and the steadiest on her feet. Not anymore though; now she can only walk with a frame, although she does still have a twinkle in her eye. Old age is harsh and so very, very sad.
When we got back, Phil made cauliflower cheese and cooked the veg and we had our lunch bang on the dot of midday. My beef casserole went down well and everybody cleaned their plates so I was pleased. Dessert was a rhubarb and blackberry pie from the farm shop with special custard from Waitrose. I don’t usually do sweets but I had a little and was disappointed as the pie was a little dry and lacking with fruit. Perhaps this was a ‘bad batch’ because we’ve had pies from the farm shop before and they have been really nice.
After lunch, Phil and I washed and put away and then we put our coats on and went to meet the estate agent for a 1.30pm viewing at mum and dads new bungalow. We were a little early and had to stand, for what seemed like ages, in the biting wind. Eventually the agent turned up to let us in. Both Phil & I loved the bungalow, okay its very old people style/colours and not my cup of tea, but it will be perfect for Bett and George. It is currently unoccupied as the owner had to move into a home, but it’s clean and tidy and doesn’t need any internal decoration. It’s had new carpet in the lounge and the curtains in all the rooms are of good quality. Phil had a measure up and Phil’s dad nearly collapsed after trying to climb in the loft. What on earth was he thinking? I am guessing we were there for half an hour but it was all too much for Phil’s dad, he’d overdone it and we had to get him home. Then it was back for a cup of tea and a Blumen Hesten Blumenthal mince pie. Incidentally, nobody liked the mince pies; they certainly didn’t taste of pine cones and definitely not worth £3.29.
It was really cold in the caravan when we got back and we knew then, that we were in for a severe frost. Phil put 2 heaters on in the bedroom which took the chill off but it was still cold when we awoke first thing on Saturday morning. When the gas fire had been on full for about an hour I poked my head out the door and sure enough, white frost everywhere. I didn’t fancy going outside but I had to brave the cold to put a wash on and I also had to put the rubbish out. The steps and the decking were iced over and we are going to have to do something because somebody is bound to slip over and it’s very likely to be me! I know we’ve only got a month before we have to move out for the shutdown period, but we are going to have get prepared for bad weather. We haven’t had frozen pipes yet but if caravans with double glazing and central heating can freeze up, then it’s only a matter of time for us. I said to Phil we need to get a big thing of water and make sure we fill the kettle before going to bed. And I suppose it wouldn’t hurt to throw some antifreeze down the loo when we turn the lights out. A good girl guide is always prepared!
I left Phil to write some more on his book and drove to MK early on Saturday morning. The road leading to the A45 was very icy and is not treated so I drove very carefully and very slowly. I think next time we have a frost and I have to drive I shall use the Land Rover. I stopped off at Sue’s for a cup of tea and a chat and I also took over the white paint tray. The ceiling in her hallway has cracked with the water coming through it and needs to be treated and re-painted. After Sue’s, I went to see Harriet at Caldecotte, I didn’t stay long because she had been out the night before and wasn’t really in the land of the living. This is the gal that last week said she was never drinking again! LOL! My last stop was the gym and then it was back to Overstone, stopping off at The Manor to collect post.
We had quite a bit of post and unfortunately December is a bad month for us as it’s when the majority of our bills come in. In the post that I picked up on Saturday, we got our end of your accounts from Rashmi our accountant. He needs to file our returns both business and personal accounts by the end of the month. For rentals, we need to pay nearly 4k and we will also need to pay corporation tax which will be about £2k. If that weren’t enough, we also have to settle Rashmi’s fee, which is almost £2k. I am not complaining about the latter though, Rashmi is worth every penny. The house sale money is rapidly disappearing from our account. Also in the post was a bill from Overstone Lakes for £471 for rates and water rates for 2012. Phil has happily been going around telling everyone that we don’t pay council tax but obviously we do, we have to pay £200 for our plot which I don’t suppose is too bad. Aside from the petrol to and fro to MK, its still way cheaper living on a caravan park as apposed to living in a proper house.
I don’t if I have mentioned it before but when we were in Waitrose, Phil treated himself to a Tefal Acti-Fry. When we were over in Spain, he saw that Jim & Anne’s had one in their caravan. Phil was most impressed and when he saw an Acti-Fry in Waitrose which had been greatly reduced, he couldn’t resist buying it. I am not convinced we need another gadget or indeed whether we have room for it. I also fear for the diet, especially when Phil cooked himself egg and chips for breakfast on Saturday morning. And for lunch on Saturday he cooked sauté potatoes to go with the beef stew when I would have preferred mash. I know that with the Acti-Fry you don’t need to use much fat but will it be chips with everything from now on? I hope not.
Our weekend was a quiet and a fairly chilled out one. After sorting out the paperwork we decided to have a drive to some lakes nearby that Phil had discovered. The plan was to drive back to Overstone and have a walk around our lakes but somehow we ended up in the bar of The Avitar Hotel on the outskirts of Sywell Aerodrome. It was interesting to see the little planes take off and land but the bar in the hotel didn’t do much for me. Tired and dated with little ambience or atmosphere. The Avitar Hotel is meant to be art deco themed but the outside and the pictures in the brochure didn’t seem very art deco to me but Phil seemed impressed.
Thankfully there was no frost on Sunday morning so I took myself off to the gym. I tried to persuade Phil but it was a no go because he was in writing mode. When I got back to the van, we took ourselves to the club house for the Sunday roast. We had a quick chat to Paul & Jo and they said that they’d just sent off their applications for their Indian visas. I am so jealous. Lunch was really delicious. We tried to walk around the lake afterwards but it was all closed off so it was home for Sunday newspapers and lots of telly. I did get through a huge pile of ironing and then fell asleep on the sofa.
I can’t quite believe its only 12 days until Christmas Eve and I’m sad to say that I still have not got the Christmas spirit. We have decided that we are going to drive to Melton on Christmas Day to cook lunch for Phil’s mum and dad. On Christmas Eve, we are going to the clubhouse to listen to the Salvation Army sing Christmas carols. Paul said that there is a free buffet and a band playing afterwards so we may stay on for that. And that’s about all we have planned for Christmas. We haven’t sent Christmas cards this year, but have instead sponsored Vanessa’s 100kwalk from London to Brighton in aid of Willen Hospice. http://www.justgiving.com/Vanessa-Ford100kchallenge
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