Overdue Blog Post - Part Three!

Wow, so I finally have the time and space to get writing again and find myself approaching the end of March having not written anything since early January - whoops!

Luckily for me I have been keeping a diary of sorts and so have a pretty good idea of what I've been up to but am wondering how best to either summarise or move on from my last post. Which I think means this will be more of an overview and perhaps there will be separate posts focusing on some of the happenings over the last few months.

Plus I need to figure out a way to get back into writing more often...perhaps I need to go back to my diary type posts that I did over the preceding couple of years...something to think about!

But let's get back to the job at hand and try and summarise what's been happening of late.

So, where were we...ah yes Christmas! This year (or should that be last year?) was different to our usual routine of years gone by. This was the first Christmas since my dad had passed and that meant the first Christmas for Simon and I without any of our parents and while that brought about its own set of emotions it also meant that we had only ourselves to please. Which meant we were able to mix things up a little!

Molly and Dan were spending Christmas at their home, having spent the previous year with us, so we decided to travel down to see them instead. This resulted in us making the journey to Bournemouth on Boxing Day (the day after Christmas Day) for a few days before returning to celebrate the New Year at home.

I'd realised as we approached Christmas that ordinarily after having the big Christmas Day meal we would make use of any leftover food on Boxing Day...but as we wouldn't be home on Boxing Day this meant a change of plan. As Ethan's birthday is on Christmas Eve we decided to have our big Christmas dinner for his birthday instead and then make Christmas Day a very relaxed affair with presents and leftover food, which worked out beautifully. It was so nice to be able to enjoy the unwrapping of presents and have a very chilled out day as opposed to the usual slaving away in the kitchen! Plus because there was only the three of us it meant that cooking on Christmas Eve wasn't the big ordeal that it would have been compared to previous years. Oh and of course birthday celebrations in this house meant it was Mickey waffle time!

We had a lovely few days in Bournemouth even though the weather was rather soggy. We were able to exchange presents, enjoy some lovely meals, do lots of walking interspersed with coffees and even a little ice skating. Although on this occasion Simon decided to forgo the skating as it was very, very wet and joined me and Ethan in watching Molls and Dan enjoy themselves on the ice.

On the 29th December we travelled home with Molls and Dan making the journey as well so that we had a few days with all of us at home. We were able to make use of the outdoor skating rink in Nottingham that this year had an elevated 'skate path'...

Nottingham's Skate Path, above the Christmas market

...and when I saw 'we' I do of course mean Molls, Dan and Simon. I watched from afar and then went off in search of coffee and a little retail therapy. We saw the New Year in as a family with an array of board games and a lovely 'big' meal on New Years Day.

But by January 3rd the house was very quiet; Molls and Dan had gone back home to Bournemouth and Ethan was back at work. That left Simon and I with a couple of days to get the house back to 'normal' as we embarked on the horrible task of taking down and putting away of all the Christmas decorations; I love all my Christmas 'stuff' and hate having to put it all away. It actually took us about three days to put everything away with the majority being done by yours truly once Simon returned to work.

Well with Christmas and New Year done lets move onto January.

We started to get back into our routine of early morning (and rather chilly) walks followed by our Wim Hof breathing and a little meditation. Cold showers have now become the 'norm' for both Simon and I and these have continued regardless of what we have been up to. Unfortunately after getting back into our stride with the morning walks we had to take a little bit of a break as I suffer with chilblains on my left foot and once aggravated it becomes uncomfortable to walk on for extended periods and only gets worse if my feet get cold. So with a spell of very chilly weather we took a bit of a break from our walks.

Through January I was dealing with the sale of my dads house as we had signed all the necessary paperwork just before Christmas and it was now a case of working with solicitors to get everything done as speedily as possible.

We also started making some headway with our Jedi robes ready for Star Wars Celebration at Easter. And of course when I say 'we' I actually mean Simon, and his focus was on making some leather pouches for our belts to house our mobile phones. He also mastered the technique of metal casting by using pewter to make the buckles for our belts. 

For my part I had to order some different trousers as the fit on the pair I'd originally ordered was a little snug. And then there was an awful lot of research into the correct material to order for the outer cloak...something that was of the right dark brown colour and that was also of a heavy, wool like material. Suffice to say I think I went cross eyed looking at all the different options out there.

By the end of January we had found a local dressmaker that was willing (and excited) to help us with the technical aspect of putting the tunic/tabard section of the robes together. But I think I will go into more detail about our Jedi robes in a separate post!

We tried to get out for our morning walks again when the weather eased but no sooner than we had got back into the routine the weather turned rather cold again so we resigned ourselves to just get out as and when we could.

As we moved through January I was focused on getting more things removed from my dads house in readiness for the sale going through, along with the subsequent organising of Ebay sales. And my involvement with pre-school continued as we looked at the ongoing finances as well as a potential change in charitable status; so lots of research and a fair few meetings over numerous cups of coffee.

Ethan is still trying to find himself a house and we managed a viewing of one, but it was not quite what he was after,  and he had another couple of viewings cancelled at the last minute. First time buyer houses seem to go rather quickly once they get on the market - oh well just got to keep on looking.

And I think that covers January, so I will stop here and get writing the next post!

Since we last spoke...

After a few weeks away from the keyboard I thought I would check back in with a bit of a look back over what I've been up to of late...and if truth be told I've attempted to start this post many times over.

It's not that I haven't had something to write but that I've simply gotten out of the habit of writing. Whilst doing my 'lockdown diary' (for want of a better description) I had a 'reason' for writing something every day. I had given myself a challenge of writing a record of what was happening to me and the world around me. But after completing 893 days worth of my diary I had begun to feel that all I was recording was the mundane, the every day happenings of my life and that if I was to write it needed to be less often and with more to write about.

I knew that recording my life as a 'diary' would have days where nothing much happened or nothing that I felt was worthy of being written down, and as the pandemic moved on and life became more 'normal' there was less for me to muse about and pass comment on. And on the odd occasion that I did venture out into the realm of opinions I was disappointed by the negativity levied my way in return. After all I was writing to document my life and my thoughts and not to please others. But I discovered that this did not sit well with my innate nature of wanting to please and not cause anyone upset...so I stopped writing. I didn't want any confrontation with anyone and I let that (and them) stop me doing what I wanted to do...so here we are and I am going to attempt to write more often than I have of late just because I want to.

So what have I been up to over the last six, or more, weeks?

Well, our usual routine has continued and we attempt to get out first thing most mornings for our daily walk. Weekdays we tend to be out and about around 8am and stick to a shorter route of a couple of miles while at the weekends we may stretch our legs a little further or simply venture into the likes of Nottingham for more of an urban stroll. Since getting a fitness tracker back in the middle of May I have now recorded just over 300 miles walked, which I think is pretty good going. Not only is it good for us physically to be out and about by simply moving and absorbing vitamin D, but there is something about being outside in the fresh air that is good for the sole. It also gives Simon and I the time together and the time to talk without the trappings of 'life' getting in the way.

Cold showers are still apart of my daily routine although I have drawn a line in the sand and am sticking to my limit of 3 minutes and 30 seconds! I understand the beneficial effects that cold showers can produce but it doesn't mean I have to like them! Simon is now persuading me to try the Wim Hof breathing method which I think I maybe taking him up on...I will report back at some point in the future and let you know how I fair!

Over the course of the last few months we have made a few tweaks to our diet and exercise routine. We are still following a keto/low carb way of eating but have reduced the saturated fat content to see if it can make any difference to our overall good health. We have also increased our strength training sessions from twice a week to three times a week with a further two workouts that concentrate on body-weight exercises aimed at core/abs and legs. We have found a doctor to work with who understands the keto way of eating and approach to a healthy well being and we are fine tuning what we do and how we do it. As part of that we are still using an intermittent fasting approach to our meals with our first meal of the day now being around lunchtime rather than first thing in the morning. All of these approaches seem to be working for us, both physically and mentally.

The beginning of September saw us take a little day trip over to Macclesfield to visit my tattooist Saint Heywood at Acadia Tattoo. It had been about thirteen months since my last tattoo and I still had a number of ideas for what I wanted and where. By the end of the day I came away with a new piece to my left leg, a small addition to my right wrist and Simon came away with some script to his right arm.

Left leg - Three Good Fairies from Sleeping Beauty; Fauna, Flora & Merryweather

My smaller tattoo was in remembrance of my dad who passed away in March. When my mum died in 2015 I had a small gold star inked on my wrist to remember her by, as we all inevitably become stardust when we pass, and so it was only fitting to have the same again in memory of my dad.

Gold star for my dad

Script for Simon...a quote from the book Slaughterhouse 5 'So it goes'

And I already have another date booked in the diary for the beginning of November as I still have more ideas for yet more Disney themed ink.

Around the middle of September we had another road trip and this time we headed over to Birmingham as we had a concert booked. We have been long time fans of an LA based band called She Wants Revenge who over their career have had moments where the band has no longer been together and so getting an opportunity to see them live in concert has been rare. We saw them for the first time in a very small nightclub in Sheffield back in 2012 and we thought that would be the only chance we ever got to see them. Fast forward to 2019 and an announcement that they were back together and touring which led to us seeing them in Islington in London; and again we thought that would be the last time we would see them live. And then lo and behold a new tour was announced which seemed initially to concentrate on the US but before long they announced dates for the UK and Europe and with a date announced for Birmingham it meant it was a no brainer for us as it was only an hour away. So the band we thought we would be extremely lucky to see once we have now seen three times, and each time we have seen them they have played small venues and each time they have been phenomenal.

A little later in September we were able to join our fellow Star Wars cosplayers at Huddersfield Comic Con as part of the East Midlands Garrison and spend a day making people smile, posing for photos and raising money for the charity PASIC. We opted for Stormtrooper for Simon and Governor Pryce for myself.

This was our first time out trooping since Simon had broken his wrist back in May and happily we have another date coming up towards the end of October with our good friends from Joker Squad.

And in other 'geek' news Simon was approached by the soon to be opening 'Derby Computer Museum' about his time working for Derby based computer games companies Gremlin Graphics and Core Design. Inside the museum there is a room dedicated to British computer games from their beginning up until around 1999 and Simon has been able to provide them with some artwork as well as a video interview. Core Design produced the game Rick Dangerous which Simon developed way back in 1988/89 and still to this day is the game he will get asked about more than any of the others he has worked on.

Simon was only too happy to get involved and donated a signed poster, scans of his original drawings and notes, as well as spending a couple of hours recording the interview. Although we did have a slight recording issue when memory cards became corrupted so he did have to sit for a second recording! But this did mean that on our second visit I was able to donate a working Nintendo Gameboy and games to add to their collection. The museum will be opening on Saturdays from the 3rd December and we have been invited to their launch party towards the end of November!

At the end of September we had a few days booked away to go and see Molly and Dan down in Bournemouth. The last time we'd seen them was in July when they had travelled to see us for a weekend so it was great to be able to take a few days off and spend a little longer with them. 

The visit also involved a trip to Ninja Warrior in Southampton! Molly and Dan had been there earlier in the year and were very keen to get Simon to have a go (they knew better than to ask me!!). Thankfully Simon had recovered from his broken wrist (with no help from the promised physiotherapy that never materialised!) and was more than happy to join in the fun. I took on the role of videographer and photographer for the day while they all threw themselves around from one obstacle to another. And whilst it was not something that I would do it was a great couple of hours of fun and sweat and was very well organised. There were two courses to complete as well as a very large inflatable course all of which you could complete as many times as you wanted within your booked session time. I think Simon was pretty pleased with his efforts and managed to 'keep up' with the 'young 'uns'!

Posing after two hours of warrior stuff!

Over the course of our time in Bournemouth we had some lovely meals out, walked lots of miles and encountered an arts festival that had taken over the whole of the town centre. There was even a 'Drum and Base on a Bike' event happening which took us slightly by surprise as we wandered through the town. It was a completely separate event to the arts festival and involved around 200 or more people cycling while drum and base music blasted out; it was a most peculiar, yet invigorating site to see.

On our way home from seeing Molly and Dan we took an extra night to stop over in Surrey so that we could catch up with Simon's work colleagues who are all based in that area. Simon had not seen his colleagues in person since February of 2020!!

Just before we embarked on our time away down South I decided to buy myself a camera; a proper DSLR camera! Photography is something I've fancied having a go at and have never really had the time or the inclination. With Molly having studied photography and subsequently set up her own business (Shutter Studios) I've always hand someone on hand should I need something 'proper'! My photography is normally limited to my phone...which to be fair does a really decent job but I wanted the challenge of learning a set of new skills, and proving to myself that I can rise to the challenge.

So over the course of our time away and the last few weeks I have started to use the camera and begun to figure out what all the buttons mean and even dip my toes into the proper lingo. Although I do feel the need to carve out sometime to watch videos and read up on the subject so that I can get the best out of it. The organised side of my personality wants to learn how to do this all 'properly' and in a logical orderly fashion and the challenge for me will be to 'just have a go' and figure it all out on the fly. So this will be a challenge not only from a technical stand point but also allowing myself the time and the creativity to simply try and not worry about conforming to any 'rules'!!

And before I waffle on anymore I think I will bring this post to an end and make a start on the next one!

See you soon.
xx

Day 654 - New Years Eve 2021

Day 654...

And we have reached the last day of 2021, another year that will be remembered for all the things we couldn't do rather than what we did manage to do. Another year dominated by the 'pandemic' and its restrictions.

But for today we had a steady start to the day with breakfast at our hotel before taking a walk out to explore Bournemouth. As this was Ethan's first visit we wanted to show him around a little and headed to the sea front. We took a windy and grey walk along the beach towards Sandbanks for about a mile or so before heading back towards the town centre by way of the West Cliff zig zag path. The path took us from beach level to the top of the overlooking cliffs.

With a good walk completed we headed to our favourite coffee shop for some refreshment before taking Ethan to a small anime and manga shop that we had discovered on our previous trips. 

Next we drove over to Molly and Dans place as Ethan had not yet seen where Molly is now living. Molly and Dan were able to give Ethan the grand tour before we headed back to the hotel.

This afternoon we took another walk into the town centre as Ethan had decided that he wanted to buy a few bits he'd seen earlier. We also decided to grab a late lunch at a Greek restaurant as although we have plans for this evening we didn't know what time we would be eating!

With our appetites filled we headed back to the hotel once more for a little chill out time before heading out for the evening. Time for me to apply some make-up and write this blog.

We are heading out to spend New Years Eve with Molly and Dan at Dan's mum's house. We will be ordering a take-away and I have some sparkly wine to take with us to help see in the new year.

I hope that everyone has a safe and fun new year's eve however you choose to spend it and let's hope that the coming year is a better and brighter one. One in which we can put all of this covid nonsense behind us and get back to living life as we once did; free to do what we want, when we want, with whom we want and with no restrictions or draconian measures forced upon us.

I started writing this diary when the 'pandemic' began and I faced my first day at home on March 19th 2020 little could I have imagined I would still be writing this now! It would be lovely to think that in 2022 I could continue to write this just because I wanted to rather than out of a desire to mark this strange world we find ourselves living in. 

We have had moments this year when things started to feel more normal and it would have been easy to forget that there were still restrictions in place. The constant reporting of cases, the shadow of being identified as a close contact, masks and then no masks and then back to masks, vaccinations and now boosters, travel restrictions and expensive tests to get in and out of the country the list goes on. So while we may have been lulled into a sense of almost normality at some points this year we never got our true normality back. We have continued to live with the cloud of coronavirus and all the fear and doom mongering enjoyed by our press and government. What felt like conspiracy theories in the beginning now feel like reality; ever changing messages and rules that only seem to benefit those in power, the extremely wealthy and big pharma while the rest of us cling onto whatever, and whoever, we can to simply keep ourselves sane.

See you all in 2022!

xx

 

Day 653 - Road Trip

Day 653...

Today was our first time using our new electric car for a long journey as we headed south to see Molly and Dan in Bournemouth.

This meant a relatively early start to the day as we got ourselves organised and the car packed. We had made sure that the car had a full charge and we had already set a route using the Zap Map app with a few different options for recharging. In theory the full charge should be sufficient to make the journey in one go but we had already noticed that the number of miles available dropped much quicker compared to the number of miles actually travelled. We also knew from watching some YouTube videos that most cars fall significantly short of the predicted miles.

With that in mind we set off just before 11am for what would be a 3 hour 15 minute non-stop journey. Let's just say our journey took a tad longer than that!

Our first stop was about 80 miles into the journey and when we arrived at the services all the charging points were taken! Thankfully a spot opened up quite quickly but then we discovered that one of the units would only let one car charge at a time rather than the two that it was designed for. But there was a small charger available which we could use as we had our own charging cable with us (the main charging stations had their own cables as these were fast/rapid chargers). But this smaller charger meant a much, much slower charging rate but we figured anything was better than nothing.

Ethan and I went in search of coffee and by the time we got back to the car one of the fast chargers had become free and so we could swap over. This meant that what we had hoped would be a 30 minute stop turned into about an hour!

Back on the road and we started to think about whether we would need another stop for charging and where would be best to stop. We had in mind a services that was around 60 miles from our destination. But when we arrived we were confronted with just two charging stations that were both occupied and had two cars waiting...mmm...we had a quick look on Zap Map and found another option just a few miles down the road.

This turned out to be a great choice; smaller services so not as busy; four units set to the side of a petrol station forecourt; two out of the four units were available; much faster chargers and once connected we could leave the car for a toilet break and to grab a coffee. About 30 minutes later and we were at 90% charge and had more than enough capacity to get us to our destination.

The overall journey took us 5 and a half hours!! A lot longer than it would have took us ordinarily; in our petrol car days we would have had one stop for a coffee so I think this journey took about an hour and a half longer! But what we recognised was that the urgency of a normal journey wasn't there, the whole journey felt much calmer and we had set off with the mind set that this would be a different way of travelling. 

The ease and quiet of the car, coupled with being very conscious of the effect of how we drove affected the charge available,  meant a completely different approach to driving. We knew it was going to take some time so we didn't rush and consequently the whole drive felt much more relaxed and much less stressful.

This is a very different way to drive and I think will take some getting used to and travelling long distances will take planning especially if a journey is time critical. But for us long journey's are not the norm and going forward we will have to accept that more planning will be needed. We have even said that on occasion it may be more beneficial to hire a petrol car, but for now planning will be key.

Although, we have been pleasantly surprised at how easy charging on the go has been. And we have also had some great conversations with other electric car owners, all of whom seemed to be rather new to electric cars and were happy to share their experiences!

Anyway back to the point of today, getting to Bournemouth to see Molly and Dan. Luckily the hotel we have chosen has electric car charging units; they are slow charges but are free! So we parked up and plugged in and left the car to charge away!

Once checked into the hotel it was time to recharge phones before taking the 10 minute walk into the town centre in search of food. Our choice today was Five Guys, a great fast food option for those of us on low carb diet as burgers can be ordered with your own choice of toppings and without the bun!

We then met Molly and Dan at the outdoor ice skate rink that has been set up for the festive season. I am not a skater and was quite happy to watch everyone else on the ice. Dan is a very accomplished skater and Molly is now very skilled and they both make it look so easy. Simon has always loved skating but after taking me many years ago when we first started dating he realised very quickly that me and skating just did not go together! He has therefore not skated as much as he would have liked but he has never lost the skill and looks very much at home on the ice. Ethan was happy to have a go but as it was about 10 years since he last ventured onto the ice he needed a good amount of help! But all credit to him he persevered and was getting better the more circuits he did. The ice was very wet tonight as the weather has been unseasonably warm so I think everyone came away with wet feet but thankfully no-one fell over...there were plenty others who did and who came away very wet!

We then had a wander through Bournemouth's Christmas Tree Wonderland; some lovely lights in a gorgeous setting. It was then time to grab a hot drink before heading back to the hotel.

Phew and that was our day, see you tomorrow for more shenanigans!

xx

Day 598

Day 598...

Saturday morning away after enjoying the White Lies gig last night. Have I mentioned what an amazing experience we had...such a great evening.

But anyway we enjoyed a cooked breakfast at the hotel before heading out to explore Bournemouth. This involved a wander around the shops with of course the obligatory look around Primark for my Disney fix, although there was nothing really that stood out to me. I also had a look for the coat I'd seen a couple of weeks ago but alas it was not there.

We stopped for a coffee before heading out for a walk along the seafront. It was rather blustery but thankfully not too cold and the rain stayed away. We headed in the direction of Sandbanks although due to it looking rather misty and rainy the closer we got we decided to turn back so didn't quite make it all the way but we must have managed around 6 miles walking today, including walking around the town centre.

On returning to the town centre we went in search of food and had a lovely meal at a greek restaurant and managed to stay pretty low carb only indulging in a little flat bread with some hummus.

We then headed back to our hotel for a coffee before heading off to see Molly and Dan. They have been busy organising all of Molly's stuff which has involved making storage units, putting up shelves and display boxes as well as brackets for her guitars and her kickboxing belt display as made for her by Simon.

Simon was able to give a little help with a couple of things but they have sorted everything themselves and have done a great job.

And then it was back to the hotel to put our achy feet up, relax and enjoy some chocolate.

See you tomorrow.

xx

Saturday Shenanigans

Day 430...

So our Saturday morning in Bournemouth started quite early as we had arranged to meet up with one of Simon's work colleagues.

But it did mean we were early having our breakfast before the restaurant got too busy, although we still had to go through the pantomime of mask wearing. Wear your mask to walk into the restaurant, wear your mask while accessing the breakfast buffet but once at your table the mask can come off...where we were sat near other diners...again where is the common sense in all that? And that assumes that masks make a difference...which they don't! And all the tables were still as close to each other as they were last time we visited this hotel...so no masks at tables and effectively no social distancing...I don't get it at all, as I said it is all pure pantomime.

Oh and the breakfast buffet is now an assisted breakfast buffet because we can no longer help ourselves and touch the same implements yet there were some items that we could help ourselves to but with signs saying only touch what you want!! Argh!!

And I think we confused the server when we only wanted bacon, eggs and sausage and not the hash browns and baked beans! Low carb all the way!

All fuelled up we headed down to Bournemouth Pier to meet Simon's work colleague. So Simon works from home, and has done, for about 7 or so years but the company he works for is based not far from the South Coast. Prior to the pandemic Simon would visit the office once every few weeks or as needed but since the pandemic hit he hasn't seen any of his colleagues in person! But it just so happened that one of his colleagues was visiting family close by and had a new piece of equipment for Simon; a fancy graphics thingy!

We then found one of our favourite coffee shops, which we were so pleased to find open as there was the fear that the effects of the past 14 months may have caused it to close along with so many other small businesses. So we enjoyed an hour or so chatting and drinking really nice coffee.

After dropping the new tech back at tbe hotel we walked along the sea front from Bournemouth to Boscombe and then a little further before we headed back. Despite the grey sky and occasional rain we really enjoyed the walk and enjoyed being around other people as by the time we arrived back at Bournemouth Pier everywhere was pretty busy. We headed into the town centre with a view to have a wander which resulted in walking by Primark. There was a queue to get in and so we started to walk by and as we did so the queue started to move so we quickly diverted back and walked straight in. 

To be fair the shop seemed as busy as it would have done on any other day. But this was our first time in a non-essential retailer since March 2020, how ridiculous is that?! I made a beeline for the Disney section, of course, and came away with 2 tshirts, a sweat shirt and a pair of jeans (non-Disney) as well as a couple of bits for Molly!!

We then headed back to the hotel to put our feet up and try on my new purchases. We timed it well as not long after it decided to rain!

Next we paid Molly a visit at her boyfriend's house and had a guided tour of his 'gym'. Like we've done he has converted his garage into a gym over lockdown and has done a really good job.

We rounded the day out spending time with Molly's fella's family and enjoying an indian take away and lots of chatter.

Take care.

xx

 

Start of the Weekend

Day 429...

And we have a Friday and the start of the weekend...in fact a weekend away!

But I did have to work this morning and had a few hours to catch up on the usual admin and banking. We also had a pyjama day today and the children paid £1 to come to preschool in their PJ's and bring in a teddy! We have also been getting ready for next weeks sponsored bounce; we have had lots of sponsor forms returned and we look set to raise a good amount of money for the preschool. We are a regsitered charity and have to fundraise throughout the year to help keep us afloat and buy those 'nice to have' items. This time we are hoping to get some new tech as our current set of tablets are a few years old and getting slower by the day!

But with the morning done I headed home to get changed and pack our bags ready for a little trip away. Simon finished his work a little later than planned but that was fine, we were still able to grab some lunch before setting off mid-afternoon.

We then made the 190 mile journey south to Bournemouth. It took us a little longer than expected as there was a few spots along the way with lots of slow traffic.

So we checked into the hotel and on entering the lobby area we had to wear our masks. Now the lobby area also contains a seating area for the bar which was full of people enjoying a drink and not wearing masks...but we had to wear them as did the staff...that just seems ridiculous and quite frankly pointless. But we did as asked and as soon as we were in the lift to our room the masks came off.

We then ventured out into the town centre to find something to eat. Now we know Bournemouth quite well as Molly's boyfriend lives close by and we have in the past played taxi for Molly and then used it as a good excuse to enjoy time away from home. So we knew where we wanted to go for a quick bite and where we knew we could get a low carb option...our choice was Five Guys. We were able to order burgers without the bun and with as many toppings as we liked; great burgers cooked to order and without the carbs!

But when we arrived at the restaurant we had to wear our masks to enter and order but as soon as we sat down we could take the masks off and sit relatively close to other diners! So again...what is the point? Plus there was a sign up saying that although they recommend their staff wore masks it wasn't mandatory and while most of the staff on duty were wearing a mask there were at least two members who weren't. So again,  how does this work if masks actually make a difference...oh that's right they don't!

We were also asked to check-in to Track & Trace but as neither of us has the app loaded on our phone we were given a handwritten list to leave our details instead. I was pleasantly surprised that a hand written list was being maintained as I really don't want to load the app if I can help it, as last time I used it I was getting random notifications even when I hadn't been anywhere!

So now it's time for red wine, chocolate and feet up!

Take care.

xx