Amsterdam - February 2026

After visiting Amsterdam for the very first time in April 2024 we have fallen in love with the city and this marked our fourth trip.

The catalyst for this trip was the chance to see my favourite band, White Lies, on tour. When they announced their tour dates back in May 2025 we very quickly booked the closest venue to us in Manchester for late January 2026. But when we saw that Amsterdam was also on the schedule, and having never been to a concert abroad, and it being in a city that we have grown to have a deep affection for it was a complete no brainer and tickets were bought instantly.

So with concert tickets secured we set about booking hotels and transport. As the gig was just outside the city centre, by about 10km, 

we opted to book a hotel close to the venue for a couple of nights and then book elsewhere, closer to the centre, for a few more days. How long we stayed was dictated by the mode and cost of transport, and being retired we had no reason not to spend time in the city and reconnect with places and friends.

For our very first trip we had flown to Amsterdam from the UK and while the flight was relatively short at just over an hour there were some downsides. First, there were no direct flights from our local airport (15 minutes from where we live) so instead we had to travel over an hour and pay for airport parking. Times; to get a reasonably priced flight the departure times were either stupidly early or late in the day. Cost; we have quickly discovered that cheap flights are not as easy to come by as we thought! Heaven forbid you actually want to take luggage with you or sit together! So that cheap base flight suddenly increased with all the little add-ons! Once in Amsterdam there is more cost with simply getting from the airport into the city; we chose an Uber which was simple and convenient although train links would have worked out cheaper, but back then as a first time visitor we wanted to make life as simple and as stress free as possible. 

All of that had resulted in a change of attack for our subsequent visits when we discovered the benefits of rail travel. Using the Eurostar from London, St Pancras to Centraal Station Amsterdam provided us with a much calmer and cheaper (and greener!) option to flying. Previous trips had seen us take a train from our local station down to London to stay overnight in a cheap hotel before embarking on the Eurostar the following morning. But this time we were trying something different.

Our day started pretty much as any normal day in our house. We'd done the majority of our packing the evening before so we only had to throw in a few last minute essentials, have some breakfast and tidy around before meeting our pre-booked Uber at 9.30am.  By 9.42am we were getting dropped off at our local train station. This did mean we had an hour to spare before our booked train but we had done that on purpose. Not only did this mean that we would be on time, it also gave us time to enjoy a coffee before we stepped on the train. 

Fuel for the journey ahead

We are fortunate to have a lovely independent coffee shop across from the rail station so we could enjoy a coffee, make use of their bathroom and still be at the station in plenty of time to start the journey in a calm and refreshed manor. Although as we arrived at the platform we were met with an announcement that our train was running six minutes late!

First train of the day!

When we'd bought the tickets we'd been assigned seats so I knew we were looking for carriage B seats 31 and 32, and if you use the trains in the UK, you know that there is a little LED display above the seats that says ‘Reserved’. But it was still no surprise to me to find someone sitting in one of our seats! I politely said that he was sitting in our seats to which we were met with ‘oh are they reserved?’ I couldn’t resist saying ‘err yes like the sign above you says’!! He moved without issue so we had our seats. The only wrinkle was there was nowhere for our suitcase to go; the luggage racks were full and while some trains have space between rows of seats this train did not. Somehow we managed to squeeze ourselves, two coats, two back packs and a medium sized case into the two seats! It was a little compact but at least we were sitting down…oh and travelling backwards (this has been a pattern of the majority of our train journeys, so much so that facing the correct direction of travel has turned into quite a novel experience for us!). Despite the cramped conditions Simon was still able to use the time to get out his digital art pad and work on his latest creation. 

We arrived at St Pancras about 8 minutes late but this wasn't an issue as we'd picked a Eurostar departure that not only gave us plenty of time to allow for the allotted check-in time but was also the cheapest ticket available! So with time to spare we were able to enjoy a light snack and coffee at Pret A Manger…although I was very tempted by EL&N and their lovely cakes and bakes but perhaps we can reserve that as a treat on our return journey. 

Snack time

London, St Pancras has numerous places to eat and shop so we took advantage of M&S Food to grab some snacks for the journey ahead! M&S may not be the cheapest option but they do have some good quality items that satisfy our way of eating. We grabbed some hard boiled eggs, some cocktail sausages and some overnight oats! We had the obligatory bathroom stop before heading to Eurostar departures where we were let through before the allotted check-in time. In fact we were through security and passport control (times two as you pass through both UK and French border controls) four minutes before the actual check-in time!

Now a word of warning when travelling with Eurostar out of St Pancras, the departure hall gets very busy! We walked all the way around and the best we could do was find a piece of wall to lean against! Thankfully when the train before ours was called for boarding we did manage to grab a couple of seats.

And wait...

About 30 minutes before departure we were called to board at Platform 9. Be sure to know what your carriage number is as this dictates which exit from the departure hall to use. We were amongst the first to get to the platform and found our carriage (number 5) with ease. As we found our seats we discovered that there was luggage storage right behind us as we were located towards the centre of the carriage. 

Our journey was uneventful until we arrived at Brussels, our second stop of the journey. There had been an earlier announcement advising that the crew on board would be swapping over during this stop but it became noticeable that we'd been stopped for a good amount of time and that was when the first of many announcements happened. We were going to be delayed because the crew joining our train were stuck on another train that had broken down! What followed were numerous announcements, texts and emails from Eurostar letting us know what was happening and ultimately the predicted 45 minute delay turned into 75 minutes! It was slightly annoying that we would now be arriving at 9.35pm and not the scheduled 8.20pm and we still had to find our way to our hotel about 10km away from the city centre BUT at least a delay of over 60 minutes did mean we would be able to claim compensation! And because our outbound tickets were the ones which had cost us the most, that's a win?!

Interestingly Eurostar did not mention in their texts or emails about compensation and the only reason I knew was because I searched for it on their website. And the reason I did that was because on a previous delayed journey using East Midlands Railway we had experienced a similar situation but on that occasion the train manager had made an announcement advising all passengers that they would be entitled to a compensation claim. So kudos to EMR for their customer service but not so much for Eurostar. The plan was to make a claim once we were home…but more about that on a future post!

Anyway back to our journey! Our original plan had been to catch a local train from Amsterdam Centraal to the arena area where our hotel was located but by the time we got off the train and got our bearings we just wanted to make life as easy as possible for us. Trying to interpret signs both pictorial and in Dutch just felt too much for 10pm after almost 6 hours on a train! Instead we stopped by a small Albert Heijn store and picked up some nibbles and water before ordering ourselves an Uber…and that's when the next round of fun began.

Centraal Station, Amsterdam

We dutifully ordered a nice electric Uber, found our way to the correct pick up point with ease and waited. We could see the driver was only a couple of minutes away but what we, and the driver, didn't know was that construction had closed the road that led to where the pick up point was with no alternative route in place. Thankfully our driver phoned us and we had a mad few minutes trying to figure out where he was in relation to where we were in the dark with a very busy, multi-laned road in-between us! Finally we saw each other (I think it was using my pink hair to locate us that did the trick).

Easy to spot, even at night!

We found a safe place to cross the road so that we could get to where our driver was waiting for us. He was very apologetic, although none of it was his fault, but at least we were all able to have a laugh about it. He then got us safely to our hotel, the Holiday Inn Express Arena by about 10.45pm! Once in our room and unpacked we were able to enjoy our snacks, put on our PJs, chill and try to defrazzle our brains!!

Finally made it!

Thursday 26th February 

The day started very slowly; the effects of the long travel day and an hours time difference meant we surfaced later than our normal routine. But as we had no real plans for the day until the evening we decided to take things nice and steady.

We had breakfast included with our stay and the name ‘Express Start’ kind of summed up the affair. It was very much a ‘continental’ breakfast buffet with pastries, bread, meats, cheese, yogurts, fruit and scrambled eggs! Not our usual preference but as it was ‘free’ we made the best of it. It was a very busy service and although there was a section with lots of free tables we were told not to use them and to stay in the main section which was rammed! Thankfully a table came free and to give the staff credit they were all very polite, very busy and cleared the table for us quickly. 

Despite being away from home we did have a couple of online jobs we wanted to get done around Simon’s art projects so we took advantage of the hotel's WiFi before heading out to explore the surrounding area and locate the venue for that evening’s concert.

It turned out that the venue was no more than a 5 minute walk from the hotel and opposite the main Johan Cruijff arena. Consequently the whole area is very modern, and straddles a busy rail intersection with shops and restaurants. As we were in need of a decent size coffee we were very thankful to find a Starbucks based just inside the rail station. We explored the area around the station and the arena which was a mixture of shops and restaurants. The further away from the arena the older the shops appeared and at one side we found a market that had a surprising number of Crane birds hanging about like they owned the place! 

At the opposite end to the market we found a very modern shopping mall to explore but soon discovered that every shop, with the exception of one art gallery, had something to do with home furnishings…it was all a little surreal. But located within the mall we found a kooky restaurant called Booven where we enjoyed some food, coffee and cake to keep us fuelled for the evening ahead. 

Booven

Villa Arena Mall

We returned to the hotel for an hour or so before heading back out for the concert later on. White Lies were playing at the AFAS arena and I have to say the venue was very efficient at getting everyone inside; tickets scanned, bag check, pat down and a small wooden token given to each of us. Although we had no idea what the token was for…maybe the toilet? But no it's handed over when ordering your first drink as a way of avoiding the overuse of plastics. And for each subsequent drink you hand over your used glass otherwise you have to pay a nominal fee! 

AFAS Arena

White Lies were as awesome as ever, although I did feel for Harry, their lead singer, as his voice was a little croaky after almost four weeks on the road. We found ourselves towards the back of the venue, which was fine by me as I am not great if the crowd is too intense, but we did discover that the Dutch (or at least those around us) were all rather tall! We managed to find moments when we could see the stage but we were just grateful to be there and enjoy the experience. 

Interestingly the constant stream of people moving to and from the bar area that we'd experienced in Manchester in late January was exactly the same here. As someone who only enjoys a glass of wine very occasionally I do find it all rather peculiar that at a concert when you've paid good money to see a band people are moving back and forth fetching drinks and missing out on the performance. Also, as this was our first concert abroad, I became very aware that we were singing our hearts out to all the lyrics of all of the songs but the crowd around us only became vocal at key chorus moments; which makes perfect sense when the band playing is not in their natural language. All in all a great gig, fabulous venue and a wonderful night that ended with a five minute walk back to the hotel…perfect!

More about our Amsterdam adventure in my next post as we move closer to the city centre.

Day 724

Day 724...

Hello Friday and welcome to the day after the night before.

Last night we had an absolutely fantastic time seeing White Lies play at Rock City in Nottingham. They were, as always, brilliant. We were able to secure a pitch pretty close to the front of the audience and we had an unobstructed view of the stage for the whole gig.

They had a young band called Vlure as support who knocked it out of the park. Full of energy and performed as though they were in front of a massive arena audience. Their lead singer even came into the audience to get up close and personal. It was a great way to start off the evening.

White Lies played a mixture of new and classic songs and killed every one. The atmosphere was phenomenal and the ticker tape finale during 'Bigger Than Us' was a perfect ending to a cracking show. Please indulge me while I share some photos...

And I know it was a great concert because I don't think me ears have stopped ringing since, my voice was all croaky until late morning and I can feel it in my feet and legs!!

So after the excitement of last night it was with good fortune that I had today off from work. Having worked some extra hours, and having a few more extra to work next week I have had today off in lieu. It has been a quiet day, although at times infuriating.

I've been able to help my deputy out at work with a few questions that arose over the day. I've done a few household chores. I nipped to our local Lidl to pick up a few bits and bobs, although note to self; do not visit Lidl on a Friday morning when it's relatively busy and filled with mainly older people who are more than happy to meander around the store (in their masks!!). Nope, I want to be in and out as quickly as possible grocery shopping is a 'must do' not a social occasion! 

But the ongoing saga of the day, and the thing that has been rather infuriating, has been waiting for my butchers delivery to arrive. Everything was looking rosy with an expected delivery time between 9.10am and 10.10am. By 10.20am nothing had arrived but I wasn't overly concerned so I went to Lidl hoping the delivery would arrive by the time I returned - nope!

So I jumped online and followed the delivery link only to discover that my parcel was back at DPD's depot because 'your parcel was refused, as the contact name was not recognised' - err what? No-one had been to the house so how on earth could the parcel be refused? After much searching on their website I found an online chat option...but no-one responded! So I downloaded their app and again tried the online chat only to be told that I wasn't connected to the internet when I knew that I was - argh! My next option was to contact the butchers online to see if they could do anything.

At that point in the day Simon broke for lunch and so we decided to take a walk out. It was grey and a bit blustery, but it was dry and so we took our usual route of 2.4 miles in 44 minutes. As we walked in the door my phone started to ring and it was DPD calling!! Turns out that contacting the butchers was the best thing to do as they had chased the delivery for me.

I was told by DPD that they had tried to deliver my parcel but that we had refused it because it was not in our name. Okay so where do I start with that; first it is in our name but more importantly no-one had attempted a delivery at our house. To which I was told 'but our driver said...' At that point I reiterated that we had not seen their driver but that we have a very similar address to ours in the next village and that they might want to check where exactly their driver had been! I was then told they would go away and investigate for me...nearly four hours passed by and no return phone call as I'd been promised but then there was a knock at the door and low and behold my parcel was delivered. Thank goodness for that!

This then meant the end to my day was sorting 5kg of bacon, 100 sausages, 1kg of steak mince, 1kg of chicken, burgers and a few steaks into meal sized portions for the freezer. While I did that Simon finished work for the day and took some time out to complete his zone two training on the exercise bike. 

And with all that I think it's time to stop for the day and see you all tomorrow.
xx

Day 723

Day 723...

Today it will be a relatively short blog post as I am writing this at the end of my working day and before I get ready to head out for the evening.

It was a full day in work as I ended up working extra this afternoon to cover a member of staff who was off. This also meant that the afternoon was spent attending an online 'leaders and managers briefing'...not the most exciting of meetings!

But the morning was filled with the usual sort of stuff plus I was able to update the router that we use as our provider had sent us a new one with our renewal of contract. So when we had a lull in proceedings I was able to swap one out for the other and then go around all our bits of technology to ensure they could all connect to the new router. I thought I'd remembered everything until this afternoon when I went to print something and couldn't understand why the printer was refusing to work and then I remembered that as it's wireless it too would need its connection updating. But all being well by the end of the day everything was working as it should.

It was then home for a coffee and time to get changed and do my make-up ready for going out later. We have tickets to see White Lies at Rock City in Nottingham, this will be our third time seeing them since November. And the last time we saw them at Rock City was back in 2019 when we had VIP passes...

VIP meet and greet February 2019

...and while there's no VIP this time around I am looking forward to seeing them turn it out as always. Plus we have been so lucky to see them in a small venue doing a stripped back gig in Bournemouth last November...

...and then again at an even smaller event at Rough Trade in Nottingham a few weeks back as part of their album launch.

Me and Harry!!!!

The last time we saw them in a full concert was in December of 2019 at The O2 Acadamy in Brixton as part of their anniversary tour to mark 10 years since the release of their debut album. 

December 2019 - Brixton

They are such a great band live and we are looking forward to another fantastic gig...I will report back tomorrow.

See you later.
xx

Day 714

Day 714...

Tuesday once more and for me it was a full day in work as opposed to my normal half a day.

As I am stepping down from my job at pre-school, and am now in the process of passing on the mantle of manager, I am now working a full day on a Tuesday to help with that transition.

These next few weeks will see me introduce all that I do to my deputy who will be taking over a good proportion of what I do. I will also be showing other members of my team specific tasks so that ultimately the elements that make up my job role can be shared out where best.

So all day myself and my deputy went through the day's work; emails, funding, spreadsheets, wages, data input and more. We are finding that we will start with one task in mind and this often leads to lots of tangents, but we are working our way through and making progress.

Because Simon had a barbers appointment today, and we only have the one car now, it meant that I was chauffeured to and from work today so that he could have the car. I have to admit it was quite nice having a bit of company on my work journeys!

And Simon had the good foresight to put a pot of coffee on before he left the house to pick me up so we walked in the house to freshly brewed coffee. I then had a task ahead of me. White Lies (my favourite band!!) were launching their first ever, official, fan club today at 5pm and the first 50 to sign up would receive a special signed photo. So between Simon and I we had alarms set on our phones, the website was open on my laptop and I was already for 5pm to roll around. 

To kill the time while I waited I attempted a little more of my current jigsaw...

...lots of colour and lots of details on this one! 

Just before 5pm I was sat at my laptop and kept refreshing the bands webpage waiting for the link to the fan club to appear. By 5.06pm I was in and able to purchase my membership for the next 12 months, by 5.09pm I had the email to confirm I was now a member...

I will now receive a t-shirt and a pin along with access to discounted merchandise and some exclusive content including a video of their stripped back concert that we saw in Bournemouth at the end of last year! Whether I have been lucky enough to be in the first 50 to sign up I don't know and I guess I will just have to wait and see.

With that excitement out of the way and with Simon finishing work for the day we put on our gym gear and headed out for a workout. Loving the fact that we have adapted our garage into a gym space as there is no longer any effort involved in getting to the gym and back. Simply open the garage and move some weights about!

I think I will sign off now as I know we have a couple of TV shows to watch; Making Magic Mike and RuPauls Drag Race UK versus the World...and as it's Pancake Day we may be indulging in our low carb version of a pancake. A simple mix of eggs, cream, a touch of baking powder, cinnamon, cloves and some dark chocolate thrown in at the end of cooking - yummy!

See you tomorrow.
xx

Day 704

Day 704...

Well we have reached the weekend and the start of my half term break and the day that I got out of covid jail. Two negative tests and I'm out! Phew!

And I can only thank my lucky stars that the powers that be deemed it so as I had great plans for today and plans that could now be fulfilled. My favourite band White Lies were playing a small gig in Nottingham as part of their album launch and we had tickets.

The gig was slightly unusual in that it was happening at lunchtime so it was on with the glad rags and off we set for Nottingham. And the day started off great with the delivery of their new album; I'd hoped to get it yesterday as that was release day but none the less it arrived today...and with a signed card as well.

Thankfully it was only a short walk from the car park to Rough Trade record store as the weather was rather unpleasant; wet, cold and windy.

Well the boys did us proud once more, just a short gig of about 8 tracks, including 2 from the new album, to an audience of around 150. They were, as always, brilliant. They are such a great band live and did some fabulous striped back renditions of some of their classic tracks.

The bonus with this gig was that the cost of the ticket included a CD of the album; this now means we have three copies of the new album. Plus there was chance to meet the band (second time for us) and get the album signed. Suffice to say one happy lady today!

Me and Harry!!!!!

We then had a treat of a coffee and cake before heading home to make keto pizza for dinner.

It has been a lovely day and great to be doing something normal once more. Roll on more normality and making plans.

See you tomorrow.

xx

Day 682

Day 682...

And we have reached Friday, the last day of the working week and time for the weekend to start.

But it was a full day in work for me, as is the norm for a Friday. This morning, due to a change in staffing, I was actually working directly with the children for a change. The afternoon though saw me back to my usual role and playing a little catch-up with admin, banking and emails.

Arriving home I was greeted with a freshly poured mug of coffee and chance to chat with Simon and exchange our days so far. I'd promised myself a spot of time doing my jigsaw while the daylight allowed and although I didn't get too much done I did manage a bit more than yesterday's efforts.

There was a little pre-school work to finish off the day as there were a few learning journal entries to update following a baking activity we'd run with the children this morning, along with another couple of emails.

Simon managed another 45 minutes on the exercise bike for some more zone two training...I on the other hand have struggled to find the time this week. I must admit Simon is a lot more motivated than I am when it comes to exercise and I do find that the later in the day it gets the less willpower I have to get active. Note to self...I must do better!

And then the day ended with a bonus thanks to Instagram...scrolling through, as you do, I came across a post from my favourite band, White Lies, who were promoting their latest single. The post spoke about a new video available on YouTube and to check out their 'story' for a 'special announcement', which I dutifully did. And am I glad I did! The band are playing three stripped back gigs to promote the launch of their new album in February. The gigs are happening in various 'Rough Trade' record stores and one just happens to be in Nottingham....suffice to say tickets have been bought. A small intimate gig, followed by a signing session and we get a copy of the new album on CD...although I already have that on pre-order so we will probably end up with three copies!! But at least one of them will be signed by the band which means I will get to be up close and personal with them...again!

February 2019

We were very fortunate to see the band in a small venue back in November and this next gig looks like being an even smaller venue. Plus in early March we get to see them again as they kick off their tour at Rock City in Nottingham! I am so looking forward to these gigs and doing 'normal' stuff once more!

With that excitement out the way I shall see you tomorrow.
xx

Day 622

Day 622...

So we have a Tuesday and another Tuesday where I worked a full day rather than my usual half a day and a day when, yet again, restrictions are being reinstated!

Well work was pretty standard. There was lots of admin and banking for me to catch up on as there is a lot happening at the moment. We are approaching the beginning of  the month when pre-school fees are due. We have a Christmas party at the end of term but parents need to help towards the cost and payments are due by Friday. We also have a Christmas concert in a couple of weeks and have just started issuing tickets, for which we also charge a small fee. And then we have the Christmas Raffle which is drawn in just over a weeks time so I am busy not only coordinating the sale of tickets (all done virtually) but also promoting it on social media and via newsletter to parents.

Once home my attention turned to my new Christmas lights that I'd bought yesterday. As the snow had cleared overnight I could now get them all set up in my courtyard garden. We have a low wall that surrounds our garden space and these lights sit beautifully in the walls and are, I feel, a rather classy affair.

They are battery operated and have an in built timer so once switched on they will stay on for 6 hours and then switch off for 18 hours and so on; perfect!

At the end of the day Simon and I headed down our gym for a weights workout and today I remembered to wear some gloves! As the weights are metal they are extremely cold to the touch and I was finding that as my hands got colder it was triggering 'Raynaud syndrome' in my finger ends. So I dug out my gloves from when I used to go running (well more a bouncy walk than running) and they worked brilliantly.

Back inside and as I was cooking dinner I remembered to power up Spotify to find the latest track to be released by White Lies - I Don't Want to go to Mars. Suffice to say it has been on repeat since it's launch at 7pm...a fantastic track and one that we were lucky enough to hear live a few weeks back when we saw them at Bournemouth.

And that is where I will end it for today...I feel the need for a rant about the current 'restrictions' but as it is late I am going to leave it for when I have more time as now my priority is to stop, chill, perhaps a little jigsaw time, a cuppa and some very dark chocolate.

See you tomorrow.
xx

Day 597

Day 597...
 

OK so I am writing this rather late and after two glasses of red wine!

It has been a busy old Friday and one that started out early this morning as we got ready to drive down south towards Bournemouth. After breakfast Simon had to take a parcel to the post office while I finished packing our overnight bag.  But by about 10am we were on our way.

Simon was driving his car packed full of Molly's stuff including her 2 meter long desk! Me and Molly were in her car and that too was packed full of her stuff. We loaded up Waze on our phones to guide us down and agreed to stop at Cherwell Valley services.

We had a slight hiccup just as we set off as the phone holder in Molly's car decided to unstick itself, but a quick stop and refit and we were on our way. We had a straightforward drive down with a short stop for a coffee and toilet break and we managed to travel down keeping both cars together the majority of the time.

By about 2.30pm we had arrived at Dan's house and began the unpacking of the cars which was a darn sight quicker thab packing them. We also managed to get Molly's desk and chest of drawers reassembled before we headed off to find our hotel for the next couple of nights.

Once at the hotel and checked in we got ourselves changed and then headed out for the evening. First we grabbed a bunless burger at Five Guys before finding coffee and cake.

It was then time to head to a club called Madding Crowd to see my favourite band, White Lies. They were playing a one-off small and intimate accoustic gig and they were absolutely amazing...as they always are. Such an honour to see them perform an accoustic set and they played my favourite song, First Time Caller!

It was so good to be doing something normal with no restrictions...no need for vaccine passports or masks or checking in. And apart from a few people wearing masks it felt like going to a club as it has always felt. A few hundred people singing their hearts out having a fabulous time, what more could you ask for.

And it was so good to walk back to the hotel seeing a busy town center on a Friday evening with people out enjoying themselves.

Well I've just about finished my glass of wine so I guess I'll see you tomorrow.

xx

Day 596

Day 596...

Well this will be a quick blog post today as I find myself writing this quite late in the day as I've been a tad busy.

The morning was spent in work and as my deputy manager was back at work today we spent the time catching up, getting up to date with various bits and bobs as well as talking about the upcoming weeks and months.

Meanwhile at home we had an engineer visit whose job was to install an electric charging point so that we can take delivery of our new electric car. We have had the car on order since the end of September and have been waiting for the charging point company to sort out the necessary point. After a bit of back and forth we finally had a date through for the installation of today. Now both Simon and I were rather sceptical as to whether the installation could actually happen as our set-up is not a straight forward one. Our garage is detached from our house and not only that but it is a little way away from the house. We'd already had to prove that the garage was actually owned by us and provide photographs of the location but we were still convinced that it wouldn't be smooth sailing. And sure enough the engineer took one look and said 'nope can't fit that, the cabling isn't sufficient'. As we had guessed we need the electric into the garage upgrading to full mains electric rather than a spur off for sockets and lights etc. This will mean cable being laid under ground between our meter and the garage; not an insignificant distance and one that will mean tarmac being dug up and replaced. An email has now been sent to the company in question and we await their response and solution!

At lunchtime I left work and headed home via a local supermarket to pick up a few things, some of which were food items for Ethan over the weekend. We will be away all weekend which leaves Ethan home alone so I always like to make sure he has enough in the cupboards to keep him going for a few days. And yes as his mum I am a big softy and like to get in a few treats while we are away.

Arriving home and Molly had made more progress on disassembling her bedroom and organising all her stuff ready to move down to Dan's tomorrow! So our first job of the afternoon was to go and get some petrol in her car ready for the 190 mile trip and then to stop by my dad's house. My dad is Molly and Ethan's only surviving grandparent and I wanted to make sure she got chance to see him before she starts this new chapter in her life. Molly and her grandad have always been really close and although she doesn't perhaps see him as often now as she used to there is still a special connection between the two of them.

On our return home I poured myself a freshly brewed coffee, found an extra layer of clothing as it had turned rather chilly, before me and Molly embarked on seeing just how much of Molly's belongings we could fit between her car and Simon's car. The plan is to drive down in two cars; Molly's because she will need her car and then Simon's as not only are we helping Molly move but we also have our own reason for visiting the South of the UK this weekend...we have a concert to attend.

Well after just over four hours me and Molly, with a little help from Ethan at one point, have managed to squeeze the vast majority of her belongings including a two meter long desk, a drawer unit, two guitars, three new (to be built) storage units, approximately 16 pairs of shoes, numerous soft toys (that have been unceremoniously pushed into all sorts of tiny spaces) and all her clothes into both cars. There are still things left here that she will have to transport at a later date but they are things that she doesn't need immediately. Really not sure how we've managed to get as much in as we have but we did somehow!

The good thing is that Molly will be visiting at the end of November, as she has promised her kickboxing academy that she would help out with the second part of their black belt grading event, so she will be able to take more then. There are a few bigger items to get down there as well so it maybe that a couple of items will have to stay here a little longer before we have the space in a car to get them there.

So Molly has one more sleep here officially before setting off on a new chapter and while we will miss her tremendously we are also thrilled that she has found someone that she wants to make a life with. We want nothing but happiness for both Molly and Ethan and never want to stand in the way of them making the life for themselves that they want to lead. They both need to embrace life and grab those opportunities whenever they present themselves and live their best life, all of the time.

And it is also one more sleep for me till I see White Lies again! So excited for this small venue gig in Bournemouth tomorrow evening where they will be playing an 'intimate' performance. We have been extremely fortunate to see them live a number of times already and back in February 2019 got to meet the band at a VIP event so I am really looking forward to seeing them yet again but in a different type of setting and manner.

And now I better stop typing, make a cup of tea and settle down to watch RuPauls Drag Race UK.

See you tomorrow.
xx

Day 592 - End of British Summertime

Day 592...

So we awoke this morning to have gained an extra hour in bed as the clocks in the UK have turned back an hour to signify the end of British summertime and by the heavy rain we had for most of the morning the weather seemed to agree. It was dark, grey, windy and wet - whoop!

Our first job of the day was to collect our weekly grocery shop and today we were able to try a new system where we can let the store know we are on our way so that our shopping could be ready and waiting. Well we arrived and there was one another car waiting; the app showed that the store knew we were on our way and by clicking the help button I could tell them we had arrived and what the colour of our car was. A short while later a very wet and bedraggled store colleague arrived with the first cars order and then asked for our name so that she could fetch our order...so I have no idea whether the app system actually worked or not!

Back home and we quickly got everything from the car into the house trying not to get too wet. But fifteen minutes later with all the shopping packed away I looked up to see sunshine and clear blue skies, the complete opposite of what the morning had been up to that point.

It was then time to head over to a local Halfords to see if we could get Molly's car stereo updated. We drove over in two cars so that in the event we had some time to kill and the weather turned on us we would at least be able to either shelter in a car or drive for a coffee. The staff were super helpful and quickly told us that they should be able to fit the new stereo (unlike the staff on Friday!) which involved Molly moving her car into a tricky parking spot which she handled amazingly. So while the stereo was being fitted we jumped in the car and headed out for a coffee to pass the time. About half an hour later we were back to pick up Molly's car with a new and functioning car stereo!

Back home and Simon spent sometime in the garage on his latest project; today he was replacing all the screws in the joints he'd assembled yesterday with wooden dowels as he wants the finished product to have a smooth and seamless finish. While Simon did that I had a couple of work emails to process as well as a little accounting as part of my shopping today also included items for pre-school. I then did a little online research for some new guttering for our house as ours seems to fail every time we have more than a shower of rain along with looking for a new outside light for our front door.

We then took a little time out for a coffee and a bit of TV watching before realising that I needed to sort through my Halloween decorations to take into pre-school for the week ahead as we are having a spooky themed week with a little fundraising thrown in too. In years gone by we have hosted numerous Halloween parties and so we have a number of boxes full of decorations, although we haven't really used them at home for a few years now...maybe next year!

And because I know we have a busy week ahead, and as we had a bonus hour today, I took advantage and got caught up with the ironing...not very exciting but I need to be organised this coming week. I am in work more than usual this week and we are building up to Molly's big move to Dan's at the end of the week.

Oh and I am also getting a tad excited as it is now 5 sleeps until we see my favourite band, White Lies! They are playing a stripped back concert in Bournemouth on Friday and as this is close to where Dan lives we are now pretty familiar with the area so it was a no brainer when the gig was announced...plus it 'coincides' with Molly's move down...or is that Molly's move coincides with our concert?!!!

And with that I will see you all tomorrow.
xx

Day 590

Day 590...

Well, we have had a Friday and I don't think I've stopped all day...until writing this at the very least.

Once up and about I headed off to the jewellers to collect my repaired rings and they both look wonderful and now fit my finger so much better than before. The half eternity ring was the one that needed the most repair work doing as I'd managed to lose a diamond out of it and when the ring was reshaped a good bunch of the remaining stones fell out and needed re-setting. But the results are great and I'm just happy to be wearing both rings again as it has felt very strange not wearing them these past few weeks.

Rings as good as new

The rest of my morning was very exciting...she types with heavy sarcasm...as I had Simon's tax return to complete. I'd been putting it off for months but had promised myself that I would get around to it sometime this week and today was the first day where I found myself with the time to do it. It was straight forward enough to complete as I had all the necessary figures to hand it's just a laborious process to go through each page of the return, read each page, ensure I understand exactly which boxes to complete and with what figures. And because I wanted to get it all completed and completed correctly there were a lot of explanations to read and links to explore but by the time Simon finished for lunch I'd gotten all the data input.

We braved the windy weather and headed out on a slightly shorter than normal walk completing 1.9 miles in 34 minutes. I needed to be back home in time to head out with Molly as we had an appointment with a garage to see about getting her car stereo updated.

We arrived at the garage and were told that they needed to assess the car to ensure that they had all the correct fixings but that if they did they would then install the new stereo. So while we left them to it me and Molly took a walk over to a local McDonalds to grab a coffee (me) and a milkshake (Molly) and in doing so we discovered parts of the town we didn't know existed. About 30 minutes later we got a call from the garage to say that they had hit a problem and couldn't install the stereo. We walked back over and having spoke to one of the colleagues at the garage it would appear that there may be an issue with some of the connections but we're not 100% sure...so we have booked to go back again on Sunday when another member of staff with more experience (and we hope expertise) can have a look and see what can or cannot be done.

Back home and I had a few things I wanted to get on top of...I had Simon's tax return to submit which I managed to do and then I had a couple of bills to pay and some other stuff but then I opened up pre-school's email. I had actually kept on top of the email account this past week but knew that there was a couple that I had to deal with...well four hours later not only had I responded to those couple but I'd created a few of my own along with updating the accounts, issuing text reminders, composing seven different emails and scheduling when to send them, writing two different newsletters and uploading them to the various different platforms that we use and updating our learning journal system that I'd forgotten to do this time last week - oops! And my bills still haven't been paid!

Molly has been busy sorting through all her stuff as she prepares to move down to Dan's this time next week. We have piles of stuff that either needs throwing away, has the potential to be sold on Ebay or is ready and waiting to go with her next week. It is a very exciting, if slightly overwhelming, time for us all. But the bonus of helping move Molly down south next week is that Simon and I get a weekend away coupled with a night out to see my favourite band, White Lies - eek!

And there we have a Friday...I'd hoped to get a little time just for me as I seem to have done a lot of running around this week but alas it was not to be.

See you tomorrow.

xx

Day 559

Day 559...

And we have the first working day of the week for me.

My back was feeling slightly better than it did yesterday and it was definitely easier to move about, although by mid-afternoon it did require some painkillers!

My morning was spent in work and it was pretty much a standard sort of morning for me. Arriving home at lunchtime I found myself continuing on with some pre-school work which I hadn't planned on doing but was needed ahead of the activities I have planned for the remainder of the week.

When I got home Molly had taken over the kitchen as she was having a bit of a photo shoot for the items she has been creating over the past few weeks. I was a little concerned to find a poured glass of wine sat next to the kettle but discovered that it was actually a 'prop' that Molly had been using for her photography!

My afternoon seemed to disappear quite quickly but it was productive. Not only did I get a big chunk of pre-school work completed but I took delivery of my new iron and managed to get through about two thirds of my ironing pile. But, and most importantly, I was able to secure a pre-order of the new White Lies album which is due for release in February next year and at the same time, ahead of general release, I was able to buy some tickets to see them live in Nottingham in March next year. In fact the concert in Nottingham will be the first night of their tour to promote their new album 'As I Try Not to Fall Apart'. So nice to have something on the calendar, just need to keep everything crossed now that nothing gets in the way!! And with the tickets already bought for November it means we have at least two things to look forward to!

 And time to sign off and see you tomorrow.
xx

Day 544

Day 544...

Well today has been a very quiet Monday. Both Simon and I no longer work Mondays and so usually we try and make a point of doing 'something' but as we are now at day five of our bathroom re-fit we were tied to staying at home.

We were up early as our fitter wanted to make the most of the day and so there was no lie-in for us! I had two jobs for this morning, one was to get the ironing done and the other was to buy concert tickets!

Yes, actual, in person concert tickets! My favourite band White Lies very kindly emailed yesterday to say that tickets were going on sale today at 10am for an intimate, scaled back show in November at a club called Madding Crowd. Having never heard of this venue I did a quick Google expecting it to be somewhere in London and was very pleasantly surprised to find out that not only was it not London but it was somewhere that Simon and I have become quite familiar with over the last couple of years...Bournemouth.

Molly's boyfriend lives close by to Bournemouth and so when we have been gracious enough to either take Molly down to see him or to bring her home we have stayed in Bournemouth and have gotten to really like it. So when I saw that they were playing a small club there it was a no brainer, and felt like fate. So at 10am this morning I jumped onto their website and within five minutes I became the proud owner of two tickets. How excited am I?!! Cannot believe this will be our first concert since December 2019, which was also to see White Lies! 

The concert sounds like it will be more of an acoustic set as it's being promoted as an 'unplugged' performance, with them re-working songs and digging back through their archive of tracks. I think this should be a very special concert and I am very honoured and happy to be going along. Plus it felt so good to actually write something on the calendar that we can look forward to.

With tickets booked I then spent an amount of time looking for a hotel to book. We have a favourite that we like to use but unfortunately their car park does not have an electric charging point and by then we should have our new electric car and could really do with wherever we stay having one. It's a little daunting thinking about a long drive and a stay away from home with this new technology and so having a hotel with charging on site will give us peace of mind.

This afternoon I have used the time to work my way through more of our old photographs and scan them using the Photomyne app. Once scanned in on my phone I then had to go through and edit them before I could download them to my laptop. I am now working my way through them to give each photo a date, time, location and any other useful information. Today's photos were from the start of our 1993 visit to Orlando and yet again I have been thanking my past self for saving theme park maps and time schedules!

Our bathroom fitter worked late tonight and so while Simon stayed at home I took Molly over to her first kickboxing lesson of the week...well Molly drove over I was merely the passenger! Not long now till Molly has her driving test and it would be great to think that in a few weeks time she could be getting herself out and about without having to rely on the taxi service of mum and dad.

But Monday is done and I will see you tomorrow.
xx