I had blagged a seat in my old office, and it turned out to be my old desk! (Recently vacated as Helen has moved onto an exciting new role). It was hilarious to watch people walking past, then doing a total double take when they realised it was me sitting there!! It was a recurring theme over the course of the week - either there was a double take, or people would walk in and ask me something as if I had never left!!!!
Ian was taking early retirement on Friday, and on Monday night there was a meal with members of the Spectrum management team which we were invited to join. It was a really nice evening, and a great chance to catch up with people, say the first of our farewells to Ian and also have a look at what used to be our local when we lived in Fruitlands (somewhat different since I was last there!). I had a black pudding and bacon salad (truly a dish made in heaven for any Scot!), followed by the most enormous fish pie I have come across! It was kind of like the ever-replenishing pie...I was eating and eating and I barely made a dent in it!!
The guest of honour is in the middle, flanked by Colin and Dave on one side and Dave and Richard on the other
Me, along with Steve (in the fetching new beard!), Graham and Gerry
A little later on...a view of the empties!
Mum, being the darling person that she is, got up and made us bacon sandwiches for breakfast on Tuesday. Heaven! I need this kind of attention more often!!!! We got into work just after 9am, which spoilt slightly my plan to be sitting in place at my desk in time for Andy (my lovely ex-boss) walking into the office. We were just going to pretend it was a time warp as Richard has moved back into the office too...it was like turning back the clock 3 years!
Stephen went out for a curry with some of the boys, and I spent Tuesday evening with Julie, Andy and Louise. Its only a few weeks until they come over and I was busy answering Louise's questions...and they were important ones! "Where is the nearest Ben & Jerry's?" was the one nearest to my heart! I was glad to be able to reassure her that it was only a 10 minute walk away... It was really fantastic to be able to catch up, have a chat and a glass of vino (okay, maybe two....three...). We're both looking forward to them coming over, and can't believe that they'll be here so soon! Time is flying by!!
As part of the ongoing social whirl, Wednesday night was spent with Kate. She picked me up (after a panic about losing her purse!) and we went into Worcester to Ask for dinner. For once, for us, we had a very restrained evening - one glass of wine each...not like our usual champagne guzzling evenings at all!! Dinner was pretty scrummy, and we had a good time catching up on the gossip and what had been going on in our lives.
I managed to catch up with Mandy too - its amazing how difficult it can be to catch up on gossip, even if you're sharing an office! We popped up to the canteen for coffee twice on Thursday! Once was with Andy T as well... He was actually there on the first visit too, but was with another woman (obviously I have fallen out of favour in his affections!). He did make amends with a delicious flapjack later though!
Stephen and I actually had a night together alone - I don't know what the heck happened with my social planning!! As we couldn't be bothered trawling round Waitrose we popped along to the Fox for some dins. I spent the week ticking off the foods that I miss. Tonight was fish and chips with mushy peas washed down by a glass of cider. Bliss!! I also indulged in the other thing I've not been able to do much of - I had a really good soak in the bath when I got home! The bath we have here isn't great for soaking. The ends of the bath doesn't slope, so its a bit neck breaking. Plus it's not very long - even I can only just stretch out! The bath we have in the UK is HUGE. I can almost swim in it!! I generally have to have a lifeguard on duty in case I get into difficulties.
It was quite a strange week for me. There were a lot of people finishing up work on Friday, and it was strange to be saying goodbye to a lot of familiar faces. It was strange going to the coffee shop on site as it was packed out with people (all week), having farewell lattes with their friends. Ian made his final exit...as he put it he handed in his badge and gun and rode for the hills...
After we had waved farewell to the office, we made a mad dash into Worcester to go to M&S. Bra shopping was an essential part of the trip home last week!! I'm sure I've mentioned the totally awful bra styling available in the department stores here...these monstrosities are straight out the 1950's!! Pointy cups, cross your heart and everything!! I'm not saying M&S was a shining beacon of pretty, delicate lingerie (lets face it, its always going to be slightly industrial in order to restrain the twins!), but it was a million miles better than the Howard Hughes/Jane Russell creations that Macy's sell!!! I had to spend some considerable time persuading Stephen (the perv!) that there wasn't some kind of girlie gropefest going on in the changing rooms every time someone went in with a bra to try on!!! If only he realised how fraught bra shopping really was!!!
We had a lovely evening with Richard and Justine on Friday. Chinese food has been somewhat lacking in our diet too (lots of Thai, but no Chinese restaurants in Old Town), so we went for a good scoff at the Star. We bumped into Jane and Matt too which was an added bonus. We always have a really good time with Richard and Justine, and Friday was no exception. I hit my stride in the cider drinking about halfway through the evening when I switched from halves to pints...which seem HUGE compared to pints over here. I was practically having to lift it with two hands, but I persevered!!
As I'm a totally dedicated employee I spent portions of Friday night and all Saturday morning producing the BD report in time for the BD meeting on Tuesday. I just about managed to get it finished before Baby Ben and his mummy and daddy arrived. There was a small overlap when I was working and they were feeding him...but thankfully the banana didn't make it too close to the laptop!! He certainly is a wee cutie! And very well behaved!! He was quite fascinated with Eve - especially with trying to grab her tongue when she was sticking it out at him!
We popped along to Malvern for a walk and look around in the afternoon. It was remarkably the same as when we left!!! Except that Cafe Nero was much more packed than I remembered it being! I think the whole of Malvern's under 20 population was in there when we popped in, plus a large proportion of the over 70's! I had to practically throw old ladies off the table we were eyeing, and then fight off the teenagers to make sure they didn't grab it!!
Eve amusing Ben
Mum made a really nice dinner of roast duck and roasties etc. That gets the back story out of the way...its important to set the scene for the drama of the evening! Hours after we had taken everything out of the oven, I began to wash up the roasting tins that wouldn't fit in the dishwasher. I picked a baking sheet up an realised that it was ever so slightly hot! I threw it into the sink and looked at the hob - the gas ring was on a low heat under the tray!! I bravely managed not to cry (until later!) and ran my hand under the cold tap whilst everyone went off to check the internet for advice on what to do for burns....which was run it under the cold tap, plus take painkillers (I needed them later!) and apply antiseptic cream. They were also able to tell me that blistering indicated a second degree burn...truly what I needed the night before I flew home!! Anyway, its all okay - the finger hasn't dropped off yet, and the blister is certainly a war wound!!! I may not want to eat duck again for a while though....
If you are squeamish DO NOT scroll down!!!!! There is a horrible photo of my poor burnt finger!!!
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