And the award goes to...

I’m a very tired goose… I went to the dinner last night and I am glad I went. Especially in light of realising we’re away for the AGM. The venue could not be faulted and congratulations must go to the boys upstairs for their work in putting on the dinner. From the gorgeous posh entrance, the sweeping staircase up to a very stylish function room lit with candles and chandeliers; it was no surprise that the VIPs from the RFU and the Essex RFU called it the best dinner they had ever been too! (And they go to a lot!) I was sat with some of my favourite people – Supporters’ Sec’ and his partner which I was very pleased about and the two newly weds Mr Finance and his partner. The food was nice, not the best food I’ve ever tasted although the onion soup and strangely, the mash potato, were fabulous!

The speeches took less time this year and our main speaker the president of the RFU was amusing and topical. It surprises people but our Chairman gives a very good speech as well, light-hearted but actually quite stirring in places. The awards were much better for two reasons: there were fewer speeches and I actually won one! Yes, the penny didn’t even drop when Sean accidentally said in his speech ‘she’ – he started saying I don’t think people realise how much this person does for the club and how much SHE has achieved. At which point everyone looked at me, and about 2 seconds later I realised he meant me! My award was for service to the club and it did make me very proud, but what made me even prouder was the standing ovation and huge round of applause I also received! I must have been beaming! I also got a bunch of lovely flowers and a bottle of fine Irish whiskey for selling the most raffle tickets! So I came away with a lot more than I took in.

Because of stress and tiredness I felt very claustrophobic at times and despite the pleasant meal, excellent company and of course the recognition of my work – which is very important to me – I did find it a difficult evening.

There are some people connected to the club though that are very special and dear friends and seeing them, regardless of my own circumstances, is always worth the effort of getting gussied up and sitting through long speeches!

Pluto had a housemate yesterday and today, his best friend Charlie. It’s been fun having another dog in the house and I think Pluto has enjoyed the company. We went to Crystal Palace yesterday and will probably go to the woods today before Charlie goes home. They’ve been as good as gold. They act like they’ve lived together all their lives and are so comfortable and relaxed with each other, happy to snooze in separate rooms or lie next to each other…

Apparently waking up uncomfortable or with a sore back is very common so I must tell you, we bought a mattress topper in an effort to beat (not literally) my achy back. We have a really good orthopaedic mattress but far too often I was waking up with a really sore spine. I’ve changed pillows and tried all sorts of different things, but eventually I saw for sale a mattress topper. It’s like an egg carton, its thick dimpled foam. When you first get into bed it feels very strange, but you know what, it’s really comfortable and this morning, no achy back. It’s too soon after only one night to say whether this is the cure for my muscle ache, but I’m very hopeful!

Enjoy your weekend.