Cambridge

We had a great time in Cambridge. It was lovely to see our friends and their 2 year old son who is already a very charming young man. They’ve just bought a house, and with us in the process of buying, you can imagine what we talked about over a lovely dinner and a couple of bottles of wine!

Today my partner had a work meeting in Cambridge and our hosts also had to work so I was free to go into the city centre and explore. My partner went to Cambridge so I went along to Kings (her college) and stared in tourist like awe at the chapel and stunning architecture of the buildings. It makes my university look very ugly indeed! (Although to be fair, it was a pretty ugly campus even if you didn’t compare it to the splendour of Cambridge!)

I like Cambridge very much, nice bars and cafes, good shops, lovely second hand bookstores and of course, gorgeous buildings. It was a shame my partner couldn’t show me round today, but it’s an excuse to go back of course.

Now I’m back and shivering, the heating has been off for two days and the house is like an ice box. I’m waiting for the dogs to come home (they stayed with their boarding mum last night) and then I need to start thinking about making dinner. From the chapel of King's College – the finest and grandest example of late medieval Gothic architecture in England and the evocative Bridge of Sighs to... Sydenham, South East London! It’s amazing how far you can travel in a day!

Smells like team spirit...

I started a new Facebook group a couple of weeks ago: Gay Premiership Rugby Fans. I wanted it to be a forum for REAL rugby fans that happen to be gay and who rather than support amateur teams, support Premiership teams. The reason for this was not to say one was better than the other but rather, to get people together for matches, car pool, watch games in the pub and get some healthy discussion – and probably some sledging – on the go. The group has 88 members, and yes, unfortunately I know that some of those that have joined know f*ck all about rugby and have joined for novelty value but I think the vast majority are there for the right reasons. Discussion is slow i.e. there is none! But Facebook groups are ten a penny, so I think people are waiting for it to prove itself. I’ve worked hard on getting photos and videos uploaded to make it more interesting and for people to have a reason to come back. I’ve also started to post about games I’m going to, and others will hopefully take suit. It’s very cool to be doing rugby stuff that has nothing to do with my old club. Not that there is anything wrong with my old club, but it’s fair to say I got pretty burnt out and I think there are too many cooks... some cooks who don’t even know the recipe but there you go...

Anyway, it’s been a lot of fun. If you’re on Facebook, check it out. If you’re not currently a Premiership rugby fan but would like to be – join. That way you might get to go to matches you wouldn’t have previously. And no, you don’t have to be gay! I just felt that there were quite a number of fan groups, and it would be nice to acknowledge that there are gay fans too!

I’m still in bed – working, but still in bed. I usually work from home on Friday’s but I have training this Friday, which I’m looking forward to as much as I look forward to going to the dentist. I do have to rouse myself at some point today, the dog needs more food and I have to pop to the bank. Otherwise I would be quite happy just staying in bed all day :0)

This weekend, we’re having dinner with friends on Friday night, Saturday no plans as yet, but Sunday we’re off to see Wasps take on Newcastle Falcons at home! Cips vs. Wilko! Should be a great match and I’m very excited.

Right back to what I’m paid to do before I fall completely behind schedule!

(The picture is of course, Mr. Jonny Wilkinson. His main sponsor is Hackett and I love this picture. He does look handsome, although he probably won’t look this good on Sunday after what will probably be a very bruising match against Wasps!)

A bit of this and a bit of that

It’s payday and I’m very happy. Already the money is flying out of the account to pay various bills, but still, I’ll feel relatively well off for the next week or two at least.

We’re away again quite a lot this month. We’re working on an organic farm in Wales at the end of the month, and I’m going on an alpaca training course (you think I’m joking when I say we want to move to a farm and have animals, I’m not!) and we’re off to Brighton again for a friend’s leaving party…

We’re having friends over for dinner tonight, so I need to leave earlier to have a bit of a tidy up – no doubt Pluto will have strewn toys all over the house. I might get some fresh flowers as well.

I’m not sure what the plans are for this weekend, probably whatever we do will be low-key in lieu of going-away the very next weekend. I might take my partner for dinner though. There’s a Mediterranean restaurant in Fulham called Mimosa that I want to try.

Slightly is in Cornwall at the moment with his partner. I’m regularly checking his blog because he’s uploading photos he’s taken on his phone. It makes me miss Cornwall very much. I’d love to be there right now… wind, rain, whatever!

Accident

I’ve been in a car accident, on Thursday afternoon. I was on the A4 waiting to turn right down into Fulham when a BMW went into the back of me, shunting me forward into a 4x4. I was stationary but the woman driving the BMW was moving forward slowly. Apparently her foot slipped and must have hit the accelerator because the impact was quite forceful. Her tank of a beamer and the 4x4 were virtually unscathed but my Ford Escort is a mess. Without VAT the damage is £1500. Now if we did it on insurance, they would class it as an uneconomical repair and refuse to pay up. But, she doesn’t want to go through insurance because it’s her husband’s car (they are going through a divorce) and she doesn’t want to tell him about the accident. I’ve since phoned her and she’s happy to write a cheque, which means I get to save Peggy. And believe me I would have to spend a lot more than she is worth on paper to get such a reliable car with so little mileage so I really, really want to save her. Plus, and I do realised some people would think this is sentimental nonsense, but she is like our chariot – we’ve been all over the country; literally up mountain and down dale, and she’s never let us down.

I’m ok. I drove home without incident although I was very shook up. My back is a little sore; I probably have some minor soft tissue damage. My neck is ok though, but my left knee is sore. Driving an automatic my leg is often bent (because my foot doesn’t need to be on a pedal) and so it took a lot of impact.

I can’t deny I’m really angry at this woman. Which is not helpful because accidents do happen; she was upset and apologised and gave me her details and seems to be prepared to put right the damage, but still. She drives away without a scratch and my car is a mess and she caused the accident. And that really fucking sucks.

Despite it all, we did go round to Slightly’s for dinner later that evening and actually had a really lovely time.

We’re having a do-nothing weekend. We’ve just taken Pluto and his best mate Charlie down to the woods, and now we’re going to have lunch in the garden. Later we’re going to have some cold beers and a bar-b-q… which after the last couple of days is exactly what I need!

When the banks rob us...

I’m two croissants and a hot cross bun to the good and am on my second cup of coffee so really I have all the fuel I need for a full morning’s work. I also feel quite chipper because tomorrow is my home work day and it means I can have a lay in and work in my PJs.

Here’s a question for you (and I really do want to know the answer, it’s not rhetorical!) why when banks are being sued or at least challenged over bank charges and having to pay out large sums – my friend got £3500 and made a film! – do they continue to charge exorbitant fees? I have chosen to not have an overdraft facility and to be fair nine times out of ten I don’t need one. However, yesterday was that one time out of ten. In the gap between money going out and money coming in, I was just short (43p in case you’re interested) of covering a DD, so they have charged me £19.50. I fully intend to challenge my bank over this and other charges, as many others have before me, so why are they just storing up trouble by not acting to reduce fees to reflect the actual costs?

Answers on a paying in slip…

Tonight we’re off to Slightly’s for dinner. Pluto, who has a lot of love to give and is on a mission to make sure everyone gets their fare share, thought Slightly’s other half was quite lovely the first time they met so that should be a joyous reunion… for Pluto at least!

We’re doing dessert. I think when people say that, it means they will have cooked something, I however, will be going to a well known supermarket to buy something gorgeous and yummy.

Anyway, I have things to do and the coffee is starting to wear off…

Onion bagels

I had a great night’s sleep last night. Well, I was so exhausted it wasn’t surprising. I was in bed by 8, read a bit more Harry Potter, asleep by 9. Pluto made us laugh by also being completed knackered, he actually put himself to bed! That’s what happens when you become fixated on what you can’t have and wear yourself out running up and down stairs and whining! Because we’ve made the decision to not go away without him unless there is absolutely no alternative – and we do seem to go away a lot – our next trip to Brighton will be just for the day or if we need to stay, for the sake of the sanity of our best man’s cats, we may have to stay elsewhere… shame really because he has a lovely house and the bed is very comfortable!

Not sure how I’m going to make it to lunchtime, I’ve made a gorgeous lunch (onion bagels, cheese and organic ham) and am now trying to resist the urge to start on it two hours early… no willpower that’s my trouble. I had a decent breakfast as well (three weetabix with dried fruit in case you’re interested… probably not…)

Busy week ahead: we need to get the invites off to the printers, we’re having friends over for dinner on Tuesday and then we’re going for dinner with some other friends at the end of the week. I’d also like to see Harry Potter this Wednesday – I can’t believe I haven’t seen it yet! I also need to fit in a reflexology appointment... s’all go…

Least I’m not starting the week tired. But I may have another coffee just to keep the momentum going…