Thursday and I wake up in the hotel, there is time to blog before breakfast. I m soon in the hotel dining room feeding myself and watching my fellow diners. The one next to me was a bit taken aback when I swore vehemently when my unstable table caused me to spill my coffee. I was not amused, which the woman next to me became aware very abruptly. Full of hotel food I return to the room, pack my back pack and then check out. Its a short walk to Prescot Street and the home of the Royal College of Psychiatrists. I check in and make my way to the new café downstairs. My manager joins me and we do my 1 t0 1 there. Its a constructive and supportive meeting and we arrange my future. The rest of the team join us and we chat. This is the first time we have been face to face in over two years and it is a real pleasure to see each other. We get a tour of the remodelled facilities and then settle into our meeting room for the rest of the day.
The meeting goes through its agenda of updates and specific items till lunchtime when we return to the café for more food. At our return I give my colleague the birthday present I had brought with me. The rest of the meeting passes quite quickly and soon its time for me to leave. I get into the underground and make my way to St Pancras. I am feeling tired now and I ache so I am very pissed off when I find my ticket will not let me on a train until 7 o’clock. I am tired, hurting and had enough so I dash to the ticket office and upgrade my ticket, what is more I upgrade to first class. Its a fortune to do so but I just want to get home in the most comfort I can. I dash back to the platform and just manage to get on the 5 o’clock fast train which will get me into Leicester just after 6 o’clock. As a result of getting into first class I get a free bottle of water and short bread. Such are the luxuries of first class travel, it used to be free wine.
I get to Leicester and make my way to the taxi rank. There are a lot of Italians around as Leicester are playing Roma in a semi final first leg this night. I get a taxi who quotes me a price which is at least £5 over the usual but I do not care, I just want home. The driver is fast and delivers thrills along the way but I am pleased to pay him and get in home. I strip and change, feed the hedgehog and then sit on the sofa to watch the football on TV. I go to bed totally spent.
Friday and I am up early as I have bloods to do at the GP. Its coffee, meds and the walk down to the surgery. I am in and out quite quickly minus a bit of blood. I pick up a newspaper, kitkats and grapes as I return home. Just as I get back to my front garden I get a call from a friend so I sit on our garden chair and chat. We talk about how work is now more expensive and getting out and about is costly and how we both ration our energies at the moment. We say our goodbyes and I go in and stow my shopping. I ring the hospital to find out how my sister is. The nurse runs me through what is going on and I pass this on to the rest of the family. I have a work meeting to prepare for and log in on the appointed time. The meeting goes well and I come away with some admin to do. My partner goes t see her mother, my eldest daughter goes to the gym and I have lunch and then have my half hour afternoon nap. Feeling a bit more spoonful I prepare the evening meal, set the dishwasher going and feed the hedgehog. I set about trying to organise a locksmith and a glazier to put my sisters house right. I email local providers and wait for responses. My last meaningful task is to do my April invoices and get it sent off knowing it will not get seen till after the bank holiday Monday.
My evening starts with a phone call from my youngest daughter who wants to talk about my sister and when people are going to visit her. She also raises issues about what my sister might be needing in terms of night clothes and personal items. My daughter may come to see us on Monday. We eat tea and settle down to watch the evenings rugby match, which turns out to be a cracker. We follow this up with Have I Got News For You and then we watch the first in the new series of Great British Sewing Bee. Its a joy. I shall now meander to midnight and see if my test results are in.
