March in Review

 

March was eagerly anticipated - there were some fun things planned: the Van Gogh exhibition, baby shower, trip to Devon to see Mum....but then Covid struck, affecting me personally; and the threat of redundancy looms large......

Tues March 1

Happy to see March! Had a "helpful" email from Google about how I need to sort out "unparsable structured data issues." Yes, right. Raining. New Kettlewell range online. Ordered a few bits.

Weds March 2

Bit out of sorts,  sore throat. Had a meeting at 9 30 which meant I couldn't go for a walk. Intended to go to the gym later but somehow it didn't happen. Grrr.

Thursday March 3 

Tired and emotional. It's the Ukranian situation and learning that the upcoming IPO means a restructuring at work. Around 30% in marketing will be made redundant.  Did a walk. Donated to Ukraine with work matching. Day ended with us learning our boss has gone. Stunned.

Friday March 4 

Cold. Did Body Balance. First Kettlewell delivery of new season, electric blue moto jacket and acid yellow wrapover top. Anna was doing a #styleitforukraine post so I took a quick picture for IG. Had the 2nd developers' workshop this afternoon. 

Sat Mar 5

So cold and grey I didn't fancy going out. Did housework. Spent afternoon reading.

Sun Mar 6

Sun out at last. Forest walk. Run Nation 10k happening. Roast beef. Wrote 3 blog posts. Daffodils are blooming in the front garden. I've added many different types over the years and enjoy seeing the sequence unfold. 

Mon March 6

Sun came out but v cold. Did walk, 4.4. Yet another delivery of white jeans to try on.

Tues March 7

Sunny, cold. Nice drive to office.  Did a bespoke Getty shoot from 10 to 3pm.

Weds March 8

Did  urban walk, Tesco 1 way. Was tempted to go to office again as there was a reception for former CEO, but no one else in team was going in.

Thur March 9

Bit down today, cancelled yoga thinking I would do a walk or workout,  but no motivation. I would kill Putin with my bare hands.

Fri Mar 10

Quiet day. Set off for gym to do Body Balance but had forgotten lock for locker, so couldn't do it. Quiz at the Orion Harriers in the evening. Ate so much rubbish! 

Sat Mar 11

Eating so many crisps, mini eggs and other rubbish had repercussions: 3 pounds on.  Did long walk. Sunny intervals.  Went in town (London), tried on 3 pairs white jeans, no good. First time I've tried clothes on in a store for a very long time.  

Sun March 12

Lost 2 of the 3 errant pounds thanks to 9.5 miles walked yesterday. Cloudy. Lunch in a Turkish restaurant for Rachel's Baby Shower.  Below: my virgin mohitjo

Mon March 13 

Email about the redundancy process. A long drawn out affair in the UK. We don't know yet who's on the list. Walk, very spring-like. J went to Cheltenham Races for 2 days.  Watched film The Lost Daughter. 3 more pairs of white jeans delivered. Still no good. 

Tues March 14 

Drove to work in Cambridge. Sunny and warm. First email came, which indicates I'm affected in some way. Org change yes, redundancy, still don't know.  Did a walk at lunchtime with a colleague. 

Weds March 15 

Rain turned torrential.  Nazanin Zagary Ratcliffe freed from Iran, where she has been falsely imprisoned since 2016.  Was checking her status all day. Couldn't stop crying when I saw her plane had actually taken off.  J back from Cheltenham.

Thurs March 16

Sunny! Windows, wheelie bins and car covered in red dust from the "Sahara rain."  Unfortunate seeing as the windows were cleaned on Monday. Meeting describing the redundancy process. Did yoga. 

Friday March 17

Spring-like although chilly. Walked to Body Balance.  New routine and quite hard! Every man for himself. Bought fish n chips, first time for ages.

Sat March 18 

Sunny, breezy. Did a walk but aching quite a bit. 1 pair straight white jeans came from M&S and these are good but maybe in a different size. More pairs on way. Salmon. Watched DTS  (Drive to Survive). 

Sun March 19 

Spring equinox.  Wind has dropped.  J tested positive.  A gift from Cheltenham.  We were supposed to be going to the Van Gogh exhibition at the Courtauld followed by lunch on Wednesday, and then I was going to Mum's on Thurs for a few days.  I tested negative. 1st Grand Prix of the season.  Not great for Lewis. 

Mon March 20

Mum overdid it in her garden and in a lot of pain. Did walk, sunny, saw cows. They're very placid and don't mind you getting close. The "cow bells" are their GPS devices. If they stray beyond their confines, they get a mild electric shock.  This is to avoid them crossing the busy main road. They've learnt how close they can get, and then back off. 

Tues March 21 

I'm still negative but feeling like I am coming down with Covid. Reluctantly told my mum it was best if I didn't come down. She agreed. Cancelled my leave. Sunny. Was busy work-wise so didn't get to go out.

Weds March 22

Bit rough.  Coughing.  Sunny. Did walk but cut it short, not much energy.  J still positive. Garden looking good. Forsythia is out, as are hyacinths and daffodils. Took photos of where there are gaps in borders, for when I plant the bulbs later in the year. 

Thurs March 23 

Finally tested positive.  Have avoided Covid for 2 years. Have to change hair appointment. Didn't get promotion, which I'd been pushing hard for. Very disappointed.  Did an hour in garden.

Fri March 24 

Sunny. Day off.  Did Iris Apfel shoot indoors.  Did walk in afternoon in forest, which is so big I posed no threat to anyone. There's a new bench in the forest, dedicated to Polly Corrigan PhD, 1974 to 2019. Saw the cows. 

Sat March 25

Sunny. Not much energy. Stayed in all day. Watched film Black Crab (Swedish). 6 out of 10. 

Sun March 26 

Cloudy all morning. Did short walk with J. Roast chicken.  Grand Prix, Lewis was right at the back. 

Mon March 27

Cold, cloudy. Did work out. Feeling a lot better.  Faint 2nd line in Covid test.  Everyone in marketing had an "at risk of redundancy" meeting in small groups.  No further forward. Marks start of 45 day consultation period. Should know more by next Monday.

Tues March 28

Was going for walk but overcome by tiredness.  Had a bath. Lay on bed reading with Molly. Finished A Terrible Kindness and started Girl A. Finally threw out my old walking boots. They've done good service. Started series 2 of Traces. 

Weds March 30

Cold grey start. Decided not to go for walk. Approached by a handbag co and invited to choose a bag. Get in!  Lots to choose from. Quite busy today. 

Thurs March 31 

Cloudy and cold start. Did short walk in forest. Feeling better, although a bit congested as if I have a cold. J went to see Rosie to give her her birthday presents - she's 3 today.  She was thrilled with the ice cream shop we gave her. We're going to her party on Saturday.

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Sentence a Day: January 2022

 

A quiet month, hunkering down to get through January.  On the Plus side, I'm making good use of my gym membership and managing to combine a few walks with Yoga and Body Balance. The most exciting thing this month was being a guest on a podcast. 

Sentence a Day, October: Birthdays, Back to Office, Bulbs

 

Fri Oct 1

Changed the beds with winter duvets. Rained in morning so no walk. Quiet day work-wise. 

Sat Oct 2

Did longish walk with J looking for the small cattle but no sign of them. Rain set in. Had 2 Zoom calls for the John Lewis Beauty Weekend, Laura Mercier and NARS - very enjoyable! Will get a beauty bag in a few days. 

Sun Oct 3

London marathon. We were up at 5.30, J had an early start as he's volunteering on the Orions elite runners' drinks station. I took some blog photos. 

Mon Oct 4

Sunny start, did walk, 4 miles. Booked a charity collection for Fri. So much stuff to go.

Tues Oct 5

Sunny intervals. Workout.  Went out looking for petrol.  Yes there's a shortage caused by a lack of tanker drivers, plus panic buying. Got it in the 3rd place I tried. Then went to get a birthday card for J. Bought Xmas cards too. Picked up some conkers on the way to the shop. Useful around the house for deterring spiders. 

Weds Oct 6

J's birthday - we will go out for dinner on Friday.  Not able to have walk because had to take the car for a service, and then start work.

Thurs Oct 7

Went back to office! Great to be back to some vestige of normality. Our building has been refurbished.  The cafeteria is running a seated lunch service - place your order and get served at the table.  

J's sister Kate finished the Santiago Camino walk. Huge achievement.

Fri Oct 8

Day off. Cloudy. Wanted to go for walk but bad back. I Collect Clothes collected 2 boxes and 4 bags. Dinner at Grand Trunk Rd, one of J's favourite restaurants, for his birthday.  His daughter Rachel told us she's pregnant with their first child. 

Sat Oct 9

Lovely warm day. Did walk. 5.4 miles. Planted bulbs, daffodils, tulips and alliums.  Still have some empty containers so ordered more mixed daffodils.

Sun Oct 10

Christopher, Katie and baby Rosie came round to give J his presents. Brought brownies. J and I went into London for the return of the annual Hanlons' birthday lunch, which hasn't happened for a while.  J and two of his siblings have birthdays in October.   Forgot our masks and felt mortified on tube. Fortunately Yvonne had 2 spares for return trip. Photo shows Yvonne, J's sister-in-law, left, and his sister Kate, right.

Mon Oct 11

Bright start, chilly. Felt v stiff and in pain at start of walk but wore off thankfully.  Mum had 3rd jab. Salmon fillets.

Tues Oct 12

Smooth trip to office.  Fun day. Lunch with the Machine Learning marketing team, 2 of whom I haven't met face to face. I was quoted in an article in the Huffington Post! Spaghetti bolognese

Weds Oct 13

Urban walk to big Tesco (bus back!).  Has to wait as usual at the level crossing for the train to central London to go by. Curry for dinner. 

Thursday Oct 14

5 mile walk, started off blue sky but clouded over.

Friday Oct 15

Had 9.20 meeting so not enough time for a walk. Busy day combining work and fresh n up Friday. 

Sat Oct 16

Cloudy and chilly. Did walk 4 2 miles. Did the first Body Flow class, combination of Tai Chi, yoga and Pilates. Felt my legs had lengthened and less painful. Lisa Eldridge's new make-up additions went on sale so bought a few items. Hard to resist!

Sunday Oct 17

Sunny intervals. Did blog photography including pics for Joe Brown's. Pleased with how they turned out. Roast chicken

Mon Oct 18

Cloudy but not cold. Did walk 4.4 miles. Busy day. Macaroni cheese and salad

Tues Oct 19

Lovely day in office. Kept playing Sound Your Funky Horn  (KC and the Sunshine Band) in the car after hearing it on Johnnie Walker.  Had lunch with a colleague I met on the induction course three and a half years ago.  Got home to find flowers from boss - pastel coloured baby's breath - to thank me for helping with big event which started today. Sausages and baked potato. 

Weds Oct 20

John is back on his bike trainer - similar to Peloton but uses your own bike. 

Thurs Oct 21

Did walk. Getting muddy in the forest. A bit under stress today, feels like so much to do before my sabbatical in November. 

Fri Oct 22

Got quite a bit done plus cleaned the bathroom. No walk. Watched 1st episode Invasion.  Fish n chips but not for me after eating huge bag crisps (!). 

Sat Oct 23

Cold, cloudy. Did walk featuring four ponds in Epping Forest with J. Was over 6 miles. Picture shows a memorial to a dog at one of the ponds, Strawberry Pond. Blue green algae is present - and a dog died there. Did Body Flow.

Sun Oct 24

Nice weather. Did blog photography.  Then we went to West Malling in Kent for Lynn's 60th. Very nice afternoon. Had tuna followed by steak. Lynn blows out the candles

Mon Oct 25

Saw the cattle on the Plains. Cloudy. Quiet day. Very tired.

Tues Oct 26

Office. More people wearing masks now in coffee areas. Home by 4pm in time for meetings at 5 and 6. 

Weds Oct 27

Walk, 4.4 miles. Saw the cattle.  Powered through a lot of work. Quite pleased with myself!

Thurs Oct 28

Last day before sabbatical starts. Work out. A fair bit to do. Thought I'd be euphoric but was hard to get everything done and it felt a bit flat. 

Fri Oct 29

Raining when I got up. Decided to try aqua aerobics at public pool. Then took fright in case test & trace and a positive result would ruin my plans for sabbatical  (November).  Went for a walk instead.  I am on target to reach 1,500 miles by the end of the year. Wrote Fri Favourites post which always takes a while. Started watching Bump (BBC). 

Sat Oct 30

Rained. Walked to WR to get tartare sauce, as J prefers theirs!  5 miles round trip.  Had a look round a charity shop. Went in the dance shoes shop and ordered pair purple glittery shoes. Will need to get them soled, as dance shoes have suede soles. 

Sun Oct 31

My brother's birthday.  Pouring with rain.  J still went running with club. I did a beauty shoot.  J lost his key through a hole in his shorts. Another group of runners found it, in Yates Meadow, and reported it on the WhatsApp group. He was reunited with it.  Of course it was Halloween today,  I put the light-up pumpkin outside and had a steady stream of kids in costumes. 

Sharing this post with #Linkupontheedge at Shelbee on the Edge, #AnythingGoes at My Random Musings,Rena at Fine Whatever, Fabulous Fridays at Lucy Bertoldi, #Neverendingstyle at The Grey Brunette  

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Sentence a Day: August 2021

 

Covid Update: We're out of lockdown in the UK. People are slowly trickling back to their offices, masks are mostly worn voluntarily, and the social distancing rule is no more. It's still challenging to go abroad on holiday, with hotel quarantine required if you visit a tier 3 country.  The number of Covid cases is still very high in the UK but with the majority vaccinated, it is mostly among young people and not causing a critical number of hospitalizations. Yet.

Sentence a Day: October 2020: Covid test, trip to office, strange contraption in forest

 

Thursday Oct 1

Got print copy of Yours magazine - I was featured as a fashion blogger to follow!  

Friday October 2

Raining.  Went to gym. Did an online Bobbi Brown make-up webinar.  Watched first episode Emily in Paris.

Saturday Oct 3

Raining.  Put wet weather gear on and did urban walk 5 miles. Did some cleaning after lunch.

Sunday Oct 4

Raining.  Did food shopping. Family came for lunch including step granddaughter. Roast chicken. Watched last episode season two Borgen. Really enjoyed it.

Monday Oct 5

Raining and cloudy. New passport came, black cover - not the burgundy EU cover for obvious reasons (which make me sad - I am foremost a European).  

Tuesday October 6

John's birthday.  We did my favourite walk - started raining when we got back. My company's major event for developers started, virtually. This time last year I was at the event in California.  J had his favourite dinner, sausages and jacket potato.  He didn't want to go out. 

Weds Oct 7 

Frustrating day. Busy so no walk or gym. Lipstick and eye colour ordered from Byredo came. J got his bike trainer out.  Similar concept to Peloton, he uses one of his own bikes with it and can choose routes with virtual friends.

Thurs Oct 8

Emotional to see last two 747s leaving Heathrow, shown live in breakfast TV.  Went to gym and did shopping. 

Fri Oct 9

Ordered new fridge.

Sat Oct 10

Walked to gym (4 miles).  It was a lovely morning.  Watched last episode Emily in Paris.

Sun Oct 11

Kept day free so I could do a big blog shoot, 3 outfits . Watched film The Secret: Dare to Dream.  6 out of 10. Secured click and collect slot for Christmas turkey crown in Dec.

Mon Oct 12

John and sister Kate set off to the Lake District for a week's holiday.  Rain. No exercise, busy st work. Watched first episode of new series Adult Material. Bit of an eye opener! 

Tues Oct 13

J and Kate did Helm Crag (J is pictured below on one of their walks). Cloudy. Gym and shopping.  Gym.  Laughed at a survey where the top Google questions asked about the UK from different countries were examined.  Top of the list was "why do the British have bad teeth?"

Weds Oct 14

Sunny start. After meetings left at 11. 30 to drive to the office in Cambridge,  first time since Feb! We were given individual slots to go in to collect personal items from our office, which is to be renovated. Very strange atmosphere - deserted. A plate of nuts still on a desk. Quick stop off at Tesco, like old times.  Went home. Started Inhuman Resources,  serial with Eric Cantona  (enjoyed it). 

Thursday Oct 15

Covid news: London moving into tier 2, high risk. Households can only socialise outdoors. Went to gym. Still a bit tired after Tuesday's session.  Finished Inhuman Resources. Started book about  Barbara Amiel (read my review here). Watched extraordinary documentary My Octopus Teacher on Netflix. 

Friday Oct 16

Had long sleep as I fell asleep at 8.30pm and woke up at normal time 6am. Must have been tired. Haven't had any walks this week. Just too busy with work. John came back today, a day earlier than planned. Fridge was delivered.

Sat Oct 17

Did my fave walk then Epping and shopping. 

Sun Oct 18

Walked to PP. Sorted out bulb containers  in front garden.   Gammon for lunch but couldn't understand why it was still pink after being cooked for a long time. Then remembered that gammon stays pink, unlike pork!  Watched two episodes of Wanted.

Mon Oct 19

Did walk 4 miles, Connaught water in Epping forest (top picture). Weather quite mild. Quiet day. During night woke up v hot. Radiator was on, although heating had switched off on timer hours earlier. Had to open windows as I couldn't switch radiator off.

Tues Oct 20

Cloudy, mild. Gym.  Covid test came. Have been invited to take part in a research project where I take the test at home. It's to see how many people have Covid without symptoms.  

Weds Oct 21

Raining. Did 4 mile walk in new waterproof trousers, which worked perfectly. J ordered a new TV. 

Thursday Oct 22

Did Covid test. Sunny. Courier supposed to collect test before 6pm but didn't come. Falafels and salad

Friday Oct 23

Rearranged collection. The sample is OK in a fridge for 7 days. Walked to gym. Warm. Usual fish and chips. Sample was unexpectedly collected at 6.45 (had been rebooked for Mon). Started Barbarians, Netflix. 

Sat Oct 24

Did favourite walk of Yates meadow.  Feeling tired. Did shopping in Epping.  New TV delivered.  Watched Bill Murray film On the Rocks. 7 out of 10. Sausages and jacket potato.

Sun Oct 25

Kept the day free for household chores. Managed to plant some bulbs and prepare a bed for a bare root rose I'm expecting. Roast chicken.  

Mon Oct 26

Short walk although weather lovely. Heart wasn't in it. 

Tues Oct 27

My #7DaySkirtChallenge started on Instagram. Look out for a blog post featuring all the skirts tomorrow, 3 Nov.  Negative Covid result. Rained. Gym. 

Weds 28 Oct 

Did 4 mile walk, Yates. A strange contraption has appeared, like an old rusty motor bike. Has label saying forest police are aware.  Entire meadow now mown. Sunny. Got very wet later.

Thurs Oct 29

Had an amusing email about a post I wrote in 2004 on my old blog about Epicure piccalilli, which had been discontinued years before.  The new owners of the brand would like me to try it.  No exercise. today. Got v windy.

Friday Oct 30

Walked to gym. Rest of day was working. Bare root rose, Gabriel Oak, came.  I couldn't resist a rose named after the hero in one of my favourite books.

Sat 31 Oct 

Halloween but no kids called. Govt announced whole of UK going back into lockdown on Thursday for a month. That's my birthday dinner (Sat) up the spout. Rained so didn't do the shopping as usual.

I hope your month was more exciting than mine! And things won't be any better for November with the lockdown for a month (at least). 

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Goodbye to Lockdown - In London At Least

For the last few months I've been describing Lockdown Life in England as part of my normal Sentence a Day.  Now, in August 2020, we are largely out of lockdown, although regional flare-ups mean parts of the north had measures reimposed. We still have some restrictions in place around how many people are supposed to meet in gardens and houses; we wear face coverings in shops and on public transport, and most theatres are still dark. Holidays abroad are difficult because we have to quarantine on return from most countries for 14 days. This week children finally return to school.