Back before last Christmas I had the usual problem of not knowing what to buy Mr C as a festive gift. Whenever I ask him for ideas for gifts he always comes out with the same answer - "A Porsche please!" Faced with this usual dilemma I went to google for some ideas. One thing that jumped out at me as a possibility was a driving experience and I was lucky enough to find a special offer with Drivers' Dream Days for a Porsche vs Ferrari Experience.Today Mr C and I headed up to Bruntingthorpe Proving Ground near Lutterworth in Leicestershire for him to ... read more
Pizza for supper
Mr C and I are rather caught up at the moment in trying to buy a house. With the current "credit crunch" situation here in the UK, it is far from the best time to be trying to do this. We've been wanting to take the next step in the housing ladder for a while now to allow us to start thinking about a family a bit further down the line. It's not easy though and the last week in particular has been quite stressful.We finally got to put an offer in on a place today though. The first offer was rejected (not unexpectedly) and we're currently waiting to hear back on our revised ... read more
Friendship and childhood memories
After work tonight I met up with three friends at a bar next to the Thames. This was three women that I used to work with at former employer. I see two of them quite regularly, the third only every so often. This was the first time in three years that all four of us had managed to get together. It was fantastic! Catching up with and making time for people is so important. No one is going to write on our gravestone about how many hours we spent at work, or our dedication to our job, yet sometimes taking time out from work to do things like this can be more difficult than it should. One thing ... read more
Lunch in the sunshine
This weekend sees the end of the two week long St Albans Food and Drink Festival. There have been a variety of events around the city over the two weeks, but today was the first real chance for Mr C and I to see what was going on. Today there were a series of outdoor events and luckily the weather stayed dry for them. An al fresco food court was set up along side a stage celebrating World Music Day (which I thought was in June?) and some of the city's restaurants were serving up "outdoor takes" on their usual menus. When Mr C and I arrived, just after 12 noon, many of the chefs were still ... read more
If laughter is the food of love…
Mr C and I have been real party animals this week. Out on two work nights - almost unheard of! Tonight we visited one of St Albans' new restaurants: Stonegrill St Albans. The slightly different thing at this restaurant is that your meat, fish or vegetables are served to your table whilst cooking on superheated natural volcanic stones! (apologies for the poor photo) It's a slightly strange experience, and a bit smokey at times, but certainly gave the steak that I had a completely different taste to normal. I understand that Stonegrill is a chain, so if there is one near you then I'd certainly ... read more
Laughter – the best medicine
After an awful journey home from work, Mr C and I tonight went to see Jimmy Carr at the Alban Arena here in St Albans as part of his Repeat Offender tour. Fantastically funny. Very rude and totally wrong in parts, but still made me laugh until I ached. If you haven't seen him live then do so if you get the chance. Well worth it! ... read more