Unexpected

L starts the week not in work but in the gym and then at Derby Book Club who are meeting at the Dubrek Studios on Bridge Street after being kicked out of Quad which no longer opens during the week. I’m also in Derby for my cycling. 

L’s Mum rings at midnight to say she isn't very well and has called an ambulance but it’s going to be three hours. So L drives over but when she gets there the ambulance has beat her to it. The paramedics diagnose stomach pains and L drops her at A&E where she is until lunchtime when she is given a clean bill of health. 

I’m out on Tuesday night for a few beers in the Alexandra with my old school friend, then we’re at the Viceroy for their £20 meal deal. Meanwhile I’m not showing much interest in Derby losing on penalties at Orient in their rearranged FA Cup tie meaning they miss out on a nice payday against Manchester City in Round 4. 

L is actually in work on Wednesday but then at yoga. In between she goes on a successful Markies hunt as Sainsburys’ no longer sells them. The Lad will be so pleased when he gets home from dog training.

Thursday is L’s usual unpalatable day in Derby. 

The weather has warmed up a bit from last week and the snow hasn’t stuck around but there is still one solitary Snowman / Snowblob hanging on there on the park. Just. 

On Friday L heads to Stockport on the train for some tests for Biobank, the long-term medical study we got involved in. I drive up in the car after work. We have booked in overnight at the Duke of York pub and I meet her there. It’s a nice cheap room with no breakfast or evening meal on offer but an ample supply of Robinson’s 8.5% Old Tom Barley Wine on hand pull. That’s L's night sorted. While I opt to dilute mine with a few pints of Cumbria Way, L has hers straight. We then walk the Lad to the local chippy for tea and bring it back to our room. 

Naturally we are here not just for Biobank and the unexpected Old Tom but for Parkrun which is at Woodband. It’s a nice course, if a bit hilly e.g. downhill with a dog is not the best. It also scores highly for having a nice cafe, that does breakfast, takes dogs and has real mugs. Then we drive home. 

My dad seems to have had a fall, not that he's admitting to anything, and is not very good at all. He decides to skip the match, which he never does, and I watch Derby lose 2-0 to Watford on my own. Everyone asks about him as it’s so rare for him to miss a match. I then bring him back to Nottingham where it’s warmer, e.g. although we don't describe our heating system as 'State of the Art' like he does it was at least installed after 1970, and we can give me a decent meal. He stays over. 

L goes out for another run on Sunday morning covering 7k consisting of the parkrun course plus the distance there and back. We do a joint gym later. 

(Sunday 19^th January)