All Dug Up

L gives me an early lift down to the train station. I’m catching the 6:52 down to London again and staying over again in the Holiday Inn at Swiss Cottage.

Last night there was another terror attack, this time on a mosque. Finsbury Park, where it was, is just two stops away on the tube from where I’m working. Just don’t tell L.

I arrive on site to find that they are digging drainage trenches on one of the weighbridges which will now be unusable for a week. I knew about this but wasn’t told it was going to take this long, so it’s going to be another frustrating day.

At least we get the other weighbridge up and working completely. There’s just not a lot I can do about the one they’ve dug up.

Back home L has an overnight guest, Daughter, who is looking for a cool spot as her flat is so warm in this unseasonably hot weather. The dogs, I’m sure, will recommend to her the slate floor in the hall for that very reason.

Meanwhile I’m on the Stella in the hotel. Sadly there’s not much choice in this hotel but I do get a proper (pale) beer later in the North Star.

(Monday 19^th June)

Inconclusive

I bike into work and then go for a bit of a lunchtime trot \ fitness test. Inconclusive...

L is out Beat Boxing again, she’s even spending her lunchtime doing it. She’s just so trying to beat me. I shall do some tonight as I have a free evening. Although as I suspected you get points even if you scan the same box twice which somewhat takes the challenge out of it. It doesn’t seem worth heading off into deeper darker rarely explored areas of Nottingham when I could just redo the ones I’ve already done. Some folk will simply rack up a huge score just by walking between the same few boxes every day, day after day.

However my evening beat box adventure doesn’t go to plan. First I am delayed only ten minutes after leaving work by a puncture, just as L texts to say she’s mopped up another two on her to the train station. Having fixed my puncture and I then get as far as Broxtowe before it goes down again. I blame the state of my totally bald tyre, so I abort the beat boxing after a grand total of zero and head home to order a new tyre off Wiggle.

Then it’s a night of home alone, just me and the boys. L texts to see if we are ok from a bar in Manchester where she is drinking cocktails and eating Marmite Chips. Yuk. Perhaps we have the better of it as we order an Indian Takeaway from the Bhaji Takeaway.

After the traumas it caused him (and by consequence, me) the last time L left him, Doggo copes well this time. For me, it’s a bit lonely in the bed with just the two of us there but MD seems to like the extra space.

(Friday 6^th May)

Prosecco

I’ve had a fairly manic week but the manic weekend belongs to L.

I hot foot it from Bingham to catch L doing the Beeston Parkrun before she heads off to Manchester to spend the day with Daughter. Tomorrow we’re both off to London.

She shares the train with a Prosecco swilling hen party, clearly starting early, and when she arrives in Manchester it is apparently freezing. It’s almost tropical here where I'm left with the boys, chucking balls, before heading to the match where Derby win at home for the first time this season.

We collect her from the train station later. This always has to be timed to perfection as free parking is restricted to 30 minutes. So ideally you need to arrive as late as possible before meeting the train so as not to burn off your allocated time too soon.

If you fail you have to come out of the car park and go back in, to get a fresh ticket and another 30 minutes. I’ve done that a few times and you see countless others doing the same. Perhaps just make it 45 minutes eh? Or even an hour? Because it would still only benefit those dropping off or picking up. If you’re actually catching a train to go somewhere you’ll easily take longer than that. 

(Saturday 3^rd October)

An Emotional Reunion

While in Manchester L becomes a park run tourist and then heads home nursing blisters on her hands from the ape walks she did last night. This was in an exercise class and without the aid of alcohol apparently. What did they get up to?

It is our first dog show for some months today and MD clearly relished the return to competition with a clear round in his first run. We are 7^th, missing the rosettes by two places.

In fact the little tyke is very good all day and it’s not often I say that. His other two runs weren’t clear but they were still very good. We missed a contact as I pushed him for a quick time (so my fault) and then had a pole down in the other.

We even finish before lunch and are home in time to listen to Derby’s 1-1 draw at Norwich. Then we head off to the train station for an emotional on platform reunion with L.

(Saturday 14^th March)