Friday 29 July 2016

Day 2404 (28/07/2016)

Basically back to work and finishing off the Mexican in the evening.

I was still clearing some work, so in the evening my wife drove to Bristol and back to see her mum who is still in hospital.





Day 2403 (27/07/2016)

A day mixed of emotion as most years; for although it is my birthday it will firstly always be the day we lost Kim.

It is 5 years since she died and we all miss her so much. She would have loved how the kids have grown up and the people they have become. I miss being able to argue about politics with her, which was water of a ducks back to both of us. I am sure she would be supporting Corbyn and would love the fact that he has dragged me back towards Labour, the party of war criminals as I always referred to them as after the Blair years.

The EU vote would have provided the background to many a conversation.

all so very sad.

In the morning I had a very personalised Google page :-)


I saw my accountant in the morning, then went into town to buy a proper splint for my finger and some Sushi for lunch.



Then we went to Bridgwater in the afternoon to put some fresh flowers on the grave before going to my Mum & Dad's for tea & birthday cake, which was a giant chocolate bourbon.


I had fancied Mexican for dinner but the Mexican restaurant was closed, so I bought some stuff for a bit of a Mexican Feast.


It was great.



Day 2402 (26/07/2016)

A day spent still trying to catch-up with work, with a bad finger.

Highlight of the day was the car wash :-)



I'm easily pleased.


Day 2401 (25/07/2016)

Last night in bed I was asleep but remember having a really itchy ear. I scratched in with my left index finger and remember it going pop and hurting but went back to sleep. When I woke up in the morning the end of my finger had bent in.


It wasn't especially painfully and upon researching it I have discovered it is caused "mallet finger" but was too busy to go to hospital just to have it taped up or a splint fitted, so made one from taping up a business card.


What could possibly go wrong.

I cancelled going away tonight and tomorrows training to be with my wife but let her drive to Bristol by herself, so I could get on with my work.



Tuesday 26 July 2016

Day 2399 & 2400 (23 & 24/07/2016)

The day started with me catching up on my work, opening my new box of memory sticks,


and having a nice breakfast.


Then the whole weekend took a bit of an nasty turn as my mother-in-law was hit by a slow moving car and ended up in the BRI with a fractured knee.

We spent most of the weekend there, although as it turns out she didn't need an operation in the end but was put in a large leg brace and now faces a couple of months of physiotherapy and of taking it easy. It also really brought home how old and frail she is, which isn't easy on anyone involved.

The BRI now has a few shops in the receptions are, nice tasty ones like Costa & M&S and useful ones like W H Smith, where they stock those last minutes essentials for your stay in hospital.


Strange but true, although I suppose it cold have been a bit worse.

Plus whilst its never a good time to be hanging around a hospital, this really wasn't a good week to spend in the BRI, as it's the anniversary of Kim being in there.



Day 2398 (22/07/2016)

If I was catching a flight in the UK I have to be at the airport at least 2hrs before but in Bacau my flight was at 8:30am and my alarm was set to 6:40am. Then a showrr and pack, pay the bill and get in a taxi by 7:30am and then to the airport for 7:45am and I was still in the queue to drop of my bag and get thru security.

Then bag on to the rented Bulgarian plane, where the stewardesses were dressed in in denim dresses with denim jackets.


Hardly the look for 2016 but perhaps it is still the height of fashion in Eastern Europe.

I was flying with my business partner, so was unable to sleep the whole was as normal as he wanted to discuss things.

Then into Luton and after a long wait for my bags and my car it was a long drive home.

Then a bit of a relax in the evening.



Day 2397 (21/07/2016)

Another day in the office, training our new investigators and also meeting with the chaps (they aren't all male) in our IT department (well I share them with Richard's other company but there is 7 or 8 of them, mostly working on our new products) talking about the development of our new products.

If this work out this will be where the money is, so fingers crossed.

Then in the evening another business meeting over a few beers and a pizza.





Monday 25 July 2016

Day 2396 (20/07/2016)

Another day in the office, then in the evening we interviewed someone to help run our team in Romania (that sounds perhaps more impressive than it actually is at present but Richard has grand plans).

We were holding the interview in a different bar but as soon as it finished I ordered a pizza as I was starving.


It was quite nice but not as good as the one at the start of the week.

Already this is a much better visit than a few months ago.



Day 2395 (19/07/2016)

Up early (well Romania is 2hrs ahead of the UK) then into the office to train some more staff for the next three days.


They seem OK, well loads better than the last one.

In the evening we were just having another meeting and were about to order another pizza when we got invited to a friends of Richards, who was doing a Sunday roast. The guy is English and runs a bar (which I visited the last time I was here) and he did a nice roast beef, which went well with far too many beers.



Day 2394 (18/07/2016)

It was a really early start and drive to Luton. The only good thing was that I got a nice breakfast at Frankie & Benny's.


Then annoyingly the plane we were flying in had been changed, so the seat with the extra leg room at the front of the plane that I had paid extra for was no longer there, so they gave me a completely different seat, next to a window at the back of the plane.



Thankfully I slept for most of the journey.

They had been having a really hot spell in Bacau but it was raining heavily when I arrived.

Then off to the hotel, where i ended up in the same room as last time. Then off to meet Richard my business partner for a meeting in our usual venue, in the pub opposite the sex shop.



We had some very nice pizzas delivered from next door.


The best food I have had in Romania.



Sunday 17 July 2016

Day 2392 & 2393 (16 & 17/07/2016)

Thomas is 22, that's has flown by and I don't think any of us have changed that much.


In the afternoon we went of for a meal at The Worlds End with my parents.





Then back to ours for Tea & Birthday Cake.


And then he was gone back to London :-(


Sunday was a mixture of relaxing day and mad rush to get ready for going away for the week.




Saturday 16 July 2016

Day 2391 (15/07/2016)

It was nice to have a bit of a lie-in today after yesterdays 5:45am alarm call.

Nice to have haircut as it was already getting long and I'm in Romania all next week.



In the evening we went to Sumo for some Sushi for a pre-birthday meal for Thomas.




It was a very nice meal and great company, nice to be back with these two.



Day 2390 (14/07/2016)

A very early start and train into London for The Centre For Investigative Journalism, to give a few presentations at their Summer School at Goldsmiths.





The talks were well received but it was a very long day but nice that both kids are home, so now we are all together for a couple of days.


Day 2389 (13/07/2016)

A busy day at home working, preparing for going back to London to do another presentation tomorrow.

I noticed I have more strange people following me on Twitter, maybe my wife told them to, which would be a worry as I'm not going to get the lucky twice (especially as Kylie is now off the market).


We had a nice family curry in the evening, just like the good old days.





Day 2388 (12/07/2016)

Not too an early of a start but I had to catch a train to London, to give a presentation in the afternoon.


They laid on a few cakes & biscuits which was nice but I did have to share them and only had a chance to have a couple :-(


It all went fine and was well received but still nowhere to really sit down and have some nice food at Paddington, so had some bagals.



I got home in the evening and Thomas has returned for a few days, which is great.



Day 2387 (11/07/2016)

A busy day, a busy week, with lots to do before tomorrows presentation in London.

Kim's old house went on the market today.




It would have been nice to keep it, for a few reason, as a sort of pension if nothing else; however even though we have had someone in there the whole time, meaning we didn't have to worry about paying the mortgage, there has been a constant worry of what goes wrong next in the house, with the bills that go along with that.

As we are not keen or competent DIY'ers ourselves I don't property management is for us.

Hopefully it will sell quickly and we can pay everything off and start a fresh and move on with planning for the future.


Day 2385 & 2386 (09 & 10/07/2016)

It was a fairly busy weekend, with lots of work to do.

I made a nice roast beef on the Sunday.



Then we sat down o watch the final of the Euro, which it would be fair to say I lost.

Well played those Bremain Boys.