The first week started with the car park at work being handed over to the TV crew who handle the coverage of the Test Match, so I was having to park at County Hall and walk over to Trent Bridge House. This was pleasant in the mornings and was something of a relief in the afternoons after a day spent in the glass sided sealed box that serves as the office. At one point we had 12 fans going, but all they did was move the humid hot air around the box we were sat in. Temperatures reached 30C by mid afternoon on a couple of days. Unfortunately, there's no windows to open and the air handling system was off because of refurbishment work up on floors 8 and 9, so floor 3 was a sauna. Working from home on Friday meant that I was not caught up in the Test Match crowds and I could have windows open to provide a breeze while I drafted flow charts for asbestos management processes.
The weekend was a relaxed affair. On Saturday we went into town and mooched around in the sunshine, visiting the stalls in the Market Place (where Sonia found a sunhat that fitted her) and Waterstones bookshop. We also bought some presents for Jane and Lauren's forthcoming birthdays before heading over the Browns Restaurant for lunch. It was like being on holiday, sat in my shorts on a terrace under an parasol eating olives and salads while sipping drinks. We eventually headed home and spent a relaxing time sat in the garden. I must confess we did watch most of the Eurovision song contest that evening. I did notice that some countries were trying harder than others not to win to avoid the cost of putting on next years "competition". Ireland's choice of Jedward was inspired, I believe, by the Father Ted "My Lovely Horse" episode.
Sunday was just as warm and we went out to lunch in West Bridgford to celebrate Jane's birthday with a carvery lunch The West End. We decided to travel by bus rather than try to park in West Bridgford while there was a test match on, and with some places charging £10 it was a good move. The bus got us to Central Avenue by 12 and, as we were not due to meet up until 1230, we popped into the Stratford Haven for a cooling half (just to get out of the sun, honest). The meal was good (beef, lamb and pork for me) and it was great to chat to David, Jane and Lauren. We caught the bus home, stopping off in the Poacher for another cooling drink and to see if any friends were about. As they weren't we went home to relax.
The second week started with the final day of the Test Match which saw England (428 & 111-1) beat the West Indies (370 & 165) by nine wickets. Finishing the match a day early meant we got the car park back on Thursday rather than the Friday we had been told to expect. The temperature was almost as high as the previous week, the office thermometers agreeing on about 28C but as we all started to think about the forthcoming Jubilee Bank Holiday 4 day weekend, the temperature started to drop over the course of the week and the weather forecasters mentioned the possibility of rain.
I was lucky enough to have a training course booked at Rufford Mill on the Tuesday so I was able to avoid the sauna for one day, and for once I learnt something new on a Management course. Previous Management training courses with the County Council have covered issues that I dealt with in a daily basis over the 20+ years I was a Unison steward, convenor and branch officer. It looks like I am now getting to the stage where the rules are starting to change from those I helped negotiate. Whilst it meant that the training course was interesting (the chance to find out new things is always stimulating), it reminded me how long I have been "out of the game".
Sonia and I had booked the Friday off before the Bank Holiday but I was still up as usual because the car had to go in for its 1 year service despite having under 2000 miles on the clock. This keeps up the warrantee and the RAC membership that the Co-Op Nissan dealership provided when I bought the car. While sat waiting for the garage to do their thing, Sonia had done the shopping and the washing up, and had arranged for us to go out for the day to Rufford Country Park with Helen, her two children Rosa and Alex, and Chris a friend who has retired from the Library service to become a "lady of leisure". Although the day was overcast, it wasn't too cold and keeping the kids entertained kept us warm. A lot of fun was had watching cars go through the ford by Rufford Mill and I spent some time "supervising" the kids while Helen was able to have a sit down "grown ups" chat with Sonia and Chris without constantly having to check on the children. Here's some pics of the splashes...
Friday night saw the arrival of the latest member of the Gill clan. Lilly Margaret Gill was born at 21:43 weighing in at 6.5lbs in Leicester. Sonia's brother Stephen (the proud father) rang to let us know that Jodie and Lilly were fine. He's going to have his hands full in the years ahead being the father of two daughters.
Saturday was overcast as well so we drove out to Hollybeck Nurseries at Oxton to pick up a few plants, to get some ideas about replacing the lawn with veg beds, and to look for some finials to stop the pigeons landing on the trellis posts. On the way home we dropped in to Brookfields Garden Centre and bought a caged bird feeder to see if that would stop the squirrel and pigeons emptying the large bird feeder and give the sparrows, finches and tits a chance. After lunch we then visited B&Q and Homebase to see if they could provide any finial inspiration but without any luck.
It's Sunday morning of a Bank Holiday weekend, and the weather forecasters were right...the rain has arrived so it will probably be an "indoors" day. There's a joint of beef to roast, some programmes on the TiVo, and a boat pageant on the Thames to watch on TV. Let's hope the weather dries up for the "tea party" at Martin and Nic's tomorrow afternoon.
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