Monday as always

Lovely sunny morning, but hard to get out of bed as usual on a Monday. Hub had cleared up some of the kitchen and it was the sort of day when I wanted to go and drink my coffee in the garden and eat fresh fruit and muesli like they do in books. Instead no time to brew so only instant and I don't like muesli!

No leisure either - just enough time to look out the back door and realise some creature has eaten my parsley! I pottered for three hours or so yesterday checking out all the patio pots and plants, moving seedlings and herbs, dead heading and re planting and making sure that all the little seedlings in the greenhouse have a reasonable chance of survival while we are away. Two of my little transplantlings, my parsley, have been munched! Swine, the lot of them!

Anyway, just at the point I left the house I realised that the car is due its MOT today and that they are picking it up between 9 and 10. It is now 8.50, so no chance of being on time, given the usual traffic and also the diversion from junction 25's roadworks. As I got to work, Jill in reception was trying to get hold of me, and said in exasperation when I got there that did I know my voicemail wasn't working! Yes Jill, I know! Only been trying to sort this out for the last 4 weeks after they got rid of Teleware...

Then spent a long meeting with one of our main suppliers. This is in my old role (as per last week) where I am treated as a grown up and representing marketing and commercial information. Three hours of negotiation and very productive. Later on to a meeting for the new team at which I introduce myself as working for BI for 19 years - sorry, worked - have a team which looks after credit and marketing - need past tense again - and it became clear once again that we have been given no indication of what we are to be doing in the new regime even though they are saying business as usual. How can it be BAU when I have lost half my team and only a third of the work?

Next Mr Marie tells me he wants to move to a new role which, if it had come up before he applied to work for me, would have been ideal for him. So I now have a team where I have lost the two most experienced members, I am left with a relative novice, a vacancy, a potential leaver and me - and I am on holiday followed by jury service for a couple of weeks. And then they wonder why I get so angry at the way they leave our clients exposed!

Finally to the dentist for yet another tooth out - one of the ones which didn't fall out on its own, which therefore costs £239! - and a discussion about implants. expensive pain, by the sounds of it. Will be having X rays and all sorts in June, to plan how to proceed.

Then home to find that the plumber has left the tenant with no fire, one radiator downstairs which doesn't work, no way of controlling the temperature upstairs, a noisy boiler and no shower!

Will be meeting him tomorrow at 6 to go through it all. Ho Hum. Typical Monday.

Tomorrow has to be better, right??

April is hot, Hot HOT!

It's official. This April has been the hottest in the UK for nearly 350 years. Apparently there have been weather records kept in the Central England area since 16 something, and this April is about 5 degrees hotter than any yet recorded. Also, if you take the last twelve months rolling temperatures then it has been about 3 degrees hotter.

The new Old Market Square has been open in Nottingham for the last few weeks and I was there this morning on my way to have my hair cut. The tram dropped me off fifteen minutes early, the sun was shining and I had a fag left in my handbag from last night, purloined last minute off Perks. So I crossed the granite, all splintery sunlight, and sat by a flowerbed and watched the kids playing in the fountain. Only a couple of them at that time, but running through the arches of water and getting thoroughly soaked! The fountain has been designed for children to play in, it's like a huge paddling pool, and the kids don't need asking twice, they are straight in there, running through, underneath, jumping the jets, splashing each other, it's wonderful. Doesn't matter how old they are, they lose all "street" when they get in, and just get wet instead, faces stretched wide and laughs flying high.

There were vintage cars, buses and tractors in the square advertising an event due at Wollaton hall next weekend, and a hurdy gurdy organ, just the perfect sound track. So I sat and smoked, and just looked. Brilliant.

Then walked to have my hair done. They have finished the street repairs on Castle Gate, it's looking good. I stopped and looked in the window of the wine merchants - nice bottle of Margaux in a gift box. Thought I might buy it for Hub, but depends how much the trim costs. Don't have to wait long when I get in, I swear too that the gowns they make you wear have got bigger. I never know quite whether to put it on like a coat to fasten at the front, or like a hospital gown to fasten at the back, so always stand like some imbecile waiting to be dressed! Finally get velcroed and tied in, and sit down in front of the mirror. Instantly you can see every single grey hair sprouting from the top of my head and I look as though I haven't bothered with make up. What is is about the lights in here? Last time, when having my hair washed, I seemed to be positioned right underneath one of the halogen things, and had an aura round everything I looked at for the next ten minutes.

I get shampooed from the Laminates range. Apparently this will help keep my hair sleek. Ho hum, first time for everything I guess. The lass who washes this time is a perky little thing, about 12, and full of chatter about the sun and what I did last night, and what I'm doing tonight. Then she hands me over the Ruth. I am Ruth's Client, Perky is Ruth's Washer, and there is always the Audience, who stand and watch whatever she does when she cuts and blowdries, waiting for the skill to be absorbed into their own repertoir. Within the salon, there are always those with Client, Washer and Audience.

Ruth is incredibly slim, trendy, blonde and friendly. Thank God for the last, or I wouldn't be able to bring myself to expose my grey. This time we don't go for straightened, as I can't maintain it like that anyway, and I want to see what she can do with the curls rather than trying to beat them into submission.

Problem is, it doesn't take as long, so I feel slightly less pampered than usual when I leave, so buy myself the Laminates shampoo and conditioner to make up for it. (This comes to £26 on its own without the cost of the cut - bloody hell, what am I doing???) This means I can't afford the Margaux for Hub.

Still, by the time I get back to the market square to catch the tram, the sun is still shining, there are more people than ever just enjoying themselves, and even more kids in the fountain. They have trousers rolled up, shoes and socks off and some of them are just plain soaking, but what fun.

By this time a dance troupe of some sort have set up on a raised platform and are jiving to rock and roll which clashes gloriously with the Can Can being played on the hurdy-gurdy.

Back on the tram and home via the supermarket. Tell you what, when Hub sees the Bhaji and Samosa combination I get him off the deli counter, I won't feel bad about the Margaux anymore!