Weekends

Crane, Norfolk, July 2011

The May Day Bank Holiday weekend started after work on Friday with a drive to Southampton, checking into an ancient, run-down (but clean) hotel, and almost immediately driving to a gig to see Alabama 3.

Mr A and I arrived at the venue a little late, and when we reached the door into the main room I wondered if we would ever get inside. There was a wall of people, but somehow we squeezed in and found a small space towards the back. The gig had started but I don't think we were very late. We each had just enough room to stand, and of course the tallest man in the room was in front of me - when he started jigging about it was time to beat a retreat in case he reversed into me and caused a nosebleed. Standing at the back was not much better - it was a frequently used through-route and we were constantly having to let people pass. Which was annoying. As were the group of people who seemed to have come for a good chat rather than to listen to the music. So all in all it would have been better had we arrived a little bit earlier.

It was nice to go out in the evening like 'ordinary' people do - it's been a long time since we've treated ourselves to this kind of event. The following day we visited Mr A's parents, and found his mother's dementia has reached the point where she struggles to put a sentence together. They are still managing to live together successfully at home, although I'm not sure how long that can last. Then on to Mr B and his wife and dog and a nice local walk from where we viewed the Isle of Wight and the Needles, and finally to friends J&C for a Chinese takeaway followed by pub (Mr A & J) or chat (me & C).

And back home on Sunday, with all of Monday to enjoy the Bank Holiday. As it counts as a weekend, I was in charge of the Catering Department, and I thought I would forsake Jamie Oliver for once and produce the Ultimate Lamb Biryani (from the Ultimate Recipe Book). The book said it would take 3 hours, but somehow I didn't take this seriously. I did little else that day, and it was a good lamb biryani, but not that good. The Great God Jamie clearly punishes those who forsake Him.

This weekend has been mainly spent in mundane tasks: yesterday contained laundry, a large amount of washing up, food shopping, cooking and then we watched an excellent film that I can wholeheartedly recommend: 'The Guard'. Today I have mostly been trying to renew/upgrade the contracts I have for mobile phone, landline and broadband, which I find fairly difficult and quite tedious. I finally completed the process of negotiation for the mobile contract, and a new touchscreen phone is on its way, my first foray into modern mobile communications. Along with the return to contact lenses, this was supposed to be a luxury that I allow myself as a result of having a job, but in fact the deal is no more expensive than my previous phone contract. The landline/broadband deal is still under negotiation.

Weekends are proving difficult for me. I work much harder in my current job than I have done in any previous jobs, with no down-time during the day other than a 30-minute lunch break. What with badminton on two nights a week, I'm very tempted to do nothing at all at the weekend other than a few easy household chores, food shopping and cooking, which I enjoy. But there are many other jobs that need doing - Mr A mowed the lawn, which was nice, but there is more to do in the garden and all sorts of repair and decoration that would make our house look a good deal better. I need to make a bit more effort during weekends at home.