Categories: uncategorized
Date: 03 January 2009 20:15:56
Well, we've started January with a vengeance. OK, so January 1st was a bit of a disaster - apart from being very relaxing as we both just veged for most of the day in a vegetating sort of way. But today we've been amazing!
We started with an early morning. We've got to start acclimatising ourselves to 6am starts instead of 9am ones before Monday catches us unawares. Fed, washed, dressed, and out into the frosty morning for a game of badminton! It was great fun. By booking the earliest session we managed to get the whole sports hall to ourselves, which was probably just as well considering the way the shuttlecocks were flying over everyone's court but our own! I am pretty out of practise, and the Smudgelet has only ever played when we've been at the gite in France, that being on a waterlogged and rather bump-ridden lawn with no markings which makes it more akin to mud-wrestling than anything. But we had a grand old time. I thrashed him soundly twice, but by the end of the hour he was getting far more accurate (i.e. actually able to hit the thing!) and had discovered that perhaps my suggestion that he'd play better left-handed could possibly (heaven forbid) be right.
From there, we drove into town to see whether we could buy a new charger for the Smudgelet's remote control hovercraft. He doesn't have much luck with remote control thingies. He's hardly used the hovercraft he had last Christmas as it takes ages to charge and the battery only runs for eight minutes - even less now as I think we accidentally threw the charger out when we tidied his bedroom. There were no chargers in, but the fellow at Maplin was lovely and reserved one for him. We managed to spend less than an hour queueing in the Post Office, and for once the counter clerk was actually quite pleasant, and called at the bank and BHS (new school socks and a replacement pink shirt for the one that was in the direct firing line when the Smudgelet did his high-velocity puke from the top bunk) , and were home in time for lunch.
The bad news for the day was that there was a final demand for the water bill for my Dad's bungalow. Two years later! I know we paid it, but I've not really kept my papers in order and proving it's going to be a nightmare. So that's Monday accounted for - a frantic search through mountains of paper in search of evidence, and I can't remember which account I paid from or whether indeed I paid by credit card or cheque or what.
Thence we returned to the leisure centre. I don't know why they call it leisure - I think torture chamber would be more appropriate. This time I tackled the gym. I am rather pleased with how I'm getting fitter, even if the weight just hasn't shifted (or rather, shifted and then shifted back!), and managed better on every single thing I tried with the exception of the rowing machine. I can't believe this used to be my favourite - I gave up after 500m today! And did I then go and lie down to recover? Not a bit of it. From the gym I returned to the pool where the Smudgelet was waiting for me and I managed 22 lengths virtually non-stop.
From the torture chamber it was straight into the car and back into town to the supermarket to stock up with essentials. Well, mostly essentials. No, all essentials. I mean, we couldn't leave a 2-DVD pack of March of the Penguins and Happy Feet sitting unloved and unwanted on the sales rack now, could we? I was a bit perplexed when I sent the Smudgelet to pay for it and he was told that under 16s aren't allowed to purchase DVDs - after all, they were U films - but I rejoined the lengthy queue to get it for him (honest, for him!) which proved a good cheer-up as he ran to the car and went a right purler over one of those ridiculous bollardy-rampy-thingies they hide between the car parking spaces, ripping his trousers and his knee both to shreds.
So now here we are at home.
I think I need to go to bed now.