On the 6th of this month, it was time for another trip up north to visit Kieran and family, this time to celebrate his birthday. After he’d finished work that evening, Dad picked me and T up and took us, via McDonald’s, to the airport. As Mum was up in London attending another hospital appointment, I’d said I’d make it easier for everyone and get McDonald’s for them for tea. As I was feeling hungry, I decided to have some too. Dad had a cheese & bacon burger, chips and a toffee latte; T had a cheese burger, chips and coke 0; I had a cheese burger, chips, coke 0 and galaxy salted caramel mini McFlurry; between us we shared 20 nuggets. By the time I’d finished my ice cream, we were cutting it pretty fine for getting to the airport. However, I was checked in and through security in record speed so still early for departure. We’d arrived at the airport at 7:01 and I was sat at the gate by 7:17. Unfortunately, the plane was delayed. It landed late coming in from Newcastle and then took ages to be prepared for the return flight. Special assistance staff Neil and Alison helped me through the airport and onto the plane. Onboard, we had captain Rebecca and cabin crew June. I of course took advantage of the complimentary shortbread and June brought me a cup of water so I could take my tablets. The flight was very smooth and despite our late departure we seemed to make up a bit of time, landing at 9:30. In arrivals, Kieran and John collected me.
When we arrived back at theirs, Lesley came out onto the drive with Wilson, who initially wasn’t too thrilled to see me, giving me his customary booming bark to let me know. However, once I was inside, he didn’t bark again. He wasn’t too keen on interacting with me but didn’t seem bothered by my presence. I was even surprised to find that when I came back downstairs from putting my bags in Kieran’s room, he didn’t bark at all. John had made a Hairy Bikers recipe for dinner; I can’t remember what it’s actually called but it’s a chicken, onion and cheesy potato thing that tastes lovely. We watched a documentary called The Real Anne, which shows the story of the mother of one of the Hillsborough disaster victims. During the week, there had been a dramatised version of the documentary, showing the whole story from the morning of the disaster onto all the campaigning for justice over all the years that have followed. The documentary had the actual family members of Anne and her son in it, rather than the actors and actresses who’d portrayed them. Both the documentary and the series itself were brilliantly done, very emotional.
The following morning, we had a lay in until 9:30, when Kieran really needed to start work. While I was in the shower, Wilson nudged his way into the bathroom. I was pretty glad I was in the actual shower, which is around the corner from the doorway, because Lesley came to check where he was. Later, Kieran had his shower and Wilson again invaded the bathroom, this time stealing Kieran’s boxers and wandering off with them. Downstairs, I started reading sir Tom Moore’s autobiography, Tomorrow Will Be A Good Day. A little while after, Kieran’s grandparents arrived for their usual Friday morning visit. It was great to see them again. I had a sandwich with some quiche for lunch.
Not long after lunch, the Wi-Fi broke, which didn’t make Kieran very happy. He spent quite a while trying to fix it and got it partially working before we left to go sofa shopping for the flat. Kieran and Lesley had picked one they liked when they’d gone looking not long after Christmas. It’s very nice, a three seater sofa with an armchair and storage foot stool. We decided to get it. The sales assistant said it could take up to 9 weeks to arrive, but should hopefully arrive sooner. On our way home, we popped by the flat. It’s getting much closer to being ready now. Lesley has picked a lovely carpet, very bouncy. It feels better with the carpet down and doors on as it seems less empty and isn’t echoey any more.
When we arrived back, Lesley took Wilson, who hadn’t barked at me any more, out for a walk. Later, we had a BBC Good Food recipe of chicken wrapped in posh ham (can’t be bothered to look up the proper spelling) with potatoes, green beans and olives. I’ve never tried olives before and am not sure I’m much of a fan. Lesley said I should do the daily olive test. After so many days of having one olive per day you realise you actually quite like them. We spent the evening watching QI, Swindon vs Manchester City FA cup 3rd round match (4-1 to Manchester City), Would I Lie To You, Mrs Brown’s Boys, 8 out of 10 Cats Does Count Down and the Graham Norton show.
Saturday meant it was Kieran’s 25th birthday. It was so great to actually be with him to celebrate his birthday this year. The pandemic and lockdown restrictions meant I couldn’t visit him last year for it and it’s always nice to share it with him. Lesley made us sausage sandwiches for breakfast. Around 12:30, we left to drive to Cramlington station to catch the train into Newcastle Central station. When we arrived, John and Kieran headed in one direction so they could go to the Newcastle vs Cambridge FA cup match taking place that afternoon from 3pm, while Lesley and I walked to Eldan Square so she could return a Christmas present to John Lewis. We got the delayed 14:59 train back to Cramlington. Once we arrived home, Lesley watched the Bake Off Christmas special and I continued to read my book while Rebecca was absorbed in playing Animal Crossing on her Nintendo Switch.
Later, Rebecca went and picked John and Kieran up from Cramlington station. Neither of them were very happy because Newcastle lost 1-0. When everyone was ready, we headed out for Kieran’s birthday meal at Sambuca’s. We got garlic bread and squid for starters. Then, Kieran and John had steak, Lesley had breaded chicken in a tomato sauce with vegetables and I had my usual tuna and garlic pizza. As always, it was lovely. Although, for the first time ever I didn’t finish it all — I was just too full. I even said no to Lesley’s homemade chocolate cake with butter cream. We spent the rest of the evening watching the end of the first episode of Ant and Dec’s new game show Limitless Win, a Pointless celebrity special, the John Bishop show and Man vs Food. When we went up to bed, which was passed midnight, Kieran finally opened my birthday presents to him and then, because it technically was, his anniversary presents. I think it’s fair to say that we really have had the best 6 years. I really can’t believe it’s been 6 years now since we took the risk on our great friendship and turned it into a relationship. Now, 6 years on, we’ve been engaged for 3 and a half years and are about to move in to live together. I can’t wait to see what the next 6 years bring.
While Kieran had been opening his presents, we stumbled upon the first potential blog title: “your house is creaking again”. Every night as everyone goes to bed and the house is cooling down, the pipes and radiator in Kieran’s room creak in exactly the same rhythm every time. However, that blog title didn’t stick because a better one came along…
On Sunday morning, we had another lie in. During the day, Kieran worked on his laptop, continuing to fix things to do with the Wi-Fi. Lesley and Rebecca gave Wilson, who wasn’t very pleased with the situation, a bath. He kept trying to dodge out of their way as they tried to get him into the bathroom. Apparently, a jar of peanut butter made the task easier to complete. Afterwards, he sulked for the rest of the day, not even bothering to grumble when I gave him a fuss. We had sausage rolls for lunch. We listened to the Liverpool vs Shrewsbury FA cup 3rd round match, which Liverpool won 4-1. Lesley cooked a roast dinner with chicken and/or beef. Afterwards, we finally dug in to Kieran’s chocolate birthday cake which, as are all of Lesley’s cakes I’ve tried so far, was delicious. Once we’d finished, Rebecca, her boyfriend David, Lesley, Kieran and I played a logo quiz game and it took me ages to grasp the rules, even though they’re pretty straightforward. Lesley and I were a team, Rebecca and Kieran were a team and David was his own team. Rebecca and Kieran won.
Upstairs, I was checking my emails and found that Kieran had gifted me 3 months worth of audible subscription as an anniversary present. I’d jokingly mentioned, when he’d said he had credits to spend, that I wished someone would give me credits because there’s books I want to read; so he thought it’d be a good present. I have quite a few titles on my audible wish list so it’s going to be difficult to just pick 3.
While I watched The Chase, Kieran had a bath. When he was done, we watched some more The Chase, an old episode of Gogglebox and some Family Guy.
On Monday morning, I received some sad news from home after just getting up. My Great Nanny Olive, who was 95, had passed away in the care home at 8:20 that morning. Mum rang to let me know and a little while later, when I spoke to Nan Marg, she told me that they’d had a call from the home on Saturday evening to say Nanny Olive was struggling to breathe. She hadn’t been expected to make it to the morning but, true to her usual stubborn self, she pulled through until Monday. They said she was peaceful when she passed, which brings some comfort. I have many fond memories of her over the years. When I was little, Nan Marg used to walk us kids round to Nanny Olive’s bungalow for the afternoon, as they only lived around the road from each other. Nanny Olive always kept colouring pens and pads in the big cupboard in her porch for us. There was always tea and biscuits and I remember being fascinated by the tiles on her fireplace and the big thick green rug in front of it. She used to pick me up from school sometimes and I remember visiting for the day during holidays, having casserole and banana & custard in patterned bowls. In her lounge, she had old saggy armchairs and a sofa. On the sofa sat knitted dollies. I have so many great memories of her and I feel thankful that they’ve not been tarnished by seeing her so poorly at the end. When my Great Auntie Gwen died in 2011, I went to see her in hospital the day before she died, as she’d fallen at home and broken her hip, and she didn’t remember who I was, asked Dad if I was a new member of the family. Although I understood it was her dementia talking, it upset me and has stuck with me ever since. I didn’t want a memory like that of Nanny Olive. Last time I visited her at the home, she seemed cheery and we had a good time. I’m glad that’s my last memory of her.
I spent the day trying to read Tom Moore’s autobiography but just couldn’t get into it. Lesley made sandwiches for lunch and I had a slice of Kieran’s birthday cake with mine. As I couldn’t absorb myself in the Tom Moore book, I decided to try something else so used Kieran’s first audible credit to buy Evie Meg’s autobiography My Non Identical Twin: What I’d Like You To Know About Living With Tourette’s. T follows Evie on instagram where she posts videos to raise awareness of the condition and had read the book themself, recommending that it’s amazing. As soon as I started reading, I was already enjoying it. I chatted to T on their way home from college. Then, Wilson was brought home from day school. He flopped down and couldn’t be bothered to do anything.
We had another BBC Good Food recipe for dinner, dirty rice which was lovely. It reminded me a bit of a risotto. We watched I Literally Just Told You, Manchester United vs Aston Villa FA cup 3rd round match (1-0), Beat The Chasers and old episodes of Not Going Out.
That night, it felt weird going to bed knowing when I woke up the following morning it’d be the first day of my life that Nanny Olive wouldn’t be in the world with me. I just kept thinking that I’m so glad I have her name for my middle name and have so many great memories of her to hold on to.
Somehow, we accidentally overslept on Tuesday morning, until T phoned me on their way to college at 9am. During the day, I finished Evie Meg’s autobiography. I had a sandwich with the last slice of birthday cake for my lunch. Afterwards, I continued reading sir Tom Moore’s book. Once Kieran had finished work, I went upstairs and we listened to Kisstory and had a nap. It was another BBC Good Food recipe for dinner, campfire stew this time. Again, it was nice. We watched I Literally Just Told You, QI, Beat The Chasers, the news and Plebs. Upstairs, when we were chatting about all the mugs I’ll be bringing when I move in, Kieran said a line that has become this post’s title. He was talking about the biscuit mug he bought me a couple of years ago, which has an extra slot on the front to put a biscuit in while you’re drinking. When talking about how you’d make a cup of tea in it he said: “and if you’re not careful you’ll get water in your biscuit hole”. I was laughing for ages and immediately got up to write it down in my blog notes.
While Kieran worked, I spent Wednesday daytime job searching. I applied for several paid and voluntary roles. My inbox looked quite good for the amount of application received emails in it. But whether any of them will come to anything I don’t know yet. I’ve applied for hundreds of jobs over the last 6 and a half years since leaving college and only had a handful of interviews so far. Hopefully my luck will change soon. After he’d finished work, Kieran checked my laptop over because it had been randomly crashing lately and I was a bit worried about it. We had gammon, new potatoes and peas for dinner, which I really enjoyed, commenting that I don’t have new potatoes often enough. We watched I Literally Just Told You, Tottenham vs Chelsea (0-1), Live At The Apollo, the news and Mrs Brown’s Boys.
Sadly, Thursday meant my week up north had come to an end. During the day, I finished sir Tom Moore’s autobiography, which I enjoyed a lot. For lunch, Lesley took advantage of my need for new potatoes and made me fish cakes with new potatoes. It was lovely. Kieran had a fish cake sandwich and says it was great. I’ll have to try it sometime. At 4:20, Kieran, Lesley and I left for the airport. Once Lesley had called through for assistance, they came very quickly and whisked me away. This time, my flight home was on time. Cabin crew Andrew was excellent and both Newcastle and Southampton assistance staff coped very well considering there were several of us special assistance passengers on the same flight. In arrivals, T and Dad were waiting for me, a little more emotionally than usual due to Nanny Olive’s passing.
Yet again, I had an excellent time in Blyth with Kieran and family. Before, I’d thought that this time would be the last time I travelled up there before I move. However, as Kieran has booked tickets for us, along with Josh, to see Al Murray live in February, I’ll be going up there one more time, this time by train. Josh booked the tickets on Monday so we’re all set to go. Next Friday, a van is coming to collect all my stuff and drive it to the new flat. Kieran is hoping to move in very soon and we’ll all be staying at the flat in February when we visit. After that, I just have to move permanently. At the moment, it’s all dependent on Mum’s recovery. She had her major surgery yesterday and has a 2 week recovery in hospital plus a further several months home recovery ahead. As soon as she’s well enough to travel and recovered a lot, I’ll be off.
Thank you, Lesley and John, for having me to stay and widening my tastebuds even further. I had a great time as always.
Kieran, I loved spending time with you, as I always do, but especially being able to share your birthday and our anniversary together. I can’t wait for the future we have ahead.
PS: you’re all warned about the sheer amount of stuff coming up in the van next week. Believe me when I say I have had a sort through before packing… see you in February!
A5Ramblings 