Happy 18th birthday… with your child’s priced meal

In mid July, Kieran and I went down to Southampton for a special event, my teeny tiny sister turned 18. Although I can’t visit Southampton for everyone’s birthdays, this was a special one so we just had to be there. On the 17^th, Lesley picked us up at 4pm and took us to the airport. The assistance was good and it was lovely to see cabin crew member June, who’s 70^th birthday we’d celebrated on our flight down in March. We landed on time and Dad and Sam were there to meet us. We all went to McDonalds. Dad had already had dinner so just had some chips and a latte; Kieran had a big mac with chips and a  biscoff McFlurry; Sam had a cheese burger and chips with a galaxy McFlurry; I tried the new veggie dippers and mozzarella balls with a portion of chips and a biscoff McFlurry. I’m not sure what I expected from the veggie dippers but even now I haven’t made up my mind whether I like them or not. The mozzarella balls were lovely. Kieran and I always try anything biscoff-related given the chance but were a bit disappointed with McDonalds offering. Although it had biscoff crumbs sprinkled over the top, that was the only biscoff part about it. It had some sort of caramel sauce on but just a generic one. I’d expected them to use biscoff spread and make the ice cream lovely and thick. Sadly not. Apart from that, the meal was lovely. I definitely enjoy it much more now I only have it on rare occasions. After we’d finished, Dad drove us to Mum’s where it was big hugs all round for her and Harley.

 

After I’d had breakfast on Tuesday morning – a slice of toast with Lidl’s version of biscoff spread, which is amazing! – Mum and I popped to Lidl for some essentials. Later, Kieran ordered Dominoes for our tea. Harley had been out with their friends so didn’t want any and Simon had eaten before he’d left for work. Mum had some bbq chicken wings and cheesy wedges. Kieran and I had a half and half pizza each and shared some wedges. I also had a chicken and bacon wrap because they’re only available down south for some reason. There were some cookies for everyone to share. The food was really nice and somehow I managed to eat all of it. I couldn’t regret it though because it was so nice, all got eaten and the wrap was well worth the extra calories.

 

On Wednesday, Mum and I went to town so Mum could buy last-minute bits for Harley’s birthday. She was very disappointed because she’d wanted to get a personalised photo cake from Asda but the machine was broken. She managed to get everything else she wanted, including a huge purple 18^{th birthday balloon, which we carried home on the bus. That evening, Mum cooked roast pork with roast potatoes, swede & carrot, green beans, broccoli, cauliflower and Yorkshire puddings. Kieran and I were very full afterwards and feeling like we hadn’t had so much veg in a long time, especially after only having a roast dinner at Lesley’s the previous Sunday. We do cook our own roasts but they’re never that great and not cooked properly how our mums do.}

 

Thursday meant Harleys big birthday had arrived. I still can’t believe they’re 18! A genuine legal adult, my little sister! Everyone always says a person’s birthday makes them feel old and usually it’s just one of those funny things you join in with. But this year I really felt it. My baby sister, who I remember Mum and Dad announcing they were pregnant with, is an adult. I think they’ll always be a child in my mind. Harley started their day by opening their presents from Mum, Imi, Kieran and I. We had a 2005s song playlist on the tv in the background. Unfortunately, Kieran’s almost endless knowledge of music meant he kept telling us that all the songs were from other years. Around half 12, Auntie Clare and Uncle Dave arrived and took us to the Harvester in Whiteley where we were joined by Nan, Dad, Michelle and Sam to celebrate Harley’s day with a meal. They’d arrived before us and decorated the table with banners and balloons. The food was fantastic and everyone enjoyed. I had a sweet chili haloumi burger with chips and a salad bowl. Harley decided to have two starters instead of a main course so that they could have plenty from the salad bar. They chose chicken goujons and potato skins. Nan loved her scampi and chips but wasn’t happy that her mushy peas weren’t proper mushy peas. Dad had gammon and Michelle a chicken salad. Kieran was sat on the other table with Sam, Auntie Clare and Uncle Dave. The four of them shared cheesy garlic bread, nachos and chicken goujons for starters. Kieran had a bbq chicken stack and Sam a chicken burger. Afterwards, we all sang happy birthday when Harley was presented with the pride themed chocolate 18^th birthday cake Dad had had made for them. Although I’m not a big fan of chocolate cake, this one was very nice and huge… after everyone at the table had eaten a slice there was still half a cake left. Once everyone had finished, we went back to Nan’s for the rest of the afternoon so that we could spend more time with everyone and see Grandad. Sadly, he wasn’t quite as I’ve seen him since he had his stroke last December. So far when I’ve visited, I’ve been quite fortunate that Grandad had been having one of his better days. Sadly, those better days seem to be a thing of the past nowadays as his condition seems to have worsened. That day, he really struggled to speak and got really upset when he couldn’t wish Harley a happy birthday. We got some nice photos of the two of them together though. It was just so very sad to see him that way.

 

That evening, Mum took Harley, Kieran and I to a new dessert place in town. It’s called Heavenly Desserts and definitely lived up to it’s title. Mum and Harley decided to share a platter of five mini desserts, Kieran had a strawberries & cream cheesecake with a cookie milkshake and I quite predictably chose a banana and toffee milkshake plus a white and biscoff cookie dough. Originally, I’d been worried that I wouldn’t be able to finish both and had been considering having a lighter pudding. But I’m very glad I didn’t as both were delicious. Everyone else thoroughly enjoyed theirs, too, which was especially good for Harley as it was their birthday treat and they’d been wanting to go there for ages.

 

I spent most of the day reading Lucy Spraggan’s new autobiography on Friday. In the evening, once Mum and Simon had gone out, the three of us ordered a takeaway and settled in to introduce Harley to Hebburn. Harley and I both had chicken burgers with cheese and cheesy chips, Kieran had a kebab wrap with chips and we shared a cheesy garlic bread. It was all very nice. Harley really liked Hebburn and we spent the rest of the night watching it.

 

Saturday was spent setting up Simon’s new phone for him. Later, we all went into town and to Cosmo for an extra celebration of Harley’s birthday from Kieran and I. Cosmo is great because it’s a buffet of all different countries foods. You can try pretty much anything and it’s all included in the £20 per person price. By the end of our hour and a half time slot, we were all very full and had tried loads of different things. That evening, we watched Elton John’s set from Glastonbury, which was amazing.

 

The next day, Dad and Michelle picked the three of us up around half past two and we went to collect KFC to take to Nan and Grandad’s, where Sam was also waiting, for everyone to share. Sadly, the afternoon didn’t go as planned. Grandad was very poorly. He was sick and not well at all. Nan called 111 and by the time we left a few hours later he was no better and they were waiting for someone to come out and look at him. Seeing him this way these last couple of times has really brought home to me that Grandad really isn’t going to be around forever and, if I’m being truthful, isn’t going to get better. For a while, everyone hoped physio and other medical help might mean his condition would improve a bit. But that’s not going to happen. His dementia is definitely getting worse and physio hasn’t improved the use of his bad arm. It’s horrible for us all to admit this and to see him that way. But most of all it’s hard for Nan. She’s caring for him 24/7 and struggles. But none of us, least of all her, want him to go into a nursing home. The most I can hope is that he’s comfortable and happy in his lucid moments. I gave Nan a big hug when it was time to say goodbye and made sure we waited until Grandad’s carers had left so I could go and say goodbye to him. It’s hard but more and more these days I wonder if I’ll see him again. Luckily, I’m visiting again in a few weeks and although not doing very well, he’s still here at the moment. Despite everything, it was good to be able to spend time with everyone for the afternoon.

 

Monday meant it was time to head home again. In the morning, Mum and I popped to Lidl and came back to watch some of the women’s world cup football, Dinner Date and Come Dine With Me. That afternoon, Mum made us nachos with meatballs and cheesy garlic bread. It makes a pretty good pre-flight meal and we really enjoyed it. Dad arrived around 6 to take us to the airport. Big hugs again for Mum and Harley then Dad himself when we said goodbye at the airport. I’m so glad I was able to visit for Harley’s 18^th. Although I feel a bit sad every time I miss someone’s birthday down there, not being there to celebrate Harley’s big one with them would have been hard. Since then, they’ve further celebrated by going to a Banksy exhibition in Bristol and London zoo. I think they enjoyed every part of their birthday and I’m pleased they did some really memorable things to mark it. As always, it was great to see everyone again, although slightly less so with Grandad being so different. I knew it would come but seeing it for real is tough. I think it’s rubbish how people work so hard for the majority of their lives and end up stuck in a bed in one room needing to be fed and washed because they can’t do it for themselves any more. Nan and Grandad are lucky to have had 57 good years of marriage before he had his stroke but in some ways I think that makes it harder for her. To witness the man she’s known and loved for the majority of her life turned into what he is now must be painful. But he’s still Grandad. Although it’s becoming less and less these days, every now and then he’ll manage a couple of words that sound just like the man he was. Harley says you can see in his face that he’s still there, still taking things in, just not able to get the replies he’s got in his head to come out of his mouth any more. Until he’s not with us, I’ll carry on trying to think of him and treat him like the Grandad I had for 25 years of my life. I’m so blessed to have had both him and Nan. You couldn’t get better grandparents anywhere and I’m so lucky to have so many amazing memories of them over the years; I hold onto them very fondly now. When I visit again, I hope to spend more time with them, even if it’s not so nice any more. Nan needs our support and company more than ever and I want Grandad to still know we’re there to visit him. I treasure every visit I get, good or bad. Now I’m working, I have to be more careful in the trips I book down south. Unfortunately, I wasn’t given back the leave I took during the period of six months special health leave I was put on. Originally, I’d been told that I’d get those trips back as I was already on leave so they wouldn’t count. But because I wasn’t actually nearby and able to go in the following day if they’d asked, I can’t count it as special health leave. I can’t regret taking so much because I had great times visiting everyone in Southampton. But if I’d known I wouldn’t get any of it back I probably wouldn’t have booked such long trips, like the one around my birthday, as it’s taken quite a few days off next year’s annual leave allowance. With all the plans I’ve already made to visit this month, at Christmas and in February, I only have a few days annual leave left for next year plus minus hours I need to build back up when I’m allowed to work flexi hours. But it’s done now and I’m glad I visited as much as I have while I could and that I already have more trips arranged. I’m very much looking forward to them all.

“This is so wholesome”: Sam’s stay

After another great visit to Southampton to celebrate my birthday and see everyone again, it was time to fly back to Newcastle. This time, we had an extra passenger joining us. Sam was coming to visit for a week so she could spend time with us and also come to the Gary Delaney stand up show we’d booked for the following Saturday. Our flight back to Newcastle was smooth. I found it funny that Sam sat for the entire flight looking at the scenery and taking in the plane atmosphere. In contrast, I sat with my earphones firmly in, ignoring everyone and everything, except when Kieran nudged me to say the air hostess was coming by with the complimentary snack and drink. Again, Sam made me giggle when she later admitted she’d declined the offering because she thought she had to pay. Of course, I accepted immediately; I never say no to that shortbread. Lesley and John were waiting for us in arrivals. Once we were home, we had a quick drink each before going straight to bed.

 

On Tuesday, after our big food shop had arrived and been sorted out, Sam and I decided to have a wander down to the new development on the beach to get some Greggs for lunch. I took the opportunity to practice the route I knew, walking independently with my cane with Sam following. Unfortunately, I got a bit confused and went the wrong way a couple of times. Thankfully, between us we managed to get back on track and reached Greggs. Sam bought sausage rolls for us and a steak bake for Kieran. Back at the flat, we enjoyed a jam doughnut each from the bag that had come in the shopping with our pastries. The new Greggs is very nice and I hope we’ll be regular customers at some point. That evening, Kieran cooked burgers, wedges and onion rings for dinner. Sam and Kieran had a beef and a chicken each while I had a lamb and a chicken. As always, it was very nice.

 

Sadly, our plans for Wednesday changed when Sam told us she’d been up quite a bit during the night with an upset stomach. As she was still feeling pretty rough by the morning, we decided not to travel to see Imi as arranged. Of course, this was the right decision because there was no way it was right for Sam to go out for the day feeling so rubbish. It wouldn’t have been an enjoyable day for any of us and was much better for Sam to spend the day recovering. By the afternoon, Sam was feeling a bit better so we played scrabble while Kieran worked. Sam won both games. Later, I cooked fish, new potatoes, peas and sweet corn for dinner. I was a bit worried that the battered fish wouldn’t be great for Sam’s stomach but thankfully she seemed much better and said she enjoyed the meal. While we ate, we watched The Chase. After we’d washed and tidied up, we watched the Chris and Rosie Ramsey show and Kieran and I enjoyed some strawberries.

 

By Thursday, Sam was sure she was feeling better so we agreed to reschedule our trip to see Imi for the following day. After checking his work calendar, Kieran found he wasn’t busy so booked the day off so he could come with us. While Kieran went to look after Wilson for the afternoon, Sam and I played more scrabble, which Sam won again; I think the amount of grapes she ate gave her extra brain power… When he was home, Kieran cooked pasta Bolognese and added mushrooms and lots of cheese; we had it with a cheesy garlic bread. Again, we watched The Chase while we ate and then the Chris and Rosie Ramsey show while Kieran and I enjoyed more strawberries.

 

The next morning, we were up early to catch the half past 8 bus to Heymarket bus station. Once there, Sam navigated the way to Newcastle Central station. I bought us Costa: vanilla iced latte for Kieran; a coke for Sam; and a caramel hot chocolate with some salted caramel popcorn brownies for me. As we were ordering our drinks, my phone rang. When we sat down at a little table, I found I had a voicemail and email from Guide Dogs. I phoned back straight away and the Guide Dog trainer told me they’d found a potential match for me. She was a little yellow Labrador retriever cross named Bree, who I’d met and walked with on the client day I attended at the Newcastle office in May. We arranged for them to come out the following week for the matching visits. Of course, I was absolutely ecstatic and burst into happy tears on Kieran’s shoulder as soon as I ended the call. It was amazing telling everyone. I was so happy I was able to tell Imi in person. We caught the half past 10 train to York and got a taxi to Imi’s flat. It was so great to spend time with her, rapidly growing kitten Pablo and Guide Dog Sam again. Imi was thrilled about the potential dog match and we talked about it quite a bit. In the afternoon, Kieran ordered McDonalds for our lunch. Sadly, the afternoon was soon over and we were heading back to the train station in a taxi. We caught the 6pm train back to Newcastle and Sam guided us back to the bus station. Newcastle was pretty crowded because Sam Fender was performing his sold out show that night. Luckily, there was a bus waiting for us at the station. Once we were home, we ordered takeaway for our dinner. It was past 8 by the time we got in and neither of us could be bothered to cook. While we watched Gogglebox, we enjoyed our food: a pepperoni pizza for Sam; loaded fries and a smoky sausage for Kieran; I had some breaded garlic mushrooms and shared a portion of donner meat with Kieran. The food was lovely; although I was concerned I’d stink of garlic for the foreseeable as the garlic in the mushrooms was pretty strong, as was the big pot of garlic dip I used for the mushrooms and the meat.

 

Before our show on Saturday night, we walked to the fish and chip restaurant on the beach for our lunch. Sam had a sausage with cheesy chips; Kieran had a fish cake and chips; I went for cod bites and cheesy chips; Kieran and I shared some grilled haloumi. I completely underestimated the size of the cod bites and was only able to eat half the meal. Also, Sam and I were pretty disappointed with the cheesy chips because it was literally grated cheese over the top of the chips and not even a lot of cheese either. I’d hoped to have an ice cream afterwards but was far too full. Once we’d finished our meal, we went for a wander along the beach for a little while. Since we’d arrived back up north on Monday, the temperature had increased quite a lot and we were back to melting like we had in Southampton. Southampton itself had heated up even more since we’d left and Mum commented that it was pretty unbearable. Later on, John picked us up at 6pm so that we could get to the theatre in plenty of time. Sam Fender was playing another sold out show so we’d expected town to be busy and for there to be a lot of traffic on the roads. However, we got to Newcastle in super quick time so spent quite a while wandering around town. Eventually, it was time for the show. We headed to the Tyne Theatre & Opera House and all enjoyed Gary Delaney performing his Gary in Punderland show. Usually, I don’t like one-liner comics much. I prefer observational comedy and all the stories you get. But I really enjoyed Gary’s show and laughed along with Sam, Kieran and John.

 

Sunday was a chilled day. Originally, we’d planned to get a taxi and go to Sambuca’s for lunch. But Kieran and I couldn’t be bothered. Instead, we agreed we’d order a Sambuca’s takeaway as it’s almost as good. But when Kieran went to order he found they weren’t offering delivery like they usually do. So we settled for Dominoes, which was a good second choice. We all decided to be pigs and had large pizzas: pepperoni for Sam and half & half pizzas for Kieran and I. We shared potato wedges and cookies. We spent the afternoon watching the Chris and Rosie Ramsey show, Hit List, Ed Sheeran’s documentary The Sum Of It All, a little bit of Soccer Aid and an old Top Gear winter Olympics special.

 

Sadly, Monday had arrived and it was time for Sam to head home. It was really lovely to have her to stay. Kieran and I agree that she’s a very good house guest and it’d be rather quiet after she left. We’d had a pretty busy few weeks and hadn’t had much time just the two of us. It was very strange to be back in the flat just us. Sam, it was lovely to have you to stay with us. Thanks for the little adventures we had. It was great that the three of us were able to go and visit Imi. I enjoyed our games of scrabble and am glad you were able to help me eat the grapes. Looking forward to seeing you again soon.

“The pink polo shirt man and the never-ending stairs” our Sunderland experience of Ed Sheeran

Continuing from where I finished in my last post… On Thursday 2 June, after a great week visiting everyone in Southampton for the first time since I moved away in March, Mum and Simon had dropped Kieran, Harley and I off at the train station, after a cheeky McDonald’s breakfast, and we’d met up with Josh ready for our long trip up North. We caught the 10:13 southern service to London Victoria, where we managed to get a table so we could all sit together during the journey. Before I go any further, I just want to point out that some of this post is written by my good pal Josh and the fact that I’m writing this post at all is thanks to his excellent blog notes he’s written for me, even if they were 3 pages long… In the end, I never noted anything down over the Ed weekend like I usually do when we’re together; there wasn’t any particular reason for this, just that I didn’t get round to it. But Josh very kindly wrote some notes for me from what he can remember from the weekend, supplemented by Kieran and Harley’s memories too. Obviously, my memory can’t be relied on for accuracy so I haven’t even tried. So, if there’s a lot of official train-related jargon in here it’s thanks to Josh.

We had our first change in the journey at East Croydon onto the 12:31 Thameslink service to Cambridge. At 1 o’clock, we arrived at ST Pancras, right on time, and the lovely assistance staff, who were dressed up in union flags and crowns for the Jubilee, guided us to Greggs, where we’d previously agreed to grab lunch because it was the most convenient option and everyone loves a Greggs. While we were walking, the assistance lady was convinced she’d met Kieran before, helping him a week earlier. Even though we explained several times that was actually impossible as he’d been in Southampton with me and nowhere near a train, she was still certain. Seems Kieran has a twin we never knew about roaming the London railway confusing poor assistance staff.

When we reached Greggs, we were all surprised how quiet it was. Due to the Jubilee and bank holiday weekend, Josh had warned us countless times how he predicted the trains and stations to be absolutely rammed and that as well as struggling to get around, we might not find seats on the train. So far, his theory was surprisingly untrue. Josh guided Kieran and Harley took me; Josh bought a 4 pack of sausage rolls and a 4 pack of jam doughnuts; Kieran bought 2 steak bakes; Harley bought a baguette and I got a sausage roll and a pack of 4 caramel shortbreads. Once we’d bought our lunch, we headed across the road to King’s Cross, passing a percussionist and an opera singer performing to celebrate the Jubilee. Then, we split up at Platform 9&¾ where Kieran and Josh joined the long queue for the platform, trolley and sign while Harley and I went into the busy merchandise shop; the plan being that Josh expected to be stood in the queue quite a while so would save time standing in line while we browsed the shop. Surprisingly, Harley and I only spent £25 between us. They chose 2 key rings, a pen and a pencil and I got a pencil, bus pass cover and fridge magnet. As we were wandering around the shop, which was quite crowded, Josh phoned to ask how long we were going to be as they’d already got near the front of the queue. Harley and I tried to hurry as we didn’t want them to lose their place and have to start right from the back again. As we emerged from the shop, quite pleased with ourselves for only spending a small amount, a member of staff came over to us and hurried us to the front of the line and in before the other people who were waiting. It was clearly a disabled perk or “speedy borders” as Kieran’s sister Rebecca would call it and I did feel a bit bad for the people who’d been patiently waiting their turn. Harley and I posed with the prop scarves and wands they gave us and Josh took photos of us holding onto the trolley handle and pointing our wands up to the platform sign.

Afterwards, we found a bench to sit on and ate our Greggs lunch. Harley managed to splatter themselves with their fizzy drink so I held mine away from me when opening it, but it was totally normal. Harley helped Josh find the assistance desk and the assistance staff guided us onto the 14:48 Lumo service to Edinburgh Waverley. As Harley and I settled into our seats, getting comfy in preparation for the 3 hour journey, some rather irritated passengers informed us we were in their seats. We explained that they must be mistaken because assistance staff had sat us in these seats. However, when they told us which seats we were in, it turned out they were right; the assistance staff had sat us in the wrong place. Thankfully, they decided to just sit in our seats in the row ahead. Josh and Kieran were sat a few rows behind so we couldn’t chat. But by Darlington we’d all got bored and all started texting each other funny messages, laughing out loud when we heard each other’s text tones going off.

We arrived into Morpeth right on schedule and Rebecca was there to collect us as arranged. She drove us back to our flat and not long after we’d got in, Imi text to say they were on their way. Her carer, Lauren, was doing the driving for her and assistance dog Sam. We were all very excited to see them. It had been 2 and a half years since Josh and I last saw her, 4 years for Kieran and 7 for Harley so a reunion really was overdue. When she arrived, there were big hugs all round, including Sam. When we’d been arranging the weekend, I’d assumed that Coco, my lovely cat who’s now getting on in age a bit, would be ok with Sam’s presence in the flat for a few days. However, it was soon clear this wasn’t the case. She hid under the coffee table in the corner of the living room and hissed menacingly at Sam, who just wanted to make friends. As Imi has Lucy the cat, Sam is very good around cats and everything would have been fine if Coco wasn’t such a grumpy cow. Sadly, her experience with dogs hasn’t been particularly pleasant. When we first brought her home, we had Tolly, the lovely little fluffy dog who Coco became friends with instantly. They used to share a bed and happily cuddle up together. After she died in 2012, Coco had a break but was then hassled by Marley, who bounded into everyone’s lives in 2015. Marley was a handful and terrible with cats. Sadly, he wasn’t with us long and from mid 2016 to early 2017, Coco was given another break. My Zena came next. Thankfully, she was pretty chilled out around cats but Coco had lost trust in dogs in general by that point and actively ignored her. Again, Zena wasn’t with us very long either. After that, I think Coco thought we wouldn’t subject her to any more canine residents. Unfortunately, she didn’t bet on Suggs, who came crashing into the household in October 2021. Suggs was worse than Marley and actively terrorised Coco. Before Suggs arrived, my plan was to leave Coco with Mum when I moved. She’d lived in that house her whole life and was happily settled there. Harley gave her a lot of attention so I didn’t think she’d miss me that much, even though she was primarily my cat. But then Suggs made her life pretty miserable and I didn’t feel comfortable leaving her behind with him there. Thankfully, she’s settled pretty well in the flat and despite always being an outdoor cat before, doesn’t seem bothered that she can’t go outside now. However, despite Sam’s best efforts to make friends, Coco’s hostility remained for Imi’s entire stay, escalating to growling both at Sam and Imi herself. I’d never heard a cat growl like that before and hope I don’t again. I hoped that as Sam was in the flat a couple of days, Coco would soon realise she wasn’t a threat. But it wasn’t to be. As I said to Imi, I think if they’d stayed longer or visited regularly, Coco would relax with time.

Once all the greetings were exchanged, Imi and Kieran decided they wanted to give me the belated birthday presents they had for me. As we’d been down in Southampton for my birthday, I hadnt seen any point in Kieran taking his presents down with him or Imi posting hers just for us to bring them back up again. It was something extra to look forward to as well. Kieran was very naughty and bought me the Colorino colour detector from the RNIB, which is very expensive but very good at differentiating colours. I’d had one whilst at college and it’d helped me massively when sorting my washing into lights and darks. It had broken a few years ago and I couldn’t justify the price of buying a replacement so had bought a cheaper less reliable version that hadnt been doing a very good job since I moved up here and needed to sort laundry regularly. Safe to say, now I’ve used it several times, the Colorino is still much more accurate. Kieran also bought me a soup maker as I’d said several times how I’d like to be able to make soups and smoothies. I’m yet to try that as some of the controls aren’t physical buttons. Kieran also had a gift bag of presents from his parents, containing a pair of slippers — because I’d desperately needed a pair to leave at theirs for when we visit instead of trying to remember to take some with me — and some lovely bath products, as while our shower had been broken I’d discovered how much I do like a bath, even if I’m not really supposed to have one due to my epilepsy. Kieran asked Lesley to get me some for when I have my sneaky illegal baths every now and then. Imi’s presents were lovely too. She added to my collection of fidget toys with a wiggly slug called Howard, who Harley had lots of fun fiddling with for the rest of the weekend; some lovely wax melts to go in my electric wax burner as I’ve become a bit obsessed with it; and a very fluffy Build A Bear niffler. Recently, Build A Bear have released cuddly toys from the Fantastic Beasts movies and the best one has to be the niffler. Now named Edward by Imi, my big fluffy niffler sits by my pillow on our bed, holding onto both his golden galleon coins, with mini niffler Teddy, who was my birthday gift from Harley, sat beside him. After I’d finished admiring my lovely presents and thanked them both lots for buying such thoughtful things, we all agreed we were quite hungry so decided to order food; Dominoes was chosen. Josh and Imi were “basic bitches” – his words, not mine – and had margarita each; I had a Hawaiian; Harley had a create your own with chicken, meatballs and garlic spread; Kieran had a meat feast. We took advantage of the Jubilee deal Dominoes had on, which gave you 2 medium pizzas, 2 sides and a portion of cookies for less than £25, so all we had to order extra was a 5th pizza. We agreed on potato wedges, 2 portions of cheesy garlic dough balls and garlic dippers. The food was as always lovely, although I thought my pizza base had lost some of its sauce along the way. In the end, we were up talking until 2am, eating leftover sides and cookies as we chatted.

The following morning, we got up around 10. In preparation for the concert that night, we listened to Masie Peters – one of the acts supporting Ed Sheeran on tour – 2021 debut album You Signed Up For This. I’d only heard it once before and had vague recollections of thinking it was good. Some of the songs were quite catchy and I was hopeful I’d enjoy her live. We agreed on McDonald’s for lunch/dinner that day. We were eating before the concert because it would be far too late afterwards and we didn’t want to be hungry during. Josh had a cheese burger and chips and was disappointed they didn’t have milkshakes on the delivery menu; Imi had a fillet of fish and chips; Harley had a cheese burger, 9 nuggets and chips; Kieran had a double cheese burger with added bacon and chips; I had a cheese burger, 6 nuggets and chips; we got a sharing box of the new cheesy garlic dippers between us. The food was very nice, especially as the app gave you the option to customise your burger, like you can at the self-service machines when you eat in, which pleased Harley and I very much because we’re always quite fussy with ours.

As arranged, Lauren, Rebecca and her boyfriend Dave arrived around 4pm and we were on our way to Sunderland by 4:15, Josh and Kieran in Rebecca’s car and Harley and I with Imi. Rebecca and Lauren parked in different car parks so they arrived at the Stadium of Light around 5:30 and us 15 minutes later. When we met up with them, we encountered the rudest steward I’ve ever met. We requested assistance to help us get to our seats, which we’re more than entitled to, and were at first told he had no staff available to help us. There was plenty of staff around. He then tried to tell us that in order to have someone guide us to our seats we should have booked a carer’s ticket so someone could take us. This, again, is untrue. Eventually, after many heated debates, with Rebecca being our quite forceful disabled advocate backed up by Lauren, the man eventually allowed Rebecca to take us all in. Lauren left with Sam because Imi was worried she’d get crushed as the stadium started to fill with people. The fact that he let Rebecca take us to our seats was almost as ridiculous as him suggesting that as disabled people we had to have a paid carer’s ticket in order to attend the show. Nobody came to check whether Rebecca had left the stadium after helping us so she could have quite easily stayed for free. Because of his arrogance and ignorance, we weren’t actually safely sat in our seats until after Dylan, the first support act, had started her set. Personally, I didn’t really enjoy either Dylan or Maisie Peters. As I’d quite liked her album earlier, I’d been hopeful I’d enjoy Maisie live. I don’t know if it’s just how she sounds live, the sound equipment she used or the fact that the stadium was still pretty empty while she was performing, but I just didn’t think she sounded good. Thankfully, the boys enjoyed both support acts. Of course, the main act lived up to and massively exceeded expectations. Josh, Kieran and I had been worried beforehand that because he’d been so great at St James’s when we saw him live 4 years ago, we could be disappointed if this time wasn’t as great. But I’d go as far as to say it was better!. At the start, we all said the songs we’d most love to hear him play and somehow we all got at least one of our choices. The whole set list was just incredible and I think we did a pretty good job of making Harley’s first ever concert a great one. We were all singing along at the tops of our voices and Harley got plenty of photos and videos so we have physical evidence to support our memories. The cost of the tickets was yet again well worth it.

Of course, we could have sat there all night singing along if he’d played that long, but when Ed’s performance did sadly come to an end, we sat where we were for quite a while, letting the stadium empty out so that hopefully it wouldn’t be quite so crowded as we tried to leave. Once we were with Rebecca, Dave and Lauren, the boys went with them while Harley and I followed Laure, who’d reunited a very relieved Sam with Imi. On our way out, Imi felt quite ill so we stopped for a while. A very interfering drunk woman, who claimed she was a nurse, wouldn’t take our word for it that Imi would be ok in a few minutes and to let Lauren do her job and look after her. She repeatedly asked Lauren if she was medically trained and wouldn’t take Lauren’s assurance that she was. In the end, the three of us had to be quite forceful in telling her to get lost because she was really upsetting Imi. Eventually, she buggered off and once Imi was sure she felt well enough to move, we slowly made our way back to her car.

Once we were all back at the flat, we talked for a little while before heading to bed. Coco had hidden under the coffee table in the living room again but somehow Kieran and Harley managed to herd her into the kitchen while Imi used the bathroom.

On Saturday morning, despite saying we’d get up at 9 and possibly go for a walk on the beach, we dragged ourselves out of bed around 9:30 and were completely exhausted; going for a walk anywhere wasn’t an option. Kieran cooked breakfast of sausage, bacon and hash browns for himself and Imi; Josh decided to eat his jam doughnuts from Thursday’s train journey for his; Harley made pasta with garlic mayo, ham and cheese in for the two of us. It was pretty nice. Far too soon, at around 12:30 Lauren arrived to collect Imi and Sam to drive them home. We all hugged very tight and vowed we wouldn’t let it be so long until we saw each other next time. After Imi left, Josh and Harley took a little wander to the nearby Tesco Express to buy themselves snacks and drinks for their train trip home the following day. Unlike ours on Thursday, they wouldn’t have time to stop and get a meal at the station. Once they were back, we just chilled in the living room for the rest of the afternoon. We put the England vs Hungary football match on but it was rubbish (0-1). Then, we introduced Josh to Naked Attraction with audio description on. I have to add here, as Naked Attraction was also watched in my last post, that we only watch it because the audio description is funny, not because we’re interested in the show. After we’d had a bit of fun watching that, we watched Russell Howard’s Right Here Right Now live show; he always manages to make me laugh loads. When we all decided we were hungry, we chose yet another takeaway option for our tea. Well why not? It was a treat weekend. Anyway, I don’t think Kieran or I are quite up to cooking at the standard that’s required for guests yet. Josh had a jumbo sausage and chips; Kieran had a mixed wrap, chips and Smokey sausage; I had a cheesy chips wrap with curry sauce and a jumbo sausage; Harley had chicken nuggets and chips. Trying a wrap full of cheesy chips and curry sauce was a first for me. When I’d chosen the wrap and it’d asked for choice of sauce, as usual we hadn’t been sure whether that meant the sauce would come in a pot on the side or in the wrap itself. At first, I was a bit dubious on finding the sauce in the wrap whether it’d be nice or not. Turns out it’s lovely and definitely something I’d like to have again. Although, the strangest thing about that takeaway’s menu is that when you order a cheesy chips wrap, you have to have it with either salad or chips; there’s no option to have none. As someone who isn’t a salad fan, I had to pick chips. I think it’s a shame they don’t just have a none option. Obviously, it’s necessary for other wraps that don’t contain chips but was a bit of a waste of food with mine. We then watched the Jubilee Platinum Party, which wasn’t that great.

Since we’d first started talking about me moving to live with Kieran, something Harley was hoping to have if they came to visit was a takeaway pudding. Kieran introduced me to a takeaway pudding place, Buzz Bar, that has now closed down on one of my many stays at Lesley and John’s. It instantly became something I loved. I’ve always been a pudding person and discovering there were places that just delivered puddings was quite a revelation. After Buzz Bar shut down, we tried a different pudding place, Movie Foods, and found it was also lovely. When the Ed tickets were booked and we knew everyone would be staying at the flat with us, I promised Harley we’d get a takeaway pudding one of the nights they were here. So we did. Josh had the Cadbury’s collection cookie dough; Kieran had a lotus biscoff milkshake with extra biscoff, a chocolate fudge cake and a slice of school cake for later; Harley had a reese’s pieces peanut butter milkshake with added kitkat, oreo loaded doughnuts and a kinder cookie dough box with added aero bubbles, Cadbury whispa, oreo crumbs and white chocolate sauce (they saved the doughnuts for later); I had a reese’s pieces peanut milkshake plus extra reese’s, a create your own cookie dough that had Belgian white chocolate, caramel sauce, marshmallows and oreo crumbs on it and a milky bar button cheesecake for the following day. Safe to say after that we were all very full. It was worth it though.

As Harley and Josh needed to be at the station for their train which was scheduled to leave at 12:03, we decided to get up at 8 on Sunday morning. Kieran cooked Harley sausage, hash browns and beans but Josh didn’t want anything. Josh checked on their train just before 11 and found it hadn’t departed yet and then there was a long delay. For quite some time, Josh and Kieran were looking into options to get them home. At one point, we were seriously considering the possibility that they’d have to stay an extra night because all the other available trains were full. Thankfully, their original train eventually departed Edinburgh so Rebecca and David came to take them to the station. In the end, their train departed Morpeth at 14:17 with them stressed but safely onboard. Two hours later than planned, Harley and Josh arrived into Southampton Central, a relief for us all.

Apart from the assistance staff putting Harley and I in the wrong seats on our journey up, the idiotic steward at the stadium being completely out of order, Imi sadly being poorly after the concert and the stressful couple of hours when we weren’t sure whether Harley and Josh were going to be able to get home, we really did have an amazing few days. Getting the 4 of us together doesn’t happen very often and it was made even better by having Harley with us. I miss my tiny sister a lot and every time I see them I’m reminded that they really aren’t little any more, even if they will always be a small person to me. They’re turning into an adult and that is so strange for me. It won’t be long before it’s them in their own car collecting Kieran and I from the airport when we go down to visit. It only seems like yesterday that they were starting school in Nan’s knitted jumpers with the school badge sewn on because even the smallest size school uniform was far too big. Yet they’re about to finish their first year at college and considering finding a summer job. I really don’t know where time goes. But it was so great to take them to their first ever concert. Having a few days with us all together was just so nice and I really hope we keep our promise of not letting it be so long until we do it again.

Big thanks for all your help to Rebecca, Dave and Lauren, especially when that steward was being a proper twat; I think you should go into disabled advocacy, Rebecca, because I don’t think anyone would dare discriminate against anyone after you’d finished with them. Lots of thanks to Josh, who booked the concert tickets and as always took control of the train journeys and made them a success, but especially for making sure Harley got home safe. Thank you, Imi, for being brave and coming to see us. You’ve had the toughest year this year and I’m so glad you felt you were able to come. It wouldn’t have been the same without you and it was so good to spend time with you at last, and of course have lots of cuddles with lovely Sam. But most of all, to all 4 of you for the best weekend I think any of us have had in a long time. I’m so glad we decided to book tickets to Ed and that you 3 could come and stay at the flat with Kieran and I. Come back soon! Although that’s not an invite to come every weekend, Josh…

PS: Imi suggested the blog title this time. When I eventually got around to thinking about writing a post for this weekend, I couldn’t remember a single line we’d said, except “Fucking Ed Sheeran” in memory of Imi’s lovely dad Mike, who sadly passed away far too soon at the beginning of this year. As much as I would have liked to use that, I thought it was going a little too far. As well as the one I’ve chosen, Imi had these suggestions: “4 blind people and a them take on the stadium of shite”, “my bad habits lead to maccies”, “Edding out”, “who the fuck is Dylan”, “Josh who could pass as a butch woman”, “scoffing the Queen’s Dominoes meal deal”, “Sam v Coco and the unresolved conflict”, “shivers me timbers” and “the pyro was so good I could see it”. However, I went for “pink polo shirt man and the never-ending stairs” to represent the crazy drunk man who was sat nearby us during the show. Several times he fell over, perhaps in his excitement for the show. Each time we went to the loo or when we entered and left the show, those stairs really did feel never-ending. My favourite was definitely “4 blind people and a them take on the stadium of shite” but although my only readers are the women in Kieran’s family Kieran himself, Josh and Harley, I didn’t want some random person to stumble across it and complain because they thought I was being ableist, homophobic or swearing. But it definitely was the funniest and pretty much sums up the weekend perfectly.

“Well you’ll definitely get that, Greggs take anyone”

In March, I moved from Southampton to Blyth to live with Kieran. He and his parents had been renovating the flat left in their family after his great-grandma passed away a few years ago. At the time, it had a wet room for a bathroom and they decided needed a lot of work doing to it. John did the majority of it and everyone has agreed it looks lovely. It’s definitely very nice to live in and I feel I’ve mostly adjusted well to living up here. It’s definitely been strange living so far away from all my family. Before I left, Grandad John’s health had started to go rapidly down hill. He’s 83 today and has done incredibly well to stay quite healthy in his senior years, especially considering he had prostate cancer in 2015. Grandad has always been the head of the family, loved and admired by us all. He’s just such a great man. But age is slowly taking away the Grandad we know him as. We think dementia is taking hold, his hearing is deteriorating and he doesn’t interact much any more. These days, if you want a good conversation with Grandad, you have to start and keep it going. He still loves talking to us and you can tell is so happy when someone starts chatting to him, but he just doesn’t get involved any more. At family gatherings, he used to be centre of the conversation, chatting to everyone. Nowadays, he just sits in a corner, observing and taking it all in, with the odd comment every now and then. That made leaving that little bit harder. It’s a horribly clear reminder that he is getting older and isn’t going to be around for ever. Nan Marg and Grandad John, Dad’s parents, played a massive role in my childhood — they pretty much helped raise me. While Mum and Dad were out working, unable to do the childcare, Nan and Grandad took it on gladly. Nan has told me so many times how she’s so happy that she’s been so involved in her grandchildren’s lives. So am I. They’ve been the best grandparents. But they’re not getting any younger and things are difficult for them at the moment, for Grandad because he can see Hes changing and for Nan because she’s having to look after him more and more. I used to spend every Wednesday with them and I miss those days. But I know I am really lucky to have had so many with them. Saying goodbye in March was hard; we all went out for a meal the evening before we travelled up here and I was so glad we spent it all together. Even before I moved, we’d already agreed my first visit back. I was to travel down sometime at the end of May to spend my birthday with them. It was nice, as we drove away that Saturday morning, to know I had a fixed point when I’d be seeing everyone again. I think it was a comfort, especially for my first few weeks up here while I settled.

So, 2 weeks ago, it was time to make that planned trip back down south. Kieran and I had booked our plane tickets some time before, trying to get the best price we could. Like everything else, flight prices have increased a lot. On Wednesday 25th May around 4pm, after Kieran had finished work for the day, Lesley arrived to take us to the airport for our flight down. Once there, we had to wait a little while for assistance to arrive but they soon came and took us through security, where I even had to take off my shoes to walk through the security scanner, because boots aren’t allowed. We sat in departures a while and then, when we boarded, we found they’d boarded the rest of the passengers before the special assistance passengers, which explained our wait. This meant that the plane was dlayed taking off. It was a smooth flight and somehow we landed 2 minutes early in Southampton. During the flight, I’d listened to my music, only pausing to accept the complimentary water, shortbread and caramel wafer, feeling suddenly strange about going down. It was weird that it was finally happening. After so long of looking forward to seeing everyone again, I was actually on my way to doing just that. In reality, 11 weeks isnt long at all. but it had seemed long. In another way, though, the time seemed to have flown by.

as we departed the plane, the lovely assistance lady, Alison, whos helped us on many occasions before was there to greet us. she remembered me well, even knowing to ask if I was coming back to visit as I’d told i was planning to move to live with Kieran earlier in the year. in arrivals, my tiny little sister — obviously not tiny at all any more — was waiting excitedly to meet us. i hugged them so tight. note: T is now using they/them pronouns and going by the name Harley. they’ve explained this to Mum but shes not quite ready to call them Harley yet. Kieran and I are doing our best to support their wishes. harley had been the name Mum and Dad had chosen for them before they were born, when I thought I was having a little brother. strangely, it kinda suits them. My brain still thinks Tamsin sometimes and it’s strange calling them Harley between ourselves and to them but Tamsin to people they haven’t explained to. all in good time, hopefully. Harley guided us out of the airport to the car where Dad was waiting. it was so good to see them both again. as Kieran and I hadnt eaten and Dad had time, we headed to the mcdonalds in Eastleigh for some dinner. Harley and I ordered at the self-service machine while Dad and Kieran found a table. Kieran had the McSpicy vmeal with a coke; I had a double cheese burger and fries; Dad had a large fries and a large latte; Harley had a flake McFlurrie and a coke 0; Harley and I shared 6 chicken nuggets and bought a portion of the new cheesy garlic bites which we all shared and agreed were lovely. Afterwards, we headed to the hospital to pick Dad’s girlfriend Michelle up from work. Dad dropped the 3 of us back at Mum’s house before they went home themselves.

when I’d originally planned this trip, it had obviously been with the intention of going back to Southampton how it normally was and seeing everyone as I usually would. however, Mum’ partner Simon had surprised her with a holiday away to Benidorm with his brother and sister-in-law. It was a treat for her after the year she’s had, including all the worry as she had tests to see what the problem was, the complex operation, finding out it was cancer and then the recovery that has followed. when he’d booked it, he hadn’t realised he’d not only booked it during my visit but over my birthday too. Mum was very excited about going on holiday — it was her first since going to Greece in 2019 with Harley and Dad — but was disappointed and apologetic about missing my birthday. To begin with, I’d been pretty gutted; it’s quite childish but I haven’t spent a birthday without Mum yet. To get to 25 and manage that is quite unusual, I think, and not really a big deal. To be honest, I think I was more disappointed that Mum wasn’t going to be there for my whole visit, instead only 2 days out of the week I was down. So arriving back to what had been my home since I was a toddler for the first time after moving away was bittersweet. It felt very strange to be there, even with staffy dog Suggs enthusiastic welcome. It was very nice to discover that although he is still 100% bonkers, Suggs behaviour has improved a lot. He was instantly besotted in Kieran, who had found himself a new shadow who was very excited to have someone to play with. he brought Kieran his favourite ball and they spent some time playing out in the back garden, Kieran doing his best to tire Suggs out, something nobody has yet achieved.

everyone had a long lie in on Thursday morning before Harley had to go to their afternoon class. Kieran spent the afternoon going through Mum & Dad’s CD collection, some of which Dad had left behind when he’d moved out, and copying the ones he wanted onto his laptop. At around 4pm, Harley arrived back from college, driven by Auntie Clare who’d come to see me with Nan and Grandad. It was so good to see them all and lots of hugs were exchanged. While we were all chatting, Harley answered a knock to the door which turned out to be the lovely Jenny who’d popped by to say hello and drop off a birhtday card for me. It was such a nice surprise to see her and next time I go down I’ll try and set aside some time so we can go for a coffee and a catch up. Jenny and I email regularly and I enjoy keeping in touch with her. She helped me so much in Southampton and I wishe I could transport her to Blyth to do the same.

after everyone left, the three of us got ready and got the bus into town to meet up with Josh. We’d arranged to meet for dinner at Pizza Hut. We’d agreed we’d meet up anyway but Josh had a 5 years of service meal offer from work and Kieran had the meerkat meals discount to use. Therefore, as it was on the list of options for the discount and always somewhere we love, we’d agreed on Pizza Hut. Josh had up to the value of £50 to spend that work would reimburse if he kept his receipt. As Kieran’s meerkat meals offer is 2 for 1 on everything except deals and sharing dishes, we pretty much had the pick of anything and didn’t need to worry about the price, which obviously meant we took full advantage.when we were seated and the waitress took our order, she said she recognised me and Kieran. It turns out she was the waitress in the Hedge End branch of Pizza Hut, now closed down, that served Kieran and I on our very first date night. Kieran and I remember her too because her service was excellent, especially as she adapted to our needs effortlessly, to the point where you wouldn’t even notice the difference. At the time, we’d nicknamed her Clare, not actually knowing her real name but deciding she suits a Clare. I spent the whole evening trying to pluck up the courage to ask what her actual name is but didn’t manage it. If she ever serves us again, I’ll make sure to find out. Yet again though, Clare, thank you for being amazing. Your service was faultless and it was lovely to have you again. She made funny little comments to Harley; like when we ordered refill drinks and salad bowls, she teasingly said to them: “I suppose that’s up to you to sort out then”. Sometimes, people are so afraid to make jokes about disability because they’re worried of the response. Some people are very defensive about their condition and wouldn’t appreciate a funny comment, however innocent the intention, because they see it as the person making fun of and being offensive about them. To be honest, if the joke is lighthearted and made without malice I don’t really see the problem. I’d even go as far to say that sometimes it makes the occasion more enjoyable. Because *Clare knew it was ok to joke around with us it made our experience more relaxed. We knew we didn’t need to worry about any discrimination or accessibility for this outing. It’s really nice to have that feeling and lovely that she remembered Kieran and I so well too and seemed genuinely interested to hear how we were. In keeping with our plan to take full advantage of the discount, I think we all ordered as much as we could. Harley and I had salad bowls; everyone except Kieran, who had beer, had refill drinks; we shared chips and cheesy garlic bread; Kieran had a stuffed crust spicy meat feast pizza with chicken wings; Josh had a pepperoni stuffed crust pizza; Harley had macaroni cheese, chicken bites and a chocolate cookie dough; I went for a Hawaiian pizza with added mushrooms and a white chocolate salted caramel cookie dough. Safe to say we were all absolutely stuffed and the bill exceeded Josh’s £50 gift. If we hadn’t had Kieran’s meerkat deal it would have been double. I’d like to say we would have been less greedy if we hadn’t had both of these but I’m not sure.

Feeling very full, we headed for the bus stop. Wehn our bus came, we said goodbye to Josh, who’d let it slip that he was coming to my birthday meal on Sunday. As we got on and I tried to pay, I struggled to find the contactless pad to first use my buspass and then my bank card. Not only did the driver not try to help me, she then let another woman boarding the bus after us barge past and pay while I was still floundering. We were stood in a line of three — Harley then me then Kieran — so the other passenger had to push passed all of us to get by. It was really disrespectful of the driver and rude of the other woman. Harley was absolutely seething about it and we discussed it for quite a while after we arrived home.

After Harley returned home from their morning lesson at college on Friday, the three of us went on the bus into Woolston. I wanted to get a few bits and pieces for the house and we were going to Nan and Grandad’s later for dinner. I suggested to Harley and Kieran that we go to Woolston a bit earlier than planned and I’d treat them to a Subway. It was a gorgeous hot day and just right for a Subway; plus, it’d been ages since I’d had one. Everyone agreed. Once in Woolston, we went into Lidl first and got the bits we needed. Then, we headed for Subway. Kieran had a hearty Italian meatball marinara with jalapeños, a chocolate chip cookie and a Mountain Dew; Harley had a hearty Italian with chicken, ham, crispy onions and sweet onion sauce, a chocolate chip cookie and pepsi; i had nachos with meatballs, a peach iced tea and a lemon cookie, which was new; I got a portion of hash browns and potato wedges for us to share. The food was lovely. While we’d been ordering our food, my phone had rang but I’d ignored it. I realised I had a voicemail and found it was from the recruitment team at Greggs, offering me an interview for the role I’d applied for a week or so earlier. No, the role isn’t serving customers in the bakeries, obviously. It’s working in their head office answering complaints and queries via telephone, email, web chat and social media. When I’d applied, it had actually been one of the few I hoped I’d get an interview for. Unusually, it didn’t ask for experience I don’t have and I thought I’d actually be able to complete all the necessary tasks. I decided not to phone them back in Subway but told Harley and Kieran what the call was for. They were both pleased but Harley’s response is the reason for this post’s title. In their attempt to congratulate me on getting an interview and refering to previous interviews I’ve been unsuccessful in, they said: “Well you’ll definitely get this one, Greggs take anyone”. As soon as they realised what they’d said, we all laughed about it. Obviously, they didn’t mean it how it sounded and were just trying to be positive for me. But as phrases for possible blog titles go, it’s a pretty good one.

Once we’d finished our food, we caught the bus up to Nan and Grandad’s where they were just arriving back with Auntie Clare from Grandad’s hair cut and Nan’s 4th covid vaccination. While Kieran sat out in the lovely sunny garden chatting to everyone, Harley and I popped round to the nearby convenience shop so I could buy the items Lidl hadn’t had that we needed. Then, we all sat out in the garden enjoying the sunny weather. A little while later, Dad arrived from work and Auntie Clare was persuaded to stay for dinner too. We all had curry with naan bread. As requested, Nan had made her amazing apple crumble for pudding. I’d joked that I wouldn’t come for dinner when I visited if she didn’t make it. It didn’t disappoint. In fact, I think I could have eaten the whole lot had she let me. We spent the rest of the evening at home watching Gogglebox.

We spent Saturday with Dad and Michelle in town. We went into West Quay where Dad, Michelle and Kieran got Costa. Meanwhile, Harley and I went to see the Eastleigh Guide Dogs fundraising group who were set up trying to attract donations. David, who I’ve met several times before, had messaged the night before to say they’d be there if I wanted to pop by and say hello. It was lovely to see him again and make a big fuss of Winston, his curly coat retriever withdrawn guide dog who helps catch people’s attention. Afterwards, we all went to Apple as one of Kieran’s airpods wasn’t working properly. As there was going to be quite a wait, Harley and I headed off to do some of the shopping: Lush, Primark, Savers two crystal shops and Shoe Zone. While we were doing that, the other three went to Asda and then Hinds jeweller’s where Kieran was able to get his engagement ring reshaped. It hadn’t been round for quite some time. We all met up and went to Poppins, Dad’s favourite place, for lunch. Dad had his usual brunch with beans, Michelle had a salad and Kieran, Harley and I made up our own breakfasts. After, Dad and Kieran went to HMV while Michelle, Harley and I went to Pound Land. While Harley and I were in Card Factory, Michelle bought Dad a vape. Before I’d moved away, he’d decided to quit smoking and had been doing quite well for a while. In a bid to save him money and stop him smoking actual cigarettes, Michelle decided he should try a vape. It was certainly a funny novelty that afternoon, especially because he was calling it his “puff puff”, but he seems to have stuck with it since, maybe because of the cola, caramel latte and cappuccino liquids he chose for it or maybe because it’s saving him money. Either way, it’s better for him than the amount of cigarettes he was smoking each day.

Dad dropped us home and Harley spent the rest of the afternoon tidying their room while Kieran and I listened to music and I sorted out my shopping. At around 5 o’clock, while Kieran was out in the garden playing with Suggs, the Disney boat’s horn went off. I’d first heard it a couple of years ago when it had first come to Southampton. I looked forward to hearing it from my room whenever it was in because it could always make you smile. It had been around a few days before I’d left and I remember thinking that I’d miss it’s little tune. Mum and I used to call to each other from whichever room we were in that we could hear it. It made me smile to hear it again and I’ve since found a video of it someone has posted on YouTube.

At around 6:45, Dad and Michelle picked us up and we all went to Nan and Grandad’s so we could watch the Champion’s League final between Liverpool vs Real Madrid together. Nan did a little buffet of crisps and dip, cheesy savouries, marshmallows & maltesers, egg or ham sandwiches, chicken goujons, duck spring rolls, Greggs sausage rolls and breaded cheesy bites. The food was lovely and it was nice for us all to spend the evening together. Unfortunately, the football wasn’t so good; kickoff was delayed by half an hour because of problems outside the ground when fans were trying to get in and it wasn’t being handled very well. Liverpool lost 1-0.

As Mum wasn’t there to uphold our usual traditions of everyone gets up at a sensible time on their birthday, on Sunday morning we got up around 10. Kieran went downstairs and put the Stevie Wonder birthday song on the CD player, so that tradition continued. Once we were all showered, we FaceTimed Mum so that I could open her presents. I was as always very spoilt by her and Harley. I also opened the other cards there for me, including those from Kieran’s family we’d bought down with us, and found that I had a Costa voucher in my email InBox from Jenny.

At 1:15, Dad and Michelle arrived to take us out for my sort of surprise birthday meal. It had meant to be a complete surprise — all I was supposed to know was that I was seeing everyone on my birthday — but Dad had let slip that we were all going for a meal. Luckily, he hadn’t told me where we were going and nobody else had either. It was The Hut, our nearby Beefeater, which I’d enjoyed going to many times before. There to meet us were Josh, Nan, Grandad, Auntie Clare and Uncle Dave. Once we’d sat down, I opened more gifts from everyone else and was again very spoilt. Unfortunately, the service and quality of The Hut wasn’t at the standard we’d been expecting. There were quite a few things missing from the menu, which meant people had to find alternatives to what they’d actually fancied, and some of the meals weren’t particularly enjoyable. The service itself was also very slow. Kieran had calamari as a starter, the chicken melt for his main and a sticky toffee pudding; I had potato dippers, the chicken melt and a peanut butter and banana sundae; Harley had potato dippers, lasagne and a mini sundae; Josh had lasagne and a triple chocolate brownie; Dad had potato dippers and the chicken melt; Michelle had a prawn cocktail and lasagne; Uncle Dave had chicken goujons and a mixed grill; Auntie Clare had a prawn cocktail and a lasagne; Nan had roast lamb; Grandad had a prawn cocktail and a small steak & mash. Originally, Grandad had wanted roast chicken, Kieran chose fish & chips and chicken wings and Nan ordered steak & ale pie but these were all unavailable. Kieran, Dad and I agreed there wasn’t enough of the toppings and sauce on our chicken melts; Harley and Michelle said there lasagne was watery. So overall, a pretty disappointing meal. Despite that, it was lovely to be with everyone. Auntie Clare had also brought a birthday cake, a slice of which I somehow managed to squeeze in. The worst part of it all, of course, was saying goodbye to everyone. As we left the restaurant, I had to say goodbye to Nan, Grandad, Auntie Clare and Uncle Dave, who I wouldn’t be seeing any more while I was down. Then, when he dropped us home, I had to say a big goodbye to Dad as I wouldn’t see him again until next time. As time passes, I hope the goodbyes will get easier.

I spent the rest of my birthday watching The Chase and Harry Potter And The Philosopher’s Stone, which was obviously a very good ending to the day in my opinion.

For breakfast the following morning, Harley showed me how to use my new bagel slicer, a requested birthday present from Mum as I’d been struggling to cut in half the bagels I’d bought at home. Turns out it is of course simple. While I ate my first self-sliced bagel, Kieran had a crumpet. Harley and I spent the day tidying and cleaning so that the house was presentable ready for Mum coming home in the early hours of the morning. Once everything was done, the three of us headed into town on the bus as Kieran had promised to buy Harley dinner at Ed’s, somewhere they love going. On the way, I had a quick look in Schuh to see if I could find any nice Converses to buy with Mum’s birthday voucher, but didn’t get any. At Ed’s, Kieran had hot wings, a Coney Island hot dog, chips and beer; Harley had chicken tenders, cheese & bacon loaded fries and a banana milkshake; I had chicken tenders, halloumi fries, waffle fries and the Go Bananas (peanut butter, banana and caramel sauce) milkshake. We enjoyed our meals, and the milkshakes were of course faultless, but Harley and I agreed that the chicken tenders weren’t as nice as they used to be. Also, we’d had to complain about Harley’s loaded fries as they’d arrived stone cold. As we were sitting there, we discovered they’d ran out of gravy, gherkins and nachos and by the time we left there was a 30 minute wait for a table because the chef had gone home ill.

On the way back to the bus stop to go home, we stopped at Costa so I could use Jenny’s birthday gift voucher and also take advantage of the free cake because it was my birthday Costa Club offer. Unfortunately, when I tried to pay, the till wouldn’t accept either voucher, meaning I paid in full for the lot. To add to my annoyance, my white hot chocolate with coconut milk seemed to be missing the chocolate part and was just hot coconut milk. Thankfully, Kieran enjoyed his iced Frappuccino and Harley their berry cooler. I’d also bought Kieran and I biscoff rocky roads, which we enjoyed later.

That evening, when she arrived at the airport, Mum phoned Harley to say her flight had been delayed. We’d all been a bit nervous this would happen given all the delays and cancellations on flights over the last few days. Mum promised to keep us up-to-date and Kieran kept an eye on the departure board online. Once they’d finally departed, Kieran checked their plane every now and then on his flight tracker app. We watched Hebburn for the rest of the evening and every now and then Kieran would freak me out with a little fact about Mum’s flight, like how many thousand feet they were flying at.

Eventually, Mum got home around 5am on Tuesday morning. I’d somehow fell asleep despite worrying about the flight and woke to the sound of car doors outside the house. On her way up to bed, Mum came in and had a little chat with us; she sounded absolutely knackered. That morning, Kieran and I stayed in bed until 10 and even then I tried to be quiet, not wanting to wake them. But Mum was already awake and got up just as we did. Mum made us cups of tea and toasted me another bagel, obviously not needing to use my bagel slicer but using a knife like any other normal person. The majority of that day was spent sitting in the front room listening to Mum, and Simon when he joined us, tell us all about their holiday. They’d bought us little souvenir gifts home, including a fridge magnet for our flat. That evening, Kieran ordered a Chinese takeaway for dinner for everyone. I ordered chicken with cashew nuts & crunchy veg and special fried rice; Mum chose mushroom chow mein and smoked shredded chicken; Simon asked for king prawns in peking fruity sauce and Thai special fried rice; Harley chicken balls with sweet & sour sauce, chips and curry sauce; Kieran had a house special curry with chips. With the place we used, you can request free dishes with certain prices when you’ve spent over different set amounts. Mum said, using her last order as reference, that the platter of mixed sides we were going to order — including prawn on toast, spring rolls and seaweed — had come free. We also asked for free prawn crackers as they’re free over a very low spend. When the meal arrived, we hadn’t been given our platter so assume the offer has changed. However, the meal was lovely regardless. We shared some of it; for example, I had some of Harley’s sweet & sour sauce and chips and they had some of Mum’s shredded chicken. Usually, whenever we used to order there was always dishes everyone wanted some of so it just made sense to share things if more than one person wanted it, rather than buying far too much. For the first time in a long time, when everyone had finished, after a couple of us had second helpings, there was hardly any food left over. Mostly, there’s always some stored in the fridge for someone’s lunch the following day. Everyone thanked Kieran lots because it had been a lovely meal and nice of him to offer to pay. I think Mum was especially grateful; she was starting to feel the tiredness of the night before catching up on her and seemed relieved she didn’t have to cook. That evening, we watched Jools Holland, DIY SOS, Gavin & Stacey and Naked Attraction. Introducing Mum and Simon to the audio description on Naked Attraction was very amusing. When Kieran and I went up to bed, we watched some Friday Night Dinner outtakes on YouTube.

Wednesday meant the last full day of our visit. On Thursday morning, we were catching the train at just after 10 so wouldn’t have any time to do anything. Mum and Simon took Suggs to his grooming appointment while we got up and sorted ourselves out. When they got back, they said they were going into town to get some bits done so I decided to go with them. Both Harley and Kieran said they didn’t want to come. We went to the bank, Pound Land, Primark, Wilco and McDonalds. The last place was because we were feeling hungry. Kieran hasn’t yet let it go, feeling he was cheated out of lunch. As I’ve pointed out, we couldn’t exactly bring them McDonalds home. From town, it would be freezing by the time we got it there. I had a double cheese burger, chips and a mango smoothie. When we got back and I told Kieran what we’d done, he assumed Harley would agree with his outrage. Disappointingly for him, Harley wasn’t that bothered.

Later on, Kieran cheered up quite a bit as we headed for the Harvester in Whiteley. He’d been browsing the menu for the last few days trying to decide what to have. In the end, he had jalapeño poppers for a starter and the dirty bird burger — a beef burger with a hash brown, bacon onion rings, lettuce gherkins and bbq sauce in it — for his main. I had a salad bowl from the unlimited salad bar, potato skins and the belly pork which came with mash and green beans. I changed my beans to peas. Mum had a salad bowl and chargrilled chicken skewers with bourbon sauce, chips and flatbread. Simon also had the belly pork but kept his greeen beans. The food was absolutely delicious! It’s the first time I’ve been completely impressed by a Harvester meal in quite a while. The fact that everyone else thoroughly enjoyed theirs proved my point. If I was choosing somewhere to go for a meal, I’d definitely go back there again soon as the service was great too, despite the fact that they were fully booked.

When we arrived back, we put Gavin & Stacey on Gold again but discovered they’d skipped to a completely diffferent part of the story from where we’d watched the previous night. So, as Mum has never watched it before, we decided to start watching from the beginning. I’m hoping she’s continued to watch.

The following morning, we got up early to make sure we had enough time to get ready and go to the train station. Originally, we were going to catch the bus straight there but then Mum said they’d give us a lift and squeeze in a McDonalds breakfast too. Obviously none of us were going to turn that down. The breakfast was lovely, especially the hash brown as always, and I was glad we were able to get a proper breakfast before the long trip ahead. But that’s a separate story… Mum and Simon drove us from McDonalds to the train station where of course Josh was waiting, as we were a few minutes later than our scheduled time. But there wasn’t a problem, we still had plenty of time to catch our train. Saying goodbye to Mum was hard. It didn’t feel like we’d had long together at all. But she’d had a great holiday and I was so glad; after the 18 months or so she’s been through she deserves it. Of course I wish we could have spent more time together. But hopefully next time we will. Giving her a big hug goodbye and walking away with Josh and Harley towards our awesome weekend ahead, I was so grateful to have come down for a visit, so glad I’d had such a great time and seen as many people as much as I could. It won’t be long, Southampton, and I’ll be back visiting again.

A whole month part 3: the title I forgot

So, the final part of my month-long marathon… when we arrived at the airport, Lesley had to call on the phone for a special assistance member of staff to come and collect us. It turned out they were quite busy and pretty miffed that we hadn’t arrived at least an hour early, which is apparently the rules. Luckily, the lovely lady, Jeanette, who helped us didn’t seem to be bothered in the slightest. This time, I remembered to get all the right things out of my bag. Somehow, when I walked through the scanner it went off and they had to do a quick search. On the plane, I enjoyed the complimentary shortbread very much. Kieran got a water but said it was pointless, the size of a shot. After landing, we were greeted by lovely Jose who helped us retrieve Kieran’s suitcase and then took us through to arrivals where dad and T were waiting for us. On the way home, we found out that grandad had crashed his car, reversing it into a mobile crane. Thankfully, grandad was fine, although pretty shaken up; the same couldn’t be said for the car, which had already been said to be a right off. Grandad had said, even if the car could be repaired he doesn’t want to drive any more.

Dad dropped us home where Mum, S and new resident Suggs were all in and sadly Coco the cat was hiding under Mum’s bed, not impressed by the new addition. Mum gave us chicken wraps with waffles for dinner.

On Friday morning, we had a lie in until about 10:30, a lot earlier than Mum expected for some reason, before getting up and having weetabix and a cup of tea for breakfast. Afterwards, I unpacked my rucksack from my stay up north and then we sorted through my mountain of parcels resulting from a lot of online christmas shopping while I’d been away. At 5pm, we got on the bus to meet Josh in town. This time, we were able to enjoy a meal together before the scheduled comedy show. We went to Pizza Hut where Josh had a pepperoni pizza, Kieran had a spicy meat feast pizza and I had a Hawaiian one. I’d been considering whether to have a bbq pizza but thinking back to my experience with the Dominoes meal we had before flying up to Newcastle and how I hadn’t enjoyed that bbq pizza, I decided to go for something I knew I definitely liked. It was the right decision. I loved the pizza and the boys seemed to enjoy theirs. Kieran drank beer while Josh played waiter and got us as many refills from the machine as we wanted, an option he always takes advantage of. Kieran and I decided to have puddings, chocolate brownie for him and cookie dough for me. Sadly, they didn’t have my usual choice of white chocolate with salted caramel sauce cookie dough so I had the ordinary chocolate chip one and wasn’t as much a fan.

It was then time to head to the Guildhall so we could watch John Bishop perform his Right Here Right Now tour. It was very very good. Of course, it could never beat my first time of seeing him live when, as his end of show video began to play, he came down off the stage to kneel beside me and describe what was happening onscreen to me. But it was still great. One day, if we see him live again, I hope he’ll do a meet and greet so I’m able to meet and thank him properly. During the show, there were several lines for blog title options. Trouble was, by the time I’d got home and the following morning when I checked with Josh, nobody could remember any of them to use. Therefore, I thought I’d name this post the title I forgot because to be honest it’s usually either Kieran remembering or me noting down the line I’d chosen that means I always have a title.

Saturday morning saw Mum cook Kieran and I sausage sandwiches for breakfast. During the day, Kieran started ripping my CDs to his laptop music libary. While he was doing this, we listened to the new Red Taylor’s Version Taylor Swift album. It sounds strange listening to her sing songs she recorded years ago with her voice now sounding older. Some of the new tracks sounded good, though, but I was sad that her and Ed’s new version of Everything Has Changed (my all-time favourite Taylor song) sounded terrible. I’ll just have to keep praying the original doesn’t disappear. Later, Mum cooked cheese burgers and chips for dinner. After we’d finished, we went upstairs and caught up on Gogglebox with T, who had waited to watch it with us.

For breakfast on Sunday Mum made us cheese toasties. Afterwards, Kieran set up the new Wi-Fi extender he’d ordered to replace the one he’d given me years ago. The old one regularly disconnected and caused problems if people were streaming stuff online. Safe to say the new one is much better and there’s been no complaints yet. Later in the afternoon, Mum cooked chicken and steak pies with carrot & swede, cabbage, peas and mash. It was very tasty. That evening, we watched 8 Out Of 10 Cats Does Count Down, one of Lee Evans really old tours and The Chase.

Somehow, Monday had arrived, which meant our month-long run together was coming to an end. Looking back, the month seemed to have gone so quickly. Beforehand, we’d both been looking forward to it so much and thinking how crazy it’d be to have that much time together, but now it was already all over. To finish off our last day of the month marathon off in style and make sure Kieran had something to eat before his flight, we ordered a KFC for lunch. I had a boneless banquet which included 3 mini fillets, small popcorn chicken, creamy mash, bbq sauce, chips and a Pepsi max; I added a bbq snack wrap (but I must not let Lesley know I ate the lettuce!). T had a wrap meal which included the wrap itself, creamy mash, bbq sauce and a fruit shoot; they added a large popcorn chicken. Kieran went for a mighty bucket for 1 which includes 2 pieces of original recipe chicken, 2 mini fillets, 2 hot wings, chips, gravy and a tango. While we ate, we watched 4 In A Bed, Come Dine With Me and Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares USA.

Sadly, at 5:30 it was time to go. Dad was going to collect us later but then decided he wanted to go to McDonald’s on the way to the airport so he could have some dinner himself. He had a cheese and bacon burger with fries and a toffee latte; he was meant to have some nuggets too but T and I forgot to order them. Kieran just had a coke 0 but T and I decided to be pigs and have a milkshake and a McFlurry each: crunchy ice cream and banana milkshake for me and Oreo ice cream with banana milkshake for T. Once we were all done, it was time to head for the airport. We got there by 10 to 7 and as soon as we reached the assistance desk, there was someone ready to take Kieran straight through. There was barely time for a quick hug before they whisked him away through security. Just as Dad drove the car out of the airport car park, I received a message from Kieran saying he was just waiting to board the plane.

It felt odd driving home without him by my side. Having him with me for a whole month kind of lulled me into forgetting usually we only get a week or so before we’re back to being separate people again. I’m hoping, though, that the amount we enjoyed this month gives us a glimpse into how much we’ll enjoy living together. Obviously, I’m sure there will be many many times where we’ll fall out; Kieran will go in his office and blast his music as loud as he can through his very great speakers and I’ll pretend not to care and, I don’t know, do the laundry or something. The dinner will have been on before we had our tiff and the fish fingers will burn, setting off the smoke alarm. The waffles will get stuck in the George Forman because nobody was paying any attention. Kieran will barely hear the smoke alarm over his crazily loud music but come out to remark, somehow forgetting that we’re ignoring each other, that upstairs are making quite a racket and is that burning dinner he can smell? As we rescue the waffles from the George, declaring we probably need a new one now we’ve ruined it, and scrape the remains of the charcoal fish fingers off the baking tray, hopefully we’ll find the humour in it all and be ok again. I’m sure at some point Kieran will have enough of me forgetting where things are, how to use things or what he said 2 hours ago. Probably, that’ll end up another evening of loud music blasting. I’m sure, after biting my tongue for weeks, at some point I’ll get fed up of the sock that always misses the washing bag, he’ll be irritated by me switching everything off at the plug and I’ll be thoroughly fed up of listening to his slippers scuff across the lovely new carpet as he walks around. But I’m hoping, really strongly hoping, that our now 8 year friendship and nearly 6 year relationship will mean we get passed these things. Even if this does mean Kieran buys smart plugs for every electrical item in the flat and I give up suggesting he actually locates the laundry bag rather than the space of floor beside it… maybe there will be times when we won’t speak to each other for days. Maybe I’ll refuse to empty the dishwasher just to be annoying. But I think we’ll get through it. Who knows? Maybe I’ll be reporting the disasters right here. Hopefully not. I’m only paying for a one way trip when I move in, not a return…

Lesley and John, thank you for having me to stay for so long. I loved spending time with you all, even if Wilson’s dislike of my presence meant I had to be a statue at times. I loved all your cooking, as always, but especially the 3 jacket potatoes and the new meals I tried. Who knew I’d like kidney beans! At least, that’s what I think those beans in the enchiladas were called. Thanks for the cookery lesson, John, the cookies were lovely, even if my baking skills need much improvement. Thanks for the insight into old coronation Street. Safe to say I’m staying well clear of that, new or old. And again, thanks for everything you’re both doing for the flat. For giving Kieran and I this incredible opportunity to start our lives together with a lot less to worry about at the beginning. I promise we will not order takeaways constantly, not every night of the week at least… I will somehow revive my old living skills memories from college and make us meals that probably won’t poison us. And I’ll try not to make too much mess all over those lovely new kitchen counters you’ve chosen. I’ll never not appreciate everything you’ve done for us, from the taxi runs to and from the airport all these years to everything with the flat. Thank you.

Mum, for having Kieran to stay even though I never even ask if he can. You never complain even when I spring it on you 5 days before he’s coming that yes, he will be here on Monday …

Dad, for the endless airport runs that disturb your dinner and come straight after a day at work. For being our taxi for date nights even if you’d rather just stay in. For your oh so random music choices on your iPod shuffle, which Kieran seems to very much enjoy.

Little T (who’s not really that little but will always be the tiny 5-year-old to me), for being my super little sister. You’ve taken me and all I bring in your stride all your life. You fiercely defend me and all blind people to anyone who says anything that could be even slightly offensive. You death stare anyone who looks in my direction longer than 5 seconds, even if they are only being curious. You’ve accepted Kieran as another member of the family even before we were a couple and only slightly flinch nowadays when he’s only in his boxers — just to say, this is usually when he’s dashing to the loo or getting changed and they accidentally burst into the room. You don’t mind, in fact actually rather enjoy, being our date afternoon plus 1. Don’t worry, we’ll go to Ed’s together again soon. Despite you being the smallest, you’re happy to lead the train through the busy town centre, even in shops and haven’t injured either of us yet. And you even chat happily to Kieran these days, not the timid little mouse you used to be whenever he was around. You are a superstar, don’t ever let anyone tell you otherwise.

To my good pal Josh, thanks for organising all the many comedy shows we go to, being our train driver and generally making our time out great. There will never be a day we won’t want to spend time with you and always look forward to our next time.

And Kieran, for everything. I say it every time but thank you for the best times together. We managed a whole month person! Hopefully we’ll manage many many more. So looking forward to our future together. I promise I won’t switch all the plugs off… maybe. Love you lots.