Our
weather continued to be a bit changeable, but towards the
end of the week, we were stuck with rain, or so it seemed.
Work continued, of course, and on Tuesday afternoon I was
off to acupuncture at Northern
College of Acupuncture. I always feel
so good after that! Then, I hurried home, as I had to change
clothes and meet my friend, Donna Gale, at Merchant
Adventurers' Hall. It is a lovely 14th
century building, and there was a reception for HMS
York. As Donna is joining the Navy, she had received
an invitation which included bringing a friend; thus me!
It was a
cold night as I walked over to the Hall, and we were escorted
into the Hall by one of the crew. The Lord
Mayor of York and her husband, the High Sheriff and
his wife, along with many others, as well as a number of
the crew, were in attendance. Wine was brought round, and
we visited with several of the crew, among whom was an American
who is the Navigator. He is on an exchange program, and
the regular Navigator is on his ship in the US. It was interesting
to hear him comparing things, including the large number
of holidays English sailors enjoy compared to their American
colleagues, and the fact that HMS York has 3 bars
on it, while American ships have none! We had a good laugh
about that. Then, there was a film and a narrative by the
Captain, telling about what HMS York had done this
past year since he'd been here to York, as well as a question
and answer period. I found it very interesting and informative.
Afterwards, we adjourned back downstairs for more wine and
canapes, all delicious, and visiting with more of the crew.
Around 9pm Donna and set off for home, having thoroughly
enjoyed our evening.
On Wednesday, I had to take my vacuum back to be exchanged.
No, it worked fine, but I'd been given the wrong model!
What with the weather, and it being Valentine's Day, the
traffic was very heavy, but I eventually made it, got it
exchanged (with the help of the ever-faithful Liz Kirby!),
and then it was home time for us both. By the way, I hope
you all had a very HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!!
On Thursday, Lil Sutton and I headed to the Rose
and Crown for lunch. She was to be working
from home the next day; so it would be our last chance that
week. As always, we enjoyed ourselves, but the time went
too quickly, and then it was back to work.
Friday came, and I bought bacon and mushroom breakfast sandwiches
for the ones working in my area. It was a special day, as
one of our own, Rosie Fluin, was leaving! She is off to
Leeds to work for
the City Council
there. Well, her desk was festooned with balloons, sprinkled
with glitter stars, chocolates abounded, as well as a chocolate
cake and a number of presents from all of us at work. She
was quite surprised, and we all helped her to enjoy the
chocolates and the cake! At the end of the day, there was
a presentation of more gifts, etc. to her, as well as champagne
served round to us.
Then, once
work had ended, a large number of us headed to the Old
White Swan for her leaving do. Peter Gibson
and Gareth Dadd turned up, and around 8:30pm the three of
us, along with Rob Cummings, headed to Oscar's
Wine Bar for dinner, bidding a sad farewell
to Rosie and getting a promise she would stay in touch.
Rob had to leave before his meal arrived, and we asked the
waitress to please just pack it up. You would have thought
we'd asked her to move a mountain! She sighed, said she
would ask the kitchen to see what could be done, then returned
to say that "due to health and safety", they couldn't
allow us to take the food off the premises. Well, I said
that was the most ridiculous thing I'd heard in a long time,
were they concerned about the way it had been cooked (it
was a burger and fries for goodness sake!). She just looked
at us. Peter had agreed, and as there were 2 spare napkins,
he proceeded to wrap it up, and we just dared her to keep
us from taking it.......she didn't. Guess you have figured
out what tip SHE got! Anyway, Peter went to get the car,
and Gareth and I walked to where he would be, and then they
took me home.
On Saturday I was up and off to the Mittel
Therapeutic Clinic for my shoulder, which
continues to improve. I had to hurry back to change into
a suit, etc. to go to The
York College of Law. I had been invited
to be one of 30 judges for the regional Negotiation Competition
sponsored by the Centre
for Effective Dispute Resolution. We were 10 teams of
3, and I was quite flattered that I'd been asked to join
such an illustrious group of mainly lawyers, judges, trainee
lawyers, etc. Well, the other two in my group were wonderful,
and we easily had agreement. One of the teams we judged
came in second and will go to the national finals. Good
for us! That ended about 6pm, and there were canapes, wine
and beer, and the cheering and celebration by the winners.
I headed home, elated, happy and tired!
Today I was up to a glorious sunny day, did a wash, ironed,
vacuumed, and then picked up my friend Donna, and off we
headed to see Music
and Lyrics with Hugh
Grant and Drew
Barrymore. A light, enjoyable film, and as we had discount
tickets to be used by today, it was the best of the lot!
So that's it for me! Another week is looming on the horizon,
and we shall see what it will bring.
All the best to all of you,
Love,
