Eastern Europe Trip

When your mum tells you twice it’s time to update the blog, I guess it’s time to take notice… Sorry mum!

It’s been a ridiculous 5 weeks since I last posted, for which I can only apologise, and put it down to writer’s block, and a pretty hectic work and social life. I won’t bore you with the details of my work life, as it’s only likely to be of interest to other blokes with beards and sandals…

But as for our social life, well, now that’s a bit more interesting. Going way back 5 weeks will test my memory, but Tracy’s sat here in the front room with me, and if I get stuck, I can always see if her memory’s better than mine!

The weekend before I picked up the Fireblade, we had a family conference to discuss the future of the dog, Jake. We had come to the conclusion that we were simply not taking the best care of him, as we were always busy, and with both Katie and Carlie (whose dog Jake was) going away to college in September we felt we couldn’t give him the home he deserved. Don’t get me wrong, we loved having him around, it was just that we weren’t giving him the attention he needed, and we felt it would be better for him if we found him a home and a family that would. So we placed an adoption advert on a pet website and a week later had a lovely family from Lytham St Annes pop round to see him. Mum, Dad and 2 teenage kids all came and Jake took to them straight away – and them to him. They’d been reading up on how to care for a collie before they came and passed all our vetting (!) questions without hesitation. As they live near the beach, and would be able to take him out for daily walks as well as showed great interest in teaching him new tricks, there was no question that he would be better living with them than us. And so it was that we said our tearful goodbyes and waved him off with them that same day. The house is undoubtedly tidier without him, but we all miss having him here. But despite the occasional moments of melancholy we know we’ve done the right thing by him. We’re still waiting for the postcard he promised us, though!






Having said goodbye to Jake (sounds like a Slade song from my youth!), we quickly set about turning our back yard into a garden and reclaiming it from being the dog’s toilet. This entailed 2 trips to the B&Q Garden Centre, something that I once swore would have seen me committed, but I’ve got the “growing your own food” bug as much as Tracy. We bought a few containers, some compost and a few seeds and plants, including lettuces, strawberry plants and lots of different seeds – chillies (several varieties), peas, herbs, garlic, spring onions, etc. The back yard looks much better with all this greenery, although we’ve yet to sample any of it – early days and all that. It’s certainly keeping Tracy busy, as she does battle with the slug army that keeps eating the lettuce…

The weekend after Jake had gone we also took the opportunity to get away and went to stay in a lovely little pub in Oasby, just outside Grantham. The Houblon Inn was founded in 1650 and was superb – the food, beer and accommodation were just what we needed. This wasn’t just another simple get-away weekend, though, as it we took the break so we could explore the Lincolnshire, Cambridgeshire and Norfolk area where we’d found several Smallholdings. One potential future we’d been exploring had been the idea of selling up and moving away, buying a smallholding in the country and raising chickens and growing our own food. I’d still go to work, of course, in order to ensure we could afford to live the lavish lifestyle we’ve grown accustomed to (ahem) and so I could buy petrol to fuel my bikes. You see, the smallholding isn’t just so Tracy can practice turning her fingers green, it’s also so we can have a large area of land on which to ride off-road bikes for fun. It’s a great way to get fit, apparently. Anyway, we had been looking on various websites to see the sort of properties we might be able to afford, and had found several in this area, and as neither of us was very familiar with it, we decided to use it as an excuse for a weekend break. So on the Saturday, we woke from a great night’s sleep helped in no small amount by the wonderful food, copious beers and great wine (good job the malt whisky selection was lacking!), and headed off in the car to drive round. We went past several of the houses we’d found on the web, compiling our list of favourites and working out what we were really looking for. It basically boils down to a lovely cottage style house, min 3 beds, with at least 3 acres of land and no near neighbours, but within walking distance of a decent pub serving real ale. And we found just the place, but rather than put the jinx on it by naming it here, let’s just wait and see what happens.

The following weekend was Bank Holiday weekend, and Tracy’s brother and sister-in-law came up to stay. Craig and Caz had managed to offload their children, Shannon and Aidan, on Caz’s mum for the night, so drove up on the Saturday. They weren’t really coming to see us, though, as they’d heard that Oldham has a “Primark” and were keen to get a new wardrobe full of clothes “at bargain prices”. Suitably shopped out, I cooked some Thai food for them to try – though their plaintive cries of “nothing spicy, please” meant that I had to adjust my usual repertoire a tad. So we had spicy sausage, son-in-law eggs (which are truly delicious!), scallops with lime & chilli (way too much lime and not enough chilli) and mussaman curry. All washed down with copious quantities of white wine. A very civilised end to a good day, and on the Sunday we bade them farewell, promising that we’ll come visit them sometime in June. The rest of Bank Holiday weekend was a bit of an anti-climax, as Tracy wasn’t feeling too well (nothing to do with the drink, she assured me), probably a result of the course of anti-biotics she was suffering through.

At this point, it’s worth reflecting on how Tracy was getting on. She had managed several very long car journeys during our weekend to Oasby, and had started walking into town to see the district nurses once a week to have her arm examined and the dressing changed by a professional. I’d taken up the mantle of changing the dressings on a daily basis, as it’s a fairly simple process and that way I get to see how the arm is healing (or not, as the case maybe). She was still having problems with infections in the wound, and had been prescribed yet another course of anti-biotics, but the good news was that the original infection had cleared at last. There was also sign that the skin was finally healing, and we were optimistic that she might not need the 2nd skin graft after all. She was also putting a lot of effort into a psychology diploma course she’d started doing as both a way to keep her mind occupied, but also to help with her own recovery from the trauma of the accident.

With all this going on during the week, we were back in the routine of hectic weeks and socially busy weekends. The weekend after Craig and Caz had been we entertained our good friends Helen and Ian, who we’d not really seen much of recently. Once again I cooked and repeated the starters from the week before as they were good and I had plenty of ingredients left over! For the main course this time though I cooked fried sea bass with soy and ginger, and king prawns with pepper and leek. The “piece de la resistance” though was provided by Helen, who had made a fantastic lemon cheesecake for dessert. Washed down with rather too much red wine and followed off by a couple of “ample” malt whiskies, it was another perfect evening. The following day I woke feeling slightly worse for wear, but as the sun was shining I quickly recovered and took the opportunity to escape for a ride on the Fireblade at last. I took the opportunity to head over to Northwich to catch some of the “Thundersprint”. Now this really has to be seen to be believed. First, they close off the dual carriageway that runs into the town, then the mayor, in an open topped car, leads a parade of classic race bikes (including some very loud old grand prix bikes) past the massed spectators. The event is held every year, and estimates this year were that some 120,000 people invaded the small town – and I can believe the figure, it was that busy.






Once the bikes have completed their “fly past” they head round the back of Marks & Spencers for the main event. Here, they have turned the car park into a race track. I kid you not. The race is actually a sprint, with each rider getting 3 attempts to set their fastest time. The event is so well organised that some very famous racers turn up to have a go – including Giacomo Agostini – the man who has won more Grand Prix than any other – 15 world titles and 122 races! He looked a bit shell-shocked at the thought of racing round the car park! In addition to the racing, there’s a great big fair and stalls selling all sorts of paraphernalia, but it was still very hot and I was wandering round in my leathers. The thought of sitting in the garden at home, admiring the lettuce and herbs and drinking a cool beer was too much and I abandoned the Thundersprint and headed for home – naturally taking a slightly longer route than was absolutely necessary in order to give the Fireblade a proper shakedown. Back home, I started compiling a list of alterations I need to make to the bike to make it better – replacement brake hoses and new tyres are a must…

And so another weekend past and it was back to the routine of work for me, and trips to the doctor and nurses for Tracy. This time it was yet another swab on her arm and the great news that this time she was infection free! At long last, she could stop taking anti-biotics, but she’s not out of the woods yet, as we now need to head back to see the plastic surgery specialists at Wythenshawe who will then decide whether she needs another skin graft.

And that brings us almost up to date. Today is Monday, and last weekend already seems like a long time ago. On Saturday we cleared the cellar and decluttered several rooms of the house. We have arranged for a painter and decorator to come and pain the outside of the house, and redecorate our dining room and hall and landing. In addition to the plumber who’s already been and re-grouted and re-sealed the shower, this is in preparation for putting the house up for sale. As mentioned above, we’ve made a decision about our future. We’ve decided that we’re going to buy a smallholding – just as soon as we can afford it, and therefore we need to sell our house. With the housing market being the way it is at the moment, this might take some time, but we first need to get the house into a fit state to sell, which means we’re going to be busy for a while at least!