A Short Week, A Film and Another Visit to Yorkshire - W/E 12th April 2026

A long Easter weekend, was followed by a short week, made shorter by the fact that OH and I were heading up to Yorkshire again towards the end of the week. LB couldn't come as she was working and we wanted to get a trip in, just in case there are any petrol shortages in the near future and we can't get up there easily.

I was very glad to get back to the gym on Tuesday for my Zumba class, on account of eating way too much chocolate over Easter, despite the fact I didn't buy much. (We were given some) Unfortunately, my bike only got me part way there, before my tyre went flat with a puncture, so I had to walk most of the way and then all the way back, but I didn't mind as it was a lovely day. OH has since repaired it, bless him. It felt good to do some exercise though, and when I got back, I managed to figure out how to set up one of my bank accounts online, which I'd had trouble with in the past, which was a result. This will make life much easier. I also checked another account to find I'd got a nice sum in interest deposited this month, which I was happy for. It's going into the car fund which now stands at £2000. A long way to go.

I then decided to walk into our local town centre to get a few bits from Tesco that I couldn't get from Lidl before Easter. My new trolley bag got it's second outing of the week (it came to the car boot sale with me and was very useful for all the fruit I bought). I didn't need a lot, but still managed to fill it.

On the way back, I called into a local charity shop that I haven't been to for a couple of months and spent £10 on a few small but useful bits - no clothes. One was this new stainless steel plug, which fitted the sink in the bathroom perfectly and cost just £2. It replaced a temporary rubber one, which whilst it works well, does look a bit unsightly and we had guests coming this month. This turned out to be a complete steal as similar ones are over £20 on Amazon. It looks great too.

I also got a container to store chewing gum for my handbag (not very exciting, but useful) and this brown apothecary jar, which I think I'm going to use for Epsom salts.

I also picked up a couple of free books from a couple of local Little Free Libraries en route, not that I need more books, but they looked good. Here's a picture:

On Wednesday, it was another lovely sunny day, but this time forecast to be in the 20's (centigrade). Not wanting to waste the opportunity to get outside, I decided to walk to our local Lidl, to pick up a few bits, but ever frugal, to also claim 4 freebies I was due for the month on the Lidl app; some dates, a bar of chocolate (that I'll put away for crispy buns at some future date), a vegetable of my choice (peppers) and a bakery treat. I bought a few bits to make the trip worthwhile and ended up saving over £6 on the free items, which was pretty good. I got a good long walk in the sunshine too.

In the afternoon, LB and I were booked to go to our local independent cinema to watch The Drama, starring Robert Pattinson and Zendaya. As LB is now a member, she managed to get us both in for just £6, which was a bargain. Not the best day to be inside watching a movie, but we weren't to know how hot it was going to be and after all the walking in the morning, I enjoyed a bit of a sit down.  The film itself, was not what I was expecting. Not sure I'd recommend it, but it was okay and made for a nice afternoon out.

I needed to renew a library book after we left the cinema, so that was another item crossed off the to do list, saving me a fine.

When I got back I watered and fed all of my indoor plants and inserted the plant supports that I got from the car boot sale. They are much better than the ones I had before and were a good price. The plants look a lot happier with them in place.

Thursday, I got up and went to my usual aerobics class at the gym. I came straight home, instead of incline walking on the treadmill, as we were heading off to Yorkshire for a few days and I needed to shower and pack.

We set off by about 1pm. Getting out of London was the worst part of the journey and we managed to get to OH's mums for around 5pm. We stayed for a while chatting and then headed off to the hospital where OH's brother is an inpatient at the moment and visited him for the last hour of visiting time. When we got back, OH's mum had made us some supper, which was kind of her and we spent the evening chatting and watching TV.

On Friday, OH and I went into the next small town and did a bit of shopping, dropped into Boyes on the way to the hospital and then visited OH's brother again for a couple of hours before heading into town and having some lunch and a mooch about. 

When we got back to OH's mum's late afternoon, while OH cut the grass for her, I drove off to the graveyard in the village to clean up my parents' gravestone and put some bulbs on it, that I'd bought earlier in the day. I had a sit down in the graveyard, as it was a lovely sunny evening. It is a lovely peaceful spot, right next to the playing fields where I spent my childhood playing out. I then had a mooch around, identifying some gravestones of people I remembered from my childhood, some who were sadly similar in age to me, some belonging to the parents of people I knew at school. It's always very nostalgic for me going to visit my parents' grave, as we lived a stones throw from the churchyard all throughout my childhood. I then took a long route back through the village, just for nostalgia's sake.

In the evening, one of OH's brother's sons called round with his daughter, who we had never met - she's now 4. It was nice to see them and catch up with their news. We then took OH's mum out for supper at a local pub restaurant, which was nice and were back home and in bed by 10pm.

Saturday, was our last day in Yorkshire, as we were heading home in the afternoon. OH did a park run in the morning, followed by us visiting a local garden centre, where we bought a few plants and other bits we needed at home. We then met my elder sister in a local cafe for brunch and a catch up, which was lovely.  Her and her daughter are very busy organising the latter's wedding later this year. I'm looking forward to going to it.

A last cup of tea and chat at OH's mum's and then we were off on our journey back to London. It had been quite a busy weekend in Yorkshire, but we managed to see and catch up with quite a few people in the short time that we were there.

Sunday, back in London, was a chilled affair. I unpacked and headed out to the gym for my usual weekly workout, which went okay. I was tired when I got back though and didn't do a whole lot for the rest of the day. I even went up to bed at one point, as I felt cold and tired, but didn't actually sleep. I read a chapter of my book. I then got up and OH and I ventured to the allotment to do some watering. We also planted on some plants we'd bought in Yorkshire. I bought some polyanthus from a local flower shop, six for £4. Four of them have gone in my metal planters that hang from the garden fence, the other two are just on the table in the garden for now. They are very pretty. The garden looked a lot more green and lush when we got home. It's suprising what a couple of days of sunshine can do. Here's a couple of photos:

I also bought myself a pot of hyacinths that cost £2, for inside the house. I'll probably plant them out once they have finished flowering. They smell lovely.

After supper, we watched a movie starring Leonardo DiCaprio called One Battle After Another on OH's Prime account. It was pretty good.  By the time I went to bed, I was looking forward to a normal week at home, getting back into my normal, if a little boring, routine.