24th October
Tonight Spencer and I were invited to a birthday party of a dear friend in the Village. It is a significant birthday, with a zero at the end, and we were looking forward to an evening out on our own very much. We decided not to take the car and instead we walked along the banks of the Loddon to The Street and on to the party. We had a great time as usual, catching up with old friends from the Village. On the way back much later, Spencer reminded me that next year I shall also be celebrating the same significant birthday (with a zero at the end). I did feel somewhat depressed.
26th October
BATS Next Generation are performing Hairspray at QMC this week, so I went to buy my tickets as our very own Marcus is playing in the band. A little bird has told me that this is going to be a fantastic production, and it will be a rare chance to see this show outside of the West End.
28th October
It might surprise you to know that this afternoon I drove over to Sainsburys at Hatch Warren to have, of all things, a seasonal ’flu vaccination. For the princely sum of £8 I am now protected for a whole year against normal ‘flu. I did think long and hard about this, and because I am not in one of the high risk groups, I am not entitled to one on the NHS. My GP’s surgery did say that if they had any left over at the end then I could have one, but on balance I decided that leading the busy life that I do, I couldn’t afford to get ‘flu. Spencer, on the other hand, refuses to have one and instead says that he prefers to take his chances and have a fortnight off work if the worst happens. The other thing that might surprise you is that you can get Nectar points on your ‘flu jab as well. I know because I asked.
29th October
With both Violet-Elizabeth and now Spencer (don’t ask) at the Old Basing Panto. rehearsal, and Marcus at the BATS Next Gen. Hairspray performance, I had an evening to myself and decided to go along to the Boots Christmas preview evening in the town centre. Here, a very nice young man plied me with orange juice and mince pies and encouraged me to buy all my Christmas presents early in case they had none left in December.