marmalade

Oh my goodness here we are again in marmalade season and not a Saville Orange in sight. I hear from plenty on the forums that people find and purchase Saville Oranges. I don’t think I’ve searched hard enough if I’m honest. It’s a repeat of 2019 except in 2020 and in France. I’ll keep you posted on the results here is a link to last years marmalade recipe 😋

Warning long read – there’s a lot to catch up on!

January 2020 turned in to a blur of a month. Busy building software in France connecting with the MM&B Design Studio (UK division) and David our designer then literally going on tour visiting all of our lovely clients. This was early 2020 and would have been fine if Simon hadn’t started with the most horrendous migraine and flue symptoms. We battled on as a team heading to Limoges airport via the kennels to drop off pooches (Coco & Bert). Landed in Manchester for a quick turn around. We arrived late Thursday evening, called at the Sun Inn for supper and kicked off work on Friday morning with an early meeting then the afternoon meeting started. That’s two briefings completed for 2020 projects EXCITING STUFF.

In the evening I left Simon with his headache to meet up with all my lovely girlfriends to celebrate my January Birthday in style. We met at Diane’s (the hub of our social network) where a welcoming glass of wine awaited. I had to fight back the tears as each of these wonderful girls arrived for pre-dinner drinks one by one bearing gifts and long-awaited cuddles, smiles, and laughter. With our bellies full of amazing food provided by our very own official food technician the evening was a wonderful success and went by so quickly. It was 2 am in the morning I’d waffled on about France and hardly had time to catch up with everyone in full detail. We definitely need an extended girly weekend to catch up on over six months of time away from this glorious bunch of ladies. I miss them so much!

Next, stop Sheffield to wave goodbye to our sunshine Alex. It’s been lovely to see him in France enjoying winter walks and Christmas celebrations but it was time for him to go back to his studies and get some exams done. We took the opportunity to have a laugh together and a couple of meals out in the city.

If you are getting bored with the ongoing illness and meetings saga here are some pics from January.

In Sheffield, the headache got worse for Simon. Munching down pain killers wasn’t enough. He was so exhausted (which isn’t like him). With his temperature rising, I thought I might need to find a doctor in Leicester. Following two meetings morning and afternoon, I grabbed some super fruits (blueberry and raspberry) before catching the train from Leicester to London.

We arrived in central London at Kings Cross Station. Our hotel was a short walk away. The busy London streets were surely a step too far for Simon with his nasty virus and rattling with painkillers and chills…. However, Mr. Mason was determined to push on. What a hero!

The morning walk was peaceful and sunny weather-wise a lovely week. A fresh start to the day. Next, we entered the private women’s business club ‘The Wing’ to meet our client. Filled with gender neutrality this place was like a woke wonderland. Its soft furnishings and luxurious allure were very refreshing. Many, many beautiful tea options served from dainty glass teapots. The Wing is a delightful bubble. Was my male web developer companion (Simon) welcomed in this women-only world? Of course, (he was tolerated). He did refrain from eye-rolling and decided to opt-out of the ‘gender pronoun badge’ option (he prefers first names). The place felt like an overtly ‘safe space’ to work for females. It is good to carve out a beautiful feminine environment for female business networking. An interesting experience although I’d prefer to not need a specific or defined place for work. Clearly, at the moment, our society needs this.

I met up with Alex at the station for lunch – and we took off on a little adventure around the city in the sunshine. After munching great wholesome food we took in a free science exhibition. From Central London to Maidenhead Simon went off to visit the Science and Pharmaceutical clients for further interesting work in our ever-changing world. Thankfully he was starting to feel a little better. The headache had subsided and temperature normalised.

At last, the long-awaited quick visit with family (and relax). Food, Friendship, and a good laugh. We stuffed in loads. A delicious Indian food night with Louise and Marcus including political angst from our boys (now young men) and their thoughts on the world (oh to be young and full of ideals). We spent the following day meeting up with more rellies Katherine, Imogen, and Kevin at Sarah and Eric’s for supper. In the morning a house/garden tour followed by a superb celebration lunch out at The Ivy. What a TREAT! Homeward bound off to Stanstead airport overnight stay before the flight back to France.

Home in France at last. Simon is getting better. Now it’s my turn to have the terrible lurgy. (*cough, cough splutter*) Luckily we managed to style it out and fill our diaries with work for the year.

That’s the round-up for January. In rolls February with more Family outings and celebrations….