My Week

It's been a hectic week and I'm still in a bit of recovery mode from it.

Monday afternoon I went to the wonderful metropolis of Croydon for some in-house training. The company arranged for cabs to take us (there were 5 from the Glasgow office) to the airport and my goodness we had a chatty and enthusiastic driver. I had trouble keeping up with him.

We flew British Airways and were given a 'snack' on the flight
I was OK with the chicken salad half, but the pastrami with egg mayo was a bit much. And then they ask if you want wine with it !?! I still don't understand this countries cuisine.

We flew into Gatwick and that was my first time in that airport. We needed to find the trains which were at the other terminal but between the 5 of us we managed OK. The train to Croydon was about 20 minutes and the hotel was just 2 blocks from the station so we managed NOT to get lost. But by the time we checked into the hotel and up to our room it was close to 9PM and we hadn't had dinner yet. Thanks to all the added security checks and lengthened minimum check in times what should be a quick trip can easily stretch into 5 or 6 hours.

Sat down for dinner in the hotel restaurant and ran into some people from the Bristol office as well. It's always a bit awkward being thrown together with people that you have never met before. Unless there is a real extrovert in the bunch the meal time can be quite quiet. But we managed OK.

The hotel we were staying at was the Croydon Park Hotel . Apparently it's a 4 star 'luxury' hotel but I didn't think it was anything special. The rooms were pretty generic and cold. But who can argue when you don't have to pay the bill.



The 2nd night after dinner there was a football match on the TV in the hotel pub so everyone crowded in there to watch the game. I keep forgetting that England hasn't brought in the non-smoking legislation that Scotland and Ireland has. So it was a bit of an adjustment dealing with the smoke again.

I don't think I've ever watched a full football game before so Joe from the Bristol office was kind enough to talk me through the whole game. It was Liverpool vs Arsenol and it was a very high scoring match with Arsenol winning 6 - 3.




The trip home was a bit sad as you just start to get to know people and then you have to leave. The 5 'boys' I was travelling with were all very sweet and they were quite shy to start but finally started to open up a bit on the trip home.

Thursday and Friday it was back to work. I ended up developing a migraine Friday afternoon but managed to get through the day and even join the gang for a pint after work but needed to go home at 7:30.

I took some heavy duty drugs when I got home but that night I didn't sleep well. I thought I was over the worst of it when I woke up Saturday and did my grocery shopping and had a shower. But as I was fixing dinner that night the migraine crept back again. I had a friend over for dinner that night and I think I faked it OK but by the time he left I was in really bad shape. I thought I was going to be sick, but got my drugs and went to bed right away so I think I nicked it just in time.

Unfortunately the flat across the street and up the block decided to have a rip roaring party that lasted until 4AM so again not a great nights sleep. But today (Sunday) I'm happy to say my migraine is completely gone.

Next week is also going to be a hectic week as well. Monday I have my interview for my National Insurance number and Thursday & Friday I'm in Chichester for meetings. Brenda's parents and sister are also in town for a visit so it's nice having people from home around.