Monday was back to school for Miss D, and as always, back to work for me. I was glad of two things:

1. Mostly, we were all on the mend from the illnesses of the previous week, and seemingly feeling a bit more like ourselves again.
2. I’m a creature of routine and schedule, so returning to both of these is always welcomed.

Excitingly, however, I was getting my new cooker fitted on Monday morning. My old cooker had been in situ for 9 years, since I first moved in. It was gas, and probably needed condemning with knobs having melted off and an oven door that would no longer stay closed. I’d started decorating the kitchen over the weekend in anticipation of my shiny new electric cooker, and while the decorating is very much a WIP still, the cooker is in and looks fab.

I hadn’t planned anything for Halloween. I wasn’t allowed to “Trick or Treat” as a child, and I always felt the FOMO back then. As a parent, I totally get it and really don’t want Miss D going around knocking doors and taking sweets from strangers, irrespective of whether I’m at the end of the path or not. We’d carved our pumpkin together on Sunday, I’d decorated the living room in some lights and balloons, and as far as I was concerned she could dress up and we would watch horror cartoons for Halloween. Halfway through the day though my friend, and mummy to one of Miss D’s classmates invited us to an impromptu children’s Halloween Party. Perfect. So, after school it was on with her vampire costume and over to her friends house for hot dogs, dancing and games of sleeping ghosts. She had a wonderful time.

Wednesday I was back in the office, and since so many of the London based team were up, we went to the Cosy Club for a team lunch.

I love the Cosy Club. It has a really laid back vibe and the decor is amazing. Inhabiting York’s first ever purpose built Electric Cinema, it has a real deco feel and is filled with sumptuous reds and blues. The menu is good, always covering everyone’s dietary needs and, I’ve never personally had a bad experience on all of my many trips there. It’s a safe option.

We had a great time, and it was the first time I’d been able to catch up with some of my colleagues face to face in a really long time. That used to be almost a monthly occurence, but so much has changed since Pandemic times. It’s a trade off though because working from home means I get to manage being a working mummy so much better.

That wasn’t my socialising done for the day though, because once I’d finished work the chap came to meet me and we went off to one of my other favourite places, Brew York.

Ever since my first visit back in July Brew York has firmly held its spot as one of my favourite places to go for a beer and some Korean street food. I love the art work on the walls, the massive range of beers, and the food is absolutely gorgeous.

We enjoyed a feast as usual, and stopped off at the shop before leaving to buy some cans to take home. I bought one of their Christmas special editions – Fairtytale of Brew York 2022, which I drank on Friday night with my weekly treat of fish and chips from the local chippy. I actually think it’s one of the best beers I’ve tasted in a really long time, so I’m going to go back and stock up on a few cans next week.

The rest of the week was a fairly routine round of work/school and life in general. I did finally manage to finish a book I’ve been reading for what feels like, forever though. Byzantium. What a book, it’s a book about the whole period of Byzantine history. It’s amazing how much of our current law, religion and political/monarchical practices we can attribute to this period of history, even today. It also put Istanbul very high up on my list of places I’d like to visit some day.

Before I knew it, the weekend had rolled around again. Saturday’s weather was grim, but we wandered into town to meet up with my good friend, W, for tea and cake at a local cafe, and long overdue catch up. It felt like an age since we had met up, so there was lots to chat about, and we promised not to let it be so long the next time. Then it was off to pick a few groceries up from M&S, before heading home for little Miss to use her Bonfire Night sparklers. Sparklers are the only concession I’ll give to at home fireworks, I firmly think fireworks should be set off in properly organised events an not just by every Tom, Dick and Harry in their back garden. Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem like everyone agrees which meant I had a very scared pug to deal with for much of lastnight. I imagine it will be the same tonight.

If you’re off out somewhere, stay safe.