Not that I’m objecting – too much anyway, as it means that I avoid the birch pollen that always seems to make me so dratted ill every time I go down there. Ok – this year I would have known what the problem was (my asthma) and how to control it – in theory.
So, to make up for this, I decided to take Mum out. Or should that be we decided that we would go up to the Peak Shopping Village. Yes – this was for my own selfish motives (I’m looking for a new pair of black leather clogs, as I’ve kicked the living daylights out of my black nubuck ones!) Plus, it was a chance to get out of the area, and try to chill out.
We arrived ok (even though one part of the route was closed – thank god for Mum being able to read a map) and got parked with relative ease.
The first stop was a small bag store, which stocked a few pieces of Kipling. And that was where I found the bag that I had been considering. It was exactly what I had been looking for – the only problem was that the store didn’t have the colour I wanted (Wild Blue). Sod's law that – and I guess I should have realised that would set part of the tone for the day.
Ok – that’s a tad unfair. I struck out on the search for the perfect clog (plenty of nubuck, but no leather ones that I liked) but I was successful in Cotton Traders.
I’d been searching for a particular type of rugby shirt – it’s got a granddad style collar, and I’d not been able to find any. Well, this time I struck gold, and got two, as they are perfect for casual wear, without looking too casual – almost a smart casual I guess…
After that, we decided to head for a coffee in the little coffee shop. It’s quite depressing at times (not to mention expensive) and it wasn’t helped by some woman who’s laugh (Ok – cackle) would have put most witches to shame. But, it was a chance to sit down and talk about the next part of our travels, as Mum was (and still is) looking for a pair of shoes.
We decided to head to Masson Mill – just outside Matlock Bath. That’s a place that I really enjoy driving though, simply because the traffic is normally hell, meaning that I get the chance to have a good look at the bikes that had congregated. Normally, you get everything from little Vespa scooters to Harley Davidson motorbikes that cost more than the 207 – and have more bling on them than a US rapper.
This time, it was a real disappointment. Plenty of Vauxhall Corsas that had been modified in a vain attempt to make them look better (as you can tell, I’m not a fan of the Corsa) and a few run of the mill Japanese sports bikes, but nothing that had me wishing for heavier traffic so I could have a lingering look.
We got to Masson Mill, and pulled into the car park, only to be greeted with a sign that said that parking fees now applied. Ok – I can understand why, as it is within easy walking distance of Matlock Bath.
Mum and I paid, and I was directed to the best parking space for me (it was on the second floor). Not a problem and I parked ok, but I will admit to muttering about the placement of the steel support girders that made it a very cautious swing into the space.
We then headed into the mill, and had a wander around – which lasted all of about 15 minutes, with both Mum and myself saying that it wasn’t worth the parking fee and that we would strike this one off the list of places that we stopped at.
Getting out of the parking space was great fun. Not. Simply because of the way that I had taken the car into the space, it meant that I had very little room to swing the nose / front end of the car out, as I had a blasted great Lexus 4x4 parked beside me.
So, Mum was a real trooper, and helped me back out of the space by guiding me at the back and then carefully walking around the front end to make sure that I could start the turn without damaging my car.
Getting out was not a problem (thank god for a good throttle response in the 207) and it was time to head towards home, and think about stopping somewhere for lunch. Our usual stop, where we’re in the area, is a pub at Ambergate, called the Hurt Arms.
The food there isn’t bad at all, and it was one of the few times that I was cursing the fact that I was driving. Why? Because they had a speciality beer that was flavoured with passion fruit of all things.
Ok – I know I could have let Mum drive, but I prefer her to do the map reading for me, as that is not one of my strong points (I suspect that this may be an inherited trait from Dad, as he couldn’t read a map either – and he was a Queen’s Scout!)
So we stopped again at Belper, and yet again, that was a failure for the pair of us. But in all honesty, I wasn’t too worried, as it had given my car a good run, which is what it needed, as it tends to get short runs during the week, with me going to work.
Yesterday (Sunday), it was a case of heading to Bicester Shopping village. This place has delusions of grandeur, and to be honest, I would have thought it would have been better placed near Chester. But I digress.
The reason that we had decided to go (ok – the only reason) we decided to go was because there is a Kipling outlet shop down there. Ok – I know the stock is about a year out of date (if you’re bothered by such things) but it means that you can get some really good deals on bags down there.
I managed to get myself a new wash bag (it’s about time I had a decent one to travel with) and Mum managed to get a little handbag as well. After that, we decided to have a look around.
If you want designer labels - and I’m talking things like Ralph Lauren, Jimmy Choo (more on that in a minute) and Versace, then this is the place for you. However, I am not really a fan of designer labels - ok – I admit that my perfume is usually Dior, but that’s because I’ve worn their fragrances for more years that I am going to admit to.
Mum spotted the Jimmy Choo shop (yes – he of the super expensive shoes that everyone raves about) and dragged me in. Dragged being the operative word here. Simply because I loathe high heels (I can’t walk in the dratted things – give me a nice comfortable pair of loafers any day) and I honestly can’t see what all the fuss is about. From what I could see, they were extremely narrow, and overpriced. But, as I said, not my choice of shoe.
But there was further torture to come. Ugg have a shop down at Bicester as well, and again, I don’t see the appeal of the things. They look, well, ugly. As for the practicality – that was non-existent as far as I could see.
Simply because they are designed for Australian winters, which are cold and dry, not like the UK winters that are cold and bloody wet. Meaning that if you wear these bug ugly things out without waterproofing them, you have just ruined a pair of £200 plus boots.
So after we left (and thanked our lucky stars that we had gotten down there for opening time, as the queues for the car park were back to the A41) we stopped at the Bicester garden centre.
Now I’ve passed this numerous times on my travels, and have never thought to stop there. Ok, it’s a Wyevale garden centre, but there are quite a few shops there as well – including Lakeland and Cotton Traders.
This was far more to my liking than the blasted designer outlet (even if there was a Laura Ashley shop – not somewhat I had any intention of going near), and Mum and I were quite impressed. However, the garden centre wasn’t brilliant, and we both agreed that the only time that it would be worth going to would be if we had gone to the shopping village just up the road. So read for that, we won’t be back for about another six months at least.
Now onto today. Mum and I were at a loss to think of somewhere to go, and as we were linking up with Carole and her daughters, we decided that we would meet them down at Milton Keynes. The original idea had been to go to Worcester, but as the weather wasn’t good, we opted for Milton Keynes (at least that’s under cover!)
Mum and I got down there for about 10:30, only to see all the spaces at the front (nearest the shopping centre) all parked up. We were wondering if we would get a space to park, when I spotted Amber waving her arms, standing in a space that was just perfect for us.
So, Mum parked, and we got out, and were promptly cuddled by both girls, who seemed delighted to see both Mum and myself. I asked Carole what time the centre opening times were (they’re stuck on the entrance doors) and she told us that it was 11:00. All I could think was that I would be really miffed if I’d been paying £1.20 per hour only to discover that most of the shops didn’t open until 11am.
We headed to Burger King as our usual breakfast stop is in BHS – which wasn’t open and Amber and Elian were almost chewing Mum’s walking stick, as they’d not had breakfast according to Carole, as they wanted to have a bacon roll.
That wasn’t too bad, and we had a wander around various shops with Amber and Elian running interference for Mum (by making sure that people had to walk around them and Mum) instead of the other way around.
As per normal, we stopped in Waterstones (ok – Costa coffee) for a while, and I left Mum and Carole talking whilst I headed to my favourite shop – Lush. Simply because I’d run out of a couple of bits (and wanted a lump of conditioner to take on holiday) and the girls weren’t going to miss out on a trip to Lush without their Mum. Little monsters, the pair of them.
I got my Vanishing Cream (it’s a really good moisturiser that suits my weird skin) as well as my lump of conditioner. The girls got a few bits (think it was bath stuff – bath bombs and bubble bars) – mostly for Carole as a present, and I think it was a thank you gift for bringing them to Milton Keynes for once.
So it was back to Waterstones. I’d spotted a couple of books that I wanted – they were on a three for two offer, and as I knew that Mum had picked one up on the same offer, I thought it would be perfect. Only for Amber and Elian to disappear into the children’s’ section.
This was somewhat daunting for me, as I never venture into that area under normal circumstances. But I needn’t have worried. They’d spotted three books that they wanted – on the same offer as mine, and had gone to get them.
So we rejoined the rest of our party, and we finished off our drinks. Mine was a large vanilla latte, which Amber had designs on. I had to threaten to make her walk home before she would leave my coffee alone, and that only worked until she pointed out that Carole wouldn’t be so unkind to her. But, she did leave my coffee alone – I think it was the threat from her mother that she wouldn’t buy the books that the two of them had picked out.
It was then time to move and we headed to Debenhams. Now normally I avoid this store like the plague, as the cosmetic department stinks with the mixture of perfumes that seem to be squirted into the air.
This time, I was actually looking for a price of a perfume – Dior’s Dolce Vita. That was fine, until some pushy sales assistant started recommending the latest perfume from Dior – think it was Miss Dior Cherie (or something like that). She finally got the message that I wasn’t interested, when Amber asked if that was the one that smelt like toilet cleaner on me. Nice child, but it had the desired effect!
We then headed back to the car, where both Mum and I were treated to another cuddle from the girls, and we headed for home.
As I type this I am quietly mulling over this bank holiday. Ok – I haven’t seen my beloved, so I am a bit flat (ok – very flat) but spending time with Mum has been really nice – as we don’t really spend that much time together during the week, simply because I am not very sociable when I come home from work. All I want to do is chill out and ignore the world.
Ah well, I guess I should call this quits – I need to do some ironing so that I’ve got something to wear for the playpen tomorrow.
Back when I get chance…
Karen
Now some things you hold on to - and some you just let go
Seems like the ones that you can't have
Are the ones that you want most
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