Out of the ordinary - AnnaTheApple

August 1, 2016

Pomphrey parkrun take two and BBQ fun

Firstly a huge congratulations to my bestie, Lou, who gave birth to her beautiful baby boy, Henry, on Saturday! Everyone is doing well

This weekend was fairly busy but a good’un. I drove up to Bristol (again) Friday evening to stay with my friends, Kate and Jamie. They were hosting a BBQ the next day for a bunch of us and they’d invited me up early so we could do parkrun beforehand.

This is amazing as previously when I’ve gone to Bristol to spend time with my friends I’ve always done parkrun in the morning and then rushed to drive up straight afterwards. It’s always a bit hectic. So it’s so nice that my friends are now into parkrun that I can do it with them on their home turf without a big panicked rush afterwards to get ready.

Jamie cooked once again that Friday night and made some really good lamb koftas and Greek salad. It was pretty damn tasty!

After dinner we watched some TV, which included the most bizarre programme I’ve ever seen: Naked Ambition. It was like car crash telly. One person selected their date purely on the basis of their naked body. It was hilarious, cringy and unbelievably crazy all at once. Very odd.

Like last time I was in Bristol we did the Pomphrey parkrun, and Kate’s friend Katherine joined us again.

We all knew what to expect now having done it before. We knew the hill that awaited us and this made us all a bit nervous and slightly dreading it. We all had ambitions of doing it a bit faster than last time which added to our nerves. Though it was cooler and a bit overcast which was good.

During the race briefing the run director once again went through the course and this time, now being seasoned Pomphrey pros , we joined in on the “then you go UP PROMPHREY HILL”. It was less busy than last time so this meant the start was easier with people quickly spreading out rather than tripping over people behind and in front. The run went well. It was hard and I definitely felt like I was giving it some. The hill was awful as usual. I wondered briefly if walking it would be better than the slow plod I was doing but I kept running anyway not wanting to ruin my flow. Though the 100m post-hill felt terrible, like my legs were jelly, but I pushed through.

I’m amazed at myself that somehow I seem to naturally negative split during parkruns now. Previously I used to literally run like my feet were on fire for the first mile then slowly die during the next two miles until crawling to the finish. But now I somehow manage to just hold back a bit and then push hard at the end. Have no idea how or why I’ve started doing this though!

I finished in 22:40 which I am so pleased with! The last time (two weeks ago) I ran this parkrun in 24:01 so that’s quite a chunk I’ve taken off. And Jamie, Kate and Katherine all got faster times too

We were all over the moon. We all agreed it was very tough though.

Kate’s parents had come this time to see us run and they brought the lovely adorable Lola again. She is just so sweet.

Though tricky to get a photo of when she’s bouncing around

Then we headed back for the BBQ extravaganza. We showered and got the food prepared and then the others started arriving. I probably say this every time but it’s always so nice when we’re all together and just chatting away. It’s a great group and we always have such a laugh. And after my post last week about feeling left out (thanks for all the lovely comments and messages – it really did mean a lot to know I’m not a weirdo!) it just made me feel so much better.

We made up some delicious strawberry Pimms (only one glass for me as I was driving that evening) with berries and fruit in and lots of nibbles while we waited for the main event.

Of which Jamie was very much in control of.

He is the BBQ Master.

I feasted on pork belly, pork ribs and some insanely tasty chicken thighs and lots of salad. So good.

We then had the BEST cheesecake for pudding. My friend Charlotte’s husband, Paddy, always makes the most incredible cheesecake and this time it was blueberry, white chocolate with a STUFF OREO biscuit base. Be still my beating heart.

Paddy is a very talented baker!

He also provided fresh blueberries and a blueberry compote to go with it. Oh it was divine. Hilariously when they sliced me a piece it was a huge slice called an “Anna Slice”. Happily a few other people also requested an Anna Slice so I wasn’t the only greedy person Let’s not talk about seconds either…

As the day went on and the feelings of fullness slightly dissipated, Kate lit the chimenea and we started toasting marshmallows and making s’mores. I’ve never had s’mores before so it was very exciting. It did take a little bit of a practice though – it’s quite a tricky thing! Especially with giant marshmallows and big chunks of Cadbury’s Dairy Chocolate!

But I did manage to perfect the art of toasted marshmallows. The s’mores, oh god, were so good. Very messy to eat and fairly sickly but oh so good. Definitely happening again! I now understand the craze in the States for them.

Eventually we said goodbye and I headed back home to Southampton. The next morning I had a 12 mile run planned and after taking Alfie for a quick walk knew it would be tough. It was very warm and sunny and I felt a bit lethargic (probably entirely due to all that yummy food). I wasn’t looking forward to the run.

It felt like running through porridge and it was really warm. I knew at seven miles I’d get to the Dodgy Tap again and planned to drink from there again after having no ill effects from last time. Yes it’s probably not hygienic at all but it’s far better for me than carrying water which I find so annoying. I also carried some cash with me so I could buy water if I got thirsty again. Well as soon as I got a mile from the tap I knew I would try and find somewhere to buy a drink. Luckily on my route there was a petrol station and this would be about three miles from home so not too far to carry a bottle.

I stopped and picked up a water bottle from the fridge section and standing in the queue cracked it open and drank straight away. I just couldn’t stand in the queue with an icy bottle of water staring at me and not drinking. I apologised to the cashier lady but she just laughed and said that was fine – I clearly needed it, standing there dripping with sweat.

Because I ran from my parent’s house (sounds a bit dramatic doesn’t it?) my dad had asked how long I would be and I said roughly 1 hour 40 minutes. Well, I got back and my time was 1:40:10! Though I did stop my watch at the tap and the petrol station, but still fairly cool.

It was a tough run due to the heat and food yesterday but it felt easier to get to nine miles than my nine mile run last weekend, which I guess shows my endurance is improving. Happy days! The rest of Sunday was spent having a Starbucks, doing chores, walking Alfie, watching Breaking Bad (trying to get back into it after I gave up a few years ago) and just chilling. Perfect!

Do you visit friends often?

What’s your favourite cheesecake flavour?

Do you prefer to know what a course is going to be like before you run it? For example, knowing there was a hill and what it would be like?

July 12, 2016January 5, 2017

Wedding recap and back to reality

I’m back! After an amazingly epic week away in Spain at the BTN Fitness Retreat I am home safe and sound. I got back Friday and then sadly was struck down with some awful illness for about three days. I couldn’t even make it into work on Monday and spent the entire day pretty much in bed sleeping. I feel a bit better now but still not hundred per cent. Hey ho!

I’ll do a full recap of the fitness retreat soon… it deserves a good coverage. It was a fantastic week and I learnt a lot about myself (both good and bad). Before going to Spain I had my friend’s wedding as well. I’m the genius that books to go on holiday the day after a wedding!

The wedding was so good. It was my close friend, Shell, who I know from university and her lovely partner Rob. The wedding was held in Dumbleton Hall near to Cheltenham. As I live in Southampton this is quite a drive so I stayed with my friends in Bristol, getting the train from work on the Friday. We went to a fantastic Lebanese restaurant, Lona Grillhouse, on the Friday night which rocked my world.

We shared a platter of different meat, including lamb cutlets, king prawns, lamb kuftas, shish taouk and lots more Lebanese-style meat. It came with couscous, chips, nan bread and salad. Very tasty! There was also free Turkish delight at the end when you paid your bill.

The next day we got up fairly early to go and do some running. Kate and Jamie have recently just gotten into running (they came down to do the parkrun the other week with me). Though we’d have loved to have done a parkrun, sadly the nearest one was about 30 minutes away now Little Stoke is no longer there. And we just didn’t have the time with the wedding being at 1pm.

They took me to their local park instead which was basically a 1000 metre track. It had 100m markers and went in a loop. It was exactly 1km.

We did that five times (not the most exciting of runs but very cool to have the markers) and then we got ready for the wedding.

The wedding venue was literally perfect. The weather was good – sunny but not too hot. All in all it was a fantastic day. Shell and Rob are such a lovely couple as well and we were all so happy to see them get married.

It was also nice to have another get together with my university friends and just laugh and chat like we always do. And so nice to put a dress on and be all fancy

There were lots of garden games as well to keep everyone entertained. And a hog roast sizzling away for the evening’s buffet… yessss!

Jamie and I were very pleased about this

Shell’s dress was beautiful as well. She looked amazing.

And of course the food and cake was amazing. Probably the best food at a wedding I’ve ever had. And I have a very good friend, Charlotte, who traded half her pudding with me so I could try both

I had soup to start, lamb (very tasty!) for main and then half an apple tart and half a chocolate mousse thing. The wedding had a Japanese theme as they both love Japan. The favours were these very pretty tea light holders as well as some homemade Welsh cakes (as Rob’s side of the family is Welsh). Lovely touches.

I’m not going to lie. I did drink a fair bit (for me). I wanted to let my hair down and relax. I rarely ever drink… unfortunately I didn’t really stick with a type of beverage and went from Pimms, to a Bud, to sparkling wine, to red wind to then gin and tonics. It tasted great at the time… The cake was delicious (obviously) with a carrot cake layer and chocolate layer.

We all had a good time boogying the night away as well. It was a great evening. My lovely parents came to pick me up at midnight and it was time to go home. I felt rough on the way home. A combination of all those different drinks and too much food (read: cake) meant I might have had to have stopped (*cough* twice) on the way home to be sick. Much to my parents great amusement. As I said, this isn’t something I normally would do! Oh the shame…

I had my alarm set for 6am and arrived home at 2.30am (ouch). And for whatever bizarre reason I woke up at 4:59am and got up! I was so convinced my alarm was going to go off at 5am. So I got showered and ready and then at 5.45am wondered where my taxi was… The penny then dropped that I was a full hour early. Needless to say I reset my alarm and went back to bed (fully dressed).

I have to say I have never felt so ill in my life from alcohol. On the plane I was freezing cold. I asked for a blanket but they didn’t offer them (well, it was FlyBe…). I felt unbelievably rough and it only reconfirmed to me why I don’t drink excessively. And sadly my first night in Spain, after meeting everyone at the retreat, was spent missing dinner and going to bed early. You know I’m not well when I miss a meal time!! Serves me right I know.

Do you enjoy getting dressed up?

Do you drink? When was your last hangover?

What’s your tipple of choice?

June 20, 2016

Birthday weekend–part 1

And just like that I’m another year older… I turned 28 yesterday. I’d like to think that I’m wiser and have it all figured out but I absolutely don’t. But I’m happy and enjoying life so I’ll take that!

For the Saturday I had a few of my university friends down. Kate and Jamie (I went on holiday last year with them to Orlando) came down earlier so they could join me at parkrun. Now this is a BIG DEAL. This is the couple who laughed at me for going to parkrun when we were on holiday together. They were the least likely out of all my non-running friends to want to do parkrun. But, major kudos to them, they’ve started running and eating better in order to lose a bit of weight and get a bit more healthy. Jamie has lost FIVE STONE and Kate has lost (I think) over two stone. They’ve both also been doing the Couch to 5K programme and Kate had timed it perfectly as to use parkrun for my birthday weekend as her target.

They got to mine just before 8am and we headed down to Lee-On-Solent parkrun. Ordinarily I do Netley but Kate wanted a nice flat course and my dad was going to do Lee as well as my friend, Mat, who was down from Cheltenham for the week so it made sense.

Kate, Jamie, me and Mat

It was a beautifully sunny day. I was a bit worried about my hamstring but I’d done a quick tester run when I walked Alfie in the morning and it held up OK. Not perfect but alright.

I’d planned to take the run nice and slowly and stop if at any point it became bad.

My dad rocking the England shirt

It was quite amusing to see Jamie and Kate’s reaction to parkrun. They tend to run very early in the morning and never with other people. They genuinely thought they’d be about 12 people at parkrun. Jamie said he was shocked that one minute there were a couple of people and then the next there were hundreds. They were literally taken aback by the amount of lycra and colour about.

The start was a little bit hectic I must admit. There was over 300 people and we were all bunched together. It involved a lot of negotiating around people and trying not to trip over anyone else or be tripped up. But eventually it evened out and there was enough space.

I found a nice easy rhythm. I wasn’t pushing it or feeling out of breath and the hamstring felt OK. I was surprised to see I was running around 8 minute miles.

Photo credit: Eileen Bartlett

Lee’s a good course as you can see runners ahead and behind so I could cheer people on and spot people I knew.

Photo credit: Eileen Bartlett

I’d say the hamstring felt 80% OK. It niggled slightly towards the end but there was no pain, just felt uncomfortable. It just annoys me though as it doesn’t make for a great run as I’m constantly thinking about it and not wanting to push myself to go fast because I don’t want to annoy it. But least it was better than it has been! I finished in 24:15 which felt nice and comfortable.

Mat had already finished in a great time of 20:50 so we walked together to walk my dad in. He was power walking the course and desperate to beat his last time of 51:12. He was finding it tough but the tail runner was apparently really good at keeping him going.

Photo credit: Eileen Bartlett

Towards the end, he picked up speed, overtook another guy and sprinted to the finish. Everyone cheered him in and it was lovely.

Photo credit: Eileen Bartlett

And he completed it in 50:16 so almost a minute off his time! He was made up Kate squeaked under her goal of sub-35 by getting 34:57 and Jamie got 33:58. The absolute best part was hearing how much they loved it. Kate and Jamie are now full-on parkrun converts. On the way home they were already planning their next one (depressingly their local one was Little Stoke so now their nearest one is about 20 minutes away). Jamie was already commenting how he felt he could run further when he finished as well. YES!!! Converting my non-running friends one person at a time

We got back to mine, showered and then my friend Shell and her fiancé, Rob, showed up to join the fun. Again, hearing them tell Rob and Shell how good parkrun was just made my day. A year ago there was nothing I could say that would persuade them that running could be enjoyable. People have to find out for themselves.

I had booked my latest favourite restaurant for lunch and we were all pretty excited. After catching up and walking Alfie and Kate’s pug, Doug, we headed to Sadlers in Southampton.

As I’ve mentioned before, Sadlers is THE restaurant for meat (though they also have a strong vegetarian section of the menu too). The last time I went was INCREDIBLE. My friends love BBQ food too so it made sense to go here. I decided to go for the ribs rather than the platter this time as, though the platter is amazing, I was really craving ribs. And they did not disappoint.

HUGE chunks of meaty ribs on top of chips, salad, coleslaw and cornbread. I didn’t even touch the chips. There was just too much meat (which, by the way, is not an issue).

So tasty. Shell and Rob also went with the ribs and Jamie and Kate shared the platter.

Ridiculously (and foolishly) Shell, Rob and I ordered sides as well. Shell and Rob went for some pulled pork and I went for some chicken wings and we ordered the bourbon BBQ sauce to go alongside. (Greed took over sanity here as you can probably tell…).

Yeah I didn’t even touch those wings. There was just far too much going on my plate. And, amazingly for me, I couldn’t finish the ribs. I was beaten! Everyone was. Happily Kate and Jamie said I could take their leftovers home so I took a swan of shame back with me.

Needless to say my freezer is now joyfully stocked with some smoked turkey, gammon, wings, hot link sausages and pulled pork. Happy days!

As we sat there afterwards chatting and basically recovering from the meal, the waitress appeared with a cake with lit candles and they all started singing happy birthday to me. It was such a surprise and so lovely!

Action shot

To be honest, I think the last thing we all wanted was a slice of chocolate cake. But you gotta take one for the team right??

The chocolate cupcakes on top were filled with delicious buttercream. We were literally DONE after having a slice.

We spent a long time at my flat just laying around chatting and digesting. We probably could have napped! It was such a great day. And to top it off they got me some super cool Superdry workout gear.

Because what else would you buy me?? So, an absolutely perfect Saturday.

What is your perfect way to spend your birthday?

Have you converted any non-runners to runners?

What’s your perfect birthday gift?

June 15, 2016

Rants and Raves #32

I feel like I’ve been sleepwalking through this week. I’m really struggling with getting proper night’s sleep with hay fever. Humidity and rain makes it so much once I think. It’s the itchy eyes and throat that kill me. A trip to the pharmacist is required I think! Some random rants and raves then…

Rave: As most of you know I get up ridiculously early (5am) to be at the gym for 5.30am four times a week. Sometimes it drops down to two or three visits depending on my running and the races I have coming up, but recently it’s been four times during the week days and then once at the weekend. I enjoy the gym but it is hard getting up so early.

Anyway, I like to listen to BBC Radio 1 as I like the presenter, Adele Roberts, and I like the music. She has a feature on her show at 5.55am every day called “Resident DJ” where each day a listener has a chat with Adele and picks a song that corresponds with the theme (Top of the Charts Tuesday, Workout Wednesday, etc.).

I always hear it and then last week I thought “I should apply for a laugh”. I went online and applied. Then two days later I got a call from the radio to say could I come on the next week. Oh god… So I said yes. They said they’d call me at 5.50am on Monday to be ready to go on air for 5.55am.

I was so nervous on Monday morning. I was at the gym, sat in the changing room with my phone waiting for them to call. I had to do a 30 seconds little bio of myself which obviously entailed me saying about how obsessed with running and food I was…Adele was lovely. She called me wonder woman which was nice

So far I’ve done three days. It’s fun but I do find it quite scary. It doesn’t last long but I get so flustered and honestly feel a bit like a knob with what I say. I wish I could be cooler, or sexier or just more interesting but there we go. I am who I am. I’m not built for radio. Today’s one was cool because it was Workout Wednesday so I felt on safe ground talking about my running and marathons.

What was also cool was when I finished on the phone on Tuesday a lady noticed what I was saying and came up to me afterwards and said “Oh wow are you the resident DJ for this week?”, I said I was and she went “yay I’ve met someone famous!” She was joking (obviously) but it was very sweet.

Rant: rain. That is all.

Rave: A little independent health-food style pet shop has opened up within walking distance from my office. I don’t usually buy Alfie treats or chews, mainly because he doesn’t seem to know what to do with them. With chews he just puts it in his mouth and then wonders around the place whimpering. I’ve tried cutting it up for him and then he’s sort of on board but otherwise he just doesn’t chew things. Anyway, I found some Alfie-friendly things at this new shop and they’re not full of rubbish (yes I do try and make sure Alfie eats well too!).

Peamutt Butter (though I think Peanut Mutter would have sounded better personally) and these Arden Grange crunchy bites that are free from any nasties. I figured that the peanut butter stuff could be on treats to encourage him to eat them. It’s funny because Alfie will eat chews and treats when he’s around my parent’s dogs because their dogs go mad for them and then want Alfie’s. But when he’s on his own he’s not bothered.

Rant: I paid £5 to be involved in my work’s sweepstakes for the Euro football.

Well, I waved goodbye to that money! Probably just as likely as England doing well I suppose My money’s on Germany…

Rave: Food is generally always a rave for me. I’ve found I can sort of recreate the Nando’s experience at home, but in a more small and normal portion size. I buy Gressingham Poussins, which are basically small young chickens.

I roast it whole and then have it with some tasty veggies. It’s not a regular meal I have in the week but it’s a nice meal to have on a Friday night when I want something a bit more interesting but don’t want to go out or get a takeaway. It satisfies the protein beast inside

Rant: Porridge has been my go-to breakfast of choice for over ten years now. I love it. I never have any toppings, just chia seeds and either almond milk, cow’s milk or goat’s milk. It fills me up and I enjoy it. I decided though to mix things up and try having something different for once. Everyone raves about eggs so I thought I’d give them a go. I like my protein so I figured it would be a good choice as I don’t tend to snack between breakfast and lunch.

So far I’ve tried three eggs scrambled with four rashers of turkey bacon (to be fair, each rasher is 21 calories so four seemed the right number!) and kale. It didn’t fill up my up for long at all and by 11am I was grumpy for food. I tried it instead with fish (river cobbler) and this is somewhat better. To be honest though, I still love my porridge and once I’ve got through my eggs I’ll be back to normal!

Rave: While at the gym I needed to use one of the boxes for my box jumps but a girl was using the one I wanted. I sort of hovered awkwardly nearby and between her sets I asked if I could use it when she was done, which she happily agreed to. She’s a regular early morning gym go-er too and often does some hard-core weight sessions. Saying that might imply (because of those oh so annoying stereotypes driven by the media and common misconceptions) that she might be bulky or mannish-looking girl, but far from it. She’s got a rocking body: strong but feminine. She can lift some heavy weights though!

Anyway, when she dragged the box over to me she asked my name and we chatted for a bit (normally I’m a bit of a gym ninja where I try not to speak to anyone as I want to get in and out fast and, well, its 5.30am). Anyway she said I should join her to workout (she has other girlfriends who she works out with sometimes) as I’m “good”. Ahh little fan girl moment though. Being told I’m “good” by someone as cool and strong as her made my day

What are you rants and raves this week?

Have you ever been on the radio or TV?

What’s your go-to breakfast?

May 26, 2016

Random Life

Hello lovely people! I was going to do a Rants and a Raves post but decided instead my thoughts were more random and less ranty or ravy-specific. So here we go…

Spotted: one lone lunchbox on top of a car in my office car park.

I would be really annoyed if this was me (food = my life). I decided to put the lunchbox out of its misery (though I wouldn’t mind lying/sitting on top of a car all day in the sun instead of work if I’m honest…with a book perhaps) and take it to reception so they could email round. The owner had realised he’d left it behind however and met me halfway. Apparently his work colleagues had told him about it – why didn’t they bring it in for him!?

Frozen custard: I’d only heard about frozen custard when I was in the States and you could buy it from a fast food place like ice cream. I never actually tried it though. Anyone had it?

But anyway, there it sits in the Sainsbury’s freezer in the UK! I was very tempted to buy it it must be said but I managed to resist. Portion control and ice cream in my freezer is tricky

Home decor: So this is my TV unit thing that sits beneath my TV which is attached the wall in my flat.

I just don’t know what to put on it though as it looks a bit bare! When I bought the unit I thought the TV was going on it but then I found I could put the TV on the wall which was actually better for where the sofa was going. So now I have this area of space and it feels like I should put something there…like photo frames or potpourri. Can anyone suggest anything? I’m so terrible with stuff like this!

If I were a dinosaur I’d be a T-Rex: If you’re a regular reader of the blog or you know me in real life then you know I’m fairly carnivorous. I could easily give up bread, potatoes, rice etc. But I would really struggle to give up meat. Yes I could get protein from more environmentally sustainable ways but I love it too much.

Instead I try and buy as much organic and free range or outdoor reared meat as possible. As that’s obviously a lot more expensive I’ve found a good trick is looking in the section of the meat aisle where meat is just about to go off and so is marked down in price. I’ll only ever buy free range chicken and it’s at least 1/3 of the price cheaper getting it there. I then freeze it so I have no worries about it being needed to be eaten straight away.

Anyway, last weekend my fellow meat-loving friends, Louise and Tom (and their toddler, Jake), met up for a Sunday meat fest. Instead of going out to Sadlers (ahh that epic meal…) which would have been tricky for them with childcare we decided to recreate it at home. I brought buffalo chicken wings, a HUGE rack of St. Louis-style ribs and salad (#balance). They provided sausages, pulled pork, lemon and herb chicken thighs, BBQ spare ribs and chips.

The chips were buries underneath all the protein

It was amaaaaazing. Clearly far too much for us (yes, even for me) but delicious nonetheless. I mean look at that rib:

Jake had some cut up sausages and bread and seemed quite happy. It was a lovely way to spend a Sunday afternoon with friends.

Family time: For my mum’s birthday we went to Brighton at the weekend for a daytrip. We went by train which, for my family, was quite novel. We normally drive everywhere but we decided to save the hassle of parking.

Brighton train station selfie

The weather wasn’t great but we weren’t going there for the beach. We wanted to do a spot of shopping and have a nice meal.

We hadn’t realised it was the Brighton Fringe Festival which explained why it was bustling with people and things going on. Though it was a shame about the weather the atmosphere made up for it. For lunch we decided on Browns. I had done some research beforehand to find some nice restaurants but, in true style of my parents, they made no decisions before rocking up to Brighton and then floundering around a bit trying to find somewhere suitable (*sighs*). Also, a few of the places I suggested probably weren’t what my parents would have wanted anyway…But I have a lovely friend in Brighton that I might be able to persuade to take me (especially to any of the cool sounding vegetarian restaurants.! Yes, I can eat a non-meat based meal occasionally!).

Anyway Browns was lovely. Though the waiter was ridiculously incompetent. He took forever doing anything. We ordered drinks and saw them sat at the bar for a good 10 minutes before he brought them over, and even then he brought my dad the wrong drink (but he took it anyway for fear that he might die of thirst by waiting for the correct one). In the end though we came out well because he missed off our last drinks order which included a glass of champagne for my mum. The food, however, was delicious.

I shared this platter with my dad which included calamari, chicken lolly pops, fish pâté, hummus and prawn cocktail. For my main I had a Caesar salad (so predictable) and for pudding I had a brownie. Not my favourite because it was so rich but nice with honeycomb ice cream.

We then walked around the Lanes and did some shopping. This obviously included the Choccywoccydoodah Shop.

My dad, a self-confessed chocolate addict, said it was torture as he wanted everything. But he’s trying to be good (and everything was rather expensive – though very good quality!). A good time was had! My dad was perilously close to falling asleep on the train and all our phones had died by this point – what on Earth would we do!? Make actual conversation with each other?? Like when I was younger, we played some train journey games like the “yes and no” game where you have to guess what the other person is (literally anything, person, object, place) by them just answering yes or no. I felt like a kid again!

Do you play any games on long journeys?

Do your friends have similar eating tastes to you?

Have you ever been to Brighton?