My Weekend

I’m not normally one to write blogs about particular weekends (although to be fair in recent months I haven’t been one to write blogs in general!) however the weekend that has just passed (8^th and 9^th of June) was too good to not tell you all about it. Having written that, I fear I’m building you up for quite some disappointment. Let me tell you straight up that nothing spectacular happened. I didn’t meet Victoria Beckham, Ryan Gosling didn’t call and confess his undying love, I didn’t win the lottery nor did I win an all paid trip around the world or invent something that would make me millions. I did however spend the weekend back at home in Bournemouth, with my family enjoying the gorgeous weather that has finally arrived.

My Dad’s birthday is on the 8^th of June. Last year I didn’t go home to see him. I did however take an entire week off to celebrate Jaz, my dog’s birthday! And boy I haven’t heard the end of it since. “Oh so you can take a week off to see Jaz, yet nothing for mine!” blah blah etc. Anyway after booking another week off this year for Jaz (she comes first, period.) I thought I’d make the effort to see my darling Father on his 50-something-th birthday this year. Luckily for him it fell on my weekend off. And it meant I could have a nice meal out without having to pay a penny. I was sold.

My weekend started in an empty first class carriage on the 21.00 train from Waterloo. I had the entire carriage to myself until Brockenhurst where an elderly gentleman got on and proceeded to cut up a newspaper. This reminded me a lot of my Grandpa, he was forever cutting out articles for me from his Guardian, so I didn’t mind sharing my carriage with this particular passenger. Although I quite enjoyed having the carriage to myself (I could sing Beyoncé as loud as I wanted and could sprawl across several seats without being frowned upon) I missed people watching. I love watching others. People are so fascinating. I was on a relatively late train - it was cheap and I am poor –I wouldn’t get in to Bournemouth until gone 11pm: this, I thought, would mean that (the main reason I was actually going home) Jaz wouldn’t be there to greet me, as she is normally (with my Dad, obviously!) But lone behold as the train pulled into the station there she was, my favourite furry friend with her tail wagging like a trooper - she knows the deal! After saying hello to practically everyone else on the platform, she finally spotted me and altered her attention respectively. After the compulsory first (few) picture(s) of our reunion she grew tired of the camera (as you can see in the above photo - she wouldn't even look at the camera!) and I decided to call it a night and head to bed.

I slept so well. There’s nothing quite like your bed at home. I also didn’t have a family of 5 upstairs running around like a herd of animals, like I do in the flat above me back in London. It was bliss. Saturday was my Dad’s birthday.  I went down to give him his card and present – me. I think he was chuffed. I mean, who wouldn’t be? After that we went over to my Aunty Christine’s, as it was her birthday the day before. I was then dropped at the hairdressers whilst they all went for a dog walk. I have my hair cut by my friend Hannah. I’ve known Hannah since college, we bonded over our love of Mean Girls and haven’t looked back since. Hannah is another reason why I like going home. Hannah’s a good egg. A good egg that makes my hair look fabulous. I opted for some extra blonde this time, seeing as it’s summer and what not – YOLO! After a good gossip, a haircut and some highlights it was time for lunch. I had a sausage sandwich.

I spent the afternoon just chillin’ and after my brother finished work we head out for dinner. The destination of which was La Pergola, an Italian restaurant in Lyndhurst (middle of the New Forest). As we drove there I couldn’t help but notice how green it all was. Very picturesque. Having arrived at the restaurant I noticed a rabbit and 3 chickens in the car park. Oh how I love the countryside! The meal was nice, I had a pasta carbonara dish, with added chicken (possibly a little friend of the ones I saw in the car park!) It was nice. The restaurant was busy and had masquerade masks hanging on every wall. My Dad stated how it was like a Venetian masked ball; I stated how it was like Gossip Girl. Ahem! After the meal we went for a drive through the New Forest stopping off on numerous occasions so I could snap a few photos. Living in a city has really made me appreciate how beautiful the area I grew up in is. On our country ramble we came across some cows, ponies, a foal, a mother duck and ducklings, the sunset and a golden letterbox, although I have one of those in Stratford! After that I went home and slept, well again – thanks for asking.

Sunday morning involved a breakfast out and then we head over to my Grandma’s to collect her for our family day out. We were going to Brownsea Island for the day, for afternoon tea in the Castle. The sun was shining and the sky was a beautiful shade of blue. We arrived in Sandbanks quite early so Liam and I went for a little stroll along the beach - who knew that we could actually get on? I definitely didn’t. Living apart helps the situation: it means I don’t have to put up with his constant BS and can instead enjoy/tolerate his company for the small periods of time that I’m back home! We took plenty of photos, then headed back to hop on the short boat trip (no more than 10 minutes) across the harbour to Brownsea Island. The Castle is privately owned by the John Lewis Partnership, so unless you are employed by them you unfortunately can’t visit. (However if you are a partner I urge you to take a trip, it really makes for the perfect day out.) We spent our afternoon exploring the grounds, wandering along the private beach and enjoying the afternoon tea in the warm June temperature. It really was the perfect day for it and everyone thoroughly enjoyed themselves. On the boat back we went past Harry Redknapp’s house, who just so happened to be out in his garden. So me being the loud mouth that I am shouted “Hi Harry” and waved, he waved back. Babe! I then, very briefly, saw one of the very few friends I’ve kept in touch with from school: Jackson (Emma). We discussed plans of an America adventure we’re going to try and save for next year. Emma is off to Alaska in August to study Marine Biology for a year and I’m hoping to go and visit her at the end of it. We then hope to head to Vegas (to see Britney) LA and New York, but we’ll see how the saving goes!

Even though it was a fleeting visit, less than 48 hours, and although like I earlier said nothing terribly extraordinary happened, I really enjoyed spending the weekend with my family - and there wasn’t even one single cocktail involved – who knew you could have fun without cocktails?! I’m writing this whilst sitting on the train back to London. I’m in first class again, naturally(!!!) but there are several other people around this evening, which is making it a little more entertaining. The man directly opposite me has fallen asleep with his mouth wide open and dribble drooling down his chin. The man behind him is talking into a Dictaphone about a lady wearing a red dress with a dog and then listening it back to himself, and the guy behind him keeps poking his head above the chair to look around! Ahhh public transport, you can’t beat it! I hope you’ve all had a great weekend too x