Thursday

Went inside a pub in Cannock I'd not been to before, as well as various parts of Wolverhampton, Birmingham and Solihull.

Wednesday

Can't remember - can't have been very exciting!

Tuesday - desperate times, desperate measures

Got inside one of the cupboards in the office.

Monday

Really struggling for a new thing today, so had to buy a packet of Cadburys melts or something.

Sunday

Another walk today - this time around the village of Aldenham, again lovely, but people were rude and we nearly got hit by - quite auspiciously - a Jag and an Aston Martin, presumably driven by Watford players.

Saturday

So, so tired! So no going out, (a new thing in itself), but instead we went on a "nature" walk (another way of saying "pub walk" around Berkhamstead. Started in town where I got annoyed with a woman shouting about one of daughter's skirts, but she couldn't say "excuse me" when she barged past me. We then ventured through the town and along the canal path - a very nice place, if it weren't for the rude and posh people.

Friday

New thing was La Tasca in Ealing with my colleagues to mark payday - had a really good tapas spread which was substantially better value than the "pitcher" (picture, more like) of sangria.

New thing was the Feathers Pub in Rickmansworth, as well as lots of back streets trying to find that elusive parking space. More hassle than it was worth to be honest.

Wednesday

New thing was buying some sort of exotic flavoured houmous.

Tuesday

Dodgy parts of Liverpool.

Monday

Went to a photo processing place in Rickmansworth as my new thing. I think that's all of the shops in the high street done now :(

Sunday

Since diesel is about 1.06 a litre, I needed to go to Tesco as I had a money off voucher. Went to the one in the centre of Reading which was absolutely rammed. First and last time I will do that.

Saturday

My friend Steve's lovely house in Spencer's Wood near Reading for a university friends get together. Steve and his girlfriend Claire's neighbours are Lenny Henry and Dawn French.

Friday

More new things today thanks to the old things of freecycle. Ventured down a beautiful, but narrow lane in Rickmansworth to pick up some cutlery since we have a collection of about two spoons that I purloined from restaurants. Also had my hair cut in a new place in Uxbridge and went to Pizza Express properly. Had to come to work twice on my day off which was a nice new thing too.

Thursday

I love freecycle! Today’s new thing was going to a lovely house in the village of Chipperfield (near our joyous nature walk last weekend) to collect an armchair that someone was giving away. Since we only have two seats in the living room, it was a fantastic opportunity. The people were so nice as well!

Midlands

New thing today was the beautiful centre of Rugby which I appreciated all the more because a bloke tailgating me on the way up, sped past at literally 110-120mph doing his tie up with both hands! Also went to Tamworth which was nice and the people were incredibly friendly and helpful. I was looking lost in the middle of the High Street (and I didn't have an envelope in my hand), but some guy correctly predicted I was looking for the post office and gave me directions. WHile I was there, my dad called and informed me that we have family in Tamworth, so perhaps this helpful and intuitive bloke was a relative!

Tuesday - living vicariously

Work is crazy busy and getting me down, so no time for anything new at the mo. However Mabel kindly stepped up to the plate, cycling to Abbots Langley and going to the Cross Pub in Maple Cross, which he told me should be avoided at all costs.

Monday

New thing for today was having the grand tour of my sister's very, very impressive workplace, before heading to a Cuban bar for a Mojito and then having a delicious meal at a Korean/Japanese restaurant called Blossom, (the slash there between the two indicates that the cuisine is a mixture of the two, rather than to say that I can't tell the difference). Other new, but less remarkable things were going to a sushi place where I waited for ages, while two of the staff had a little chat, watched a bit of TV and then served the two people behind me which sent my blood pressure soaring, and the other new thing was going to a pub after our meal.

Sunday

First new thing was playing a fantastically addictive game called "Apples to apples", before heading out to the village of Sarratt for a satisfying nature walk around the footpaths and water meadows of Sarratt and Belsize. The plan was to go to the pub at the end of the walk called the Cricketers, but it looked way too posh for us. We're scruffy at the best of times, but after four miles of walking through fields and trying not to get run over by suspiciously clean 4x4s, we decided on the Plough a bit further up the road. Not recommended for its friendliness......

Saturday

New thing was the toilets in the Coach and Horses pub in the centre of Rickmansworth where alarmingly, there were signs everywhere saying that if two people were found in the toilet, you'd be chucked out...

Friday

New thing was Northwich.

Thursday

New thing today was the centre of Chester, after my meeting. Had a lovely walk around the centre which is one of the nicest town centres in the country, and not depressingly homogenous like the rest of them. Made it back to the car as it started to pour with rain, and made my way to Macclesfield, and then back to Northwich where another new thing was staying on a floating hotel, called the Floatel.

Wednesday - lots of miles

Popped to the Harefield Cafe, and also ventured up north to Chester. Stayed at Hoole Hall Hotel.

Monday/Tuesday

Can't remember! Oh dear!

Sunday

A M&S sandwich and cheesy puffs from Moto Services just outside Nottingham.

Saturday

Arranged to meet my sister outside her boyfriend's brother's house in Finchley. I made sure that we were early, after she'd made various threats about what would happen if I was tardy, then of course, she was half an hour late. Which meant that Robin found us sitting outside his house grinning at him. So one new thing was his beautiful house, the next was my sister's new car, and the next was going to my uncle's house in West Bridgford for the first time for a family curry night.

A typical Friday night in Uxbridge

Went into a very busy Pizza Express as our new thing, and decided a wait of 20 minutes wasn't worth it. Awful atmosphere in the town centre, so we went home.

Thursday

New thing was getting a bit lost in Birmingham, and visiting Warwick for the first time, including the "oldest pub in Warwick" the Roebuck. That's the oldest, not the friendliest.

Wednesday - Sicko

Went to see Michael Moore's new film Sicko about the health care system, or more accurately, the insurance companies in the US. Another new thing was venturing across the threshold of Frankie and Benny's for a bite to eat beforehand, so went to Chiquitos which I've been to before.