Moving on

Cherryfudge

This morning was hotel breakfast again - so nearly £40 so far this holiday on hotel breakfasts, which isn't all that MS. especially as I'm no longer all that bothered about them - then packing up to go. However, I'd noticed we were very close to the International Bomber Command Centre so we went there in honour of my grandfather, who was in the wartime RAF. From memory that was about £12 each, as we went to the exhibition as well as the actual memorial. Again, money well spent for a very thought-provoking experience that managed to bring out the human experiences of wartime, as well as the government side of things. The walls of thousands of names, some with poppies inserted alongside, were sobering.

In the afternoon we drove to a village where DH's grandfather used to go as a child in the early 1900s, to visit his grandfather. I worked out that that is our grandchildren's grandpa's grandpa's grandpa! We found what we think is the right tombstone in a beautiful tranquil churchyard and wandered around a village that's probably much as it was a hundred-plus years ago.

Eventually we drove to our destination. Yes, we can finally work the Satnav! We had to charge the car again (£31.24) so we spent the waiting time exploring the High Street then went to M&S for a Dine In meal and some bread and milk (£19+). We really are spending rather a lot so far, and resetting the password on my M&S app doesn't seem to have worked. In addition, my CC has been refused I think three times in the last week which is weird as it's in date and paid up to date. Perhaps I need to ring the company.

The AirBnB is a charming place inside and out - and I can finally get back online properly, without the restrictions of hotel Wi-Fi and not wanting to waste my data. They had bread and milk for us already, so there are two loaves in the freezer till we finish what we brought from home!

Other spending today was a book for £4-something off V1nted (oh, the temptation of scrolling while a passenger in the car!) and a couple of souvenirs from the Memorial Centre - another £4-ish.

I'm still finding my way round the new search facilities on MSE, I hope they change it back.

And the big news, which we've known for a few days but are only just allowed to speak about, is that DS2 and his partner are engaged! Lovely news: we like her very much and she seems perfect for him. No date for the wedding as yet.

Watty1

Sounds a lovely trip - and - congratulations to your DS2

Cherryfudge

DH went for a local walk this morning and says it's beautiful round here. We packed up a picnic lunch which we ate in the car before visiting Waddesdon Manor for the afternoon - not cheap but huge and glittering! If you like looking at antiques and paintings in detail, our recommendation is to look at the grounds in the morning then you will have enough time after the house opens to have a proper look around.

We had the usual afternoon refreshments then headed home and DH made a tuna pasta for tea. I'm exhausted and can't quite shake a headache or the cough that succeeded the cold, so I'm really hoping for a quiet day tomorrow though we had planned to go to London.

One of the owners of the place where we're staying came round with a bag of tiffin for us - looking forward to trying that!

Watty1

How lovely of the owners. Little gestures like that can really make a stay seem special can't they

Cherryfudge

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82139415#Comment_82139415

Indeed they can - and I can confirm the tiffin is yummy!

Today I've felt a lot better. The morning saw some heavy showers and DH went out for a couple of local walks while I got up slowly. We didn't go to London: it would have been going for the sake of it and no particular destination in mind, and I felt I needed the rest. I think that was the right decision.

We had lunch at the house then visited Chesham and Berkhamsted, where DH has had family connections. We found two outstanding second hand bookshops: DH spent a tenner on a beautiful limited edition bound in leather, and I bought one book for myself and two for the children. I've also topped up on stamps as I've a birthday card to post, but somehow completely didn't connect parts of my brain to get an anniversary card for DH. I will get him a belated one when we get home. Neither of us can take in that we've been married 38 years!

We did more grocery shopping as a cheaper option than eating out, but still spent £22 on main meals for today and tomorrow. I had to throw out a small amount of broccoli that we brought with us, but we bought cooked chicken and pre-prepared chips, finished a carrot that was hanging round and fried up an onion and some very soft tomatoes to go with it. Tomorrow we'll have salmon in sauce and finish up some salsa verde on pasta, with some of our home grown tomatoes and a courgette from friends. I'm trying hard not to take back anything that will spoil so the rest of the milk will be left for the house owners, but we can take the bread we put in the freezer. I'll also leave the rest of the eggs that were left for us. I had two for lunch but DH doesn't eat them. On an MS note, my favourite crispbreads were a lot cheaper in Waitflower than T*sco so I bought two packets.

The car has been 'fed' again as we've about 90 miles to go tomorrow and DH doesn't want to risk pushing energy levels low. This EV business is a whole new ball game as the old car could do North Yorkshire up to the Scottish Borders and down to Birmingham before it needed to refuel!

We've moved money from the account where my wages go, to cover the rest of this month. Rather than take all the price of the car from savings, we used a lot of the float from the main account - it had built up - and left what we could to earn interest. I think that was the best way but we knew at the time that we would need to top up the current account at some point. We will get a bit back when DH sells the old car, and then (hopefully) there will be a further raid on savings to pay for solar.

Dakota_Rose

Your break away sounds lovely!

We had an EV charger installed at home last December if I can help with any questions if I read your earlier diary entry correctly.

Pros: Cheap charging; convenient charging; can safely leave it overnight; tracking charges on the app; can be connected to solar panels for even more savings.

Cons: mine is only a plug in hybrid so a small battery and still doesn’t charge fully some nights 😞; 🐙 have just changed the charging rules/prices so I can no longer boost my charging when I need a blast during cheaper hours; 🐙 decide when it’s cheapest to charge so won’t put any on unless the grid has capacity. Occasionally I’ll leave for work in a morning with an empty battery - really frustrating!

I’d still buy one again but can’t say it’s without frustrations, especially considering the cost of installation in the first place.

Cherryfudge

Thanks @Dakota_Rose , that's interesting. I'm hoping to get my head round it a bit more in the coming week, though after we get home tomorrow sometime, Sunday is my day for helping with the children's activity and I have to be out to a place I've not been to before on Monday morning, then have a GP appointment in the afternoon… and Tuesday is childcare day so I'm not sure where I'll find the head space! Just plodding on with one thing after another till I get into my new routine.

Today we tidied up after ourselves at the Airbnb and set off on our travels after lunch. Driving through the countryside, we found ourselves in a village that DH recognised as the birthplace of Elizabeth Woodville, so we stopped at the ancient church to have a look around. The village is completely charming, as are so many of the places round there. We've since arrived in Leicester and charged the car again (!) as well as doing a small supermarket shop in a mega-Sa1nsbury. I was fascinated by the world food aisles: you could sandbag a flood with those huge bags of rice! We have nothing on that scale round our way.

The MS for the day was to decide against hotel breakfast tomorrow - we have continental breakfasts and why pay a tenner each when we have all the ingredients in the car? However, we'd not paid for the hotel in advance, so that's another £90+ gone out of the account.

Sun_Addict

You’re almost in my neck of the woods if you’re in Leicester 🙂

Cherryfudge

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82141542#Comment_82141542

🙋‍♀️*waves* will look out for petite woman picking litter while in strict control of dog and chap on scooter with shopping, consisting mostly of milk that no-one mentioned had run out. 😉

Cherryfudge

Safely back home. 🙂This morning our first port of call was the optician's as DH's glasses broke on Friday. He commented that it's the second time that's happened on holiday. I didn't mention that his health also has a habit of going astray when we're away - but although he seems tired, he seems passably healthy this time around.

We had enough time in Leicester to visit the cathedral and King Richard's tomb - the volunteers were hugely knowledgeable and friendly, and we discovered that one spent her early childhood in the next town to ours.

I didn't think this would turn into a pilgrimage to English royal burial sites, but that's what happened.

We had packed lunches but found a nice eating place so we had a cooked lunch. Mine was baked potato with cheese, beans and salad, which was a good balance between being well fed and feeling okay to travel. DH had bolognese.

The journey back was quite straightforward, and included the now-routine top up of the car's batteries. I think we've charged it about five times while away, and on at least three of those times, DH has gone to the aid of someone who said 'I've never used one of these things before'! Just last week that was us - is it something in the air or is there an epidemic of new EV users? Or do they just follow us around?

We are partly unpacked and DH has topped up the car battery yet again as there wasn't much juice left. He also went to the shops as I needed milk and had a yearning for sausages tomorrow. He has also taken a liking to a particular fruit tea and nearly finished my packet of it. Meanwhile I paid the window cleaner, who had been while we were away, and did a tot-up of holiday expenses. Aside from the accommodation on DH's credit card, the last few days have cost us just short of £500. Probably close to £700 when his cc is taken into account. Not sure what to blame but could shave something off the eating out bill (though we had our packed lunches for tea, so no waste).

This evening I've gone through the stores cupboard upstairs (backup food and stuff like that) and done an inventory. Four pages of notebook later and I have a tidy cupboard and a heap of things that need to be eaten up as the 'best before' dates are past. I don't mind finishing them - these are all things where the dates can safely pass - but it's made me a little more aware of what not to buy in future. I've also washed my hair and sneaked onto my work emails to lessen the shock before Monday hits! Nothing dire, though there's one asking if I can help in a class about 30 miles away. Looking at transport, I think I can, provided work will pay train fares. There's supposed to be a bus but I can't find a direct one so further research is called for.

Right, well… bed time. I have to be up in the morning as I need to set a good example and arrive early to help set up the children's activity!