A few days prior to a procedure to fix Mr C’s unexpected health condition that caused us to cancel our Madeira trip in October we had a last minute day trip to London.

We enjoyed a special meal deal in The Ivy looking towards Tower Bridge, our destination for the day. Tower Bridge with its glass walkways and views of London from above is well worth a visit. After our tour of the bridge we had hoped to visit the nearby Tower of London but in winter months it closes earlier, meaning we had run out of time. Instead we visited Foyles book shop where neither of us were tempted to buy anything.

A couple of days later I took Mr C on the 50 minute drive to the hospital (in appalling weather) where his procedure to remove some anomalous non-malignant cells was due to take place. General anaesthetic was administered but when the consultant prepared to do the procedure he found that the anomalous cells had vanished…

He was allowed home rather than having to stay in hospital overnight. Another 50 minute there and back again journey for me. We stopped on the way home to pick up something for our evening meal. A cup of tea was in order and we were tempted by naughty cakes.

We arrived for breakfast to find, unexpectedly, that it was in a different room with different waiters including the barman from previous evenings. In one corner of the room the Ice Sculptors were having breakfast together. One of them was rather rude, having a loud business conversation (that the whole room had to suffer) rather than retreating to take the call in a more appropriate location.

After breakfast we loaded the car and headed off to the Railway Museum only to find that it wasn’t open on Mondays. We had already left York centre and didn’t want to retrace our steps so we set off in a general homeward direction hoping for inspiration along the way.

Mr C suggested that we stop at the next motorway service station for elevenses. The signposts were specific and then confusing leading to Mr C missing the turning and ending up on the road to Pontefract where we saw a friendly sign to a nearby shopping outlet. They were bound to have morning refreshment options there.

Suitably refreshed we did a circuit of the shopping village. The first shop I ventured into was Craghoppers where I saw a lovely waterproof (3 in 1) navy coat with a soft pink fleece inside. I resisted the urge to try it on. How many waterproof coats does a girl need, even if they had been looking for the perfect navy coloured waterproof that would work just as well with evening wear?

Mr C was drawn into the cookshops and came away with several baking trays and an enamel roasting tin, then we browsed a bedding shop but decided not to buy the only bedding set that caught our eye. When we had completed the full circuit of the shopping village and were about leave, the coat called me back… Apparently a girl can never have too many waterproof coats!

Purchase completed we resumed our journey stopping off at Derby garden centre in Little Eaton for lunch. Our order was taken at the table and delivered on a delightful tea trolley. No wonder the café was full on a Monday.

When we arrived home, both Mr C and I noticed immediately that the delivery we had been concerned about was under our doormat. The doormat, which had featured in the delivery confirmation update, was the secure porch mentioned in the text. I enjoyed opening my belated birthday present, a two sided wrap skirt that has many different styling possibilities.

Later we enjoyed ‘Fine Dining’ on luxury fishcakes from our freezer and the mixed leaves we had picked up on our way home.

Not the day we had planned but it was enjoyable none the less.