Turn and face the strange in Hello.

Eleanor went back to school yesterday. She found out on Sunday morning she was supposed to be having a practical cookery lesson on the Monday (they don’t cook on every food tech lesson), so that got her riled up straight away. I was calm, made sure she had all her ingredients ready, even chucked in some red food colouring so we could have iced buns with pink icing.
She came home, all was well. No tears, no stress. She was a bit upset that her form had been broken in two so she couldn’t see some of her best friends, but it’s all for the greater good. It’s difficult to see that though when you’re that age, isn’t it?

Rob is talking about getting himself a job. He’s supposed to be going to Dublin for his placement, which was due to start in September, but he was hoping he could go earlier, like May time. But Ireland are a bit behind England in their rollout scheme, so he’s unsure when he’ll be able to go.
He admitted he’s going stir crazy here. Ever since he started working, he thrives on hard work. Sure it’s nice that he had a bit of time off, but there’s only so much you can do when you’re trapped in your parents’ house with no space of your own. He can’t watch what he wants on telly, play Xbox, play his music, because there’s always someone else in that he needs to consider. So he’s been thinking of going back to Ullswater and applying for a job there. Not the hotel he worked before, but another one further along the lake. He had been offered a job there in the past and had to turn it down. The thing is with chef jobs is that most of them are offered off the back of reputation and who you know, rather than what you know. And he knows the head chef of this hotel. Even if it’s just to cover the busiest time, it’s a live in job and he’ll be doing something else! (Plus Ullswater is a nice run out, so a good excuse to go visit!)
The distillery is looking for staff and Rob wishes now he hadn’t walked out because he loved the job there, he just couldn’t stand the head chef. Head chef Ben does still ask after him on occasion, but I think him and Rob would more than likely end up killing each other if he went back!

Diet talk. Boring, sorry. I’d started back on the Dukan diet. I did it about 10 years ago and lost three stone, so I thought I’d try it again for the run up to Shellie’s wedding in September. I did it for 8 days and just felt sick and bloated. My body obviously can’t handle it any more! So I’ve gone back on the raw till 4. I love fruit and veg, so it works really well for me. Although yesterday felt like a “stodge” day, so I ended up making a beef in ale stew with dumplings and honey roasted parsnips and having that for my tea. 😋 I’m hoping there’s some left for my tea tonight, I’m planning on having it with crusty bread. I could eat parsnips for every meal though, especially how I’d made them yesterday, roasted in butter and honey. I wonder if they would work with cinnamon? Hmm....

This whole Meghan Marckle thing is irritating to me. It’s all tit for tat “he said, she said” etc. Of course we’re going to get two conflicting points of view, no grey area. She’s an actress, they’re a really powerful family who pull a lot of strings. I want to be on her side, I really do, but when there are inconsistencies in what she’s saying, it makes it a bit difficult. I can’t feel sorry for or angry with the royal family, it’s not a personal vendetta against the Queen, but the institution itself.
I’m trying to avoid it the best I can, but all my friends and family are invested in it, it seems, and I’m getting mildly annoyed at people who have different opinions to me.