And the winner of Come Dine With Me is….

I am so tired. I am not used to all this socialising! I am an early morning person- especially after all my work on the post.

Yesterday came and went in a bit of a blur, to be honest. I once again got up at gone mid day, and took Kathy out for a long walk to get some air to my head- it was just what the doctor ordered. When we got back, Kathy snuggled down to sleep, and after a wash and a shave, I then went up to Weatherspoons to meet the others.

When we got there, after a drink, we all wrote down our scores for each other on  piece of paper, and gave them to Dai to sort out. He went out the front, added them up, and came back to announce them. We were actually excited- I found myself a bit nervous! The funny thing was, 3 of us got 27; myself, Dai and Valentine, and Ralph and Ang all tied for second place. In first place- and runaway winner- was Alma, with 30; we had all given her full marks. Well deserved as well! She actually cried a bit, so we all hugged her. It was nice that we all came so close, but the best person won, clearly.

As a prize for Alma, and a thank you from me, I bought everyone their meal at Weatherspoons. It was the least I could do to say thank you for a week I will never forget.

I came home at about 9, and went straight to bed. Alma stayed over, she did not want to go back to an empty house. We both woke up late this morning, and took Kathy out for a walk. She is lovely company, and we spend our time chatting and talking. It is not in the same way as Maureen and I used to do, but it is still nice.

She is tired as well, so we have both decided to go up to Shirwell for a few days, as a kind of mini-holiday. Well, seeing I now own 2 properties, we may as well make the most of them! Kathy will come with us, and we can go for walks, watch TV, and have early nights. I think I need it after the last few weeks; even my blood feels tired, and my bones ache when I get up.

So we set off early tomorrow. I hope to be back this weekend, but if the nice weather continues, we may stay until next week.

So until then.

Yours sincerely

 

Raymond Williams

Come Dine With Me- Alma

Well. What a night last night was.

The truth is, I was tired before we started. I am just not used to going out like that, 4 nights on the trot. Don’t get me wrong, I have enjoyed every minute of every night, but I am so tired. I did not wake up until mid day on Friday, and then it was only because Kathy was licking my face as she had to go out.

Anyway, we got to Alma’s at 6 pm, and was greeted by a large glass of red wine. It was an Italian themed night, and to celebrate this, all the men decided to draw false thin moustaches on our faces, like we were the mafia. We thought it would surprise her. However, what we did not know, is that Alma got wind of this and did the same. She caught us right out! Very funny.

The food was lovely. We had Bruschetta for starters- little pizzas, which were tasty and light, washed down with a heavy red wine. For main course we had tagliatelle, all hand made, with tomato sauce, with partisan cheese, accompanied with a dry white wine. And for pudding, the best Tiramisu and Panna cotta, with strawberries, again with a white wine, which was quite sweet. Each was a small portion so we were not over filled, but they tasted amazing.

The entertainment was brilliant as well. Some of Alma’s friends came around and sang some opera- it was Toscha, apparently. It was lovely and beautiful and moved us all to tears. All washed down with red wine.

As you can tell, there was a lot of wine being drunk- red and white. For me, red and white does not mix, and with being tired, well, shall we say, I was very drunk. Luckily I went giggly and not maudlin (which is surprising given recent events), and they all laughed art me. I can remember the whole night- I think- though I am a bit sketchy on how I got home again.

I woke up at 3pm this afternoon, with the headache of a life time. Still rough now.

Anyway, we are meeting tomorrow afternoon in Weatherspoons to judge the winner.

It’s been a great week. I have some great friends.

Yours sincerely

 

Raymond Williams

Come Dine With Me- My Night

Last night was my night! I thought I would hold it at Shirwell, and we could all sleep over, to make it a bit more memorable. It was the first time I had been back there since the funeral, and it was strange to be there with out Maureen. Fact is, it is all mine now, no matter how strange it all is.

I let Kathy out to play in the garden, whilst I got down to work. I did what preparation I could, and the guests started to arrive about 6, just as planned. My theme was ‘countryside’, and I got some branches and twigs and sprinkled around the rooms. I also opened the patio doors, so the inside and outside merged into one; I felt it was nice.

For starters, I did some warming parsnip soup,with fresh parsnips from the veg shop. I popped a bit of chilli in there to give it a bit of a kick; every one commented how different it was. I also did some rolls to go with it, which was nice; I like fresh, warm bread with my soup.

My main course was steak and ale pie, with mash potatoes and green beans, and onion gravy. Well, of course, I had to do pies, didn’t I. Everyone ate it all up,and nothing was left, so I think they must have liked it.

For entertainment time, I knew that I could not compete with Valentines voice. But what I do have is amazing countryside, so we went out for a walk (Ralph had his electric wheelchair) and we looked around the village. I pointed out some things- like the history of the church, and the town hall; it is amazing what I found out using google. Everyone said it was very interesting.

When we got back, we had Pudding. It was simple but warming- treacle tart, with Hockings ice cream. You can’t go wrong with this, and everyone had seconds.

We then drank cider and chatted to 2 o’clock this morning, when we broke off to go to bed. As a consequence, we did not get up until gone 10, when I cooked us all bacon rolls, with some more of my fresh bread.

I think it went well. Everyone seemed relaxed, and it was nice without being over the top.

Alma’s tonight! It will be nice, but also, I can’t wait to spend a night in the flat with Kathy now.

Yours sincerely

 

Raymond Williams

Come Dine With Me- Dai and Valentine

Last night was Dai and Valentine’s turn for our come dine with me. I was expecting a lot knowing Valentine’s love for the theatrical- and was not disappointed.

We all got there at 5.30, ready for action. The theme was ‘Love’, so we all came dressed up; I wore a jacket and a bow tie, with my old red scarf around my neck- I looked quite dapper, even if I say so myself. Alma wore a long flowing black dress, with heels- she looked lovely. Ang was dressed (!!), and Ralph even had a tie on. The scene was set…

When we got there, there were hearts on the front door, and we were greeted by a glass of champagne, and there was classical music on in the back ground. It was a nice, relaxed atmosphere, and it put us at ease for the rest of the night.

The food was not all what I would have ordered, though. We had oysters for starters- of course, an aphrodisiac. I tried them- though to be honest they did not do anything for me. Alma- who does not normally eat fish- also tried them, but once again, she did not like them. Ralph and Ang loved them, as did Dai and Valentine; they soon finished ours off as well.

Main course was a small piece of steak, with pasta and asparagus. The steak was nice as was the rest of it. Felt full, but not uncomfortable.

Now came time for entertainment, and Valentine of course sang for us, but this time with his choir. There was 20 of them, in the living room, and although it was cramped, it was amazing- the vocals were spot on,and I could have listened to it all night.I love Valentines voice,and this was the first time I heard it in context with others; it was special.

Then it was time for pudding. We had a soft chocolate pudding,with ice cream, which was nice. Dai cooked all the meal from start to finish, and did a great job.

I got back here again by about 11, not too drunk, and quietly happy. I am so lucky to have such a daft circle of friends.

So… my turn tonight!!

Yours sincerely

 

Raymond Williams

 

Come Dine with Me Night 1- Ralph and Ang

It was the first night last night! I spent all day working on my meal, and as a consequence, I was almost late to get there! I turned up just gone 6, and was the last one there. The flat looked all tidy,and we started by having ‘aperitifs’- that is, a small babycham.  I had not had this for years, and I could see why- it is worse than I remember.

Anyway, I was right about Ang doing the cooking, but was wrong about the menu. Ralph said he and Ang guessed that we would have thought they would do Thai, so they went the other way, and did a traditional English menu. I am not sure if it is traditional English, but it was nice.

We sat down for the starter- Prawn Cocktail. It must be said- it was lovely,the best one I have had. Alma does not like fish like that, but even she enjoyed it.

For the main course, we had sausage and mash. The sausages were hand made, and were lovely and firm (Ralph said they like their sausages firm. It took me 20 minutes to work that one out). We had it with a pint of Ale; Dai and Valentine said this was the best part. The mash was a bit lumpy, but the gravy was lovely; best I have had for a while.

Next came the entertainment- Ralph hosted a game of ‘Who wants to be a millionaire’. We could not phone a friend- we were all there!- but it was fun, non the less. We got to a quarter of a million! As I said, I don’t know anything about football.

For pudding, we had home-made vanilla ice cream. By now the ale has started to work, and we were all a bit drunk. By the time we were finished, Ang was naked; I am surprised it took that long, to be honest. I was a bit uncomfortable for Alma, but she seemed to love it, and was quite impressed by Ang’s physic. It must be said, he has a nice, proportioned body.

We ended up having some cheesey 80’s music on, and had a bit of a bop- great fun. I got home just before midnight, a little worse for wear, but really happy. As I said, we will be voting together when we all meet up on Saturday for lunch- I can’t wait to see who wins.

A real shame Maureen was not there, but I do think she was there in spirit, in one way or another.

Was supposed to be Alma tonight, but Dai and Valentine have asked her to swap, so we are going to theirs tonight, and Alma’s on Friday.

It is turning into a good week!

Yours sincerely

 

Raymond Williams

Chopping and boiling

It turns out- I am a bit of a chef! I have spent yesterday and today on the google, and in the kitchen, getting ready for our Come Dine with Me. I have had fun! To be honest, even if it does not go ahead, I have had such fun that it has been worth it. It is a shame that Maureen is not here, as she would have hurt herself laughing at some of the food I have cooked! Still, Kathy has been well fed.

I really have loved every second of it. It even got me out of bed this morning early; I had cooked a meal before taking Kathy out! It has been a real tonic today, as the weather has been dreadful. My night is Thursday night, so I still have some time, but I am already quite excited. We start tomorrow at Ralph and Ang’s; I reckon it will be Ang who will be doing the cooking. The menu’s will be announced when we get there, but it will be interesting. They know if they go too Thai, then we may mark them down…

It has been nice. I think the best thing about it is that I don’t feel bad about being happy. I still miss Maureen, and I know for a fact she would want me to be happy. I know its OK.

Yours sincerely

 

Raymond Williams

Busy

Today I have kept myself busy. Cleaning, hopping, bit more cleaning, walking Kathy. I have not stopped, and it has helped a lot, especially after yesterday.

I did have an interesting phone call this evening, from Ralph. He said they have come up with an idea- they want us to do a ‘Come Dine with Me’ next week; first at theirs, then Alma’s, then mine, then Dai’s. We will all score each other in private, and add them up at the end to find a winner. I said this sounds interesting, but I knew it has already been decided for me. We start on Tuesday night.

So, I need to start thinking, what shall I cook? I am trying Google out, to see what I can find. I have never used it before, and it seems to be good- you can type anything in there, and it comes up on the screen, all about it (including sometimes a few things less desirable). It is really clever, and I would not be surprised if it really caught on.

Any ideas?

Yours sincerely

 

Raymond Williams

Another tough day

Yesterday was hard. I found it very hard indeed. Every where I turned, everything I did, all I could see and think about was Maureen.

I know this is part of the process. I really want to know what she knows now, and where she is. As I have said before, I am not in anyway religious, but the fact is, she knows now if there is any truth in it all. She knows if heaven exists, if there is an afterlife. Or perhaps she has already been reborn, and is a newly born baby somewhere in the world, waiting for me to come and find her.

Or perhaps, as is more the real case, she is asleep, and knows nothing, and never will do again. To be honest, this causes me the greatest heart ache, thinking she will never wake up, never see the sun. And I will never see her, or speak to her, or hold her hand.

I miss her, I really do. I am trying my best to get into my routine, but am struggling to find one which is working. After all the people who came around on Thursday, yesterday was a quieter one, and once Alma set off after breakfast, it was just Kathy and myself. I knew I was feeling low- tired, maybe- and I should have asked Alma to stay, but she has done so much to help, I felt I couldn’t impose anymore. I took Kathy out, and it all started. Whilst we were walking around the park, I saw a post van, which made me think of when I worked there, with Reg and Ralph. Reg got me thinking about how great a friend he was, and how I hoped he did not mind that I was with his wife; then I remembered, I am not any more, and she is gone. It is hard to keep forgetting she is gone; you suddenly get reminded, and the hurts starts again as if it is the first time.

I wonder if there is an afterlife, if she is back with Reg, reunited. I wonder if I just kept her safe until they could be back together, and he can look after her again. I hope so.

Either way, I don’t know, and I won’t know, until it is my turn to find out.

It was a very hard day.

Yours sincerely

 

Raymond Williams

A day of friends

It has been a busy day! It started off early- me and Kathy were out the door by 6 for a walk. It was raining, but neither of us mind that! We walked miles, down to Heanton Court and back.

We got back by half ten, and I had a bath to dry off and warm up. Just as I got out, the doorbell rang- it was Ralph and Ang, to see how I am. It was lovely to see them! We had several cups of tea, and we ate a cake which Ang had made. He is a cracking cook!

When they left- about 1- the phone rang, and it was Patrick, to see how I am. He had not read this diary, and was as surprised as I was about what Maureen had left me! He was as chuffed for me as I was, and he said I should treat myself- he said I deserved it.

Well, as soon as I put the phone down, the doorbell went again- it was Alma! It was nice to see her, and I took her out to Weatherspoons, to treat her to a meal, to say thank you for all her support the last few weeks. She is lovely company, and I am lucky to have her as a friend. I had gammon, and she had a burger. She also has had quite a few drinks (I have not drunk yet- I know that the emotions will pour out of me as I pour the drink in), and she is currently sleeping on the settee; looks like she is there for the night.

I am so lucky to have such great friends.

Still, I do miss my Maureen.

Yours sincerely

 

Raymond Williams

Thoughtful

I have spent the day thinking things over. I need time sometimes to process and consider; today was one.

I have never been rich, but I have always had enough (if I wanted more than I could afford, I soon found out I did not actually need it anyway). So all this money and the bungalow coming my way is new.

I could go on holiday. Do out the flat. Sell both, and get a bigger place. Buy a car (and learn to drive!). All the things I have never had, but have fancied.

I soon realised though that I have been sat here, thinking about what to do, when I have everything I need here all ready- Kathy and my flat.

I am so lucky; could I actually get any happier? Can money make me happier? I am not so sure.

Yours sincerely

 

Raymond Williams