So, despite saying that my last post would be…well…my last post, I just wanted to remind anyone who’s subscribed to this blog that you can now go over to the all-new Mum’s the Word and subscribe to receive all of the new posts, straight to your inbox.
So, go on, go, subscribe!
Thanks everyone xxx
This is going to be my last ever post on this blog. It’s been a hell of an 18 months since I started Mum’s the Word, lots of good but also some bad.
But never fear, Mum’s the Word is not dead and buried, oh no, we’re just moving to a new home! From now on, if you want to read my brand of self-deprecating, profanity filled ramblings on life, parenting and everything else, you’ll need to go to mumstheword.me.
Anyone who subscribes to this blog by email will no longer get updates unless they hop over to the brand, spanking new Mum’s the Word and subscribe over there (pretty please…seriously, please do it, I’ll cry if this move means I lose all of my readers!).
You can email me at jayne@mumstheword.me if you need me for anything and I really hope you all continue to read and comment on the new space.
Love you all.
Thank you and goodnight.
My Dad texted me today. It said “It’s exactly 6 months today since I lost my sweetheart”.
How can it possibly be six months already?
But I checked and it is. Six long months since we’ve heard Lorraine’s voice or seen her face. Six months since we held out hope, right until the last second. It’s sunk in now. Or at least, 99% of the time it’s sunk in. Then I’ll be sitting there and it’ll hit me like a ton of bricks. I can’t believe she’s gone.
I’ll always regret not spending more time with her, not getting to know her better, not putting in more effort. I feel guilty that I told my Dad that Sausage couldn’t call her ‘Nanny’ as she had two nannies already and it might confuse her, a ridiculous knee-jerk reaction of loyalty to my Mum. I feel guilty for not visiting more when she was ill.
I know that guilt is an empty and futile emotion, but it’s one that’s stuck with me over this past six months.
There have been times that I’ve worried about my Dad, worried about how he’s coping. There have been other times when I’ve looked him in the eye and been overwhelmed by sadness. Most of the time, I’m just so damn proud of the way he’s coped and the way he made a dying woman comfortable and happy. I can’t begin to imagine how he must feel, but I think his text speaks volumes.
“My Sweetheart”.
We miss you, Lorraine.
I’m doing Race for Life next month to raise money for Cancer Research. I want to do everything I can to be able to say that I contributed towards the effort to ridding our planet of this disease, once and for all. If you’d like to sponsor me, you can do so at Just Giving.
Here at Mum’s the Word Towers we, along with myriad other bloggers and their families, were given a £50 voucher to take along to our local Frankie and Benny’s to give their menu and service the once over. We went on a Wednesday afternoon and it was moderately busy, with probably a third of the tables taken. We were seated promptly, although we were unclear when we walked in if we were supposed to seat ourselves as there didn’t appear to be any staff around.
The first thing we noticed as we were seated in our window booth, is that the windows were filthy. They’d obviously had kids sitting next to the windows as it looked caked in dribble and sticky hand prints, which I understand is a hazard in any family friendly restaurant, but it still made our experience a little unappetizing, right from the word go. We also had to swap Sausage’s fork for a clean one.
Our server was super friendly and came over to take our drinks order right away, leaving us to peruse the food menus. There was a fair variety of meals and a lunch menu including cheaper options for just £5.95, which is quite reasonable, as well as a kid’s menu with more child-friendly options. Sausage chose Spaghetti Bolognese.
Five minutes after we ordered, our waitress came over to tell us that the steak burger that Husband had ordered wasn’t available, so he chose a chicken burger instead. Our food was served about 15 minutes later, which wasn’t too bad a wait. The first thing we noticed was the my mother-in-law had been served the wrong thing, I had ordered her the All Day Breakfast from the lunch menu but they brought the larger All Day Breakfast, which she had not chosen as she didn’t think she could manage it all. I was going to complain but we decided to leave it.
Sausage was very happy with her Bolognese, which I tasted and though was very bland, but she seemed satisfied. Husband was a little disappointed with his chicken burger, which he described as “two overpriced chicken nuggets in a bun”. My mother-in-law, despite being given the wrong meal, really enjoyed hers although she said she was really disappointed to have wasted so much food because, as she predicted, she couldn’t manage the whole meal. I had the ‘chicken and ribs’, which was a mixed bag. The chips were really lovely, crispy and tasty. The chicken was okay, although a bit dry and clearly a cheap cut of chicken as it was about 40% bone. The ribs – well, goodness only knows what animal the ribs came from but they were the smallest ribs I’ve ever seen. To be totally fair, the meat on the ribs was melt-in-your-mouth tender and very tasty, there just wasn’t enough of it. It also came with coleslaw which was okay, just a little bland.
Overall, our food was pretty disappointing. The bill came to £46, which included three soft drinks and a cup of tea, so an average of £11.50 per head, which isn’t too bad for lunch, but I don’t know if I’d go back. The service was great, our waitress was attentive without being overbearing, but between the hygiene levels in the restaurant and the underwhelming food, I’m not sure I’ll be rushing to go back.
Sorry Frankie and Bennie’s, I gave it a go!
