So.  Off we went to Cambridge.

It was a trip with mixed purposes really.  Tabitha was starting her new job at the Archer Road Sainsbury's on Monday morning and needed to get to Sheffield with some of her stuff.  So we thought we might go down, collect her and bring her back, and also, while we were there, take Joan out for lunch.  We hadn't seen her since Taffa's birthday back in June and we do like to pop down every now and then.

And it all worked out quite well.  We had a lovely trip down on nearly deserted roads. We went to The Green Man in Trumpington for lunch. None of us had ever been before, although Tabitha and Gareth had heard good things about it.  I had tried a couple of other places which had been booked up and happened across the Green Man when I was browsing for other likely candidates (I needed a pub with easy car access so Joan didn't have to walk too far, and didn't want just to book into the Old Crown or the Travellers' Rest, both of which would satisfy that requirement and the good food requirement - but wouldn't add a lot of excitement to Joan's Sunday!).  The Green Man was a Very Good Find indeed.  I must remember it for the future - although we have, of course, now lost our Cambridge base.  I wonder if I can afford a holiday canal on the Cam?

Anyway.  We made a good lunch, took Joan home, got Taffa sorted out and abandoned Gaz to a week of packing, sorting, cleaning, tidying and generally readying the house to hand it back later in the week.  Taffa came to stay at our place on Sunday night.  She had to be at Sainsbury's for a seven o'clock start :-S  and Freyja wasn't at home on Sunday evening so it wasn't entirely convenient to stay there.

That meant that we had to leave our place at 06:30 on Monday morning :-S.  There was, naturally, no traffic on the roads at that time on an August Monday morning.  Taffa was at work for 06:50.  I was sat at my desk at 07:10, wondering quite what I was going to do next!!  Not only that - I had to stay until 5 as I was on the helpdesk until then!!  Did fabulous things for my hours :-)

It seems that when Tabitha arrived, the HR department and the store Assistant Manager knew that she was turning up.  But nobody else did.  Including the manager of her new section.  He didn't know he was getting any new staff at all!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

On the other hand, they did get the house they had applied for.  It's rather a nice terrace in Woodseats on the southern edge of Sheffield. It's near the Woodseats shops and not all that far from Taffa's new Sainsbury's. The rabbits may think the garden is a bit on the small side - but the kitchen, bathroom and bedrooms are quite big.

Freyja, in the meantime, was at Goodwood Park in Suffolk for the weekend.  Roller skating a marathon.  26.6 miles!  She says she probably did 26.8 miles because twice her hat fell off and she had to go back for it.  And in the first lap she tumbled over and scored a mighty bruise on her bottom.  And she completed the marathon in 2 hours and 46 minutes.  She has a t-shirt.  And a medal.  And the Sheffield Steel Roller Girls have raised over £1000 for the Children's Hospital appeal