March in Review {2025}

 

Dear friends. We're now fully immersed in Spring and have even had some suitably mild weather.

My focus in March was mainly on cycling, as we're back in the routine of 3 rides a week. 

I did manage a few other activities, including a theatre trip, another colour club meet up, the Ideal Home Show, a massive clear out and a refurbishment of my home office. 

Saturday March 1

First day of meteorological Spring, and after a foggy start the sun came out. We walked 5 miles in the forest. Washed and filled the bird feeders. Changed beds, turned mattresses. My new Epson photo scanner came. 

Sunday March 2

Sunny but cold start. Decided to have rest day. Did ironing. Roast chicken.  J not feeling great. Set up scanner. This was the final step in updating my home office. I have a new Samsung laptop, scanner, and a better pair of speakers (originally downstairs). 

Monday March 3

Gas engineer was expected between 7 and 1. Got up early to wash hair. Went to the gym.  Did weights. Lovely sunny day. Engineer didn't arrive until 3.30 and will come back tomorrow as he needed some parts.

Tuesday Mar 4

Engineer arrived at 9am. I weeded the rose bed for 2 hours. Had early lunch, went on bike ride to Lee V at 1. J left his helmet behind on a bench. I didn't notice. Watched last episode Game of Thrones - we've been watching from the start, probably for the sixth time!

Weds Mar 5

Bit out of sorts.  Legs v tired. Went for forest walk with J. Nice weather, 11 degrees.  Wore one of my Kettlewell jackets for the 1st time this year. Did a couple of Ebay listings including one for a limited edition paperweight.

Thurs Mar 6

Sunny. Had PT session and Pilates.  J did a bike ride on his own. Steak for dinner.

Fri Mar 7

Still sunny. Did extended bike ride round the Lee Valley White Water Centee. 26 miles. As we were leaving, the white water siren went off. Waited for the water... but nothing happened.  Had fish n chips. Our Eurovision entry announced. The BBC don't give us the opportunity to choose these days. 

Sat March 8

Lovely day. Drove to new venue for a colour club outing on the Bucks/Oxon border at a centre for hearing dogs.  Put together an attention grabbing outfit featuring my preloved lime jacket and a new scarf which was on sale for £5. Lots fun. 

Plymouth Argyle lost at home and must surely be relegated now. Very sad and annoying after their successes in the FA cup against Brentford and Liverpool. 

Sunday Mar 9

Another beautiful day. Did forest walk, 5 miles. Roast lamb. The hyacinths and daffodils in the front garden are looking wonderful

Monday Mar 10

Unsettled weather.  Went to Jodie's to have highlights and regrowth covered. Finished result above. Won a Good Housekeeping competition,  a year of olive oil from Citizens of Soil. 

Tues March 11 

Had British Gas round to quote for new boiler and 2 new radiators.  Agreed to go ahead and booked date. We then went to the local kitchen showroom to get the ball rolling on a new kitchen. Cold. Went to gym pm. Published a style post.

Weds Mar 12

Did a bike ride, white water centre. Very cold.  Time trials were going on. The canoeists looked cold too.

Thurs Mar 13

Low energy as slept poorly and worked hard yesterday.  Nonetheless went to gym, struggled with usual pre-workout before trainer. J did a bike ride with Don. 

Fri Mar 14

Cycled to Lee V, shorter route. White water was running when we arrived but emptying when we left. V cold. Fish n chips.

Sat Mar 15

Went to the matinee of Mrs Doubtfire. I don't care for musicals but enjoyed it. The actor who played Mrs D was very talented - amazing impressions. High energy show.  Started Berlin ER, Apple.

Sunday Mar 16

Mostly overcast, cold wind. Did shortish forest walk, still over 10k steps. Roast chicken. Spurs lost.

Monday Mar 17

Bitterly cold in wind, 7. Cycled to Olympic Park. Tough on way back. Wore green in honour of St Patrick's Day. I'm 14% Irish according to Ancestry. Had a great great grandmother on my father's side from Ireland, Martha Batchelor. She was born in Queenstown (now Cobh) on the south coast of County Cork, Ireland, in 1852.  Started film The Electric State. J stuck with it for about 45 mins, then gave up.

Tues March 18 

Stayed in for appointment with kitchen salesman who was measuring up. Sunny but quite chilly, 9 degrees.  Did forest walk after lunch. Started Small Town, Big Story (Now). 

Weds Mar 19

Tough bike ride, longer, around Lee Valley Country Park.  Lovely weather.  Went to see mock up of new kitchen. Looks good. Haven't decided on colours yet, J is very conservative when it comes to colour so I have to wear him down. 

Took the first of 2 large bags of clothes to the charity shop. Have finally got rid of some of my precious former work clothes and sequinned stuff. I'll never wear any of it again. It just doesn't work with my life style. 

Thurs Mar 20

Weather was good again so did shorter ride to LV. R and Olive came round. Chicken Caesar salad.

Friday Mar 21

A bit overcast.  J was trail laying.  I went to the gym. Saw these pretty chionodoxia in a council flower bed. Will plant some myself in the autumn. Did Pilates, weights.  Started watching Woman of the Dead series 2 on Netflix. As usual J likes to watch in darkness. He reached for what he thought were eye drops. Turned out to be ear wax remover. Holy G! Big kerfuffle trying to rinse his eyes.

Saturday Mar 22

Overcast. Warm. Went to the Orions to escort some marshals to their positions for the Orion 15. Then did a walk.  Watched film with Saoirse Ronan, The Outrun, Netflix, 9 out of 10.

Sunday Mar 23

Monday Mar 24

Overcast in morning with a cold wind. Did first long bike ride this year, 36 miles to Ongar. Was hard work.

Kitchen fitter came to scope the job. Started new series with Sean Bean, This City is Ours, BBC iPlayer.

Tuesday Mar 25

Did a home workout.  In the afternoon walked just over 2.3 miles to Woodford to give blood. It was very busy which is good as the NHS is desperate for donors.

Weds Mar 26 

A beautiful day after a cloudy start. We did 25 miles, Lee Valley Country Park.  I had a rocky road sweet treat, and I normally never eat cake.

Thursday Mar 27

Went to the Ideal Home Show with free tickets thanks to my Good Housekeeping VIP membership.  Haven't been for decades. Back in the early 90s, I was on the BT stand and we held our breath as Princess Diana passed. She couldn't resist trying our world-beating videophone,  and a picture appeared in all the newspapers. 

The show was first held 117 years ago. It's a lot smaller now. There were two other exhibitions on the upper floor.

Annemarie and I both had our eyebrows "done" thanks to a small British brand, KCO.  They used a stencil and powder to give a very quick result which looked realistic. We both bought the kit! Came home to find two British Gas engineers still hard at work installing the new boiler. 

Friday March 28

Long drive to Plymouth. It's Mother's Day on Sunday, I don't know why it's a different date in the UK. Left at 10.30, arrived at 4.30 (two electric charges for the car, deduct an hour). Mum on good form. Went to the local chippy to pick up our dinner. 

What We've Been Watching

This City is Ours, BBC iPlayer

It's been described as similar to the Sopranos,  but I never saw that so can't comment. We've seen 3 episodes so far. It's about a family of criminals in Liverpool with a power struggle about who will take over when Ronnie (Sean Bean) retires. Some of the plot is quite ludicrous. The characters seem one-dimensional. The women are hardened and cynical, except for Michael's wife who stands out as an outsider, albeit with a mother in prison. I will watch all of it but I don't love it. 

Running Point (Netflix)

This isn't my usual type of programme as I'm not remotely interested in US basketball.  But I was pleasantly surprised by the character development. Mildly amusing. 

Drive to Survive (Netflix)

I'm a complete convert to Formula 1 racing after watching this over the last few years. So watchable, even if it has become a bit formulaeic. How many times do we have to see Christian Horner (odious) discussing team strategy with wife Geri? At least Toto Wolff's wife Suzie knows what she's talking about. 

Tales from the Riverbank (5)

A delight. Clare Balding eats and drinks  her way around Britain exploring rivers. Expect dappled sunshine, beautiful scenery and jolly people. 

The Emerald Isles (BBC iPlayer)

Normally these programmes are fronted by an Irish celebrity who does a poor job as narrator and interviewer. In this series, Ardal O'Hanlon (Father Ted) is very engaging as he visits the tiny islands around Ireland, including one where he spent childhood holidays.

Tried It but Didn't Like It

The Studio (Apple)

A lot of hype around this. I sometimes wonder if reviewers are on a different planet because both The Guardian and Independent raved about this. They're probably kids. 

I had sore misgivings at the start because I don't like Seth Rogen. I gave up Spotify because of the spat with Neil Young. I tried to be open minded but didn't find it funny in the least. Rogen and the others simply shout all the time. They've stolen a device from Call My Agent (a show which IS very funny) where a famous director or actor appears in each episode. 

It should be amusing but somehow doesn't work, even though Martin Scorsese was excellent. I would watch his version of the Kool Aid movie (although no-one in the UK even knows what Kool Aid is)  if it was about the Jonestown Massacre. 

Berlin ER (Apple)

I was surprised at how run down and understaffed the hospital is. Even worse than some of our poor NHS hospitals. It seemed good for the first few episodes but eventually we were worn down by the low morale, drug taking (among the staff) and desperately depressing storylines.

Woman of the Dead (Netflix)

We thought the first series was ok, but haven't been able to get into series 2. Even though the female undertaker is very feisty.

Small Town, Big Story (Now, Sky)

This had all the ingredients for success: set in Ireland, written by Chris O'Dowd, and starring Christina Hendricks. We liked episode 1 and were cheered by the idea of something a bit quirky. But boy, did it turn into a turkey.

Read my March book reviews here.

How was your March? Any strong views on the progs we watched? Do tell in the comments.  

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