Sorry for not posting for a while but I had quite a busy week. Here is a summary:
Monday: A fierce case of new toy syndrome
On Monday after work I met my friend Laith who gave me his fold-up bike for free. I wanted to show some form of gratitude so I decided to cook him one of his favourite meals, Macaroni cheese. problem was I no longer had any cheese and borough market wasn't open on a Monday.
He therefore told me he would buy the cheese and take it back with him afterwards if I cooked. Sounded more than fair to me, a new bike and a nice meal. On my lunch break I had bought a cucumber and a red pepper for £1.30 for my lunchtime sandwich. I still had quite a bit remaining so I finished the red pepper with the Macaroni Cheese for lunch. For the dish I also needed to by some milk for 86p that would last me until the end of the week.
Total spent £ 110.18
Tuesday: A penultimate game of softball
Tuesday morning and I woke up looking forward to the penultimate softball game against St Johns Ambulance. My ankle was still too painful to play, although maybe I could get some free medical advice from St Johns Ambulance, that would speed up recovery. I didn't bother because I had promised a fellow colleague Magda that I would teach her the rules of softball if she came. Magda had worked two days a week as an office volunteer for a while now, she had helped me with some of my events and was always very hard working with a friendly demeanour. It was for this reason that when she told me she now had found a job that I was sad that she would be leaving and I reassured her she would be missed by many, but at the same time very happy that she had been rewarded for all her hard work. What she failed to mention was that she had been hired for a corporate position at Diabetes UK, so now I looked like a bit of an idiot after emailing her to congratulate her and tell her she would be sorely missed by many (as she moved two desks to the left).
Anyway, this week we were playing in Regents Park. The match was very tight but we always looked like we just weren't going to make it. Unfortunately, we didn't, losing 17-15, however the team played really well and so we headed to the pub not feeling too sorry for ourselves. I then decided I couldn't stay out too late because I needed to get the bus back, and so left with Magda, who now was fully educated on the rules of Softball. She got the tube and I went to Sainsburys to get some spring onions (64p) and pesto (£1.19) for my dinner.
Total spent £112.01
Wednesday: New food new travel
As I mentioned in my previous article, I realised early on the success of my challenge lied mainly in my choice of food and travel. Today I tried something new in both these fields. I had taken the day off to work on a report evaluating the Children's holidays that Diabetes UK run and in particular two last year that I helped to organise and volunteer on as a helper. If I could show that the Holidays were beneficial in a quantitative and qualitative manner, then there was potential for the report to be used for funding bids. For that reason I needed to do a lot of work.
I took a break in the middle to try out my new bicycle, whilst simultaneously trying out a new place to find food.........Lidl. Now I had heard a lot about Lidl from friends during my student days, but had never really visited one myself. However, on starting my challenge it had been a suggestion from my mum and the closest one was a short bike ride from my house in between Clapham and Brixton. Off I went and what I found may have a radical effect on my challenge. For 7.94 I managed to buy enough food until the end of the weekend, this included a savoy cabbage for 10p spring onions 29p, onions, carrots, celery, sugar, eggs, rice, 73p, Lloyd Grossman sauce £1 and a few other items. Now you may ask why I was buying sugar, had I finally got sick of normal Porridge? Nope, I was still a regular Oliver Twist. Although, it was my sisters birthday tomorrow and I decided the best present I could get her was a home made cake. She was having a meal in a Vietnamese restaurant and then going for drinks afterwards. I suggested that I would meet her afterwards because I couldn't afford to eat out, but she told me that she would pay for my meal if I came, and with the authority of a teacher she told me "Just make me a card". I still felt pretty guilty but decided I would go one better than a card and make her a cake! You can at least eat a cake, you can't eat a card (although some of the less gifted members of Sophys class were frequently trying to prove otherwise).
Anyway I cycled home and continued with the report, cucumber and cabbage sandwich for lunch, and some more pasta, pesto and spring onions for dinner. At 1am after finishing a 50 page appendix, I decided I needed more time to complete the report and so began making the cake.
Spent £119.95
Thursday: Happy Birthday Sophy and let them eat cake
In the morning I carried the cake along with my cabbage and cucumber sandwich to work. As it was now the summer holidays my sister and her colleagues had all gone drinking at about 5 not too far from the restaurant. I made my way as soon as I finished at 6 for the table, which had been booked for 7. However, as I had to take buses I feared I might be a bit late, it turns out I was not the only one so my sister decided to change the booking from 7 to 7:30 instead. I got there about 7:15 and was the first to be there.
The matradee greeted me and I told him I was here for the table of 12 booked under Sophy. It was a smallish restaurant called Song Que near Hoxton tube. It was very busy and therfore the 12 empty seats in the middle of the heaving restaurant was not too difficult to spot. However, the response from the waiter surprised me a little.
"Oh no she cancelled" he said
"What?" I said quizzically.
"She cancelled no booking"
"Erm no! she just moved it back"
"no she definitely cancelled" I then proceeded to do my bumbling Englishman routine.
"I'm sorry (why was I apologising!!!) no she just moved it from 7 to 7:30"
"No she just phoned, she cancelled" it was at this point I began to worry as there was only so many times I could be bothered to reiterate my point without the waiter not understanding. Obviously the look of anxiety had come over my face because the waiter then said:
"Haha I just joking, it's not cancelled, come with me have a seat". The timeout review had mentioned the staff to be somewhat blunt but I wasn't expecting this. After being the brunt of the waiters laughter I sat down, a lone man with 11 empty seats surrounding him. I was the new focal point of those waiting to be seated and those in the restaurant already.
I began to wonder what they were thinking:
"I've heard of eating alone but this is really taking things to an extreme"
"Do you think he has 11 imaginary friends?" "Maybe they all stood him up"
I put my head into the menu and waited for my sister and her friends to show up. I also managed to put the cake, which I had been carrying around all day, into the fridge located in the centre of the restaurant. My sister did eventually show and we had a nice dinner. I had steamed sea bass and rice for £5, which I decided to not make my sister pay for on her birthday.
After everyone had finished there meal I got up and opened the fridge, "Alex what are you doing?" my sister exclaimed, probably thinking my new lifestyle of saving money had taken a turn to kleptomania. I then took out the cake and embarrassed her by singing Happy Birthday with a chorus of 11 not so imaginary friends.
My sister was now turning slightly red, either due to embarrassment or due to the amount of alcohol she had consumed. We had to wait until we reached the next bar to actually eat the cake. It was an interesting place called "Bar Kick" near Liverpool street station. The name was linked to the amount of foosball tables available. I played some table football with one of me and my sisters mutual friends called Taz. Meanwhile my sister and her friends devoured most of my cake (one of the main reasons why my sister was able to withstand the alcohol, a good present after all) and then as she and the rest of her colleagues didn't have work tomorrow they went on clubbing. Despite my love of dancing my ankle wasn't ready so instead I carried the cake and my sisters presents back home on the bus at 1:30am.
Happy birthday Sophy
Spent £124.95
Friday Saturday and Sunday
The weekend was spent finishing the report I had started on Wednesday and also visiting borough market again. Additionally, there was a £3 festival for Shelter with complimentary food
My friend Matt sent me the advert for it and I wanted to go but I had to finish the report for Monday and I needed Sunday to do that. Additionally, I used up the rest of my ingredients to make a vegetable risotto with rice that lasted the whole weekend (3 meals). However, I went to Lidl again on Saturday and Sainsburys on Sunday. From Lidl I picked up 1kg of rice for 73p, 3 red peppers for 60p, another 10p cabbage, 3 onions for 88p and 2 spring onions for 58p. I also picked up Ariel non-bio for 20 washes for £5.49, 2 for £2 aquafresh toothpaste and Imperial Leather shower gel with 100% extra free for £1.
Spent 136.33
