Impromptu...

Got to love it!

Going back a year or so ago, what would a weekend have been without a trip or 2 or more to IKEA? So just for old times’ sake... we made a trip there this past weekend (albeit a bit different, since Festival City is not quite the same as Croydon, for the better).

No, we aren’t completely delusional yet, from the sweltering heat that is the Dubai weather, we actually had a purpose...returning a mat from a previous visit (OK so we have made a few visits in the past few months, but they have all seemed to be quite uneventful, besides maybe an ice-cream or two at the end...(and if you thought £1 was cheap, try Dhs 1!).

So whilst Mark waited to be served in the ‘returns’ queue, I decided to get my fix, by shopping around before he finished up and came to hurry me along. His story that we ‘hadn’t opened’ the mat didn’t quite hold up (considering we had re-rolled it up ever so neatly... not realising we had rolled it up from the wrong end and that the bar code was no longer showing). Thankfully they decided to be kind once he ‘fessed up' and gave us a refund anyway. Mark eventually then came to join me on my ‘browse’ through the store, picking up a few bits and pieces along the way and finishing up, in no time at all, making it out before too much damage was done.

On the way back to the car, we noticed a Spur advert...and considering it was lunch time we decided to set off in search of the Spur. After what took an age, of walking through the shopping centre (from the one end to the other, of course) and almost giving up along the way, we eventually were directed in the right direction...and there it was! A Cheddarmelt burger (for Mark) and half a rack of (beef) ribs (for me, most of which came home in a doggy bag) later...we were most satisfied and it definitely beat the IKEA hotdog that we thankfully hadn’t indulged in before leaving the store. Then to work off some of the calories we had just consumed, we were decided to try our hand at a few games of tenpin bowling, considering the bowling alley was straight across from Spur.

Deals were made (since I’m not quite the bowling match for Mark) and for Mark to win he had to beat me by 30 points or more, which he did quite easily in the first game. The second game I came back fighting and although I still never quite beat his actual score, 12 points less than him overall made for an a*s whipping (according to the deal of course) on my part! J

So not a bad afternoon, considering so many IKEA trips often aren't. Had the mat not been so big and heavy I would have returned it on my own...but instead it lead to a great impromptu afternoon together! (So impromptu, there are unfortunately no photos to capture my victorious defeat!)

Note to self: Keep little camera in handbag just in case and the Entertainer voucher books in the car (since we could have had a ‘buy 1 get 1 free’ on both the Spur main meal and the bowling games!)