A week in the life of Magdalen
Monday 11th February
It’s the start of a busy week! Mark (my husband) takes Reuben to nursery and I do school drop off with Ophelia, before walking to the office for a 9.25am start. I do love my beautiful 20-minute walk to work each morning.
Arriving at my desk, I start with checking my emails and my chase call list with a peppermint tea. Anything urgent is dealt with immediately, other items are filled accordingly, and my job list is updated for the day.
At 10am, its first meeting of the day at The Cheltenham Ladies College for a site inspection – I’m helping a local client plan their Staff Summer Party, so we need to get a good understanding of the indoor and outdoor space. I love working with local clients and venues – face to face meetings and the opportunity to pop into venues to have a quick look is priceless.
At 12 noon we have our weekly team Ops Meeting where we update each other on confirmed and lost business from the previous week, venues visited and look at the diary schedule for the week ahead.
I then eat lunch at my desk whilst reading a venue proposal or reviewing client proposals. Lunch is normally a homemade sandwich or soup with fruit and oatcakes. I am making a more concerted effort to get out of the office for a 30-minute walk – most often around the shops which can prove lethal on the bank balance!
Then the afternoon agenda starts! 2pm is our weekly status meeting in the office – discussing all current projects, where enquiries are at and identifying opportunities to confirm as much as possible. 3pm is tea time, I do like a good Earl Grey. And lastly at 4pm, I nip out to meet with a local client at their office to discuss their exciting Staff Summer Party – we discuss our initial ideas, exactly what they are looking for and hoping to achieve.
I finish work at 5.30pm and head to Ella & Fleur Hot Yoga studio for a Hot Flow yoga class, it takes effort, but is an amazing way to end a Monday! Afterwards I walk home for children’s bedtime, supper and an hour relaxing on the sofa with Mark.
Tuesday 12th February
I’m up early at 6am for a mile’s run to yoga – It’s Aroma Flow this morning using essential oils. After, I dash home to get the children ready and off to school and pre-school, followed by a walk in the park with Jack, our faithful black Labrador.
Tuesday mornings are generally spent cleaning and washing. I’m packing today, as I’m meeting a client at a venue later this evening for dinner.
At 12 noon I collect Reuben from pre-school, and we spend 3 precious hours together, having lunch and playing outside in the sunshine! We then collect Ophelia after school and spend time with her, practicing her spellings and baking a yummy afterschool snack.
Mark arrives home at 6pm and we tag team it – I drive to Warwick to meet clients for dinner. We all stay overnight at Warwick University, ready for an early morning site inspection the next day. Im in bed for 10pm and make time to read a few pages of my current book – ‘Calm’ by Fearne Cotton, which is proving useful – how to find those calm moments in the busyness of life!
Wednesday 13th February
Wednesday starts at 8am for breakfast with clients at Warwick University, before a 2hr site inspection of the conference and event facilities. I am helping my client find the best venue for their Annual Conference for 2021 for up to 500 delegates – for these numbers it’s so important to plan far ahead! We have a debrief over a cup of tea before driving to Manchester together.
We arrive at Manchester Central for a site inspection at 1.30pm and are very impressed with welcome and the event space – the venue will suit the event very well!
I leave Manchester at 3.30pm after saying goodbye to the clients (they get the train home) and I finally arrive home at 6.30pm after a long drive down the M6/M5.
Thursday 14th February
School drop off is at 9am, before walking to the office, logging on, catching up on emails and planning my work for the day. I then dedicate 11am-12pm to client chase calls – can we help with any projects or has a decision been made on existing projects yet?
I again, have lunch at my desk at 1pm and then quickly dash around town for half an hour searching for a new coat for Reuben.
Every Thursday at 2pm we have a venue supplier appointment – today it’s The Hoxton group. They visit and update us on any new openings/refurbishments and exciting news – it’s important to keep our product knowledge up to date!
I spend the afternoon working on current enquiries, talking to venues and clients and creating a proposal document for a client. After work I dash to a spin class, before heading home for the children’s bedtime and a Valentine’s meal – the husband cooked mussels and sweet potato chips, yum!
Friday 15th February
School drop off at 9am and it’s the last day before half term! I then get home to run the dog around the park before walking into town for another Warm Vinyasa yoga class. Afterwards, I mooch around town looking for a new dress to wear to an upcoming friend’s birthday party, taking place at the soon to open ‘The House 131’!
I collect Reuben from pre-school at 1pm and we spend the afternoon playing in the sunshine in the garden. After collecting Ophelia from school, we meet friends for a walk in the woods – and typically all the children get horrendously muddy! Once home, it’s our family favourite, Friday night film time on the sofa with popcorn. The children are in bed by 7.30pm and then its chill time for me on the sofa watching Peaky Blinders with Mark.
Saturday 16th February
An early morning wake up at 7am, no lie ins here! We have a lazy morning making pancakes, reading the papers, playing and squabbling – aahhh! At 10am Ophelia goes to her weekly Stage School class and Reuben plays football, whilst I do the weekly food shop at Aldi & Sainsbury’s.
Then it’s a mad dash home to take Reuben to a soft play birthday party in the afternoon at Leisure@, Cheltenham. Afterwards, I go home to walk the dog before I run into town for a Heated Vinyasa Yoga class (yes, I do love yoga!).
My Saturday evening is then spent reading stories before bed with the children before relaxing on the sofa with another Peaky Blinders episode and a cup of herbal tea – rock and roll on a Saturday night!
Sunday 17th February
Sunday brings an unusual lie in, all the way to 9am after a disturbed night’s sleep with Reuben. We enjoy a lazy breakfast whilst Mark goes on a road bike ride (he’s training for an Ironman, so currently doing a lot of cycling, swimming and running). Me and the children then head off to Thistedown, Nypsfield near Stroud to meet Mark there mid his training for a nice bite to eat – the food is incredible! After a delicious lunch, we go for an explore in the woods at Woodchester National Trust nearby. There’s a great play trail for the children and they enjoy getting very muddy – again!
When I am finally home it’s time to wind down, starting with a light supper. The children are in bed for 7.30pm and we’re on the sofa by 8pm watching the last episode of Peaky Blinders, series 3. Then it’s off to bed by 10pm, ready for the start of another busy week!
