Just a minute

Dining experiences take all shapes and sizes these days and right now I am experiencing their extremes.

Last weekend was the s-club annual pre-Christmas rugby international at Twickenham.

The opposition were the Argentines, and the events during the match have been well documented. Our after match tradition at the moment seems to be a visit to the Richmond Chinese, a place I have frequented for years.
I seem to remember having my 30th and 40th birthdays there as well as celebrating Chinese New Year several times with my late great mate,Figs.  I still have a mud man and monkey puppet the restaurant gave me when they had the artifact shop next door. The same family still run it.

We were a bit revolutionary this year though on the Friday night. We decided to stay at the Farmer's Club in Whitehall, and on my recommendation we went to the Faulty Towers dining experience in the old Charing Cross station hotel, now called the Alba.

The show featured Basil, Manuel and Cybil and was a parody of the famous restaurant scenes from the Fawlty Towers sitcom. It started with drinks in the bar follows by a three course dinner punctuated with comedy sketches. It was both humorous and entertaining, and I would definitely recommend it.

The tickets were £70 plus drinks and its interesting to note it is at the Floral Pavilion in New Brighton in January where prices are £42.50. There are a few seats left for the Sunday lunch, otherwise it too is sold out.

John Cleese is pretty browned off with the show as he and his colleague actors get no royalties.

So onto today, which finds me in a unit in central Liverpool called Ziferblat. Its the name of a new kind of social space where everything is free except the time you spend there. It's 8p per minute and that's it. I have had toast and jam, cake, minced pies, bananas, soup and loads of coffee!. The concept was founded in Moscow in 2011 by a chap called Ivan Meetin. Apparently it means clockface in English and is billed as a tree house for grown ups.

There are two in Liverpool and one in Manchester and its ideal for me as I have just popped the car into BMW for a service, I bet they charge more than 8p per minute gulp!

Put another jumper on....

Life is full of significant moments, and one such arrived for me today. I have just received my first ever Winter fuel payment. I understand this is sent to older people to keep them warm for a couple of weeks during the Winter. I am very grateful to the government for this money, which appears to be tax free.

I am ok for cash at the moment so I am going to put it towards some golf equipment I have my eye on. It will get me out of the house a bit more which will mean the central heating can be turned down so in that respect it will be contributing to lowering my heating outlay!!

I was pointing out to my grandkids recently ( well those who can understand) that you become a Senior citizen when you bend down to tie up your shoe lace, and look around for what ever else you can do while you are down there.......they will soon be trained to do that for me, as well as cutting my toe nails, although I suspect bribery may be involved for that activity to be successful.

So let's hope we have a mild Winter with a good dumping of snow for Christmas and then everybody should be able to use their allowance for something else......ho! ho! ho!

Eddie Butler is a doG....

In 2004,  Premiership manager Mike Newell was particularly outspoken about the fact his team was forced to play a game at which one of the linesmen ( clue in the name) was actually a woman. The comment which got him into trouble contained the phrase '......tokenism for politically correct idiots.....'

Now footballers are not well known for their high IQ levels, and what Newell actually meant was not the term politically correct but positive discrimination. Had he used that he may have just got away with it.

It seems, however, that the idiots he referred to have moved over to BBC Sport.

I have just watched the highlights of the rugby match between England and Fiji, and a commentator by the name of Sara Orchard has just hysterically screeched her way through the game as if she was a soccer mom on the touchline at a little league match in Chicago. Poor Brian Moore was left to add some semblance of calm, sanity and wisdom to proceedings, skills he is well versed at after years of co-commentating with Eddie Butler. Until now Eddie must be the worst rugby commentator ever, but Sara has definitely claimed his crown.

I do not consider myself sexist, or at least,  no more so than other blokes born in the 1950's, I just have a problem with 'jobs for the girls'. I am very anti female vicars although I am not hugely religious. I just think it is a sacred profession which has worked well for 2016 years and could do so for the same length of time in the future. Lady F1 drivers have been tried but just don't work. I would never pay good money to watch a ladies rugby or football match and I only watch ladies golf to check my swing against theirs as they are closer to amateur men golfers in their shot making and distance control than the male pro's are.

Now don't get me onto the subject of equal prize money for lady tennis players at Wimbledon, or elsewhere. How can a 6-0 6-0 match be afforded the same credibility as a 7-6 6-7 6-4 4-6 21-19 men's match?

But back to the main point. Why was a lady commentator awarded the Fiji game? Who listened to her demo tapes and will somebody re-watch and listen and concur that it was a useful experiment, if only to ensure it never happens again.

In the early days of Sky Sports there was an option to turn off the commentary via the red button and only hear the crowd noise. The BBC also pioneered the option to listen to the radio commentary rather then the television. That was how I avoided Eddie Butler most of the time.  Maybe those options can be reintroduced.

You don't see many referees assistants in the Premiership these days, maybe Mike Newell had a point.

Overheard in a pub....

"My wife didn't like it when I started losing my hair so she bought me a toupee. Then she paid for me to have dental work to straighten my teeth. Then she said I was too small so she bought me a pair of raised shoes for my birthday and then she decided glasses did not suit me and insisted I wear contact lenses. After than she said I was overweight and narrow shouldered so she got me a corset and a jacket with padded shoulders for Christmas and last week she left me because she said I'm not the man she married."

Here comes The Sun

...or maybe not if a very ill advised campaign in Scouseland gathers any more momentum.

The Hillsborough tragedy has hung over the area like a storm cloud,  for many, many years as the families of the victims sought justice for their lost loved ones in light of allegations of  police mismanagement and cover-ups as well as stories of drunken behaviour and irresponsibility on the part of the fans.

That justice was achieved earlier this year when an inquest into the death of the victims indicated they had died as a result of said police actions and that the fans were in no way responsible for the downfall of their colleagues.

The aftermath of Hillsborough continues to have a knock-on effect though as there is now a concerted campaign emanating from the powerful Hillsborough relative group, to ban the sale of the daily newspaper, The Sun, which published derogatory articles relating to the behaviour of fans at Hillsborough, after the event. Their reports have been largely discredited but the after taste remains.

The potential blanket ban on the sale of The Sun would be welcomed by many. It would, however, be a real civil liberties issue. There are many people in the Scouseland conurbation who are not native to the area and who have regularly or occasionally purchased and read The Sun, there are newsagents and other outlets who choose to sell it as it revenue earner.

It has a very well respected racing section, it appeals to a certain demographic who enjoy the eccentric head-line writing and page 3 style journalism, who can forget the 'Phew What a Scorcher' headline when 90 degree temperatures hit the Country, or ' Gotcha' as the Admiral Belgrano Argentine battleship was sunk during the Falkland war?

If Mayor Joe Anderson and his colleagues do ban this publication it will be a sad day for a City which has worked so hard to recover from the cronyism of the Derek Hatton era. It will also go some way towards confirming the remarks of Boris Johnson in The Spectator in 2004.

So lets keep the democratic process, the freedom of the press and the ability of people to buy their periodical of choice and focus on real time problems which we would expect our elected representatives to address on our behalf. Come on Liverpool, you're better than this.

Blind dogs

I am missing my weekly auction visit today, but it gives me a chance to reflect on recent acquisitions and future strategy.

A while ago I purchased a print named "Waiting for Off" byKenneth Ansell

and a cocker spaniel head shot by Reuben Ward Binks. I picked up the spaniel for about £6.50 and some of his pictures from his American period go for over £2000!.This one is more likely to be £200-300 less commission when I sell it in Knutsford in a few weeks. The print might wipe its nose at about £45.

The other coup I had last week was the chance to purchase two claw foot banister posts for £25. This claw foot was the trademark of the builder who built the Shrewsbury estate on which we live. Our neighbours house has one but we didn't. I am unsure whether to retrofit one, or mount it in a glass case in the hall. I will think about that.

Blind drunk

The other side of golf has taken over this week as SWMBO and I lie on a roof terrace overlooking Cascais harbour near Lisbon.
I took the number 12 shirt for a lads tour to Praia d'el Rey and royal Obidos about 60 miles north, at the weekend then joined SWMBO for some r & r. I have always wanted to play said courses but would not rush back. Royal Obidos was the last course designed by Seve Ballesteros and while a good track, it was a bit too tricked up with water hazards and lacked the maturity of Penha Longa close to Cascais, or the Victoria course in the Algarve.

The hotel course was better but the location was so remote that it was difficult to get away. Peniche was the closest village and that took us 30 minutes in a cab. It is one of the main fishing villages for Lisbon so at least we got some good seafood.

The Ryder Cup has been and gone and the result was not too much of a surprise.The Trumpinestas in the crowd did give a view of the future of the USA and it was not a pretty sight. I feel for the good and righteous over there, they really are struggling to know who to vote for. Boris Johnson holds a US passport, maybe he could stand!!

Oh no, he has handed it in so he doesn't get taxed there...bit of a theme!

Blind golf

Last week Wallasey hosted the Ryder Cup for blind golfers from Scotland, England and Wales. The former competed against a combined England and Wales side.

On the proceeding day Wallasey members had the chance to play with and against the blind golfers and to see at first hand how they and their guides maneuvered around the course. There are three categories of blind golf, b1, b2 and b3. The b1 golfers are totally blind and rely 100% on their guide to set them up. They then swing and usually hit the ball pretty well. B2 and b3 category golfers have some vision albeit peripheral or tunnel. They still need help lining up but do have awareness of where the ball is.

I then spent two days spotting balls for these golfers, and met one of the b1 golfers called Barry. Barry was on the books of Coventry City when, in 1976, the team went to an optician to be tested for contact lenses which were becoming popular. That was the first time Barry became aware he was going blind. He still played football for Oxford United but eventually his blindness overtook him and he took up golf.

The golfers I met were all tremendous people who have faced a challenge full on and bettered themselves at their chosen sport. No pun intended but if they could see what they have achieved they would be very proud. Well done Wallasey for playing their part in the event. The Sweaties won 17-7 overall after bossing the first two days.

The Forth Bridge

Our house is a bit like the railway bridge, it really needs keeping on top of or it will go to pot. I have been eyeing the soffits and ornamental woodwork for sometime and finally decided it needed to be replaced or repairs and repainted. The roof could be looked at, at the same time.

So first thing was scaffolding. I knew it would take a bit of work and be pricey but if it is needed only once every 15 years then it's a small price to pay. The crew took it right to the top of the roof, so the painter and carpenter had no problem getting on with the task in hand and they worked well together to get it done while the good weather held. They even put the weathervane back and the 1871 year tag digits which had fallen off.

Then it was down to me! Firstly the windows which the cleaners can't reach had to have 15 years of grime removed so we could see out of them again, then I needed to remove a small forest from one of the gully's. I still have to do a bit of rendering and wait for a cloud burst to see if I have fixed the gutters, but all in all I am anticipating the scaffolding can be removed by the end of the month and the house can look it's best for the Autumn.

That leaves the interior to be smartened up, particularly on the top floor where our Airbnb visitors stay. We have a lady coming today for three nights and then a Corbynista arriving for the Labour party conference a bit later. Every little helps.

It is high, but I can see your house from here !

In the style of Private Eye, to which he was a long time subscriber:

In Memoriam
Paul Figgins

So Farewell then Figs
Our long time friend

He was a cricket man
a wicket keeper
of some regard

In a famous best man speech
'Bowled a maiden over' and
'Tickles to leg'
Both Raised a chuckle

It's what he did

Like all great batsman
An unexpected stroke
Ended his Innings

Classy but too short.

E J Thribb (17½)

A sign of distress

The Country is grabbed once again by Olympics fever as team GB are once again demonstrating how government funding can make a difference if channels to the right people.
We have had some strange medals too: trampolining, rugby sevens, wind surfing ,tennis and golf, none of which are long term Olympic sports.

I am also enchanted by the modern pentathlon, which is alleged to mimic a typical battle. Jump on a horse and ride to war, swim a river to join in and shoot and fence to survive, then run like hell to get to the next gig. Really well thought through!

The thing that has got my goat though is the number of people in the crowd, the athletes and support staff who hold the Union flag the wrong way up. The wide white stripe should be on the top at the flagpole end, or by the white tape if hand held.

It is flown the wrong way up legitimately to indicate a ship is in distress, team GB seems fine so let's fly the flag accordingly.

Figs didn't make it

In the two weeks since my last post, Figs had continued to improve with his arm and leg gaining more mobility and his mind getting back on track. he was doing crosswords and watching the Olympics although he was struggling to pick his horse racing tips as the print size was a bit small for him. He had a heart assessment appointment at Herrfiled Hospital booked for next week when they thought he might have some sort of procedure to help his heart function.

All this was conveyed to me in a phone conversation we had on Monday. On Thursday morning I got the sad news that he had passed away in his sleep. Marion is devastated but has her sisters and close friends there to help her through this difficult time.

I first met Figs in the mid seventies when he joined me to work at IBM in Croydon. We have been friends ever since. He was a reasonable goal keeper in his youth but he dislocated a knee in a game and that put pay to that sporting pastime, so we started playing golf together. We were both members of Wyke Green golf club as we became neighbours in Chiswick in West London, and he moved in with me for a short time while between girlfriends.

It was then that we hatched the plans for a mega barbecue, to be named Le Limacon after the slug population which infested the Silver Crescent flat when I first moved into it. Invitations to these events were valued, and each year we introduced a different theme. We had pub sign parties, music albums parties, a Hawaiian shirt 'do' and many more. I won't say we chased the same girls but the barbies were certainly a useful way to meet the fairer sex. Indeed SWMBO and I first met face to face at one such, all those years ago.

For many years Figs and I also went to Lord's together usually on the Saturday, but once we did all five days of an Ashes test which the Aussies won on the final morning. That tradition stopped when Figs got his gig at the Wimbledon tennis championships, and he was still working for them right up to the end.

He could be a stubborn individual and was particularly fussy about his drinks presentation. In my personalised Monopoly set, there is a property called Figgins Way, which summed him up really!

He certainly lived a full and frenetic life, and I am very proud to have been a part of it for nigh on forty years, he will leave a large gap in my life. SWMBO and I had our annual 'do' at the weekend, it's not called Le Limacon anymore and it has moved to the Wirral. The timing was poignant and  I think Figs would approve of it as a fitting memorial. Rest in peace matey.

Crystal Maze

We have just celled 15 years of marriage, apparently that is ones crystal anniversary. SWMBO spent a couple of days in London with Figs wife Marion. it was her birthday and their wedding anniversary close together so it gave Marion a bit of rest bite to allow her to go off and celebrate her birthday with her chums.

Figs cognitive skills are improving and he has more use in his left leg. His problem now is that he is more aware of his condition and therefore is getting frustrated by his lack of mobility. It is unclear what the treatment plan is going forward as he is recovering in a way the medical team did not expect. Hopefully he will get back to a level where they may be able to do something about his heart, only time will tell.

SWMBO deserved a good anniversary herself after her Florence Nightingale stint, so after a lazy morning we ventured to Port Sunlight and the Lady Lever Museum and Art Gallery which is based there. It had a visiting exhibition of Picasso lino cuts from the British Museum which I found disappointing. There were only three variations, and they were not typical Picasso as you could almost see what they were meant to be! Notwithstanding that though, the rest of the museum continues to be a wonder and delight.

I believe Lord Leverhulme was a bit of a pirate myself although a lot of what he plundered did come from various parts of the UK. His Wedgewood collection numbers some 3,000 items including a number of Stubbs paintings done on porcelain. His Chinese collection is also one of the best in Europe.

Port Sunlight has the only Hillsborough memorial which is not attached to a football group.The Unilever group wanted to show their support for the victims families and erected a small plaque in their rose garden. We visited that while we were there and I think there must have been a Pokémon Go! character or two there as well. The rose garden was mobbed with youths on iPhones searching them out.

We then popped into the Refreshment Rooms in Rock Ferry, one of our favourite eateries, and then ended up at home drinking a good bottle of Muja out of crystal glasses....very fitting we thought.

Swedish chef

I was delighted that Henrik Stenson won is first major at Troon last weekend. He has been one of a number of top European golfers who have not quite stepped over the line to win one, so it was well deserved.
Henrik has had some bad luck off the course too, most notably losing a small fortune at the hands of the West Indian con man Allen Stanford. Some might say £10m was more than a small fortune, so the golfing world was delighted when Stenson won the FedEx cup and 'road to Dubai' in the same year some while later to claim a cool £20m in prize money. The Open championship claret jug will be as equally important to him as his financial rebuilding process.

The Open was, of course, at Troon in Scotland.  It was ironic that on the Saturday of the tournament I visited my mate Figs after his recent stroke. He can get out of bed now, and is recovering some use in his left arm, but he is still not too good. The NHS physio sessions seem to have dried up as they clearly see no long term benefit in continuing them. It was to Troon that Figs, myself and others travelled in May 1989 for our Scotflog tour. We played Turnberry, Prestwick, Largs, Kilmarnock Barassie and Troon in a week, doing 36 holes each day!

Troon was the least memorable of the courses as it is a boring slog up and back down the side of the Clyde. It's a bit like Royal Liverpool in as much as it is memorable for it's lack of variety and apart from the Postage Stamp hole and the 11th it has no real stand-out holes. Quite why it is on the rosta I am not too sure.

I am also not sure who won on the day we played although I do know I hit the Postage Stamp in one and then four putted!

The trip to London to see Figs also allowed us to take senior scouse grandchild to tie up with senior London grandchild and they had a right old time together and managed to manufacture a sleepover at the hotel. It was the first time Sofia had spent the night away from her parents so that was a milestone she should now be able to capitalise on in the future.

We have also received good feedback from our Airbnb visitors so it would be good to get a few more bookings before the Summer is over and then build up a bit more next year. One of the local hotels has been brought recently so it will be interesting to see how that affects the area.

I feel like I have just played in the Open myself having played four rounds in four days this week. As a means of recovery I had a run ashore with some old work colleagues in Lytham yesterday. I really should have passed on the Limoncello, especially as it was the 100% vodka variety as favoured by James Martin, BBC chef and raconteur!

Air today, gone tomorrow

We have just said goodbye to our latest Airbnb'ers. They were visiting the Wirral to attend an evening wedding party at the local Riverhill Hotel. The hotel has been on the market for some while as the current owners look to move on, but its an odd shaped property with a dwindling reputation in the area. Hopefully they pulled the stops out for the wedding.
It was quite a flog from London for a few hours socialising and good for them to do it. SWMBO is quite happy to accept evening only invitations, but I am less keen. If I am not on the 'A' list then I am more than happy to give up my evening spot to somebody else.

This wedding was obviously very multicultural as the bride was from Op North and was marrying a Burmese groom, our guests were European and Oriental, and live in North London,  I did not like to ask the specific points of origin as that's a bit sensitive after the Brexit vote!!  They were worried they would not be able to understand either the bride or groom's accents!!

They were no trouble, and after a hearty breakfast I dropped them at the Mersey Ferry terminal so they could at least see some of Liverpool before they departed.

They are both graphic designers for computer games, and were very impressed when I showed them the games which the sons of Dick 'off the record' develop. I had not realised their big seller and cash cow, Bad Eggs, had made it into the I-phone app store, and with over 1million downloads it was certainly making an impact. Lets hope all the gamers buy lots of add-ons!

So now, like e-bay, we await their feedback with baited breath. A poor review is the sort of thing that can make or break a career in the b & b market.

One person one vote....

I am fairly ambivalent to the result of the European referendum. I don't know if that is because of my age, or because I no longer live in the South East. Merseyside voted to stay, and as a Labour hotbed, that is no surprise. They follow the party line up here, but that dictated by Joe Anderson and Frank Field rather than Jeremy Corbyn. Usually a vote for the Conservatives is a wasted vote, but last Thursday the one person, one vote system saw a much higher voter turnout, and a significantly close vote. I have not heard much disappointment voiced on the Wirral.

I think it was apparent even during the renegotiation that David Cameron did not have the appetite to manage a Brexit, and that was confirmed by his early resignation notification. Bonking Boris stood to win whichever way things panned out, and the clever people he surrounds himself with are likely to earn their money in the coming months.

Farange is a fringe play in all this, but it is disappointing that racial vandalism has reared it's head in some of the immigrant dominated areas of the Country. The authorities should move swiftly to stamp that out.

Our poisoned dwarf North of the border is rattling her cage, but she must remember that a once in a lifetime independence referendum does not become a best of three, overnight. She should be reminded that if Alex Salmond had been successful, Scotland would have  been running cap in hand to Westminster as the slump in oil prices would have almost made the Country bankrupt.
I would love to be a fly on their wall when she meets Angela Merkel to request EU membership. "Run along now Nicola, there's a good girl, what did you say you had to offer?"

The biggest winners here will be the financial institutions who are already manipulating the markets to their best advantage, and the large legal firms who are wringing their hands in expectation of the large fees to be charged going forward.

It's been four days now since the vote....the UK political process, and Labour in particular, have taken a real battering, and the EU have had a wake up call. People were fed up with the lack of dynamism at home and the increase in restrictions imposed from abroad. Those who voted to join a Common Market in 1975 did not want it to develop into a political superpower and have had a chance to make their views known. Now it's time for our elected representatives to earn their corn and plot a way towards a new Great Britain which shows leadership, originality and solidarity while still supporting Europe through tried and tested alliances.

All bumpy roads get resurfaced eventually.

Figs, Sri Lanka and beer

I have discussed my Lord's attendance record here before, and the trend continues. I also wrote about the demise of Crockers Folly as long ago as 2009. That situation I am pleased to say has been reversed, but more on that later.

Going to Lord's on a Saturday has long been the tradition, but now I and SWMBO are available for recreational pastimes all week, we thought we would go on a Thursday for a change. We have suffered some dull Saturday's so some first day excitement would be good.

We were not disappointed either as Sri Lanka showed more steel than the first two tests and only a late century from Johnny Bairstow wrestled some parity back for England.

We punctuated out day with a mid match expedition to a local pub and were delighted we could revisit above mentioned Crickets. Eight years ago I wrote about it but it may have closed longer. It has been expertly restored to it's original but is now more a restaurant with a bar than the other way round. They welcomed the cricket crew willingly and had London Pride on draught. Bliss.

Life often has the habit of balancing highs and lows to keep everything in perspective. This weekend was no exception as our weekend started with a visit to my mate Figs. Figs and I have shared many days at Lords  as chronicled in the first link above, but I am now concerned we will never be able to so again.

A few weeks ago he was taken to hospital with a heart problem. His ticker has been less than 100% for some years but this incident saw him moved to Harefield hospital for a valve replacement and defibrillating pacemaker. Much like the young England cricketer James Taylor, has had fitted this week.

Unfortunately they did not think Figs was up to the op so they sent him home for strength conditioning and weight loss regimes. Sadly last week he suffered a stroke and has been in Atkinson Morley Neurological unit for several days. He has now been moved to Kingston for rehab. He has lost the use of his left arm and some movement in his leg. His speech is degraded and memory confused. It is all very distressing not least forMarion, his SWMBO.

They will scan him again in two weeks so lets hope there is improvement.

Brexit stage right

Should I stay or should I go? Well the Clash knew it was going to be a clash. Let's examine the facts (facts? Shurely some mistake here....ed).

The economy will be flattened....but it might not be.
We will be able to secure our borders.......but might not be able to.
Immigration will fall.......but it might not.
Austerity will increase.......but prosperity might increase.
The NHS will be better funded.......but we lose all the EU NHS funding
Regional development grants will stop.......but will it matter
The UK will keep it's payments which currently go to the EU, but will they outweigh EU subsidies
Air travel and holidays will cost more.........but nobody will pay so prices will fall
House prices will fall.......like they do regularly, not.

So there we have it.....and here is Julie Garland singing Somewhere over the Rainbow.

I can see your house from here

As the golf matches slow down for a while, its time for house maintenance. The big job I have been putting off is painting the wooden surrounds and soffits on the roof.

It's a scaffold job, and one I will probably need a couple of professionals for. One to do the woodwork and one to do the painting. So it's a few phone calls tomorrow.

I have built a slide in the garden for the ankle biters. The slide is connected to a tree and the kids have two ways to climb up. Either on the rustic ladder or by using the climbing wall. The wall is made up of coloured handhelds and gives them a different sort of challenge. So it won't be long before an A & E trip is planned!!

A new addition to the eco friendliness of the garden has been a water butt which collects water from the room of the storage shed. I am already using the water on the pots and new flower beds and that has allowed us to harvest our baby salad leaves twice already. We already have wood piles, wild flower patches and butterfly & bee friendly flowers so I seem to be doing my bit for the wildlife.

This has been confirmed by a wren nesting in the eaves of the house, a blue tit nest in the wall and a blackbirds in the yew hedge. Just need to keep those magpies at bay...now where is that air rifle?

A Senior moment...or two

I have been suffering Firefox v Google conflicts which have restricted my blogging but I think I have cracked it.....

The last month or so has seen Wallasey golf club Seniors section celebrate 50 years as a sub-section of the Club, which interestingly is also celebrating its 125th anniversary this year.

The Seniors had a Jubilee Stableford competition early in May, and last Friday hosted members of all the clubs we play matches against,  in a better ball fun event. The celebration concluded with a gala black tie dinner at the Club when over 70 people ate,  drank and danced the night away. The Jubilee Cup was presented on the night by the Club captain, Paul Corvers.

Earlier in the week there was a two day Seniors scratch stableford competition which was won with a very creditable 65 points. The Club will now focus on their 125th celebration week in June.

I will now focus on the weekend, as Plymouth Argyle lock horns with AFC Wimbledon at Wembley for the final promotion place from Division 4, as we die hards call it!

Argyle have sold in excess of 31,000 tickets almost twice as many as Wimbledon so the atmosphere should be belting. I was at Wembley the last time Argyle got to the play-offs. That was twenty years ago at the old stadium and Argyle won 1-0. Neil Warnock was manager at the time and Ronnie Mange scored the winning goal. All great fun.

So here's hoping the Green Army can cheer Argyle to victory once again, and I can say, I was there!

I'm Spartacus

As promised, here is a set of pictures that are hard to beat......






Argentina won the Bowl. Their captain stopped for us to take his picture. Now he said, you hold the Bowl and I will take your picture. Kieran and Ross delighted.



 Then the England boys won the Plate and all these players seem to have the ability to effortlessly take selfies.....I liked this one
 

Worse was then to come for the poor England captain as Ross indicated to him that, as the Argentine captain had let us pose with the Bowl, it would only be fair for them to pose with the Plate...... then these two lookers came along and the day was complete.

Well, the day was certainly complete for this chap who chose a very strange place for a lie down.

 I am pleased to say our tour finished in a very secret squirrel restaurant on the mid-levels. When booking the restaurant you got  a code for a door in a very non-descript alley. You went upstairs and there was a twelve cover restaurant knocking out the best Chinese you could imagine. Cheers Ross a great find and a marvellous way to end the tour.

Fiji again

So the Hong Kong sevens finished today with another win for Fiji as they beat New Zealand in the final. Sunday was a great last day with some really classy matches, but the weather in the morning was wild. I was soaked through by lunchtime so had to retire to the hotel for a kit change

England won the plate/shield ,beating USA in the final, with Dan Norton winning the speedster competition. I will post some memorable photo's on here later, including Kieran and Ross with the trophies and an ex-Twickenham player in the England team.

Friday the lads were in the South terrace and on Saturday we were all front row in the East stand. We then hit a roof top restaurant where a bottle of wine cost twice as much as our whole meal on the Sunday!!

Just met an England mum whose son couldn't play because of Hong Kong belly...must be a bugger. Hopefully he will be ok for Singapore next week although word is the city might not be....it's their first time hosting and the support infrastructure might be a bit frayed...hey go, lets go!!

Happy ending

You must be joking. Just had the most aggressive massage known to man, by a man. If that does not unknot me, nothing will.

Last day in Penang today then red eye flight to Hong Kong tomorrow. England playing South Africa tomorrow night but we will give that session a miss and embrace the group stages on Saturday.

Always a few sights to see, shopping and beer, so a full on four days in store. No partying with Jonah Lomu or Chris Sheasby for SWMBO this year but I am sure she will find plenty else to do.

Tick tock

Gosh its hot and sweaty here. In and out of the pool is the only way to keep cool. Today was the party golf challenge on the par 3 executive course. I managed to level with Kieran on the final hole.

Its been useful having the golf net and course as I have been trying to improve my short game although we have to play at 07:30 to avoid the heat.

Last night we hit the food court. Whole red snapper for less than a fiver. Now those cockney rhyming slang specialists will know a fiver is a lady, as in Lady Godiver. What I didn't know until recently is that £15 is called a Lionel after Lionel Ritchie who sang 'once, twice, three times a lady' Well blow me down!

Managed to purchase a Hublot Big Bang watch in the night market for less than £30. They are £12k retail. Think I got a bargain!!!

Penang Penang ole biscuit barrel

Not sure why I called it thus but the title has a Monty Python/Monster Raving Looney Party feel to it. Maybe its  bit of a Brexit influence too.

Anyway here we are on the beach at Batu Ferriggi in Penang, Malaysia. It's a bit of a time warp as far as I am concerned.

I was last here in 1982 with a chum, Neil Brown. We travelled to Singapore in the days of Boogie Street and Change Alley before taking the train to Butterworth via Kuala Lumpar. In those days you then got a ferry to Georgetown,the Penang main town, but now there is a choice of two bridges.

We are staying in the Rasa Sayang hotel which was here all those years ago. We stayed then in its sister hotel, the Golden Sands. That hotel was demolished to extend the Rasa, with a new highrise Golden Sands built further up the beach.

When Neil and I were here we were in the middle of a Holiday Superstars competition modelled on the cult TV programme of the same name.

Neil won the skyscraper race up 20 stories of our condo in Singapore. I won the swimming. Then in Penang Neil won the squash and tennis. We then played a game of chess using the giant hotel garden set which must have lasted four hours. I won that by a whisker. The other events have been lost to time.

We also guested in the nightly footie roll up at Fort Georgetown with the locals a couple of times, before getting up at 03:00 one morning to watch Englang v West Germany in the World Cup. The locals all chipped in so the match could be screened live by satellite. They were delighted two English joined them!

The old Georgetown is now a UNESCO World heritage site, sadly swallowed up by the new developments of 40 odd years building.

This visit is a bit of r & r prior to a trip to Hong Kong for the rugby sevens. It will be interesting to see the event prior to its debut at the Olympics in Rio later this year.

Boom town rats....

Our Six Nations journey ended on Sunday as England defeated a gallant French side to win the Grand Slam. It was a strange weekend given the game kicked-off at 21:00, and Paris was much quieter than usual as many locals stayed at home not wanting to risk any potential terrorist activity. Little did we know what was to come.

The satisfying thing from the Six Nations perspective was that France at last showed some of their old guile and skill. Given that Wales and Ireland cannot possibly be as bad again next season it should be a very competitive competition. Whether Connor O'Shea can breath life into Italy though remains to be seen.

Hopefully the organisers will see there is no merit Friday night matches or ridiculously timed Saturday or Sunday evening games, and the fans needs may be taken into consideration.

Returning home to the news of the Brussels attacks was not a total surprise. Talk in the French press after the arrest of a key suspect on Friday indicated he was in possession of a contact list, and I suspect one of his lieutenants probably brought forward the attacks for fear of his operatives being arrested before more atrocities could be executed.

We live in difficult times but the French are to be congratulated with their Saturday night organisation. May it continue into the Summer when they host Euro 2016.

And their off....

So the holiday comes to an end and we have returned to the land of the ankle biters. Our last expedition in Barbados took us to the race course at Garrison Savannah after which was named a Cheltenham Gold Cup winner. That was strange as we saw Shirley Heights in Antigua. That was the name of the 1978 Derby winner too.

There were seven races and we managed a third at best. Apparently the owner of the local corner shop gave out three winners but we were too late to talk to him so missed the opportunity to win a few dollars.

The big meeting is 5th March when they have their own Gold Cup. The trophy is flown in first class by British Airways apparently. I suspect the Sandy Lane Irish boys will be there.

Whether they will be at Twickenham on Saturday I don't know, but I am off there tomorrow, then over to Jersey for the funeral of El Tel. As sad an occasion as it will be, it will be a chance to catch up with a few of the City crew over a glass or two of red, as stories and yarns are exchanged. Quite a mixed emotional weekend.

Irony

Sad news reached me today as I learnt of the untimely passing of Terry Le Carre, affectionately known as El Tel. I had just completed a round of golf at Rockleys Golf Club here on Barbados, a course El Tel probably played when he, too, visited the island.

El Tel was always the bookie when we were on our boys tours to the Algarve and it was his City trader influence which got me involved in the black art of spread betting and the dealing room language associated with it.
He won the Algarve Cup one year, from nowhere, and his joy and elation are  emotions that stay with me  still to this day. He also cleaned up on the book as he was probably 1-3 to win going into the final round!

We all gathered in Jersey for his fiftieth birthday not that many years ago and, as ever, he was the life and soul of the party. Little did we know that would be the final,  final round. He became ill some while ago and fought stoically to the end.

He will now be reunited with Moose, and together they will make a formidable betterball in God's own  global Open Championship. it does leave us short on characters here on the ground, El Tel, you will be hugely missed.

Reggae,reggae

Today was an island trip sort of day. We got a reggae bus about lunchtime and travelled to Holetown and it cost 2 bajan $ each. That's a 30 minute trip from the SE of the island to the NW for 60p!

Our first sight to visit was a Barbados National Trust open house. They do one every week and this one was called Fairways and bordered the third tee on the Sandy Lane old nine. It was a five bed new build bungalow on the site of an old one. It was up for sale at B$7m and the agent was using the open day as a marketing opportunity.
Four of the bedrooms were in a separate wing and were identical in design and decoration. The master bedroom and living accommodation were very well played out, but The kitchen, large as it was, did not fit the needs of a busy household. One standard cooker  An island work surface which too big, and no bbq pit or rotisserie.

There was a big pool and bar area but all in all it did not float our boat.

We then popped over to the Sandy Lane hotel, as you do, just in time for afternoon tea. Cakes, scones and sandwiches all very well presented and washed down with a drop of fizz.

Sandy Lane is owned by the Irish mafia, J P McManus, Michael Tabor and John Magnier They own the Coolmore stud and used to own a majority stake in Manchester United before they fell out with Fergie over his part in the race horse, Rock of Gibraltor. I doubt they own the hotel to make money, it's probably just a plaything, and somewhere to entertain. It was not as posh as we thought it would be, but the first guest we spoke to lived in Strawberry Hill, Twickenham! Say no more.

The day was rounded off with a few beers in Holetown followed by a steel band concert on the beach. It's their festival this week which celebrates their independence. Next year will be their 50th. They have parades, a tattoo and festival village. All good fun and a world away from the Sandy Lane residents.

Back to our hotel on the reggae bus and all tucked up for tomorrow.

15 men on dead man's chest....

There is great rejoicing in these parts as the West Indies cricket team has just won the U19 world cup.  Cricket in the West Indies has been in the doldrums for many years as they've strived to replace the great teams of the sixties and seventies. Their strength was always a fierce bowling attack backed up by technically correct batsmen who could give the ball a right wallop when needsbe.

The tall potential fast bowlers have all diverted to basketball where the prospects and money are seen to exceed those of cricket. The American college system gain and Lords loss.

Some now see the T20 bastardised game as a tidy payday although Chris Gayle is hardly your perfect roll model. The Windows team for the world T20 tournament starting shortly, is in dispute with the West Indies cricket board and several players will be excluded if they do not sign their deals. Maybe they should field their new young stars.

Mutiny on the booty

As my geologist friend Stu points out Barbados is just a mudbank scrapped off the Atlantic plate as it dives down underneath the Caribbean plate. As I understand it that makes it the Caribbean equivalent of a hairgrip dropped down a sink. It collects all the detritus until it forms a mass big enough to be noticed.

Consequently the island is lush. It now boasts five golf courses where once were sugar plantations, it has tropical gardens and botanical species rarely found elsewhere and azure blue waters and palm fringed beaches. It is also home to the toosh, or beer bottom!

Now the significance of the lady bottom has not been lost on me, but it was only when SWMBO returned from her last trip to Tanzania that I learnt that the locals rate the lady bottom from 1 to 10 based on the protrude factor. An eight rating is apparently the best even when ranked against a 10, so Bo Derrick was not all she was cracked up to be.

So we are now viewing the locals here in   a new light, but as long as I can rest me pint on it, an eight is fine by me!!!

Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum

We have finally docked in  Barbados after a week island hopping in the Eastern Caribbean. Technology is suddenly so much better.

On our first day we were at sea as we travelled towards Tortola in the British Virgin Islands. Next morning we were met by a friend of SWMBO's mum and her daughter. The daughter lives on the island so we got a locals view of the place. Hidden beaches, local bars and local drink. The painkiller cocktail was very yummy. Our tour ended at about 3pm when we joined the school run  to pick up her 13 year old daughter. They are looking to move after 5 years there as the 13 year old has outgrown the place and needs some local mates. All good things come to an end sometime, usually for the sake of the children.

Next day saw us in St Martens an island that is half French and half Dutch. Our visit was confined to the Frencb half and beach time took priority. As well as our modest sized cruiser of 1200 people there was a Windjammrr with 170 souls andtwo mega ships with 10,000 people between them, all docked side by side. It was as if Canary Wharf had been laid on its side and towed to sea!!

Day three saw us burnt like lobsters and it was on the menu too. We were in St Kitt's where the weather got the better of us and curtailed our expedition . We missed the port bus to the beach we wanted to go to and the taxi fare was prohibitive so we chilled in a bar and watched island life go by.

Antigua allowed me the pleasure of a round of golf. Borrowed clubs and fast running fairways did not see me hotel form but it was a reasonable round. I played with a married couple to whom I appeared invisible, such was their self importance. Sadly you do get people like that in a golf club but I engineered him to end up at the bar so silver linings, and all that.

Antigua will be on our returns  list to see the English harbour and Nelson's dockyard.

Our final stop was St Vincent although I am not sure why? Not too much to offer but was probably in the itinerary as a government requirement.

So all in all a good seven days made all the better now we are in Barbados and havens England beat Italy and Spurs beat Man City. The cricket did not go too well though!

Friends uncoupled

Well I could not think of a better opposite to reunited. Is it a sad day when a web site like Friends Reunited has to close down because it is unable to cover its running costs? I am not sure. i have never been a subscriber to web sites, unless they are offering something cheaper than I am buying regularly in the shops. On-line newspapers are the obvious items as far as I am concerned, and if a group of you subscribe to different ones and share the log-on then the price is pretty much rock bottom.

I visited Friends Reunited quite a lot in the early days to see what my classmates were up to, and to look up a few ex-girlfriends and neighbours. Nothing much of outstanding interest to be fair, although it was reassuring to see there were no deaths posted. That might have changed now though.

One of my next door neighbours is now the chief fashion buyer for Marks and Spencer although I think she is keeping a low profile given the decline in their non-food sales.

I continue to keep my LinkedIn profile up to date although, again, I do not subscribe to the Premier service. I do hear from old work colleagues from time to time so it serves its purpose.

Otherwise its good old e-mail, text, telephone and face to face discussion which keeps me abreast of developments. The tried and trusted processes are still the best.  Must dash, I think a pigeon has just flown into the loft with a message!!

Going, going, gone....

The auction season started again yesterday. I could have made a New Years resolution not to buy so much rubbish this year, as 2015 was definitely the year of the dross. I have been lucky with some items i have purchased, and made a reasonable profit, but quite a bit of it remains downstairs ready to be utilised at the car boot sales when they start in March.

I would like to think my luck has been hard earned as I do have an eye for what will sell, I just occasionally pay too much for it!!

Yesterday I purchased a golf flight travel bag for £5 which retails for about £60 so I  will keep that for my own use, as it purports to carry two sets of clubs, so saving air freight charges with EasyJet et al.

I missed out on two rather nice piano stools which went for £45 each which I think was all the money. I did get a pile of pictures though, in which I thought there were a couple of hidden gems. They are on e-bay at the moment so we will see how they fair. It's commission which does the damage though. You pay it on what you buy in the auction, plus occasionally VAT. You then pay commission on e-bay and a handling fee if your payment option is paypal.
Apparently it costs £20 to submit an item into the auction to sell and there is sellers commission as well as that of the buyer. I know they have to make their margin somewhere but it all needs to be considered when trying to make a few bob on whatever you buy.

I have fishing bits ( but not your type of stuff,  Dick) Pepper Pig xylophones, modelling tool kits, a few artifacts and a good range of pictures so far in the car boot box, I might have a clearance sale just to get rid as its all spent money so anything I make will be straight into the beer kitty.

Escape from Entebbe

Day 4 in the naughty house was tense. 5 juries were listed for selection and I knew if I got one that would be my Friday snooker becoming a no go, and a second week of court time booked in.

It was more tense as one jury got called and two cases pleaded. Then out of nowhere we all got discharged never to return. Apparently it had been a mixed up week and they had not used as many jurers are they thought. With a new intake on Monday they could let us all go.

One scheduled trial starting next week may last three months. They will select a pool of 50 juries for that one and work through them until they have twelve who can sit that long.

If you have never seen the Hancock Half Hour - Twelve Angry Men, it still stands the test of time.

Day 3 in the naughty house

Much like days one and two. Defendants keep pleading guilty so of eleven potential cases only three have needed juries.

Good news is if I am not called tomorrow, I get Friday off. There is snooker and a lunch at the golf club so fingers crossed.

Now where didI leave that black handkerchief?

Day 1 in the naughty house

Jury service is off and running....200 potential jurers sit around until 2pm when first 15 are called, and I am one of them.

Joy turns to frustration as I know one of the barristers so I am kicked back to the holding area. No second chance today, so lets see what day 2 offers.

I think that's all I can say!

Oh yes I did.....

Spot on, it's panto season so off we went to see Dick Whittington at the Empire in Liverpool. No real stars. A girl from Eastenders who is currently in Still Open all Hours,  and a chap from Emmerdale together with Pete Price a local Liverpool DJ who must nearly be a Nonagenerian himself.

The dame was very good as was Dick's cat Tom. The whole production though was greater than the sum of it's parts, a really good afternoon out. There were lots of Dick jokes for the adults, and a 3D screen to scare the kids. All in all very good value of money.

We went with number one granddaughter and her mate and they seemed to have a good time too, and did not cost us much for drinks, sweets and ice creams. The theatre was pushing 'Pie Face', a cult game at the moment, and seemed to be doing a good trade. Maybe the board game is making a comeback?

Today we saw two friends who were over from Hong Kong on family business so we did a bit of research for our Sevens trip in early April, then it was take the decci's down time. That's all done now and the house looks a tad sparse. There may well be demand for a set of 'not Christmas' decorations to use from January to November for a bit of sparkle. That may be a bit chav though on reflection!

My jury service starts tomorrow and I will be blogging what I am allowed to as the weeks progress, although with a barrister and solicitor in the family I can see me being dumped on several occasions as not being suitable jury material. I have my black handkerchief ready as needed though.

Nonagenarian

Happy New Year to all my readers. Many it give you everything you wish of it. SWMBO and I had a pleasantly quiet one. We saw off our final guests of the festive season and then went off to spend our Christmas vouchers. Shirts, shirts and shirts were my choice as, after many years, my favourites are wearing out.

We then hit the Red Fox for a late lunch and got home for Bridge of Spies, Joles
Holland and grand firework courtesy of our neighbours! I found out at my regular Christmas lunch that the son of my mate Bob is a regular in The Shrewsbury Lodge for New Year. What a small world.

The last few months have all been geared to my mother's 90th birthday. It was a rare chance to throw her a 'do' and also to have all four children together. We held it at Wallasey golf club who were excellent in their organisation and execution. The private dining room was ideal for the grand kids to charge round without mathering anybody.

It was a surprise for her and she was initially overwhelmed by it all but soon got into the swing of it.

So with that behind us we can start the clearing up process. Its a bit messy as the family cat hung itself on the decorations on Boxing Day and as SWMBO is such a traditionalist at this time of year, we can't cut it down until Epiphany. Ho,ho ho.