Four week February

 So the Six Nations was back in town with England handed a home banker start against off colour Wales. The red rose did not disappoint as they stuffed the Welsh and started to look forward to a successful campaign.

Err! It all started to go pear shaped after that. The  usual stress of a trip to Murrayfield kicked in within minutes as a fairly harsh yellow card meant England were buried (again) before they had even broken sweat. Another maybe year beckoned

Still the S Club ventured into Bath for the U20 fixture against Ireland with the England side unbeaten after 2 games and having not conceeded any points in both second halves. Bit of cockiness maybe but they never looked like matching the Irish game plan which was more out of the French playbook than the traditional paddy approach. England were given a good stuffing.

I arrived back in Scouse in time for the kick-off  for the main event as the trains all seemed to work fine for a change. Birmingham New Street still provides a bit of a challenge  but I settled down to watch a cracker. But no, England provided the sort of opposition we have been used to for many  years and to be honest, the Ireland U20 of the previous night would have beaten them. Back to the drawing board for Borthwick and crew.

The month was finished off with a Visionaries golf crew cultural tour around Liverpool's East Village.

The five pubs which were selected were:  

The Cracke.     A pub we have visited before but which has now changed hands and had a clean-up. Still has the War Room and the Beatles and political memorabilia, but loads more beers and central heating        which works!! It was good to see it full even at 2:30 on a Thursday afternoon. The War Room got its name from the Second World War when gentlemen of a certain age met to read the redacted papers every day.

The Mayflower in Pilgrim Street. This is a new addition to the areas drinking scene having been added by   the 1936 Pub Group to their portfolio. It sits above the Pilgrim which is still aimed at the student market. The Mayflower though is a traditional wood and glass boozer aimed at the grey pound and real ale crew, as well as the Green Army ( Pilgrim, Mayflower, work that one out)

The Grapes on Knight Street    Opened in 1904 which is another traditional wood paneled pub not to be missed

Pogue Mahone    No cultural tour is complete without an Irish bar and this is top drawer as far as  Liverpool is concerned. The name translates to something rude!!

The Royal Institution Bar    You would never know it was here! Established in 1814 and opened in 1817  the Liverpool Royal Institution  was a learned society founded by William Roscoe to promote literature, science, and arts.It held significant art exhibitions, including  Audubon’s Birds of America in 1826, the originals of which are now in the Walker  Gallery but the lounge bar, whiskey bar and sports bar are all hung with reproduction art work from the same exhibition. Don't miss the flamingo in the foyer!!.

 

Dry January

 Not for me though, life seems to carry on regardless. After returning from Disneyland Paris, the next task was to store all the Christmas decorations in the loft. It is a task which seems to get harder each year. This is due to my lack of the flexibility needed to navigate the roof space, and the reluctance of SWMBO to discard some of the decorations which have been superceeded by new purchases. Who knows, this might be the last Christmas in Hillhouse at which point a good clear out can take place.

The first major event of the year was the meeting to identify the new Captain of the golf club. those of you who have seen Enclave, the movie about the appointing of a new Pope, will have an idea of what we have just been through. A good candidate was identified and I am sure he is in for a cracking 2026.

Other than that, I had a variety of 'Well Man' checks, shingles jabs, and asthma assessments which all seemed to go well, and played the usual golf competitions where I hit the bar a few times but no cigar.

Finally SWMBO and I booked a cruise for later in the year when we fly to Seattle and then visit Alaska, something which has been on our bucket list for some time. We are travelling with Virgin Voyage so it will be interesting to see if we fit the demographic given we hear report of the ships being party boats.

There might still be life in the old dog yet1! 

Decemation

 Christmas always dominates December, and this year was no exception. It was a big Christmas so 18 family members sat down for lunch as SWMBO slaved away in the kitchen turning out the grub. We utiised two party/lazy susan's this year to try to make serving a bit more straightforward, but I am not sure it worked as we hoped. We had a young adult overflow table of five as well, although in two years time they will be canvasing to be on the 'grown-up' table so that will be a bit of a challenge. All in all the day went well so that's something to be grateful of.

The month started with the arrival of three new sofa's, the first for about 15 years, and they do give the lounge a fresh feel as well as being a tad more comfortable than the previous ones. Nobody wanted them on the free giveaway websites so a man and a van from the council took them away/

I then had a trial run pub crwal around Scouseland with the main event to be scheduled in February to compensate for dry January. The golf captains group visited Matou on the peirhead in Miverpool again for the Christmas meal. They look after us very well, with the private room ideal for our needs. A couple of golfing opportunities to win a Christmas turkey passed me by, and after that I had a few trips to look forward to.

First up was a boys trip to Glasgow to watch Glasgow v Toulouse in the rugby Champions League equivalent. We have started these provincial trips to replace our usual outings to Twickenham which have become too expensive and far too busy for my liking. It was a funny game with the French side taking a 21-0 half time lead. We thought we would give it 20 minutes into the second half and beat the rush into town for a sherb or two. Glasgow, however, mounted the comeback of all combacks to have us routed to our seats almost to full time as they won 21- 31. Our run ashore was curtailed somewhat but still very enjoyable,

Less so the journey home which was another horendous day as some storm eminating from France took exception to the rugby defeat and caused a mass of train cancellations. Hey ho!

The next weekend saw me take SWMBO to Colmar in the Alsace region of France to sample the Christmas markets. It was her birthday present, and a couple of typical bistro dinners and three days browsing the shops and stalls go us nicely into the Christmas spirit.

So then we had New Years Eve to contend with, but not any NYE, oh no. SWMBO had missed out on a mass family trip to Lapland when the grand-kids would most appreciate it, so replacing that on her bucket list was EuroDisney Paris courtesy of the Bank of Mum and Dad....where was Dave when you needed him?

We  were fortunate that Tim and his French family could join us making 16 in age range 2 to 72!! yes I went on a few thrills and spills rides but I don't do upsidedown which ruled me out of a few. I have to say we had a great time. The hotel was fine, the flights were on time and the theme parks were of the standard you expect of Disney, and NYE was a magical experience. I just wonder where she will want to go to next