Septeverus Snape

So September started with a three day trip to Dundee as the Society of Liverpool Golf Captains descended on the home of Denis the Menace and Minnie the Minx. Dundee used to be regarded as the drugs capital of Scotland but much investment has been ploughed into the harbour area and town centre and we found the place safe,  vibrant and a wee bit querkie.

I played 3 halves of good golf, and three not so good,which has been par for the course this year, and apart from the fairly long drive there and back,  I would happily revisit. We played Scotscraig, Ladybank and Edzell which all had their own idiosyncrasies and made for an interesting three days.

I was able to take advantage of a free energy survey based on the fact I take an asthma inhaler,even though my symptoms are slight. A very pleasant lady came round to see whether  I would be eligible for any grants. Radiator bluetooth controls, like Nest would be useful, or a bit of loft insulation. Unfortunately I did not qualify but she did spot some damp in one room and on further examination we spotted some loose tiles on the roof. I have now had three people come and assess the problem. Luckily the insurance have agreed to cover it, the down side is the access will need to be from my new neighbours garden so it is a bit complicated getting access. Best will be a cherry picker but worst could be extensive scaffold. I await the next visit to see what they decide on.

Following on from that I was selected for the above golf society match against the England Golf Captains at Caldy. My partner Ben and i will victorious but England were victorious on this occasion.

My annual day trip to Lords was squeezed into the last day of the season this year but the usual great day was had. glorious sunshine, good food and drink and 20 wickets had every base covered. I even managed to pop into the St Georges Hall beer festival when I got back to Liverpool. I certainly slept well that night.

Finally I ventured into Wales to meet up with number 1 God daughter and her parents who were visiting Bethesda where she works. We had a very pleasant lunch in a place called St George almost England away from England. Katie, the God daughter is working in a bakery and seems to be loving it so all good on that front

Oh yes, we did have our one and only house viewing during the month, but nothing doing, so on pause until 2027 I think. 

Augustus Gloop

 No Oompa Loompas during August here in Scouseland, but plenty of chocolate cake!! After the disaster that was Alaska, the main focus was to sort out all the insurance and refund matters. Thankfully that all went well and we were not out of pocket. We had hoped for some ex-gratia payment from BA for the non-tangible aspects of the delay, like stress, inconvenience and a few cock-up's on their part. All they managed though were two £250 e-vouchers. These are not too much use up North as they only fly to Heathrow and there would not be too much change once we did that little trip.

Our friends Kevin and Siobhan did visit from London and we took them to Portmeirion , a first for all of us. famed of course for the location of The Prisoner in the late '60s, the Italian architecture and design was very impressive. We then combined a random visit on the way home to an ex-rugby colleague who was living in Abergele. More food was consumed the next night as we went to Manifest in Liverpool's Baltic Triangle. It is often touted for a Michelin star but so far has just fallen short. A visit to The Puffin rooms then followed for a whiskey nightcap.

Golf trips and a cruise for SWMBO followed, and a visit from an energy efficiency professional did highlight some damaged roof tiles which now need some attention. We have the house on the market now but to date have had no interest. No worries though, we can wait until next year and change our sales strategy. By then we may also have found somewhere we would like to move into.

So a run of the mill sort of month really, one which always ended with the Bampton raft race on the river Lowther in the Lake District. Given that 70UP will shortly be on the television and is the last of the series which has followed children from age 7 to the present day, be sure to watch 54UP. 30 minutes into the programme myself and my fellow S-Clubbers feature as Gumbys taking part in said raft race....hardly 15 minutes of fame more like 15 seconds!! 

July Andrews

The theatre theme continued during July as we went to London to see Paddington Bear. It was a very well presented show, following the storyline of the first film. The Savoy theatre was packed and we managed to get a table in Joe Allen's before the performance, so I am visiting many of my favourite haunts.

Joe Allen moved from its traditional site in Exeter Street about 8 years ago due to redevelopment and they now rent space from the Strand Palace hotel. Unfortunately that means it has to close by midnight. In the traditional spec it could remain open until 03:00am and would attract the post theatre crowd of both audience and performers, so not so much celebrity spotting these days.

We stayed at Lensbury once again and their refurbishment continues a pace. The first evidence of change however is the installation of transport style e-gates into the hotel so stopping non-resident access. Thats a pity as we have often met friends there by just walking in. while we know it will never be what it was in its former life, it is sad to see small changes make such a difference to the previously relaxed atmosphere. we were so lucky to enjoy it for so many years as the old Shell sports and conference complex.

 SWMBO and daughter no 2 and gran-daughter no 2 went off to Greece for a week to 'swim with pigs'. That never happened but they had a great time anyway and returned tanned ready for the English heatwave, corr! what a scorcher......

The aborted holiday to Alaska has been addressed elsewhere, so here's to some good news during August. 

High Line

Might have used that tag before but sums up the few hectic days in New York. Once we were diverted and knew this was our final run ashore we decided to make the most of it as we had been booked into a Time Square hotel for two nights....or so we thought. 

Off toone of my favorite restaurants in the \Big Apple, PJ Clarkes. Just a burger and ribs place but a livly joint and a New York institution. Good time had by both and if you ever visit be sure to check out the mens toilets which are preserved in the early 20th Century style.

Things got a bit tricky on the Saturday. We stumbled upon the 8th Avenue flea market and did a bit of people watching in Central Park and cruised back via St Patricks Cathedral,  the Rockafellar Centre and Radio City but on returning to the hotel we found we had been locked out of the room as the hotel had cancelled all the second night bookings. So two hours of stress failed to resolve the matter so a credit card had to be offered before we could get back into the room. We could then dress to impress as we went out to have our 25th Wedding anniversary a day early. It all went well, and was interrupted by a BA customer service operative who rang to see how we were doing. Luckily he then paid the hotel bill so no excess expense there. It was 01:00 in UK when he ran, so obviously got down to the W's!!

We high-jacked a professional photographer who was working the restaurant for another party so some memories there. 

Home the next day only in Premier Economy and although we had 4 seats to ourselves, the arm rests were static so no stretching out for a sleep.

Now the compo claims start, hopefully they will be resolved in our favour, but goodness knows how long it will take. 

Uncle Albert

 'Can anybody smell carrots?' No, actually it's burning and at 35000ft over the Arctic that's not what you want to smell..  Follow that with 'Captain to the flight deck and, apart from who's flying the thing, you know there is a problem. So do we land on an ice flow surrounded by Polar bears and Ocra's all looking for an early tea, or is there an airstrip which can take us, nearby?

So Baffin island to the rescue. Top most tip of Canada and just closer than backtracking to Greenland, we landed in Iqaluit, formally known as Frobisher Bay. He,of course, was a seafarer and supporter of the Green Army like Sir Francis Drake, although neither knew it at the time.

So 250 passangers offloaded. No hotel rooms as the pesky Eskimo's were holding a conference. So main conversation in the departures hall was whether First and Business class get first dibs over Economy if cannibalism rears its head

The locals did their best to avoid above as the flight crew liaised with HQ to put a rescue plan together. Eventually a flight was cancelled in Toronto and the flight rerouted to iqaluit. That confirmed, the crew buggered off on a convenient Canadian North flight to Ottawa which was a bit shoddy. Baffin Island has no road or rail. Links with mainland Canada so the airport was pretty busy with commuter style twin prop aircraft.

After about 12 hours on the island our rescue flight arrived. Deep joy it was the same configuration so we could all have our original seats back and after another hour we boarded and were on our way. But.......were to?

The original flight was heading to Seattle where SWMBO and I were picking up a cruise to Alaska. We had already found out that we had missed that and USA immigration would not allow us to join later through the itinerary. Our holiday of a lifetime was done so when the new Captain said we were going to Vancouver we had mixed emotions.

Do we holiday there or go to Seattle as planned but return early? In a short period of time the decision was made for us. Change of plan said the Captain, crew are out of hours so we are going to New York,

This is being written in the Executive lounge at JFK after a hecltic weekend in the Big Apple. More on that later but for now here is the ,Press coverage

GOAT

 

Jennifer Juniper

 Peter Kay was the primary event in June, the concert was good and he was in good form. We managed a pre-theatre meal and spend a bit of time in the Albert Dock which was very enjoyable.

Much golf again featured and we were able to see gran-daughter Emelie in her school play and Archie in his sports day in which he was very successful

We had a very pleasant Sunday lunch at Formby golf club with our fellow year group golf captains as the  rest of the month drifted into the next.