SWMBO and her family are entering the second week of their Clampitts holiday in Egypt. Apart from some tourist tummy trouble, all seems to be going well. The kids in particular are enjoying the water park and chocolate parties.
I, in the meantime, am left fending for myself which has been a welcome reintroduction to peace and quiet. The main benefit has been the ability to get on with jobs round the house without having to worry whether an ankle biter will get hold of a chisel or fall over a power lead.
One challenge I have though is that a couple of tiles have slipped during the storms so I am waiting for the insurance go ahead to get the work done. The loss assessor said he thought the door would cost £50 labour and £1500 for scaffolding. Gone are the days when a bloke and his ladders turned up and did it. It's all 'ealth and safety now.
I am all set up with my new tablet computer now as well. I got the latest ZenPad with some vouchers the bank gave me, and it's good to be mobile again. I now have films on tap via Kodi, an X-Box simulator, and sport available via a Ace Player feed. There are a few wires across the floor at the moment but I will work out how to loose those in the next day or so. Luckily the rugby world cup is on ITV so that will be routine.
SWMBO looks like she is off to Tanzania again in November with her dental health charity and she also has a day trip to Dublin for some stand management at a dental conference. Maybe a job opportunity will come up as a result otherwise she will be secret shopping with me.
I am still trying to earn a few bob via e-bay, a couple of pictures and some riding crops from a recent auction seem to be interesting people but the box of Hudl covers I got have no takers. You win some, you lose some.
It will be disappointing to miss the Bampton raft race this year but I suspect it has run its course as far as I am concerned. Next year I will become an onlooker with 'off the record' Dick. I look forward to meeting up with the S Club in Gloucester for the Tonga v Georgia match as our own RWC mini tour gets under way.
Looks like time for an all day breakfast......excellent!
Showing posts with label Bampton. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Bampton. Show all posts
Tuesday, 25 August 2015
Tuesday, 28 August 2012
4 men on a raft
Another August Bank Holiday, another raft race. Yes, the S Club 5, have once more paddled their way into the record books at the Bampton raft race.
We arrived on the Sunday morning this year, as number one son travelled up to visit his grandmother on the Saturday, and SWMBO's dad had to go into hospital for a heart beat synchronisation operation. The heart seems to be OK now, and the excess fluid in his lung appears to be dissipating.
So it was all a bit hectic getting to the raft race start, but our spirits were lifted as the rain had stopped but the river remained fast flowing and full. This last attribute is vital to us heavyweights, as usually the raft can get grounded five or six times during the race and we have to get off and pull it over the shallows, while lighter and rubber ring based rafts can sail on by.
Not so this year. Not only did we do a personal best, breaking the 30 minute barrier, but we overtook four other vessels, something which is unheard of for us. Couple that with only 4 of the S Club participating, and two paddles breaking and it was a cracking good show.
We were dressed as Olympians this year, but failed to win the most entertaining craft award. In fact we have not won the award for several years, when we were dressed as pirates. Our Viking attire deserved it but we were denied on a stewards enquiry. our Hawaii Five 0 came nowhere nor did our grumbies, although we did get the tele coverage for that one last year.
This year the award went to two lads dressed in DJ's who punted a raft all the way down with a couple of tree branches as poles. The raft full of Bruce's and the newly weds on a raft bed also got a mention in dispatches.
We are considering dressing as Missus Mop's next year and going for the 'all girl crew' prize!!
We arrived on the Sunday morning this year, as number one son travelled up to visit his grandmother on the Saturday, and SWMBO's dad had to go into hospital for a heart beat synchronisation operation. The heart seems to be OK now, and the excess fluid in his lung appears to be dissipating.
So it was all a bit hectic getting to the raft race start, but our spirits were lifted as the rain had stopped but the river remained fast flowing and full. This last attribute is vital to us heavyweights, as usually the raft can get grounded five or six times during the race and we have to get off and pull it over the shallows, while lighter and rubber ring based rafts can sail on by.
Not so this year. Not only did we do a personal best, breaking the 30 minute barrier, but we overtook four other vessels, something which is unheard of for us. Couple that with only 4 of the S Club participating, and two paddles breaking and it was a cracking good show.
We were dressed as Olympians this year, but failed to win the most entertaining craft award. In fact we have not won the award for several years, when we were dressed as pirates. Our Viking attire deserved it but we were denied on a stewards enquiry. our Hawaii Five 0 came nowhere nor did our grumbies, although we did get the tele coverage for that one last year.
This year the award went to two lads dressed in DJ's who punted a raft all the way down with a couple of tree branches as poles. The raft full of Bruce's and the newly weds on a raft bed also got a mention in dispatches.
We are considering dressing as Missus Mop's next year and going for the 'all girl crew' prize!!
Thursday, 17 May 2012
Three seconds of fame
The Bampton raft race is an event the S-Club 5 have supported for a number of years. It has featured in this blog on several occasions, here and here. We always try to dress up and this year we were Grumbies of Monty Python fame. Yes my brain does hurt.
Imagine my surprise then when we were featured briefly on ITV this week. ITV have been following a group of children from when they were seven years old up to the present time, and they put together a programme charting their life, every subsequent seven years. The current series is called 56 UP.
One of the featured people is now a lay preacher and Bampton is one of the villages he frequents. I do remember a film crew being there last year but assumed it was for the local news. Instead, there we are singing merrily as we paddle towards the finishing line, all grumbied up.
I do hope the ITV exposure does not alert the health and safety jobsworths from Kendal to the raft race.It exists in the sort of environment the 56 UP participants will have been familiar with when they were growing up as seven year olds all those years ago. We in the S-Club do feel that our involvement has seen the event grow into the thirty raft event which it is at the moment, and it would be tragic if it is canned as a result of over planning. Long may it continue unencumbered and de-regulated........aaaargh!
Imagine my surprise then when we were featured briefly on ITV this week. ITV have been following a group of children from when they were seven years old up to the present time, and they put together a programme charting their life, every subsequent seven years. The current series is called 56 UP.
One of the featured people is now a lay preacher and Bampton is one of the villages he frequents. I do remember a film crew being there last year but assumed it was for the local news. Instead, there we are singing merrily as we paddle towards the finishing line, all grumbied up.
I do hope the ITV exposure does not alert the health and safety jobsworths from Kendal to the raft race.It exists in the sort of environment the 56 UP participants will have been familiar with when they were growing up as seven year olds all those years ago. We in the S-Club do feel that our involvement has seen the event grow into the thirty raft event which it is at the moment, and it would be tragic if it is canned as a result of over planning. Long may it continue unencumbered and de-regulated........aaaargh!
Thursday, 2 September 2010
Four men on a raft
August Bank Holiday at the moment means only one thing to us, the annual Bampton raft race. This is the third year we have participated and we feel quite proud of the fact that we have revitalised the race and seen a marked increase in participants.
This year though it took a bit of a step backwards as the village was divided as to how it should be managed. The crew who have done it for years served notice of their retirement a couple of years ago, so this time there was no entry fee, no starter, no b-b-q or bar at the end, and no presentation of trophies. It all left a bot of a taste in the mouth, over and above that of the river!
Hopefully next year they will have their act together and it will be another true village event. We are already into costume design, with jolly jack tar's the theme for 2011. we have won the best dressed raft title twice in three years so need to keep up appearances.
The race itself was gruelling with the river too low to paddle the whole way. Pulling the raft along the river bed for several hundred yards put the lashings and our stamina to the test. i have to say our stamina stood up tot he task better.
Our thanks go to the ladies raft members who we overtook in the final stages, to avoid being last. We really do need to give some thought to a low draught raft for next time.
This year though it took a bit of a step backwards as the village was divided as to how it should be managed. The crew who have done it for years served notice of their retirement a couple of years ago, so this time there was no entry fee, no starter, no b-b-q or bar at the end, and no presentation of trophies. It all left a bot of a taste in the mouth, over and above that of the river!
Hopefully next year they will have their act together and it will be another true village event. We are already into costume design, with jolly jack tar's the theme for 2011. we have won the best dressed raft title twice in three years so need to keep up appearances.
The race itself was gruelling with the river too low to paddle the whole way. Pulling the raft along the river bed for several hundred yards put the lashings and our stamina to the test. i have to say our stamina stood up tot he task better.
Our thanks go to the ladies raft members who we overtook in the final stages, to avoid being last. We really do need to give some thought to a low draught raft for next time.
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