Movember

It is quite amusing to see the pubs and bars full of blokes who look like porn stars with their best efforts at growing facial hair all in a good cause, falling short in some regards!! Good on them for trying though.

So whats been going on Up North this month?

First off was another visit to the Hill Dickinson stadium to watch england v Australia rugby league. I have not been to a league game since the London Bronco's used to play at Griffin Park. My then girlfriend of the time was a big Wigan fan so we went to see them rather than the Broncos. the Paul brothers, Jason Robinson, Shaun Edwards and others were in that great team.

The match at evertons new stadium just confirmed my view that its a dull form of entertainment where you watch the same game every week. England were well beaten,

The next day SWMBO and I went to see Dara O' Briain at the Liverpool Empire. He was very good value and I would well recommend seeing him if he comes your way. Next day saw me packed and off to Lisbon for a three day golf break with 'the teachers', a group of members from Wallasey and beyond. We stayed dry and I came second on the final day which got me some money from the winning pot.

We are in the lucky position of having a reduced price holiday in 2026 by virtue of Rory McIlroy winning the Masters and our travel agent running a competition based on him doing so. Happy days.

On my return I needed my eyes testing before enjoying the 25th anniversary beer festival at port Sunlight with some friends and fellow real ale buff's

As we ponder how and when to downsize, November allowed us to look at a couple of houses which could be possible targets for us. One we saw was a Bank reposession and would have been idea, but the people vacating the place has stripped it bare. No kitchen, no bathrooms, electric wiring all over the place and no doors on any rooms. All could be overcome, but the Bank wanted a 28 day exchange period and there was no way we could sell and fund the works in that time, so sadly it will have to pass.

Things wer ethen a bit sad for a day or two as we attneded the memorial for our good friend Ailsa who passed suddenly after suffering a stroke. There was a great turnout at twickenham RFC where her family and friends spoke well of here and gave her a really fittin sendoff. She was a great photopragher and many of the old pictures from rugby tours, dinners and other memorable events were there to browse through. She will be sorely missed.

The month then ended with a IBM lunch in Manchetser where I met up with some colleagues I had not seen for a while, and the on Saturday we had the St Andrews dinner, a red coat event at the golf club.

So, all in all a pretty busy month.  

Reserve Course

 I am well used to taking the number 12 shirt on golf tours so I thought the Reserve Club in Aitken would be right up my street. Sadly that was not the case s I suffered my third defeat out of three.

The course was well set up with lightening fast greens and the fairways were bordered by houses and condo's for the most part. My poor golf was consistent with my poor days at home and the frustration is becoming a bit of a problem for me. Hey ho, there is now time to focus on the Masters for a couple of days before my last chance of victory on Wednesday.

Tex Mex was the order of the day food wise where I was faced with a steiner of beer to go with my chimichanga.

All was good and thanks to the hotel shuttle for the return trip. Still not found any new golf shoes so the money can go on a bit of Augusta memorabilia tomorrow.

Kermit

 The second round of golf was played at The Frog, a Tom Fazio course on the outskirts of Atlanta. His signature designs include large bunkers and small greens. The Frog was classic in that respect. It is also a public course.

While the condition was never going to match the Athletic Club the layout was very good and Cookie and I had a good match which I sadly lost 2 & 1. We were joined by Brandon and his partner Cheyenne. They were at Augusta today for the ladies amateur competition.

The evening saw me drag Cookie round Blockhead again looking for haunts from 1996 and earlier. The 5 Paces Inn is still going strong and is still home to Old Whites RFC, our first opponents in our 1992 tour. Twickenham also played the Georgia State team as well as Hilton Head, Savannah and Charleston.

Buckhead is much changed but it was good to visit the old haunts, as the newer restaurants like The Iberian Pig were full to bursting.

Today we visited Stone Mountain before travelling to Columbia where we are based now for our trip to The Masters on Monday and Tuesday. The weather is set fair so my legs might get an airing at golf tomorrow. I will need to buck my ideas up though or I will be whitewashed!!

Bat Out of Hell

Who would have thought an experimental dish from a soup kitchen on the other side of the World could create such problems, not just of the population involved, but for the whole World. What started out as a potential crisis for China has now escalated into a World pandemic the likes of which we have not known for 100 years. Imagine the difference in population numbers and the difference in scientific analysis when Spanish flu swept throuh Europe. This corona virus takes no store by technological advances and at the moment is blasting all away in its path.  We anticipate it will peak in May on the Wirral.

It is hard to imagine that only two weeks ago I was at Twickenham watching England beat Wales in my 49th season of such pilgrimages. The night before we went to see Magic Goes Wrong at the Vaudeville Theatre in The Strand. Even Penn and Teller can't make this virus just disappear, and the theatre stands empty now for who knows how long.

Golf, and the excitement of becoming Wallasey captain, is really no more now than an illusion. The senior Seniors are self isolated, all the prestigious events are cancelled and we wonder what is next for us and what we have done to deserve it. The Masters in Augusta to which I was going,  is postponed, and as I type Paul Heaton and Jacqui Abbott have announced they are postponing their arena tour. We were going to that too.

What does one do while self isolating, we aren;t 30 years old any more when the options would be singularly more attractive!! At the moment I am decorating the living room in anticipation of an event for the ex-Captains wives which will not now take place! I can at least give some attention to my piano playing and try to se if by the end of it people will be able to recognise some of my tunes.

My wardrobe needs some attention, how many polo shirts does a man need? and the garden is starting to bloom so that can give me the excuse to potter out of doors, should the golf course itself ever have to close. 

Will shopping on-line become the only option, what will all the DPD and Hermes delivery drivers do, and who will deliver all the e-bay and Amazon stuff if they are confined to barracks?

Boris Johnson has been handed the poison chalice, and inspired by his hero, Winston Churchill, he is being stoic and trying to get things done. It is disappointing that opposition members and retired scientists and medics are publicly challenging the approach, when all the Country needs is one face to the Nation. Have your grumbles behind closed doors, not on Newsnight and Question Time.

The Country will survive, particularly as it is the youngsters who seem to have the greatest immunity to the virus. It's the complete opposite of  World War II in which all the future captains of industry were the ones cut down in their prime. At the moment it's those who have lived their lives, but would quite like a bit more please, who are in the firing line.

Good luck everybody, stay safe.