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!
Tuesday, 25 August 2015
Friday, 31 July 2015
Birkenhead Brewery
Another month slips by, and a very strange one it was, certainly from the weather perspective. It was scorching hot early on which made people wonder why they went abroad all the time. Then it went wet, wild and cold, and we all realised why we go abroad.
Unfortunately the overseas market has been literally blown out of the water in the aftermath of the Tunisia beach massacre, and add to that the critical situation surrounding ferry and train travel from France and it is no fun being a holidaymaker at the moment. SWMBO and her family are off on their Clampitts holiday to Egypt in a couple of weeks and Tim has just had two weeks in Bulgaria mso some of the family will see some sand, sea and sangria.
The football and rugby season's are soon upon us, and the death of Peter O'Sullevan this week has netted the Twickenham RFC steward a pretty penny in the death list lottery. Free pint from Dennis then!
Golf continues at a pace as I am still in two knockout competitions which have entered their quarter final stages, and there are five seniors matches still to play. Wallasey hosted the Carris Trophy a couple of weeks ago which is the U16 English strokeplay competition. Some of the players were very accomplished, and with Jose Maria Olazabal and Justin Rose as previous winners there may well be a future tour pro or two in the field.
The Ashes test series has been a bit up and down. We went to the Saturday at Lord's by train. That made it a ling day, and the cricket was probably some of the dullest in the series so far. At £100 per ticket we are going to think seriously about continuing the tradition. it would be a hard one to make as SWMBO and I have been going for nigh on 25 years, and I first went with my Dad in 1962 and have not missed many Saturday's ever since.
I am taking my mate Peter to Old Trafford in August for a day night 50 over game, Lancs v Glamorgan and that's £19 a ticket. It will be his first live match so looking forward to it.
We ended the month in style last night when we went to the Peerless Brewery pop up pub. All their ales and stouts were £2 a pint and one of Kierans friends, Ross, just back from Hong Kong, was on a mission to have a pint of all eight draught beers available. Good on him
So fairly routine in July, I wonder what August will have to offer.
Unfortunately the overseas market has been literally blown out of the water in the aftermath of the Tunisia beach massacre, and add to that the critical situation surrounding ferry and train travel from France and it is no fun being a holidaymaker at the moment. SWMBO and her family are off on their Clampitts holiday to Egypt in a couple of weeks and Tim has just had two weeks in Bulgaria mso some of the family will see some sand, sea and sangria.
The football and rugby season's are soon upon us, and the death of Peter O'Sullevan this week has netted the Twickenham RFC steward a pretty penny in the death list lottery. Free pint from Dennis then!
Golf continues at a pace as I am still in two knockout competitions which have entered their quarter final stages, and there are five seniors matches still to play. Wallasey hosted the Carris Trophy a couple of weeks ago which is the U16 English strokeplay competition. Some of the players were very accomplished, and with Jose Maria Olazabal and Justin Rose as previous winners there may well be a future tour pro or two in the field.
The Ashes test series has been a bit up and down. We went to the Saturday at Lord's by train. That made it a ling day, and the cricket was probably some of the dullest in the series so far. At £100 per ticket we are going to think seriously about continuing the tradition. it would be a hard one to make as SWMBO and I have been going for nigh on 25 years, and I first went with my Dad in 1962 and have not missed many Saturday's ever since.
I am taking my mate Peter to Old Trafford in August for a day night 50 over game, Lancs v Glamorgan and that's £19 a ticket. It will be his first live match so looking forward to it.
We ended the month in style last night when we went to the Peerless Brewery pop up pub. All their ales and stouts were £2 a pint and one of Kierans friends, Ross, just back from Hong Kong, was on a mission to have a pint of all eight draught beers available. Good on him
So fairly routine in July, I wonder what August will have to offer.
Friday, 3 July 2015
Walk Tall
I played golf yesterday with my good friend Cookie. He called up to suggest we played and I was able to fit in. I then started thinking how long ago we had last seen each other, and it must have been nearly a year.
The thing about long standing friends is that you can just slip into their company almost seamlessly, regardless of the time between meetings. we certainly did not lack for things to talk about during our four hours on the course.
He did remind me, however, that I was once more delinquent on my blog, and one post during May and none in June is certainly poor form considering what we have been up to.
That said, I played golf sixteen times in May, including a great week in the North of Ireland for the Causeway golf challenge. I met up with Chris Campbell and Chris Finden-Browne, friends from my IBM days, and much like yesterday with Cookie, the chemistry was still there and we had a great week. We played Ballyliffin in Donegal as well as Portrush, Castlerock and Ballycastle. I had a chat with Darren Clarke, the Ryder Cup captain elect, at Portrush as he parked next to me in his white BMW i8. Very impressive.
Chris C-F and I managed to finish in the top 50 out of a field of over 600 so we felt very pleased with ourselves about that.
Liverpool also hosted the rendezvous of the 'Three Queens' on the late May Bank Holiday as Cunard celebrated their 175th anniversary. SWMBO and I saw them line up to enter the Mersey from the 4th tee at Wallasey golf club before hot footing it to Birkenhead to see them salute the Liverpool coastline. The Red Arrows then saluted them with a quick flypast on their way to Blackpool air show. Initial reports indicate the weekend generated some £22m for the local economy.
During June I participated in a sculpture workshop near Nantwich which took place over two days at a secret garden called Mount Pleasant. I carved a hand out of a lump of limestone and it now cradles a pot of plants in the garden. It was very gratifying to be able to produce something in such a short time, but certainly showed how much patience a sculptor needs to have to execute their art.
A couple of weeks ago it was the turn of the Oxton Society to take centre stage as they held their secret gardens event. I had hoped to have the 'S Club' in residence for that, but a combination of work commitments and event clashes meant that only 'off the record' Dick turned up on his way back from Scotland. We had a good craic and drank a variety of beers and red wine before he went off to Liverpool on the Monday to do some work.
Finally we took number one grand-daughter to London for number two grand-daughters birthday, a flying visit just for the day. Ava and Sofia certainly enjoyed each others company and it is a relationship we must continue to nurture.
And now we are into July where we have SWMBO's birthday to celebrate, our wedding anniversary and a leaving do for number two son, Kieran as he is off to a new school in September. He is moving from a 600 pupil all girls school with no Sixth form to a 1400 pupil mixed school where he can start to teach A-level. It means he will need to travel further so he is taking driving lessons, at last. I just stay off the road on those occasions!
The golf club are hosting the Carris trophy during the month. It's an event for U16 male golfers and is played over three days. It numbers Justin Rose as a previous winner.
So not much spare time to do any secret shopping or e-bay stuff, but certainly time to catch up with some more ex-work colleagues in a week or so in Liverpool for a serious lunch.Problem is I am on the 07:45 train to London the next day for the Lords Ashes test match.
In the words of Val Doonican, the singer, , who sadly died yesterday, I'm Gonna Get There Somehow !
The thing about long standing friends is that you can just slip into their company almost seamlessly, regardless of the time between meetings. we certainly did not lack for things to talk about during our four hours on the course.
He did remind me, however, that I was once more delinquent on my blog, and one post during May and none in June is certainly poor form considering what we have been up to.
That said, I played golf sixteen times in May, including a great week in the North of Ireland for the Causeway golf challenge. I met up with Chris Campbell and Chris Finden-Browne, friends from my IBM days, and much like yesterday with Cookie, the chemistry was still there and we had a great week. We played Ballyliffin in Donegal as well as Portrush, Castlerock and Ballycastle. I had a chat with Darren Clarke, the Ryder Cup captain elect, at Portrush as he parked next to me in his white BMW i8. Very impressive.
Chris C-F and I managed to finish in the top 50 out of a field of over 600 so we felt very pleased with ourselves about that.
Liverpool also hosted the rendezvous of the 'Three Queens' on the late May Bank Holiday as Cunard celebrated their 175th anniversary. SWMBO and I saw them line up to enter the Mersey from the 4th tee at Wallasey golf club before hot footing it to Birkenhead to see them salute the Liverpool coastline. The Red Arrows then saluted them with a quick flypast on their way to Blackpool air show. Initial reports indicate the weekend generated some £22m for the local economy.
During June I participated in a sculpture workshop near Nantwich which took place over two days at a secret garden called Mount Pleasant. I carved a hand out of a lump of limestone and it now cradles a pot of plants in the garden. It was very gratifying to be able to produce something in such a short time, but certainly showed how much patience a sculptor needs to have to execute their art.
A couple of weeks ago it was the turn of the Oxton Society to take centre stage as they held their secret gardens event. I had hoped to have the 'S Club' in residence for that, but a combination of work commitments and event clashes meant that only 'off the record' Dick turned up on his way back from Scotland. We had a good craic and drank a variety of beers and red wine before he went off to Liverpool on the Monday to do some work.
Finally we took number one grand-daughter to London for number two grand-daughters birthday, a flying visit just for the day. Ava and Sofia certainly enjoyed each others company and it is a relationship we must continue to nurture.
And now we are into July where we have SWMBO's birthday to celebrate, our wedding anniversary and a leaving do for number two son, Kieran as he is off to a new school in September. He is moving from a 600 pupil all girls school with no Sixth form to a 1400 pupil mixed school where he can start to teach A-level. It means he will need to travel further so he is taking driving lessons, at last. I just stay off the road on those occasions!
The golf club are hosting the Carris trophy during the month. It's an event for U16 male golfers and is played over three days. It numbers Justin Rose as a previous winner.
So not much spare time to do any secret shopping or e-bay stuff, but certainly time to catch up with some more ex-work colleagues in a week or so in Liverpool for a serious lunch.Problem is I am on the 07:45 train to London the next day for the Lords Ashes test match.
In the words of Val Doonican, the singer, , who sadly died yesterday, I'm Gonna Get There Somehow !
Friday, 8 May 2015
True Blue
It now seems that David Cameron has achieved an overall majority and has the remit to form a government without consulting with any of the minority parties. The red lines on offer are no longer relevant, and three horror scenarios seem to have been avoided. There will be no coalition, no labour powerhouse, and the SNP elected officers will be impotent. This latter point will be a huge disappointment to the Scottish voters who were hoping to hold the balance of power and use it to push through another Scottish referendum.
Will the national picture dominates, if you look deeply enough into some of the high profile losses there are local issues which may have cost them seats. Esther McVey in Wirral made some I'll judged comments about foodbanks and their users. She was given the push.
In Twickenham, Vince Cable positively supported an industrial development on the Thames in the Teddington part of his constituency. Teddington is very yummy mummy so he got the push too.
UKIP had support in those areas most affected by immigration, particularly in Essex and Lent. We shall see if their momentum can be maintained over the next five years. Cameran can now look to further strengthen the UK terms in Europe and, if successful, have no need for a referendum.
Interesting times ahead, but more predictable than could have been the case. I just hope saving rates go up!!
Will the national picture dominates, if you look deeply enough into some of the high profile losses there are local issues which may have cost them seats. Esther McVey in Wirral made some I'll judged comments about foodbanks and their users. She was given the push.
In Twickenham, Vince Cable positively supported an industrial development on the Thames in the Teddington part of his constituency. Teddington is very yummy mummy so he got the push too.
UKIP had support in those areas most affected by immigration, particularly in Essex and Lent. We shall see if their momentum can be maintained over the next five years. Cameran can now look to further strengthen the UK terms in Europe and, if successful, have no need for a referendum.
Interesting times ahead, but more predictable than could have been the case. I just hope saving rates go up!!
Wednesday, 29 April 2015
The Wrath of the Gods
Tranmere Rovers were relegated from the Football League to the Football Conference this weekend when the mighty Greens beat them 3-2. That ended a 94 year stay in the League. It would have been more appropriate if it was a one hundred year stay which was ending, as it would tie in nicely with their total disregard of the celebrations commemorating the start of the First World War.
Tranmere used a field as their training ground, which adjoined Prenton Park, their home stadium. The field was a memorial to the men who lost their lives during the First World War, and who had been educated at the Birkenhead Institute. Those people included the well known war poet, Wilfred Owen.
The Club sold the field for a housing development, a decision which was furiously challenged by local people. The government of the time saw little reason to reject the planning application and the sale has now been completed.
How apt then that this relegation may be the first step on the path to oblivion for the club. The field may be no more, but, as Tranmere are now discovering, you mess with history at your peril.
Tranmere used a field as their training ground, which adjoined Prenton Park, their home stadium. The field was a memorial to the men who lost their lives during the First World War, and who had been educated at the Birkenhead Institute. Those people included the well known war poet, Wilfred Owen.
The Club sold the field for a housing development, a decision which was furiously challenged by local people. The government of the time saw little reason to reject the planning application and the sale has now been completed.
How apt then that this relegation may be the first step on the path to oblivion for the club. The field may be no more, but, as Tranmere are now discovering, you mess with history at your peril.
Wednesday, 15 April 2015
Messsage in a bottle
It's been a while since SWMBO and I have been out to a gig, so it was a pleasure to pitch up at the Manchester Arena on Monday for Paul Simon and Sting together on stage. It seemed an odd coupling when we booked the tickets, but the partnership worked well.
They did several sets together and solo spots designed to allow them a rest. No such luck for the audience as they went three hours non-stop. It was a score draw between the Police fans and the S & G fans as to who could sing along loudest!
Paul Simon still has the voice, but his range has become shorter. This was admirably compensated for as Sting was only too happy to sing the high notes in the wonderful rendition of 'Bridge Over Troubled Water' which was their finale. That song has great memories of adolescence for me, Early girl chasing and live performances of 'Bye Bye Love' in The Polish Club, off Mutley Pain in Plymouth. The police were also involved then too, as they raided the place one night as there was underage drinking and the club did not have a license!!
Interestingly Paul Simon outlined the time when he was doing the Northern club circuit which was when he wrote 'Homeward Bound'. All in all an excellent night.
On the sporting front, the Wallasey Seniors did get the expected spanking at Vale Royal Abbey 2.5 to 5.5, but got our season back on course on Monday with a 7-1 win against Leasowe. The New Brighton v Birkenhead Park local rugby derby was a bit of a damp squib, with Park winning easily to clinch their promotion, and almost certainly guarantee New Brighton a first season relegation. Twickenham, on the other hand, managed to beat Guildford and so set up a winner takes all relegation decider against Cobham on Saturday.
The mighty Argyle hang on to the last play-off place in League 2 and now need only two wins form their last three games, but it is looking tough for Brentford in the Championship as a defeat last night in Sheffield see's them lose touch with the sixth place team and only three games remain to be played there too.
Now it's time to focus on the outdoor activities in the garden while the dry weather stays. There is still plenty to do inside as well before the S Club descend on us , but that can wait until the April showers arrive. That said, we are half way through so they better hurry up.
They did several sets together and solo spots designed to allow them a rest. No such luck for the audience as they went three hours non-stop. It was a score draw between the Police fans and the S & G fans as to who could sing along loudest!
Paul Simon still has the voice, but his range has become shorter. This was admirably compensated for as Sting was only too happy to sing the high notes in the wonderful rendition of 'Bridge Over Troubled Water' which was their finale. That song has great memories of adolescence for me, Early girl chasing and live performances of 'Bye Bye Love' in The Polish Club, off Mutley Pain in Plymouth. The police were also involved then too, as they raided the place one night as there was underage drinking and the club did not have a license!!
Interestingly Paul Simon outlined the time when he was doing the Northern club circuit which was when he wrote 'Homeward Bound'. All in all an excellent night.
On the sporting front, the Wallasey Seniors did get the expected spanking at Vale Royal Abbey 2.5 to 5.5, but got our season back on course on Monday with a 7-1 win against Leasowe. The New Brighton v Birkenhead Park local rugby derby was a bit of a damp squib, with Park winning easily to clinch their promotion, and almost certainly guarantee New Brighton a first season relegation. Twickenham, on the other hand, managed to beat Guildford and so set up a winner takes all relegation decider against Cobham on Saturday.
The mighty Argyle hang on to the last play-off place in League 2 and now need only two wins form their last three games, but it is looking tough for Brentford in the Championship as a defeat last night in Sheffield see's them lose touch with the sixth place team and only three games remain to be played there too.
Now it's time to focus on the outdoor activities in the garden while the dry weather stays. There is still plenty to do inside as well before the S Club descend on us , but that can wait until the April showers arrive. That said, we are half way through so they better hurry up.
Tuesday, 24 March 2015
Whitewash
So home and straight into the old routine, a Friday night fuelled by alcohol, Saturday morning down the pub then into the lady's boudoir known as Rock an Rose for some tucker before going through the thrills and spills of England's mighty effort to beat France by 26 points. They hit the bar but given we beat Wales in Cardiff and finished above them in the table, a win was a win against France and everything pails into insignificance. There wer fourteen of us on parade, so a good weekend was had by all. Luckily SWMBO was on hand to drive home on the Sunday as I was a bit weary.
Monday gave me no rest bite as it was down to the golf club for the first Seniors game of the season, one which I was Chairman for the first time. I was voted in In Absentia on Friday.
We were playing Prenton, one of the closest courses to us, and I was under no pressure being paired with the new club Captain, Chris Kerin. There was an up side though, Chris plays of 5 so any lapse on my part could be more than compensated. Blessedly, my game held together pretty well, and we went round in level par better ball which gave our opponents little chance of a win.
It got even better in the bar when it transpired we had won 8-0, something which the more senior Senior's were struggling to remember doing before. It can, of course, only go one way from there though! My opening speech seems to have gone down well, so it's onto Prestatyn tomorrow and then our second fixture away at Vale Royal Abbey, always a hard place to get anything from.
A few days back and it seems like we have not been away. The twelve bags of washing indicate that we have though!
Monday gave me no rest bite as it was down to the golf club for the first Seniors game of the season, one which I was Chairman for the first time. I was voted in In Absentia on Friday.
We were playing Prenton, one of the closest courses to us, and I was under no pressure being paired with the new club Captain, Chris Kerin. There was an up side though, Chris plays of 5 so any lapse on my part could be more than compensated. Blessedly, my game held together pretty well, and we went round in level par better ball which gave our opponents little chance of a win.
It got even better in the bar when it transpired we had won 8-0, something which the more senior Senior's were struggling to remember doing before. It can, of course, only go one way from there though! My opening speech seems to have gone down well, so it's onto Prestatyn tomorrow and then our second fixture away at Vale Royal Abbey, always a hard place to get anything from.
A few days back and it seems like we have not been away. The twelve bags of washing indicate that we have though!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)