Lock down or lock up

 So the pubs have re-opened albeit outside only, so I have started to eat and drink at the golf club on the terrace which is all very pleasant. We have a new front of house manager and a new chef and some of the existing staff have moved into new roles. They all look smart in their new uniforms.

The menu is quite a bit different but with some old favourites still retained. It is for a trial period at the moment and may well be adjusted when the clubhouse fully opens in May. In the meantime, it is good to have somewhere safe to visit and meet people, enjoy the banter and get some exercise.

The safety aspect was brought home to roost last night, as SWMBO (aka FLOW) and I went to the local pub for a decent pint of Tribute and an excuse to get out. Unfortunately a group of young lads had a bit too much to drink and started to be disrespectful of the older generation who were trying to get back into the 'pub for a pint' mode.

There was a minor scuffle and the landlady come over to escort them off the premises. Six or seven older regulars gave her back-up and all had been sorted out by the time the police arrived.

Drink was at the heart of it and because it was table service and we were asked to order via the app, the staff could not see how drunk they were getting. For some reason they also had 2 pint glasses available which meant it was easy to drink more quicker. Hopefully it was first night nerves and things should quieten down going forward.

There was also a bit of a reality check this week as it was number one son's 42nd birthday, spent in his new home over the Swiss border in France as he links up with a new beau. Does make me feel a bit old though!!!

Third time lucky?

It felt like a new dawn yesterday as I once more joined my chums on the links of Wallasey golf Club. All the winter work had been completed in isolation which meant more could be completed and the quality was first rate. It is unfortunate that the golf did not live up to the quality of the practise I had put in behind closed doors, but a three club wind may well have had something to do with that.

It was good to enjoy the banter, the weather and the surroundings for four hours or so, and I had a chance to use my new remote control trolley. That went very well apart from Marvin, his adopted name, going it alone down the second fairway when I had left the controller on the bag. Luckily it did not happen on the first hole or he would have ended up in our new boating lake!!

The political environment has taken on a calmer position too. We can almost step back and watch the EU shooting themselves in the foot over the AstraZenica virus. One which they first did not trust, then they changed their minds and now they are claiming a best efforts contract actually means best efforts as long as we are first. It has not made them look very smart where major deals are concerned.

We also now have the delights of watching a Scottish parliamentary election process which has turned from dull and predictable overnight to intriguing and enthralling over night. The two poisson grande of the Scottish political landscape, Salmon and Sturgeon will fight it out all over again on the stump. The Sturgeon is an endangered species so one should be careful as this could be the last one left in Scotland and may soon disappear for good.

Finally I am loving the new Suez crisis. It is amazing what huge impact such a minor incident can have, as clearly nobody did a risk assessment for just this eventuality. Luckily all the merchandise I have ordered for the golf crew is not dependent on ship transport to arrive but when there was mention of a potential toilet roll shortage I cannot begin to imagine what the Birkenhead Tesco was like!!

So more of the same on the golf course tomorrow with predicted winds much lighter and onward towards the next milestone in May. Most of the captaincy events are getting shifted to the middle of June and onwards so I need to get the miles in my legs to cope with that additional workload as well as the alcoholic shock to accompany it.  Fore!   

Car Park Arms

Waking up this morning was a bit strange. It is one of the few days I have thought 'what am i going to do today?' It is windy with rain in the air and most of the indoor DIY has been completed. SWMBO aka FLOW sadly had the funeral of one of her uncles to attend so I needed to kick start myself PDQ.

First thing is I thought I had fixed the washing machine which has been strolling round the utility room like R2D2, so why not test that out? All worked fine, tick. The wonder of locking nuts. Wine rack needed topping up from the delivery we had yesterday so that's done, another tick. Then I  had a result, India v England in a T20 to watch.

Then as if people knew my inner self, the phone began to ring, so suddenly its beer o'Clock time, and there was good news on that front today as Greene King announced that our two local pubs, The Shrewsbury Arms and Caernavon Castle will be opening from 12th April as car park beer gardens. The Carv is massive and should be a hoot. The Shrew has their car park on the other side of the road so punters and staff are going to have to be careful.

They are only following our lead as number 2 son and I have set up a Car Park Arms in the eh, car park, for some weeks now. We just need a pub sign of the wall!

The drinking scene was a discussion point amongst the inner sanctum at the golf club this week. we have appointed a new chef and front of house manager, and the thinking is that members will start to use the place more in the evenings as a local because they will be comfortable with the clientele. In a pub or bar you are more likely to get random's or out of towners which may make people feel a bit uncomfortable. anything which makes the club a busier environment will be great.

So the day has turned out to be fine and dandy, and there is rugby for the next two days as well as a tasty North London derby on Sunday. Only 12 more sleeps before the golf course opens too. In the meantime I must groove my swing and restore that muscle memory for the upcoming season.

Another little prick

 Everything seems to be moving on a pace now. The period between New Year and my birthday always seems to pass so quickly at the best of times. There is the clearing up after Christmas and the storage of all the decorations, then we fall straight into the 6 Nations rugby and usually attend a game or two and then before you know it the golf season is upon us and hope springs eternal.

This year things are suddenly different. The last time I went to a major sporting event was at Twickenham last March when England gave the Welsh a good seeing to. We had a last dinner out with friends Peter and Val, and then we were locked down the next day. we all know what the rest of 2020 was like.

Last week, however, i was fortunate enough to be called to Chester Racecourse for the first of my two Covid vaccinations. I was assured that if it went well I was entered for the 3:30 Novices Chase over 6 furlongs. It never got to that stage though as I had some interesting reactions which may have been related to an earlier cold I had, but as my GP said, we just don;t know all  the side effects at the moment. Mine were cold shivers through the night with a limited capacity to breath, and after the first night I thought that would be that but after a relatively normal Friday when alcohol was taken, I was wiped. out on Saturday and then confined to barracks on Sunday when my BP went through the floor. Still all seems to be back to normal now. Roll on Wales v England tomorrow.

As a present to myself I have purchased a new golf trolley. It is electric and it follows me all round the course unaided. I have called it Marvin.

Today was gloriously sunny so I took Marvin for a test drive over the Wallasey links. No golf was involved but I was pleased I gave Marvin a dry run in isolation as there were a few teething problems with the assembly and subsequent control of the trolley. All has been sorted and I can't wait to be back playing from 29th March. Only 32 sleeps to go!

Try, try again

Well the 6 Nations tournament did not start of in the style I had hoped. A very lack lustre England team were put to the sword by a rejuvinated Scotland side at Twickenham on Saturday. Many of the England side looked ring rusty which was no suprise as a few of them had hardly played a game since November. All credit to the Sweaties though as they capitalised on that fact to give England no chance of a sniff of a win.

I do feel a bit to blame to e honest. The last time Scotland won at Twickenham was in 1983, and  it is one of the few matches I have missed in 50 years. I was at a wedding and did manage to catch a bit of the game in a TV shop window in East Sheen as we walked from the church to the reception venue. Do you remember those Radio Rentals shops where you could rent a TV or radio as well as a wide range of white goods. Those were the days.  I recall Scotland scoring while we were watching. So, my enforced absence on Saturday meant that I have still never seen Scotland win at Twickenham.

The weekend could have been saved had Wales been beaten by a 14 man Ireland outfit, bu that didn't happen either. The valiant Irish we winning at half time, bu to me the turning point of the match was overlooked by the TV pundits. With Ireland still winning, they stole a  Wales line-out on their own 22 metre line, but the referre, Wayne Barnes, shouted, 'taken back' almost as the ball reached the Ireland fly half. That shout meant he could not kick directly to touch, which he did, so giving Wales anothe line-out closer to the Ireland line, from which they subsequently scored.

Although Barnes indicated on mic that he had said if Ireland stole the ball it would be taken back, but I doubt the Ireland half backs heard it. To me it was poor communication and ultimately cost Ireland the game.

The commentary team did, however, mention the death of ex-England captain John Pullen during the week. We all grew up with John Pullen as England hooker, and he is famous for one after dinner speech.  During the Troubles the teams in the 5 Nations were reticent to go to Dublin, but when it came to England,s turn, they duly turned up at Landsdowne Road and got badly beaten up. John Pullen started his post match speech by saying ' We may not be very good, but at least we turn up'. It received a standing ovation and to this day is still the reason that the Irish rugby public have a little bit of their heart reserved for the |English.

Next week England entertain Italy. We have never gone to Twickenham to see this match as it is in the year that England have three home matches. It is the least likely match to be 'a classic' and England remain the only 6 Nations team Italy have not beaten. Now that may change this time if the idiocracies of Covid play a part but lets hope not. We saved £300 this weekend which is about the only plus point, so a good run out against Italy will set us up for Wales, Ireland and France. All is not lost but it will take all Eddie Jones coaching and motivational skills to turn this one round. Allez Le Blanc

Chopsticks

I have talked before about walking in the footsteps of giants, although the quote was actually from Isaac Newton, who said he could see further than others by standing on the shoulders of giants. Anyway lets not lets good blog entry be spoiled when poetic licence is at play!!

So as I was saying, I have talked before about walking in the footsteps of giants, be it on the same sports fields or golf courses as the worlds greats, or through commercial or business opportunities I was lucky to experience, but now I learn of the opportunity that the giants have of walking in my footsteps, albeit that they will be small ones!

In June of this year the UK, probably still lead by Boris, will be hosting the G7 conference. The location which has been chosen is the Carbis Bay Hotel complex just outside St Ives in Cornwall. Now it was not exactly a 'Cider with Rosie' experience for me, but it was the regular Summer holiday location to which I went with my mother and father for a number of years.Mum was in her late 30's  and Dad in his 40's and we went in the same week each year. 

Now I always thought it a co-incidence that the same families were there each year, but of course I now know that's what people did in those days. That way the same children were there to play with and the parents could have  a cracking time after we had all gone to bed. The hotel always put on a theme night for them and they took all the gear they needed to dress up for it. I remember them as beatniks one year and I think pirates another.

The hotel has back stairs for the staff to use for room service and house keeping and we used to play in and around those stairs all the time. It also had a piano on which we all learnt Chopsticks.

During the day we would be almost exclusively on the beach where the cricket battles were hugely competitive and surprisingly low scoring. If you lasted an over you were doing really well. The surf was often up and we had great fun in the sea when the red flags were not flying

We stopped going in the early sixties as I went to Senior school and the kit list and other expenses meant we could not afford both. Such were the sacrifices parents made even in those days.

So to see the resort put on the map in such a high profile manner is a real surprise, lets hope the World leaders appreciate the facilities as much as I did! 

Metal Ox

 Here we are in 2021 locked down once more. The vaccination programme is due to reach a significant level by the 13th February. It is interesting that as far as the Western world was concerned the virus started in China during its year of the rat, and in February we enter the Chinese year of the Ox.  Not sure what the significance is but just thought I would throw it out there!!

The time between Christmas and now has been somewhat low key as I suspect it has been for everybody. Lockdown has made it a tad more challenging as I can't use the golf course now so will have to embrace Joe Wicks  and the online spinning classes. Why was he not even nominated for SPOTY?

There are interesting anomalies within the regional lockdown guidelines. I can play golf in Scotland but cannot go to church. The opposite is true  in England of both. There is talk of Wales relaxing the golfing rules shortly leaving England and Northern Ireland still excluded.

I have just been to Tesco as we re-introduce our ten day shopping windows. The store had more staff picking home delivery than it did have normal punters which was a big change from last year when the queue stretched half way across the car park. There was plenty of stock although  few  gaps existed for toilet roles, porridge strangely and bird seed!!

Still it's done now so hopefully I can just stay close to home now. It is a pity that the new car can't have a run out but it is bedding in well and I am working out all the bells and whistles. I now have some admin to sort out then the lockdown list will e as follows:

• scan all old photo's in and make a few photo books
• move Atmosphere from VHS to DVD
  
• put the decorations in the loft when the new loft lights arrive
• floodlight the garden
• find useful tradesmen for routine home maintenance
• repair the holes in the garden golf net
  

So that should get me to February when my new golf trolley arrives and I can get back to hitting balls in the net. The vaccine in late February would be the icing on the cake. Fore!