Millvina Dean RIP

I have a heavy heart as I sit down to write this blog. I had intended to write my usual journal, and although I will record a few words of what we have done today, feel I must devote most of this blog to our dear friend Millvina Dean, the last (and youngest) survivor of the Titanic disaster who died on Saturday aged 97. We also learned this morning of the death of Nils's father in Sweden - all this news on the fourth anniversary of my own father's death in 2005. Millvina was a delightful lady and no doubt there will be many tributes to her over the coming days. We knew her personally and she attended our children's baptisms and my own 50th Birthday Party in 2003 when she became something of a star here in Winterslow. We visited her at her home in the New Forest on a number of occasions as well as in hospital. I regret not having seen her in the last couple of years when she was in a nursing home. She was always chirpy with a great sense of humour and was very fond of Sara and the children - she would send them Christmas presents every year until recently when she became very poorly. She will be sadly missed by all the Titanic fraternity - the last living link with the fateful night of 14th/15th April 1912. The Barratt Family will especially miss her - my mother included who also met her. My day seems quite ordinary now. I took Mary over to Whiteparish for the Team Pentecostal Eucharist presided over by Elizabeth in Nil's absence due to him being called to Sweden suddenly when his father's health deteriorated this week. Fortunately, he was able to be with his father during his last hours. It was a lovely service with the usual laying on of hands and receipt of the Holy Spirit. We had a Pimm's style punch afterwards - the weather being scorching again. At lunchtime I took Tom to the Clarendon Juniors prize giving at Barry's Fields (Sara and Mary joined us later). Tom picked up "Most Improved Player" award and "Manager's Player" award as well as his team medal. Well done. We were very proud of him. This afternoon, Sara and Mary went on the Food for Thought hike and barbecue in Bentley Wood whilst Tom, Samuel and I stayed behind and I cooked a barbecue for us in the garden here. Tonight, I attended Rockface with Tom and Samuel when we saw and discussed Louie Giglio's talk again on DVD called Indescribable. I have never before seen such a large group of teenagers so awestruck and speechless at the end of it. Sara is now watching Desperate Housewives as I write this blog.

FA Cup Final Day - Everton "Fail Again"

The hottest day this year yet. Incredibly hot in fact with the temperature recorded at Wembley in the afternoon as 41.5 degrees Celsius - that would be 107 degrees F. That is even hotter than the Bahamas at this time of year. Tom and I went into Salisbury in the morning to collect the booze and other drinks from the Cash and Carry for Sara's party. We loaded the car up with lager, cider, white, red and rose wine (all Californian - I hope Sara's father won't mind crossing the Atlantic to drink USA wine!) and some sparkling wine. We also bought apple and orange fruit juices and a large bottle of undiluted squash for the small ones. Even if it is as hot as today nobody should go thirsty on the day. We also went into Salisbury city centre where I did some banking, had a look around the market and stopped off at Reeves for a coffee and pasty - Tom had a cold drink and sausage roll. Returning home via Homebase I bought a telescopic tree lopping tool to deal with some tall branches attacking the telegraph pole on our boundary and to enable me to trim the "weeping pear tree" in our front. What an excellent and fun tool - quite addictive to use and I was delighted with the result on the weeping pear. I also mowed all three lawns too. I watched the FA Cup final whilst drinking chilled beers. Everton scored after only 20 seconds (the quickest goal in the history of the FA Cup Final) but were outclassed by Chelsea who equalised later in the first half and scorded the winning goal halfway through the second half. Everton also now hold the record for the team that has lost the most FA Cup Finals! This evening Tom has a sleep-over at his friends James's with several other lads. They are all sleeping in a giant tee pee on his friend's large back lawn. Tonight also saw the Final of Britain's Got Talent which was won by a unique choreographic street group called "Diversity" pushing Susan Boyle into second place. Sara and I ended the evening watching an excellent film about Hitler's rise to power in the 1920s and 1930s. We drank some home made cocktails using some of the flavoured rums I brought back from Nassau mixed with fruit juices. An excellent drink for such a hot day. We both feel so very tired tonight.

Historical Masonic Event

Following quite a late night last night it was good not to have to travel to Dorking today but my day in Salisbury was a long and very packed one! I had meetings right through from 8.30 a.m. until 5 p.m. with a short break at 1.30 p.m. to join the Christian Fellowship members (only 3 of us today) taking my soup and toasted sandwich with me. After two very intense meetings indeed, this half-half slot was a welcome oasis. As soon as the meeting was over it was back for further intense work meetings until 5 p.m. when I left to get changes and drive over to Crane Street for the Wiltshire Masters' Lodge Meeting. Peter M from Brighton and Anthony H joined me as my guests and we were entertained by the Hampshire Provincial Stewards' Demonstration Team to a re-enactment of an Atholl Lodge Initiation Meeting in 1751. It was both very informative and entertaining/amusing. The dinner was acceptable - although not the best I've ever had - consisting of egg mayonnaise, chicken chasseur, meringue with fresh fruits (pineapple, strawberries, melon and kiwi) , followed by cheese and biscuits and coffee. Anthony had a second chicken as he complained his first one wasn't big enough! When the egg mayonnaise was brought out the waitress managed to knock my glass of wine over (it was full too) which flowed towards Peter. Fortunately he got out of the way milliseconds before it would have hit him! We finished the meeting at a very respectable time of 9.15 p.m. Peter followed me in his car back to Winterslow where he picked up the ladders he had lent us over a year ago. It was good to get them out of the garage - making more room for the bikes. Peter stayed for a cup of tea and a chat and agreed to fit some mirrored doors to our wardrobes in July/August.

Indescribable

I woke up this morning at 7 a.m. - or rather I was woken up by Sara - a most unusual event! It was a day in Dorking today so after a shower, tea and corn flakes it was off up the A303 and M5 to Surrey. An extremely busy day with many time critical tasks to fulfil - one of those days when you wish there were at least 25 hours in every day or you could be teleported from place to place. It just doesn't seem to get any easier or less pressured at work. Sara phoned me to say that Emily the Cat had attacked a wood pigeon and injured its wing. She phoned the RSPCA who told her to take it to a vet and they would give her a reference number so that the vet would be paid by them. The bird was taken to Hampton Park Veterinary Surgery where it was left - its fate unknown. Next door Sara visited the "one-stop" shop and expressed her displeasure at them not stocking Fairtrade chocolate. They seemed totally unconcerned, apparently, even after Sara had explained the significance for the child exploitation market. It seems that Sara's day was not completely without further problems including exploding orange juices, neighbours running out of petrol and losing their wallets (only to be found again). No names, no pack drill, Klynn! The carpet fitters informed Sara that they could no longer come tomorrow dues to illness - after Sara had emptied the DVD/Video drawers and added the contents to the increasing mountain on my study floor! Tonight we had our House Group and instead of Steve Chalke's funky DVD we watched a DVD which Duncan had given to me several weeks (maybe even months) before called Indescribable. It featured an American evangelist, and leader of the Youth Passion Movement in the USA, called Louie Giglio, who has a great fascination for astronomy - one of my own passions. He used images from from the Hubble Telescope to illustrate the smallness of Mankind and the vastness of God's creation. Some of the images were startling, especially the one of Earth as a tiny dot with the Sun shining on it taken by Voyager as it left the Solar System - some 3,000,000,000,000 miles distant. Our own insignificance is truly "indescribable". I took a copy of the DVD tonight as it is worth seeing again and something which we can use at future House Groups and Alpha Groups. The last image he showed was a close up of the Whirlpool Galaxy (M51) in the constellation of Canes Venatici - an object visible at the moment and one of my favourites. At over 31 million light years away it is one of the most distant objects I have ever seen with my own eyes. The image of the two galaxies apparently colliding is well known but not so well known until Hubble was the image at the centre of the larger galaxy. This image is known as the X and I have posted the image above. A reminder of God's handiwork? It reminds me of the words of the chorus from Haydn's Creation "The Heavens are telling the wonders of the LORD"!

Somerset and Spanish Fly-ing

A day in Salisbury again today. A very hectic one too! Meeting followed meeting and email request followed email request. Although I was in by 8 a.m. I only just managed to get the last car parking space. I quickly rushed down to the bank at lunchtime to deposit a small dividend cheque before returning to the office to grab a hot soup to take with me into another meeting - my lunch for the day! Later in the afternoon I drove over into Somerset to deliver my books of account, prepared only yesterday evening, to my accountant in Frome. I managed to get there just before his office closed - the traffic being kind to me both there and back allowing me to get home at a good time. Tonight, Tom and I watched the Champions League Final between Barcelona and Manchester United which Barcelona won comfortably at 2-0. I had placed a small bet at Ladbrokes in Frome for a 2-1 win for Barcelona - close but not close enough. I did have a small win on the Lotto, however, £2 for getting the first number of the Dream Number correct. Tonight I started to work on a new blog for Complex Services Limited. Sara's Dad, David, and Andrea phoned us this evening from the USA (North Carolina) and we all had a long and pleasant four-way chat. It is only 2 weeks before they come over to see us. The children are really excited as they have never really met their Grandpa - Tom was only 22 months when we last saw David, and Mary was not even born. Afterwards we sat down to a Spanish Omelette meal. I then set about writing this blog whilst Sara watched...Desperate Housewives!! Then it was a relatively early night to bed - at 11.30 p.m.

An evening of accounts

My alarm woke me at 6.00 a.m. today but I didn't get up, finally, until just before 7 a.m. The weather was terrible - wind and rain which I think we must have had all through the night. The traffic on the M3 going up to Dorking was awful too and I didn't get in until 9.45 a.m. I had a client to see me at 10 a.m. too and I must confess that with the Bank Holiday break I had forgotten about it. The issues he had were fairly straightforward principles of law and he seemed very satisfied with the advice given. At lunch time I drove into North Holmwood to pay a telephone bill at the local post office there. A quick lunch and then another meeting this afternoon and a read through three discovery files before I left for home at just before 6 p.m. I stopped off at Sainsbury's at Farnham for an Indian ready meal and some Fairtrade chocolate. Tonight I spent most of the evening getting my books of account in order to go off to my account in Frome tomorrow. Although the accounts are kept up to date, I had difficulty in printing off the old Microsoft Works spreadsheets and will have to convert future ones to Excel. I therefore had to put the spreadsheets onto a disc and hope that my accountant can read them. When I came home I found that Tom had a whole new wardrobe of clothes - he has grown out of most of his existing ones already, and a new chest of drawers on the landing. The new chest does look smart. Our new downstairs carpet should arrive on Friday so Thursday's Home Group will have to be cancelled or a another venue chosen. Sara spent the evening finishing off the Parish Magazine.

A bike ride to East Grimstead (Sewage Works)

My bike riding yesterday must certainly have taken its toll on me as I didn't wake this morning until just before 10 a.m. This is absolutely unheard of usually! In fairness to myself, I had found it difficult to sleep as it was so warm and humid in the night and that humidity continued throughout today. We all had leisurely breakfasts - in my case kippers and porridge - and I did some tidying up in the kitchen and study. Mary decided that she wanted to go on another bike ride so at around 3 p.m. we set off again for Bentley Wood with the intention of cycling from one end to the other to emerge at the village of East Grimstead - a total of about seven miles in one direction. It was very hot indeed and we needed plenty of water as we cycled ever further south. We followed yesterday's paths as far as the centre of the wood and then took a wide track past Keeper's Cottage (a familiar name to those of you who are Archers' Fans) and on towards Ben Lane Gate. We veered off left towards East Grimstead but somehow we missed the turning for the Grimstead Gate and the village proper and eventually ended up by East Grimstead Sewage Works (or Waste Water Treatment Plant to give it its correct title!). Fortunately it was marked on the OS map and the sound of a train on the close-by Southampton to Salisbury line helped me locate exactly where we were. I had, sensibly, included a compass in my rucksack and so by using this and noting the position of the sun we were able to to find ourselves back on familiar territory by keeping a northerly heading. We saw a few deer (Mary thinks it was 5) and two slow worms as well as squirrels and numerous birds. By the time we got back, saddle sore and soaking wet with sweat, we had travelled 14 miles in total. Tonight we had a quick BBQ and the kids watched Britain's Got Talent whilst I soaked in the bath reading some papers for tomorrow when I am back in Dorking - they actually fell into the bath! This afternoon, Burnley, a football team I used to go and see play when I lived in Liverpool, beat Sheffield United (a War of the Roses) at Wembley to gain promotion to the top tier of English football for the first time in 33 years. Well done. I lowered the USA flag, which had flown today to mark the convening of the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia in 1787, and hoisted the red rose of Lancashire in its place by way of congratulating Burnley. I feel they may make their mark in the Premier League as have their close neighbours, Blackburn Rovers. Sara has spent this afternoon and evening putting the final touches to the parish magazine. I intended to have an early night but have just realised that it is already 11.35 p.m. so I'll stop now. A really enjoyable but sore day!

A ride in Bentley Wood; A mourning on Tyneside

A bright, warm and sunny day today - has the Summer really arrived? It felt like being on holiday. We went to church where Cynthia preached and I was asked by Norman if I would give a talk on the Transatlantic liners to his Probus Group in Salisbury in November. I readily accepted. I will need to prepare plenty of digital slides/PowerPoint before then but it will be great fun doing so. I shall probably entitled the talk "The Atlantic Ferry" being the popular name by which the regular crossing of the Atlantic by luxury liners was known. After church, Mary and I went to Halford's to have another look at the bicycles Tom and I had seen there yesterday and found that the ones we had looked at were perfect - as was the price - half the usual! Kitted out with bike, helmet and lock we returned home for a light salad lunch (crayfish in my case) before we (Mary and I) cycled off to Bentley Wood. Mary walked her bike to Witt Road before she felt confident enough to cycle on the road (there is little traffic generally along Witt Road). Once at the Wood, we set off along the path to the picnic area and then up the hill and followed the tracks to The Barn where we met the ranger and members of the Butterfly Trust, or some such similar sounding organisation. After a short stop to have a drink we set off again down to the southernmost copse (called Donkey Copse). We circled the copse along some pretty rough tracks before setting off on the return ride. Mary only came off her bike once - when I told he to go left, she turned right and then in correcting herself turned the handlebars too quickly. She seems to have inherited her mother's appalling sense of direction - so beware would be suitors! I mustn't feel smug or amused as I also came off my bike when we got back to the Witt Road entrance. I steadied myself on a fence post but also braked with the one brake only tipping me off the bike. A sore ankle and a bruised ego only resulted, thankfully. Once we got back home I mowed the lawns whilst Mary cleaned her, by now, very dusty new bike. She spent some further time riding it over my newly mown lawn. Sara told me that Sarah M (whom joined us at our barbecue last night) had had a suspected heart attack in the night and was in hospital. I hope it had nothing to do with my cooking. Tonight we watched Britain's Got Talent which was very amusing in parts - especially a guy chain-sawing a cucumber! Mary is naturally very tired tonight - a 9-mile bike ride is quite an expedition for an 8 year-old. News outside Winterslow was that Newcastle United were relegated to the Championship this afternoon after 16 years in the top flight - I have every empathy for their supporters as I remember well that awful Sunday when Saints were relegated after 27 years and their decline began. Hull and Sunderland remain up whilst Newcastle join Middlesbrough and West Bromwich in the Championship. Scunthorpe United beat Millwall at Wembley this afternoon to find themselves promoted once more to the Championship. On the political front, David Cameron is likely to lose 100 or more MPs at the next General Election following all the expenses scandals and is suggesting that some of the ordinary electorate should put themselves forward. Perhaps my time has come, at last, to get to the top of that greasy pole! The evening ended with Sara watching Desperate Housewives!!!!!!

Ballet Morning and Melksham Afternoon

A different Saturday today as I joined Sara in watching Mary at her ballet class. I was really impressed with her poise and sheer delight in her dancing. She clearly enjoys it and I was so thrilled to see her. Tom and I left Sara and Mary and returned home, stopping in at Halford's to look at the price of bicycles for Mary. I had a hastily prepared lunch of fish finger sandwiches before John H called for me to take me over to Melksham for the Wiltshire Annual Provincial Grand Chapter Convocation. We also picked up Eric from Amesbury en route. It was a much smaller and quicker affair than the Sussex one I am used to at Worthing. There were far fewer first appointments than in Sussex but as there are only 15 chapters in total in Wiltshire and about 720 Royal Arch Masons in total it is not surprising. We stopped off for a pint on the way back (no refreshments having been provided at Melksham) at a pub called the The Three Magpies somewhere between Melksham and Devizes. A most welcome drink. I arrived back home at around 6.00 p.m. and suggested we have a BBQ as the weather was so hot. Sara invited Sarah M and Molly around to share our meal which they did leaving us after the TV programme Britain's Got Talent. I then scanned all the rest of Sara's slides into the computer and started on my bus collection. Sara went to bed early whilst I wrote up this blog.

Wallace on a desert island

I was unable to have a shower this morning as our en-suite is out-of-bounds under the orders of our plumber. This is because having laid the floor tiles on Wednesday, he had grouted them yesterday and we have to wait for 2 whole days to let the cement and grout "go off" before we can stand on them. It was therefore a quick wash and brush up in the children's bathroom. After hurried toast and tea it was off to Dorking. The traffic was reasonably light and I enjoyed listening to (but not all of) Desert Island Discs with Peter Sallis as the castaway. It is amazing to think that he is 88 years of age and has made such an impact on the world of film and TV as the comfortable middle aged/elderly cardiganed quintessential Englishman. He enjoys jazz so his choice of music did not match my own but it was interesting to hear him say that he had met Ralph Vaughan-Williams and seen the great composer surrounded by dozens of young girls all wanting his autograph and, as he put it, other things! He chose The Lark Ascending as his Vaughan-Williams piece. Although he has played northerners, notably Norman Clegg in Last of the Summer Wine and the nothern voice of Wallace in Wallace and Gromit, he was actually born in Twickenham and brought up in north London. Now a grand old man. My day in Dorking was what has become a typical Friday before a bank holiday - manic. I had a pile of work to do and extra crises arrived as the day progressed. At lunchtime I spent a short time in the gym and had a refreshing shower afterwards (to make up for the one I did not have this morning!). I managed to get away at 5.45 p.m. and joined the heavy traffic going south - caravans and cars loaded with luggage, bicycles and kayaks heading, presumably, for the coast. I arrived at 8 p.m. at Dawn H's for the weekly meeting of "Alphaholics" where we discussed suffering and I gave a short talk on Stop the Traffik and the evils of cocoa plantation child trafficking. I brought some Fairtrade chocolate for them to try. Back home Sara was watching Jonathan Ross and I wrote this blog. If I have time I'll copy another couple of slides tonight.

A new toy

A strange night as woke in the middle of it and then fell into a deep sleep until just before 7 a.m. Another day in Salisbury today and I tackled a few "nutty" problems. Had lunch again with Sara and her colleague Jemma - the Indian meal deal providied by the restaurant was delicious. Sara and I went up to Jessops in St. George's Mall (Sara didn't know there was a Jessops there) to take in about 40 old 35 mm slides to be converted on to CD for use at her forthcoming birthday party in June. Her father had sent me quite a collection of these old slides for such use. Whilst in Jessops it occurred to me that as I have well over a thousand 35 mm slides of old holidays and transport interest, especially buses in the 1970s, it would make good sense to purchase a slide scanner to be able to convert such slides at my leisure on to disc for use with the laptop and digital projector. Not surprisingly, therefore, I came away with such a scanner and spent some of this evening converting a dozen or so slides - including one of Merseyside 2139 which I took in the 1970s (see picture). Whilst on the topic of Merseyside, I had occasion today to speak to Chris T in Liverpool to help me with a particular legal problem we are having. Tonight we had five for the House Group and watched another of Steve Chalke's funky DVDs - this time shot in St. Pancras Station. Klynn stayed behind for a couple of Jameson's whiskies whilst assisting with some of the the slide conversions. By the way Klynn, if you are reading this - you were right - you can drag and drop straight into the pictures folder. I am looking forward to getting all my old bus photos done. Tomorrow it's back to Dorking and I shall be joining the "Alphaholics" at their meeting at Dawn's tomorrow night.

Exercise and more exercise

A second day in the Salisbury office today. Although I left for the office quite early this morning I only just managed to get the very last visitors' car parking space. I had three meetings to attend today and managed to grab some lunch with Sara - chili con carne - which was quite delicious. Sara received another call from Tom's school to say that he was in the sick bay feeling very sick. I spoke to the school administrator who was looking after him and after he had had some lunch and fresh air and exercise he returned to his lessons and seemed quite alright when he got home. I was feeling somewhat tired and stuffy by the end of the day and decided to spend an hour in the gym before going home. I spent the recommended time on each of the aerobic machines in my programme - the upright bicycle seeming particularly hard tonight - before returning home to do some more exercise in the form of cutting the grass on the bank on our boundary. I had some trouble with the mower which started to leak petrol. I then switched off the petrol supply and it started to work. I managed to cut two swathes of grass before the petrol ran out - I had forgotten to switch the petrol supply on again. Mary has borrowed a friends bicycle and has been riding it around the back lawn. She seems to have taken to bike riding like a duckling to water and unlike Tom, has venture off on two wheels with not fear or apprehension. It will be great to get her a bike of her own as I know she will love coming out on bike rides with me in Bentley Wood. Good exercise for both of us. Which reminds me, I must clean the dirt off my own bike and bring it out of its winter semi retirement. The plumber had been and replaced our laminated flooring in the en-suite with the new ceramic tiles which Sara had bought. They need grouting tomorrow. Whilst writing this blog Sara is watching Desperate Housewives.

A trip to Malmesbury

It was pleasant to get up this morning and know that I didn't have to do the long trip to Dorking - just a 15 minute commute into Salisbury. I hoisted the Wiltshire flag before I left as I would be spending the day in the county and this evening going to Malmesbury on official Wiltshire Provincial Officer business. I attended a seminar in the morning about how to handle ones own financial affairs - an FSA compulsory attendance which taught me very little - such obvious information was imparted such as "You can be repossessed if you don't pay your mortgage instalments" or "It's a good idea to check your bank and utility statements on a monthly/regular basis". Surprisingly, I do that already. I ticked the boxes and returned to the office for some further meetings. I am sure the seminar is good for secondary school students and perhaps even university students who have been saddled with a loan but really not for financial services employees. A more important meeting was to acquire my spectacles voucher so that I could go to the opticians and get my new spectacles prepared. I was delighted to find that they could provide me with two new pairs within an hour as they had the correct lenses available and I was not wanting non-reflective lenses. I was delighted to get them later in the afternoon. My new Gucci pair felt a little odd as the varifocal positions and the wider field of vision seems weird - but I am sure I will get used to them and the stronger reading element is so much better and clearer. I shall keep my old photochromic ones for use as sunglasses - especially on holiday and on the beach. Tonight I attended the Founders' Night meeting of St. Aldhelm's Lodge No. 2888 in Malmesbury. It is quite a drive up to the northernmost point of the county of Wiltshire entailing a drive through Devizes and Chippenham. The town of Malmesbury is lovely with its market square, cross and wonderful abbey (or what is left of it). Originally it boasted a spire to rival that of Salisbury's - 431 feet (some 27 feet taller than Salisbury's) but, alas, Henry VIII did his worst and not much is left. However, what is left is magnificent and some day I must visit the town for a reason other than a Masonic meeting. The evening was delightful. The ceremony (a 1st) perfect and the dinner afterwards enjoyable - smoked mackerel, veal in a mushroom and garlic sauce, lemon meringue pie and cheese and biscuits. The only criticism is that with 82 people in Malmesbury's small dining room, it was quite a crush and it was not easy to wield the knife and fork. I sat with the Provincial Grand Secretary and Assistant Provincial Grand Secretary both of whom are excellent company. The PGM was also delighted to see me having made the trip up from Salisbury. The dinner was quite a lengthy affair and I didn't get back home until just after midnight (I noted the mileage as 64 for the journey back via Marlborough and Andover). A late night to bed, after writing this blog and reading my emails - but another day in Salisbury. Worth keeping the Wiltshire flag flying.

Start of Adventures

It was difficult to get up this morning as I was still feeling tired - it had seemed like a short night. It was not helped by the fact that I had to travel into Dorking today. Surprisingly, the traffic was much lighter than I expected - partly due, I think, to the fact that some of the private schools are already off this week. However, driving between Stockbridge and Basingstoke was extremely hazardous with monsoon -type rain making it difficult to see the road ahead. Not a particularly interesting or exciting day at work today. I spent a good deal of it reading a complex medical report which I think I'll use for when I am finding it difficult to sleep at night. Tonight I mowed the inside lawns, did some on-line banking and booked the park and fly hotel accommodation at Heathrow Airport for our trip to Nassau later this year. It was also lovely to have the opportunity to read a bedtime story to Mary - we embarked upon a Famous Five story from Enid Blyton. Mary loved it - especially Timmy the Dog. I had intended to start Sara's birthday quiz tonight too but my eyes are feeling sore and tired so I will close now. A long day tomorrow with meetings in Salisbury and a long drive up to the north of the county to attend a special meeting of the St. Aldhelm's Lodge at Malmesbury.

Sailaway and Takeaway

Sara seemed to wake me up several times this morning telling me it wasn't time to get up yet - at 4.30 a.m.; 5.30 a.m.; 6.30 a.m. and finally at 6.55 a.m. telling me she would make some tea and bring it up then fell promptly asleep again. Eventually, I brought in tea for us at around 8.00 a.m.!! The wind was howling again and I did raise the St. George's flag on the pole first thing but on our return from church hauled it down again as the flagpole was bending over quite substantially in the wind and Sara was concerned that it might come crashing down. I assured her that it had been erected carefully in several cubic feet of concrete. It was impossible to do any gardening because of the wind and rain. I telephoned my sister in York to see if she would be coming to Sara's birthday party next month and whether she would be bringing Mum. She said that she thought that she might come herself and bring Mum with her if she wanted to go. They would stay in a hotel so we needn't worry about putting them up. I told her I would speak to Mum this evening. Sara, being due to go out of Max's 98 foot boat from Lymington this evening, received a phone call from Sue H to say that they would probably put to sea a little later than thought and that she would be picked up at 5 p.m. If the weather was bad they would either stay in harbour and eat on the boat or go off into Lymington for meal. As I write this they still haven't returned. I washed the car this afternoon and tried to have a little siesta but the phone kept ringing and waking me. Eventually, Tom, Mary and I set off for Farley where Mary was singing Evensong in the Choir. We arrived there far too early and had tea and biscuits with Sarah M and Molly. The rest of the choir didn't arrive until much later. It was a good service and Tom was impressed how quickly it seemed to go until the sermon which was given by a lady LLM from Stonehenge Team in the Amesbury Deanery. Mary sang well and certainly seemed to enjoy it. Klynn brought the girls - he like me is a sailing widower this evening. Afterwards I dropped Tom off at Rockface at then Mary and I went up to Porton to get a Chinese takeaway as Tom had indicated he was quite hungry and Mary said she would also like a takeaway too. Mary had one spare rib and a few prawn crackers and Tom returning from Rockface declared he wasn't hungry anymore because he had stuffed himself with gingerbread biscuits made at Rockface. There is therefore a great pile of uneaten Chinese food in the fridge for Sara. I spoke to Mum on the phone and she said she didn't think she would be coming to Sara's birthday party. She will speak to Heather and let me know if she decides to come down with her. Sara returned from her sailing trip at around 11.30 p.m. The food on board had been fantastic but the sailing a disappointment as they simply motored out of the river and back again - an hour of motoring instead of sailing out to sea and, from all accounts, comparing husbands and their parenting "skills".

Going to the Dogs

It was difficult to get up this morning after having gone to bed so late. I had watched two episodes of The Likely Lads last night as I didn't feel ready to go to bed after completing my blog and was wide awake. As a consequence it was well after 1 a.m. when I finally slipped between the sheets. Sara brought in tea for me and the wind was howling a gale outside with the empty flagpole rocking about drunkenly. I decided to dismantle the flagpole to avoid the risk of any damage in such high winds. Sara and Mary went off to ballet and Tom had his friend C around playing on his Xbox. I did some general tidying and washing up (it was too wet and windy for any gardening today) and read and sent some emails. Tom and I went into Salisbury at around 1.30 p.m. and had lunch in McDonald's in Winchester Street. We met up with Sara and Mary in there having also bumped into Sarah C with her daughter and friend. I left them for my appointment with the optician at 2.30 p.m. It is four years since my last eye test and I had noticed that my vision was not as sharp for close up work as it had once been. I was given a field of view test and pressure test as well as the normal ophthalmic tests and was diagnosed as having a condition known as Map-Dot-Fingerprint Dystrophy which is a condition of the cornea whereby small lesions occur - a bit like the scratches on plastic lenses but resembling a fingerprint. This causes some irritation as though there is something in your eye with some soreness - something I have noticed in my right eye which is, apparently, worse than the left. It can cause some dimming of vision as it scatters light that otherwise would reach the retina but hopefully nothing serious. Fortunately, my vision was not detected as having been impaired -I scored 100% in the field of vision test which checks out your periphery vision - but I should have more frequent eye tests. My grandfather suffered from glaucoma and so the pressure inside my eyes needs to be carefully watched. It has gone up slightly from last time but is still within the normal limits. Sara joined me after my tests to help me chose some new glasses - I was anxious to have something a bit more modern and have chosen two pairs - one with wider arms and the other similar to my present ones to be used as a spare pair. I'll keep my present pair also for holidays and sunny days as they react with the sunlight. Sara was child minding for Klynn and Susan this evening so I took our two kids down to Poole Stadium for some greyhound racing. We managed to get a seat and I allocated £5 each for me to put bets on for them - 50p per race (we stay for 10 races normally). To my amazement, Mary picked out two Trios and netted £81.90 for a total of £1 worth of stakes! She nearly got a third when she correctly predicted the three dogs that were placed but in the wrong order i.e. she predicted 1-5-2 and the winning order was in fact 1-2-5. Neither Tom nor I had a win but tonight we all seemed to pick out the winners or the three dogs to come into the frame. However to win anything much you have to predict the first and second or the first three accurately. We often got it right but didn't use the correct betting method. Mary was over the moon with her win. Before we had set off for the dogs this evening, Sara and I had suggested pooling our winnings and sharing them at the end of the night but Tom insisted that he wanted to do his own thing and keep his winnings. I think he regretted that decision when he saw how profitable the sharing system had worked for Mary and me. We got back at just after 11 p.m. and Sara was still out. Mary couldn't sleep and wanted to tell Mum all about her great night out so came down stairs after she had gone up to bed. So it seems that today I discovered that my eyesight is starting to go to the dogs and that Mary has a natural talent for picking out winning dogs and wants to go again.

Across the Plain

A second day in Salisbury today and another wet and miserable one too. Meetings in the morning and lunch with Sara in the office restaurant. This evening I drove over to Devizes for the Annual DCs' meeting of the Wiltshire Provincial Grand Lodge. The weather was dreadful as I drove over Salisbury Plain with torrential rain, but fortunately it had stopped by the time I arrived in Devizes and parked in the central market place. The market place reminded me of the one in Boston, Lincolnshire and I thought Devizes looked a really picturesque place tonight with the beautfiful market cross (see picture). The meeting was quite short - only an hour - followed by a buffet supper. It was good to meet up with some of my Provincial Officer colleagues again. I will be seeing them again on Tuesday when I attend another function at Malmesbury. Back home at 10.15 p.m., Sara and I watched the Jonathan Ross Show and then a number of Catherine Tate programmes. I also checked my emails and wrote this short blog. With the exception of the trip to Devizes, which was a pleasant diversion, it was rather an unremarkable day.

Those whom God hath joined.....

A miserable rainy day today but fortunately I only had to drive into Salisbury - no long trip into Dorking. Sara remained at home to do some project work. A day full of meetings which seemed to fly by very quickly. Still lots of uncertainty amongst the staff as to their future as more rumours and counter-rumours pervade the office. Apart from a quick trip to the bank and post office my whole day was spent inside the office from 8 a.m. until 5.30 p.m. I did manage a lunch in the office restaurant - the curry meal deal. Portions seem to have shrunk too! Tonight's House Group was poorly attended - just four of us - so we decided to postpone Part 3 of The Apprentice and spent most of the evening discussing Divorce and Christian Belief with the emphasis on our own particular stories. A specific issue seems to be that whilst the church preaches against divorce, surely God understands that some relationships simply take away the person from their faith and if to come back means ending that relationship then he must forgive. That seems to be the key and often the guilt we suffer is of our own making because we cannot accept the depth of God's love for us. Not at all the discussion we were expecting tonight but it is a measure of the trust and love we have for each other in our group that we feel able to discuss such things. I finished the day by writing an article on the flags we will fly next month for the parish magazine following the numerous enquiries I have had about why certain flags are being flown on certain days.

Galaxy and Galaxies

Another day in Dorking with meetings in the morning and catching up with more paperwork in the afternoon. I brought in some Fairtrade chocolate into work and those who tried it had to admit that it tasted very good and at least as good as a Galaxy bar. I ate a packed lunch again and prepared for the House Group during my hour lunch break. Tomorrow we will be moving on through Steve Chalke's "The Apprentice" to look at "Believing" - the issue of having faith. Unfortunately, it looks like we may not have many people tomorrow night due to other commitments. The news was once more full of the MPs' expenses scandal with the publication of the Liberal Democrats expenses. This issue has now been in the media for six days and the public are becoming increasingly outraged by the revelations of moat cleaning, house cleaning, mole removals, trouser presses, new kitchens, biscuits and so on. I don't think the British political scene has been at such an all time low. I came home to find police tape stuck to Tom's door. Apparently the police had come to talk to his class today at school and he remains inspired to become a police officer as a career and asked the sensible question as to what subjects he should study to GCSE. Surprisingly the answer was "none in particular" but he should spend time in a community getting to learn social skills etc. to prepare him for life on the beat. Good sound advice. Tonight I played some game on his Xbox which resulted in me getting killed after about 35 seconds of pushing the wrong buttons on the controller he gave me! I wrote up my Night Sky Article for the parish magazine (on time for once) and this blog. I also sent out a draft of the Mission Giving Report for the PCC meeting next week. I received a very kind e-mail from Simon at Stop the Traffik advising me that Ruth, the CEO, would like to meet me and inviting me to go up to their offices again for coffee with her. Another late night, but at least I will be in Salisbury tomorrow.

A bad journey into Dorking today. There was a three-mile tailback to get off the M25 at Junction 9 (Leatherhead) and so I decided to drive on up to Junction 8 (Reigate) and take the A25 into Dorking. A fifteen mile detour but almost certainly quicker and less stressful. Ironically, the person I had a meeting with in Dorking this morning was also coming up from Salisbury and had been caught in the same traffic jam. We should have met in Salisbury! An unremarkable day of reading papers today. I took time out at lunchtime to read some documents sent to me from Stop the Traffik whilst munching my packed lunch. I had intended to go to the gym but found that I had left my wash bag behind so thought better of having a workout and returning to the office all sweaty! Well that's my excuse! This evening I was treated to some of Sara's fabulous rice pudding and spent most of the evening composing a short paper to send to Stop the Traffik. I also dealt with some emails and wrote up this short blog before going to bed. Burnley beat Reading in the second leg of the Championship Semi-Finals as I predicted and will meet Sheffield United in the Final. My prediction is that Burnley will go through and get promoted to the Premier League. Still no news of Southampton's fate though.

Golfing but no Boating

The working week can only ever get better when it starts with a commute to Dorking! The sun was already shining when I woke up at 5.30 a.m. I laid in bed (that wonderful moment) until around 6.15 a.m. luxuriating in the fact that I had had a "lie-in". I phoned Anthony at 6.30 a.m., as pre-arranged, to ensure that he would be on the train to Grateley at 7.15 a.m. so my journey to Grateley to pick him up would not be in vain. I hoisted the Thai flag as today marked the 60th anniversary of the change of the name of that country from Siam to Thailand. Anthony was waiting for me at Grateley Station when I arrived at 7.35 a.m. and I drove us both in to Dorking via the Hog's Back where the traffic ground to a halt near Guildford as is usual. We got in to Dorking at around 9.30 a.m. Anthony discussed his plans to go to Nottingham to see his friend and also his visit with family members to Nunhead Cemetery where there is an "open-day" on Saturday. I hope that doesn't mean "an opening" in the macabre sense! Apparently he has family ancestors buried there. I had a Senior Managers' Meeting at 10 a.m. and had a spot of lunch with Anthony et al (parsnip and apple soup followed by an unexciting chicken and mushroom pie) before another meeting in the afternoon on the topic of TUPE. That meeting took up most of the rest of the day. Sara told me that Tom had been ill at school again and that he had not got enough sleep last night and was not drinking enough water. He needs to ensure that he gets both. Sara also informed me that our proposed trip on the Galleys' boat was now to be replaced by an "all girls'" event and that us blokes would have to childmind on Sunday. Six or seven of them are all off on the "Bare Necessities" drinking champagne and cruising the Solent with the hunky crew. Am I envious - you bet!! - Not about the hunky crew, mind you, just the lost opportunity to steer a 98-foot yacht around in the shipping channels. I decided to take myself off to the golf course again and spent an hour before sunset playing 9-holes at Grateley where I did slightly better than on Saturday evening - 2 shots better in fact. Back home for a chicken curry and to pick up my emails including some more work to look at from Stop the Traffik. A reasonably early night tonight as I am off to Dorking again in the morning.

In Praise of Romsey Rapids

We woke at 7.00 a.m. this morning and Sara brought in tea to me for a change. I printed off some word searches off the computer for Sara to take to Junior Church where she is the leader this morning (Sunday School teacher in "old money"). The service was a praise service wonderfully put together and executed by Linda with some emotional songs and DVD clips in the context of Christian Aid. Instead of intercessionary prayers we had prayer stations where we wrote something on a piece of paper and then attached it to a bare branch of a tree at the front - bringing the tree to life. I only wish that more people had been there to witness the service. At coffee afterwards, it was agreed that James and Molly would come with me and Tom and Mary this afternoon to Romsey Rapids water park. I was a little apprehensive at first to have charge of four children in a watery environment but then realised that if Tom and Mary had their friends with them it might be all a bit easier. Following a lunch of Sara's wonderful home made "minestrone-style" soup (although I would like it it bit more liquid) and bread and cheese - a simple but delightful meal - Sara went off to Southampton to attend a Virgin Vie conference at the Novotel whilst I took the aforementioned kids to Romsey Rapids. We all had a great time and stayed in the water for just under two hours. The slide/flume was brilliant and we each had several goes on it. There is now, also, a large barrel of water which tips up and splashes everyone a l' Atlantis, Bahamas (see picture). On the way home we stopped off at Carlos Ice Cream Parlour for three coke floats and two multi flavoured cones. We looked at the guinea pigs, pony, chickens and rabbits whilst we ate our delicious ice cream concoctions. Once back home and having disembarked James and Molly at their respective homes, I lit the BBQ and we sat outside in the garden to eat sausages, Cajun chicken, baked potatoes, sweetcorn and vegetable kebabs. I phoned Mum who sounded in good spirits having returned to outdoor bowls again this week. Sara and I watched a bit of the "Da Vinci Code" before I came into the study to write this blog and Sara remained to watch "Desperate Housewives".

Lawns, Fairways and Greens

No lie in today as it was a Men's Breakfast meeting at Les and Jan's close to the church at 8.30 a.m. There were about a dozen of us and we were feted with a most excellent breakfast of bucks fizz, grapefruit and cereal, Lincolnshire sausages, bacon, poached eggs, saute potatoes, black pudding (from Robinson's in Stockbridge and utterly delicious), small Italian tomatoes, toast, tea and coffee. A sumptuous start to the day. Our discussion centred on the role of Britain in the world and whether we should intervene in other countries problems. Chris cited Sierra Leone as a good example of proper intervention and Afghanistan as a poor one. We also discussed the reasons for going into Iraq. Chris was disappointed that I had raised the European Union flag this morning (it is Europe Day) especially as he spent many years engaged in fishery protection in UK waters against marauding Spanish fishermen. I left the breakfast meeting a little early as Sara and Mary were going into town at 9.45 a.m. and someone needed to keep an eye on Tom. Back home I dealt with the morning's post and mowed the lawns (now rather a regular chore on a Saturday). I did a little bit of garden tidying and then cleaned the BBQ ready for the summer season. It was in a disgusting state and need a real good going over to clean up to a usable condition. I thought that I had cleaned it well before I put it away for the winter but the wetness of the winter had produced mildew. I heated it up to a high temperature and scraped all the gunge off ready to be used. Tom and I were going to go greyhound racing tonight in Poole but Tom changed his mind at the last minute preferring to spend his evening with his friends at Sam P's. Mary also spent the afternoon with her friend Izzy and Sara had her hair cut tonight round at Izzy's Mum's. Having not been out all day, I decided to take myself off to the golf course and hit a 38 for the 9-hole par three course at Grateley. That means I was shooting just over one extra shot per hole. I hit 3 birdies too and my score was brought down by a very poor 7 on the first hole. The greens were in reasonable condition but the fairways were covered with dandelions and it was hard to make out your ball against all the white dandelion heads. I was reasonably pleased with my performance (similar to how I ended the golf season last year) and with practice I am determined to play more and better golf this year. It was good to see Roger again and he greeted me with the now annual cry of "Hi, it must be summer again" as he only ever sees me during the light evenings - I simply can't find the time to play golf during the daytime. Returning from Grateley, Sara had made a biriyani-style chicken curry using the leftover rice from last night's Alpha supper. We watched the new Reggie Perrin starring Martin Clunes. Bed before midnight tonight. Sara has to prepare for Junior Church tomorrow.

Alpha Supper and Brum bus

Another day in Dorking today with early morning meetings with HR. I had lunch with Sara B (not wife) and spent the afternoon attending to those files which had sat on my desk for over a week either because they were complex matters or I just didn't fancy dealing with them earlier. As is often usual in these cases they are never really as bad as you think they are going to be once you get into them and the problem is soon solved. I left the office just before 5 p.m. this evening and gave Anthony a lift back as far as Grateley. We called in at Lidl's in Andover on the way where I bought some replacement rose wine from Chile. I had hoped to get some more Californian Zinfandel but they don't seem to stock it anymore. This evening I went to Richard and Linda's who were hosting the Alpha thank-you supper. Sara had made a rice salad which I took as part of the bring and share supper. There was masses of food - hot noodles, stew, ham, cheese, rice, rice salad, bread, quiche, pasta and wonderful desserts. Richard was excited by the fact that he had read in a magazine that a Birmingham City Transport bus was up for sale - a Guy Arab IV - MOF 102 - and wondered whether I would be interested in buying it with him. Linda was less than amused as was Sara when I mentioned it later. It was a really pleasant evening. Both Nils and Elizabeth turned up as well as Hamish and his parents and Susan G. I gave copies of Spread the Word to Sarah, Penny, Petra and Dawn H. Back home for a glass of pink champagne whilst watching Jonathan Ross and Jack Dee at the Apollo.

Elisha, the bears and other weird bible stories

In Dorking today with Anthony as company for the long journey. I had no appointments until 4 p.m. when I had my 1:1 with my boss. I ate a packed lunch and worked through my lunch hour so as to leave a little early this evening to get back in time for the House Group. I chose a couple of songs for this evening by listening to my CDs in the car. My 1:1 went well and I was able to get away from Dorking this evening at just after 5 p.m. and got back home at around 7.20 p.m. having just finished listening to The Archers. We had the usual people round for the House Group this evening - Klynn, Dawn W, Ivan, Duncan and Maxime. Maxime brought along her wonderful home made pasties which are usually reserved for the homeless. They were soon demolished by those present. Tonight we discussed Session 2 of The Apprentice entitled "Longing". We had the two songs I chose, a bible reading from Isaiah (55:1-3) and the Steve Chalke DVD. Again we found the DVD very difficult to follow because of the fancy camera work which makes listening to the important messages so distracting. Following the House Group, Klynn stayed behind (as did Dawn for a short time) and we started picking out some of the absurd laws set out in Leviticus and Deuteronomy after Dawn told us she was giving her first reading in church next Sunday from Leviticus. We also had a good laugh at the passage in 2 Kings 2 where Elisha is jeered at by 42 youths who call him "baldy". They are set upon by two she bears sent by God! I am sure that bible study isn't really about picking out the funny bits to send to our friends but we had a fun time doing it.

Toasts

A day in the Salisbury office today. I spent most of it in a meeting to discuss outsourcing issues with the proposed supplier and, at least, got a free lunch - sandwiches and crisps and rotten fair trade bananas. I had a latte and a toasted bacon muffin. Before going into the meeting I had a chat on the phone with Klynn following my sending him a daily prayer by text which had been rather appropriate to his current work situation. It will be good to talk to him more tomorrow after the House Group when we have our weekly "spiritual conference" - one or two glasses tomorrow? The afternoon was spent in dealing with emails and preparing for my 1:1 meeting with my boss tomorrow. This evening I attended my Freemasons' lodge in Salisbury when we rehearsed an initiation with members from Bournemouth's Boscombe Lodge. As always, it was a very pleasant evening and afterwards, at the festive board, I was called upon to propose the toast to the visitors which seemed to go down well - even my joke about the two naughty boys whose mother sent them to see the vicar - a joke borrowed from Elizabeth at an Alpha evening. The food was good too roast pork and chocolate mousse - which I declined in favour of vanilla ice cream as the chocolate could not be guaranteed to be fair trade and I simply will not eat it now unless it is. Tonight Anthony, stayed with us and was introduced by Sara to the delights of Facebook and this blog. Another early start in the morning as Anthony and I are off to the Dorking office. It will be a long day as I have to be back in time to lead the House Group tomorrow evening.

Another trip to Brighton

After such a lovely break over the bank holiday it was such a jolt to get up this morning and realise that I had to travel to Dorking to work. The traffic was not too bad, just a little busy around Guildford as normal. I had an appointment at 10 a.m. which, for some reason, I hadn't put in my manuscript diary. Fortunately I did remember and was able to deal with the questions put without too much difficulty. I ate a packed lunch today as I was leaving at 3.45 p.m. to go down to Brighton to attend a Royal Arch Chapter meeting at the Brighton Masonic Centre in Queens Road. I also had a document to deliver to my old address in Brighton. I was interested to see that Audrey's old house has been demolished and a brand new modern designed one is taking shape. Tongdean Rise seemed to be full of builders trucks and it was difficult to turn round in the small space at the end. My old house looked in reasonable shape but very little seemed to have changed since I lived there - the shrubs seemed bushier and there also seemed to be an abundance of greenery everywhere at the front. I drove down to Preston Park and parked my car in Kingsley Road and then took the train to Brighton Station. Whilst waiting for my train Sara telephoned me to let me know that she had taken Mary to Salisbury Hospital A & E following her having fallen from the "monkey bars" at the playground up at Stone Close and banged her head. Fortunately she was not badly hurt but had a large egg-sized bump on the back of her head. I arrived for the meeting in good time and it was a pleasant change to sit and watch the ceremony (an exaltation rehearsal) without having anything to do. The dinner tonight was excellent too - egg mayonnaise, salmon in a fantastic spicy sauce, banana trifle (with chocolate flake on the top which I gave to Barry) and cheese and biscuits. It was my last night as a member of the Chapter and I was toasted. It was a bit emotional - I've been a member for 15 years. I left the Chapter at 9.30 p.m. and was back in Preston Park and in my car at 9.45 p.m. arriving back home at 11.30 p.m.

More Gardening but no custard!!!

Bank Holiday Monday and none of us got up very early this morning except Tom. Sara and I laid in bed until well after 9.30 a.m. and Mary later still. Sara's brother Adam phoned whilst we were still in bed to check on Sara to see if she had posted off some important papers for him. He shares my concern that Sara often forgets to do things and deadlines get overlooked if not prompted! I cooked breakfast for us - bacon and scrambled eggs, washed up and then spent most of the day gardening. I say "gardening" it was mainly hacking away at the hedge, trees and shrubs at the bottom of the garden - acquiring quite a few scratches and thorns in the process. Tom "helped" for a short time but found it all too much trouble. I also mowed the bank which is always quite a struggle - especially as the self-propelling mechanism on the mower is broken. The weather today has been dry but quite breezy, cool and dull - threatening rain from time to time. The Union Flag, which I hoisted in memory of Margaret Thatcher's great victory thirty years ago to the day on 4th May 1979, flew well in the fresh breeze. Sara cooked a roast chicken for supper tonight followed by rhubarb and apple crumble - but no custard!! Grrrr! How can you possibly have crumble without good old Bird's custard - you know the sort that comes out of tins and turns from pink to yellow when milk is added to the powder. There should be a law against serving crumble without real custard!

Defeat in the land of Robin Hood

I didn't sleep too well last night, mainly because it was quite warm and Sara, uncharacteristically, couldn't get to sleep herself. I woke a few times and went to get a drink. I was also conscious of the need to get up in good time today and Tom and I needed to get away early to go to Nottingham to watch Saints' last Championship game against Nottingham Forest. Tom and I left at around 7.25 a.m. and had such a clear journey up that we arrived in Nottingham at around 10.15 a.m. - some three hours before kick-off! We managed to park quite close to the ground along the River Trent embankment on the Nottingham side. Forest's ground (the City Ground) is actually situated on the south side of the river in contrast to Notts County's ground (Meadow Lane) which is in the city rather than the county. Confused? West Bridgford is also home to Trent Bridge Cricket Ground of Nottinghamshire County Cricket and Test fame. Today there was also a match being held there in the Friends Provident Trophy - Nottinghamshire against Ireland. We heard afterwards that Nottinghamshire had a convincing win. Tom and I visited a small outdoor cafe by the river where I had a cappuccino and Tom had a lemonade. We watched a number of groups undertaking rowing practice. It was quite an idyllic setting with the backdrop of Notts. County Hall on the opposite bank. We also visited a most interesting Victorian public convenience with black marble furniture. It was very much an example of a bygone age and should be preserved ("reserved" as Tom told Sara when we got home.) We chatted to some Forest and Saints fans before crossing over Trent Bridge and getting an early lunch at MacDonald's along Radcliffe Road. We also visited the Forest Store and got Mary a lovely little teddy bear and I bought a small book written by Brian Clough's gardener called Tales from Cloughie's Garden. It is a personal insight into this complex man from the point of view of "off duty" remarks made by him to his gardener at home. The attendance today was 29,008 - a record for this season at the City Ground. There was a definite carnival atmosphere and with Saints fans realising that this could be there last ever league game the songs and chants spanned the ages with songs about Le Tissier, Marian Pahars, and other"greats" as well as all the usual songs about Pompey and so on. A new chat was "We're going on a League One tour next season". Mark Wotte brought the team over to the fans and applauded us as we returned the favour. Saints started well - the fans encouraging them well and we went 1-0 up by half time. We continued to hold on to our lead until 73 minutes when we let in a soft equaliser and two further Forest goals followed. It was all good natured and the fans accepted that the Saints simply aren't a good enough team to stay in the Championship. The Forest fans applauded us at the end for our loyalty and we applauded them. Although it is sad that Saints will be in League One next season our main worry is that the club will survive to play there. Norwich were also relegated with us this afternoon and Birmingham promoted with Wolves. Preston NE managed to displace Cardiff in the play-offs by just one more goal. We left Nottingham at around 3.30 p.m. and arrived home at 6.45 p.m. - a little longer than going but we did return via the M42 and M40 as opposed to driving down the M1 to Northampton. Once home, Sara told me all the news from church and that she had spoken to Nils about her becoming an LPA. Nils seemed to be pleased about that. Molly stayed for dinner with us (cottage pie) and afterwards I phoned Mum. She had been out to lunch with her friend Freda at the Coach House, a pub/restaurant off North Sea Lane, Humberston. She seemed well and interested in all our news. I watched the last piece of Tuesday's Auf Wiedersehen Pet which I had tried to see the other evening. Sara watched "Desperate Housewives"

Garden Leave

I described today in yesterday's blog as being a quiet one at home. In fact, I did spend the whole of the day at home but it was far from quiet. I was brought breakfast in bed by Sara a the late hour of 9.00 a.m. - tea, toast and orange juice. Sara then went off for the rest of the morning with Mary to ballet lessons and general shopping in Salisbury. It was a gloriously warm dry but slightly breezy day and so I decided to spend the morning in the garden rather than doing the jobs I was planning to do around the house - principally making a start on clearing up the study. I mowed both front and rear lawns and then about weeding and burning the debris around the west side of the house. After some persuasion, Tom joined me and helped with some of the weeding and carting away the debris from Sara's weeding efforts yesterday. I cooked us lunch of haddock and pea wet (the mushy peas became even more mushy in the cooking process) . For those of you who are not northerners, "pea wet" is a delicacy in the north of England - pea juice drizzled over chips or scraps! Yummy! The afternoon was taken up with cleaning and tidying the guest room and bathrooms. Tonight I bought us all a Chinese takeaway as a treat and Mary had Molly to stay overnight. We watched Britain's Got Talent before Mary and Molly went to bed. I was determined to have an early night as Tom and I are going up to Nottingham tomorrow to watch the Saints' final match in the Championship against Nottingham Forest who are safe for another season. However, it could be Southampton's last match in league football if a buyer is not found for the club. It will be either Norwich or Barnsley who join Saints and Charlton in the drop tomorrow. Grimsby play their last match at home against Macclesfield but must lose something like 0-18 and Chester must win for them to get relegated. I have high hopes from Grimsby next season.

Shacks and Sheds

A very busy day in Salisbury today. Arrived at the office early and had my usual coffee and bacon muffin. An early morning meeting with the Technical Claims team with the rest of the day taken up mainly with finalising a couple of employment dispute settlements. I had lunch with Sara and we both attended the Christian Fellowship meeting where we discussed miracles again with particular reference to the feeding of the five thousand. By the end of the working day I was mentally tired and so went off to Five Rivers Leisure Centre for a swim. There I met Susan with the three girls who were swimming in the smaller pools. There were only two lanes open in the main pool so I joined the medium speed lane (the other was fast) and swam eight lengths. It was difficult to swim at a leisurely pace as one swimmer, in particular, should have been in the fast lane as he was doing the crawl at an incredible speed and making substantial waves! After my eight lengths I spent 10 minutes in the adult spa pool - sheer bliss. I got home at around 6.30 p.m. and watch a bit of Auf Wiedersehen Pet online (half of Tuesday's episode which I missed) before going to Dawn H's for the Post-Alpha Course Group Meeting. This was led by Linda and was an all female affair (apart from me) as Hamish could not make it. Wine, chocolate biscuit brownies (which I declined as not fair trade) and home made flapjacks (which I did have) augmented the evening. It was a most encouraging evening and there was a good insight into how newcomers view church and we had a diverse discussion on The Shack. I must confess to not having read it although I did buy it last month. Back home to complete this blog and watch the rest of Auf Wiedersehen. The shed padlock appears to have been misplaced but sure we will find it in the daylight tomorrow. In fact, a completely free day tomorrow with no special plans.