Lanzarote Holiday 24/12/2009 - 31/12/2009

Happy New Year folks! Many of you have been wondering why there have been no posts here since 23rd December 2009. Well, we all went off to Lanzarote for Christmas on Christmas Eve and had a wonderful family holiday - the weather was a very warm 26 degrees centigrade with pleasant winds coming from Africa. We spent Christmas Day at Club Tahiti where we were staying and went on two excursions - one on a catamaran around the coast overlooking Fuertoventura and the other to the Fire Mountain at Timanfaya - desolate lunar-type landscape. The children thoroughly enjoyed their camel ride too! Tom was a little hesitant about going to the Canary Islands for Christmas for a number of reasons - "there doesn't seem much to do!"; "but I won't get all my Christmas presents on Christmas Day"; "it should be cold at Christmas". However, both Tom and Mary found much to do especially the entertainment in the Club Tahiti in the evening - thanks to Lauren, Nicola and Ken especially - and thanks to Emma our member liaison officer. The food was mainly English so the children were fine with that but we did also have Canarian and Spanish options too. In fact, we even went out one evening to a Chinese buffet - really good value for money. I would recommend Lazarote to anyone wanting a guaranteed warm holiday during these cold winter months. Unfortunately the Pound/Euro exchange rate makes it a more expensive holiday than in the past but is still cheaper than the Bahamas.

HAPPY AND BLESSSED CHRISTMAS

A HAPPY AND BLESSED CHRISTMAS HOLIDAY TO ALL MY READERS

I had planned to be in Dorking today but the weather defeated me - the roads around the village were treacherous and heavy snow overnight coupled with freezing conditions had made driving around Basingstoke (which I need to drive by) very dangerous. Sara's car was trapped in our drive and she had to take the children up to the shop to buy essentials on foot. Whilst she was out, Peter our neighbour and I salted the drive and cleared away the snow. After a number of further attempts I got the car to the top of the drive and left if there for the sun to thaw the ice around it. Eventually after a further couple of hours I was able to drive it to the Village Hall and park it next to my own. In the afternoon Sara drove it up to Lopcombe Corner (Phipson's) to get her tyre repaired (it had a nail embedded in it). This enabled her to drive into Salisbury to get much needed provisions for New Year. I logged on and worked from home today. Another employment tribunal had come in and in view of my potential redundancy in the New Year suggested that the external lawyers now deal with any new cases - I shall have plenty to do in the New Year tidying up existing ones. We ended the evening watching Only Fools and Horses - two Christmas Specials I didn't recall seeing before - possibly because when first shown I used to often spend Christmas in Spain.

A chat with David Kaye

The alarm went off at 6.30 a.m. and I got up and made tea for Sara and me. There was a general sprinkling of snow and frost today. I had a breakfast of Grimsby boiled smoked haddock (in milk) and gave the leftover contents of the pan to Emily the Cat which she drank with relish thinking that Christmas had already arrived. It took me three attempts to get the car out of the drive and I drove into Salisbury very carefully along the gritted bus routes. I again worked in the Claims Department. My 9 a.m. video conference was cancelled due to Manchester attendees being snowed in and unable to get into our Manchester office. I met up with Sara and the children for an early lunchtime coffee and pasty at Reeves's but needed to hurry back into the office for another telephone conference. Tonight I arrived back in Winterslow in a blizzard with the roads in the village quite treacherous. I parked in the village hall car park but found that like an ice rink. I just hope we don't get a hard frost tonight otherwise I won't be going anywhere tomorrow and I need to be in Dorking if possible. David Kaye, the prolific transport writer and historian rang me this evening for a chat. He is now aged 80, soon to turn 81 with severe Parkinson's Disease which confines him to a wheelchair. He is quite lonely I think and he clearly enjoyed the opportunity to reminisce with me about old times and all his travelling - to Scotland, the Shetlands the Isle of Man and the Scillies. His last book to be published had one of my photographs on the front cover which I took at the Ardingly Open Air Museum near Arundel, Sussex depicting an old Southdown open topper. I promised I would drop in and see him in his sheltered home in Louth next time I am up in Lincolnshire.

Snow, Snow and Snow

Woke up in Grimsby to more snow this morning with the road outside looking very icy indeed. Mum gave us breakfast of cereal and croissants and Tom and I then went to Ramsden’s to replace the toy vacuum cleaner I had bought for Mary in August with a cuddly toy. I also bought milk and a Christmas pudding for our lunch. We the drove up to Auntie Mim’s to deliver and collect Christmas presents and spent a lovely hour with her. Davenport Drive was treacherous and I had to drive extremely carefully. Mum cooked us a lunch of chicken with all the trimmings followed by Christmas pudding all of which Tom ate with relish. We left Grimsby at about 2 p.m. stopping to refuel the car on Cleethorpe Road. Once on the A180 the road surface was fine until we reached Brigg where the snow started to fall with ever increasing intensity until it reached blizzard proportions along the M180 by Scunthorpe and Crowle. The snow abated by Hatfield and the sun came out on the Doncaster stretch of the M18. However, the sky got blacker and blacker towards the north and the snow started falling again as we joined the M1. The traffic crawled along the southbound M1 (20-30 mph) right down to east midlands Airport with the snow falling quite heavily at times. However, once south of Nottingham the snow disappeared completely and we saw green fields again in the dusk. We finally got back to an icy Winterslow at 7.30 p.m. It was nice to come home to a warm fire and bread and butter pudding made to Sara’s mother’s recipe. After such a long and tiring day we went to bed at the unusually early hour of 11.30 p.m.

The Damned United

Woke up this morning at 7 a.m. to find that it had snowed quite heavily overnight and my car was covered in snow. Fortunately the road outside is on a bus route and the surface had been salted. We had a breakfast of porridge and bacon sandwiches and then set off for Leeds to watch the Saints take on Leeds United at Elland Road. Whilst the snow and ice was quite evident in Grimsby we found, as we left the town and headed westwards along the M180 the road was clear although the windscreen became covered with salt deposits. We found Elland Road quite easily (it is just off the M621 motorway) and managed to park in an enormous car park to the side of the ground. The surface was quite icy and as we stepped out of the car we realised just how bitingly cold the weather really was. We managed to get a meal at McDonald’s opposite Elland Road and were glad to find somewhere warm to hang out. We visited the Megastore and then found our way inside the stadium where we took our seats ion the south-east corner. There was still snow on the pitch and we watched as the ground staff carefully shovelled it up. Leeds were by far the better side and closed down Saints right from the beginning giving few opportunities for Saints to score. Saints, however, thanks to some great goalkeeping by Bialowski managed to keep a clean sheet until about 20 minutes from the end when Leeds scored their only goal. It was a pity that Saints’ unbeaten run has come to an end but Leeds are a tough team to beat and have only lost at home once all season. We managed to get out of Leeds reasonably quickly arriving back in Grimsby at 7.30 p.m. just before heavy snow fell. As I write this blog the snow has stopped but there is very heavy snow laying outside. Hopefully there will be no more and we can get out of Grimsby tomorrow afternoon.

Off to Grimsby

Although I was due to attend an early morning briefing meeting in Dorking today, I worked in Salisbury because a severe weather warning yesterday proved to be accurate and much of south-eastern England was under several inches of snow and the roads were treacherous. I spent the morning again working in the Claims Department and it was pleasant to be working with such good company. During the lunchtime I went to Sarum College and Sarum Books to order enough copies of The Holy Spirit for the House Group meeting in 2010. Tom and I set off for Grimsby at 5 p.m. stopping off to drop in a Christmas card and my Daylight subscription to Hilary. Because of the severe weather warnings of heavy snow I took the motorway route via Oxford, Coventry, Leicester and Sheffield and was amazed at the lightness of the traffic. It seemed that many must have taken the warning seriously and not ventured out. The traffic and weather were so light that we were up in Grimsby by 10.15 p.m. – just over 5 hours since we had set off. Tom was exhausted and went to bed almost immediately and I went to bed after chatting with Mum at around midnight – reading for a little while before finally turning in for the night.

A pleasant Italian Christmas Lunch

Another day working in Salisbury. Unfortunately all the car parking spaces had been taken by the time I arrived at the office this morning. I worked in the Technical Claims office again today and joined the team for their Christmas lunch next door at Da Vinci's. Excellent food and company and it was good to see Hilary again and talk about what it is like to be retired. I had had a similar conversation with Adrian T whom I met near the post office. He was delighted with my news and thoroughly recommended retirement. In response to my fear that Sara and I might get under each other's feet he responded by suggesting that the solution to that problem would be to send Sara out to to work again! Not sure that would go down too well at home! This evening we had five of us at the House Group. We decided that after the seasonal break we would begin again on 7th January and do a seven-week course on The Holy Spirit. This seems to be a subject which Christians often shy away from and as it is at the heart of our beliefs we felt it was something we should tackle. I will now need to go and get sufficient books for the group from Sarum Books. I should be in Dorking tomorrow but severe bad weather is predicted for Surrey overnight and so in all probability I shall work in Salisbury again. It certainly makes sense to do this as the only reason I would be going would be to attend a briefing which will have little effect on me if I leave the company at the end of January as predicted.

A day at home (or retirement on trial)

As I have two days to take off before the end of the year (or lose the holiday if I work them) I decided to take today off and have a bit of a foretaste of retirement. I still woke at 7 a.m. , made tea and got Tom up to go to school. Sara took Mary to school and then went off to Weight Watchers after much persuasion from me. I spent the morning tidying and updating my blog as well as writing two articles for the Parish Magazine. Sara returned from lunch and we had rolls and soup. This afternoon I rang our holiday resort to find out about meals. Seems all will be taken care for us. Tonight I took Mary down to Sandy Balls Leisure Park in the New Forest for some ice-skating. We had a great time and I am pleased to report that I didn't fall over. The ice was rather churned up though with quite a lot of novices on it. It is amazing how warm you get skating around for 45 minutes, hungry too. Mary and I found a chippie in Fordingbridge and shared some fish and chips in the car. She is great company and I am really looking forward to being able to spend more time with her after January. Tonight, whilst writing up this blog, Malcolm phoned me from Liverpool to say that he is also being made redundant and discussed with me the package they are proposing to give him. He wanted my view on whether to take it. The deal he is getting is excellent and I recommended him to accept. I also told him my news about leaving my Company on a good package and retiring in February. We agreed that we should meet up in February either in Liverpool or down here and spend a week relaxing and getting over work!

Saints Go Marching In (Just!)

I awoke very early this morning in Hove and after a wash and breakfast of tea and toast, set off along the south coast for Salisbury where I was working today. The journey was fine until I reached Southampton where the M27 was totally clogged up with shear weight of traffic and it took me about 40 minutes to by-pass the city from the Hamble junction to the M3 junction. I eventually got into Salisbury at 9.30 a.m. to find it difficult to park because it was market day. Having left my office pass in the car, I then found I couldn't get into the office building because numerous electronic security gates had been fitted all over the ground floor. I had to provide detailed identity details to those behind reception who know me well. Eventually I got into the Claims Department where I spent the rest of the day working on a new tribunal claim and discussing some the claims cases. I also speculated the result of tonight's football match with Derek, a Norwich City season ticket holder. This evening I returned to Southampton with Tom and his schoolfriend John to watch Saints take on Norwich in the Johnston's Paint Trophy Regional Semi-Final. Saints started in fine form and went into the lead with an strange goal from Papa Weigo but, unfortunately, before half time Norwich equalised and we were all square during the break. When Norwich came out in the second half they certainly looked the stronger team and Saints seemed to struggle. Another goal by Norwich seemed to seal the fate of the South Coast team and despite a number of end to end battles it looked, for all intents and purposes, to be all over for Alan Pardew's men. Many Saints fans left at this stage, their dreams of a trip to Wembley seemingly dashed. However, well into extra time (in fact with only a minute to go) there was a controversial altercation between Antonio and Holt and a free kick in Saints' favour was given. This result in a rush for goal and Dan Harding scored just four seconds before the final whistle went. It was now down to penalties. The Saints fans were in uproar and many who had left the stadium were trying to get back in! Penalty after penalty was scored and if one team missed one the other team did likewise. It looked as though we were likely to be stuck at St. Mary's for some time. Then the breakthrough, Bialowsksi saved a Norwich strike and Wayne Thomas then hit the net - the final score after penalties being Saints 8, Norwich 7. What a match, what an evening. Southampton will now meet MK Dons in the Regional Final and if they succeed there will face either Leeds United or Carlisle United at Wembley!

Happy 9th Birthday Mary!

I worked at home this morning and so was able to watch Mary open her birthday presents before she left for school this morning. She has a really good selection of presents from us and from her godparents. The weather has turned clear and cold today. Sara spent the morning ironing and dealing with domestic chores whilst I worked in the study. We had lunch together before I set off for Brighton to attend a Masonic function. I took the opportunity, whilst in Brighton, to deliver a few Christmas cards to people I knew around the area I used to live and to hand out cards to friends at tonight's meeting. The meeting went well with me being invested as Junior Warden and a ceremony of passing. Although I had been unable to make any lodges of instruction I think we all did well and the ceremony went smoothly. The dinner consisted of the usual seasonal fayre - prawn cocktail, turkey and trimmings, Christmas pudding and mince pie. I also won a bottle of Gordon's gin in the raffle! I spent the night at Peter's rather than drive home tonight. I am working in Salisbury tomorrow so will need an early start in the morning.

Candles

I clearly hadn't slept very well last night as I awoke with a terrible neck ache. It was 8 a.m. when I got up, made tea and showered. Sara and the kids decided not to go to church this morning- Tom had a football match to play at 10.30 a.m. and Mary had her two friends still sleeping over. I went off to church on my own to another excellent Praise Service conducted by Linda. We lit the third advent candle. The theme this week was about the joy of living a life where we share and give away our unnecessary possessions with a reading from Philippians and Luke. I then went up to Barry's Fields to watch Tom and his U13s team take on Dinton. They managed a 9-0 win with Tom scoring a Dan Harding style goal (acute angle into the goal from the side) and at least two assists. After returning home with one quite muddy boy I then washed the car before a lunch, prepared by Sara, of beef stew and dumplings. The meat, from Tesco's was very poor and Sara fully intends to complain. I have suggested she ought to buy her meat from Waitrose where you can, even if a little more expensive, guarantee to get good fresh and tender cuts of meat. This afternoon was spent writing out Christmas cards but unfortunately the cartridge for the printer has run out of black ink so I had to resort to printing our Annual Newsletter in dark blue. I will need to go to Staples tomorrow and get a new cartridge - what a bind. Tonight I went to a lovely Taizi Service at St. Peter's, Pitton. The church was lit solely by candles - hundreds of them - and it made you realise how many must have been needed to light evening functions before the days of gas and electricity. How lucky we are. After the service refreshments in the form of a buffet with wine were served - all consumed in candlelight. Arriving home at 7.30 p.m. I wrote more cards before going to All Saints to pick up Tom and Samuel who had been engaged in Rockface social event which seemed to have consisted of two hours of volleyball over the pews! A nice new versatile use for these controversial pieces of ecclesiastical furniture! After having dropped Samuel back at his house, I returned home to write out some more cards. I had only just started, and the winner of X-Factor had just been announced - Joe Somebody - when we had a total power cut which plunged us all into darkness. I was able to struggle on using the light of my laptop but we were without power for about half an hour and once more candles came to be used - for the third time today! Another long day tomorrow with a trip to Brighton and an overnight stay in Hove.

More Celebrations

We didn't wake too early this morning. We had a very usual Saturday morning ritual - Sara and Mary went off into Salisbury for ballet and shoppig, and Tom and I stayed at home - Tom to play on his Xbox and me to write out some more Christmas cards. Tom and I set off for Southampton at 12.30 p.m. arriving in really good time to park the car at 1.20 p.m. I was really surprised that the traffic hadn't been a good deal heavier with Christmas shoppers. This afternoon we were playing Tranmere Rovers and after a very lack-lustre first half, Saints cmae out and played much better in the second half. A superb and unexpected goal from Dan Harding started things off (I had been tempted to have a bet on Harding to score first at 100/1 but was persuaded by Tom to pick Lallana - I should have gone with my first instinct) and penalty taken by Rickie Lambert was followed shortly by an excellent power shot by Lambert from a free kick 30 yards out. The final score, 3-0 to Saints, has lifted the team to 14th and only 9 points from the play-offs. Tonight Mary was having a birthday pyjama party with twelve of her friends over (two for a sleep-over). Tom and I, therefore, decided to delay our return by going and having an excellent Chinese meal at the Water Margin at North Baddesley. The food is always excellent there and tonight was no exception. It was as well that we had booked as the restaurant was absolutely packed by the time we left at 7.45 p.m. We came home to an incredibly noisy house with about nine girls still here.

Office Christmas Lunch

Another early start for Surrey this morning. Before leaving this morning I hoisted the Lincolnshire flag to commemorate my sister's 47th birthday. Today it was announced to my colleagues at work that I would be retiring on 31st January 2010 as following the decision to transfer some of my work from the Legal Department to the Human Resources Dept. I had taken the opportunity to take a retirement package. This has been in the process of negotiation for some weeks now and it was good to get it out into the open. The reaction from my colleagues was mixed but the general view was that they were pleased for me as I could leave on favourable terms which are likely to change for the worse by the end of next year. It seemed the major concern was how Sara was going to cope with having me being at home! It was in the context of this news that we went to Frascati's at Mickleham for our departmental Christmas lunch. This year the food and the service were faultless. I had prawn and egg mayonnaise starter, chicken in a creamy sauce with prawns and creme caramel. My secret Santa present was a half Stilton cheese and a small bottle of port. Somebody obviously knows that I like the finer things in life. Unfortunately I had to leave before the others to take part in a telephone conference. Having arrived back at my desk I attempted to log on to my emails in order to get the conferencing details and found that Microsoft Outlook was not working and I was unable to get the details to enable me to join the call. Eventually I gave up and after Anthony had arrived back from the lunch we set out for home. Anthony journeyed with me all the way home where, after a mug of tea, Sara took him in to Salisbury as she was attending an HR Christmas function at a bar/nightclub called Mortimers in Fisherton Street. She returned home around 10.30 say that the meal had been awful and the loud music had made it almost impossible to enjoy any conversation. Both of us felt quite tired after a long day and went to bed, uncharacteristically, before midnight.

SAS Christmas Party at Orcheston

A day in Salisbury today. I worked in the Claims Department instead of HR for the day, drafting another tribunal response and dealing with a number of claims issues. Tonight, Sara led the House Group whilst I went out to Orcheston on Salisbury Plain for the Annual Salisbury Astronomical Society Christmas. We had an excellent lecture tonight from the curator of the Fox Talbot Museum of Photography at Lacock, Roger Watson, entitled "The History of Photography". The lecturer was incredibly knowledgeable and presented his subject with great enthusiasm. The evening ended with the usual buffet supper and presentation of Christmas gifts to the hosts and between unable to make many meetings this last year due to pressures at work.

Church Pub Quiz

A very long and busy day again today. I set off very early this morning to get to an important meeting in Dorking at 9 a.m. The weather and traffic were both kind to me today and I arrived in the office at 8.30 a.m. A whole series of meetings took place this morning and after a light lunch of soup and a baked potato I drove to Salisbury for another set of meetings this afternoon. Matters which I couldn't complete this afternoon were held over for meetings in Salisbury tomorrow. Tonight I acted as quizmaster for our church's social event in the Lord Nelson Village pub. The results were quite close with Hilary and her team coming first but only one point behind Petra, Klynn, Chris and Lesley. Well done everybody. Not all the questions were easy but the teams did very well. The groups from the Alpha Course and the Team Council meeting joined us later and I gave a few of them a re-run of the quiz which they had missed. I finally arrived home at 11 p.m. quite tired after a long day with travelling and some quite tricky meetings.

A glorious sunrise

Another dark dreary morning although I did just see a wonderful sunrise as I left for the long journey to Dorking again. The traffic was reasonably kind to me this morning until I reached the M25 when is slowed right down again. Having left a little later than normal I wasn't in until just after 9.30 a.m. My meeting at 11 a.m. was cancelled through illness of the other attendee and so I ended up with an appointmentless day today (not sure if there is such a word as "appointmentless" but it is a nice long one! My spell checker doesn't like it but I do!). Lunch today was taken quite late due to phone calls and consisted of a mediocre steak and mushroom pie with cabbage and potatoes. I left for home again in darkness and rain not getting back home until nearly 8 p.m. feeling quite tired. Tomorrow I have to return to Dorking for a morning meeting and then travel back to Salisbury over lunchtime for another meeting there. At least there is the church social in the Lord Nelson to look forward to. The quiz is complete with answer sheets at the ready. I just need the pens which Sara nicked for a Virgin Vie party returned to me!

Monday in Dorking (Let it Rain!)

It was cold, dark, wet and windy when my alarm went off this morning at 5.30 a.m. Such a horrible thought of having to drive in these conditions to Surrey to be there well in time for another telephone court hearing at 9.45 a.m. I made tea and ate cornflakes before setting off on the journey. The M3 was dreadful again with massive jams between junctions 4a and 3 - the journey taking me over 2 hours 15 minutes (I got to Walsall in that time on Saturday - a journey of nearly twice the distance). Not many people were in when I arrived, including my secretary, and I was in some difficulties at first because only she knew where the key was to the cupboard containing the papers for my telephone hearing. Fortunately I was able to speak to her on her mobile whilst she was also in a traffic jam. The court hearing resulted in a settlement being achieved and following that, I went straight into another meeting - our monthly Senior Managers' Meeting. Lunch consisted of leek and potato soup and a roll. This afternoon I dealt with a fresh problem from our international division in the Isle of Man and once again I drove home in the dark although the rain had, at least stopped. Tonight I wrote out some more Christmas cards for posting tomorrow and finalised the quiz for Wednesday night's church social at the Lord Nelson pub.

Stuck in the Mud

The rain was torrential again last night with the wind also howling around the house and the rain hitting our bedroom window heavily. As Sara wasn't quite ready to leave on time, Tom and I went to church ahead of her and parked up at Glebe Farm opposite the church. The service was conducted by Elizabeth and it was quite sobering to think that it is already the Second Sunday in Advent. Sara and Tom returned home before me to get the presents and cards ready to take over to Chichester where we were meeting the Russells for lunch. When I got back to my car I found that the ground had been so thoroughly soaked that I was stuck quite deeply in the mud. I tried to get the car out but it only sank lower. I rang the car helpline and the RAC were promised me within the hour but this would have meant a great delay in getting to Chichester. After a little while I was able to attract the attention of the occupier of the cottage and he was able to tow me on to firm ground using his 4x4 wagon and a good firm tow rope from his wife. I was soon on my way to Chichester and actually overtook Sara on the A27 near Emsworth. We met the Russells at Pizza Hut and spent about three hours with them over lunch exchanging news and views. Tonight, Richard and I met down at the Lion's Head for a couple of pints. A very pleasant way to spend a most enjoyable weekend (apart from the rain and mud!)

Triumph in the Black Country

Tom and I set off for Walsall this morning at 9.30 a.m. after a breakfast of bacon rolls. Our journey up to the Midlands via Swindon, Gloucester and the M5 was a rapid one with little traffic to impede our journey. So clear was the traffic that we arrived in Walsall at 11.45 a.m. and managed to get parked easily in the Away Supporters car park at the rear of the Dains Stand (South Stand) of the Banks's (Bescot) Stadium. Having parked the car, Tom and I walked across to the Bescot Retail Park where the only place to eat was a McDonald's. Following lunch to visited the Walsall FC Shop and bought Mary a Walsall bear to add to her collection of opposition football clubs mascots which we buy every away game. Today's game very much followed last week's game at Northampton. Two goals in the first half left Saints going in with a 0-2 scoreline in their favour. Goals by Connolly and Hammond. The second half saw a third goal by Lambert which, unfortunately, was followed by a goal for Walsall. Saints battled on until the very end winning the match 1-3. As all the other clubs immediately above us did not do so well, Southampton soared up the table to 15th place well above the drop zone. Another performance like that and the Saints will be in the top half of the table. What a wonderful turn around from their performances last year. It took a little while to get out of Bescot but we had another clear journey back at arrived in Winterslow at 8 p.m. just before Sara went out to babysit. Feeling quite tired, I watched the rest of the film Hiroshima and a documentary on the Forbidden City in Beijing. How I would like to return there and explore the palaces again.

In the Pompey Courthouse

I spent the morning working at home today dealing with a number of telephone messages and e-mails. I was due in court in Portsmouth this afternoon at 2 p.m. so left around 12 noon after having posted our overseas Christmas cards to ensure they arrived at their destinations - Australia, USA, Canada and Ireland - before Christmas. I arrived at court at around 1.30 p.m. and met our external solicitor and barrister for what we thought might be a heavily contested application, by a debtor, to have a substantial judgment set aside. However, despite it being his application, debtor didn't turn up. We did get costs awarded which is just as well as the external solicitor had come from Manchester, the barrister from London and me from Salisbury. I have to say, the defendant not turing up on a Friday afternoon is just the sort of result I like! Back home I continued to deal with emails until it was time to take Tom off to his football training at Bemerton. I met up with Gary and Jeremy and discussed the FA investigation into the events of a match whilst we were away in the Bahamas. Apparently there are allegations that the behaviour of our manager and some of the supporters towards the young referee was not acceptable. I gave some general advice about how to approach the investigation. Tomorrow Tom and I are off to Walsall to watch Saints in the second away game in a week.

Tom's first ACF meeting

Although another early start today, at least I was working in Salisbury and had a clear run into work on the roads. I had an early morning telephone conference about my major mediation case before 9 a.m. I spent much of the rest of the day dealing with the preparation for court cases for our Claims Division. I was pleased with the progress made and drafted some important pleadings which needed to be filed next week. Nice to be ahead of myself for once. I bought stamps for the Christmas cards which I need to start to get off soon - especially the overseas ones which will need to be posted tomorrow. Tom went off this evening to his first ACF (Army Cadet Force) meeting and came back very enthused. He thinks it far superior to Boy Scouts - they had to cook real army rations tonight. He is so much looking forward to going back next week. He wants his uniform and cap as soon as possible I think. Tonight we had seven of us for the House Group when we continued to discuss the qualifications for church leadership according to Paul in his first letter to Timothy. No rain today but the temperature tonight is very cold.

Bert's Birthday

Another early dark start to get to Dorking in time for a meeting. The weather continues to be miserable with torrential rain. I still hoisted the Norfolk flag to mark what would have been the 110th birthday of my favourite grandparent, my mother's father, Hubert Hunter ("Bert") , a lovely down to earth Norfolkman. God bless your life Grandad - you gave so much fun and loved life to the full. The church he served so well for many years is pictured.Your simple and kind ways are a beacon. I had my monthly one-to-one with my manager this afternoon. Everything seems to be changing within the Company - watch this space. I left the office early at 4 p.m. to get back to Salisbury for a Sarum Lodge meeting at 6.30 p.m. The rain going back to Salisbury was torrential with massive flooding causing the M25 to be semi-closed around the Thorpe Interchange. This meant taking the A3 through Guildford where the Wooden Bridge was jammed with traffic. An absolute nightmare of a journey with the added stress of knowing that I was the Acting Director of Ceremonies for the most important meeting of the year - our Christmas Boscombe Meeting at which we were to initiate my own candidate, Lee. It was therefore essential that I got back in time. I did! I parked at the Crane Street car park at 6.22 p.m. precisely and rushed into the Masonic Centre and got changed. I needn't have worried, the ceremony was excellently executed by all the brethren and we had a wonderful night. We were entertained with carols sung by the Amesbury Parish Church Choir in their magnificent red robes and beautiful singing. We ate a traditional turkey dinner and were provided with wine at no extra cost. To top the evening, the Worshipful Master won the £800 cash box! Lee thoroughly enjoyed the evening and felt very warmly welcomed into the Lodge. H described the evening as "magic". I think we do very well with such mall resources. I am sure he will be a great asset and it will be good if he can encourage some new younger members in. By contrast, when I got home I found that Sara's evening had not gone so well. Her cosmetics party, whilst being a social hit, was a financially disastrous miss. She keeps saying she will give up but I am not holding my breath!

Another Milestone for Saints and Diaries!

A bit of a better day than yesterday - at least I didn't have to drive to Surrey today but I still had my dreadful cold - this disrupted my sleep last night - which manifested itself as a runny nose, headache and sore throat - and it was raining! I've also started coughing a lot which has made my lungs and rib cage feel sore. As I was about to leave I was asked by Sara to print off some homework for Tom. I thought this would be an easy task but as with a lot of things these days - simple tasks prove themselves to be complicated. In this case the black cartridge in the printer was out of ink and I couldn't remember how to insert the replacement. Eventually I managed to achieve this technological conundrum only to be told that the homework didn't have to be in today anyway! Despite the delay in leaving I still managed to get a car parking space at the office and therefore saved myself over £5. I had a meeting at 9.00 a.m. which I made in good time and another one at 1.00 p.m. I also spent some time with our Claims Team on a number of queries. I managed to meet Sara for coffee in Starbucks for a quick lunchtime coffee and to compare diaries - I keep getting told off by Sara for not entering my diary notes into the "Communal Kitchen Diary" which is the oracle in our house. Failure to complete the entries in this tome is punishable by there being no childcare to cover for appointments and other activities I might want to go to. I decided to buy myself a little diary too from the market for £1 to jot down appointments as we go. This evening Tom and I went to St. Mary's to watch the Saints beat Wycombe Wanderers 1-0 and take themselves out of the bottom four. They are still 12 points adrift of the playoff positions but I think it is not impossible for them to do it. The bookies think so too as they are no longer taking bets on them reaching the playoffs. It was raining yet again as we left the stadium and the traffic was jammed along Millbrook where the endless road works have still not ended - after 8 months!