Meeting in Marlborough

Another muggy day today. Sara spent the morning a Morning Star making up rolls for the homeless and preparing for their thank you barbecue on Saturday, I wrote my Deanery Synod Report for the PCC in readiness for any discussions at the Standing Committee. Tomorrow I must prepare for the Huose Group. I made a start on clearing out the study by sorting out some old magazines to go to Sandtoft or Kithead Trust and threw out quite a lot of old papers. I booked tickets for Tom and me to go to the Saints v. reading friendly game on 31 July. We have got seat in the lower part of the Kingsland Stand on the halfway line. This will be a good spot to see the new players. This afternoon and evening I went to Wiltshire Masters' Lodge in Marlborough and was surprised to see a member of our church in Winterslow there. I didn't know he was a Freemason let alone a member of the same lodge. There are 150 members and it seems that he joined the night my father died - the only meeting I have ever missed! He hasn't been to a meeting since - hence my surprise to see him there. We sat together during the meeting and at the Festive Board afterwards. We agreed that wherever possible we would give each other a lift in future and invite each other to our other lodges. Tonight we had an explanation of masonic symbolism by the Provincial Grand Orator which, I'm afraid, went right over my head in many places. I much preferred the talks given at the Berkshire and Bournemouth meetings. A pleasant supper of smoked mackerel (my second of the day - Sara gave me that for lunch); cold meats, new potatoes and salad, Eton Mess and cheese and biscuits.

A Sauna of a Day

Today the temperature has dropped a little but with rain overnight the effect has been similar to that of the sauna at the gym. It is hotter and stickier today and heavy clouds have rolled in. My head feels "muggy" and I feel generally tired and lethargic (what's new? - I can hear your thought as you read this!). Sara and I went into Salisbury today to deal with the paperwork for my new car, to get her a new alarm clock and to pick up a third rail for our wardrobe in the family room to make access to its contents easier. Sara went off to have lunch with Carole C and a couple of other ladies in the village and I dealt with some Complex work (checking a couple of compromise agreements) as well as writing up my blog for yesterday and dealing with some emails. Tonight I attended the second meeting of the Winterslow Business Forum where Jackie Neylon was speaking about free publicity and marketing. I had heard her talk before at Ambassadors' but it was good to refresh the points in my mind. I think Complex is quite ahead of many businesses in using social media networking. It's early days to see if it will have any lasting effect. Personal recommendation seems to be the best way forward. I picked up the study guides from Sarum College today and will be preparing for the House Group tomorrow. There is a programme on Revelation tonight which I am going to watch after I have written this. Still feeling rather tired and so will close now.

Full round of golf at Paulton

Woke early today as Richard was calling at 8 a.m. to drive us to Paultons Golf Club to play a eighteen holes of golf on full Par 71 course. It was already warm when we arrived and we had time to do a little putting practice before we teed off at 9.08 a.m. It was a bit daunting to stand on the first tee in front of the clubhouse with a driver in my hand and the green some 309 yards away (at Wilton the longest hole is 201 yards). I teed the ball quite high and gently swung my driver - not wishing to be too adventurous on my first hole. I was pleasantly surprised as the ball flew about 200 yards into the middle of the fairway leaving me about 100 yards to the green. Richard sliced his slightly into one of a group of four bunkers on the right hand side (the hole bending slightly towards the right). It took me a further two shots onto the large beautifully "carpeted" green where I took a further three putts to end up with a 6 (2 over par). I felt very pleased with that. We continued playing all morning and ended up with taking 113 shots (me) and 111 (Richard). The 15th hole was a particulalry tricky one - a massive pond/lake in front of the green. My aim had been to try and go round in under 100 but I am sure that with more driving practice that should be possible. We lost a few balls and thereby ended up dropping a few shots. Bearing in mind that that was the first time I had been on a full grown course since my holiday in Ireland 5 years ago, I was reasonable pleased with it. Certainly the pint of cider and fish and chips in the clubhouse at the end was very welcome indeed. I was very pleased with my use of fairway woods which enabled me to get 100-150 yards on many occasions. The course is lovely but playing it on a regular basis is going to be expensive. We need to go out either much earlier or later in the day to take advantage of the cooler temperature and cheaper green fees. Tonight I attended the Bournemouth and District Masters' Lodge meeting at Boscombe where I was representing the Secretary of Wiltshire Masters's Lodge. We were honoured with a "freestyle" lecture from a Prestonian lecturer, W. Bro. Gordon Davie, a Past Assistant Provincial Grand Master for West Kent, who gave a very light hearted talk on some historical aspects of freemasonry. I sat on the top table with the Assistant Provincial Grand Master for Hampshire and Isle of Wight, W. Bro. J. Michael Dodd, who was a most hospitable and genial host. He, like his fellow APGM, Eric Moody, is a retired British Airways captain. Avery pleasant evening. Because of road works at Holdenhurst Road, I drove out of Bournemouth along Christchurch Road to Christchurch (the last and longest of the erstwhile Bournemouth trolleybus routes) and then along the A35 to Lyndhurst and Cadnam. I was back home by 11 p.m. and think that when the traffic is kind this is the shortest and quickest route between Winterslow and Bournemouth.

The Day English International Football Died

A truly awful day for English soccer but more of that later. Another very hot but dry day - not too humid. We all went to church this morning where Linda led another great Praise Service. The theme today was about giving up the old and concentrating on the new - not looking back with examples of Elisha burning his plough and barbecuing his oxen and Cortez's fleet burning their ships on arriving in Mexico. Good praise songs too, Tom and I walked back home afterwards (although Rosemary did kindly give us a lift from the shop because it was so hot) armed with milk, bread and pate for lunch. This afternoon we watched the Germany v. England match. I really cannot bring myself to write anything about it. England were truly appalling and the 4-1 win for Germany hardly does justice to the far superior skills or our fellow northern Europeans. Our defence was poor leaving poor David James with an immense amount of work to do. A Frank Lampard disallowed goal didn't help morale either. England have been knocked our of the World Cup Finals in their worst defeat since 1950. Richard came to collect my golf clubs after the match to put them in his car for tomorrow's big game at Paulton's. I went to Grateley to practice my long game on the practice range and also played the par three course. I was using my old clubs but was reasonably happy with the result. I rang Mum this evening and we had a nice chat for about 30 minutes discussing the football, her health and my new car.

A new car

Today seemed to be even hotter than yesterday. I made pancakes for Mary for breakfast before Sara, she and Tom went into Salisbury for Mary's ballet lesson. After writing some letters and emails and attending to some Complex business I drove to Mercedes-Benz of Salisbury to look at an A-Class car which had come into their used car section - an eleven-month year old Advantgarde A160 with 11,000 miles on the clock. After testing driving it and discussing costs etc. I decided to trade in my three-year old C-Class Mercedes and in so doing get a top of the range A-Class with lots of gizmos, no MOT worries, a two-year warranty, and much lower road tax and service bills. The car is as roomy as the C-Class, although not quite such a comfortable ride, and having five doors this means I can get two sets of golf clubs and bag in the car easily. It is more versatile and economical but retains Mercedes high quality and safety. I will need to return next Tuesday to complete all the paperwork and as I will be transferring my cherished number plate I will not be able to pick it up for about ten days. After a brief trip to Tesco's to get bread and soup, I returned home just in time to go with Sara and Mary to the Winterslow School Fete where I spent an hour wandering around and chatting to people. It was incredibly hot which I didn't enjoy much. It was good to see David M and have a long chat with him in the tea tent. I returned home to watch the Uruguay (2) v South Korea (1) match which saw South Korea knocked out and Uruguay facing either the USA or Ghana in the Quarter Finals. As it happened it will be Ghana who beat USA (2-1) after extra time. It is wonderful to see an African nation in the Quarter Finals.

Another Hot Day at Home

The sun continues to beat down on us as the days seem to be getting hotter and hotter. The lawns are turning brown and it seems too hot to do any gardening or heavy physical jobs. This morning I drove over to Amesbury to pick up a couple of Titanic items from an army family on the new Archer's Gate estate - a wooden model of the ship (of the type sold in cheap souvenir shops) and a large brass replica bell - but without its clapper. I can probably shine up the bell and fix a clapper, otherwise I am not sure what I am going to do with them. Probably put them in the bric-a-brac at the parish fete. Much to Sara's surprise, I really do want to clear out a lot of "tat" from the study its just that other things and this intense heat are not conducive to the task. I also took the opportunity to drop something in to Lee in Amesbury and visited Lidl's. I also took a photograph of the signal at the site of the old Bulford Station to send on to James B (see at the top of this article). Back in the village, I popped in and saw Richard and Linda at lunchtime to give Linda a birthday card and bottle of wine and also to lend Richard my Plass/Lucas Seriously Funny book which I finished reading this morning. I also bought him 200 long golf tees at Lidl's (200 for £2.99). Ironically, he had bough 50 of the very same tees this morning in Salisbury and paid £3.49! A bargain on my part I think. We need these longer tees as we are booked to play the very long Paulton's Golf Course on Monday - teeing off at 9.08 a.m. precisely! There are some 500 yard holes which means we are going to have to use our drivers. Time to start playing big boys' golf! This afternoon I watched the immensely boring Portugal v Brazil match which ended in a goalless draw - both sides going through to the next round. Tonight it was Chile v Spain with Spain beating Chile 2-1 to go to the top of the Group and face Portugal in the next round whilst Chile will face fellow South Americans, Brazil.

Business in Salisbury

Up early again - another hot day in the making. Sara spent most of the day in Southampton attending a recruitment and business growth course for her Vie at Home business. I dealt with some paperwork this morning and made a few phone calls including one to a former colleague of ours at Friends Provident who has also taken early retirement. Today Friends Provident merged with Axa Life to form a new branded subsidiary of the the Resolution Group - Friends Life. It remains to be seen what effect this will have on staff and the share price. I drove into Salisbury later in the morning and parked at Salt Lane. I visited the bank, post office and Sarum College to get some material for the House Group. We will be studying Revelation Chapters 4-22 from next Thursday. I also picked up a prospectus for courses being run from summer 2010 to Summer 2011 as I feel I need to extend my theological knowledge. I had a small latte in Cafe Nero and read my daily devotions before returning home after popping into Mercedes to inform them that I was thinking of buying an A-Class and not a B-Class which they kept phoning me about. I got back to Winterslow in good time to walk to school and pick Mary up. This afternoon Italy, the World Cup Champions, were knocked out of the tournament by Slovakia in a thrilling 3-2 match. Unfortunately I didn't see it as I was busy, this afternoon, writing up a reference for my old colleague Nasir, who is applying to become a solicitor. Sara returned home about 5.30 p.m. this evening - in time to deal with the children's tea. Tonight we had the last of the four Jeff Lucas talks at St. John's. Just our House Group attendees and Cynthia here tonight. A cracking talk, again, from Jeff. Such a talented speaker. James, Richard and I discussed tonight's meeting in the Lion's Head afterwards as well as a number of other theological and worldly issues.

England through to the knock-out stages - now Germany!

Woke very early this morning - 5 a.m. as the sky was so light I thought I might have overslept. I cooked breakfast for Tom and myself and Richard arrived at 9 a.m. on the dot to play golf. We played eighteen holes at Wilton where my driving was much better - I used my full driver successfully on four occasions today - but my putting was not so great - probably because I used a much lighter putter. We played from 9.30 a.m. until about 1 p.m. The sun was very hot by the time we finished and we were both very hot, hungry and thirsty. The Lord Nelson's Arms beckoned (an unusual name really for a pub named after a one-armed admiral) and I had a couple of pints of Guinness, Richard a couple of pints of Amstel, me an prawn salad and him a "Fabio Pie" - English beef and Italian sausage. We finished at 2.15 p.m. and I returned home to watch the Slovenia (0) v England (1) match which saw England qualify for the next round - but not as winners of the group (that honour goes to the USA) but runners-up. The results of tonight's matches in Group D mean that England will face their old rivals Germany on Sunday! No doubt, if we get over that hurdle, Argentina awaits. Sara missed tonight's matches as she has been out at Larkhill doing another of her Vie at Home parties.

South Africa knocked out of World Cup

Started the morning waking early and making Sara and myself a cup of tea. I spent the morning doing work for Complex Services Limited including drafting a couple of clauses for Karen's florists in Penzance who want to take on a casual member of staff. Sara had a visit from another Karen who discussed with her possibilities of reducing our utility bills. This Karen is a nutritionist by profession and is one of Sara's friends at Ladies who Latte. Sara also did some work today for Complex by drafting a recruitment guide for our new IT company client. I walked up to the post office at lunchtime to post off some of the work I had done this morning and when I returned prepared a light lunch of cold meat salad with hot new potatoes. I watched the France (1) v South Africa (2) game which was very entertaining and although South Africa won, a goal by Uruguay against Mexico in the other Group A game meant that South Africa and France have both been eliminated. Quite sad to see the host nation knocked out in the First Round - first time this has ever happened. Tonight I watched the Greece v. Argentina game which ended in a 2-0 victory for Argentina who will meet Mexico in the next round. A 2-2 draw between Nigeria and South Korea assured the Korean's a place in the final sixteen.

More gardening in the heat

Today I decided to get down to some hard graft and deal with a number of niggling tasks - like finishing cutting the front hedge, write my night sky article for the parish magazine and, hopefully make a proper start on tidying the study. After a breakfast of a sausage muffin and tea I got down to the job of giving our front hedge a severe "crew-cut". This took rather longer than I reckoned (but I was pleased with the result) and I didn't finish it until 1.00 p.m. Even then, I still need to trim the top but by this time it was getting unbearably hot. I mowed the bank and the two inner lawns - another hour - then had a nice soothing bath. I watched a little of the Chile (1) v. Switzerland (0) game and was sorry that Switzerland couldn't quite hold out for a 0-0 draw. Poor North Korea got hammered 7-0 by Portugal. I wouldn't want to be a player or the coach on a return to North Korea. This evening Sara went to a Vie meeting at St. Leonard's (near Bournemouth) which also included a barbecue. I served the children meatballs and spaghetti and Mary went over to the Village Hall for her drama group evening. Spain beat Honduras 2-0 tonight but I didn't see any of the match as I had two telephone calls and wrote and sent the night sky article to Sara and others on the electronic mailing list. It has been such a not day today and a busy one. Unfortunately, the study get its makeover started but hopefully, tomorrow, as I intend to tidy up a lot of paperwork which should start the ball rolling.

Fathers' Day

Was woken up by Sara this morning with a cup of tea in a new "Dad's" mug which disturbed a strange dream I was having about chasing a mouse around All Saints Church. Weird! Mary joined us whilst I opened my Fathers' Day presents - a coaster withe the words "If you had kids like mine- you'd be grumpy too!", some Paco Rabanne aftershave (my absolute favourite) and a boxed set of three War DVDs - Dambusters, The Cruel Sea and The Colditz Story. The Cruel Sea is perhaps my favourite wartime film. We all went to All Saints this morning for the Family Eucharist which also involved a baptism. Afterwards, Sara and Mary went into Salisbury for Mary's ballet coaching and Tom and I walked back home - Tom ahead of me as I stayed back for some coffee and biscuits. This lunchtime, we all met up again at ASK, the Italian chain restaurant near the library in the centre of the city. We had a lovely leisurely lunch which everyone enjoyed. I had the most wonderful calamari - the best I can ever remember having, followed by prawn salad with a piquant lemon sauce followed by banoffee pie and a cappuccino. This afternoon we watched some more football and Sara baked delicious scones. Tonight I went down to the Lion's Head for a couple of pints with Richard where I handed him our completed Spring Harvest papers. Back home I watched some of the US Open Golf tournament from Pebble Beach - a nice change from the football.

Gliding a Boeing 747

I was up early again today as I was to represent the Wiltshire Masters' Lodge at a special daytime meeting of the Berkshire Masters' Lodge held at Sindlesham, near Wokingham, Berkshire. I left home at 8.30 a.m. and using my "sat-nav" took the A303/M3 to Hook and then through Harley Wintney and Arborfield to Sindlesham. The journey took just over an hour and so I arrived quite early for the 10.30 a.m. meeting. I had a coffee in Sainsbury's to kill some time and arrived at the Sindlesham Masonic Centre at about 10.10 a.m. As an "honoured guest" I was given a seat near the front and enjoyed listening to W. Bro. Eric Moody, the Assistant Provincial Grand Master for Hampshire and Isle of Wight, give an enthralling talk about his experience as the British Airways pilot who was flying the Boeing 747 (G-BDXH) on BA Flight 009 from Kuala Lumper to Perth when all four engines failed and the plane started to descend with no power. When all hope seemed to be fading for the plane and it was likely to ditch into the sea the engines re-ignited and the plane eventually landed safely at Jakarta. The reason for the failure was found to be that the plane had flown into a volcanic dust cloud following the eruption (as they took off from Kuala Lumper) of Mount Galunggung about 110 miles south-east of Jakarta. The dust had got into the jet engines and also pebble-dashed the windscreen making landing in the dark very difficult. The talk was peppered with amusing anecdotes of his early life with BEA and BOAC and he spoke in an unassuming and understated way of what must have been a terrifying experience. He is famous for having announced to the passengers " This is your Captain speaking. We are having a little bit of trouble - all our engines have failed but we are trying to get them to start again. We trust that you are not feeling too distressed or uncomfortable." I had read about the incident in a book some years ago, discussed it with Leigh, a BA cabin crew member when I lived in Brighton and seen a programme on TV about it quite recently. It was wonderful, however, to actually hear and meet the man who had gone through the drama. The talk was followed by an excellent luncheon of fresh fruit, pan fried sea bass with noodles, sin sauce and vegetables, pavlova and ice cream and coffee. Members' and guests' partners were also invited and I was sorry that Sara couldn't join me. One of the ladies on my table insisted that I took Sara her orchid which was a very kind gesture. I was seated next to the Deputy Provincial Grand Master for Berkshire, Martin Peters, who made a delightful host. He had vaguely heard of Sara's father as he had worked for 30 years with IBM. I listened to the first half of the Ghana v Australia match on the radio in the car on they way home and watched the second half once I got back (result 1-1). Mary was practising her ballet exam moves as she now has a CD with the examination music on it. She does it with wonderful poise and agility. I do hope that she continues to enjoy dance and drama. Tom made supper tonight (with a little help from Sara) - chili con carne - which was excellent - I had three helpings! Tonight I wrote some letters (including a thank you to the secretary of Berkshire Masters') and also wrote my flag article for the parish magazine whilst Sara and the children watched Pirates of the Caribbean. I must confess that I also watched some of it - not for the plot, acting or special effects but because Keira Knightley is in it. Any scene with her in it is always worth watching!

Good Golf; Poor Football

I was up very early this morning as I attended Ambassadors' Business Referral Group again at Grasmere House Hotel at 7.30 a.m. I had already agreed to play eighteen holes of golf this morning so I took my clubs and golfing equipment with me and after the meeting changed into my casual gear. Today's meeting was present by Ed Thomas who talked about the use of social media sites as a good business tool. I was delighted to find that Complex is one of few members of Ambassadors using Facebook for business purposes. Nice to know that we are in the lead on some things even if we are a small company. I was incredibly hot on the golf course today and my neck and arms are rather red with sunburn this evening. I managed three pars today and was pleased to get the ball on the green on several holes. Nearly got a birdie today too - only missed the hole by a fraction of an inch. We had lunch and a drink at the Hampton Park Inn again - scampi and chips today for me - and returned home in time to watch the Slovenia v. USA which ended in a 2-2 draw - the best result possible for England. It was a great match with Slovenia 2-0 up at half time. The USA scored a third disallowed goal which would have almost clinched them qualifying for the next round. England's game against Algeria was at 7.30 p.m. tonight and we started with really high hopes of a win which would have put us top of the Group needing only a draw to secure qualification in our last game. England's performance was lack lustre and poor to say the least. Passing was sloppy and Algeria were given the ball far too easily. The result was a frustrating, boring match (a massive contrast to the USA game) which ended 0-0. England now must win their last game against a much stronger team in Slovenia. Anything less will see the England team back on the plane home. Talking of planes, I need to be up early again tomorrow as I am going to a luncheon near Reading to hear Eric Moody, the pilot of the British Airways 747 which nearly crashed after volcanic dust closed down all its engines over Jakarta, talk about the incident. The meeting starts at 10.30 a.m. with lunch at 12.30 a.m. so i must make sure I get away by about 8 a.m. tomorrow.

Hard Day's Work

Quite a busy day today and another hot one too. I had a client visit me this morning who spent nearly three hours with me going through her options as to her future employment with her current employer. Adam called via Skype and we had a twenty minute video chat. He showed us his study and some of Lin's wardrobes. He had got back safely in good time - the flight time being much shorter (10 hours) than expected and much quicker than the flight to the UK. This afternoon I drove up to Andover to do some banking and called in at Lidl's for a few essential groceries. Back home, I started the task of trimming the front hedge and got as far as the corner of our close before time and energy ran out. I need to continue it tomorrow. Tonight we had the third of the Jeff Lucas talks which was not very well attended in comparison to last week. The France v. Mexico match might have something to do with it. Mexico won 2-0 which, essentially, sees France knocked out of the World Cup. Let's just hope that the same thing does not apply to England tomorrow. Must be up early tomorrow as my morning consists of the Ambassadors' Breakfast and eighteen holes of golf with Richard at Wilton.

Goodbye to Adam; Hello to Skype

It hardly seemed possible that today Adam was returning to Thailand after such a short visit - although we did seem to have done a lot with him. I made us a cooked breakfast of sausages, bacon and eggs which Adam enjoyed. This morning, Sara and Adam went into Salisbury for some last minute shopping and also so they could have a bit of time together on their own. Tom was off school today with a poorly tummy and headache and he spent the morning huddled up in the lounge watching TV. Follow the discussions in the pub last night, I set about setting both mine and Sara's laptop up for Skype use - i.e. ability to make long distance (global) telephone and video conferencing calls at no cost! It took me the best part of the morning to do this - an attempt to set Tom up on his laptop failed but I'll try again tomorrow. I seem to have a problem downloading the webcam/microphone facility. I tested my Skype link by holding a telephone conference with Richard in which he showed me his new golf shoes and gloves! Skype is such a marvellous toy and hopefully one which will reduce our phone bills considerably. Early this afternoon I did some Complex Services work and also successfully linked up via Skype to Sara's Dad and Andrea in the USA. We had a wonderful video conference with them and Adam and Sara were able to chat to and see their father and his wife in America - and all at no cost! Time came to take Adam to the airport so we all set off for London Heathrow via Newbury and Reading (by far the quickest and easiest way I think). Leaving at 4.30 p.m. we were at Heathrow Terminal 3 and just before 6.30 p.m. We saw Adam safely checked in at the Thai International Airways desk and went for a coffee at Costa Coffee with him before the final tearful farewell. Sara has no idea when she will next see her brother in the flesh but, at least, she will be able to see and hear him regularly via the Internet and Skype. She still feels rather upset at having seen Adam for such a short time with no idea of when he'll be back. Both Tom and I comforted her. Tom was especially kind and caring which brought a tear to my own eye. Airports can be such exciting places but also sad ones. We returned to Winterslow by the same route stopping at Porton for a Chinese takeaway as a special treat.

A Day in Southampton with Adam/Season Tickets Renewed

An early morning today as we had to get Adam to St. Mary's Stadium for his Open University examination which would start promptly at 10 a.m. After dropping Mary off at her friend's across the road, Adam, Sara and I drove into Southampton. The traffic was very kind to us and we got to St. Mary's just after 9 a.m. We saw Adam safely to the examination room and checked that he was registered to take the paper. Leaving him to have a cigarette we went to the Megastore and bought the new season's commemorative 125 years shorts for Tom and me (see photo above of one being worn by our latest signing from Brentford, Ryan Dickson). Whilst at St. Mary's, I also used the opportunity to renew our season tickets - saving £95 by doing so before the end of June. Sara and I then walked to West Quay where we sat and had a leisurely coffee in Costa Coffee. Sara went for a wander around Marks & Spencer leaving me to sit in a soft armchair reading some more of Lucas/Plass's Seriously Funny. We strolled back to St. Mary's and met up with Adam who thought the exam went well. We had lunch at the chippe in St. Mary's Street used by Tom and me on match days. We were welcomed by the Bangladeshi brothers who run the shop - they shaking hands with us and asking after Tom. After a well portioned lunch of cod and chips (fishcake for Adam), we wandered back to the car and drove back to Winterslow in time to pick up Mary from school. Adam and I then drove into Salisbury and went shopping- visiting the Cash n' Carry, Sports Direct and Tesco's. Adam bought an enormous quantity of sweets for his pupils. We had a barbecue tonight - the weather remaining so warm - after which Adam and I strolled down to the Lion's Head to join Chris and Richard for a couple of pints. A really lovely evening with great conversation. I was so pleased at how Richard and Chris made Adam feel so welcome (one of the lads) with good natured banter - some at my expense of course - just as they had done when Sara's father had sat doiwn with them a year ago. Its wonderful to have such good friends and such a well humoured brother-in-law.

Adam here from Thailand

Awoken very early this morning by my alarm clock - 4.30 a.m. and after a quick shower and tea was on the road at about 5.20 a.m. to pick up Sara's brother from Heathrow Airport. His plane was due to arrive at 7.15 a.m. and the Internet advised me that it was expected at 7.22 a.m. The traffic was reasonably kind to me and it seemed strange driving up the M3 after so many months of not doing so. The traffic did get quite busy around the M25 Junction and I remembered that Terminal 3 is on the northern side of the airport (recently we've used Terminals 4 and 5 on the southern side). I placed the car in the Short Stay Car Park (£4 per hour charge!) and then went into a very busy Arrivals area. Adam's flight from Bangkok now seemed to be expected at 7,33 a.m. and I went for a coffee and a bacon roll in one of the breakfast bars. Adam came through at about 8.10 a.m. and we went back to the bar for another coffee before we sent off for Wiltshire (after I had paid to get the car out of the car park). I returned to Winterslow via the M4 and Newbury and after stopping for fuel and a newspaper was back home at 10.30 a.m. Adam helped me trim the rear hedge - a massive job which took us both nearlky three hours to do about 10 yards of hedge. Still, it looks much better and we have a more open view to the field behind. I wtached the Japan (1) v. Cameroon (0) match this afternoon after a nice relaxing bath and dozed off. We all sat round for an excellent family roast chicken dinner tonight. Adam went to bed at 7.30 p.m. and Sara and I watched the Italy (1) v. Paraguay (1) match. An early night myself tonight as we need to take Adam to Southampton tomorrow morning.

Hedges and Blinds

An unusual Sunday for us today as none of us went to church today. I woke at 7.30 a.m. and made tea for Sara and me and also cooked Bratwurst sausages for breakfast for Tom and me. Looking out of the study window I noticed how ragged the hedges had become at the entrance to the drive and so set about clipping them with my electric hedge trimmer and was pleased with the result - a nice clean edge and a much widened entrance. I have vowed, over the next week, to clip the rest of the conifer hedges and make them look smart. Sara and Mary went for the first of Mary's private dance lessons for her examination and I went to Amesbury to take the conifer clippings and some other rubbish to the amenity tip. Whilst in Amesbury I also visited Lidl's and bought some groceries including some Melton Mowbray pork pies for Adam. This afternoon I went with Mary, Tom and Mary's friend Izzy to the Food for Thought meeting and barbecue on the Rec. We had about 45 attending to play football and tag rugby. The weather was hot but with threatening storm clouds which later produced some heavy rain later in the evening. Back home, I helped Sara sort out the dining table which had collapsed whilst she was extending it. One of the legs is weak and I made some temporary repairs in the form of inserting a large screw into the leg. Sara then wanted the blind putting up in the bathroom which took some time as we needed to cut the roller and fabric to size and then insert into the existing roller blind fittings. It took a couple of attempts to cut the pole to exactly the right size but the final result was great. It looks so much better in the bathroom - the blind really completes the furnishings. After this was completed I went to the Lion's Head for a drink with Richard and Chris (who is home from Diego Garcia). Must get to bed early tonight as I need to be at London Heathrow tomorrow morning at 7.15 a.m. to pick up brother-in-law Adam.

A Day of Football and Housework

I woke reasonably early this morning and made tea for Sara and me. I also read my daily devotions before getting up properly. After cooking breakfast muffins for Tom and me (Mary cooked her own waffles), Sara, Tom and Mary went into Salisbury for Mary's ballet lessons and to get Tom's hair cut. I stayed at home and tidied up the house, cleaning and dusting the lounge and spare room and then going outside to do some gardening (mowing and weeding). I did spend 20 minutes over at the Village Hall to look at the fortnightly bookstall. I bought a biography of King George V and boxed set of VHS videos on a century of ships - mainly naval vessels. We watched three football matches today from the World Cup - South Korea (2) v Greece (0); Argentina (1) v Nigeria (0) and most disappointing of all England (1) v. USA (1). Just before the England match Sara's Dad and Andrea phoned from the USA and I told them that England were going to thrash the Americans (actually, I told Richard yesterday that I predicted a 1-1 draw and should have had an unpatriotic bet on it). I seem to do well at predicting individual soccer scores (but never win the Pools!). Sara spent a little time at the Methodist's fete at Robin Hill Farm and Mary and her friends had a tractor ride. Tom stayed with me to watch the football. I barbecued some German sausages this evening which we are whilst watching the disappointing England game.

Season Ticket Message

Would Andy (Shaun's Dad) and or John please call me on 01980 863374 to confirm they are getting season tickets this year for Saints in the same seats?

Sorry, this is the only way I know how to contact you!

Yippee! - the World Cup has Begun in South Africa

I woke at 7.28 a.m. after asked me what the time was. Tom was still in bed asleep too so I woke him and hurriedly made him a breakfast muffin of German sausages and bacon so he could hurry off to school. I spent some time this morning strengthening the curtain pole in the family room which had suffered from being tugged by one of Tom's friends on a visit. This necessitated removing the curtains and pole and fixing larger and stronger rawlplugs before screwing the fixings again. I then had a shower just in time for Richard to arrive for our weekly game of golf at Wilton. I played much better than last week but neither of us have yet reached playing nine holes without scoring more than 4. No pars today (although not far off with some silly mis-putts spoiling it) but a reasonable game none the less. We had lunch at the Hampton Park pub - fish and chips with mushy peas and a pint of beer. This afternoon I watched the first of the World Cup matches - South Africa v. Mexico which ended with a 1-1 draw. I mowed the front lawn and bank this evening before showering and watching the Uruguay v. France match - another draw, 0-0. Tonight, therefore, South Africa remain top of Group A. I also watched an interesting documentary on the Nazi Judge Roland Friesler before sitting down to write the this. An exciting day tomorrow with the England v. USA game in the World Cup. Feeling really tired and must get an early night as I also have a lot of jobs to do around the house tomorrow.

Some DIY - Uuugh!

I was up early today as Sara went off at the crack of dawn (6.30 a.m. actually) for a Business Referrals breakfast at the White Hart to promote Complex Services. I cooked a breakfast roll for Tom (hash browns and bacon in a freshly baked baguette) before he dashed for school. Mary wouldn't eat any breakfast today so she ended up going to school hungry but, at least, with her lunch box with her. Sara returned home mid-morning quite satisfied with her first visit to the Business Referrals Group as it seems Complex can offer a service which is not covered already by any other the members. I went into Andover later this morning to undertake some banking. Parking in Andover is cheaper than Salisbury and all the banks and post office are all quite close together and within easy walking distance from Lidl's car park. I did some light shopping at Lidl's (as do many retirees it seems) including buying some German bratwurst which Tom and I like. I also popped into Homebase to buy some rawlplugs and also a new large toolbox as my current one is falling to bits. This new one has a handle and wheels so I can keep all my tools in it together. Back home I engaged in the one thing I hate above all things - DIY. At Sara's request, I fitted a batten over the cloakroom window for her to fix up a Roman blind, a rack of coat pegs and a shelf/coat hangers on the wall - the latter requiring precision batten fixing, strength and sweat. I am pleased to say all were concluded successfully (none of them have fallen off the wall yet!) although not without the use of some rather un-Christian verbiage! Tonight I attended the second of the Jeff Lucas DVD talks at St. John's. It was attended by fourteen people including two from Whiteparish. I delivered the reading (from Exodus this time) as I did last week. Richard, Klynn and I ended the evening having a couple of pints in the Lion's Head.

We're going to Spring Harvest 2011- Yippee!!!

Woke early this morning remembering that I had agreed to help Richard and Linda in phoning through to Butlins to book our Spring Harvest accommodation for next year. I took my tea into the study and just before 8 a.m. began the laborious process of dialling-re-dialling-re-dialling-re-dialling and so on and so on. By 8.25 a.m. I must have dialled about 100 times and all I got was a recorded message to "try later". Sara came into the study at around 8.25 a.m. and offered to dial up on our second line. She dialled just three times and got through (Richard and Linda were still trying to get through too!). By 8.30 a.m. we were all booked in - albeit in 6-person apartments rather than bungalows as we had hoped. Honestly, Sara did the same last year. Next year we'll simply leave it to her and all have a lie-in I think! Sara went off this morning to do her stint at sandwich making at Morning Star and I attended the Mid-Week Eucharist at St. John's. I made us lunch of corned beef salad with hot new minted potatoes with mint from the garden - we've got masses of mint this year - and Sara returned home with some lovely fresh eggs from Morning Star. I pickled half a dozen of them this afternoon - yummy. I now have a jar just about ready for eating and another pickling away nicely. I spent most of the afternoon finishing off the appendices for David Kaye's book. Unfortunately I didn't finish in time for the post today but will post them off tomorrow. I walked to the school this afternoon, also, to pick up Mary. After picking her up we walked to The Rectory to deliver a birthday card for Judith and then walked across the field to the Baptist Church and then via a lovely shady copse up to Barry's Field and home. Richard was at home when I returned and we had a beer together - I was so hot from my two mile walk in very muggy weather. The Guinness went down a treat. Tonight I attended Deanery Synod in the Village Hall. We had a long Eucharist - my second of the day! - and listened to the reports of the various achievements realised in the Deanery. Jane D gave a very moving account of how she had felt called to ordination after being an accountant in the City. Wine and cake was provided in the break and we sang four hymns unaccompanied. Quite a full day today. I had hoped to do some gardening but the wet and later muggy weather really didn't make me feel like it at all - not that I enjoy gardening anyway. At the moment there just seem to be weeds and yet more weeds everywhere. They grow at an alarming rate. Why don't my runner beans do the same? Another one of life's mysteries to me!

A Day in the Office

The weather was wet for most of the day today so all hopes of doing any gardening were dashed. Instead, I spent most of the day in the office/study at work for Complex Services - three telephone conferences, finalising our accounts and writing some letters. Sara went into Salisbury to see an old friend from NCT days who is the co-director of an IT company which is having a few problems. When she came back she had secured some more work for Complex undertaking a review of their HR and recruitment policies and issues. A very successful morning for the Company especially as a cheque also arrived in the post today. In the afternoon and evening I started work on the appendices for David Kaye's re-print of his successful "Old Trolleybuses" book. I am compiling a number of appendices to the book setting out lists of preserved vehicles, their locations and suggested further reading. It is quite a task but most enjoyable. I have nearly completed the first of these - list of preserved vehicles - which I hope to check and send to him tomorrow for proof reading. Tonight, Sara and I watched the acclaimed film on "Bloody Sunday" starring James Nesbitt. Sara is determined to a get a better grip on Irish history and understand the origins of the Troubles. Must get up early tomorrow to get on the phone to book Spring Harvest.

Sussex Promotion

Tom was back to school today but Mary was still off as Winterslow School was having yet another training day for the teachers - I really do not know why they can't have done that last week! The weather was cooler today with a threat of rain as I set off this morning for Worthing to attend the Sussex Provincial Grand Lodge Annual Meeting held at the Worthing Assembly Rooms. I picked up John H from his home near Harnham and drove over to Worthing arriving at around 1,30 p.m. After signing in, I posted some letters and we had tea and a roll at a cafe just off the main street. The meeting started promptly at 3.00 p.m. and was well attended by several hundred freemasons from all over Sussex and beyond. A new Deputy Provincial Grand Master (Grahame Carr) was invested. Grahame visited our lodge in Salisbury for the last installation meeting and is a really lovely gentleman. I was delighted to see him invested. His place as Assistant Provincial Grand Master was taken by Martin Mitten. I was duly promoted and invested as Past Provincial Grand Sword Bearer and my good friend Simon C was promoted to Past Provincial Grand Superintendent of Works. A lovely title but one which he said would not make him any more adept at DIY. I sat next to a brother who knew Winterslow really well as his first wife had connections with the village. What a small world! It had started to spit with rain as we left the Assembly Rooms to drive to the Charmandean Centre for the dinner afterwards. We met up with Jeff L at the Centre as well as Peter M who was not staying but dashing off to continue his preparations for the Province's stall at the Ardingly Show. Whilst the meal was the usual cold meat salad, strawberries and cheese and biscuits the quality did not seem as good as previous years. However, the event was a joyous occasion and it was good to chat to Jeff. The was served efficiently and the proceedings came to an end before 9.00 p.m. I took the coast road home via Bognor Regis and the rain was by then quite heavy. I dropped John off at around 10,30 p.m. and I was home at 10.50 p.m. A really pleasant day seeing friends in Sussex and receiving a lovely certificate to record my promotion in the Sussex Provincial Grand Chapter.

Titanic Discovery in Bramshaw

Another very warm day today. Sara and the children decided that they didn't want to go to the All Age Eucharist this morning so I went up to All Saints on my own. I arrived about ten minutes before the service started to find out that the family were down to act as sidespersons this morning! As it happened, the congregation wasn't too large this morning and so Mike M-J and myself were able to cover the collection quite easily. Elizabeth gave a good visual sermon today using water and oil in a glass to represent life and death and illustrating that a full compassionate life will dispel the fears of and pre-occupation with death. This afternoon, after Tom had washed Sara's car and I had washed my own (there's something wrong there!) we drove to Bemerton Heath for the Clarendon Juniors U13s awards. Tom received a Star Player award. There is a lot of uncertainty at the moment as to which league his team will go into next season. If he has to play on a Saturday then that could have a major effect on his ability to watch the Saints play in League One. I certainly would be most unhappy if I couldn't see Southampton FC at home and occasionally away. 2010/2011 is going to be a really good season, hopefully. We'll have to see how things pan out. This evening I drove into the New Forest to attend the Deanery Mission Project Service at Bramshaw. The service included an illustrated presentation by MAF (Mission Aviation Fellowship) which is our chosen Deanery Mission Project this year. It was a most interesting talk. Whilst I was talking to the presenter, Nils remarked to me that he had discovered a memorial plaque on the wall of the church which, upon closer inspection, was dedicated to the memory of six young members of the Parish of Bramshaw who lost their lives on 15th April 1912 aboard RMS Titanic! Their names were Percy Deacon (17), William Dibden (18), Charles Henry Davies (19), Ambrose Wood (21), Stanley George Hickman (24), Leonard Mark Hickman (24) and Lewis Hickman (32). I will look them up on Encyclopaedia Titanica.

BBQ with friends

A reasonably quiet day today. After all the travelling and early mornings of this week it was good to have an uncharacteristic lie in this morning. After a quick breakfast of toast, tea and a banana I went into Salisbury to do some banking and t0 get a card and present for Paul R's birthday. This afternoon, I built a flat-pack cupboard to put on the wall of our newly decorated cloakroom but I'll need some sturdier rawlplugs before I feel confident about mounting it on the wall. Hopefully I'll get that job done tomorrow. Tonight we went round to Klynn and Susan's for a barbecue (yes the weather remains hot) and spent a pleasant evening chatting, eating and drinking wine.

Black Tie Dinner in Southampton

Another very hot day today. I didn't go to bed until about 2 a.m. this morning as I wanted to finish off some Complex Services work in order to be free to play golf this morning. I attended the Annual General Meeting of the Ambassadors Business Breakfast Club at the Grasmere Hotel where we were each given a new members pack. The meeting ended quite early at 9.15 a.m. and I drove to Wilton Golf Course where Richard had already arrived and was unloading his clubs. In between leaving Ambassadors and arriving at the golf course I had time to ring Mum and have a few words with her. My sister had been to visit with her children which was a pleasant occasion for Mum. Richard and I played nine-holes in the heat. I played very badly today although I was the only one to get a par (on the 4th hole). My chipping and putting hasn't improved and my driving was very inconsistent. I lost three balls too! I put it down to the fact that I was rushing somewhat and the heat really does affect my game. Richard came back home and we had a beer and a light lunch of bread and cheese together. This afternoon I did a bit more work before getting changed to go to the Southampton and District Installed Masters' Lodge's Installation Meeting in Southampton where I was representing our Wiltshire Masters' Lodge. This necessitated me getting dressed up in a dinner jacket and black tie. Actually, I was probably cooler in that than my normal dark masonic suit. It was a lovely evening with good company and excellent food - poached salmon with fresh vegetables followed by fresh fruit salad and cheese and biscuits. The food was cooked to perfection. I arrived back home at around 10.30 p.m. It was still incredibly warm and so Sara and I stayed up and watched the film Michael Collins which helped Sara understand, better, Ireland's turbulent history and some of the things we had seen in Dublin earlier this week. Needless to say, we didn't go to bed until 2 a.m. again! At least I've no engagements tomorrow.

An Evening with Jeff Lucas

A day spent at home following all the travelling to and from and around Dublin over the last four days. I spent much of the day dealing with emails and catching up on quite a bit of work for my company, Complex Services Limited, which now has quite a number of clients and matters in progress. The weather was extremely hot today, continuing the glorious weather we experienced over in Ireland. This afternoon I mowed the inside lawns which had grown quite a bit since we left on Sunday. Tonight the House Group decamped to St. John's Church of the Jeff Lucas Evening. We had hoped for a good turn out but instead the group consisted mainly of the normal house group members with a couple of members of the clergy. A little disappointing especially as we were hoping to use this as a means of encouraging people to come to Spring Harvest next year. The booking lines open next week for Minehead 2011 and I do hope we can get a good group together. The evening ended with Richard and I putting the world to rights over a couple of pints in the Lion's Head. I tried the Guinness which was pleasant and cool but which also is much gassier than that we had in Dublin. It is definitely true that Guinness can never taste as good as that brewed at St. James's Gate using water from the Wicklow Mountains.

Dublin - Day 4

Sadly our last day in Ireland today. After breakfast we checked out and the hotel kindly agreed to store our luggage to enable us to go out for the day in the car. Readers will recall that although we had a seven-seater Opel Zafira it had luggage space for about three laptop bags - not seven or eight cases! I drove us around Phoenix Park and we stopped for a while at the Papal Cross where in 1979 Pope John Paul II had celebrated Mass with over a million people in the park. It must have been an amazing occasion. The cross dominates that part of the park. I then drove us through central Dublin and out through Clontarf to the Hill Howth - a rocky prominence at the northern entrance to Dublin Bay - notorious at the time of "The Troubles" for being used for gun running and where Ireland's last first generation tramway ran from Sutton to the Summit. There is no tramway there now (although the Irish National Transport Museum is situated at Howth) so we drove up to the summit for more photo opportunities. We had lunch at the Summit Inn (I had to wait for some excellent fresh mussels to be cooked) with our last Irish Guinnesses. We left the Summit at about 2.30 p.m. and were back at the hotel at 4 p.m. (experiencing some traffic problems near the hotel due to major road works) and then "loaded up" the car with our luggage. This meant, as with coming from the airport four days ago, sitting with cases on knees and being really crushed up - all except me who was driving the car! We returned the car, initially, to the wrong area of the airport and received instructions to the correct part by the rather general directions of "You see that shiny building over there [the airport] you need to head for that...!" We did eventually return the car to where we had originally hired it (ignoring the signs indicating "Care Hire Return") and managed to "shoe horn" ourselves out of the car. The photograph shows the the problem of the number of cases v. the size of the luggage compartment! The Russells plane was delayed 20 minutes in leaving but ours, unlike the outward journey, was on time and, in fact, we arrived back at Bristol Airport 15 minutes ahead of schedule. We stopped off for a supper of fish and chips at Shepton Mallet and were back home by 11.20 p.m., exhausted but happy to have had a fantastic break away in one of my favourite cities with good friends.

Dublin - Day 3

We all met up for breakfast again, today, in Jack's with me trying the breakfast bagel instead of the breakfast pannini. Today we drove into the centre of Dublin and I parked the car in the Sentana Car Park just off Kildare Street near Leinster House (where the Houses of Oireachtas - or Parliament) are situated - with the Dail (or Commons) on one side and the Senate (equivalent to our Lords) on the other. This is my usual car park when visiting Dublin and although it is a little pricey, it compares well with the cost of parking in Brighton and is so incredibly convenient for all the major sites in the city centre. We walked to Trinity College where we left the Russells to queue to see the Book of Kells whilst Sara, I and the children walked to the Tourist Information Centre a few yards away. We all met up again at the Molly Malone Statue in Grafton Street from where we walked to the Temple Bar area for lunch in a lovely bar/restaurant where I had a very good meal of fish and chips washed down with the ubiquitous Guinness. We spent the afternoon around Henry Street and O'Connell Street and the Dublin Spire. The children put their fingers in some of the bullet holes left in the GPO by the British Army during the Easter Rising of 1916. That again brought the historic event alive. After a visit to Carroll's souvenir shop close to O'Connell Bridge, we walked back to the car park near Dawson Street to find plenty of Gardie, both on horseback and on foot, in the front of Leinster House. Clearly some important event was occurring (we never did find out what it was). We then drove to Harold's Cross to attend the greyhound race meeting at Harold's Cross Stadium. To get there, we drove along Haddington Road where De Valera's rebel troops had inflicted the most casualties on the British during the Easter Rising. None of us had any success on the dogs tonight with the exception of Mary who, for a 1 euro stake won 84 euros on a trio. We left after seven races much poorer except for Mary who found this evening the highlight of her four-day stay in Dublin.