Back to St. Mary's

It was nice to have a bit of a lie-in this morning - nowhere to rush off to this morning. Sara took Tom and Mary to the ~Rec where Tom is currently in training to beat his school's Under-15 100 metres sprint record which stands at 11.03 seconds. Currently he is running at around 11.57 seconds so has some way to go. Tom and I went into Southampton at lunch time and after a quick lunch of fishcake/pea fritter and chips and purchasing one of the brand new Fanzines we entered St. Mary's Stadium's Kingsland's Stand to watch the Saints' friendly game against Reading. It was good to see Grimsby Town's former player, Danny Butterfield, playing so well for the Saints. Lallana and Lambert did not play and Alan Pardew used quite a lot of the youngsters in the second half. Reading scored first with an equaliser from Saints before half time. In the second half Saints went into the lead but a penalty was awarded to the Royals which was converted with ease. Two further goals from Reading made it a 4-2 win for them. As a friendly match it was not an important or worrying result and it was encouraging to see how Butterfield and Hammond have strengthened the defence. Tom and I went to Chiquito's for a Mexican dinner before returning home. Sara was babysitting for our neighbours Paul and Karen when we got home. Tom watched the European Athletics and I dealt with messages and emails which had built up whilst I was away. I will need to continue with this tomorrow.

A lovely day in Henley-on-Thames

Today was one of those days which you like to replay in your mind as being really enjoyable. It didn't start brilliantly though as I got up early to go to the Grasmere Hotel for the Ambassador's meeting to find that it was next week! Somehow, with being away in Lincolnshire I had miscounted the weeks! The journey wasn't entirely wasted, however, as I was able to deliver a Vie product to one of Sara's clients living close to the hotel. Sara dropped me off at Grateley Station just before 11 a.m. for me to catch a train to Reading to meet up with my old friend and legal colleague, the barrister Michael R. My train arrived in Reading on time to the second by Michael was delayed picking me up by the appalling traffic around Reading Stations (yes it is a plural as there are, technically, two stations combined - the old GWR and the old LSWR ones). Michael eventually picked me up about 25 minutes after my arrival and whisked me off to his home in Henley-on-Thames where I briefly met Denise before we strolled down to his "local" the Bird in Hand for a very refreshing pint of Brakspear's bitter - memories of two stag nights! We had a most excellent lunch at Villa Marina - an Italian restaurant near the river. After a campari and lemonade (my favourite aperitif on a hot day - Michael had it with the more conventional soda) we shared starters of pan fried sardines and king prawns followed by lemon sole (Michael) and pan fried skate with capers (me), a selection of fresh vegetables, sauteed potatoes washed down with a bottle of pouilly-fume. The restaurant was very full and lively and we spent a pleasant couple of hours (or more) eating and chatting about many varied subjects - not only some of our legal experiences but about cricket, family holidays etc. etc. The afternoon went by so incredibly quickly. We caught a taxi back to Michael's where I picked up my jacket and bag and the taxi took me back to Reading Stations with ten minutes to spare before my train back to Grateley. Back home I watched the collapse of the Pakistani team in the first Test at Trent Bridge. The day ended on bad light with Pakistan having one wicket in hand and needing eight runs to avoid the follow-on. Refreshed in the morning, I expect that they will find that an easy task.

Breaking a Paddler and Breaking my Heart

Mum made me a good English breakfast this morning - bacon, beans and egg with orange juice and tea. I packed up the car which was again being showered by dust from the road-building which seems to have reached a new peak of noise and dust. I left Mum's at around 10 a.m. having programmed in some telephone numbers into her new land-line phone unit. On my way out of Grimsby I stopped to take some pictures of the old Humber paddler, Lincoln Castle, which I was told was being broken up in Grimsby's Alexandra Dock. I was appalled that such a piece of Grimsby's maritime history was being so cruelly and cheaply destroyed. As I took many (never to be repeated) photos of the ship I loved so much and which I had travelled on many times on exciting trips to Hull, I could hear and see the wielding of a sledge hammer as the bridge was being smashed ("dismantled" is too gentle a term for what I saw being done). Criminal is the only word for it!" I have posted one of the lesser distressing photos of her demise but will put the rest on Facebook. I arrived home at around 4 p.m. having stopped off at Warwick for coffee and snacks and again at Andover Garden Centre to buy Sara a rose bush for the garden. Sara was very poorly when I got back - she has been suffering from a severe headache all day and was feeling very tired. I made the children their tea (fish and chips) and then led the House Group this evening whilst Sara went to bed. I hope she is feeling better in the morning. I have to be up early for Ambassadors and then I am travelling to Reading on the train for lunch with my barrister friend, Michael.

With the Royals at Sandringham!

My alarm clock woke me at 5.45 a.m. and I eventually got out of bed at 6 a.m. Mum and I had a light breakfast of muesli and toast with ginger preserve washed down with a mug of tea. We left for Sandringham in the car at 7.30 a.m. and got as far as Holton-le-Clay when Mum realised she hadn’t packed the flasks of coffee and her medication. I insisted we turn back as I was not happy proceeding with Mum without her medication as I was concerned if she became ill “on my watch” so to speak. We turned back, picked up the coffee and medication, losing about 25 minutes in the process. Despite this false start we arrived at Sandringham House at around 10.30 a.m. – in time to see HRH The Prince of Wales and HRH The Duchess of Cornwall arrive from Sandringham House to the Flower Show in their landau pulled by two fine horses. We wandered around the showground, watching the RAF give a demonstration of marching, before waiting to see “the Royals” return to Sandringham House. I managed to get some good photos of the house and a couple of shots of their Royal Highnesses. We returned to the car for a picnic lunch and afterwards wandered around the various stalls and displays taking a number of photographs. I was particularly pleased to watch a fine display of aeronautics from the Yakovlev Aeronautic Display Team using single engined Russian Yak-50 turbo prop monoplanes similar to those used in the second world war. We met a couple of Mum’s friends from Waltham with whom we had a brief natter. We finally left Sandringham a little before 5 p.m. and drove up to Snettisham to spend an hour or so with Mum’s brother, my Uncle Douggie. He is looking quite old now and it quite sobering to think that he is now only two years younger than my grandfather was when he died. There is a very strong resemblance between Douggie and my grandfather – for whom I had a very strong affection. Mum and Douggie chatted over old times not least some story about Mum taking boys up to the Home Guard Caravan during the war! Must pursue that one further! Whilst at Douggie’s the heavens opened and there was a downpour – so glad it didn’t happen earlier at Sandringham! I took a couple of pictures of the siblings and Douggie gave me a litre bottle of Famous Grouse to take home. We were surprised that the traffic was still bad around King’s Lynn and so we drove through that town and past the house where I had lived for the first three months of my life. Mum has really enjoyed her nostalgic ride today and says she always feels so warm when back in her home county. I think she would have preferred to have stayed in Norfolk and never left if circumstances had been different. We stopped off back in Lincolnshire (Fleet Hargate) for dinner (steak pie and chips) before arriving back in Grimsby at 10 p.m. A full but very different day for me and a tremendous day for Mum – being in her own county, seeing “The Royals”, shopping, seeing gardens and flowers and spending time with her brother.

A visit to Epworth and Fish & Chips

Awoke at 7.30 a.m., read my devotionals and made a cup of tea. Mum was already up and dressed when I came down to make tea at 8.00 a.m. I showered and we had a breast of poached egg. I wrote up my blog for yesterday and then set off for Epworth for my lunchtime meeting with the other Sara. We met in a little café at the back of the Red Lion and exchanged news. I was brought up to date on what was happening in my old company and I told her that there was very much life afterwards! I returned to Cleethorpes via Gainsborough (I am getting a little bored with the M180/A180) but found that there had been a problem with the level crossing at Holton-le-Moor and so had to divert via Normanby Top – the highest point in Lincolnshire! I eventually rejoined the A46 at Caistor and after stopping at Morrisons’ for fuel and flowers for Mim arrived at Aunt Mim’s at around 3.45 p.m. Harry J was there too and I spent a very pleasant hour or so with them. I called in a MacDonald’s for a soft drink so that I could go on the Internet and post my latest blogs. The Wi-Fi was very slow and although I could post the text on my blog site it seemed to be impossible to get picture on too. They will have to go on later. I bought fish and chips for us from the Ocean Fish Restaurant in St. Peter’s Avenue, Cleethorpes and after this fish supper I went round the neighbours to cut Mum’s hedge. Compared to our massive hedges at home this was a relatively painless affair. Tonight I started packing up things in the car for our trip to Sandringham tomorrow. Mum says we need to leave at 7.00 a.m. to get a good parking spot. It seems we will be there until about 5 p.m. tomorrow afternoon. A long day ahead beckons. An early night tonight therefore as I have the long drive back to Wiltshire on Thursday.

An afternoon in Louth

I was woken early this morning by the contractors dumping broken-up road surface hardcore into a lorry only about 10 yards away from my new car! Dust was flying everywhere and my car looked as though it had been rallying in Iceland during a volcanic explosion! Needless to say, I moved it promptly into Miller Avenue; later sponging the windscreen which had become opaque. After a breakfast of a bacon butty I read the papers from the new client which I had been given shortly before I left Winterslow last week. I seem to have been away ages already! Mum went out shopping this morning leaving me to make a few phone calls (to Auntie Mim and Sara) and emails and to fix her bathroom shower unit which was coming away from the wall. It proved to be a relatively simple task requiring me to drill out the old rawl plug and an insert a new one – tightening up the unit with a stronger screw. This afternoon I drove to Louth to see David Kaye, my friend and the famous transport author who, aged 81, is suffering from Parkinson’s disease and now cancer. His brain is as sharp and witty as ever but he is a shadow of his former self. We spent a pleasant 2 hours or more chatting about buses and family and I showed him the photos I had taken at Sandtoft the previous day. We reviewed the material I had put together at the end of his book and he authorised me to send it off to the publisher – which I shall do on my return to Wiltshire. After leaving David in Louth, I drove to Tetney (via Conisholme, where I indulged myself with one of Appleby’s “famous ices”) to pick up my old school chum, Tim, and drive back to Louth for a dinner at the Halel Indian Restaurant. We had an excellent(though too large to eat it all) meal and a lovely chat to bring each other up to date with our situations and those of our family. I dropped Tim back home where we had a coffee before returning back to Mum’s at 10 p.m.

Trolleybuses Galore

Mum’s “cock-crowing” alarm clock woke me up again early. After reading my devotionals and a little more of my “Belgrano” book I had tea and a shower. Mum cooked an excellent breakfast of Grimsby Smoked Haddock. I left her at about 11 a.m. and stopped off at Ramsden’s to get a couple of birthday cards for James so that he will have the cards to open whilst on holiday in Rhodes. I wrote the cards inside Ramsden’s and posted them at the Grimsby Sorting Office hoping that they would be collected early tomorrow. I then drove to Sandtoft passing the paddle steamer Lincoln Castle, the former Humber ferry, which is in a deplorable state. Apparently, there is no money to preserve and restore it and plans are for it to be scrapped with only the reciprocating steam engine being saved. I arrived at Sandtoft Transport Centre at around 12.30 p.m. and spent the afternoon chatting with old friends, riding on Glasgow TB78 and taking numerous photos. I also rode on Doncaster 22, an old AEC Regal, around the Isle of Axholme. I had wanted to ride on Cardiff 203 but the crowds were too numerous and I am sure the opportunity will arise again. I was pleased to see it in a fantastic condition. No further work seems to have been done on the two Cleethorpes trolleys unfortunately and Bradford 844 and 847 look as though they await the scrapman. I had the opportunity to have a long chat with J. Stanley King, Bradford author and politician, who has now retired from politics. I drove back to Grimsby via Epworth, Scunthorpe and Barton-upon-Humber (having a look at Jonno’s mudbanks) arriving back in Grimsby at 6.30 p.m. We had dinner of pork chops, broad beans (from Morning Star) and runner beans from the garden. It seemed stifling hot – very close – this evening. I had hoped to “Skype” Sara but although I got an Internet connection this morning, I could not connect this evening. We watched a TV programme this evening about Holmefirth (home of Last of the Summer /wine) and “Coast” about Isle of Man and Anglesey.

With family in Yorkshire

I was woken this morning by the sound of an Argos lorry with an extremely loud reversing warning horn and “voice” trying to back down Carr Lane to either deliver something or having got lost. This was about 7.30 a.m. which seemed to be a ridiculous time to be delivering anything on a Saturday morning! I showered after Mum had brought in a welcome mug of tea and we had a breakfast of scrambled eggs (from Morning Star) and toast and coffee. Over breakfast Mum said that if we had got up earlier we could have gone over to see my sister and family in York. I thought that Heather was flying out to Rhodes today but, evidently, is not going until Wednesday. It was not yet 10 a.m. and the journey taking only an hour and a half I suggested that Mum ring Heather and found out whether she would be free to see us today. Within three quarters of an hour we were on our way with my golf clubs in the back of the car as my nine-year old nephew, James, was a keen golfer who was currently having lessons at a local golf centre. We had agreed, over the telephone, to play nine holes this afternoon. Heather made is very welcome and after a light lunch we drove to the golf course. James actually beat me on the first hole and he will certainly be a very good golfer when he gets a bit older and after a few more lessons. He certainly gave me a decent game. I won the “match” 6.5 to 2.5 but I have no doubt that it won’t be long before he can “whip” me. After the game, we all (including Mum) played a round of putting. We stayed for dinner (spaghetti bolognaise) and for the lottey results – needless to say none of us is now a millionaire – and I showed the children how to find the “Bollywood” movies on the Skybox in the International category. Needless to say, I am now being blamed for their peculiar behaviour – as we drove off they were both doing “Bollywood” dancing on the front lawn to their own vocals! James was particular keen to watch some of the bizarre films including an Indian singing and swaying along in a jeep and two Sikhs who looked like an Asian version of the Chuckle Brothers. It was raining as we drove home arriving back at around 10.45 p.m. – a twelve hour day out. Mum was thrilled and clearly had a lovely day. I really enjoyed spending time with my nephew and playing golf. We finished the day with some cheese and wine and after reading a few pages of my book, Sink the Belgrano, finally went to bed.

With old friends in Yorkshire

I was awoken this morning by my alarm clock at 5.45 a.m. I made myself and Sara a mug of tea, had a shower and finished off my packing and packed up the car. I had a toasted bacon sandwich before setting off on my 250 miles journey to Pudsey to see Maureen and Pat. I had a really good journey and enjoyed driving the new car. It seemed to eat up the miles and I could maintain a good smooth speed throughout the journey. Only stopping at Leicester for half an hour for a cappuccino, I arrived at Maureen’s in Pudsey at 12.45 p.m. I met Pat’s husband, Dean and their son Steven before Pat, Maureen and I went into Pudsey old village centre for a wonderful lunch at “Storms” – a lovely restaurant on the ground floor of the Pudsey Conservative Club. I had fresh crab and avocado for starters followed by pan roasted sea bass and sautéed potatoes washed down with a glass of dry white wine. We went back to the house for a pot of tea in the garden and discussed family matters and old friends in the Bahamas. I left for Grimsby at around 4.30 pm. And after a stop in Scunthorpe for flowers I pulled up outside Mum’s home at 7 p.m. The road is a complete mess at the moment as it is being re-constructed. I should get a good night’s rest tonight as the street light outside is not working apparently and having driven over 300 miles will be very tired. Tonight we watched a gardening programme on the TV as well as an interesting documentary about the Indian railways.

End of Term/Curry Club

The weather was awful this morning - heavy rain, dark and overcast. Sara drove Tom into school today to take a couple of dozen "maths" cakes in so that they would not get broken. Apparently, the maths teacher has asked each of his pupils to bring a cake or cakes with a mathematical theme. In Tom's case, Sara had baked a lot of small cup cakes with icing denoting different numbers and mathematical symbols so that the cakes could be added, multiplied, subtracted, square rooted etc. - I am sure you get the idea; but more of the cakes later. I took Mary and Molly into school in the car because it was still raining, on and off. Driving back, the heavens opened again - so a good move. Back home, and over a coffee or two, I dealt with the Resolution Rights Issue matter after ringing a couple of people at my old company and decided to cash the Rights in - I really do not want to buy more shares in the company. I will use the cash generated to purchase some more shares in another company of my choosing. I spent much of the rest of the day packing to go away to Lincolnshire, including sorting through two boxes of bits and pieces in my car and reducing the contents of them to just one. I picked up Mary from school today - being last day of term it was, to say the least, manic. Tom arrived home with his cakes looking as though they were victims of a massive earthquake in Stockbridge. Sara hit the roof - they had neither been eaten not looked after! I am not sure what she expects from a bunch of 13 year old lads! Maturity?! This evening, Sara went to a large firm of solicitors in Salisbury to take part in a "Ladies' Night In" which comprised a charity raising event for women to attend and be pampered - plenty of champagne, Sara's makeovers, crystal healing etc. etc. From a business point of view, I don't think it was a great success but hopefully it did raise some money for charity. After dropping Tom off at his friends house, I drove into Salisbury to attend the Curry Club dinner with old company colleagues. It was a very pleasant evening chatting mainly about our new lives rather than our old ones. Sara and Mary joined us later and we returned home at around 11.30 p.m. Must get to bed now as I have a long journey up north tomorrow. Lunch near Leeds and then on to Grimsby.

More Work and Less Coffee

I must confess that I didn't wake particularly early this morning, or more truthfully, didn't get up that early! It was pleasant to sit in bed for a while and read my devotionals and a little bit more of my book on the sinking of the Belgrano. I've now reached the point where HMS Conqueror has arrived at South Georgia - how I remember it well - I was in Norfolk when news of the Task Force setting sail was announced. We didn't know, then, that Conqueror was already down there. Sara went off to Morning Star this morning to weed the asparagus and brought back a huge bag of surplus broad beans - I love eating these raw. Much better than cooked in my opinion. She also learned about the olfactory properties of digested asparagus. Something I have learned in the washrooms of expensive hotels and cruise liners! At lunchtime we met with our new bank manager and investment adviser followed by a trip to the hairdresser for me whilst Sara took advantage of my free coffee at Cafe Nero - earned by me drinking and paying for nine previous cups. When I joined her, later, I had to pay for my own again! Only another eight to go and Sara can have a free cup again!! Funny how she just happened to be with me when the free cup came about! I spent much of today, when not in town, dealing with Complex work. A new client dropped off some papers this afternoon for me to look at and I had a call from my HR contact in Devon with some more potential work. Retirement has definitely gone! I had numerous business phone calls and emails today - the BlackBerry pinging constantly. I also sent out quite a number of flyers to old contacts. Only tomorrow here in Wiltshire before I zoom up to Lincolnshire. I had a lovely phone chat with Maureen, our good friend in Leeds. We have agreed to meet for lunch in Pudsey on Friday before I go on to Grimsby. It's an exciting day tomorrow - not only do the general refuse men call, but also the cardboard and paper and plastic bottle recycling people. Got to get all the bins out tonight. Must get up early to watch them. In fact, they'll probably wake me up!

A day in the office

It was very warm in the night and I found it difficult to get to sleep despite fresh bed clothes. I got up at 2.00 a.m. and watched some old war documentaries until 3 a.m., returned to bed but still didn't doze off until 4 a.m. My alarm clock went off at 6 a.m. which briefly woke me but I then dozed back off until I finally awoke at 7.45 a.m. So in all, I had about three hours' sleep last night. Fortunately I didn't have any plans to go anywhere today and I spent most of the day dealing with work issues in the study. I posted our information on another free publicity site which has now placed Complex Services Limited at the top of any Google hit. I also sent out some "flyers" to old clients and contacts and prepared and sent out a fee note to one of our clients. I will send some more flyers out tomorrow. Richard and I went off to play 9 holes of golf at Wilton this evening at 5 p.m. The course was very busy when we arrived and we had to wait to tee off. My golf over the first four holes was abysmal - which I put down to having spent so long at my laptop today. However by the fifth hole my golf had recovered and I hit a few good shots. It just goes to show how quickly one can get out of practice. We ended up having a couple of pints in the Lord Nelson. The pub was very quiet although there were a few in the bar playing a darts match. No food seemed to be prepared or served.

Lunch with an old friend

Another hot sultry day today. Sara and I drove into Salisbury to visit Mercedes-Benz where she is hoping to put together a deal with the sales staff to provide Vie products for customers buying new cars. We then drove into the centre of the city for lunch at ASK with our old company colleague Serena. I had the excellent calamari once more. We had a pleasant lunch and chat over a couple of hours before we went our separate ways again. Back home I mowed the bank before Sara went off for a Vie management meeting at St. Leonard's, near Bournemouth. This evening I wrote my articles for the parish Magazine and dealt with some emails. The weather is remaining warm and the barometer is showing another ridge of high pressure upon us. Before going to bed, we saw the latest episode of "Rev". Well researched and extremely funny!

Unchurched Sunday - Bike Riding

Nobody felt like going to church this morning and so we decided to have a somewhat relaxed morning - I read my daily devotionals and made breakfast of hot dogs for us all - Mary decided afterwards that she wanted waffles! Sara and Mary went out to Tesco's shopping leaving Tom and me at home. I drafted a publicity letter/flyer for Complex and afterwards mowed the front and rear lawns. Tom spent his time painting his model warriors or whatever they are. This afternoon, after a lunch of baked potatoes, we watched the Twenty/20 cricket from the Rose Bowl when Hampshire beat Sussex by 44 runs to secure themselves a place in the Quarter Finals. I had hoped that Tom and I could go and see Hampshire in the QF against Warwickshire but it will be at Edgbaston on Monday 26th July when I will be in Lincolnshire. Never mind, perhaps I will see them in the Semi-Final?! We all went for a bike ride in Bentley Wood after the cricket. Poor Sara struggled again - she really does find cycling hard and needed her inhaler when we got back. The children, especially Mary, love cycling and can take the hills. My fitness does seem to have improved and I could have taken the long hill with relative ease had I not had to keep stopping to let the others catch me up. I tried to speak to mum on the phone this evening but the phone just kept ringing so I guess she is out somewhere. Klynn and I met in the Lion's Head at 9 p.m. for a couple of beers. We discussed our sons' school reports, the state of our country's defence capability, his new job, my new car and phone, his new job and pension prospects. No mention of church matters so, ironically, for a Sunday church has not featured much at all today!

Boxes and Nets!

A relatively lazy Saturday today, after the last few hectic ones. I made the children and myself a breakfast of sausages and beans. Because of Mary's leg problem (still strained after all her ballet exercises) she did not go to ballet school this morning. My new car was extremely low on fuel after last night's trip to the Rose Bowl, (I don't yet know how much is in a reserved tank) and so I drove to the Wallops to fill up with diesel. Fortunately I got there, despite all the warning lights on the dashboard, and filled the tank - £58! Back home, Sara and I emptied the loft of a lot of old cardboard boxes and bits and pieces we don't want and cannot sell e.g. old baby's car seat, travel cot, old toys etc. Some will go to charity whilst others I took over to the recycling unit at Amesbury trying out the versatility of the Mercedes A-Class (I can get an immense amount of stuff in it!). Whilst in Amesbury I did some shopping at the Co-Op. Later in the afternoon, Tom and I went up to the cricket nets and spent an hour practising. My batting is fine but my bowling remains an embarrassment. I never was a good bowler, although I used to do a bit of spin bowling in my time, but I did, towards the end spin a few balls onto the stumps. I am glad Tom is taking an interest in the game. Tomorrow we shall watch the Hampshire v. Sussex Twenty/20 in Sky. Sara and I watched a Star Trek movie before going to bed quite late.

An Evening at the Rose Bowl

A long day today with a very early start (breakfast at the Grasmere House hotel with Ambassadors). On my return home, Sara was struggling with her iron and so I drove up to Andover to Lidl's where I had seen some Russell Hobbs steam irons for only £16.99. On arriving there they only had three left so I was lucky to get one at all. I also found that they were selling sets of car mats for only £4.99 - so I bought a set. I will use the carpet samples for the boot and when using the car to transport goods and rubbish to protect the seats and decor. This evening, Tom and I went to the Rose Bowl to watch Hampshire Royals v. Middlesex Panthers in the Twenty/20 Tournament. Middlesex needed to win to have any chance of getting into the Quarter-Finals and Hampshire needed this win to secure a Quarter-Final place. Hampshire won the toss and decided to bat - an unwise choice. They struggled to reach 99 all out and Middlesex's reply was a convincing 102 for 2 - a crushing defeat for Hampshire. Both teams still have a chance of getting into the Q-Fs. It was a very pleasant evening an we managed to get out of the car park quite easily. Although our team, Hampshire, lost, the atmosphere was fantastic and it was good to see Tom enjoying a game which I really love to follow. Playing it... now that is another matter entirely!

Test Valley Sports Day

I was up early this morning, although still feeling a little tired after the tennis yesterday, as I needed to get to work on the contractual documents for our IT client. This took about an hour and then I had difficulties in sending the drafts through to the client as our server went down for about an hour - this also knocked out our mobile signal! Eventually we were back on line and the job was done. I cooked myself an omelette for lunch and then drove over to Tom's school in Stockbridge to attend his Sports Afternoon - me and one other parent were there! Obviously it was not expected that parents would attend but I stayed and watched Tom run three races - 200 metres; 800 metres and 400 metres relay. He came third in the 200 metres, the 800 metres was a fun run and his team came fourth in the relay race. I brought him and his friend James home afterwards. I visited Mercedes later this afternoon to deliver the registration papers for my old car. The car itself was sitting near the workshop looking immaculate in showroom condition. They certainly have wasted no time in smartening it up and clearly intend to sell it themselves. It will be interesting to see what profit they make on it! I also visited Argos and exchanged Sara's defective alarm clock for another. Tonight we held a House Group meeting - only five of us this evening. We continued our study into the Book of Revelation and discussed the Four Horses of the Apocalypse and the significance of the seven seals. Mary's legs continue to hurt her and the doctor's advice is for her to rest them.

More work on the study/Tennis

Sara spent this morning at Morning Star preparing this afternoon's banquet run for the homeless in Salisbury - more donations from Marks & Spencer. This left me on my own this morning to sort through my old transport magazines with a view to placing them in date order so that I can catalogue them before giving them away to Sandtoft and Kithead. Kithead will take all and any publications which Sandtoft do not want so I am hopeful of culling a large number. It will be good to have the study tidy which will be more conducive to working for Complex. I also spoke to David Kaye in Louth to arrange a day and time to go and see him whilst I am up in Lincolnshire the week after next. This afternoon I went into Andover to get a new alarm clock like Sara's as having got rid of the phone/alarm I no longer have an easy clock to look at at night. I also called in at Lidl's to pick up some stackable boxes for the sorting and transporting the magazines up north. This evening, Tom and I played some tennis - as the years go by so he becomes faster and me slower but I can still return serves and surprised him, I think, on a few occasions. I was pretty tired afterwards, though, and I had a really early night for me - 10.30 p.m. We had some more work in from our IT company client this afternoon and I need to be up early in the morning to draft a contract of employment and offer letter for them to send out tomorrow afternoon. I read a little from my book "Sink the Belgrano" before going to sleep.

A busy schedule

A miserable rainy day today. Sara and Mary went off into Salisbury early for Mary's ballet examination and I followed on later as I had my own errands to run in town - notably to get a new battery for my watch and to get Tom's watch tightened for him. We met up at the cafe in Waitrose where I also met Norman and Pam - our other churchwarden and his wife. Mary seemed quite pleased with the way the exam went although she does seem to have strained some muscles in her leg. She will have to try the muscle ease solution I got from my visit to Champney's in January. Whilst having coffee I received a telephone call from a client which meant I would have to rush back home after my errands in order to compose a letter for him to give to his employers. My new BlackBerry is great but means I pick up more calls and texts than ever before. Tom was to have his school's sports day this afternoon and I was scheduled to attend to watch so time was squeezed. As it happened I didn't need to rush as the sports afternoon (track events) was postponed until Thursday due to the lousy weather. This afternoon I returned to Salisbury to pick up the watches and visit the library. Tonight, Sara was child-minding for Susan until Klynn returned home and I cooked us rump steak with onions, runner beans, Morning Star potatoes, and prawns (surf and turf for me) in garlic butter. Yummy. We also managed to demolish two pounds of cherries between the four of us - delicious cherries bought for £2 for 2lbs off the market - sweet and "moreish".

Amateur Dramatics

I didn't sleep particularly well last night - it being very hot and sticky, and so I went downstairs to watch the Essex v Somerset Twenty/20 cricket match with Somerset winning by 6 wickets with 5 balls in hand. This morning I woke early but stayed in bed a while to read and drink tea brought up by Sara. I spent most of this morning tidying and cleaning the hall and landing until we had a client come and visit us at around 1.30 p.m. to discuss a couple of issues relating to staff. She stayed with us until 3 p.m. when I went to the Mercedes garage to see hoe to pair up the phone list in my BlackBerry with my new car's hand's free facility. This proved to be quite simple - we had already done it on Saturday but Blackberry's show surname's first so the reason I couldn't find Sara's number was because it was listed under "B" for Barratt and not "S" for Sara! Still, I got a decent free cup of coffee out of the visit. On my return Sara, Mary and I went up to the Junior Church Mobile where Mary went through her steps for the ballet examination tomorrow. Tonight Sara has another Vie party in Harnham and I went to see an amateur dramatics production of Old Father Time put on by the junior drama group. Mary played a mermaid and a sprite - both small speaking parts. It was quite amusing with some mistakes and long pauses but they all enjoyed themselves and it was great for them to put on a production for their parents and family. Not a BAFTA nomination but it does give them great confidence and Mary clearly enjoyed it. Good for her!

Viva Espania!

We all went to the 9.30 a.m. Eucharist this morning which was being led by Jane - her first Eucharist at Winterslow since she was priested last week. We had a good attendance with her family also attending in full numbers. Sara led the Junior Church this morning where the children continue to work on their stained glass window. This afternoon there was a Food for Thought picnic at Fordingbridge but as we had relatively late notice of this event we did not attend as I had already promised to take the children out either skating or bowling. They chose bowling so after a barbecue style lunch (cooked in the oven for speed) we drove in my new car to Southampton and the Megabowl at Millbrook. I won with a score of 107 (helped by a strike with my first ball), Tom go 75 and Mary 73. Not very good scores really. We then drove around Southampton for a bit seeing the Oriana in dock and allowing me an opportunity to try out my automatic parking feature. I had forgotten how to instruct the car to park itself and needed to consult the manual and try out parking it several times before I finally got the hang of it. The children were getting a little frustrated with me so I took them to Carlos' for ice creams as a reward. I really love the new car and as I get more use to it is seems easier and faster to handle. We briefly dipped into the New Forest on the way home to take some photos of the ponies. Tonight Sara and I watched the World Cup Final. Not a very good game with Holland gaining eight yellow cards and one red card for the most appalling fouls on the Spanish players. A well deserved winning goal from Spain with only three minutes of extra time remaining (thus avoiding a penalty shoot out) secured the World Cup Trophy for Spain - their first ever World Cup win. Now I will turn my attention to the British Open Golf Tournament and the 20/20 Cricket. Looking forward to going to the Rose Bowl on Friday evening.

New Car/Parish Fete

Woke up early this morning and after making tea for Sara and myself read my usual daily devotionals before getting up properly. I wrote a couple of letters before breakfast (my mind being freshest at this time of the day, and had a pancake with Mary. Sara, Tom and Mary went into Salisbury just before 10 a.m. and I went over to the village hall to take over some of the bric-a-brac and the dartboard for my Darts Stall. I couldn't stay long as I had to get into Salisbury to visit the Mercedes garage to hand over my current C-Class car and take delivery of my new A-Class one. That process took the best part of two hours after dealing with all the paperwork and having a short driving lesson on how to use the automatic parking device - quite scary - yes the car will actually park itself into narrow gaps and you have to have the faith in the technology to let go of the steering wheel and let it do a "Herbie". I guess it's a bit like being a pilot of a jetliner and landing at London Heathrow by "wire"! It's truly a weird sensation. The longest period of time of the whole session was pairing up my new Blackberry with the wireless handsfree of the car. The car kept refusing to accept Sara's mobile number into its memory although it accepted other people's! Seems to be telling me something? After all the lessons and paperwork, I finally got to drive it home with only half an hour before the Parish Fete was to open. I still need to have lunch and then rush over to set up the stall. Mary presented a bunch of flowers to Cynthia, who opened the fete (see photo). It was hot and muggy. Sara was inside the cool village hall with her Vie and Home pampering stall while my own stall was outside a little away from the other stalls for health and safety reasons. Unfortunately, I think many people didn't see us but we made a profit of £9 which wasn't bad when you consider that we were only charging 10p a go. No prizes won by us this year in the Prize Draw. After we had packed up, I drove us all in the new car to Carlo's for ice-creams. A long hot day today and a lot of effort for not a lot of money for the fete (Sara made £6 with her makeover stall). It remains hot and muggy again tonight.

The Heat Wave Begins

Another very hot muggy day today. Weather forecasts are for a heatwave in the UK over the next fortnight - it seeming to be much hotter the further north you go. Temperatures of 31 degrees Celsius being predicted today in the north-east. The Sure Signal is still working and I was able to read my UCB daily reading on my Blackberry in bed over a cup of tea today. I had received a call yesterday that my new car would be ready to pick up tomorrow so I set about removing all my belongings from the Mercedes in readiness. The car will have to be sold with the Southampton FC sticker intact as I found I couldn't remove it without ripping it. All other stickers have been removed. I visited the cash n'carry this morning to buy some small prizes (tubes of sweets) for the darts stall I am running at the Parish Fete tomorrow. No doubt it will be boiling hot again tomorrow - I really do not like fetes when it is so hot especially if I have no shade. After visiting Staples for some paper and Tesco's for some essential shopping I returned home and made myself a pork pie salad with new potatoes from Morning Star. It was just too hot to do much at all this afternoon so I watch some TV - very unusual for me in the middle of the day. Tom came home from his week away in the New Forest and showed me his photos. The highlight of his trip appears to have been his trip to Beaulieu to see the cars - especially those that have featured in Top Gear. I had a telephone conference with a client this evening and watched some more TV. Feeling really tired - this weather is simply too hot for me.

Let's be fully alive!

I was woken this morning by Sara calling the phone by the bed from the kitchen on her mobile phone! When she woke up this morning - before me - she found that the Sure Signal box had activated itself overnight and we were, at long last, able to use our mobile phones here in our house and surrounding area in Winterslow. She was absolutely delighted. Sara had woken early this morning as she is going with Rosemary, Kathryn and Pat to the Garden/Flower Show at Hampton Park Palace. She left at 7.30 a.m. and I made Mary and Molly pancakes. The weather was strange today - warm, muggy and drizzling. I took the girls to school in the car and called in at the shop/post office for bread and milk. After a breakfast of German sausages and crusty bread I set about transferring my telephone numbers from my old phone into the Blackberry. Some had transferred automatically on the Simcard but others were on the phone's memory. I also took the opportunity to cull some old work numbers and consolidate others. After a couple of phone calls to Orange, I managed to pair up the Blackberry with my Orange email account so that I can now received all my emails on the Blackberry. Whoopee! Fully sorted with all the necessary technology for the business - that was until I walked back into the village in the afternoon to pick up Mary from school. On my return, the Sure Signal box had gone down again! Grrrr! How I now hate this technology. Another phone call to Vodaphone provided the answer that the box needed re-setting as there had probably been an interruption in the broadband signal - something which does happen here from time to time. Fortunately it has been working properly again although I did need to re-set it one further time this evening. Tonight I attended the PCC meeting which, after dealing with the Standing Committee business, became a discussion on "Growing the Church". I had written a paper on this which was used as the basis for the discussion. The discussion leads me to believe that whilst people have ideas, people tend to want to stay in their comfort zones and do not necessarily feel called to grow as disciples. Maybe it's the hot weather (and it is very hot today) but I do have a feeling of lethargy in the air. James, Richard and I finished of our own personal discussions in the Lord Nelson afterwards. I really must get on and do something for Stop the Traffik. I have let that slide a bit recently.

A day at home

A day at home today. It was overcast and drizzling when I awoke this morning but the barometer in our cloakroom conitues to give a high pressure reading indicating warm humid weather. Sara did her normal stint at Morning Star this morning whilst I attended to some housework - principally vacuuming and tidying up the family room and landing - and garndening - weeding and mowing the bank. We had lunch of fresh crusty bread from the shop and soup (in Sara's case) and crayfish mayonnaise in mine. I spent a good part of the day trying to get the Vodaphnoe Sure Signal device working - it doesn't - and I am still without a mobile signal at home for my new Blackberry. It is very frustrating and Vodaphone are not returning my calls. They did send me an email stating that they were pleased to note that the box is activated and working! It isn't! A trip back to the shop in Salisbury tomorrow is called for I think. I did manage to find out how to divert my incoming calls to the land line so, hopefully, I will not miss any calls. The Sure Signal box continues to wink at me on my desk but still no connection. Mary joined the Winterslow Brownies tonight. She was very excited and pleased to be joining her friends here in the local troop. We received an extremely short and not very informative telephone call from Tom who is away in the New Forest. Obviously he is well and having so much fun that lengthy telephone calls to his parents are just a nuisance. Germany were knocked out of the World Cup today by Spain (0-1) which pleased me but I didn't see much of the first half as I was watching the Twenty/20 cricket between Leicestershire Foxes and Worcestershire Royals (the Royals won by 3 wickets). I am really looking forward to going to the Rose Bowl next Friday with Tom to see live cricket between Hampshire Royals v. Middlesex Panthers. I had a short meeting with Richard up at his house tonight (over a beer of course) to discuss matters relating to tomorrow night's PCC.

Phone, Phones and Phone Home T.E. !!!

Sara and I went into Salisbury this morning taking her friend K in with her. They were attending a Ladies Who Latte meeting at Milford Hall Hotel whilst I went to Vodaphone to exchange my current mobile phone for a new Blackberry and to get a Vodaphone Sure Signal box which is designed to ensure a mobile signal from our broadband router in a area such as ours where we do not, at present, get a signal. I was served by a very pleasant young lady called Kate who spent a considerable amount of time with me explaining my new phone, its features and setting certain things up for me. It should provide me with the ability to pick up and send emails when on the move without needing to find a Wi-Fi signal. I also bought new land line phones today from Argos - three cordless phones for the study, kitchen/reception rooms and our bedroom. They were easy to set up. I am afraid as I write this the Sure Signal box does not seem to work - it has been on for eight hours now and although it is advertised as being set up after an hour, I still do not have a mobile phone signal. Vodaphone say they will send me a text when it is activated but how can I receive a text if the blooming thing isn't working. If I don't get is working tomorrow it will go back and I'll demand my money back. I really do this facility, however, as we picked up another piece of work today for Complex. Many clients do try and get hold of us on the mobile phone. So, a day of phone technology. It took me another half an hour to pair up the Blackberry with my Bluetooth hands free facility in the Mercedes - I'll have to go through all that again when the new car arrives! Tonight I picked up Mary from Brownie Camp in the woods at Norman Court. She is currently not enjoying Brownies because the last of her friends is leaving. Sara is anxious that she continues in Brownies and so is trying to get her into the Winterslow troop where she knows more people. Still no news from Tom. He is away in the New Forest on a week's adventure trip with the school. Despite being asked to do so, not one of the boys has found time to phone home. They could be anywhere for all we know. Sara is missing him a lot, but Mary and I are enjoying the relative peace!

More Golf and More Clients

Up very early indeed this morning - 5 a.m. - as Richard was calling at 6 p.m. to drive us to Paulton's for another 18-holes round of golf. I made tea and toast and Richard arrived spot on time. We arrived at the golf course at 6.30 a.m. and went straight on. The fairways and green were quite heavy with dew which did slow the ball down. I am afraid that I didn't improve on last week's game and slipped to a 121 for the round whereas Richard seemed to be on a roll and went round in 99. I dropped many shots by losing balls in the rough by not hitting as straight as usual. Much room for improvement. We had a coffee in the clubhouse before going on to the Vine Inn at Ower for lunch where Sara joined us following a meeting she had had in Southampton. During the course of the lunch I received a mobile call from a brand new client with employee problems. I seem to be picking up quite a few new clients - the networking seems to be working. Just need to get the cash flow going. Back home I watched the remaining half of The Cruel Sea before having a bath and getting changed to go out and meet clients in Westbury. It took me just under an hour to drive to Westbury where I met with my old friend William and a colleague of his who wants to look at ways of merging their two heritage bus organisations and qualify for charitable status. We chatted over the problem during a pleasant (though not outstanding) Chinese meal at a local Chinese restaurant. It was a lovely drive back this evening in the twilight over Salisbury Plain. I can never be thankful enough for living in such a beautiful part of England.

Another pub quiz win - Another bottle of wine

A less manic day than yesterday. I attended the 9-30 a.m. All Family Eucharist at All Saints which was led, this morning, by Elizabeth who used the screen and projector to emphasize, in her sermon, the authority/qualifications for being a disciple. Sara took the children into Salisbury for Mary's ballet lessons and to do some shopping. On my return from church I mowed the very dry lawns and culled some of the bind weed from our hedges. This afternoon I sorted some of the washing whilst watching the first part of "The Cruel Sea". This evening I joined Richard, James and Jeremy for the pub quiz which we won, again, with a lead over the other seven teams of 9 points. Another bottle of wine to add to the collection.

Mens breakfast - Jane's ordination - Morning Star's hog roast

What an incredibly busy day today - back to back appointments starting really early with the Annual Men's Breakfast at the Village Hall. The speaker was Roger Hutchings a Methodist minister who, for many years, was a producer for the BBC religious affairs department and he had many anecdotes about his time in the media. I had to dash off whilst he was taking questions to get into Salisbury to attend the Service for the Ordination of Priests in the cathedral. I parked the car for 3 hours at Crane Street and arrived at the cathedral at 10,25 a.m. sitting down with our two retired clergy members, Gordon and Roger. The service was very long as today sees the retirement of the present Bishop of Salisbury and this was, in effect, his "swan-song". I saw Jane being ordained and took communion from her before having to leave before the end of the service to avoid a parking ticket. I returned to the car with two minutes to spare! I certainly didn't want to get a £25 fine. After calling in at Waitrose for fuel and money I returned home in time to get dressed into cooler and more practical clothing and driving up to Morning Star for the Hog Roast. "Dorothy" had been cooked to perfection with lovely crackling and on the instructions of Bev set about carving it up with Dave serving the 90 or so guests. It was extremely hot weather and were not in the shade so I got incredibly "warm" by the pig roasting equipment. Sara's puddings were a delight and I rushed one day before driving back home to get dressed up again in smart clothing to drive over Dean Hill to Whiteparish for Jane's first Eucharist. A lovely light evening and Winterslow was represented by about eight of us which she really did appreciate. After chatting with a few people I raced back home over the hill to catch the second half of the Paraguay (0) v. Spain (1) match. With Germany surprisingly thrashing Argentina 4-0 this afternoon (doesn't make England look quite so bad) there are now three European sides in the semi-finals - Holland, Germany and Spain. The fourth place going to Uruguay.

Lunch in Surrey with old work colleagues

Woke up early this morning and made tea as usual. I attended the Ambassadors' Business Breakfast Club this morning at Grasmere House Hotel in Harnham before returning home at 10 a.m. At 10.30 a.m. left Winterslow to drive up to Mickleham for lunch at Frascati's with my old secretary and others. It was a delightful lunch of garlic mushrooms followed by creamed kidneys. I caught up on all the news and gossip from my old company and passed a very pleasant couple of hours in the Surrey countryside. I returned home via the A272 following traffic announcements that the M25 and M3 were already congested. It is a lovely drive through the Sussex and Hampshire countryside. Tonight I visited Morning Star to learn how to carve a whole pig as I shall be undertaking that role tomorrow at their "Thank-You Party". Mary joined me and wasn't too impressed by seeing the pig's head and trotters in a plastic bag severed from the rest of its carcass. Apparently the pig had a good life living in woodland and had the name Dorothy - a favourite of the pig man's family. I am sure Dorothy will taste nice with some sage and apple sauce.

Study - in more senses than one!

A day in the village today with very little movement outside the house. Peter came over from Hove to check out the foundations of our garage for the extension work and then spent the rest of the day re-fitting our family room wardrobes so that the three doors slide on three separate rails to provide easier and wider opening - three doors on two rails left only very narrow gaps. A great success for which we really thank him. I spent the morning and a couple of hours this afternoon clearing out the study. There is still much work to be done on this but I have reduced the number of boxes/crates and have more floor space to enable me to soon make a start on the shelves. I have quite a bit of confidential material (Complex and home finances) which need to be disposed of very carefully. I also cleared quite a number of papers off my desk. I spent another two hours today down at Richard's for a Standing Committee meeting to discuss various church issues and set an agenda for the Parochial Church Council meeting next week. We need to tackle the thorny subject of growing the church and leadership within the parish. Tonight we started to study Revelation 4-22. Six of us met in the House Group and we read and studied chapters 4 and 5. Some very taxing questions - particularly surrounding symbolism within the church. Following on from the lecture last night in Marlborough it is interesting just how similar are the problems and issues in both freemasonry and the church. If only some Christians knew what an affinity there is with freemasonry and not try and see it as some Satanic organisation. I firmly believe that they are compatible and many men of the cloth have risen to prominence in freemasonry.