A Night in Brum

After a few days at home I spent most of today away from Winterslow - in Birmingham in fact! This morning I dealt with some important mail before changing into my best masonic suit to go to Warwickshire Installed Masters' Lodge in Birmingham along with the Tony C, the Worshipful Master of Wiltshire Masters' Lodge who lives near Fairford in Gloucestershire. I left home at around 12 noon and was at Tony's in Gloucestershire at 1.40 p.m. He has a lovely house overlooking a large fishing lake, part of the Cotswolds' Water Park, and actually half owns the lake with about a £1m worth of mature carp. Apparently it is very popular with anglers who will pay silly sums of money to sit on the side of the lake all day, catch fish and then threw them back in again at the end of the day. W set off in my car for Birmingham and arrived at our venue, the aptly named Clarendon Suites on the Hagley Road in Edgbaston at 3.30 p.m. - in good time for the meeting which started at 4.45 p.m. We had tea and looked around the Suites - wonderful purpose built masonic centre for what must surely be one of the richest provinces in the country. We were treated like VIPS and allowed to robe with the Grand Officers and Provincial Executive. The meeting started at 5.00 pm and lasted until 7.30 p.m. including some work by Provincial Grand Lodge. It was most interesting and we were treated to excellent ceremonies. There were 240 in attendance with just over 200 staying to dinner. We were entertained in the Grand Officers' private bar (I was only drinking ginger beer because of my status as chauffeur this evening) before entering the dining room for an excellent dinner of roasted mushroom topped with cheese and bacon, thick cut roast beef with cabbage, leek and roast potatoes followed by lemon parfait and coffee. We finally left Birmingham at 10.30 p.m. returning to Tony's at midnight and I finally got back home at 1.20 a.m. I felt quite alert on my return and had a coffee whilst watching a programme about kamikaze pilots. I finally dropped into bed at 2.30 a.m. with the rain starting to pour.

A Rainy Day at Home

Another day at home today. The weather was terrible - heavy rain for most of the day. Neither Tom nor Mary wanted to go to school - Tom was especially tired and so there will be no more midweek evening football matches during term times. Sara went off to Morning Star and John H from lodge came around to hand over some papers to me and discuss arrangements for the lodge meetings this year. Sara came back shortly after he left and we had lunch together - carrot soup and cheese rolls. This afternoon I picked up Mary from school in the blinding rain and we went round to Jan(et)'s for an afternoon birthday tea - tea and scones with some of her friends and neighbors and two boisterous Labradors. Mary and I left early so we would be in when Tom returned home. This evening Richard invited me to the Lion's Head for a birthday drink and Klynn joined us later - having called in to collect his children from Sara only to find that they had already been collected by Susan - and we think we lack good communication in this household! Seems the same all over! A pleasant evening chatting about a multitude of subjects before we left at around 10.30 p.m. Anton gave Richard and me a golfing polo-shirt shirt each advertising the Ryder Cup which starts at Celtic Manor next week. Back home I watched the beginning of the repeated series Longitude - an excellent programme starring Michael Gambon as the clockmaker, John Harrison.

Away to the Glovers

Spent today at home. In fact, spent the whole morning completing my tax return which involved delving back into my share records which have been quite complicated over the last twelve months with the takeover of Friends Provident, rights issues, scrip issues and share purchase schemes for these and other shares. I also needed to get tax deduction information from various banks and list all my gift aid donations to the church and other charities. At the end of this extensive exercise I simply needed to fill in four boxes and sign and date the form! Sara went out this morning shopping and came back with cold meats and other bits and pieces for a lunch she was to give for our friend Jan(et) tomorrow. Jan has now decided to have an afternoon tea instead so Sara and I sat down to eat cold meat salad with new potatoes and fresh "on the vine" tomatoes. Quite yummy. When Tom got home we had half an hour before we set off for Yeovil to support Saints at Huish Park. Due to a bad accident the link road between the A303 and the football ground was closed (and remained closed throughout the evening) and we had to negotiate several narrow county lanes to get to the ground. We arrived ni good time, however, and after a burger supper we entered the Cowlin Stand which provided a limited amount of undercover seating for the away fans. This was just as well as the main terraces for the Saints' supporters were open to elements and facing the wind. As the evening progressed it started to rain heavily and those on the open terraces got soaked. Saints scored first in the 56th minute but this lead was soon pegged back by a penalty scored by Yeovil. Despite several attempts on goal by both sides - especially from Southampton towards the end of the game inside the 5 minutes of extra time, the score remained at 1-1. A draw was not very good for either side but at the end of the evening Saints had gone up a place in the table and Yeovil down (into the relegation zone). Elsewhere, Leeds suffered a crushing blow from Preston at Elland Road. Leeds were 4-1 up at half-time but Preston came back in the second half to win 4-6! Apparently quite a few Preston fans left the ground at half-time! It took us about half an hour to get out of the car park this evening and instead of joining the queue to find a way through the back roads to the A303, I drove in the opposite direction through Yeovil town centre and back to Salisbury on the A30. We arrived back home at ten minutes to midnight. I stayed up with Sara until about 1 a.m. watching a programme about women who kill their husbands. Sara seems mightily interested in this series for some reason. I do remind her that they all got caught in the end!

My Birthday - Still 50 Something!

My birthday! Woke up early this morning and Sara brought in a cup of tea and the children my birthday presents. I received £20 from my Mum, a golf accessory kit from the Russells, the complete first 10 series of Last of the Summer Wine from Sara (not my only present :))!), a "Grumpy ol' Dad" mug from Mary and a book of Pub Quiz questions from Tom. Sara brought up breakfast in bed - smoked salmon and scrambled egg with orange juice on a tray, and allowed me to have a bit of a lie in this morning. After a shower, I did get up and watched some TV - a programme about the Cumbrian shootings and the role of the air ambulances. I wrote up my blog from yesterday and wrote a couple of letters before Sara and I drove into Salisbury for a buffet lunch together at Anokaa, the excellent Indian restaurant in Fisherton Street. Excellent food. We had originally intended to have an organic meal at Fisherton Mill cafe but it is apparently closed on Mondays as we found out. After trips to the opticians and the bank we returned home and I had a nap - not used to having a beer at lunchtime. This evening we all went out as a family to our favourite Chinese restaurant - the Water Margin at North Baddesley near Romsey. Another excellent meal - never had a poor one there. Again it was a very reasonably priced gourmet buffet. Received dozens and dozens of birthday greetings from Facebook followers which was really lovely. Going to watch a little more TV now to round off a perfectly lazy birthday - the first lazy birthday in many years. Mmmmmmmmmmmm!

Our 12th Wedding Anniversary. We exchanged gifts and cards in bed this morning and I made us tea. Sara and Mary spent today at a make-up training course in Totton leaving Tom and me on our own to go to church this morning. It was another of Linda's excellent services with material provided by Rockface. Tom seemed to enjoy the service, singing the songs loudly and enjoyed seeing himself on the projector screen. The service was very well attended with about 60 in the congregation - extremely good considering many who would normally be there were at a Scouts Service over in Alderbury. Tom cleaned our en suite bathroom and I mowed the lawns and cleaned my car as well as cooking lunch for Tom and me (battered haddock and mushy peas) and preparing dinner for the children - spaghetti bolognaise. Sara and Mary returned at about 4.30 p.m. with Mary grinning from ear to ear as she had been ued as the make-up model and now looked about 17 instead of 9 - see picture! Tonight I cooked skate wings in white wine and capers (a 1996 white Burgundy which I had saved had gone off and so I used a Chilean white) for Sara and me as a celebratory anniversary meal - followed by chocolate brownie ice cream and cheese and biscuits. We watched a variety of TV programmes ending with two classic episodes of The Good Life.

Oh Mr. Porter! Country

No peace for the wicked, as they say, and no lie in on this Saturday morning as Tom was playing with the Clarendon Under 14s against Dummer Under 14s at Preston Candover, between Basingstokle and Alresford - close to the Oh Mr. Porter! railway line. The parents and players travelled in convoy the 33 miles to the Recreation Ground which seemed to be in the middle of nowehere although also appeared to be a major air traffic spot with dozens of aeroplanes in the sky. The game was hard fought but Clarendon Juniors won by 1-0. I collected quite a number of subscriptions today too. This afternoon, after cooking fish and chips for Tom and me, I went into Saliabury to buy anniversary presents for Sara. I bought her a really good kitchen apron (it being our Linen/Silk Wedding Anniversary) and replacement paring knife - she got one of these last year (Steel Wedding Anniversary) which we think went out with the peelings! Sexy lingerie was out of the question! I also bought her a an Atlas of World Religions which I shall enjoy reading. Saints won, at last, this afternoon - 1-0 away at Sheffield Wednesday. Grimsby managed a draw - they were winning 2-1 until the final second of extra time. Saints are now lying 18th - at least they are out of the relegation zone but nine points from the top. Tonight we ate cheese and biscuits and watched comedy programmes on the TV.

Over the Water - At Last!

Woke up at 8 a.m today in Leila's nursery - the room I usually now use in Peter's house until his son, Neil, clears out his room! Showered and had breakfast of tea and buttered toast. Met the lovely Leila (1 year and 3 weeks old) who resembles her grandmother (Peter's wife). Sara phoned me to tell me that Richard had booked the golf course (Paulton's) for 3.08 p.m. today and so I hurried along and set off back for Wiltshire at around 10 a.m. I stopped off at Rustington to bank the Help for Heroes money, to but an anniversary card for my sister (and Sara) and to have a cup of coffee. I eventually arrived back at Winterslow at 1 p.m. and joined Sara in the Lord Nelson's Arms (what a misnomer!) for a beer and a ploughman's lunch. I met some of Sara's regulars and had a chat with John Goulding who is a keen golfer and who suggested that I use a No. 3 Wood on the 15th at Paulton's (our horrible water hole). Richard called for me at 2.15 p.m. and we arrived in good time at Paulton's The weather was very windy and quite cool. I was delighted with my performance on the first hole which resulted in my first par ever on this course - a straight drive, second shot in the bunker - third shot out of the bunker but within four feet of the hole - fourth shot in the hole! Par! Feeling very confident I tackled the second hole - a very long par 5. Disaster! Let's just say I hit double figures! In fact it was pretty much downhill thereafter. However, I was determined to get over the water of the fifteenth. Taking John's advice I drove off with the No. 3 Wood - straight as a die but fell into the water about three feet from the far bank. Close but not quite there. Taking a second ball, I struck it a little harder - it landed pin high to the left of the green. Done it!! First time. Richard similarly lost his first ball in the water but using the No. 3 Wood landed to the right of the green near the copse. Next time we'll get over first time. I was quite exhausted by the time we finished this evening. Back in Winterslow, I took Tom to the Youth Club and then joined Richard in a very busy Lion's Head for a couple of pints before retrieving Tom from the Youth Club. The Lion's Head was thronging with people this evening and the restaurant was fully booked. I ended the evening watching a programme on the window washers of Shanghai! When Sara arrived back from babysitting duties at midnight I was nodding off. In fact, I fell deeply asleep tonight after only 5 minutes in bed.

Farewell to Fiona - Delivering a Lecture in Brighton

Torrential rain greeted us this morning - on a monsoon scale! I awoke early and packed as I was spending tonight down in Hove on the Sussex coast again. Sara had our friend Sue H over for breakfast this morning (a breakfast that I later learned lasted until 12.30 pm!) and so I took Mary to school in my car because of the downpour. I returned at 9 a.m. and had a light lunch of fruit and croissants before setting off for Leatherhead where I was attending the funeral of a dear former colleague of mine in the Dorking office - Fiona Law - who had worked for Friends Provident since 1980 (ten years before I joined) and who retired the week after me, this year, due to a chronic illness. Unfortunately that illness had taken a grip and she died, aged 53, a couple of weeks ago. Her death was a kind release as she would have been paralysed for the rest of her life - something she would have hated. Although I left in good time the M25 was completely blocked between the M3 Junction and the Leatherhead exit and I made my way along the A and B roads to get to the crematorium with 20 minutes to spare. I met up with numerous former colleagues. The service was very dignified and traditional with the theme tune from the TV series Morse at the end. We all met up at Denbies Vineyard afterwards and I stayed until about 2.45 p.m. when I left for Hove. I arrived at Peter's at around 4 p.m. Tonight I delivered my lecture on the Ezra and Nehemiah to the members of Royal Sussex Royal Arch Chapter. There were about 17 companions present and the lecture was well received. I collected £22 for the Help for Heroes Charity as a result. We had an excellent dinner and I was toasted and feted. In fact, I have been asked to go to peacehaven at some time in the future to deliver it again. Tonight I stayed at Peter's and he, I and his brother Roger finished off the evening with a good glass of Barolo each.

Farewell Champneys

My last day at Champneys Forest Mere. Woke later than normal - 8 pm, although I had got up in the night a couple of times - side effects of the thalassotherapy I think. Had quite a few dreams too but can't remember them now. Went down to the pool for a swim and got chatting to a nice retired couple from Weybridge - his first visit. He seemed impressed by the resort. His wife had been before and had finally managed to persuade him to come. I feel like an old-timer now. Breakfasted this morning at around 9.15 a.m. on soaked muesli, bagel and banana and fresh fruit and figs. Packed my things and cleared my room by 11 a.m. and then went to sit in the Piano Lounge to read my devotionals and start a biography of St. Paul whilst drinking a latte. Quite gripping. Left Champneys with a heavy heart at 12.30 pm. and was home at around 1.45 p.m. Spent the afternoon printing off my lecture for tomorrow night until the printer ran out of ink! Took Tom to his football training at Alderbury and bought new cartridges for my printer - it really does seem to drink the stuff - more expensive than vintage champagne per millilitre. Put in new cartridge and hastily ate a slice of pizza before dashing out again to pick up Gillian G to take us to the Joint PCC meeting at Pitton School. It was boiling hot in the main hall as we sat through the first part of the meeting generally agreeing to everything proposed. The second half of the meeting saw our individual Winterslow PCC sitting on tiny chairs at a tiny table discussing, at great length, the fabric of the church buildings leaving us only 10 minutes to discuss the weightier issue of growing the church - using my earlier paper as an agenda. Agreed we needed more spiritual growth through study and teaching and mentoring outside Sunday worship. Felt quite exhausted after all that. James suggested a drink in the Lion's Head but I declined as I have a very busy schedule ahead of me tomorrow - a funeral of a young colleague in Leatherhead and then a dash down to Brighton to deliver my lecture on Ezra and Nehemiah which requires me to print off more material tonight. Sara has a headache and feeling tired but is ironing a white shirt for me as I tap out this nonsense on the laptop keyboard. She informed me that Mary is quite distressed as Harriet the Hamster has "wet tail" which appears to be a terminal illness. The hamster is the equivalent of about 85 years old so has had a good innings. Doesn't make it any easier for Mary. Death is often very difficult for children to deal with when its a close pet. Goodnight!

Champney's - Day 2

Woke at 7.30 a.m. today and went down for a swim in the relatively quiet pool. Breakfast at 9.00 am consisted of Champney's "soaked museli", cinnamon bagel with marmite and fresh fruit. Ha coffee as I had already drunk two cups of tea already this morning. Read the Times at breakfast and in the Piano Lounge. Decided that I needed some exercise but didn't fancy the gym. Instead went for a walk in the grounds. Originally it was to be a mile of so but as I somehow ended up on the wrong side of the lake by following a path through the forest it was almost two. I was beginning to worry that I would miss my 12.30 p.m. lunch. Needn't have worried as I met a few lady guests coming in the opposite direction so knew I would get back to Champneys at some point even if it was via the Hospital for Poorly Horses (the Equine Hospital) - I have visions of lots of dobbins lying in large beds discussing the merits of their various friends' chances in the 2.30 at Chepstow or the 3.45 at Newmarket - all with thermometers in their mouths or their legs in plaster! Made lunch on the terrace okay - outside for the first time on a visit here. Lunch consisted of a type of waldorf salad with chicken instead of waldorfs, smoked mackerel, a seafood concoction with bits of squid in it, beetroot, couscous and new potatoes. This was followed by a peach panacotta - absolutely delicious. Read more of Adrian Plass's book this afternoon and then had my treatment at 4 p.m. - thalassotherapy (hope I've spelt it right as the spellchecker can't cope with it!) Comes from the Greek word for sea so in simple terms it is seawater treatment which is supposed to get rid of all my toxins and rejuvenate me - some hope I hear Sara cry! Anyway it does seem to have the effect of making me want to drink a lot of water and go to the loo so I guess something works. Dinner tonight was salmon gravelax (more lax than gravel or salmon) but it was strangely filling. This was followed by pink lamb on a bed of couscous (I don't normally like the stuff but I've had two doses today) with frsh vegetables followed by a gooseberry ice cream/sorbet thingy with almond biscuits. Unusual but nice. Went this evening to talk about reading faces - how the different features of a face can disclose a person's personality and health. Fascinating even if one is sceptical. Apparently this is a form of diagnosis used in Ancient China and can be remarkably accurate. Can't wait to try it out - so please forgive me if I stare at you the next time I see you. Just trying to find out the state of your liver or your sex life!

First day at Champney's

Up at 7 a.m. today after being woken by Sara's alarm clock. I spent the morning dealing with some last minute work and post and after a light lunch of tomato soup left home to drive the hour or so to Champney's Health Spa near Liphook in Hampshire. I arrived at around 2.30 p.m., booked into my room and then went for a swim. I also enjoyed a few minutes in the steam room and dipped myself, up to the the point where it would really matter(!) in the plunge pool - plunge I certainly wouldn't do! I spent a very pleasant hour or so in the Piano Lounge overlooking the lake reading Adrian Plass's "The Sacred Diary of a Christian Speaker...etc." until it was time for dinner. A quick change out of my sporting garb and I was in the Spa Dining Room for 7 p.m. I had a table to myself but chatted to a young couple who were visiting for the first time and were very pleasantly surprised at the high standard of the accommodation and food following the reading of a not so complimentary report in a national newspaper. I had a delightful dinner of seared scallops in a creme fraiche sauce, sea bass on a bed of spinach with seasonal vegetables and strawberry yoghurt ice cream on a slice of watermelon with some fruits of the forest. After dinner I returned to the piano lounge for coffee and some further reading of Adrian Plass's book. I returned to my room at around 8.30 p.m. and held a rather jerky video conference with Sara through Skype - a great advance although the wireless signal here is a bit weak hence the poor reception at Sara's end. Spent the rest of the evening in the room writing up the blog and dealing with some emails before retiring to read some more of Adrian's book.

Being Shrewd!

Up early this morning to go to church. Sara was leading the Junior Church today with members of Morning Star attending both the Eucharistic service and presenting to the Junior Church. Bev and Dave together with three of their residents attended. Dave and the three men stayed in church whilst Bev and one other did the JC presentation. This morning's service was a Parish Eucharist and was well attended. Nils acted as president with Debbie (as trainee LLM) giving an excellent sermon on the importance of reading and studying God's word in the scriptures. She had the difficult task of speaking to the Luke 16 gospel reading of the "Shrewd Manager" and the essence of her sermon was that to grow in our faith we need to read and study scripture on a regular basis and to question and apply it to our lives - not that God rejoices in a dishonest financial manager! I had a very pleasant chat with her husband after the service. Morning Star were very well received and certainly enjoyed their experience in church although I do think that the hymns chosen could have been a little more uplifting. Tom, desperate to earn some money, shrewdly (!) cleaned my car this afternoon whilst Sara and Mary went to Tesco's for the weekly shop - coming back with a lovely joint of pork loin which we had for dinner tonight - no crackling but lovely tender meat. This afternoon Mary and I went swimming for an hour up at Five Rivers. She is an excellent swimmer and really loves the water. Sara chatted to David and Andrea this evening on the telephone and I went down to the Lion's Head for a couple of pints with Klynn, whom I haven't seen much for a few weeks. We chatted about bringing up teenagers and domestic finances amongst other mundane topics. Sara and I watched Victoria Wood performing live on TV (actually it was a repeat) which was a very light and enjoyable way to end the day.

Footballing Saturday

Today was by and large dominated by football. Tom's team, the Clarendon Under 14s, was playing Upper Clatford at Upper Clatford which meant a meet-up at the Hill Top Grill, Firsdown, at 10 a.m. and a drive with the other players' parents in convoy to the Clatfords. Kick-off was at 11 a.m. and Tom's team won 9-1. It was then a rush back home for Tom to shower before we drove to Southampton. Leaving at about 1 p.m. we hit horrendous traffic on the M271 and deviated off through Lordshill to find all roads into the city just as heavy. This gridlock was caused mainly by the numbers of motorists heading for the Boat Show which has been staged all week at Southampton's Mayflower Park. We didn't arrive at our usual car park (praise to God that there were two parking spaces still available - I had been praying!) until 2.50 p.m. We marched swiftly to the stadium arriving only 5 minutes after kick-off. The match was poor and resulted in a 0-0 draw leaving Saints still in the relegation zone and I did wonder why we had put ourselves to all the bother of rushing to get there. Bournemouth, Portsmouth and Grimsby Town all lost their matches too. Not a great day (other than the Portsmouth defeat). This evening Sara and I joined the Carters for an Italian evening at the Lord Nelson. Excellent food, beer and company. I had clam vongole followed by tiramasu. Really lovely. I really pleasant evening all round. Sara's Dad phoned us while we were out to confirm their safe return to the USA.

Papal Visit to London

Another early start today as I was attending the Ambassadors' Breakfast Club at the Grasmere. I also need to laminate some of our company's flyers to display at the Business Expo at the City Hall next week. As usual, I managed to set the laminator to the wrong setting (cold instead of hot!) and thereby delayed myself. I took Sara's car this morning as the back seats had been removed and I needed to dispose of the old kitchen chairs at the recycling centre. I arrived back home at around 10 a.m. and had a coffee whilst reading the morning paper - the main features being the visit of Pope Benedict XVI to Britain and the controversy surrounding it. I spent the rest of the morning of Complex matters including the accounts. Sara worked at the Lord Nelson again this lunchtime. I mowed the bank this afternoon and spent the evening ferrying the kids to and from the Youth Club. I was to attend a meeting of the Food for Thought Planning Group but Sara was working tonight in Salisbury for her Vie business and I had already sent a paper for discussion to all the attendees. As I shall be away for a few nights next week I spent the evening writing my two articles for the Parish Magazine which I completed and emailed to Sara. A busy weekend ahead!

Early Morning Golf

Up very early indeed this morning - 5.15 a.m. - as Richard was calling in at 6.00 a.m. to pick me up to play golf at Paulton's Park. I made tea for Sara and me and also had a couple of rounds of toast and marmalade before Richard arrived. Dawn was breaking as we arrived at the golf course and we managed to be the first on the tee at around 6.45 a.m. The greens were quite wet and we could see the balls spraying water as they ran along the fairways and green - leaving a trace of their route. Quite interesting to see how much out we were with our approaches to the hole. Note a brilliant round of golf today. Richard shot 102 and I shot a 125 - very poor indeed. I just didn't seem to be getting the distances although I was the only one to get a par - on the usually difficult 8th. We finish at 11 a.m. and drank coffee outside accompanied by a KitKat (Fairtrade of course) each. We arrived at The Vine at 12 noon and had a pint of Old Speckled Hen each and 8oz steak and chips - the steak being a bit too overdone for our liking but we were both quite hungry. Not bad though for £6 each. I have to confess to having a short nap when I got back. Sara was looking after the two children of a neighbour of ours (an army family) whose parents were attending a significant funeral for an officer killed out in Afghanistan. I mowed the lawns later this afternoon and after a nice hot bath prepared the house group material for tonight's house group. There were five of us this evening tackling Revelation 17-20 - very heavy going. Just have one more week to go (I shall not be at the next and last Revelation meeting as I shall be in Brighton that night). We need to choose another topic - probably either an old Testament book or the Sermon on the Mount.

Back in Winterslow - Back to paperwork

Woke up at about 7 a.m. after my first night in bed offshore for four nights. Mary wasn't too keen to go to school this morning but Sara finally managed to persuade her that she needed to go. I spent this morning in the study dealing with a number of emails and letters which had come in whilst I have been on the Thames. Next week I shall be going to Fiona's funeral and also, on the same day (Thursday) going down to Brighton to deliver my Ezra & Nehemiah lecture to Royal Sussex Royal Arch Chapter. Sara went off to Morning Star but returned at about 10.30 a.m. as there was not a lot of work to be done up there today. She then went off to Fareham to pick up four new kitchen chairs which she had acquired ("won" I think is the term) off E-Bay. This afternoon I attended a church Standing Committee meeting at Mike's for the purpose of setting the agenda for the PCC meeting on Wednesday evening. After this meeting I drove up to Andover to pay in some cheques which had arrived in the post whilst I had been away. This evening Richard picked up my golfing equipment as we are playing at Paulton's Park and I listened to the MK Dons v. Southampton match - Nigel Adkins's first since taking over as manager on Monday, which resulted in a convincing win for MK Dons - 2-0. A bad start for the Saints' new manager. Richard stopped for a glass of Foster's and we chatted about today's meeting and Saint's fortunes. Must go to bed early tonight as he will be calling for me to play golf at 6 a.m. tomorrow.

Locks and Pies

I didn't sleep so well last night as there is quite a wind this morning which whipped up the river somewhat and the noise of the water lapping against the bow was quite loud. I awoke at 7 a.m. and went into the main cabin, after using the forward head, to read my devotionals and write up last night's blog and begin today's. The weather is rather overcast but at least it's dry. I made tea and had cheese on toast for breakfast. Christy and Lee were already up and I saw Christy fully dressed walking along the footpath with two back packs drinking milk as though she had walked into Henley town centre and back. I detected that "words" had been exchanged between her and Lee. We weighed anchor at around 9 a.m. and made our way to towards Reading through another series of locks including Sonning Lock and Caversham Lock. The lock at Caversham was very busy as was the river where the Kennet & Avon Canal joins the Thames. This was my first journey into Reading by river and the beautiful approach certainly beats those by road and rail. We moored just upstream of Reading Bridge on the Caversham side of the river. After locking up the boat we "route-marched" across the centre of Reading to Castle Street to partake of the pies and ale at Sweeney & Todds! Such wonderful memories and such wonderful pies too. All thought the long walk worth it. After walking off some of the lunch on our return trip to the boat, we weighed anchor and slowly motored our way under Caversham Bridge and upstream to Pangbourne where we moored the boat on the south side of the river. Sara and the children joined us at about 5 p.m. and we moved all our belongings off the boat into her car. We had a final family dinner together at The Swan at Pangbourne and said our fond farewells in the car park. Sara drove back and I was exhausted when we finally got home at around 9.30 a.m. It was lovely to have a shower and sleep in a proper sized bed again.

Marlow to Henley

I slept reasonably well last night and kept reasonably warm. I realised just how cold the boat could get at night - especially as we are surrounded by the cold water of the Thames. Lee was already up as I carefully shifted myself out of the top bunk. After a quick visit to the "head" I made tea and returned to the warmth of my bunk bed to read my daily devotionals and Adrian Plass's "Diary of a Christian Speaker Aged 45 and Three /Quarters". After Lee and Christy had left for a day in London, David, Andrea and I breakfasted on fruit yoghurt and (David and I) pork pie smothered in English mustard. We weighed anchor at around 9.15 a.m. and motored upstream negotiating three locks - Temple Lock, Hurley Lock and finally Hambledon Lock before mooring alongside the Regatta Ground at Henley - just downstream from Henley's lovely bridge. Although there were only three of us, we managed to negotiate the three locks without damage to boat or crew. The first lock (Temple) did, however, prove a great challenge as there was no lock keeper present to take our lines. Andrea and I therefore had to take the ends of the ropes and jump ashore with them to prevent the boat swaying into the middle of the lock or smashing the bow against the lock chamber. The bow did strike the side of the lock resulting in a crunching sound and a disapproving look from the captain! No damage occurred though. The river upstream from Hurley is delightful - the water was very smooth - like glass - with wonderful trees overhanging around Poisson Deux and Magpie Islands. Arriving at Henley we strolled into the town for lunch at the Three Tuns Inn. The afternoon consisted of some window shopping including a visit to an "antique" shop selling all manner of "junk" including old tobacco tins and items I have consigned to the domestic recycling centres years ago. Perhaps I should think again before clearing out the study in too great a haste! Indeed, the shop made my study look like something in Ideal Home! For reasons I don't want to go into here I don't think I'll be returning in a hurry! It started to drizzle this afternoon and a decision was taken to buy cheese and biscuits and wine for a light snack on the boat this evening. We had tea and fresh cakes on board later this afternoon and some more chill-out time. My barrister friends Michael, who lives in Henley, wasn't available to meet up for a beer this evening as he was in Bristol doing a case. We had a most pleasant evening nibbling cheese and biscuits and drinking wine which flowed as copiously as David's anecdotes! Lee and Christy returned from London having got lost in the capital (somehow they visited The Elephant) and missing their connection at Twyford. It seems that the abundance of English pubs between Paddington Station and the boat kept them occupied. We all retired for the night around midnight.

A Day on the River Thames with Captain Mary

I was woken up by movement in the main cabin at 7 a.m. Sara got up early and walked into Windsor to sort out the car ticket problem and buy bread from the bakery (for the swans!) and Sunday newspapers (for us humans!) Breakfast consisted of tea and a Melton Mowbray pork pie covered in mustard - David's favourite. We actually grazed on fresh fruit. At around 9.30 a.m we weighed anchor and set off up river towards Marlow negotiating several locks in the process. Tom and Mary (and I) had a turn at the wheel and Tom and I assisted with the mooring ropes through the locks. We were certainly "learning the ropes" today! This is a particularly lovely stretch of the Thames with some magnificent and clearly very expensive (and expansive) houses on its banks. We moored at the Ferry Inn at Cookham and had a light lunch - in my case tagliatelle with crab and tiger prawns. Sara had a chicken salad and the children a pizza. Another boat pulled up with a member of the crew dressed in a naval captain's dress uniform and cocked hat insisting that he was an admiral. Not sure he appreciated being put right on that! We motored up river and finally, at about 3.30 p.m. moored up river at Marlow Bridge for the night. After tea and ginger cookies everybody either had a nap or read or, in my case, set about writing up my blog for yesterday and the events of today so far and finished reading my ironic book "Sink the Belgrano". After another half an hour of "chilling out" we locked up the boat and strolled along the river and through the adjacent park where Christy got a glimpse of her first cricket match and took some photos. We found an excellent Indian restaurant - The Tiger Garden - in West Street. The restaurant was actually closed when we arrived at 5.50 p.m. but as they opened at 6 p.m. they let us in and showed us to a table. The portions were very generous and the food excellent. After the meal was bid Sara and the children farewell as they stepped into a taxi to be taken back to Windsor to pick up the car. From there Sara would drive back to Winterslow. In fact they got back to Windsor at 8 p.m. Lee and Christy went off on their own to explore Marlow whilst David, Andrea and I walked back along the High Street and past the church where the congregation were coming out after evensong. The church looked absolutely beautiful floodlit in the twilight - such an attractive spire. We walked a little on the chain suspension bridge - one of only two still in existence built by the engineer William Tierney Clark in 1832 (the other one spanning the River Danube between Buda and Pest). We returned to the boat all feeling very replete and tired. We sat in the main cabin reading books, newspapers and chatting until Lee and Christy returned. Then bed.

Swanning about with In-Laws in Windsor

Today was the ninth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks in the United States. Accordingly, I raised the US flag this morning at just before 9 a.m. in remembrance of the nearly 3,000 who died in those awful acts. Today we were also to join Sara's Dad and family for the first few days of their boating holiday on the Thames. This meant a trip to the Cash n' Carry this morning at Netherhampton to purchase some sherbet fountain's (David's favourite "candy") and some beer. As usual I came back with much else. Sara also went into Salisbury shopping for groceries and to buy another couple of pairs of jeans for me. I will be staying on the boat for a few extra days after Sara and the children have gone back to Winterslow tomorrow night. We finally left home just before 4 p.m. and a very clear road saw us in Windsor at around 5.30 p.m. There I had a fight with a Pay and Display machine which dispensed a ticket for a shorter stay than I wanted before I could put the rest of the money in to enable us to keep the car in Windsor for a longer period! Finding there was nobody around to help us sort this mess out we decided to leave it as it was and hopefully sort things out tomorrow morning. David, Andrea, Lee and his girlfriend Christy arrived at the car park and helped us to move all our bedding and clothes, not to mention the sherbet fountains and "liquor" (as the Americans like to call "booze") the 400 yards or so over Eton Bridge to the mooring alongside Eton College playing fields. This evening we went out into Windsor in search of a pub I had been recommended by a mosnic aquaintence - The Two Brewers. We eventually found it after a long walk along the length of the High Street ionly to be informed by the bar staff that children were not welcome at the bar or in the restaurant area. We trudged back to Eton Bridge quite hungry by now as well as very thirsty. We slipped into The George by the bridge for a couple of pints of English real ale whilst Sara with her brother Lee and girlfriend Christy and Tom went in search of fish and chips to eat on the boat. We returned to the boat - which is one of Kris Cruisers' vessels - Lady Alexandra - at about the same time as the "fishing expedition" who had found a really good chippie some distance. We enjoyed excellent fish and chips and mushy peas - all of which Christy was having for the first time - she especially enjoyed the crispy batter. There was so much food over that we fed the swans from the back of the boat. It seemed every swan on the Thames got the message that we were throwing chips and bread over the side - see the photo. We stayed up until midnight drinking Foster's lager, wine and Southern Comfort Reserve. I finally stumbled onto my bunk bed without unfolding my sleeping blanket. After quite a few drinks it just seemed too complicated an operation!

Paperwork

I spent all day at home today - mostly on Complex work sending out invoices and dealing with the Company's accounts. Sara drove to Tidworth after dropping off Mary to deliver some Vie products to one of her customers. On her return she cleaned the inside of her car and re-fitted all the seats I had taken out in my hunt for the terrrible banging. As usual Sara worked in the Lord Nelson at lunchtime but returned before 2 p.m. because of lack of customers. I continued, this afternoon, to clear up paperwork - condemning many to the shredder or recycling box depending upon their sensitivity. I cut the bank this evening and spoke to Mum on the phone inviting her for Christmas if she wished and giving her details of a coach which will take her direct from Cleethorpes to Cheltenham Spa where I can easily pick her up. She will think about it otherwise she is likely to spend her Christmas at home. Tonight I met Richard for a couple of pints in a very busy Lion'd Head. The restuatrant was quite full as was the bar where we had our drinks. Anton seems to be doing quite well on the food side at the moment and he keeps a pretty good pin tof beer.

A Shocking Revelation

I took Mary to school this morning in Sara's car which still banged its way along the road. Having dropped off Mary I delivered the car to R. Hunt's garage in Back Drove for him to have a look at the vehicle and see if he could find out (and fix) the terrible banging. He thought that it was probably the shock absorber. I walked the one and a half miles back home - a pleasant walk along Western Lane back to The Common and home. I spent the day at home dealing with correspondence. At around 5 p.m. I returned to Hunt's on Sara's folding bicycle, walking up to the top of Western Hill and free-wheeling all the way down to Hunt's yard. Sara's car had suffered a shattering of the offside rear shock absorber and Ray had fitted two new rear shock absorbers. It was a pleasure to drive back home without the banging. Tonight we had a House Group but only three visitors attended - making it 5 in all. We tackle the Seven Bowls in Revelation which we found extremely difficult and concluded that much of Revelation can mean whatever the reader wants it to mean. A slightly worrying thought.

Bangs!

Not particularly good weather this morning. It had rained heavily overnight and so, after taking Mary to school, I dropped Sara off at Morning Star in her car and returned home to the accompaniment of a horrible banging noise coming from underneath the rear offside of her car. Back home, I stripped the car of all its contents including the spare wheel and jack and took it for a test run - still no difference. I then removed the seats with the help of Sara on her return, again the banging seemed louder than ever. I booked it into the local village garage for tomorrow morning. I suspect it could be something quite major like the shock absorbers having had a similar problem myself many years ago. I cut the front lawn this afternoon and then stripped my car of its contents as Sara had to go out to Fordingbridge tonight and I was not happy with her taking her car. I gave her a few lessons on how to drive my sophisticated automatic car and she set off at around 6.30 p.m. after I had been and returned from Alderbury with Tom for his football practice (Gary brought him back). Mary needed picking up from Brownies this evening too. After they had gone to bed I watched a two-hour documentary about the nuclear arms development and race. Some rather dramatic film of the nuclear tests over the decades - although so destructive you can't help but be impressed by some of the wonderful shapes these enormous explosions make into the sky. Horrific yet beautiful at the same time. Fortunately, despite the amount of destructive nuclear tools that now exist, they have never been used in anger since 1945. Long may that remain. We hope never to see one of these mushroom clouds for real.

Slipped Discs?

Woke up at about 7.30 a.m. today in the small nursery bedroom at Peter's house in Hove. I read my daily devotionals and then washed and dressed. Peter was not about when I went downstairs and so I made myself a mug of tea and two rounds of toast and marmalade. I sat in the main living room and read the Brighton Evening Argus for the previous Friday and chatted to Peter's son, Ian's, girlfriend, Kirsty. Peter joined us and we talked in depth about plans for our extension. I left Hove at about 11.30 a.m. returning in part along the coast road as I wanted to stop off at Rustington to bank some cheques. They have an irritating parking scheme there where it is necessary to park your car in a designated car park, then go to find a shop which provides parking discs to put in the car. In the meantime, if your car is seen without a disc a fine will be imposed! How then, are you expected to acquire a disc, if you are a visitor like me, without parking your car first? The bank didn't supply them and eventually I got one at a furniture shop! Once in my car, it looked as though I was a disabled person! I arrived back home at about 2.30 p.m. and was out again at 5.30 p.m. for a meeting of Stonehenge Chapter at 6.00 p.m. in Salisbury. This was a big meeting as the Provincial Executive and Team were performing the ceremony. About seventy of us dined afterwards. I was seated with the Wiltshire Inspector General of Rose Croix and a member of the Provincial Team who runs a coffee equipment business and knows one of my former commercial clients when I was in private practice in Brighton. I didn't get home until nearly 11 p.m. and after a cup of coffee and a glass of wine went to bed.

A rainy evening in Hove

A day spent at home this morning catching up on paperwork and other small chores now that one child, Mary, is back to school. Tom was quite happy sorting out his bedroom and spending time up there. This afternoon, after afternoon tea, I drove over to Hove for a meeting of my mother lodge's general purposes committee held at a school along the Old Shoreham Road. The traffic was terrible and an accident at Arundel meant that I took the coast road to avoid the queues but met others in the Bognor and Worthing. The weather also turned nasty and it was pouring with rain by the time I arrived (just on time) for the meeting at 7 p.m. We seem to have some issues with getting enough officers together next year. I am to be appointed Senior Warden which means I shall be in the chair in 2011. Following the meeting, Peter, Roger and I had a couple of pints in The Stanley Arms in Wolseley Street. A typical old back street pub serving a variety of excellent real ales. After dropping off Roger, Peter and I returned to his home where we had a late dinner of pasta bake and a long chat about lodge matters, our extension and other private issues, finally going to bed at 1.00 p.m.

A Day at the Races

We all had to get up early this morning as the family were acting as sidespersons at the 9.30 a.m. All Age Eucharist service in All Saints. The service was taken by Jane Dunlop who conducted a really lovely service. Instead of intercessions we wrote our prayers on a long strip of paper which were then all linked together to make a long chain. The theme of the service was slavery and Mary acted a a "slave" during Jane's presentation talk. At the end of the service we quickly gathered up the books etc. and not stopping for coffee or chats dash back home to get all the picnic things ready for our day at Fontwell Races. The Sussex Freemasons had orgnaised a Family Fun Day at the Races and we were going to link up with fellow Wiltshire Freemason Lee and his family and our good friends Paul, Sian and Simon. We arrived about 12.15 p.m. and had a picnic in the car park. Lee and Paul and their families joined us a little later and we all went into the course. The Freemasons had a smart marquee erected with a "posh" lunch but we had cheap entry into the family enclosure where there was a petting zoo, funfair, penalty shoot-out stall, and many many other side stalls. We all found a spot in the main grandstand where we stayed all afternoon. Each of us (apart from Simon) had a win. Mary won £8 and Tom £12 so they were pretty please. I also won £10 so, in effect, the day only cost us our fuel. At the last race there was a dead cert. at 1/3 on and in the last furlong it was in the lead. Just short of the winning post, underneath where we were standing, it suddenly veered off towards the stables, threw the jockey and smashed into the rails clearly shocking the people stood on the rails. A rank outsider, at 14-1 against won the race. A delight to the bookies no doubt! We arrived back home at 7.30 p.m. and Klynn called round with some whiskey and a passport application for Samuel for me to countersign. He stayed about an hour chatting. We watched an interesting programme this evening about a real life couple living in Poole who had been stalked called U Be Dead. Quite an alarming story and unbelievable story. I had to look it up on the Internet to be convinced that it was, in fact, true. Went to bed feeling quite tired and achy. Hope it isn't the 'flu.

A Day of Football or Saints fail again!

A long day of football today. Awoke this morning from a strange dream involving Spring Harvest, a massive hundred-mile motorway traffic jam and ended with me fighting to get back to my car after walking along the motorway for tens of miles using the London Underground. I can only think that this is a reference to the long detailed form I had to fill in last night to apply to become a steward at next year's Spring Harvest. At least I slept through the night although this morning I had something of a headache and have felt a little nauseous all day. I took Tom over to Alderbury this morning for a friendly match between Alderbury Under 14s (Tom being seconded to the team for training purposes) and their Under 15s. The Under 15s, not surprisingly, won 4-1. As Admin. Manager for Clarendon Under 14s I dished out as many subscription forms as I could and will need to chase up the rest. After a quick dash home to change and (in Tom's case) a shower, Tom and I went to Southampton for the Saints v. Rochdale match. Mary was picked up this morning by Andrea, the mother of Mary's good friend Izzy, who took the two girls off to Wilton House Gardens for the day. Tom and I got to Southampton in good time (not a great deal of traffic today), had our fish and chips (I had fish, no chips as I still feel a bit under the weather) and settled down for the game. Our friend John was not looking too well today and we learned that he had suffered a burst appendix last week and had been in hospital. I was surprised he had come especially as the performance from the Saints was so poor that it could hardly have cheered him up. Our other friends, Andy, Twiggy and sons, were attending their first match this season as they had been away in Australia. A really poor performance indeed resulting in a 0-2 defeat at the hands of recently promoted Rochdale who are spending their first ever season above the fourth tier where they have been for all of their history. Humiliating. What is going on at the club? Sack your manager after a fantastic win away and lose two games at home under a caretaker manager. Tonight Sara is babysitting for Karen and Paul so Tom and I got a Chinese takeawy from Porton. Still feeling fragile tonight and not really looking forward to the racing tomorrow unless I feel a bit better.

A Far Distance

Up early this morning. Again I didn't sleep too well last night and was up in the middle of the night watching "On the Buses". The sky was beautifully clear at that time and it was possible to see the Great Galaxy in Andromeda clearly with the naked eye - an object some 2 million light years distant - the furthest object anyone on Earth can see with the naked eye. Jupiter was also a brilliant object in the south. I breakfasted at Ambassadors' at the Grasmere House Hotel and returned home to have coffee and attend to some mail. Richard called at 11 a.m. and we drove to Wilton to play eighteen holes of golf. We dropped Tom off near Waitrose as he was going to spend a couple of hours in the city centre shopping and getting the bus back to the village. Our golf was a little erratic to say the least - we both had some marvellous shots and some we would rather forget. I used my new tees which I bought in Christchurch which I was informed should make my balls go a farther distance. It seems that it is the tee, not the ball, which goes further! We had a late lunch at the Hampton Park Inn (2 meals for £10) and after a quick dash to Tesco's for some saline solution for Sara's contact lenses, it was back home. Tonight the kids went to the Youth Club up on Barry's Fields where Mary managed to get a table tennis bat thumped on her hand. By the time I picked her up it was still red but she seemed okay. Sara is out tonight at one of her Vie parties again.

A Day in Bournemouth and Christchurch

Another night where I couldn't sleep very well - I think it is always when I know I have to get up early in the morning. This morning Mary went back to school - new class and new teacher. She still isn't feeling too good but went off with Sara at 8.30 a.m. I left the house at around 9.20 a.m. all dressed up in my masonic finery as I was representing Wiltshire Masters' Lodge at a late morning/lunchtime meeting of Dorset Masters' in Kinson, north Bournemouth. Despite heavy traffic in Salisbury and roadworks on the Salisbury-Ringwood road, I made it to Kinson by 10.30 a.m. to find the car park already full up. I managed to park in a side road about 100 yards from the masonic hall so all was okay. The meeting was very well attended - something which surprised me for a midday meeting in the middle of a working week. Extra chairs had to be brought in to accommodate everybody. The meeting was presided over by the Provincial Grand Master for Dorset and we were given a really good talk by the Chairman of the RMBI (Royal Masonic Benevolent Institute) about how the various sheltered homes have been adapted for dementia sufferers. I was very impressed indeed by what I heard. Such care and thought - for example each dementia resident has their door painted as at home with a number they will remember e.g. if they lived at 42 Acacia Avenue with a green door then their door in the home would be painted green and bear the number 42. Outside each room by the door is a memory box containing reminders from their life e.g. a photo of their favourite car or person or something else which they will associate with themselves. I was also interested to know that dementia patients should not have mirrors in their homes. This is because most sufferers believe themselves to be aged between 26 and 36 and simply would get confused by seeing an older person in the mirror. Really impressive that so much care is taken. We followed this excellent talk by an excellent lunch of chicken and seasonal vegetables etc. The meeting ended at 2.30 p.m. and I drove to Christchurch to do some banking. It was very nostalgic walking along the High Street for two reasons - firstly because it reminded me so much of holidays down there when I was younger with my parents and also it was the last place I visited with Sara before I met her father for the first time on the same day. The weather was hot and sunny adding to the illusion of a summer holiday. I checked that the Bournemouth trolleybus turntable was still in situ - it is. There is, in fact, a plaque on the building now occupying the site stating that the turntable is still there - preserved. Unfortunately it is in an enclosed private car park and no longer accessible to the public. I drove back home through Mudeford noting that the Stanpit Fisheries is now under new ownership (Alexandra's) and the former caravan site we stayed at as children is now an estate of bungalows similar to New Waltham, Grimsby. We were due to have a House group tonight but only James turned up. We used the opportunity to plan out the Lion's Head Quiz we are hosting in December. Tomorrow I have Ambassadors' again followed by some golf at Wilton. The weather is promised to be hot and dry again.

Hassocks! Wheeling and Bowling!

I was up early this morning, made tea and had a sausage sandwich for breakfast. As arranged, I went up to All Saints this morning at around 10 a.m. to help Richard, Norman and Pam return all (or most!) of the enormous quantity of contents back into the church after the Death Watch Beetle spraying. Included amongst the items were hassocks, books, hymn books, candles, hymnals, vast quantities of sheet music, toys for the creche, bibles, palms, communion wine, notice boards, etc. etc. etc. We transferred all these items by wheelbarrow from the Junior Church mobile back into the main building - trundling across an uneven churchyard. We finally finished (apart from a few more hassocks) around 1 p.m. after several trips wheeling items and storing them away. There seem to be hundred and hundreds of hassocks! With the hard work and the horrible taste of the spray in our mouths we decided that we needed a bit of liquid refreshment and so popped into the Lord Nelson for just one quick pint. We met Klynn and Cristof in their and joined them for a short time. Sara managed to sniff me out and reminded me that we were taking the children bowling in Southampton that afternoon. After a quick lunch of pasta, Sara drove us all to the Tenpin Bowling Alley where we had three games (Tom won one, Sara another and me the final one) and a meal - all paid for by Tesco vouchers. Tonight I checked my investments as I do every first day of the month. I bought some BP shares yesterday and they are already doing better than where the money was previously. They were pretty rock-bottom I think yesterday and I think can only improve.