Monday in Dorking (Let it Rain!)

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

Stuck in the Mud

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

Triumph in the Black Country

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

In the Pompey Courthouse

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

Tom's first ACF meeting

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

Bert's Birthday

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

Another Milestone for Saints and Diaries!

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