Carberry 100 Not Out - Hampshire through to Finals Day

The weather was warm and dry today and I spent most of the day at home.  Sara did her stint at Morning Star and I stayed at home and worked in the study on preparing the service for West Dean on Sunday and also completing the bibliography for my worship portfolio which I want to complete for Sunday 11th August to give to my mentor at the West Dean service.  This afternoon and evening, Thom and I went to the Ageas Bowl to see Hampshire take on Lancashire in the quarter-final of the T20 competiton.  Lancashire won the toss and elected to field first.  Hampshire scored a whopping 202 runs with Carberry carrying the bat and getting his 100 on the very last ball.  Lancashire put on a fantastic performance in reply and the game ended with them scoring 201 - a win by Hampshire of only one run!  A massive 403 runs and just seven wickets in only 3 hours of cricket.  Imagine that at a Test Match! Wonderful entertainment and so glad to see Carberry get his hundred.  It was a really enjoyable evening especially in the company of Thom who has really started to understand and enjoy the game - it would be great if he could join the Winterslow Cricket club as they are looking for new players and I think he would be a good bowler.

Indian Meal with Friends

A day at home today - in fact the car didn't move out of the drive all day.  Mary spent today with her friend Lucy in Salisbury and stayed overnight with her and her family.  Thom did his two paper rounds this morning and Sara took Mary into Salisbury and did some errands of her own.  Thom and I watched the first quarter-final of the T20 competition between Surrey and Somerset at the Oval which resulted in a win for Surrey.  The later match, between Northamptonshire and Durham ended with a win for Northamptonshire - so the first two teams are through to Finals Day at Edgbaston.  Hampshire play Lancashire tomorrow night and Thom and I have tickets for the game at the Ageas Bowl - although we won't be able to make the Finals Day even if they get through tomorrow night.  This evening Sara and I joined Mandy and Stuart for an excellent dinner at the Indian restaurant, Purbani, in Stockbridge.

Rain stops play - England retain the Ashes

The weather was very changeable today - starting bright but the afternoon.  I worked in the study in the early morning and then went to Alabare Place Drop-In Centre to do my stint as the chaplain there.  I spent about three hours there helping the staff and chatting to one or two of the service users.  After that I spent a couple of hours working in the library of Sarum College on the worship portfolio. Sara and Mary had intended to go strawberry picking this afternoon but the rain put an end to that adventure.  It was good to meet my old work colleague, Derek, at The Boathouse for a shandy and a chat after I had done my stint at Sarum College.  Derek filled me in with the comings and goings at my old workplace and it seems things are all changing once again.  I am so pleased to be venturing into pastures new right now.  We both discussed our mutual interests in World War II history (particularly the war in Europe) and football and we are both hoping that our respective teams (Southampton and Norwich) will have a good season in the Premier League.  I had to dash off at the end of what could have been a very long and enjoyable evening so I could attend a meeting of Winterslow Parish Council. It was quite a long meeting too with 23 items on the agenda not to mention public question time and quite a few matters arising.  Thom's artwork for a Parish Council logo was met with early approval although time did not permit a longer debate.  The poor weather in the afternoon did, at least, have one positive effect - The Ashes game was abandoned at 3 p.m. this afternoon resulting in a draw and this means that England retain the Ashes - until the winter at least! Also, the match between Hampshire and Glamorgan ended in a mutual decision by the captains to bring the game to a close and share the points.  Hampshire still remain sixth in the league table and don't look likely to get promotion to the First Division. At the moment they definitely look like a limited over team. 

Seeing an old naval friend

A cooler day today but without rain - here at least.  Sara and I went to All Saints Church this morning for the Parish Eucharist where I delivered the Intercessions and acted as a chalice bearer.  It was good to see our friends the Mooreys in church today - on leave from Bahrain - and I arranged to join Chris with Richard at the Lion's Head tonight to catch up on things.  I spent a good part of the day, once back from church, gardening - mowing the two lawns and doing some weeding - the green bin is now full!  The Ashes test match was brought to a sudden halt this afternoon with Australia trying to add on some more runs before declaring. Bad light and then torrential Manchester rain seem to be England's saviour and so a draw now seems inevitable unless Australia can bowl out England on the last day for less than 330-odd runs.  Time doesn't appear on their side especially with more rain predicted.  The Hampshire game also looks to be heading for a draw - Glamorgan having a lead of 120 and Hampshire slowly plugging away in the second innings.  Mary's flight to Edinburgh has now been booked and she will be accompanied on both flights by cabin crew.  It's exciting for her to be flying on her own from Southampton to Edinburgh.  A pleasant evening tonight in the Lion with Richard and Chris and we were able to bring Chris up to date with all the gossip (news).  He has another year to do in Bahrain then probably a further two before he leaves the navy.  He hopes to retire to Winterslow or close by.

A Day of Steady Cricket

A fairly warm day today although rain had been threatened.  I spent the morning sorting our some paperwork and helped Thom to find a few houses in the village on the paper round he is doing for somebody who is on holiday.  Some of the numbering in Saxon Leas, Winterslow, can be confusing but together (I know the area through delivering Christian Aid envelopes) we in about 20 minutes - me finding the houses and Thom delivering the papers.  Just before midday I set off for the Ageas Bowl in Southampton to watch the second day of the County Championship game against Glamorgan.  I watched Hampshire bat their last few balls and saw them finish their innings at 349 all out.  After lunch Glamorgan put on 226 runs for 4 by the time stumps were drawn.  As I watched this game I also listened to Test Match Special from the Third Ashes Test Match at Old Trafford on my little Roberts personal sports radio - which I always carry with me. At the same time I also kept watch on the scores in the Football League (league football formally starting again today). Portsmouth lost badly to Oxford United, both Bournemouth and Reading won their games.  At Old Trafford, England managed to bat on with Pietersen scoring 113 runs which will help England avoid the follow-on.  However, Australia remain in a commanding position but will need to bat quickly and then hope to get England out quickly if the follow-on is avoided and if they have any hope of winning the match.  Anything other than a win for them will mean that England retain the Ashes and they will have to wait until England go "down under" before they can have another crack at winning them..

New Car - Well Re-Registered at least!

No chaplaincy duties today as I have swapped Fridays for Mondays during the school holidays.  Sara did her stint at the Lord Nelson which had a very busy lunchtime today.  Mary I went to Andover to bank some cheques at HSBC then on to Chippenham to have my personal number plate fixed to my new car in replace of its original registered plate.  The whole process took about 20 minutes and we then drove up to the White Horse in Westbury and enjoyed the view from the top - looking across to Trowbridge and Melksham and the Severn Estuary. The picture shows my newly re-registered car at the car park on top of the hill.  It was so clear and a really delightful view.  Afterwards we drove down to Warminster and shared a portion of fish and chips on a bench in the town's main car park. This evening went to a friends house for a "girls' night in" and Thom and I watched the first game of the new football season - League 1 - Sheffield United v. Notts County which Sheffield won by 2-1.  I ended the evening by watching The Ashes highlights on TV.  Australia declared on 527-7 with England chasing.  At the end of the day England were 52-2 in reply.  Australia are certainly in command of this Test and could make something of the Series. 

The Hottest Day of the Year - So Far!

The hottest day this year - 34 degrees apparently.  A quiet day at home as it was so hot today - I really don't like this hear when it is also so muggy too.  I phoned Mum and had a chat with her - she remains in pain and it seems unlikely that she'll be able to come to my 60th Birthday and Licensing Celebration in September - which would be such a pity.  Tonight Sara and I attended Ambassadors' Summer BBQ at the Grasmere House Hotel in Harnham.  An absolutely perfect evening for such an event - excellent food and outdoor games afterwards - skittles, boules, jenga and pick-up-sticks.  A really unusual but pleasant English summer evening with a magnificent view of the cathedral across the water meadows.  Mary went to the cinema this evening with the daughter of a business colleague of Sara's to see Smurfs 2.  We called in at her house in Laverstock after the BBQ to pick up Mary and have a coffee.  Really muggy again tonight and it was, once again, hard to sleep.