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.