Anniversary

It was on Monday-during Wimbledon fortnight as one would expect. We did not doing anything on the day as Sara had the virus, and anyway, we had already spent up large.

We both took Friday off, and went out Thursday and spent a night in a hotel in Wellington-the one Becks used when he was here for Galaxy pantomime show.
Sara’s work colleague moved in to keep the children happy.
So we went out eating and drinking cocktails and watching live bands, and visiting bars the likes of which I have not been in for years.
Friday was a bit slow, and was spent on the sofa watching DVDs. Good ones-“Slumdog Millionaires” and “Doubt”. Both highly recommended by the love duo.
Click to the original venue!

The expense of growing old

I have recently taken possession of a new pair of glasses. So what you may think.
Well other than the generally inflated cost of acquiring such things in NZ, despite the arrival of Specsavers to these shores, age is having a negative impact.
The short-sightedness is much the same, the astigmatism is unchanged, but now the long-sighted old man’s eyes canot be ignored. Reading print with my usual glasses has become too difficult, and to now to fulfill all the requirements I have moved onto varifocal lenses-the modern version of bi-focals. As you might gather, more complex technology comes at a price, especially when put in some trendy designer frames.
So, thinning hair, grey in colour of what is left, less resilient achilles, apparently progressive deafness and now failing eyesight.
The viagra though is still in the packet.

Sports events

Hello all again

We are in the build up to the next Test-it being about an hour away. The All Blacks and the nation have had their confidence shaken by last week’s loss in Dunedin. They have a least acknowledged that France deserved to win, though of course there is a frequent chorus that it was the NZ “B” team, giving no recognition for the fact it was the best team they could out on the day. The best team available is not necessarily the best team that may have been available.
So tonight will be interesting to see have far the All Blacks improve with a change of some personnel, and how much France can improve with the availability of some new players. The game is in Welllington, and I can asure you the weather is not pretty. Very cold and wet, and so not a day for throwing the ball around with abandon.
We shall see.

On the rugby theme, we today and on previous weekends, have been asking where in the parents’ manual it mentions standing on the side lines in foul weather, to watch your son play and his team be thrashed on a regular basis.
Today the weather was pants. The pitch had huge puddles, and all were soaked and cold within minutes. However today they played well in losing-about 30-15. It was competitive and they kept going to near the the end. Joe played much better today, giving it some omph at tight head prop and putting in some tackles and getting involved. He did though give away a intercept try when he thought he was the scrum-half when he should have just taken the ball up with some aggression.
The previous two weeks have been heavy loses against good teams, though the attitude was terrible two weeks ago, and has improved since.

Here’s to the hard crew parents for the next few weeks. Looking forward to some dry weather.

Polar Blast

My fingers have been so cold of late that I have been unable to put them to the keyboard.
The weather has been ridiculous. Last weekend it was gale force winds and rain, with rain during the week. This weekend has seen an increase in the intensity. Yesterday we had rain, hail, sleet and snow. Yes flurries of snow! We live by the sea-this should not happen. Our latitude is the equivalent of Spain!

Anyway, must not moan.

I have managed to watch the first B&I Lions game in South Africa. Of course, being New Zealand, I had to sign up for the rugby channel, as simply having the sports channels is not enough. It was not good for the blood pressure, as I forgot that I had told myself previously that I would watch sport just for the aesthetic. I would not become emotionally involved, as it has never worked; there are always painful outcomes.

Today is a national holiday-Queen’s Birthday. Not sure what that is all about. Anyway, as it is holiday time we went for a walk-A new one over by Eastbourne. The “we” was M&D, plus the boys. Eleanor was out with her mates having an unsuccessful meet up with some boys, who apparently, preferred some alternative easy bimbos. No sh.. Sherlock.

Happy birthdays to the May babies.

The weekend round up

Again a long time since I updated the activities of the clan.
The most important item is that Sunday week ago was Mothers’ Day-so breakfast in bed supplied by urchins, with Dad gratefully receiving as well. The staff later in the day produced a fine dinner as well-so a glorious day.
There was also a birthday celebration that day. The birthday cards were great and thoroughly enjoyed. The presents were of superior quality and imagination. The U2 album, which I jave not yet made my mind up about, but is growing on me. A fine book The Bromley Boys written by an avid fan, describing the fortunes of Bromley FC in the 1969/70 season, when they were extremely poor and had a woeful season. I think the boys gave me the book because of my interest in the Super Bees, but not quite appreciating that they have just been promoted as champions, and so, have had a very fine season.

Also, I received a very high quality, stylish and warm Ice Breaker.
And this weekend?

Sporting “fun”. Joe played basketball on Friday night and the team was thrashed-70-10. He played rugby on Saturday and the team was thrashed-too many to count but 100+ to nil. His team did not get a sniff of a score. It was terrible to watch, they played so poorly-it stands to reason that the tackling was poor-come non-existent. We were on the sidelines wishing the time away. All was made worse by a South African dad yelping on the sideline after each score. “I’ve never met……………..”
Apparently tackling practice is on the agenda for this week.
It reminds me of when I played for Gunnersbury U-13 and we lost to John Fisher 53-6, in the days of 4 points for a try.