Health is, as we all know, the only thing standing between each of us and death. i.e. it is pretty important.
That seemed mildly amusing when I wrote it, but hard to follow that with tales of unwellness in Scobi Towers without sound an alarm. Nothing to worry about, no-one near to their last breath, but we are all under the weather just a little bit. Both Maggots had a couple of days off at different times, LO is struggling, and even I, paragon of virtue*, have a sore throat and that "a few degrees under" feeling.
Nevertheless, it is a timely reminder, especially at this time of year, that we must all do what we can to keep well, to keep fit, to eat well, to drink plenty of the good stuff (boring old water) and not so much of the bad stuff (lovely beer and wine).
This weekend, health permitting, we will have football, drumming and, on Friday evening, for the older members of the clan, an evening out with David and Samantha, which we are really looking forward to, a chance to catch up on life, and possibly to reminisce on our holiday, the traces of which can still be found at the bottom of our respective sock drawers.
Talking of drumming, Maggot 1 will have to move his drumming lesson to Friday evening, because he has a job. His old tennis coach contacted him asking if he wanted to be his Boy Friday, or rather Boy Saturday, helping out with junior tennis lessons on Saturday morning. This came out the blue, but was rather flattering for Harvey, and an opportunity he has snapped up with indecent haste. He has wanted a way to earn some money for a while, and this is an opportunity he cannot, and has not, turned down. It will also look good on his CV, for when he applies for university (since it is no longer enough to have straight A+ results, one must also have volunteered, or climbed Mount Everest, or indeed spent some time as a junior tennis coach).
Talking of CVs, I have grasped an opportunity to go in to Maggot 1's school to help out with CV writing and interview techniques. I have wanted to do some kind of volunteering, using my supposed experience to help nippers, and so when this was announced at the recent Year 10 evening, I grasped it with both hands. I am really looking forward to helping out - I just hope that I have something useful to give.
Well, that is me done. Have a great weekend, and speak next week.
=============================
* hmmm. Ed.
Friday, 23 September 2016
Quickie
Just a quick update this week, coz have a fair few things I need to sort out.
Work is steady, about to get very busy I think.
Home is fine. We are all a bit under the weather at the moment, mouth ulcers and general unwellness, which all sounds like run down, which is sad with so long to go until Christmas. Luckily we have half term off and will spend some high quality R&R time over that week.
We will probably have football all weekend. If Maggot 2 is picked, they have a 5-a-side tournament on Saturday, and a league match Sunday.
I have managed to sell some of my old vinyl (in the loft, some fond memories, but not actually looked at them for ten years) to fund a new PC for my remixing, and it is fantastic, must bigger and faster than the old machine.
That is all for now. Have a great weekend, and speak next week.
Work is steady, about to get very busy I think.
Home is fine. We are all a bit under the weather at the moment, mouth ulcers and general unwellness, which all sounds like run down, which is sad with so long to go until Christmas. Luckily we have half term off and will spend some high quality R&R time over that week.
We will probably have football all weekend. If Maggot 2 is picked, they have a 5-a-side tournament on Saturday, and a league match Sunday.
I have managed to sell some of my old vinyl (in the loft, some fond memories, but not actually looked at them for ten years) to fund a new PC for my remixing, and it is fantastic, must bigger and faster than the old machine.
That is all for now. Have a great weekend, and speak next week.
Friday, 16 September 2016
Wedding Bells
We are at a wedding this weekend. This involves an hour drive to the church, via a local Sainsbury's to have a coffee and get changed in the toilets, so we are crease-free as we arrive at the church. It is then about an hour's drive to the venue, which is also where we are staying the night. The up-side is that this is actually only about half an hour from home.
The wedding is for LO's cousin. To be honest, we do not see him very often, once a decade or so, but his side of the family is very spartan, so we are in a sense making up the numbers. The fact that his bride is Ghanain, with a massive Ghanain family behind her, makes the contrast all the more so.
Nevertheless, we are looking forward to a night away, to nice food, and not having to cook, wash up or any other of those usual daily tasks. We will also be able to spend some time with the in-laws and Gee Gee (great grandma).
The Maggots both have their outfits - Maggot 1 a suit and tie (which will be used again during his upcoming work experience week), and Maggot 2 a jacket, a shirt that is "tight like the footballers wear" and a trendy bow tie. Biased I most certainly am, but they will make a handsome pair of young men . . . right up until the knee-slides start.
This means no football this weekend, which may be a blessing. They were beaten 9-0 last weekend, and while the team that beat them is one of the best in the league, our best performance would usually give them a good game. The trouble was, we did not give anywhere near our best performance; it was, rather, dire.
The coach was not there to see it first hand, but by training on Wednesday, he had heard about it second hand, and he has decreed that until they start playing as a team, they cannot wear their team shirts. This means that for the match on Sunday, the team will wear shorts and socks from their kit, but not the shirt - the orders are to wear anything, and then they will be given bibs to make them the same colour. Unconventional, but I suspect it does at least get the point across. Let's hope it works.
That is all for now. Have a great weekend, and speak next week.
The wedding is for LO's cousin. To be honest, we do not see him very often, once a decade or so, but his side of the family is very spartan, so we are in a sense making up the numbers. The fact that his bride is Ghanain, with a massive Ghanain family behind her, makes the contrast all the more so.
Nevertheless, we are looking forward to a night away, to nice food, and not having to cook, wash up or any other of those usual daily tasks. We will also be able to spend some time with the in-laws and Gee Gee (great grandma).
The Maggots both have their outfits - Maggot 1 a suit and tie (which will be used again during his upcoming work experience week), and Maggot 2 a jacket, a shirt that is "tight like the footballers wear" and a trendy bow tie. Biased I most certainly am, but they will make a handsome pair of young men . . . right up until the knee-slides start.
This means no football this weekend, which may be a blessing. They were beaten 9-0 last weekend, and while the team that beat them is one of the best in the league, our best performance would usually give them a good game. The trouble was, we did not give anywhere near our best performance; it was, rather, dire.
The coach was not there to see it first hand, but by training on Wednesday, he had heard about it second hand, and he has decreed that until they start playing as a team, they cannot wear their team shirts. This means that for the match on Sunday, the team will wear shorts and socks from their kit, but not the shirt - the orders are to wear anything, and then they will be given bibs to make them the same colour. Unconventional, but I suspect it does at least get the point across. Let's hope it works.
That is all for now. Have a great weekend, and speak next week.
Friday, 26 August 2016
Hot
The weather and me. Hotter than hot. My office has a number of bits of kit; my work laptop as well as my home computer, on which I mostly do my remixing. I also now have powered monitors, and they throw out some heat. So, even without the external influences, my office can be pretty warm. This will work fine Autumn in to early Winter I think, when I anticipate no need for any heating. However, right now, it just makes things a little bit more uncomfortable.
Work is picking up now. I have two deals assigned to me this week, and the first one alone will be 50-80% of my time. I need to busy, so this is good.
At home, we have a long weekend, then I have Thursday and Friday off to go to Golden Cap, so next week will be a very short working week.
This weekend, football starts are our new home, which is a local private school, which has permanent goals setup, plus an all-weather pitch (not sure yet if it is astro or 4g, hoping the latter). Maggot 2 has new boots, decent leather boots this time, and he cannot wait to play in them. The are "mini sock" boots, and if that means nothing to you, then you should probably look it up. Think Messi sock boot (come on, everyone is wearing them) but not as long, indeed a mini sock version of them.
Otherwise, I have some DIY round the house to complete, and some beer to drink.
I hope you have a great long weekend, and speak next week.
Work is picking up now. I have two deals assigned to me this week, and the first one alone will be 50-80% of my time. I need to busy, so this is good.
At home, we have a long weekend, then I have Thursday and Friday off to go to Golden Cap, so next week will be a very short working week.
This weekend, football starts are our new home, which is a local private school, which has permanent goals setup, plus an all-weather pitch (not sure yet if it is astro or 4g, hoping the latter). Maggot 2 has new boots, decent leather boots this time, and he cannot wait to play in them. The are "mini sock" boots, and if that means nothing to you, then you should probably look it up. Think Messi sock boot (come on, everyone is wearing them) but not as long, indeed a mini sock version of them.
Otherwise, I have some DIY round the house to complete, and some beer to drink.
I hope you have a great long weekend, and speak next week.
Monday, 22 August 2016
Oops
Still obviously carrying some of the holiday vibe, having missed doing my Friday blog. Sorry about that.
My first week back was uneventful. Things have not fully picked up yet, so it was a steady and relatively uneventful week.
On the home front, we are still all in shock not to be on holiday any more. This holiday was so good that it is going to take longer than usual to recover. We did not win the Euro Lottery on Friday, so we are yet to be the owners of a Mallorcan villa, but the general feel-good vibe is still fizzing away.
We have even continued to play games sometimes in the evenings. Texas Hold'em is our current favourite. The basic rules are understood - though it still vexes Maggot 2 that three of a kind beats two pairs - but I think the poker faces are gonna take some time to develop.
My home mixing is going quite well. One single was released on 5th August, a New York label, for a song called Shapetracer - Scobi New York Mix. Of course it goes without saying that it will not be to everyone's taste, but I am proud of it none the less. I had to provide some details about the song, so wrote this piece of waffle, which is both pretentious and true, both at the same time:
I actually think I am finding my niche now with the music. I have joined a closed Facebook group called Mix Critique, where you can post remixes for feedback, and where you can also provide feedback on other people's mixes. I have been doing a lot of You Tube learning on various aspects of music making, most of it technical stuff, and am probably now at the stage when at least I know what I don't know. Nevertheless, the whole subject is very daunting. Being on the Mix Critique site, I suddenly feel like I know something, which is nice.
One final comment. Yesterday, for the first time in about a month or more, I work both socks and long trousers. It was a momentous occasion and one that I hope not to repeat for a long time to come.
Have a great week, and (hopefully) will speak again Friday.
My first week back was uneventful. Things have not fully picked up yet, so it was a steady and relatively uneventful week.
On the home front, we are still all in shock not to be on holiday any more. This holiday was so good that it is going to take longer than usual to recover. We did not win the Euro Lottery on Friday, so we are yet to be the owners of a Mallorcan villa, but the general feel-good vibe is still fizzing away.
We have even continued to play games sometimes in the evenings. Texas Hold'em is our current favourite. The basic rules are understood - though it still vexes Maggot 2 that three of a kind beats two pairs - but I think the poker faces are gonna take some time to develop.
My home mixing is going quite well. One single was released on 5th August, a New York label, for a song called Shapetracer - Scobi New York Mix. Of course it goes without saying that it will not be to everyone's taste, but I am proud of it none the less. I had to provide some details about the song, so wrote this piece of waffle, which is both pretentious and true, both at the same time:
The sound is urban, the growl of people and traffic, of machinery and life. Suddenly you turn a corner and the noise is dimmed. You look through a window to see a ballet lesson, or a choir rehearsing, the growl of the city still audible. As turn another corner, you are back in the noise and the heat and the energy.I also have two other singles which are original mixes that have been signed up by a Florida label (Del Sol Records). In contrast to the New York mix, which is gritting and a bit industrial just like the city, the two that Del Sol have taken up are more deep house - mellower, as befits a place where the sun shines quite a lot.
I actually think I am finding my niche now with the music. I have joined a closed Facebook group called Mix Critique, where you can post remixes for feedback, and where you can also provide feedback on other people's mixes. I have been doing a lot of You Tube learning on various aspects of music making, most of it technical stuff, and am probably now at the stage when at least I know what I don't know. Nevertheless, the whole subject is very daunting. Being on the Mix Critique site, I suddenly feel like I know something, which is nice.
One final comment. Yesterday, for the first time in about a month or more, I work both socks and long trousers. It was a momentous occasion and one that I hope not to repeat for a long time to come.
Have a great week, and (hopefully) will speak again Friday.
Monday, 15 August 2016
Was that really two weeks?
We are back. It is so obvious a statement that it need not be said, but when have I let that stop me. The time really did go way too quickly.
We had a most fantastic time. The villa was outstanding - we have a few suggestions for improvement, but they are mostly about it being a fairly new property on the rental market, so time will tell.
The route to the villa was "interesting". We turn off the Mallorcan equivalent of an A road on to a cinder track, which is not terrible, but had a fair few ruts. It is uphill all the way, and we were in first gear for the whole drive. We took a wrong turn on the first approach (or rather we did not take a turn we should have taken) and had to turn round in someone else's property. The final turning took us on to a track that was so wild-looking, we simply did not believe that our property could possibly be at the end. But it was, and when it appeared, it was like a mirage.
The property is in a wooded area, with the nearest property being several hundred metres away. Indeed, as we went in to the second week, we were rudely awoken by noise that sounded like a bunch of red-necks having a wild forest party, high on hooch and readying to attack us in our beds. In fact, it was simply some exuberent Germans in one of the villas near to us, making a fairly normal, if excited, amount of noise as they enjoyed their pool, and some unspecified variety of the local hooch. That was a measure of how little we had to intereact with other people, which is just as we like it.
We travelled a day early, simply to save seven-hundred pounds on the flights, and so stayed at a hotel sourced by David and Samantha. It turned out to be a converted monestry on top of the highest hill in the area (a probably modest 500m above sea level), with two massive crosses either side of it (think Rio statue size). We could see it from half an hour away, having the thought that it could not possibly be our accommodation for the night. It was though, and the journey to it was, as already said, rising 500m, on a road that is about 5km long, which means a lot, and I mean a lot, of bends. We were in second gear all the way and it was not fun for the passengers of my car. That is an under-statement.
We finally arrived at the top, checked in and got our first beer, sitting on the terrace, with a view to die for. We had several hours to kill the next day, having to checkout by 10am, and not able to get in to the villa (or so we thought) until 3pm. We we found some shade and played cards, and the men walked to the two crosses.
We visited the supermarket on the way to the villa, and arrived at the gates at 2.55pm, only to be told by the lead cleaner that we could not come in until 4pm. It seems that the email we had from Vintage Travel to say we could check in an hour early did not reach the team on the ground. We negotiated a wait on the outside seats while they finished their work. Just before 4pm, the lead lady told us it was ready, and we had a quick tour, before we were then getting our costumes on for our first swim, the first of many.
Although we could not see it from the villa, we were literally in the shadow of one of the crosses of the monestary. Indeed, we could have walked about 300m downhill from said cross to get to the boundary fence of our property.
What followed was two weeks of swimming, heat, fun, drinking, eating (oh yes, we fully embraced the Mediteranean diet), and some visiting of amazing places.
One day, we drove to Soller (north of Palma) to take an old-fashioned train to Palma, which was one of the recommendations of LO's parents. We had read some comments on the train and the advice was to do the trip in this order, to avoid the crowds. It was good advice. The train was built in 1918 and it was the same as it always was. At one point, we were in the longest tunnel, which was uphill all the way, and being taken slowly by the train. At one point, the train could not get traction on the rails, they being wet, the speed being slow, and the route being uphill. We kept having to roll back ten or twenty metres to take another run up at the troubling section of track. This was not a pleasant experience. It was topped by the jovial guard coming through the train telling us "no panico". That was the point when several of our group woke up and took notice. Anyway, after about twenty minutes, we did get moving and completed the journey to Palma. It was worth it, because the terrain was amazing and the views fantastic.
Once in Palma, we walked about a bit, got a little light lunch, and then returned to the station to take the return train, only to miss it by four minutes, leaving us with an hour and a half wait for the next one. Let me tell you, there are only so many games of I-Spy you can play before the inside of your heads starts to scream.
Once back in Soller, we took a separate tram down to Soller Port, which was beautiful. The tram itself was rammed, and such situations seems to bring the worst out of people. The port iteself was lovely, and we did some boat-spotting, more precisely we were agreeing which boat we would get with our Lottery winnings, and we had a lovely ice-cream before taking the tram back to our car.
Other days were to the beach. Many of the Mallorcan beaches are coves. Relatively small amount of sand at the back, with rocks down each side to the mouth of the cove. They are beautiful, and great fun. The one we preferred was actually one of the more built up areas, but it had the best snorkelling, and the rock jumping was great fun, with ladders able to take us back to the jump spot.
We really fell in love with Mallorca, and over several evenings were planned how we would spend our Lottery win to buy a property there. On the subject of property, it seems that Mallorca is pretty expensive, certainly for villas with pools. We estimated that the one we were staying at probably cost between 1.2 and 1.5m Euros, and to be honest, we would not want anything less than that for our own property. We just need that win.
That is probably more than enough for one blog. Let's speak again on Friday, when I can tell you all about what I have been missing at work. I know, you cannot wait.
We had a most fantastic time. The villa was outstanding - we have a few suggestions for improvement, but they are mostly about it being a fairly new property on the rental market, so time will tell.
The route to the villa was "interesting". We turn off the Mallorcan equivalent of an A road on to a cinder track, which is not terrible, but had a fair few ruts. It is uphill all the way, and we were in first gear for the whole drive. We took a wrong turn on the first approach (or rather we did not take a turn we should have taken) and had to turn round in someone else's property. The final turning took us on to a track that was so wild-looking, we simply did not believe that our property could possibly be at the end. But it was, and when it appeared, it was like a mirage.
The property is in a wooded area, with the nearest property being several hundred metres away. Indeed, as we went in to the second week, we were rudely awoken by noise that sounded like a bunch of red-necks having a wild forest party, high on hooch and readying to attack us in our beds. In fact, it was simply some exuberent Germans in one of the villas near to us, making a fairly normal, if excited, amount of noise as they enjoyed their pool, and some unspecified variety of the local hooch. That was a measure of how little we had to intereact with other people, which is just as we like it.
We travelled a day early, simply to save seven-hundred pounds on the flights, and so stayed at a hotel sourced by David and Samantha. It turned out to be a converted monestry on top of the highest hill in the area (a probably modest 500m above sea level), with two massive crosses either side of it (think Rio statue size). We could see it from half an hour away, having the thought that it could not possibly be our accommodation for the night. It was though, and the journey to it was, as already said, rising 500m, on a road that is about 5km long, which means a lot, and I mean a lot, of bends. We were in second gear all the way and it was not fun for the passengers of my car. That is an under-statement.
We finally arrived at the top, checked in and got our first beer, sitting on the terrace, with a view to die for. We had several hours to kill the next day, having to checkout by 10am, and not able to get in to the villa (or so we thought) until 3pm. We we found some shade and played cards, and the men walked to the two crosses.
We visited the supermarket on the way to the villa, and arrived at the gates at 2.55pm, only to be told by the lead cleaner that we could not come in until 4pm. It seems that the email we had from Vintage Travel to say we could check in an hour early did not reach the team on the ground. We negotiated a wait on the outside seats while they finished their work. Just before 4pm, the lead lady told us it was ready, and we had a quick tour, before we were then getting our costumes on for our first swim, the first of many.
Although we could not see it from the villa, we were literally in the shadow of one of the crosses of the monestary. Indeed, we could have walked about 300m downhill from said cross to get to the boundary fence of our property.
What followed was two weeks of swimming, heat, fun, drinking, eating (oh yes, we fully embraced the Mediteranean diet), and some visiting of amazing places.
One day, we drove to Soller (north of Palma) to take an old-fashioned train to Palma, which was one of the recommendations of LO's parents. We had read some comments on the train and the advice was to do the trip in this order, to avoid the crowds. It was good advice. The train was built in 1918 and it was the same as it always was. At one point, we were in the longest tunnel, which was uphill all the way, and being taken slowly by the train. At one point, the train could not get traction on the rails, they being wet, the speed being slow, and the route being uphill. We kept having to roll back ten or twenty metres to take another run up at the troubling section of track. This was not a pleasant experience. It was topped by the jovial guard coming through the train telling us "no panico". That was the point when several of our group woke up and took notice. Anyway, after about twenty minutes, we did get moving and completed the journey to Palma. It was worth it, because the terrain was amazing and the views fantastic.
Once in Palma, we walked about a bit, got a little light lunch, and then returned to the station to take the return train, only to miss it by four minutes, leaving us with an hour and a half wait for the next one. Let me tell you, there are only so many games of I-Spy you can play before the inside of your heads starts to scream.
Once back in Soller, we took a separate tram down to Soller Port, which was beautiful. The tram itself was rammed, and such situations seems to bring the worst out of people. The port iteself was lovely, and we did some boat-spotting, more precisely we were agreeing which boat we would get with our Lottery winnings, and we had a lovely ice-cream before taking the tram back to our car.
Other days were to the beach. Many of the Mallorcan beaches are coves. Relatively small amount of sand at the back, with rocks down each side to the mouth of the cove. They are beautiful, and great fun. The one we preferred was actually one of the more built up areas, but it had the best snorkelling, and the rock jumping was great fun, with ladders able to take us back to the jump spot.
We really fell in love with Mallorca, and over several evenings were planned how we would spend our Lottery win to buy a property there. On the subject of property, it seems that Mallorca is pretty expensive, certainly for villas with pools. We estimated that the one we were staying at probably cost between 1.2 and 1.5m Euros, and to be honest, we would not want anything less than that for our own property. We just need that win.
That is probably more than enough for one blog. Let's speak again on Friday, when I can tell you all about what I have been missing at work. I know, you cannot wait.
Thursday, 28 July 2016
Nearly there
My working world has come to a natural pause, so I am fairly relaxed as I get through my last working day. That is also why I am double-blogging.
We are in pretty good shape. The whole family have had a haircut, and we have layed out all our clothes. Note "layed out" rather than packed. We seem to be unusual in that our preference is not to pack, but to lay out. Then we pile it into the suitcases at the last minute; for us that is tonight.
The reason we do this is to avoid the "did I pack the blue shorts?" problems. By laying out everything, and piling them in to the cases last minute, we avoid that, and can use our packing list* to check we have everything.
It works for us.
Maggot 1, father-in-law (F-i-L) and I went to watch Pompey play Bognor Rocks last night. This is a warm up match for Pompey, and a very good earner for The Rocks. Pompey won 4-1. It was a great evening of football. We were ten metres from the manager, Paul Cook, and could hear every word he said. And boy did he say a lot. F-i-L says that he is always like that, he being a season-ticket holder so sees a lot of games. It was fascinating listening to his fairly constant narration. One amusing moment was when one of the strikers did not close down a defender**, rather lazily leaving it for the other striker. Immediately afterwards Paul Cook was shouting "work harder, close him down" several times, in several different ways. The player did not make that mistake again.
The family is getting excited now, and I am also starting to believe that tomorrow will actually arrive.
One more day, and I can wear my new hat.
And my speedos***.
Come on.
==========================================
* Oh yes, we have a list
** It seems to be part of his team instructions that the front men aggressively close down defenders and keeper
*** Only joking, I could not inflict that on the world, my family or my friends
We are in pretty good shape. The whole family have had a haircut, and we have layed out all our clothes. Note "layed out" rather than packed. We seem to be unusual in that our preference is not to pack, but to lay out. Then we pile it into the suitcases at the last minute; for us that is tonight.
The reason we do this is to avoid the "did I pack the blue shorts?" problems. By laying out everything, and piling them in to the cases last minute, we avoid that, and can use our packing list* to check we have everything.
It works for us.
Maggot 1, father-in-law (F-i-L) and I went to watch Pompey play Bognor Rocks last night. This is a warm up match for Pompey, and a very good earner for The Rocks. Pompey won 4-1. It was a great evening of football. We were ten metres from the manager, Paul Cook, and could hear every word he said. And boy did he say a lot. F-i-L says that he is always like that, he being a season-ticket holder so sees a lot of games. It was fascinating listening to his fairly constant narration. One amusing moment was when one of the strikers did not close down a defender**, rather lazily leaving it for the other striker. Immediately afterwards Paul Cook was shouting "work harder, close him down" several times, in several different ways. The player did not make that mistake again.
The family is getting excited now, and I am also starting to believe that tomorrow will actually arrive.
One more day, and I can wear my new hat.
And my speedos***.
Come on.
==========================================
* Oh yes, we have a list
** It seems to be part of his team instructions that the front men aggressively close down defenders and keeper
*** Only joking, I could not inflict that on the world, my family or my friends
Nearly there
My working world has come to a natural pause, so I am fairly relaxed as I get through my last working day. That is also why I am double-blogging.
We are in pretty good shape. The whole family have had a haircut, and we have layed out all our clothes. Note "layed out" rather than packed. We seem to be unusual in that our preference is not to pack, but to lay out. Then we pile it into the suitcases at the last minute; for us that is tonight.
The reason we do this is to avoid the "did I pack the blue shorts?" problems. By laying out everything, and piling them in to the cases last minute, we avoid that, and can use our packing list* to check we have everything.
It works for us.
Maggot 1, father-in-law (F-i-L) and I went to watch Pompey play Bognor Rocks last night. This is a warm up match for Pompey, and a very good earner for The Rocks. Pompey won 4-1. It was a great evening of football. We were ten metres from the manager, Paul Cook, and could hear every word he said. And boy did he say a lot. F-i-L says that he is always like that, he being a season-ticket holder so sees a lot of games. It was fascinating listening to his fairly constant narration. One amusing moment was when one of the strikers did not close down a defender**, rather lazily leaving it for the other striker. Immediately afterwards Paul Cook was shouting "work harder, close him down" several times, in several different ways. The player did not make that mistake again.
The family is getting excited now, and I am also starting to believe that tomorrow will actually arrive.
One more day, and I can wear my new hat.
And my speedos***.
Come on.
==========================================
* Oh yes, we have a list
** It seems to be part of his team instructions that the front men aggressively close down defenders and keeper
*** Only joking, I could not inflict that on the world, my family or my friends
We are in pretty good shape. The whole family have had a haircut, and we have layed out all our clothes. Note "layed out" rather than packed. We seem to be unusual in that our preference is not to pack, but to lay out. Then we pile it into the suitcases at the last minute; for us that is tonight.
The reason we do this is to avoid the "did I pack the blue shorts?" problems. By laying out everything, and piling them in to the cases last minute, we avoid that, and can use our packing list* to check we have everything.
It works for us.
Maggot 1, father-in-law (F-i-L) and I went to watch Pompey play Bognor Rocks last night. This is a warm up match for Pompey, and a very good earner for The Rocks. Pompey won 4-1. It was a great evening of football. We were ten metres from the manager, Paul Cook, and could hear every word he said. And boy did he say a lot. F-i-L says that he is always like that, he being a season-ticket holder so sees a lot of games. It was fascinating listening to his fairly constant narration. One amusing moment was when one of the strikers did not close down a defender**, rather lazily leaving it for the other striker. Immediately afterwards Paul Cook was shouting "work harder, close him down" several times, in several different ways. The player did not make that mistake again.
The family is getting excited now, and I am also starting to believe that tomorrow will actually arrive.
One more day, and I can wear my new hat.
And my speedos***.
Come on.
==========================================
* Oh yes, we have a list
** It seems to be part of his team instructions that the front men aggressively close down defenders and keeper
*** Only joking, I could not inflict that on the world, my family or my friends
Wednesday, 27 July 2016
Who the hell is Scobi?
I saw this, and had to smile just a little bit. I wonder which one of those I am?
Friday, 22 July 2016
Six days and eighteen hours to go
It is starting to feel real now. The Maggots are both finished, and LO has an INSET day today, so may be home at a reasonable time. Maggot 1 has actually gone to the beach and won't be home until after 8pm, but once he is home, then I can really start to believe that we are nearly there. The rest of the family will have finished, we have the usual football commitments at the weekend, are at David and Samantha's in the evening to do the final holiday logistics, and then we are in to my last four days at work, which are punctuated with a haircut on Monday, going to see Pompey at The Rocks (Bognor Football club to the uninitiated) on Wednesday, final packing Thursday before finally being picked up by the taxi on Friday.
LO and I have just returned from the Leavers' Assembly at Maggot 2's junior school. He has another year to go, so it was not his leaving that we witnessing. It started with a rather cryptic call last night from Maggot 2's form teacher, saying that he had won a prize, and it would be good for us to attend if we could. We both duly turned up at 1.30pm to sit on hard seats in a very hot hall, to watch the cups being presented to each year, before the Deputy Head and Head boy and girl (so four in total) were announced for next year, and I am delighted to say that Maggot 2 is Head Boy for next year. Proud as punch and gob-smacked, the Sun headlines would no doubt read. We are delighted and are just hoping that Maggot 2 does not try the wind up Maggot 1 too much.
Otherwise, not much to report. Just keeping my head down to close off my work tidily before our holiday.
I hope you have a great weekend, speak when I can next blog, which may be whilst on holiday, or it may not, depending on how relaxed I get.
LO and I have just returned from the Leavers' Assembly at Maggot 2's junior school. He has another year to go, so it was not his leaving that we witnessing. It started with a rather cryptic call last night from Maggot 2's form teacher, saying that he had won a prize, and it would be good for us to attend if we could. We both duly turned up at 1.30pm to sit on hard seats in a very hot hall, to watch the cups being presented to each year, before the Deputy Head and Head boy and girl (so four in total) were announced for next year, and I am delighted to say that Maggot 2 is Head Boy for next year. Proud as punch and gob-smacked, the Sun headlines would no doubt read. We are delighted and are just hoping that Maggot 2 does not try the wind up Maggot 1 too much.
Otherwise, not much to report. Just keeping my head down to close off my work tidily before our holiday.
I hope you have a great weekend, speak when I can next blog, which may be whilst on holiday, or it may not, depending on how relaxed I get.
Friday, 15 July 2016
Thirteen days to go
This is the second to last Friday at school for the Maggots, next week being their last this acedemic year. Ditto for LO, though she has a couple of funding bids to complete, so may work the first day or two of the holiday.
For me, as the title suggests, it is thirteen days until our holiday, and until I finish. That is not to say that it is the only thing on my mind; I still manage to think about sex about every seven seconds (I have the pride of the male species to maintain after all), but it is fair to say that there is a significant sub-terranian bubbling of excitement building in our clan, and also that of David and Samantha*.
This week I attended a funeral, the father of one of my college friends, and due to the location of the funeral, in North Wales, I spent most of Wednesday in the car on an epic ten hour round trip. I was pleased to be able to attend** and it was a funeral that was sad, of course, but also a joy in celebrating a life well lived. John was quite a character, spending the final phase of his life lecturing at a local college, befitting his lifetime desire to bring out the best of anyone he encountered. Indeed, in his mid-sixties he got himself a degree (getting a First too). My thoughts are with his family, particularly his wife who is now coming to terms with the loss of a life partner.
This weekend we have football and cricket, a football tournament for Maggot 2 and the final cricket match of the year for Maggot 1, both on Sunday. LO and I will do a split shift and, depending on how Maggot 2's team does, they will come over to the tournament after the cricket is finished.
On Saturday, we have the pleasure of celebrating Gee Gee's birthday. Gee Gee is LO's grandmother, and great-grandmother (GG) to the Maggots. We are planning a brunch on Saturday morning, which will be nice.
Otherwise, we will be starting to plan our holiday arrangements. I am pleased that stability is starting to return to the nation after the (still) unbelievable Brexit vote, which on a personal level means that the currency exchange rate for the Euro is improving, just in time for our holiday. Who says politics has to be selfish, ha ha. Otherwise, the arrangements are fairly well structured; we are going over to David and Samantha's next Saturday to go through all the arrangements, split out the tickets and details, ensure we have all the pre-requisites sorted. I have a haircut on the Monday before I go (I don't like to have a white line round the cut) and hopefully am going to watch Pompey play the Bognor Rocks their ground on the Wednesday. Then the excitement will really start to build.
I hope you have a great weekend, and speak next week.
======================
* As pseudonyms go, this one is now rather outdated, and I need to consider if I should start referring to them as Theresa and Philip
** one of our group was unable to attend because he was appearing on Come Dine With Me. As excuses go, that is not a bad one
For me, as the title suggests, it is thirteen days until our holiday, and until I finish. That is not to say that it is the only thing on my mind; I still manage to think about sex about every seven seconds (I have the pride of the male species to maintain after all), but it is fair to say that there is a significant sub-terranian bubbling of excitement building in our clan, and also that of David and Samantha*.
This week I attended a funeral, the father of one of my college friends, and due to the location of the funeral, in North Wales, I spent most of Wednesday in the car on an epic ten hour round trip. I was pleased to be able to attend** and it was a funeral that was sad, of course, but also a joy in celebrating a life well lived. John was quite a character, spending the final phase of his life lecturing at a local college, befitting his lifetime desire to bring out the best of anyone he encountered. Indeed, in his mid-sixties he got himself a degree (getting a First too). My thoughts are with his family, particularly his wife who is now coming to terms with the loss of a life partner.
This weekend we have football and cricket, a football tournament for Maggot 2 and the final cricket match of the year for Maggot 1, both on Sunday. LO and I will do a split shift and, depending on how Maggot 2's team does, they will come over to the tournament after the cricket is finished.
On Saturday, we have the pleasure of celebrating Gee Gee's birthday. Gee Gee is LO's grandmother, and great-grandmother (GG) to the Maggots. We are planning a brunch on Saturday morning, which will be nice.
Otherwise, we will be starting to plan our holiday arrangements. I am pleased that stability is starting to return to the nation after the (still) unbelievable Brexit vote, which on a personal level means that the currency exchange rate for the Euro is improving, just in time for our holiday. Who says politics has to be selfish, ha ha. Otherwise, the arrangements are fairly well structured; we are going over to David and Samantha's next Saturday to go through all the arrangements, split out the tickets and details, ensure we have all the pre-requisites sorted. I have a haircut on the Monday before I go (I don't like to have a white line round the cut) and hopefully am going to watch Pompey play the Bognor Rocks their ground on the Wednesday. Then the excitement will really start to build.
I hope you have a great weekend, and speak next week.
======================
* As pseudonyms go, this one is now rather outdated, and I need to consider if I should start referring to them as Theresa and Philip
** one of our group was unable to attend because he was appearing on Come Dine With Me. As excuses go, that is not a bad one
Friday, 8 July 2016
Three weeks (and definitely counting)
... to my holiday, in case you were wondering*.
Things are starting to line up nicely, including:
Work is getting busier, which is good.
This weekend, we hope to do plenty of nothing. LO is getting very tired, with the tell-tale sign of a sore throat warning her she needs to slow down a bit, and I have had to travel quite a lot in to the office so am also more tired than usual, and my usual amount of tiredness is more than most people, due to my sleep issues.
Talking of which, there was an interesting show on ITV last night (don't worry mum, I only went to the "other side" by accident) about sleep disorders, which said that sleep issues are becoming one of the biggest growing health risks, presumably, though not explicitly mentioned, behind dementia, cancer and obesity. It gave me some hope that I am not a rare freak, but also made me think about maybe trying to do something about it. Not quite sure what yet, but the idea is fermenting, and I will be sure to let you know what comes of that when it grows in to something tangible.
Maggot 2 has football training on Saturday, a sponsored bleep test actually, looking to raise money for a new training and match kit. On Sunday we have a practice 9-a-side. The team is shaping up nicely, playing well together and relishing the bigger pitch and the greater numbers. I really think this format suits them as a team, and with a couple of promising new starters, they are shaping up to be quite a formidable team.
We had a good tournament last Saturday, up until the semi-finals when a ridiculous decision** robbed us of the game, but overall the tournament was fine. The whole team played well, and Maggot 2 scored half a dozen goals or more, which has given him his confidence back, just in time for the season to start.
I hope you have a great weekend, and speak next week.
====================================
* and if you ARE wondering, where the hell have you been?
** We had been awarded a throw-in by the ref, but the other team took it instead, and scored from the throw, with the ref doing nothing about it. In fairness to him, he had been reffing all afternoon, but nevertheless there is only so much laissez-faire you can take. The parents of the coach were incensed, and invaded the pitch at the end to tell the ref quite how disgusting his decision-making had been. The boys themselves were devastated, with a modest amount of wailing and gobbing off ensuing. Most unsatisfactory way to be knocked out
Things are starting to line up nicely, including:
- Having initially considered it unthinkable that Brexit would win, and then when it did win, feeling that surely, that terrible word surely, they might go down for a bit while all the nutters panicked, but once the realities sank in that nothing really has changed, they would rally. What am I talking about? The markets of course, and just now the Pound to Euro exchange rate specifically. It seems to be rallying very slightly, so if I can just ignore the fact that the rate was considerably higher three months ago, then I think we are going to be OK
- Gorse Fox has warned Urban-Cub to warm her hands, so any security checks at Gatwick will be nothing more than a pleasant, warm massage from a nice lady (hopefully).
Work is getting busier, which is good.
This weekend, we hope to do plenty of nothing. LO is getting very tired, with the tell-tale sign of a sore throat warning her she needs to slow down a bit, and I have had to travel quite a lot in to the office so am also more tired than usual, and my usual amount of tiredness is more than most people, due to my sleep issues.
Talking of which, there was an interesting show on ITV last night (don't worry mum, I only went to the "other side" by accident) about sleep disorders, which said that sleep issues are becoming one of the biggest growing health risks, presumably, though not explicitly mentioned, behind dementia, cancer and obesity. It gave me some hope that I am not a rare freak, but also made me think about maybe trying to do something about it. Not quite sure what yet, but the idea is fermenting, and I will be sure to let you know what comes of that when it grows in to something tangible.
Maggot 2 has football training on Saturday, a sponsored bleep test actually, looking to raise money for a new training and match kit. On Sunday we have a practice 9-a-side. The team is shaping up nicely, playing well together and relishing the bigger pitch and the greater numbers. I really think this format suits them as a team, and with a couple of promising new starters, they are shaping up to be quite a formidable team.
We had a good tournament last Saturday, up until the semi-finals when a ridiculous decision** robbed us of the game, but overall the tournament was fine. The whole team played well, and Maggot 2 scored half a dozen goals or more, which has given him his confidence back, just in time for the season to start.
I hope you have a great weekend, and speak next week.
====================================
* and if you ARE wondering, where the hell have you been?
** We had been awarded a throw-in by the ref, but the other team took it instead, and scored from the throw, with the ref doing nothing about it. In fairness to him, he had been reffing all afternoon, but nevertheless there is only so much laissez-faire you can take. The parents of the coach were incensed, and invaded the pitch at the end to tell the ref quite how disgusting his decision-making had been. The boys themselves were devastated, with a modest amount of wailing and gobbing off ensuing. Most unsatisfactory way to be knocked out
Laissez-faire
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