Monday evening is cricket net night, and Robbie and I go along. Rob can bowl quite well, and enjoys himself. We have both been picked to play for the village on Sunday July 13th. After we had both been bowling in the nets for a while, we had the option to bat. Rob was in the net next to mine, and shortly after he started to bat, he got hit where it hurts… fortunately he was wearing a cricket box, which protected his crown jewels.

In the net I was in, a lad (late teens) was trying to bowl as fast as he could, and he was quite quick. The previous week I had got slightly the better of him, and he seemed determined that wasn’t going to be the case this week. His second ball at me I just didn’t see, and stumps went everywhere. I then played a few, before he bowled one that was going to the leg side, I played at it, missed and it hit me right on the top of the thigh… and I wasn’t wearing a thigh pad. . Ouch. This was followed a few minutes later by a beamer – which to those who do not know cricket, is a ball which goes straight towards the head. I managed to get the bat up, but only deflected the ball onto my forearm.   Double ouch. He apologised as it was accidental, but I did wonder if I really should stop playing. I don’t need the pain or discomfort. I have a massive purple bruise on my thigh, and a goose egg of a lump on my forearm, and at 47, it takes a bit longer for these knocks to clear up than when I was 18. Perhaps July 13th will be my retirement game.

Ellie had a very loose tooth on Monday evening. The tooth has been loose for a good few days, and Ellie was getting in a bit of a state about it. We had all sorts of trauma about whether I should just ease it out or not, and a few tears because she thought it might hurt. Eventually she braved it for me to actually touch the tooth. A few minutes later, and a few unintentional bites on my fingers later (and remember this was all happening after I had been battered at cricket) the tooth came out, almost without her realising it. The tooth fairies, who have obviously been unaffected by the present economic meltdown, delivered a £1 coin at some point during the night. Blooming strong those tooth fairies, carrying a pound coin.

As with all children, Ellie finds the ‘keeping my bedroom tidy’ part of life a major difficulty. We have friends staying at the weekend, so Tricia had told Ellie that she needed to tidy her room or she would put everything into a bin bag and dump it into the garage, and wouldn’t be able to play on the computer until she had done it. Ellie took the thought of this very hard. I got in from a long day in the London office, all hot and bothered after getting stuck on the jubilee line, and then riding on a packed train to Aylesbury, to find Ellie very worried. I inspected the bedroom, and she was relieved to find that I said she had done a good job. We then sat and read a book together, I read the narrative, Ellie read the voices (actress potential), before she went to bed happy.

The thing that made me laugh though, was that she had apparantly informed Nikki that she wouldn’t be able to play on the computer either until she had tidied her room !

Blast from the past – August 81

From the Eightlem news, August Bank Holiday ’81. Off to Charlbury with the Mystic Wizards. It was blazing hot.

And a photo from the time…

The Cardinal and Apothecary Wizard, at the mystical mecca of Charlbury.

That is enough of that…. better go to bed. Watford and work tomorrow.