Saturday was of course the 14th Feb, and Valentines day. Tricia and I don’t normally do too much, we buy each other cards, but we usually refuse to get caught up in the commercialism of it all. Whilst we didn’t plan a day out just because it was Valentine’s Day, as it turned out we were going out with some friends to Corfe for the day. And so we had a nice day out. In June we are going with a number of friends to spend the weekend in Corfe, and Tricia and Pat wanted to meet (have a day out!) with the hotel, to go over some arrangements. Pat and Clive picked us up at about 9:30 am… we were nearly ready. It was me who was last into the car for a change. Pat and Clive are dear friends, we have got to know them over the years in North Marston. Pat is in the acting group with me, and we are also both governors at Waddesdon school. Clive is the church warden, and is the sort of person you can absolutely trust with anything. We made good progress until we got near the New Forest, when traffic slowed us down. It was a beautiful day, the sunshine was very welcome after the recent bad weather, and it seemed to bring out plenty of people. We eventually arrived in Corfe and at the hotel at lunchtime. We sat in the lounge for a while before lunch, comfy seats, and a roaring fire… I could have just stayed there. Lunch was excellent, the waitress service was excellent. We then went for a walk around Corfe, and visited the railway station, which runs a steam engine down to Swanage. I know my father will be green with envy, the station was almost a living musuem, a relic of the past. The backdrop of the Castle to the station, made for a picture postcard view.

Tricia and Pat then got talking to the station staff, who were volunteers, and old railway hands. Hence it looked like they had picked up a couple of blokes! The ticket office were a little surprised when Tricia bought 18 tickets when there were only 4 of us. But Tricia was buying ahead of June when we all go back down, and will take a trip on the train to Swanage.

The older chap looked well into his 70’s, and we reckon his uniform is probably that old as well. We then moved onto Swanage, as Tricia wanted to throw a stone in the sea. Here is a view of the bay at Swanage, with Rene and Edith (Paul and Pat) posing in the background. Amateur actors do such things.

By now the temperature was dropping, and so it was hot chocolate (for the ladies) and coffee (for the blokes) and into the car and the drive home. A splendid day.

Whilst we were out, Ellie was in front of the TV watching the dvd of High School Musical 3. Nikki, who had come home Friday evening after work, sat and watched it with her, before she went to play hockey. Ellie went along to watch but didn’t prove to be a lucky mascot, as they lost 4-2, but Nikki played well, and set up both her teams goals. Robbie had his band over, and so they made plenty of noise… not that I could hear it as I was in Corfe.

This morning Tricia, Ellie, Robbie and me went up to church, where we did the family prayers. After church Tricia and Nikki went training. Nikki had a sore toe after hockey, but managed to do a hurdles session. I cooked lunch,  and one of Robbies mates, who had stayed overnight, also stayed for lunch. I then dashed off to dress rehearsal (oh yes I did).. Babes in the Wood on stage this week. I thrashed Nikki at tennis on the Wii this evening before she went back to Hatfield, watched Lark Rise to C, and all of a sudden the weekend was over.

Whilst on placement at Watford hospital this week, Nikki witnessed a hip operation. Whilst post op physio is not what Nikki intends to do, she is more interested in sports physio, she was clearly quite interested in what the surgeons were doing. The woman who was operated on is one of Nikki’s patients this week. Nikki has two weeks left at Watford hospital, and that is her last placement until October. She should get a long summer break, from May to September, and is hoping she can work full time during that period, to build up her account. She has also got her house sorted out for next year, and its cheaper than where she is this year, which is good.

Tricia had to make a wedding cake last week. I admire Tricia’s patience, spending hours making icing roses, all very intricate.

It’s a busy week ahead on the acting front, with the panto on Thursday, Friday evenings, then a matinee on Saturday and a final evening performance on Saturday evening. During last week I auditioned for a part with an acting group in Winslow. They are putting on a play called ‘Present Laughter’, which is a Noel Coward play. I got a phone call yesterday to say I had got the part of Henry. As I haven’t done anything with this group before, I was quite pleased just to get a part. First rehearsal is Mon 23rd Feb.