With August came the Ride100 for Tricia. 100 miles cycling in and around London. We travelled in on the Saturday the 2nd, and stayed over at a Travelodge near the city airport. Tricia had an enormous Pizza, before off to bed and up early to get her to the start line near the Olympic Stadium. All went well, Tricia there in plenty of time. I drove back to the hotel, had some breakfast and then drove out, around the M25 and parked at Baker Street. Tricia meanwhile had set off. And was doing really well… The problem she faced later was congestion slowing everyone down, and then a couple of accidents meant that she didn’t do the full 100, only 86 as they were diverted, and she missed the hills she had been training for. So when she finished later in the afternoon she wasn’t particularly pleased… and even less so when she discovered they had run out of medals! Hers turned up in the post a week later. Me… I wandered around Oxford St etc, and managed to find a new pair of trainers. I was rather pleased with this as I do have difficulty finding ones that fit in terms of length

With the ride complete we went back to the car. Tricia changed and went to Bill’s for a meal. We were even recognised as regulars! Then a drive home with a very tired Tricia. Monday evening, the 5th Aug, I was at rehearsal, and Tuesday evening we went up to the Pilgrim for Turkish night, with Matt and Ellie.

After the hard work of decorating the living room, the new furniture arrived on Friday. In particular I love the coffee table… but the room has been refreshed and is looking good. I am glad to be shot of the old sofa.

Saturday was the start of the football season. Tricia was off to a meditation, whilst Bob and myself travelled to the Olympic stadium to watch West Ham against Man City… last seasons champions. We were 0-1 down at half time, but had played pretty well. Second half though we were over run, and lost by 0-5 in the end. Same old.

Sunday was family prayers, followed by family lunch. On Tuesday 13th Tricia went up to London and visited Buckingham Palace. Friday was our 33rd wedding anniversary. I surprised Tricia with a new Ipad. Th old one was just running far too slowly, it made it difficult to do anything.

Saturday 17th we went to Wendy and Robs for lunch, Ellie and Matt came with us, and we had a pleasant afternoon catching up with all. On the upside West Ham got a point away at Brighton. Nice recovery from the previous weeks heavy defeat.

On the Monday, Roy was in doing the work tops, sanding down and oiling them up. As it meant that Tricia could not do anything in the kitchen she took the opportunity of a day out, going down to Salisbury with Janet. On the Tuesday, with oil drying, Tricia took Isabelle to Woburn – her birthday present.

Ellie was in MK Friday evening catching up with some old friends, and then on the Saturday finished her summer stint at M&S. In the evening Tricia and me went to the Village Hall, where Peter York was celebrating his 70th birthday. West Ham won at Watford. All of a sudden the start the new season was ok. Meanwhile, there were major fires in the Amazon rainforest that were the focus of the media. Made a change from Brexit, but it didn’t make for comforting news. What was rather exciting was England rescuing a Test match that seemed dead and buried. Ben Stokes made 135 not out, for England to win by one wicket. One of the all time great performances… it made for compelling viewing.

The final week in August was a short one, with the Monday being the Bank Holiday. On Friday 30th Tricia was away on the Girly Weekend, this time they were all down on the Somerset levels. On the Saturday I went with Bob to watch West Ham play well, and have a comfortable home victory. Nice. In the news, Boris, the new PM, asked the PM to suspend Parliament until October 14th… by stopping Parliament it was looking like he was trying to force through a hard Brexit. This led to demonstrations in a number of parts of the country.

Iona was the same as before. Peaceful. We settled into the ways of the house quickly. Morning service, breakfast… then out, back for lunch, for me a sit (and snooze) in the library. Evening meal and service in the lovely lit chapel. One highlight though was our trip to Lunga on the Wednesday, and the beautiful Puffins. Then onto Staffa and Fingal’s cave. Fantastic columnar basalt formations. Breathtaking. There was excitement one evening when Tricia saw some dolphins in the strait between Iona and Mull. Tricia went to services at the Abbey, I didn’t, but I did find a little shop that did a nice Flat White. On the Tuesday evening we tried to pick up some signal try and watch the England ladies football team in their World Cup semi final, sadly they lost to USA 2-1.

On the Friday, 5th July, we were off on Iona and straight across Mull to the ferry then Oban. We had a light lunch with Janet, Jan and Elizabeth before we set off to find Castle and Loch Sween, old seat of the Sween clan. I was hoping for some kind of spiritual connection, but no. The castle itself is on part of a set of holiday homes with limited access. We drove miles down a road with a dead end… but we did come across a great little chapel in Kilmory, featuring ‘the carved stones of kilmory’. Back up the road we headed through Inveraray, at the top of Loch Fyne, and then down to a lovely B&B in Cairndow. This was a lovely house, brilliantly decorated… I almost thought we were in the wrong place. Next day, to avoid traffic we went round the east side of Loch Lomond, down towards and through Glasgow and its cobweb of motorways, then south. About 50 miles south of Glasgow we came off the motorway and went to a place called Moffat. Much better than a service station, the sun was out and we sat and late lunch on a street café. Then we walked around and found some great ‘nick-nack’ shops. A visit to a large shop featuring woollens proved beneficial as I got myself a great jumper to wear to football in the winter… all very odd on a hot day.

Back in the car we drove back south, over the English border and found our B&B for the night, just off the motorway near Lancaster. This time we stayed in an old hotel, that was in need of some tlc. The food was ok though. Sunday morning we went into Lancaster, visiting the castle, and cathedral. Late afternoon Tricia finally agreed that the holiday was over and we completed the last leg of the journey home.

Back from Scotland, it was straight back in to usual life, well for a few days anyway. All the washing to do… back to work for me on Monday, and a new role as a ‘Service Owner’ looking after E mail services. For Tricia, Brownies at the Sports field, but more sadly it was catering for the funeral of one of the characters of the village on the Tuesday. Guy had passed away, just over 90. Tricia went to the funeral and said it was a good village turn out. Much loved, and now much missed.

Come Thursday though, Tricia was off on her travels again. This time she was off to Edinburgh with Robbie to order hilt and outfit for the wedding. They flew out Thursday evening and came back in on Sunday evening. They took the opportunity of a spot of walking whilst up there. Tartan and kilt all sorted, Rob just has to wait until is made now. I took the opportunity of a fairly quiet Sunday to watch England against New Zealand in the cricket World Cup final. England had finally found form, beating India and New Zealand to get a semi final slot. They hammered Australia in the semi and went to the final. A nail biting final, where Ben Stokes somehow got the game to a tied situation after 50 overs… and then England won the super over. Shredded nerves. England finally won a one day World Cup.

On the 18th, Ellie went in as a day patient to have her wisdom teeth out. They had been causing her problems for a while, so whilst it was painful and uncomfortable for her it was the best thing to do in the long run. The evening of Saturday 20th, we went up to the Docwra’s with the usual crew for the evening. Sunday 21st was Clive’s birthday present… a surprise visit to Crossness pumping station. This was a bit of a trek into and then across London, and a taxi ride, but we got there in the end. Nikki and Matt joined us. At the end of the day, we travelled back across London and had a meal in Bill’s.

Tricia was busy the following week prepping a wedding cake for Kate and Luke. Saturday I met up with Big John and we went to see West Ham play at Fulham, we walked along the Thames and stopped for lunch. I had booked tickets a couple of days before and was told I could pick them up at the ticket office… except when we got there they weren’t there. Eventually the tickets turned up. A good game and win for West Ham and a walk back along the river.

The month ended with Tricia having a day out to Salisbury with Janet on the 30th and then Pub quiz in the evening on the 31st. It also ended with a new prime minister, with Boris Johnson becoming the new leader of the Tory party, and therefore Prime Minister.

June

Saturday 1st June we hosted a meal for all those going on the Iona trip, a discussion around arrangements, and some introductions for those who didn’t know each other. The weekend was quiet apart from that. The following Thursday was the 70th anniversary of the D-Day landings. There was lots of press coverage, and remembrance ceremonies. Tricia and myself went with the history club to Biggin Hill museum. Biggin Hill being a famous aerodrome from the Second World War and the Battle of Britain. It was an excellent trip. The museum wasn’t big, but you were able to get a feel for how the place would have been in the war. There was a particularly moving flag ceremony.

On Friday the 7th we met up with Juliet and John at the Five Elms in Weedon. A lovely meal and good company. Saturday, Tricia was at a Meditation lunch, I stayed in and worked on the decoration for the ‘snug’ as we were now calling the former dining room / study. On Sunday, I continued with the decoration, whilst Tricia got some miles in her legs on the bike, and then went to Granborough Flower festival.

Monday evening, the 11th, Tricia and me went into London to the British museum for a private viewing of drawings, which included some Rembrandts, arranged by BP. The event was hosted by a couple of museum experts, who provided context and insight. On the way home we popped into Bill’s near Holborn for a meal. A lovely evening out.

On the Friday, it was a birthday meal for Tricia, at the Chequers Inn at Weston Turville, with Ellie and Matt. Great food, which is what you would expect from a ‘fine dining’ pub. On Saturday I popped across to see my Dad ahead of Father’s Day. In the evening Tricia went off for a birthday celebration to ‘Pink Punters’, whilst I went to Aylesbury to see a Genesis tribute band called ‘Book of Genesis’. A group of us went, Alan, Rob and Amy, Bob and Adam… they were both a little non-plussed, expecting it to be more modern Genesis. Alan loved it. Sunday, Tricia went to church, whilst I went to Aylesbury to check out some potential new furniture for the living room… which was good. Then we had a Father’s Day and Tricia birthday bbq over at Nikki’s. Reg loved seeing his bro’s and chased around with them. In the evening Tricia dropped Ellie and Matt off at Luton for their little holiday to Paris. What you might call a busy weekend!

Monday I was speaking at a Microsoft event in London, on adoption of o365 services, which went down well. Wednesday evening Tricia was at Rachels for a Girly night, and then on Friday we had a curry night with the usual suspects, and attempted ‘blankety blank’. I also finished work for a few weeks. On Saturday Tricia cycled to Waterperry and back, as part of the Ride 100 prep. Then on Sunday, Wendy and Rob came up for lunch, and we were joined by Pat and Clive, Ellie and Matt.

On Monday, having finished the snug decorating, I started on the living room. I had pretty much finished on the Wednesday evening before we went away. We also got the Mazda thru it’s MOT, had my car checked for an error that had come up, been to the pub quiz and had a little visit to Claydon house (we had gone to Waddesdon but it was shut). On the Wednesday, a chunk fell off of one of Tricia’s teeth… so an emergency visit was made to the dentist for repair before we drove north to the Lakes. Reg was housed at Nikki’s for the week. Ellie left in charge of the house.

We drove up went Tricia got back from the dentist, a lovely day, we stopped at Sizergh Castle and Garden on the edge of the Lake District. After going round the house and gardens it was an ice cream, and back in the car to stay at Les and Les’s. Except they were not there, away themselves. We had a meal with Dan, Chris and Hannah. On the Friday we went and walked up Helvellyn, which is the third highest peak in England, and one we missed on the coast to coast walk. A lovely day, with plenty of sun and breeze it was a good climb. A small lunch at the top before returning. In the evening we went out to a pub for a meal with Dan, Chris and Hannah.

Saturday we set off on the next leg of our journey, with a drive up to Oban. A reasonable drive up, we arrived late afternoon. We met up with everyone else going to Iona, who had arrived via different routes. An evening meal in the town, and the acquisition of a bottle of Oban whisky and I was happy :-). Sunday morning was damp… a bit of breakfast in the B&Bm and we set off for the ferry to Mull. Tricia and me went off up to Tobermory, with Paul, Les and mad Helen in the back. Tea / coffee, a wander round, more whisky from the distillery and we were happy. We drove down the ‘scenic’ route and picked up the ferry to Iona…. And settled in at Bishop’s House.

A busy month … and busy elsewhere. Liverpool won the Champions League against the Totts, Theresa May resigned as leader of the Tory Party, meaning we would have a new Prime Minister. This was all on the back of her unsuccessful attempts at driving through her Brexit bill. Parliament made compelling viewing, with MP’s changing parties, and hard in fighting around Brexit. England were playing in the cricket World Cup, and making heavy weather for qualifying for the semi finals, having beaten South Africa in the opener, they then went and lost to Pakistan, then they beat Bangladesh, the West Indies and Afghanistan before losing to Sri Lanka and then Australia.