BBQ English Style

As George has been away in New York and Florida, Jill decided that the remaining boys needed some excitement of their own. Wednesday was BBQ English Style and a chance to sleep out in the chalet at the end of the garden. Ollie played chef.

And Charlie was his assistant:

Wilf's 75th Birthday

It was a lovely day for a 75th birthday last Sunday.  We went down to Bookham for Wilf's birthday. Mary was there, David and his fiancee, Sharon. There was lots of delicious food; in particular, Jill's fish pie and the rhubarb syllabub. The boys, and me, had some football fun in the back garden. And there was a rather surreal episode during which Bob got a little stuck in the back of the van. 

I rather like the pic of the back garden. It is one of those pictures where the soft focus effect of the trusty old blackberry seems to work in its favour. 

George Goes to Chappaqua

Yesterday George set off with Jill to get the 8.30am American Airlines flight from Heathrow to JFK. He is going to go to Florida with the Summers for a week. I am really proud of him making this trip by himself. The only glich was that Jill had to leave George at security instead of at the gate as she thought. But it was all okay as George arrived safely. At 12 I didn't get further than down to Hertford on my bike by myself, if that.

The picture is of Jeremy (right), Ben (left) and George.

Guard Of Honor

This, if anything, was my Father's philosophy. I found a number of copies in amongst the papers of his I was going through tonight. I remember he showed me the piece a couple of times over the years. I think he found it helpful at difficult times in his life.

"In any human situation, even the simplest, there are more variables than any human mind can properly take account of...

A great many people, maybe most people, confronted by a difficult situation, one in which, the don't know what to do, get nowhere because they are so busy pointing out that the situation should be remade so they will know what to do....

There are reasons for everything that is....They're often interesting. Figuring them out increases our understanding. They may arouse our indignation or our compassion. They add up to say that if things had been different, things might be different. That seems quite likely; but things aren't different, they are as they are. That's where we have to go on from."

It is incredibly pragmatic.

I looked for it when composing my funeral speech, but am quite glad now I didn't find it. If I had, I suspect I would have built my speech around it and not ended up saying what I wanted to.

In case you are wondering, it is from Guard of Honor by James Gould Cozzens.

Completion on Dad's House

We completed on Dad's house today. I shut up the house today. Being inside the house wasn't too bad: it was empty, there was no furniture, it was very clean. It didn't look like an inhabited house. It is ready for someone else to make it a home. 

But being outside was different. It was more emotional. I suspect because the garden looked like the garden used to look when the house was inhabited; very little had changed in it.  The garden, unsurprisingly, also proved to be more photogenic than the empty rooms. There were some daffodils in bloom, in the flower bed in front of the shed, above, and around the tree on the lawn, below.

I teared up a little when I met Malcolm walking his dog. He said they miss Mick. So do I. 

15 Beane Rd, Watton-at-Stone

I exchanged on Dad's house earlier this week and on Saturday we went around as a family to the house for the last time. The last few times we have been have been less emotional as the overwhelming need is to get the rest of what remains out and the house in good order for the next owners. The house is now looking like it needs someone new to live in it. It is ready to be a home again.

That said, it was the last time that the kids will go inside. Charlie cried. I think it is a way for him to access Grandpa. Ollie was a regular visitor to the house with me, and I think it was the same for him.

The picture is a Google Maps shot of Watton-at-Stone. Even though you can't see the house itself, I like the shot. It is a little like we are pulling away from house. The sale will be completed this Friday and I will take a last look then.

- - - - - - - - - - -

Today, Charlie created The Love Club, and started to populate it with all the people he loved. It was nice that Grandpa was included. I think he would be happy with that.

Charlie and The Grand Pee

Charlie confused the Grand Prix with a grand pee today. 

George Soccer

George's football/soccer club has a web site, http://www.clubwebsite.co.uk/londonroadjuniorfootballclub/under12s/

Unfortunately George isn't in the team photo, nor has his individual photo on-line but he was man of the match in the report below. If you do look at the site ignore the number of games they have played. To be honest, they have played a lot. It is just that the website has only been up for a couple of matches.

Sun 08 Mar 2009

Whetstone W 4
London Rd Under 12s 1

The under 12s produced their strongest team performance of the season. Unfortunately lack of concentration at the back , proved costly . Both teams played some nice football and the first half looked to be heading for a stalemate .With a couple of minutes to go , a Road clearance dropped to a Whetstone midfielder who smashed the ball back beyond Aaron. With seconds to go , the ball was pumped into our box. With time to clear Ollie hesitated and their forward nipped in to lob Aaron. Half time gave the manager a chance to make some changes . Ollie , Jacob and Marli made way for Josh , Gavin and Harry. We came out flying ,Connor shored up the defence. George Barnett bossed the midfield and captain Jack Gage was running them ragged. We were soon back in the game, after a fine run and finish from Jack Gage. The next 15 minutes saw us push hard for an equaliser. Once again lack of concentration, saw Ben Nailard divert the ball to their forward 3-1. Jack Armstrong was introduced for Jack Rintoul and Marli replaced Ben. Ross dropped back in Ben's position. We kept pushing forward but could not break through. Just before final whistle , Ross sliced a clearance to a grateful forward 4-1. The scoreline did not reflect the open game. A few more performances like this and we will march up the table. Aaron and George both had their best games for the club.

Cross Dress Friday

Click here for the why. Look below for the pictures.

Bloody gorgeous!

Skiing at Super Devoluy Pt 2

As promised in previous post, I managed to post film of boys skiing. This is a nice blue run. I think George and Ollie are holding back a little.