Day 315 - Cinderella and the Beanstalk

Well, there was the offer of a game of golf at 08:00 this morning.... and, when I opened the curtains at 08:15 I was glad that I had declined: storm Fred (or whatever daft name they now give to these things) was blowing hard and it would have been yet another survival round...  It did stay dry and it wasn't cold but 30-40mph winds are not my idea of golfing fun!

Instead, it was a day of domestic admin. Both children were with us in Cobham "working from home" so I was also on lunch catering duties.  I got a fair amount done, but my domestic accounts still not up to date. maybe I just don't want to know what Christmas cost us...

In the evening, we drove up to The Latchmere in Clapham. We had been recommended the pantomime there by friend Marielle from the Golf Club.  We had a more than acceptable dinner downstairs in the pub itself first (pork belly with some of the best green beans I have ever eaten!) before moving upstairs to the theatre at 7 pm.

I wasn't quite sure what to expect: the stage itself was relatively small with perhaps 10 ros of seats seating in total around 100, with plenty of kids in the audience which was great.  The show itself was a three-man effort, plus musician, and was indeed great fun. T

The premise was that our three hosts had written a mammoth show starring every pantomime character you have ever heard of but had forgotten to book the actors required so were forced to do the job themselves...

.... which they did with great gusto, displaying a whole range of voices and faces as well as some decent singing voices.  Like any good panto, there was plenty of audience participation which enjoyed, particularly some of the younger members of the public who provided just the form of reaction that the actors will have wanted.  The highlight for me was the three-minute version of Home Alone.... you had to be there!

Day 314 - Another sunny day's golf...

Tuesday is Ladies Day at Burhill so when we got to the Club this morning, we checked what their plans were  and, according to the information we were given, there were fewer than normal playing and they would be playing on the Old Course, teeing off at 0930.  Perfect: we were playing in two groups of three and were good to go at 0900 so we headed for the first tee.

As we approached the second fairway, we spotted the course marshall heading our way purposefully...  Unbeknownst to him (or us), the Ladies event was actually a multi-tee start at 10:00 with groups starting off the 1st, 3rd, 6th and 9th tees.  Oops.... It was now 09:17 and the question was whether or not our two groups could beetle around and be past the 6th hole in time....

That all sounded too much like hard work, so we opted instead ourselves to move off the 2nd green to the 9th tee. A wise decision, as we inconvenienced nobody and never even saw any of the Ladies groups. 

When we got back to the beginning of the course, from the 18th, there were lots of people out playing, so we decided to play the first two holes for a second time and make it a 20-hole match (as you know, the best way to take 4 shots off your round is only to play 17 holes... so we were doing the reverse!).

The Beef - RIP

As things turned out (contrary to their initial assertions!) our three-ball had easily beaten than coming behind us, in part due to the fact that I managed to one-putt five (or was it six?) holes... and this was the same course that I played yesterday?

At home, I was on dinner duty again tonight: for the 5th day in a row we were eating some of the Christmas beef - which continued to be delicious and, given the number of meals we had gotten out of it, perhaps not so expensive after all...

Day 313 - Pitchmark Problems

This blog is turning into a bit of a broken record: another incredibly mild day this morning (this must be the warmest December for a very long time!) meant that an invitation for a round at the Club was most gratefully received!

Roland and I met up at 09:30 but were soon aware that we were not the only ones with the same idea: to quote the course marshal: "it's heaving out there"....  So, after consulting with him, we opted to tee off from the 9th on the Old Course and to see whether or not we wanted to play the remaining 8 once we had completed the 18th.

We were soon down to shirtsleeves: it was really warm in the sunshine!  the course itself though was decidedly wet underfoot and the greens very "bobbly" to putt on (at least that is my excuse....).

Good reminder,
Poor grammar...

I was disappointed to note how many un-repaired pitchmarks there were on virtually every green: it's a real shame that members cannot be bothered to take the few minutes required: it's our own course after all!

We have tried various initiatives in the past to help people remember to fix their pitchmarks: putting signs up, giving everyone their own hole to own and look after but nothing seems to work...

All ideas welcome!

And no, we didn't play the final holes but instead repaired to the bar to watch some of the third day of the First Test versus South Africa.  Then in the afternoon, Mrs L and I went for a walk in the woods around Garson's Farm.  It's a few years since I have been there: I couldn't believe quite how much space they have now given over to retail therapy: I bought a hat...

Day 312 - Traffic

Sol, Poppy & Jos
at the breakfast table

Another lazy start and yet more smoked salmon for breakfast (CostCo doesn't do small portions....).

Today was the day that the family went their separate ways: my daughter drove up to Manchester to see her boyfriend, and ran into bad traffic on the M6. My brother was driving back from Suffolk: a journey which normally takes two hours but instead took over three hours due to congestion on the M11 and the M25.

And I volunteered to drive my sister-in-law and three children down to her sister's in Eversley, Hants.  Having seen all the red lines on the sat nav, we decided to take the A3 and cut across on the A331 and, yes, we hit our very own traffic on the way around Guildford...

But eventually we all got there. And I am pleased to be able to report that the children's car seats fitted beautifully into the Tesla, which served for the first time as a family car.  The boys were suitably impressed but unfortunately neither the Traffic Adjusted Cruise Control nor the Auto Pilot were functioning... something for the Tesla guys to have a look at next week!

Day 311 - Boxing Day Test

Another lazy day: the Durham family still with us, so it still feels as if we are celebrating! A late breakfast is on the agenda: plenty of smoked salmon and cream cheese left from yesterday to start things off.  Then I had made some fruit muffins for everyone as well - this used to be a family tradition: Mum made pancakes on one day at the weekend and I made muffins on the other...but those days are long past...

Today was the first day of the new Test series against South Africa, so of course we had to tune into that, though the rapid disappearance from the crease of Messrs Cook and Hales did put a bit of a pall on proceedings to start with. England did recover somewhat later on though: game on...

Another very mild day meant that we didn't even need any coats on the walk to the pub for a drink before lunch. On this occasion we headed to the Cricketers, but more because of the park and associated play equipment than the beer selection... That being said, the pub is still one of the nicest around and we had a most pleasant drink before heading home for lunch.

What then followed was one of my absolute favourite types of lunches: lots of things to choose from, some hot, some cold, with plates all over the table - it was one of those meals where you can just stay sitting all afternoon, grazing away... which we did....

Day 310 - Christmas Day

Pictures speak better than words: we had great fun!

Stockings in the morning

Breakfast guest

Family photo 2015

Traditional Christmas tree portrait

Lunch... yum...

Day 309 - Yo-yo

Despite a slow start, I was out of the house first thing(ish) to get in one final run to Waitrose to pick up all the last minute things that we need for tomorrow. I needn't have worried - there was plenty of room in the car park and the shop itself was relatively quiet. All very easy really.

Back home for some concerted culinary preparation: Kathryn made an orange cake with plum sauce for tomorrow as well as a sweet potato soup for supper on Christmas Day, whereas my task was to prepare the red cabbage and the parsnips and also cook some mince pies.  For all of these, I turned to my cookery bible at this time of year: Delia Smith's Christmas (amazing value on Amazon!) as every recipe I have ever made from it has been a hit.

Unfortunately, before I could start on the red cabbage, I had to do a return run to the shops as we had run out of apples and onions.  Everything in the village was much more crowded: are people really doing their Christmas present shopping today?

Christmas Table
halfway ready!

By the time everything was done, my daughter arrived home and set about her task for the day: laying the table for the 17 we have for lunch tomorrow. She has been doing this for years and always does a wonderful job!

Mince pie making came around: and could we find the pastry cutters anywhere? No we couldn't, so back to Cobham again for an emergency purchase run (and, yes, there are still people Christmas shopping at 3 in the afternoon on Christmas Eve...).  And would you believe it, I then ran put of mincemeat so had to go back for the fourth time: it is fortunate that we live so close but even so by now I'd had enough!

By now my son was also home and we had a quorum: everybody was feeling very weary though and after a traditional fresh salmon dinner, we could only manage the first half of White Christmas before people started peeling off to bed.... at least they'll all be fast asleep by the time Santa arrives...

Day 308 - Christmas Eve Eve

We woke up to sunshine this morning: the first time in ages that there were blue skies rather than clouds overhead.  The decision to postpone the golf from yesterday looks to have been vindicated!

And so it was that 5 of us gathered outside the Pro Shop at 10:00 am today. Given that it's a working day, the car park, the courses and the bar are all remarkably busy: don't people have jobs to go to?

The Old Course was a bit crowded, or at least the tee box was, so we made our way down to the New.  Balls in the air and we had split ourselves up into one two- and one three-ball.  There was a slow group ahead of us but fortunately they seemed aware of the fact and by the time we had completed the second hole, both of us were through them.  After that it was plain sailing for a decently paced round.

The weather stayed mild, though as the wind got up in the afternoon and the sun started sinking it was noticeably colder than it has been of late. No complaints though: golf in the sunshine on Christmas Eve Eve is not to be sniffed at!

My partners both had excellent front nines and I was very much a passenger until we made the turn. If anything, the boot was on the other foot after that and I contributed better to the team score, including a great chip-in birdie on the 14th: 3 points gained when it looked as though all were lost.

Back in the bar, they chose David, who had scored best, as their proxy and ended up beating us by 1 point...all good fun and a most convivial afternoon.

Back home to start the Christmas cooking preparations: in my case a Nigella chocolate fruit cake, though it didn't quite look like the picture as I used a larger cake tin...  This got us thinking about how many people there were on the globe who are instantly recognisable by their first names...  we came up with Adele, Tiger, Rory, Nigella herself, certainly Diana when she alive, but there must be more!

Day 307 - Just 3 days to go...

I was supposed to be getting the old sticks out again this morning but the combination of the weather forecast (rain from mid morning combined with strong winds) and the need to get some grocery shopping in before the Big Day meant that duty called...

We were outside the gates of Costco at 09:58, ready for the off... As it turned out, we needn't have worried: the crowds weren't too bad, but the shelves were definitely emptier than they had been a week earlier. We didn't have a lot of choice on the beef front but, after an extensive discussion with a fellow customer, I found what looks like as if it should be a fine centrepiece on the table on the 25th.  Watch this space...

Arrived home via a stop-over at Sainsbury's (for some smaller portions) in time for lunch.  And when we came to dot he washing up, we realised that we had a problem... the pilot light on the boiler had gone out and was refusing to be coaxed back into action.  Don't panic...! 

A call to the local bathroom shop (TJ Bathrooms of Cobham) produced a plumber and, what's more, he had time this afternoon.. problem solved: he managed to fix it and, what's more, persuaded us that the boiler itself was good for many years to come... result....

A walk into Cobham followed: the traffic in the village was desperate and Shank's Pony was definitely the right choice!

And then it was back to the Club (no escape..) for the final Men's Committee Meeting of the year.  A few fellow committee members had called off which meant that there were only five of us there.  We were still quorate however and arguably were even more efficient à cinq....

Day 306 - Wallace collection

Looking at the weather forecast for the coming days, we had a quick change of plans today and, instead of doing any early Christmas food shopping, decided instead for a day uoit together, Mrs L and I.

First job was to collect a pre-ordered gift from West Byfleet, before taking the train up to London for the day from Esher. Was pleased to find lots of spare places in the car park: there must be people on holiday already.

Our goal today was to visit the Wallace Collection, something that we have been talking about for ages but have never yet managed to fit in.  When we arrived, it was time for an early lunch, so we decided to start by exploring the restaurant; what a great setting!  A courtyard right in the middle of the museum, with a glass roof turning the area into a giant type of orangery - and the food was very good too. Definitely somewhere to return to...

One of the stunning rooms
at the Wallace Collection

As was the museum itself: they have a fantastic collection of French art, furniture and porcelain, as well as a very impressive selection of 15/16th Century armour. The latter wasn't really to Kathryn's taste, but I found them fascinating and not a bit gruesome too...

There was so much to see that by the time I had explored the Renaissance rooms, with some stunning examples of illuminated manuscripts, all protected from daylight by heavy leather covers, there simply wasn't enough time either to see the special Agincourt exhibition in the basement, nor to even venture upstairs to see what is apparently the largest collection of Marie Antoinette's furniture in the world.

We have already agreed to return together in the spring for a second go at exploring what is definitely one of London's hidden gems.

Walking back to the station via Oxford Street, I couldn't resist having a look at the new Tesla showroom there. I started chatting to a potential customer and think that I may have convinced him: I should have asked for a commission!

Day 305 - Family Golf

Another mild day: as we drove into the golf club this morning, we crossed the Painshill roundabout and took a moment to admire the fine daffodils coming into bloom... in December!  One can only presume that they in for a nasty shock when, or if(?), the winter cold comes.  I just hope that they can cope...

Today was a family golf day: my wife Kathryn and son Andrew joined me for a three ball at Burhill.  We were a bit time constrained due to a late lunch date so made our best efforts to tee off promptly. As things turned out, we couldn't have timed it better as we were on the tee at 09:00 just after the two-ball slots were finishing.

Kathryn wasn't sure that she could finish the round so AJ and I decided to have a father/son competition. Not that it was much of a match: he started of par, par, par and then carried on with much of the same.  An outrageous birdie putt from 40ft by me on the 12th gave me some hope as I got the game back to 2 down but this didn't last very long as he hot a towering iron onto the par-3 13th on our Old Course to 12" from the pin... Dang....

After that it was all over bar the question of who would actually win the back nine - and I am afraid that his finishing stretch of 5 pars in a row were too much for me.  All of this meant that he had completed his round in 75 shots - very impressive given the weather conditions: some wind and a wettish course, with no roll at all.

A few weeks ago, I had been playing and I asked someone how their round was. The answer was "It was like the Second World War, Out in 39 and Back in 45"!  Well, today, I achieved a mirror image of the War - 45 on the front nine and 39 on the back... not too bad but not a patch on Lawrence Junior.

After the game, we hot-footed it for a late lunch at friends locally. We were treated to a real feast and it wasn't until after 6 pm that we left the table, sated and happy. Andrew's friend Nathan entertained us with pictures and videos from his first term as an officer cadet at Sandhurst. It all looked great fun, but absolutely exhausting...!

Day 304 - Global Warming

Up and out this morning whilst it was still dark: I thought that I'd be nice and early at the Club for the Saturday Roll-up but was amazed to find the bar crowded when I arrived: next time, I shall have t get up even earlier!  That being said, it made no difference as when I arrived at Burhill, I bumped straight into a three-ball looking for a fourth, which is how I found myself in the second group off the first tee of the Old Course just before 8 o'clock.

Cobham December 2010

It was barely light as we walked down the first fairway, but it was amazingly warm for this time of year: the temperature today hit 16°C (61°F) today in the week before Christmas. Strange to think that, 5 years ago in December, we were all deep under snow and today there were players playing golf in short trousers at the equivalent time of the year!

We did see the sun at some point in our round but more of an issue was the wind: yet again, we had to compete with strong winds making some of the holes play a lot longer than normal - at least that's my excuse to explain why I was not very good today.  Unfortunately, my partner chose the same day to be less than his stellar best too - all this meant that we really struggled against two players who drove well and putted brilliantly: we lost 4&3, which in truth was a pretty fair result.

A quick drink and we were on our way: Xenos had to go to see Father Christmas with his daughters today and even wild reindeers couldn't keep him away... The rest of us merely headed home early in the hopes of some pre-Christmas domestic brownie points...

In the afternoon, we went for coffee to meet up with Kenneth and Lois, friends from our days in Switzerland. We hadn't seen each other for a couple of years so there was lots of family news to catch up - a great way of spending an afternoon at this time of year!

Day 303 - Messiah

A day for some catching up, and tidying up before the Christmas rush. At least that was the plan...  By the time I had been into the Club to change a notice over, had spoken to a few people there and diverted by someone' house to assist with their PC problems, it was lunch-time before I knew it.

The afternoon was spent writing the final Christmas cards and working on the Christmas Letter - on-line version. Yes, I am afraid that we are one of those annoying families that has for the past 20 years ago sent out missives containing all the news of our great holidays and marvelling at the prowess of our stellar children.

At least nobody has to read them and I promise you that nothing we have sent out bears any resemblance to the stories in "My Hamster Loves Puccini" and similar works.  And I genuinely do enjoy keeping up with friends' lives through this medium though they can be a bit redundant in the world of social media in which we now live (including this Blog!)

At 4:30 pm we headed off to london: I wa driving up friends Colin and Su and we had a pre-theatre dinner reservatin at 6 pm and did not want to get snarled up in what was clearly going to be apalling traffic on this last pre-Christmas Friday.  Not at all!  We sped up arriving in arond 45 mins, far too early for the restaurant to admist us (they wee still trying to turf out late lunch guests!). We had a drink and then enjoyed a rushed 2-course meal at Lanceston Place.  It must be a god restaurant though next time we go, I shall allow more time and I shall also scrutinise the bill more carefully: I was almost out of the place when I realised that we had been majorly over-charged. Poor show, but they did correct it with some grace.

Thence to the Albert Hall for a performance of Handel's messiah: a real treat with a huge choir and some competent soloists. I was a bit déçu that they had cut out about 20% of the admittedly less well-known pieces but at 2 and a half hours that was probably the right length for a Friday evening. What a great location is the Albert Hall, with super sound and a wonderful atmosphere: we should return soonest!

Day 302 - Jubilee Goblets Final Round

Earlier in the summer, we played a mixed competition called the Jubilee Goblets and the six winners of that day were given the opportunity to play Foursomes matches against the Captain and Lady Captain.  The advice that I had received from my predecessors was that these games were a lot of fun but had posed a challenge in terms of scheduling.

Conscious of this, as soon as the competition was over, we set about finding some dates with our opponents. Two of the pairs proved trickier than the others but we were delighted that we managed to get everything fixed up before the end of the year, and thereby were able to avoid the perils of January/February golf...  and as things turned out, we had yet another mild autumnal day for the final fixture of the series.

Our opponents today were Pauline and John, a talented pair with a combined handicap of 18, which meant that at least we were going to be receiving some hots this time: 12 in total... but would it be enough?

We opted for the New Course today as it looked quiet and enjoyed remarkably good conditions for our game.  To start with, everything was nip and tuck: a hole here, a hole there.  At the halfway stage, everything was still to play for as we headed on to the 10th tee all square.  After that, our opponents tightened up their game... and we didn't: not a good combination!  It all came to a peaceful end on the 15th green, by which time we had lost 4&3 - a fair result, all things considered.

I was also pleased that I had managed to complete my Jubilee matches without injuring the Lady Captain - though it was touch and go today when I wasn't paying attention to my electric trolley: when I looked up poor Diana was on the floor, knocked over by a wayward Stewart. I was mortified but fortunately no serious damage was done.  And John never even noticed what was going on behind him....

That means that the six matches are all over and I am afraid that we didn't manage to win one...  but we played with some really friendly people and I have enjoyed every match.  The winners of the series turned out to be Roland and Jennie - and we shall be delighted to present them with their bottles of champagne at the Annual General Meeting on Valentine's Day next year.

Day 301 - 40 years on...

A slow start to the morning saw us at least getting up in the light and then we saw the sun... at least that's what I presume it was... most unusual for late December...and so warm too...??!

I couldn't hang around too long as it was time for another reunion today, this time over lunch. I took the train up to London, changed onto the Tube to Oxford Circus, and then walked up north to the restaurant in Marlylebone. I am not sure that I have ever been to this part of London before, on foot anyway, but was charmed by some of the streets I passed though: wonderful looking shops, all decorated, including a spectacular corner establishment appearing to sell nothing but ribbons!

One of our number, Gavin, had booked us a table at a restaurant called Aubaine in Moxyn Street and it was absolutely perfect for the occasion. There were seven of us lunching and we had a most enjoyable lunch.

At one point, we realised that it was pretty much 40 years ago that we first came together, although we will not the have met each other, as it was the week that all prospective Oxford candidates went up for interviews.  We all ended up at University College, where we soon became good friends, indeed most of us lived together in our third year in a splendid old North Oxford house (famous as being the place where the Piltdown Man hoax was perpetrated - at least that's what they told us when we lived there!).

We have been meeting up like this ever since: sometimes with wives, in former days with children in Kew Gardens and it is wonderful how, even after all this time, we simply slot in and carry on as if we have known each other for years (which we have!) and see each other regularly (which we don't!).  These get-togethers are now one of the highlights of the pre-Christmas season and long may they continue!

Day 300 - Starry Meal

As I type "Day 300" - the thought comes to me: definitely on the home stretch now!

Taking advantage of the unseasonably warm weather, a crowd of Disorganised Golfers took to the New course to do battle today. In total, there were 10 of us out here enjoying the conditions. I was playing with Terry and Steve and, despite the former's stellar haul of 4 birdies in his round (including on holes 13 &15!), we were never in the fight.  I managed 34 points myself which is better than of late, but we shall draw a veil over what happened on the par 3 8th hole... The final fourball were on fire and their total for the day of 92, being 20 better than par, was probably the best score that we have seen all year: the rest of us were just also-rans.

Afterwards, a number of us stayed for a drink and lunch in the Clubhouse (nothing organised - of course!) but a fun time to sit together and "chillax".  The Ladies were all upstairs enjoying their Christmas Jolly which meant that we pretty much had the place to ourselves: all very pleasant.

I couldn't hang around too long though as I had to get up to London for my annual Christmas gathering with the "Class of 81": a group who had all joined Shell in 1981 as callow graduates.  We met up at the Union Street Café on Suffolk Street, a 10 minute or so walk from Waterloo Station. 

This is a relatively new restaurant in the Gordon Ramsey family and had David Beckham as an investor at one point.  The menu changes daily and comprises mainly North Italian dishes.  I found the food delicious and will certainly be making a return trip with Mrs L.

The whole evening was great fun: we caught up on everyone's news, discussed the pros and cons of WhattsApp (excellent web option by the way!) and generally solved all of the world's problems, whilst also raising a toast to absent friends (particularly to Jon, who was part of this group until he died some four years ago at a ridiculously young age: very sad). 

I had thought that since we were meeting at 7 pm, it'd be a relatively early night but as it was, I enjoyed the joys of the Last Train Home.... mice and all....

Day 299 - Vets Christmas Lunch

I woke up early and drifted off to sleep again. The next time that I looked at my clock it was 0720: minor panic! I was due to tee off at 08:30 and heavens knows what the Monday traffic would be like...  Fortunately, it wasn't too bad and I got myself to the Club in plenty of time.

Today was the Vets Christmas Lunch and Golf.  The pairings had all been pre-arranged in handicap order so that I found myself in our version of the marquee group: paired with Kim against the doughty pairing of Ronnie and Graham: this was going to be one tough gig!  The format was Greensomes, with both of us teeing off and, fortunately, it was a day when my driving off the tee was on form. This meant that we could keep up with our opponents' length and the battle ended up being all around the greens.

A brilliant/fortuitous chip-in for a birdie by the Captain of the third hole saw us get our noses in front.  We managed to hang onto our slender lead throughout the round, largely due the combination of some seriously good putting by my partner and some solid chipping by me.  In the end, a stone dead 30 ft 9-iron onto the green on 17 meant that we had won our great tussle by 2&1.  We enjoyed the match so much that we have agreed a return fixture in 20156 at Bramley, Ronnie's new club. It should be fun!

After the golf, which my/Wilson's team won by the slenderest of margin (8 to 7), we all headed upstairs for the Christmas lunch. This was a traditional turkey main course, followed by a chocolate-laced Christmas pudding: perfect on a December day after a morning's exercise.

          

Lunch over, it was time for the speeches, the day's prizes and the handing out of all the year's major Vets trophies. As Captain, my job was to hand out the shields, cups and salvers and to pose for the photos that followed.  I was also asked to say a few words: I opted to be relatively brief, conscious of the fact that these type of events can go on a bit...  As it was, we were done well before 4 pm - too early for some but in plenty of time for others.

If I am lucky, that will be my final turkey meal of the year.. I have a good few more Christmas lunches to come but I am hoping that they will be turkey-free zones...

Day 298 - Christmas Foursomes

Another day, another day of foursomes golf... it's that time of year!  On this occasion, I was playing with my lady wife, alongside Dawn and John, in the Burhill Mixed Christmas Foursomes competition. We all turned up at the Club for an 11:00 tee off, in Shotgun format. The instructions were clear and the vast majority of players adhered: festive gear was required!

Kathryn and I got into the spirit with red, white and green outfits, trolleys decorated with tinsel and in my case a ludicrous Xmas hat compete with annoying music and a battery operated wiggle... all of which soon got jettisoned once the golf started...

That being said, our golf wasn't any great shakes so maybe i would have done better to keep the silly hat on!  We had to wait until the 5th hole before our visit from Santa Tony, resplendent in his new costume. He was a most welcome sight as he was bearing mulled wine and mince pies, both very welcome on a damp, if not cold, December day.

We had a fun round, even though we were pretty confident early on that we wouldn't be apearing on the list of winners.  Once the cards came in, it was clear that we far from being the only ones who had found the conditions far from easy. The combination of the format, and the lack of any form of roll on the fairways and slower than normal greens meant that there were many pairs who had played well below their handicaps.

Marta led the singing with great gusto!

Once everyone was suited and booted, we all migrated to the lounge for a cup of tea and some (a few...) sandwiches, served with a piece of Christmas cake.  Then followed the prize giving - the last such time that I shall be carrying out such duties with Diana, the Lady Captain.  A shame: I have really enjoyed the Mixed and Social events this past year.

There then followed a session of songs and carols by a local Twickenham choir: they are called Offbeat.  Their leader was a lady called Marta who was wonderfully spirited and enthusuastic: she and her choir hit the right note, at every level.  Their selection of a capella numbers mixed well with the traditional carols where everyone joined in. We shall definitely invite them back next year!

One tree, duly dressed

The turnout was excellent with the 90+ golfer crowd well supplemented by those who came along for the concert. Great fun: and a splendid way to herald in the Christmas season and to sign off the social golf season at the Club.

Back home in the evening, we carried on as it was time to dress the tree. Both children cam home for the occasion and, as ever, it was wonderful digging out the old ornaments and memories and remembering where the had come from.  Only 12 days to go...

Day 297 - Dog Licence

After a late night last night, it was an early start this morning: leaving the house when it was still dark to get to Burhill in time for an 08:00 start.  We had our fifth Jubilee Goblets match did Diana and I this morning. 

This one was always going to be particularly tough as we were giving lots of shots away To Roland and Jenny, both of whom are rather better golfers than their respective handicaps of 30 and 27 would have you believe.  And so it proved: we won the first hole, which is never a good sign... Conditions were not easy and the Lady Captain's game was not at its best, all of which meant that we were back in the Clubhouse before 11 am.

We ended up losing by a Dog Licence... (explanation to any readers States-side: in old British money, a dog licence used to cost seven shillings and sixpence, otherwise called "seven and six").  It did though give me the opportunity to repeat my newly-learned ditty:

Golf and gloating do not mix,
So if you win my seven and six,
Apologise for what you've done,
And write it down as two and one.

So... we lost 2 and 1....

At least the early finish gave me time for a pint of beer and a sandwich before heading out again. This time around, my partner Lisa and I had our second round match in the Mixed Autumn Foursomes. This was a much better matched game: we were giving just the one shot.

During my lunch break, the weather had taken a turn for the worse: the rain was holding off but the wind had decided to blow like crazy (and how many times have we said that this year?).  Unsurprisingly therefore, the quality of the golf was not the highest, but we were well matched.  Lisa and went down 3 holes early on but got back to level before dropping back again. I managed a chip-in par on the 16th to square the game, but a fine par by them on 17 and then a great up-and-down at the last meant that we had lost by 1 hole.  A shame.. but there's always next year!
 

Day 296 - A Cracking Game

Today was the occasion of the first round of the Vets Nations Cup - a series of matches played across the winter, each time between 8 players representing the Home Nations plus another for the Rest of the World.  I was turning out for the latter and we were matched up in Round 1 against the team from England.  The format is St Andrew's Greensomes (teams of 2, both drive and you then chose which ball to play into the hole in alternate shot format, with one player taking all the second shots on the even holes and the other on the odd).

My partner today was Mike: to date our record in playing in such team matches was Played 1, Won 1, albeit many years back. That game though had been a classic tussle, settled in dramatic fashion with the final putt for a half and, every time I see Mike, he reminds me of it!  It was good to be paired again after such a long time.  Our opponents were Steve and David from England and, when both pairs made excellent pars on our first hole (the 10th of the New) with fine up-and-downs, it looked as though it was going to be a tough match.

It wasn't really though, as Mike and I played near flawless golf winning on our 15th hole by 4&3 by which time we were only 4 over par, and that with no birdies at all.  I felt sorry for Steve nd David who were also playing well, but we would have given most teams a good match today. So now it's Played 2, Won 2... I wonder how long before we shall play together again?

Out on the Old Course, there was a shotgun start with many players dressed up in Christmas gear: it was Burhill's annual Christmas Cracker competition and I was delighted to meet up with Richard, a friend from University days who has been entering teams from Wimbledon into this competition for years.  He and his team looked to be having fun when I went to say my goodbyes on their 17th hole but I am not sure they will be amongst the winners.

Dinner tonight with Russell and Tina to carry on our preparations for our November 2016 golf and wine trip to South Africa.  As always, we had a fantastic meal and an enjoyable evening. Plans have been laid, dates agreed and now we only have to wait for another 11 months.....

Day 295 - Thanks!

My morning was spent today at the Stock Exchange: Ofwat had a presentation to the City about our plans for the next five years and I went along to support the Chairman and CEO. After some lucid presentations, questions from the floor centred very much on the proposed shift from RPI to CPI indexation... a bit technical, but very much of interest to the assembled crowd.

When we left the conference room, we were a bit taken aback to find saltires on display on all the screens: how so? Then we saw that Nicola Sturgeon was in town and also visiting Paternoster Square. That explains it...

Back home and a drive to West Byfleet to pick up the photo we have framed as a gift for Lisa, Chair of the Social Committee - they have done a fantastic job!  Definitely, a place to return to if I have some more framing to do...

This evening was the final Social Committee meeting of the year and was to be followed by a Christmas Dinner for all concerned. The meeting itself was short and sweet and then we moved into the restaurant for our meal. It was fun to have the chance to say thank you to everyone who has done so much to make the social calendar such a successful one over the past year.  Particular thanks went to Lisa, the Chair, and husband Kevin for all their efforts.  One tough act to follow...

Day 295 - Marcus Wareing

As readers of this Blog will know, I am interested in food generally and cooking is one of my hobbies.  This means that the recent growth of TV Reality cooking shows are rights up my street. I can remember watching the first Great British Menu series (I think they were cooking for Her Majesty) in which Marcus Wareing won the dessert course with a relatively simple, but delicious looking custard tart.

Since then, we have had many more series of GBM, plus all sorts of MasterChef programmes for celebrities, amateurs and professionals.  We tend to prefer the ones with proper chefs and have very much enjoyed the last few MasterChef Professional series - and had an excellent meal two years ago at Adam Handling's Caxton Hotel table at the time when I left my job at EDF.  I am following the current series and my money is on Mark...

We also very much enjoyed the Australian version of Masterchef but it does go on for a very long time... but has a much sharper competitive edege and also a higher teaching quotient for the viewers, which is great, even if some of thr ingredients are hard to come by.

All of this meant that I was delighted when Janet, my former colleague, suggested that we meet for lunch at Marcus in the Berkley Hotel today.  We had to eat early as she had a meeting to go to at 2 pm, so chose the lunch menu.

Wow: it was delicious - I chose the salt beef and the lamb and sitting here typing this am still savouring the taste.  We decided to cut back on the alcohol so just had one glass of wine as recommended by the sommelier...which was just as well as they charged us £19.50 for what was really a rather meagre serving.  That was the only quibble though...

All of this made preparing supper very easy: Kathryn was out at the flics and a glass of red and some biscuits and cheese went down perfectly... yes, watching MasterChef with Marcus Wareing too...

Day 294 - Soup Time

As I drove into the Club this morning, I bumped into three DOGS just as they prepared to head off top the first tee. "Martin - we need a 4th!", they shouted at me.  I wasn't tempted though... Not only was the weather looking a bit icky, but it was time for a break... Instead, I paid a visit to the Pro Shop and placed some Christmas present orders and afterwards returned to the Clubhouse to check my pigeonhole for mail.

Jobs done, there was time for a bit more Christmas shopping, this time in a precinct in West Byfleet. As ever, the best thing I found would have made a great gift for me!

After lunch, I had a couple of hours of Ofwat work to do: slaving over a hot iPad...  Then it was time to get into the car and drive up to the new Costco which has opened recently in Sunbury.  Much closer than the alternatives in Croydon, Aldershot or Reading, this was our first visit to the new store. We were very impressed.  Lots of clean lines, plenty of room, loads of staff and not too many people there either - ideal!

As ever, wandering around a store like Costco, you discover all kinds of things that you didn't reaslise you needed, your shopping cart fills up and before you know where you are, you have managed to knock up a bill of nigh on £500... frightening....

Another upside of visiting Costco is the chance to taste all the samples that are on offer: I had sticky toffee pudding, tuna on bagel and a piece of Lindt chocolate... so when it came time to prepare dinner, all plans for anything substantial went out of the window. Instead, a home-made leek and carrot soup beckoned and IMHO, it was delish....

Day 293 - Rule 19.5a

When I received the invitation to form a three ball in the Monday Stableford, it would be the first time that I had ever taken part in such a competition - and it turned out that my playing partners, Jan-Willem and David, were also Monday Stableford Virgins.  We had been due to play with Peter, but he dropped out with a chipped tooth (hope all is well!)

On the first Monday of the month, this competition is held, allowing anyone aged 55+ to play off the Yellow tees and everyone else the normal White tees.  One of our number is a few months short of the threshold, so Whites it was for us. 

We started well: a par on the long opening hole is always welcome, played the second decently but had a bit of drama on the third. David was on the green but a long way way from the pin. He chose not to ask any of the balls on the green to be marked and instead took on his lengthy putt. It was always going to move right to left... but not that much...: unfortunately, his ball hit another on the green leaving him 25 ft short and with a 2 stroke penalty (see Rule 19.5a).  That he then holed his next attempt was small comfort, as was the fact that on every subsequent hole he was always asked if he wanted all balls marked, even if they were behind him....

The round continued, with all going swimmingly until the turn: maybe we were going to have some good scores today?  Err, no... the second nine posed more problems and too many balls found there way into bunkers, rough grass and the suchlike. But, the sun came out, and we had a most pleasant round AND it was on a Monday morning.  Could be worse...

Day 292 - A busy day

A nice gentle start to the morning allowed me to make a plate of porridge, with blueberries and raisins, to ensure that I was well fed before starting out for this morning's competition: it was going to be another blustery day and I would need fuelling. Is trolled upstairs to check my tee time... panic stations!!  I ALWAYS play at 0842.. but somehow this morning I was slated to tee tee off at the earlier time of 0824...

Shower...change....rush... and yes, I was on the tee at the allotted time but it was not the leisurely walk, plus time to swing a club and practise a few putts that I prefer.  my partners for the day were Rick and Dan and they were much more organised than I was.  They did though ask me to tee off first (Mr Captain, over to you...) and no, the first shot did not find the fairway.... It all went from bad to worse when on the 3rd, I missed what must have been the shortest putt ever, as my mind wandered... focus, boy!

Fortunately, I got my act together in the second half so that my score at the end of the day was vaguely respectable, helped by a stunning birdie on the treacherous par-3 12th: a great tee shot to within 3 feet!  I now started to regret the fact that  had not put my money into the 2s competition....

Throughout the day, we played into howling gales, making holes 2 and 13 a real slog, but allowing 15 to be a relatively simple hot onto the green. We were staggered to get back and find that someone had beaten their handicap by 7 shots... wow...!

After playing, I was invited to join some friends for lunch: Paul, a former playing member at the Club, was in town on a business trip and was reconnecting with the Burhill social scene. We had a very pleasant meal (thanks, Karel, for the recommendation: the cod with chorizo was delicious!) accompanied by a glass or two of Rioja, topped of with a "cleansing ale" (a new concept to me!).

Lizzie Prior was unavailable so Sarah stood in and collected lots of silverware!

Afterwards, I was on duty again: it was the AGM and Awards for the Club's Junior section. Despite being told that it was due to start at 4 pm, when I got there - I thought a few minutes early... - everyone was waiting...  Peter, the Juniors' organiser, did a fine job MCing proceedings and it was both inspiring to hear of all the teams' successes and humbling to hear quite how good some of these younsgters are!

Day 291 - Farewell Tour

It was breezy when we left the house this morning, windy by the time we got out onto the tee and by the time we were out there in the middle of the round, it was blowing a hooley!  It was not going  to be easy out there...

And nor was it!  Today I was playing my final Captain & Pro Challenge match with Mike, our ex-Head Pro, before he leaves for California later in the month. In the final weeks leading up to his departure, Mike has been seeking to play a number of the courses here that he has no played before. Playing the "I'm a Pro" card seems to work quite well though: Birkdale last month, Muirfield on Monday and Queenwood to come later in the week, just to name a few. Not bad...  and good that he managed to find time to come back to Burhill to play today.

Our opponents today were Brian and John, whose combined handicap of 31 meant that we were going to be giving them 11 shots. That, combined with the equalizing force that was Storm Desmond, reinforced my view that we were in for a tough time.  We did well to par the 1st, but Brian hled a good putt for the 5 and a half and then they birdied the 2nd from 30 feet... hmm...

Double or Quits
from the hazard

At the turn we were 3 holes down and then, shortly thereafter, we were on the 11th tee with a 4 holes deficit.  We then started playing better, and they slightly worse, so that we managed to draw back to level standing on the 17th tee: Game on!

A weak drive by the Captain followed by an errant three wood put yours truly into the trees. Given that we were giving a shot, there was no mileage in taking the drop so we decided to give it a go...unsuccessfully....  Then on the 18th, neither player's drive found the fairway and the opponents' approach to 4 foot (with a shot) slammed the door shut... A shame, as we had done well to get back from 4 down, but great fun.

Day 289 - Tesselations

No golf today: a while back I had booked tickets for an art exhibition at Dulwich Picture Gallery for Mrs L and myself. I had spotted what turned out to be the first ever UK exhibition of some of the work of MC Escher.  I have always enjoyed his work, in part I suspect because of my mathematical background.

We must have seen most, if not all, of the pieces on show as they were ll on loan from a museum in Den Haag, where we used to live (and can indeed remember going to an Escher museum with les enfants).  That being said, I was particularly struck with some of his earlier pieces when, as a young man, he lived in Italy. The attention to detail and meticulous representations in pencil sketches, lithographs and woodcuts were fantastic - quite how long he must have taken to produce them, I have no idea.

In the 1930s, as he left Italy behind and moved back to Holland, via Switzerland and Belgium, his style became more akin to the works we know today: lots of fish, birds, lizards and staircases all morphing into each other and fooling the eye with strange perspectives.

After the war, he further refined his techniques and ended up in discussion with some of the famous mathematicians of the day who were looking into the mathematics of symmetry and tessellations. One of these was Sir Roger Penrose, whom I can remember giving me a lecture when I was a callow undergraduate at Oxford.

All in all a great day out and if you can stand the South Circular, well worth a visit - and the café's good too!

In the evening, we had a meeting of the Club Handicap Committee: this was to discuss the impending Annual Handicap Reviews to ensure all on the same page, as well as to think a little about the introduction of the new rules planned for 1st March 2016... watch this space...

Day 288 - Last of the year...

Another fine winter's day and a great opportunity for Mrs Lawrence and I to spend some time out on the golf course together: nothing too serious but a fun walk around the first half of the Old Course in very clement weather.  We took the opportunity to practise a few shots and very much enjoyed the time out together.  A lunch in the Green afterwards closed off a very enjoyable morning.

At this point, we went our separate ways: Kathryn had a coffee meeting with three lady friends to discuss plans for our November vacation together and I had a date with a lawn mower... The past few days of 10°+ temperatures has clearly stimulated the grass into some late season growth: I was inspired by the sight of the green-keepers hard at work earlier in the day.

Next job was to get the dinner going: I have a Committee Meeting at the Club and want to get something on the table before I leave. 

On the menu for tonight are stuffed courgettes (a Mrs Beeton recipe), mashed potatoes (à la Nick Nairn) and apple and onion pork chops (courtesy of Martha Stewart) - so no prizes for consistency!

Food on the table and delicious it was too.  Then, back to Burhill for our Club Committee.  We had a good meeting - the last of the year - and now the Club will have to survive for the next 8 weeks without us seeing each other again...

Day 287 - 1st Day of Advent

When we were children, we had advent calendars with small windows to open every day until Christmas Eve, then when we lived in Switzerland I can remember Kathryn making each child their own calendar, each with pockets filled with a small gift to increase the tension... Earlier this week, my daughter presented her mother with a Lindt calendar, each small door hiding an eponymous chocolate, and I have even seen whisky calendars for sale - a different shot to enjoy every day.  However you celebrate it, it is clear that the count down to Christmas has begun.

5 years ago today I see from my Facebook reminder that we were all under snow: how very different it was today!  Yes there was a breeze, gusty at times, but it was mild and even at one point sunny too.  All of which made for a very enjoyable day's disorganised golf today.  On this occasion there were 8 of us who met up at the club at 10:00.

One of the best innovations of late at Burhill has been the hiring so new course marshals.  Today it was Max who earned his money and our thanks!  He directed us away from the first tee on the Old, warning us that ahead of us would have been three four-balls from a society who had started late and were clearly struggling. Instead we set off from the 9th tee and cantered around.  I was in the first team, with the VC, Des and Chris. 

We started off slowly, amassing only 39 points on the first 9 we played, but a second half of 46 gave us a very respectable score. That we managed this was largely due to the brilliance of one of our players, Des: so much that we ran out of superlatives as yet another long putt was drained!  This score proved enough to win the match and we all enjoyed a very convivial drink, fuelled with stilton-covered chips and the requisite banter.

Afterwards, I had a meeting with Matthew the General Manager to prepare for tomorrow's Club Committee meeting and then tried to go home but got sidetracked into chatting with some of the Ladies who had been playing their own team competition that morning.

Kathryn was attending the Ladies Prizegiving in the early evening so that I got a chance to catch up on some of the many Masterchef episodes cluttering up our Sky+ box and then when she came home we set about booking flights fir next November - how's that for planning!

Day 286 - Legit

A blustery, blowy, winter's day today - relatively mild, but not a great day to be out on the golf course (some of the holes into the wind will have been playing l o n g!). Instead, we headed for Kingston this morning. Traffic was light but there was still a (pre-Xmas?) queue for parking and it was a bit of a struggle to squeeze the Tesla into the British parking spaces...  We went into the jeweller'' to pick up my wedding ring, which I had to have repaired after it was cut off my finger when I sprained my hand earlier in the year: I am now legit again!

After lunch, I accompanied the Lady Captain to a local shop to select a gift for an exiting Committee member: now I just hope that it's ready in time...

Thence to the Golf Club: today is Head Pro Mike's last day at Burhill and I wanted to go to shake his hand to say thanks. Together with Tom, one of the other Pros there, we had fun walking around some of the Club's facilities - both remembering what had been here 10+ years when Mike first joined and also exploring the exciting new teaching and fitting studio which is under construction and should be ready early next year.

After that I sat down for coffee/tea with Adrian who has recently been nominated for the role of Vice Captain in 2016/17.  We spent an hour or so just exchanging thoughts and experiences - during the course of which I was trying to avoid the T20 cricket being played out on the TV as I was taping it at home... I failed....but I did enjoy the final Super Over which saw England just scrape home...

Day 285 - Roll Up

I woke up this morning to a grey winter's day... but when I stepped out of the front door it was actually relatively mild and the threatened winds presaging Storm Clodagh were not yet in evidence... so I decided to make my way to Burhill for the morning Roll-Up.  This is one of the great features of the Club - on any Saturday or Sunday morning you can just turn up at Burhill and get a game. 

When I got to the Honours Bar at 07:45 it was actually pretty empty but by 08:00 it was filling up. I was keen to get out early as I had to be at Heathrow in the early afternoon, so ended up going out first with former Captain Chris and two newish members, Duncan and Chris.  Balls in the air and it was Duncan and I up against the two Chrises.

Conditions were not easy and, as ever, we had a few disaster holes but the match itself was very tight: the way things ended up, everything depended on the final 3 ft putt on the ultimate hole... and he missed.... All of which meant that the match was halved and Duncan and I had won the princely sum of 25p for the bits: we're rich!

After lunch, I headed off to Terminal 5 to collect Kathryn from her Los Angeles flight.  Waiting for her to emerge onto the concourse was very much like the opening or is it closing?) scene of Love Actually (Daughter Mine: when are we watching this over Christmas?): all sorts of members of the public waiting for friends, colleagues and loved ones. A great place for people watching!

Not that I spent much time doing so as I was transfixed to my iPhone watching the final few games of Andy Murray's Davis Cup Final match against David Goffin....  Allez Grand Bretagne!

Day 284 - Captain & Pro Challenge

Captain, Head Pro and Sir Roger
on 18th of the New

One of the highlights of my year of Captaincy has been the opportunity to play together with our Head Professional, Mike, against other Burhill members.  Today was the latest in this sequence - and potentially the last that I shall be playing with Mike before he heads off to his new life in California next month (this depends whether or our next opponents can get their act together before he actually departs...).

As luck has it, we have ended up playing the vast majority of these fixtures on the New Course and that is where we ended up today.  After some bleak weather forecasts earlier in the week, we were treated to some winter sun and had good conditions throughout.  On this occasion we managed to calculate the handicap difference correctly, which meant that we would be giving our opponents, Roger and Simon, 5 shots.  It was going to be tough as they are an established foursomes pairing.

The match itself ebbed and flowed: we were up by 1 then down by 2 until a good par on 8 and a longish putt holed on 9 put us back even after the first half.  Unfortunately, we went down 2 again quickly and by the time we got to the 16th tee had only reduced the deficit to 1.  Of the tee shots on this hole, we shall not speak - "what goes on tour, stays on tour"...

A fine par on 17 (decent drive, driver off the deck to front right of green, 7 iron chip to 3 foot, holed!) meant that we had to win the last to halve the match. Things looked good when Mike stiffed his 7i to 8 ft and Roger left his teeshot well short and right... until Simon then chipped to 6" and the Captain failed to hole the birdie putt.  A shame, but great fun!

Drinks and lunch in the Clubhouse followed, giving Mike a chance to bid his farewells to members there.  Then home for some gardening clear-up duties (and the house too before Kathryn comes home tomorrow!) and the chance to see GBR take a 2-1 lead over Belgium in the Davis Cup Final.  Whoda thunk it?

Day 283 - Black Friday

Today looks to have been a very good day to go nowhere near a shopping mall nor an online website: there is lots of e-chatter out there advertising one-off best deals etc etc yadda yadda, which I have so far chosen to ignore entirely (though the BA offers sound tempting...).

Instead, it was a day for some Disorganised Golf: on this occasion it was Alan, David, Xenos and I who lined up on the first tee of the New Course. Balls were thrown in the air and it was Alan and I against the other two.  Yes, there was some wind out there, but the conditions of the course were excellent - not just the greens, which are spectacular, but the fairways too.  The temperature too played its part - at one point, it was positively mild.

No excuses then for not playing well... And on this occasion, Alan and I did exactly that: we mixed and matched effectively (always a killer in the 4BBB format) and managed a win by 3&2. The match itself was played in great spirits and a good time was had by all: exactly what DOGS golf should be!

As I returned to my car, I noticed that the new sign is up in the car park: strange that nobody asked me what I thought though as I always prefer the inclusion of my second initial, to differentiate myself from brother Matthew.  And I shall not repeat the Lady Captain's views on her "Ms" designation...

Back in the Clubhouse and we switched on to the Davis Cup Final.  I don't think that we were the cause, but the young Englishmen playing his debut seemed to have everything under control until we tuned in, after which it all rather petered away... Fortunately, in the second match, the man from Dumblane put things back on track...

A long FaceTime chat with Mrs L in California - how good a technological breakthrough is that: video on the screen from across the world at zero cost!  Then it was time to watch the Sky+ of the second T20 against Pakistan. Wow... great drama... and we just snuck through....

Day 282 - Thanksgiving

We have been married for more than 30 years and yet I think that this is the first time that Kathryn has spent Thanksgiving together with her mother and all her sisters - unfortunately they are in Los Angeles, so that I am unable to join them but I was there in spirit! 

In truth, we have not been very good at celebrating this most American of holidays as a family - in part because we have been out of the US for so long, and often living abroad too, but maybe also because although I love the concept of getting the family together, I must confess not to being over-keen on the actual food that is served. Turkey is not my favourite meat, jello salad does nothing for me, pumpkin pie is also not a favo(u)rite and let's not even get started on sweet potatoes topped by marshmallows...

When I lived in the US back in the 80s - and remember this is before I was married - I would often be asked at this time of year "do you celebrate Thanksgiving in the UK?".  Initially, this left me a it nonplussed and I used to mention something about Harvest Festival until I decided instead to reply, "yes, but on the 4th of July"....

So no turkey today and no golf either as I spent the day up in London at an Ofwat board meeting. Not many reasons to give thanks either, though some good and fruitful discussions were had.  Back on the course tomorrow!