Day 322 - T&T

It's the 6th of January and today is the occasion of my first golf game of the year...what a slacker!

I joined up with my usual gang here in Sarasota for the Wednesday game. As always, this is the largest group of the week and today was no different.

There were 26 people playing, which meant two 3-balls and 5 4-balls.  On this occasion, I was put into the group who went out first, along with Ray and Les.  One of our jobs was to place the Nearest the Pin flags on the 10 (yes, 10: all the par 3s, par 5s and one par4 on each nine) holes that had been selected by John, the organiser.  This we did pretty well.... only having to drive back to a hole that we had forgotten on just one occasion!

The game we were playing today was for teams of four, with three scores counting on each hole (one of which was to be a gross score, the other two net of handicap allowance - not an easy format!).  Since we were a man short, we had to choose one of the other players' scores to be used as a proxy for our missing team member.

Ginless G&T - not to be recommended!

Being only a three ball with a clear open course in front of us, we played very efficiently (only once spending a moment looking for a lost ball) and finished our round in 3 hours flat - a rarity here!  The final group, who had started 45 mins behind us, did not finish till 2 hours later which meant there was a lot of hanging around (and there are only so many gin-free G&Ts that you can drink!).  Eventually our proxy player came in: unfortunately he had not had a stellar round so he was not able to rescue our team score which meant that we came in 5th out of 7... and won a princely sum of $2/man for our efforts!

My own round was indifferent: pretty good off the tee but scrappy with my short irons and useless on the greens. They were much quicker than I had been used to of late at Burhill ...at least that's my excuse!

Day 321 - #firstworldproblems

It is never easy for the first few days on vacation with a 5 hour time difference to cope with. Not a problem for me today, but Mrs L had a tee time at 08:45 so had to keep moving in the morning. That being said, it's a great way of managing the jet-lag, so am a bit jealous but, just as at Burhill, Tuesday is Ladies Day here at UPCC as well...

I promise that this will be one of the few references to the Florida weather as I am very conscious that it is rather better here than at home... Florida, like the UK, had enjoyed a very warm December with temperatures regularly up in the 80s, which is most unusual at this time of year.  Again, similar to the other side of The Pond, more normal service has been returned and so the daily max today will be in the low 70s (everyone talks Farenheit here...) though when the skies are clear, the nights will be noticeably chillier.

One of the "joys" of returning to a vacation home is checking that everything is working properly. This was not the case today: despite our best efforts we couldn't get the golf cart to charge properly, the front doorbell is on the blink and the garage door opener for the small side door (yes, it's for the golf cart...) will not work either, even after I have put a new battery in.  As my son would say "Hashtag, firstworldproblems"!

What is working properly however is the WiFi Security Application which allows me to watch UK TV on my laptop, mirrored across to the big screen with Apple TV.  This means that I can keep up to date with the sport and we can also watch UK catch up TV.  Deutschland 83 hier kommen wir...

Day 320 - A 29 Hour Day

After all the wet weather of late and with the prospect of some colder days on the way (good to see some snow has finally fallen in the Alps!) which may discourage some of the idiot plants in the garden (including the climbing rose which is now in bud...), it is with a quite sense of optimism that we headed to Gatwick this morning...

Could be worse: could be battling out the first Monday Stableford of the year (how exactly did Jon manage 44 points???)!

Orange Juice only: Day 4 of Dry January!

All traffic behaved, the service from the Tesla team at Gatwick was at its impeccable best and the airport was relatively empty: all of this meant that we arrived at the BA Lounge in plenty of time.  A slightly subdued atmosphere pervaded the place as it turned out that the facilities were to be closed the following day, as the company starts the process of moving from the North to the South terminal.  The staff all seemed very positive about the change but I worried that for some they might be out of a job shortly...

The flight left about an hour late as a couple of passengers "got lost in the terminal" (!) and their luggage had to be removed.  Given that we had 9+ hrs ahead, this was unwelcome news and the very northerly routing that the captain had been given meant that we were unable to make up for lost time.  Then our luggage (K's golf clubs!) was almost last off....

And we had decided to try out an alternative way home, making use of the SuperShuttle service.  Normally, we just pickup a one-way rental car but that is a bit of a hassle too so we thought we'd try something different.  Unfortunately, the shuttle had three drop-offs before ours so it wasn't until 21:00 local time (02:00 UK time) that we walked though the front door here in Sarasota.

But we arrived safely and everything in the house looks very welcoming...

Day 319 - Star Struck bis

Woke up bright and early with every intention of going to the Club for the early morning roll up...until I opened the curtains, checked the weather forecast on and put the TV on...  There was a 95+% chance of heavy rain, it looked dark and gloomy and England were due to resume their first innings in the Second Test.

What a wise decision: the heavens duly opened and we had non stop rain all day AND I got to see one of the best session's Test cricket ever. The brutality of Stokes's batting was very impressive and it was also fun to hear all the records tumbling throughout the day.  I am very jealous at the thought that friends Richard and Gavin will actually have been at Newlands to see what will have been a special day.

I did go into the Club at lunchtime to wish those who were there a Happy New Year. I spent around half an hour in the pro Shop chatting to the guys there to make sure that all is properly set up for January.  After that I went to speak with Tom to make sure that some of the events in January are also in hand: all looks good!

Back home for supper with AJ and Aggie: this really marks the end of the Festive Season. They go back to work a full week tomorrow, Kathryn has cleared up all the decorations and taken the tree off to the recycling. As ever, the house feels a bit bare without all the Christmas paraphernalia....

Day 318 - Star Struck

Cold and wet and grey and miserable...here at least: the complete opposite on the TV at 08:00 this morn ing as I got up early to watch the first day of the Test from Newlands in Cape Town, South Africa. With clear blue skies and a fantastic backdrop, this must be one of the most attractive cricket grounds in the world.  And England won the toss. And they had a good day with the bat too. Excellent.

Very good too was our lunch spot for the day: together with my son and his girlfriend, we drove over to Sunninghill to meet up with my aunt and uncle.  I had consulted the oracle that is Tripadvisor and identified the local pub there as a destination. Called "La Cloche" at the Carpenters Arms, it  is a French owned typical English pub and served a menu that would not be out of place on the other side of the Channel.  And très bien it was too!

Back home to watch the last few overs of the cricket and some delicious butternut soup for an early supper before paying our first visit to the newly-renovated Everyman cinema in Esher.  This used to be a rather tired Odeon and has only just reopened in its new colours. I was very impressed: a very different foyer (basically, a classy bar) and some very friendly staff.

We were there (finally) to see the new Star Wars: the Force Awakens.  We had all been carefully avoiding all reviews etc but were aware that these had been positive so had high expectations. 

Always dangerous, but no on this occasion: the plot line was perhaps familiar (just how many Death Stars can a bunch of rebels destroy?) but at the same time there were lots of amusing linkages to the previous films.

It was fun to be reacquainted with the likes of Han Solo, C3PO, R2D2 - and of course the fantastic music of John Williams.  The special effects didn't disappoint either - and now just another 2 years to wait until the next episode....

Day 317 - 1-1-16

As was the case across much of the world, a lazy start to the day... up late and then some serious TV watching was on the agenda: in my case, the New Year's Concert from Vienna (memories of childhood and drinks with the neighbours in Antwerp come flooding back!), followed by The Sound of Music, which is amazingly more than 50 years old....

And so is my brother today: Happy Birthday, Roger! - all four of us are now in our sixth decade... :-(

I received this morning my twice-weekly email from the Florida State Golf Association. It contained some recommended New Year's golfing resolutions, which I share below. They seem to make a lot of sense to me... even if some of them are a bit US-centric (e.g. No. 8)

1. Resist the urge to buy a golf gadget that promises to get you an extra 10 yards on your drive.
2. Get a short game lesson from your local PGA Professional. This will actually help your game.
3. Play a course in your area you have never played before.
4. Try NOT Anchoring your putter (Might be a good idea since you are no longer permitted to do so)
5. Play Faster!  You need not line up a 30 footer when putting for an 8.
6. Volunteer at a local junior golf tournament.  Nothing beats seeing a little one learning the game.
7. Learn a few new stretches to ensure your body is ready for play.  (Like Miguel Angel Jimenez).
8. Walk 9 in the evening.
9. Tell a clean golf joke on the first tee.  Yes, this one might be tough.
10. Actually enjoy a round!

In the evening, we were invited round to my son's house for dinner. Not sure where he had stashed his housemates, but the family had a free run and he served up a delicious Pakistani curry (inspired by his birthday gift of a monthly spice set from g/f Aggie ).  And then, to top it all we walked around to the local Picture House to watch the Abominable Bride, this year's Sherlock special. All hokum but good fun and a great way to kick the year off!  And we have Star Wars to look forward to tomorrow...

Day 316 - New Year's Eve

An IG day today: I had to write the New Year's Friday Email, which took me a bit longer than I had expected as there were so many links to build into it.  I have written it and pre-programmed it to go out at midnight, so it should be there to welcome all into 2016 - I hope that nobody believes that I shall be on my laptop at that time...

I also had to design the web page for this year's Awards Dinner and send out the email invitation. Unfortunately I managed to get the date wrong on both...aargh....  No harm doen though as an eagle-eyed former Captain spotted it immediately!

We had a quiet day with what was meant to be a gentle stroll into Cobham, which got aborted when we realised that it was actually a bit chilly out there. 

In the evening, we went out for a New Year's Eve dinner with four other Burhill couples, hosted by Andrew and Annette. It was a very pleasant evening with food contributed by all - a real treat too with some delicious dishes on offer.

I also enjoyed the champagne and wines that Andrew had chosen - all the more so as they will be the last that I shall consume until February: yes, it's that time of year again. I have been doing a Dry January for the past 10 years and more - not for any great health-inspired reasons but really to prove to myself (and Kathryn!) that I can actually manage it.  In past years, I have not noticed any great changes in weight or sleep patterns but maybe I shall this time?