Day 74 - Waterboarding

Today was my Ofwat Board Meeting for April.  Up to Town and back again as a customer of South West Trains and, miracle of al miracles, I managed to skirt all the misery caused by the power problems which appeared to make commuters' lives such a misery today.  Not quite sure how, but no complaints! 

The Board Meeting was followed by a RemCo: some very interesting issues discussed at both but I cannot say much about them, or I'd have to shoot you...

Back home in good time, still in the light. A quick change of clothes, a glance at the TV and that was it!  Hooked for the next couple of hours as they were showing Trading Places, starring Dan Ackroyd, Eddie Murphy and Jamie Lee Curtis... or, as we know her, JLC.

For every year, I and a bunch of mates spend 4 days away from our wives competing for the JLC Cup, in honour of the aforesaid Ms Curtis.  Our annual pilgrimage approaches soon: this year we are heading to the north of Scotland, but more of that anon...

Day 73 - Surrey Captains

The rain we have been waiting for arrived finally: throughout the morning, right up to lunch, it came down. At times gentle, at times stronger, the heavens opened. Question: was the forecast going to be correct? Was it going to let up before I teed off at 1:02? Answer: no... but by the time we got to the 2nd hole, things started to look brighter and, for the next few holes, it was question of layers on, layers off.   By the end of the round, we enjoyed glorious sunshine and the course certainly looked that bit better for a bit of rain.  We certainly need some more...just not when we are playing please!

My golf today was at Burhill, where I was playing as a guest of the Surrey Captains. This is, as the name suggests, a society made up of former captains of Surrey Golf clubs, who play a number of matches against other counties as well as a few friendlies every year.  They had not played at Burhill for a number of years and, as Captain, my task was to play my part in ensuring that a good day was had by all. 

Not that this was very difficult as the combination of a great course, a splendid clubhouse, some delicious food and plenty of wine were guaranteed to put everyone in a good mood!  I was presented with an attractive commemorative tankard for my efforts and look forward to playing with the group in the years ahead.

I had to hot foot it from the dinner presentation as I was also due in our monthly Social Committee meeting. I arrived 15 minutes or so late but managed to catch up: all has gone well to date, and now the busy season starts...

Day 72 - The Sum of All Fears

Another Tuesday, another Disorganised Golfers game... this time there were five of us: which meant one two-ball and another three.  Once we got off the tee, we moved speedily around the course and, in less than three and a half hours, we were sitting on the terrace soaking in the sun. Sheltered from the wind, with a few beers to enjoy, all of us agreed that this was definitely better than working!

The afternoon was spent with my Financial Adviser, trying to decide how best to cope with all the uncertainty out there, especially that surrounding what may or may not happen after the General Election on 7th May. Time will tell whether or not we made the right decisions...

I am a great fan of the spoken word, as commercialised by Audible (www.audible.co.uk).  Being at best a light, more like a poor, sleeper I find listening to books on my iPhone a great solace when unable to sleep. I always go for the unabridged versions and have just come to the end of Tom Clancy's  "The Sum of All Fears" (not that this has anything to do with the outcome of the impending election... or does it?)

Anyway, this meant that I was pleased to find that the film version was available to download on Sky... at least I was until it became clear that the latter was only very loosely based on the former.   You are no Jack Ryan, Mr Affleck....

Day 71 - The Old Pretender

No golf on the agenda today, but still kept busy... there was the draw for the Anglo American plate to organise, checking with all participants that they up for it, solving some Intelligent Golf problems and some thank you letters to write to people who have been kind enough to donate things for the Captains' Charity (though more welcome!).

Dinner was an early chicken curry - a very tasty Murgh ki kadhi recipe from a Keith Floyd book on India (I can remember when he started his restaurant in Bristol before he developed his TV persona!).  We had the pleasure of daughter and boy-friend for dinner as well, which was a treat.

An early dinner as we were off to a lecture at the Esher Adult Education centre on James Francis Edward Stewart, the Old Pretender. When we walked into the room where it was to take place, I couldn't help but recall the single mums' SPAT scene in About a Boy, for I was to be the only man in the audience...

The lecture itself was fascinating: like so many of my generation, the 17th/18th centuries were not part of my O'Level history syllabus and I had never before really understood how James II, William&Mary and Anne all fitted together, yet alone who Bonny Prince Charlie was... That is all clear now and I look forward to the next time I am watching University Challenge and a question comes up that I will now be able to answer...

Day 70 - Marathon Man

Today was the day of the London Marathon.  I was listening to the radio on the way in to the Club and the presenters were talking about a runner who was looking to break the world record time for a marathon for someone "dressed as a crustacean"... a few punny jokes followed along the lines of "I hope he doesn't feel too clammy in his suit" and "I have sponsored him for a few (s)quid" etc.

All good clean fun, and it brought to mind this time last year, when we were cheering my daughter along in the same race. It was much warmer last year than it was today...

...when it was much colder in part because the wind had changed direction, but at least it stayed dry for us today when we played our second Captain & Pro Challenge match. Our opponents this time were Neil and Ian, doughty opponents who play a lot of foursomes golf together. We knew we were in for a tough game when they started off by winning the first two holes.

Mike and I gelled better this time around though and we hauled them back in by the turn; then we established a two hole lead, only for our opponents to capitalise on their shots to get the match back to all square as we approached the last. Fortunately, our par on 18 was just enough to win the hole and the match... in our own marathon of the day! 

The quality of the golf was very high, as evidenced by the fact that we went around in 4 over par. Let's hope we can keep that kind of form up for the next challenge...

Day 69 - Galvin Green

Saturday opened with something we havem't seen for a long time: rain...  It all looked very grey and, as players busied themselves getting ready for the April Medal, there were plenty of umbrellas and Galvin Greens in evidence (these are the best defence against wet weather ever!).  My start time was the usual Captain's 08:42 slot and, when I arrived at the first tee was disappointed to discover that one of the players who had signed up to play was a No Show. This meant that we were a two-ball in a field of threes, so we knew right away it was going to be a slow round.

The rain proved to be short-lived however and before the turn, the sun was out and all thoughts of wets had disappeared as were were back to playing in short sleeved shirts - I should have worn shorts!  The pace of play wasn't too bad and, although we had to wait on many shots, we were back in the Clubhouse after a little over 4 hours, not too bad for a Medal. Our scores were OK: somewhere in the top third, within buffer zone, but a long way off the leader who shot a net 66...

Thence, back home to assist in the preparation for a dinner party: we had invited the Lady Captain, the Vice Captain and the Lady Vice Captain, plus their respective other halves, to join us. I was given front of house duties as Mrs L was doing all the cooking, so busied myself polishing silver and setting the table etc. I managed however to keep a more than close eye on the Test Match in Grenada, which turned out much better than anyone could have hoped.

The evening was a great success: the wine and conversation flowed and everybody seemed to be enjoying themselves. As the evening lengthened, a few of us started thinking about early tee times the next morning and it was just after midnight that we got to bed. I just hope the kitchen elves do all the tidying up whilst we sleep...!

Day 68 - Don't Panic!

I am a subscriber to the Spectator magazine, which arrives in my letter box every Friday. Whereas some of the political commentary is a bit too much for me at times, I very much appreciate the book and film reviews and have regularly taken advantage of the offers that the Spectator Wine Club has to offer.

That is really all flim flam though, as my main reason for buying the magazine is to get the crossword.  Many a time, when working, I used to carry a copy of it with me on a Friday for a surreptitious glance at it during the day as it provides the sort of mental challenge that requires some considerable time to solve - at least for me! 

Now I have retired from full-time work, I seem to have less time for the weekly crossword though (how is that?), but tonight will see me having a crack at it whilst sipping a glass or red wine and with the cricket on in the background: tough life....

I have though earned a rest as I had a tough Mid Week match today. I managed to sneak a win on the 17th but my opponent, Mark, had me seriously rattled when he holed a 113 yard gap wedge on the 14th to close the gap to 1 hole.  I knew that the ball had gone in when I saw the people on the adjacent fairway give a cheer: not what you want to see....!