Quiz Night at the White Hart

Up and out at 6.50am with Tash and Bess for the now-regular long walk down to South Parade in Summertown. We did it in 1 hour 7 minutes, which seems to be our benchmark. It’s actually quite satisfying knowing the distance, steps and time so we can judge future walks properly. Feels structured rather than random wandering.

Work was fairly standard but busy — that seems to be the theme lately. No dramas, just plenty to get through.

Finished on time and got ourselves sorted before walking down to John and Pauline’s for dinner. Will was there too, and it was a lovely start to the evening. Pauline produced a chicken and chorizo stew followed by Guinness cupcakes for pudding — she really is an excellent cook. A couple of beers eased us nicely into the evening.

At 7.30pm we wandered up to The White Hart for their monthly quiz night. We’ve decided we’re going to try and make this a regular thing — although we spectacularly failed in January by completely forgetting about it.

Good turnout, busy atmosphere, lots of neighbours there. The quiz itself was tough. Some rounds suited us, others absolutely didn’t — the anagrams were a disaster. Still, we finished 5th out of 9, which felt respectable enough. Only just missed out on £10 for 4th place, so there’s definitely room for improvement.

A few more beers along the way, then home.

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End of Day Summary

A productive, sociable Monday. Early steps, solid workday, great food and a competitive quiz night. A really enjoyable start to the week — and nice to feel part of the local crowd.

Tree cutting & Tash having brunch with the girls

A bit of a heavy head this morning, but we were both pleasantly surprised that we weren’t feeling too rough.

Up and organised, and keen to get some steps in, we headed back to Wytham Woods Hill. Unfortunately, we hit the usual problem — the road on the Wytham stretch was flooded again and completely impassable on foot. No dramatic Indiana Jones-style crossing attempted; we turned around and headed home to get on with jobs instead.

Tash had arranged with Sharron and Kerry to take Zoe out for brunch, so Zoe and Shaz came by before heading into town. While they were out, I got stuck into converting old videos into digital format. Slow progress, but genuinely lovely seeing the kids back in their primary school days. It does make you wonder where the years have gone.

After that, I tackled the tree in the front garden. Sadly, it’s properly dead. Chainsaw out, job on. I managed to get it down to about a six-inch stump, but the roots are absolutely solid — no chance of digging that out by hand. I gave it a go, but it’s not happening. We’ll either enlist Merlin or consider something more dramatic… controlled burning perhaps.

Ticked off a few other bits and then we headed to Yarnton Garden Centre for a wander. Picked up a dahlia bulb to plant in March — hopefully that’ll bring a bit of colour later in the year.

Back home and Jack arrived, having driven down from Manchester after a week up there. Good to see him and have a proper catch-up over dinner before he headed off to see Jodie. All seems well on that front, which is reassuring.

We carried on pottering and getting organised for the week ahead, squeezed in another walk, then settled down to finish Season Two of The Night Manager. Good entertainment, and clearly set up nicely for a third series.

Bed by about 9.30pm — tired after a full few days, but a productive one.

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End of Day Summary

A steady reset day. Exercise (almost), jobs done, memories revisited, tree dismantled, and family caught up with. Productive, reflective, and nicely rounded off with an early night.

Zoe's Birthday celebrations

No golf this morning — no surprise there, it’s been absolutely pouring with rain.

I woke around 7.15am. Not a bad sleep all things considered, especially given it was on the sofa with barely a blanket. The room was warm though, so it was perfectly manageable. Had some breakfast and coffee and watched the news before the rest of the house stirred.

By about 8.00am Tash and the kids emerged. Got them sorted with breakfast and we played a bit of Uno. Ivy was brilliant with them — naturally patient and helpful. She’ll make a cracking babysitter one day.

Jess arrived bang on time at 8.45am to take over with the kids. I took Ivy to her swimming lesson, dropped her off, then headed back home.

Pottered around sorting bits in the house before heading out for a long walk. “Long” is relative at the moment — just over an hour — but it’s consistent and that’s what matters. I’ll build it up again soon. Time under the belt is the key.

Back home in relentless rain, so outdoor plans were off the table. I decided to tackle the tech instead. Tried reconnecting the VHS recorder — complete failure. Moved onto the DVD player and, after a lot of swearing and cable swapping, finally got it working. Small victory.

Tash had taken Zoe out for a birthday coffee and catch-up, so I settled in with the Six Nations. Italy beating Ireland was a surprise, and England thrashed Wales — which made for entertaining viewing.

Then it was into hosting mode. Mum arrived at 5.00pm, followed by Charlotte, then Miles, plus Zoe and Niamh. Tash had cooked a curry and we all settled in around the table. What followed was one of those unexpectedly brilliant evenings — loads of chat, plenty of drinks, and a lot of laughter. Everyone got a bit tipsy and it just flowed. Properly good fun.

We brought out birthday cake for Zoe and an early one for Miles (his is Monday). Charlotte was driving, so she took Zoe and Niamh with her when they left — but not until about 11.00pm, so it certainly wasn’t an early finish.

Cleared up, watched a bit of Match of the Day, and then finally into bed.

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End of Day Summary

Rainy, cosy, and unexpectedly brilliant. From sofa sleep and tech battles to family curry, cake and proper laughter. One of those simple but genuinely memorable evenings.

Golf at the Oxfordshire and celebrating Charlotte & Miles Engagement

Up bright and early this morning. Got a few bits sorted, then loaded the van and headed over to The Oxfordshire Golf Club for the game we’d originally organised for New Year’s Eve but had to cancel because of the fog.

In the sunshine it looked absolutely superb — a proper championship course, which makes sense given the professionals who’ve played there over the years. It really is a great setting.

It was me, Wayne, Julio and Jon Hawkins. Jon was late, but he’s going through a tough break-up at the moment, so completely understandable — when things aren’t going well personally, punctuality probably isn’t top priority.

Jon and I paired up against Wayne and Julio. Off we went. I really enjoyed the course — quite open in places but still challenging. I was especially pleased with my driving; it was consistent for a change. My follow-up shots gradually settled too, which made a big difference. It’s not an easy course by any stretch, but we held our own.

Jon and I were ahead most of the way through, though Wayne and Julio mounted a decent comeback towards the end. It came down to the 17th where I halved the hole with Wayne, which secured the win for us.

£5 richer… briefly.

They’ve got a brilliant halfway-house refreshment hut there — very smart set-up — and Wayne had already bought the bacon rolls, so my winnings went straight back to him. Easy come, easy go.

I had to head straight home rather than stopping for a drink, as we were hosting the Phelans to celebrate Charlotte and Miles’ engagement. When I arrived, people were already there. Tash had sorted a roast dinner and everything was in full swing.

It was really lovely having everyone round. Good conversation, lots of catching up, and a couple of bottles of champagne opened to mark the occasion. Even Jack and Jodie were there, which made it feel properly complete.

A relaxed afternoon and early evening. Terry does tire more easily these days, but he’s looking in good shape, which is great news for everyone — and it’s brilliant that he and Ru are planning a trip to India later this month.

Once everyone left, we tidied up, watched a bit of TV and then headed to bed.

A really good weekend overall — made longer by Friday night’s antics, which turned into a later one than most people would tolerate!

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End of Day Summary

Sport, family, champagne and celebration. A satisfying win on a championship course followed by marking a huge milestone for Charlotte and Miles. A full, happy weekend — the kind that leaves you tired but content.

Meeting up with Lewis, Emily and Frankie near Birmingham

Obviously woke up with a bit of a hangover this morning. What a surprise…

It wasn’t too bad though. Got a few bits sorted around the house before Mum arrived. We jumped in the car, picked up Theo, Ralph and Olivia, and then headed up to Birmingham to meet Lewis, Emily and Frankie. I took full advantage of the journey and slept the whole way — an excellent decision.

The original plan had been to meet at a soft play centre, but Lewis arrived about 30 minutes before us and declared it awful. So plans changed and we regrouped at a garden centre that also had a soft play area attached.

The garden centre was actually really good. They had a big sale on and loads of Christmas gifts and decorations still available — the sheer number of gonks on display was unbelievable.

We met up with Lewis and family and settled in for a relaxed afternoon with coffee and sandwiches while the kids burned off energy in soft play. Frankie absolutely loved it. He’s growing up fast — his face has slimmed down a bit so he looks less like a baby and more like a little boy now. He’s stronger too, holding his head up with no trouble at all. He’s lovely.

A really nice couple of hours all round.

As we were leaving, Mum secretly bought me an amazing gonk in the sale — £7.50! Absolute bargain. I’m very pleased with it… although I probably won’t mention it to Tash just yet.

I drove home this time and, unsurprisingly, everyone slept — except Mum, who chatted away happily the whole journey.

Dropped everyone off, got home, and settled down for the evening. We finished the Churchill at War series, which was genuinely enjoyable.

Very tired by the end of it all, so an early night felt well deserved.

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End of Day Summary

A gentle, family-focused day with just the right balance of chaos and calm. Good laughs, growing grandchildren, bargain gonks and a steady recovery from the night before. Simple, wholesome, and quietly satisfying.

Celebrating Simon's Birthday and a VERY late night

 Had a decent day at work and in the evening we went down to Summertown to meet with Simon Shepherd for this birthday meal - we were planning to walk so as to get the steps up but was such miserable weather and raining we gave up ourside the Village Hall and caught the bus instead.

It was the same crowd as last year - Tash and I, Simon of course, his housemate Jeff, and Stuart and Charlie - who were in good spirits as usual.

Drank and ordered food and had a good catch up, really enjoyable evening and the food was stunning - it really was excellent. It's interesting being around such overtly gay men, their mannerisms, stories and attitude are all good fun - lots of energy, its always a good laugh in their company and this evening was no different.

Simon once again beat us to the till to pay, so we insisted that we organise a summer catch up in which we pay and he doesn't!

It wasn't a late evening and about 10.00pm taxis arrived and the guys all left but Tash and I then walked back home - the rain had stopped so it was fine.

When I got in I wasn't ready for bed, so I got my headphones on and sat on my phone - Tash went to bed!

I watched loads of videos and music - just on and on, had quite a dance in the library too! I also kept going outside and working my way through the few beers I had lef in the DSB - finishing the supply in the process.

I was perfectly happy in a world of my own and in no time at all it was 4.30am, I was quite drunk and obviously had things to do Saturday so thought I'd better go to bed for a few hours!

A nice evening and even better night...

Charlotte and Miles have (finally) got engaged!!

So the two of them are over in Finland on a winter break, staying in one of those igloo-style accommodations, with husky rides, snowmobiling and all the magical snowy stuff you’d expect.

We all had a feeling this might be the moment for Miles to propose, and sure enough we got an excited WhatsApp group video call — Charlotte absolutely buzzing and proudly showing off her ring. It was brilliant to see her so happy.

Thankfully all the family were on the call: Tash, Lewis, Emily, Frankie, Jack and Jodie (calling in from Tenerife). A proper family moment, even though we were all scattered around the place.

I already knew this was coming, as Miles had asked my permission during our ski trip - a quiet moment on the balcony while we were drinking chocolate orange shots, with everyone else down in the sauna. Couldn’t really ask for a better setting, to be fair.

No idea when the wedding will be. I’d assume this year might be a bit soon, but you never know - these things have a habit of moving quickly once the ring’s on the finger.

I’m absolutely chuffed to bits for them. I even caught myself starting to imagine my speech while walking the dog earlier… which probably says it all.

We’ll give them time to let everyone else know before talking about it too widely.

So very, very exciting.

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End of Day Summary

A huge, joyful family moment shared across continents. Surprise, happiness, and pride all wrapped up in one call — and the start of a new chapter for Charlotte and Miles. A day that will definitely be remembered. 💍✨