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. 💍✨

Busy day (what's new?) - Theo Birthday, Shotover, The Traitors!

Up around 8.00am and got a few things sorted before Tash and I headed over to Bicester for Theo’s 5th birthday party at the trampoline park.

The usual Bicester family crowd were there with the kids, along with some of Theo’s school friends. I joined in and, while it was hard work, it was really good fun. Nice to properly get involved rather than just stand on the sidelines.

When it finished, we took Tiff’s kids back to Sue’s. Tash caught up with her and found out more about what’s going on with Tiffany and the problems with her fella… not a good situation at all.

After that we came home, grabbed something to eat, and then met my mum up at Shotover for a walk and a catch-up. She did well getting round but was clearly in a bit of pain, so she’s going to get in touch with the doctors — sounds like it could be a hip replacement issue again. Fingers crossed it’s nothing too serious.

It was a really nice catch-up and we’ll do it properly later in the week. From there we went to Wayne and Kerry’s, as they’d had my office heaters since before New Year when their boiler broke down — terrible timing. Their boiler still isn’t replaced, but things are stable again, so we got the heaters back and I can finally work in the office again. Tash was getting fed up with me being under her feet in the house… fair enough!

It was good to see them and we had a cup of tea and a decent chat. So much going on with everyone at the moment.

Eventually we headed home, where Charl and Miles were already there and had made a start on cooking a chicken korma. Lots more chatting and catching up, and Lewis and Frankie joined us on a video call too, which was lovely. Frankie’s growing fast and seems much more comfortable on his belly now — we’ll definitely have to go up and see him properly soon.

Dinner was good, plenty of gossip and laughter, and we had the fire on which made it all feel very cosy. They didn’t stay too late as we were knackered and they’re off to Finland tomorrow, so we wished them luck, tidied up, and settled down.

We were desperate to watch The Traitors, and over the course of the next few hours managed to get through the final four episodes, including the final. It was brilliant entertainment — really enjoyable — and the ending was great. Very pleased for the two Traitors, Stephen and Rachel. Such an interesting concept and well played.

That was that. We stayed up far too late… especially with work in the morning.

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End of Day Summary

A full, sociable day packed with family, friends, and movement — from trampolining chaos to quiet walks and long chats. Good connection all round, a cosy evening at home, and a late-night Traitors binge that pushed bedtime well past sensible. Exhausted, but content.

Cruise Day 8 – Barbados and Homeward Bound

That was a tough night’s sleep to be honest — very windy, wavy and noisy. I did manage some sleep in the end and we were up and about around 7.30am. Finished getting sorted, left our travel bags at the Squid & Anchor and met Nik and Gaz for breakfast. I didn’t eat much; I’ve honestly had enough of food now.

We did a few final bits to get ourselves ready for departure later in the day and then headed outside to grab a taxi. First stop was Rihanna’s childhood home, then Kensington Oval cricket ground, which was good to see, and then on to Carlisle Bay where we were dropped at Savvy on the Beach.

We walked along and signed up for a boat trip to swim with turtles and snorkel — bit of a con really. It didn’t last anywhere near as long as promised and we didn’t see much at all. Definitely no turtles. A few fish, the shipwreck, and that was about it. Some scuba divers emerged from the wreck which was interesting at least.

Back on shore we went to Savvy for some food and a couple of beers. What was really strange was how familiar it all felt — and for good reason. We were in the exact same spot as last year! We could even see the Ramada hotel we stayed at. That was a weird but nice little moment.

Taxi picked us up on time and took us back to the ship. We managed to shower and freshen up and then went to the pool bar to relax and snooze while killing time until 5.30pm. Had a snack and watched all the new arrivals coming onboard — excited and very white. I’ll admit, I felt a bit resentful. We were the ones leaving and I just wanted to be out of there. Their enthusiasm was too much to handle at that point!

Also, seven days was enough for me. I was tired. Eating and especially drinking all the time can be hard work — that sounds like a joke, but it genuinely isn’t. I think doing two weeks, even with a different itinerary, would start to feel a bit much. Seven days was perfect.

We collected our bags, got on the coach and headed to the airport with no issues. The lounge was outrageously expensive, so we didn’t bother with anything. Boarded the plane, settled in for the eight-hour flight. Tash took sleeping pills and lucked out with spare seats so she could lie across them. I made myself as comfortable as I could across mine and hers, watched The Long Walk, and then slept.

Arrived at Heathrow around 10.00am. Bags came through — slight panic as Gaz’s didn’t appear until the very last one. Got the taxi back to Bicester and I slept the whole way. £155. Mad money.

Said our goodbyes and thanks, jumped in Tash’s car and headed home — back to normality, sadly.

It was a great trip and I really enjoyed it. It compared well with the Iona and Norway cruise, which was a relief. That’s it for cruises for a good while now… although we’ll see what we end up getting talked into next!

End-of-day reflection:
Tired, ready to be home, but very content. Seven days was the perfect length, Barbados was a fitting send-off, and the whole trip stacked up really well against past cruises. A great experience — but definitely time for land again.

Cruise Day 7 – Guadeloupe

Heavy heads this morning — more for Tash than me to be honest. Could easily have stayed in bed, and in fact we did stay in a bit longer than agreed. Nik was ringing us from the restaurant asking where we were!

Eventually down for breakfast, which was good as usual, then off to reception for the bridge tour we’d signed up for. About 20 of us were taken up to meet Freddie the Captain and some of his crew and given a rundown of how the ship operates and how everything works behind the scenes. It was really interesting and I’m glad we did it. Lasted about an hour.

After that we disembarked and went through the usual gauntlet of tour guides and taxis before wandering into town. It’s quite built up and very obviously a French colony — that was clear wherever you looked.

There was a market on in the main square but we were all pretty knackered by this point, so decided to split up. We did a bit more walking but not much if I’m honest. Tash was really feeling it (“not a hangover!”), so we headed back to port, grabbed a bit of internet access and boarded again.

Dropped things in the room and I stayed put for a good hour enjoying the luxury of air con. Eventually found Tash and we had something to eat, then spent the afternoon doing very little — lounging around, sleeping, reading, me catching up on diary entries. Exactly what was needed.

The afternoon was nice and relaxed but the weather was overcast. It kept threatening sunshine but stayed cloudy most of the time. Sometimes that was a relief, though a full sunny day would’ve been nice. Nik and Gaz came down and sat with us for a while, then headed off earlier as they’d booked the steak restaurant for dinner.

We watched the ship leave port — always interesting — then Tash and I had one last cream tea and went back to the cabin to get sorted and pack.

We headed down to Piccadilly’s for dinner but got turned away as I was wearing a collarless t-shirt. I knew the rule, just forgot — and to be fair, I did look smart!

Dinner was nice in the end and neither of us drank. We’ve honestly had enough alcohol for now and could quite happily have gone straight to bed. Still, we enjoyed the food and then headed down to the Live Lounge where Nik and Gaz had secured a great spot. We stayed put for the rest of the evening and had waiter service the whole time.

It was noticeably busier than usual — lots of people we hadn’t seen all week were out, being as it was their last night too. It gave the place a really good atmosphere.

We did drink a bit but it was hard work — stuck to Captain Morgan’s and Coke. Rhythm & Breeze were good, as were The Collective, and then at 11.00pm all the musicians came together for the end-of-show finale. That was brilliantly done — loads of songs, lots of dancing and singing, and it went on for nearly an hour.

And then… that was it. All done.

Nik and Gaz wanted to stay out longer but we were finished, said our goodnights and headed back to the cabin to sort final bits and get into bed — not that it led to a good night’s sleep.

It was VERY windy and wavy. The ship was really rocking, with lots of creaking and noise throughout the night.

One final thing — I checked the invoice and noticed we’d been charged £43 for the bridge tour. Not happy about that at all. Tash raised it straight away but we’ll need to get that refunded in the morning.

End-of-day reflection:
A tired, slightly fuzzy day but an enjoyable one nonetheless. The bridge tour was a real highlight, the afternoon downtime was badly needed, and the final night atmosphere was spot on. Ready to leave now though — physically tired, a bit over-done, and craving solid ground again.