House Warming BBQ - Kate Millar's - Southampton

We were planning to get up early and go for a very long walk, but we both woke up feeling a bit groggy from the night before. I think Tash was suffering slightly, although she wasn't about to admit it!

So, instead of heading out at 6.00am, we didn't get going until about 8.30am. We took Bess with us and drove over to Shotover, spending the morning walking up and down the hills there. Tash was probably the slowest I've ever seen her, but I didn't mind at all—it was quite nice being the one striding off at the front for a change. It was warm, we worked up a decent sweat, and Bess was brilliant, keeping up with everything we threw at her. We ended up doing about three hours before heading home to get cleaned up.

Not long afterwards, Jodie arrived and then Jack drove the four of us down to Southampton to Kate Millar's new house with OJ. It's a lovely place and they should be really pleased with what they've bought.

All the usual suspects were there and Tommy was in charge of the BBQ. Food was good and there were plenty of drinks flowing as everyone settled into the afternoon. Later on we all migrated into the front room to watch the Champions League Final between Arsenal and PSG.

To be honest, it wasn't an enjoyable match. We spent most of the evening sounding like a bunch of old men, talking about how football wasn't like that in our day and complaining about modern players. We left before the end as the game went to extra time, but I listened on the radio on the way home and PSG eventually won on penalties.

Arsenal had won the Premier League this season, but they've not exactly been a popular side. Their time-wasting and gamesmanship can be incredibly frustrating to watch. I suppose if you're an Arsenal fan you probably love it because it gets results, but I can't imagine many neutral supporters were cheering them on.

I slept for most of the journey home as I was feeling pleasantly tipsy by then. Once back, we had a few nibbles, I watered all the plants, and then settled down to watch a couple more episodes of Legends, which I'm really enjoying.

Tash eventually told me to stop messing around and get to bed at about 11.15pm as we had another early start planned the following morning for a proper walk.

A really enjoyable day and evening all round. Great company, good food and drink, and it was lovely seeing Kate and OJ settled into their new home.

Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club....nice!

A fairly normal day at work today, although I managed to finish a little earlier than usual which was handy because we had plans for the evening. John and Pauline arrived and we all caught the bus into town where we met up with Tash before wandering down to the train station.

We were comfortably early, which is always preferable to cutting it fine, and soon found ourselves on the train with a table seat secured and a couple of tinnies opened. Just two each for the journey — enough to get the evening started without overdoing it.

We arrived in London in good time and then jumped on the Elizabeth Line, which continues to impress. It’s so modern, clean and efficient compared to some of the older parts of the Underground network.

From there we walked through Soho and found Ronnie Scott’s. There were huge queues outside which initially looked a bit worrying, but thankfully we were booked into the upstairs venue, so we bypassed all of that and were shown straight to our table. It was quite cosy — perhaps a little tight — but it felt like a proper little booth and we quickly settled in.

Cocktails and food were ordered and both were excellent. We had originally booked to see Vula, of Basement Jaxx fame, but unfortunately she was ill and unable to perform. We already knew that before arriving, so it wasn’t a surprise. The group covering for her — I think they were called Village Vibe — were absolutely brilliant though. They played a fantastic set, full of energy and great music, and the whole 90-minute performance flew by. There was even a bit of dancing towards the end.

After the show we spotted the band outside, had a quick chat and grabbed a photo before making our way back towards Paddington. We still had about an hour before our train so found a pub nearby and enjoyed a couple more pints before boarding the 9.20pm service home.

The train journey back featured a few more tinnies and plenty of conversation, and once we arrived in Oxford we weren’t quite ready to call it a night. Instead we headed into The Grapes, which turned out to be a great decision.

They have a turntable set up on the bar along with a box of vinyl records for customers to choose from. Naturally, I picked out a Duran Duran album and they happily put it on while we sat there. A cracking little touch and something a bit different.

Eventually we caught the bus home, said our goodbyes and called it a night.

A fantastic evening from start to finish and one I’d highly recommend repeating.

End of Day Summary:
A brilliant night out combining good company, good music and a few drinks along the way. Ronnie Scott’s lived up to its reputation despite the change in performer, and finishing the evening listening to Duran Duran on vinyl in The Grapes was the perfect way to round things off. One of those evenings that feels effortlessly enjoyable from beginning to end.

Jenks & Marko's Charity Golf Day - Ex Non-League Players

Woke up a bit stiff and aching from the long walk yesterday, took it easy and then Danny & Vic dropped the kids off. Zoe and my Mum arrived and we loaded the car and they set off for Bournemouth. It was 30 degrees today and a bank holiday/half-term so I wasn’t remotely surprised when I got a text from Zoe saying there was a lot of traffic! But they got down there fine in the end and had a fantastic time, so that was good.

I had a long list of jobs from Tash, including food shopping and Airbnb rooms all refreshed, which I got done in time, and then headed off to golf around 12.15pm. It was up at Southfield and was the annual charity match between Jenks and Marko where about 60–70 non-league footballers all play – great fun and this year was no different.

One difference was that I’d been transferred out of Marko’s team over to Jenks to balance numbers, as they’ve had a few dropouts this year which can be a pain – but it was fine. I’d bought my pink shirt earlier in the week so I was ready. I drove this year as I wasn’t really in the mood for more drinking, and also because Lewis and family were coming over to stay the next day.

Met in the clubhouse as usual and all the pleasantries flowed like we’d seen each other only last week.

I was paired with Wayne and we played against Steve Dolton and Dave Gubbins. Set off after a warm-up (not really needed in this heatwave). Off we went. I really look forward to this match, but again I just didn’t quite click and I played a bit shit. First nine holes I struggled and I was annoyed with myself (not said out loud), and we reached the turn 3 down.

Had a beer at halfway and then headed out for the back nine.

No idea what happened after that beer… but I bogeyed one and then parred five holes and suddenly we were 2 up. I faded a bit again but Wayne was now flying and we won on the 17th, 3 & 1 – a proper turnaround from being 3 down. They were all impressed with my back nine, which was pleasing.

One bunker shot I played was probably the highlight – got to within 1.5ft from an impossible lie.

So that was that, we won our match, and later found out Jenks’s team had won comfortably overall, about 11.5 to 2.5.

Back in the clubhouse we had BBQ, drinks and caught up with people. A couple of speeches and awards, then more drinking. I kept it steady and only had a couple of beers all night – I was knackered. Got to catch up with a lot of people which was great. They all asked what our next adventure was going to be, which is flattering.

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End of day summary

A hot Bank Holiday Monday split between getting jobs done at home and the annual charity golf day at Southfield. The morning was spent ticking off a long list of tasks before heading out for the match, where things started slowly but turned into a strong back-nine comeback as we won 3 & 1. The day finished with BBQ, speeches and plenty of catching up in the clubhouse, with Jenks’s side winning comfortably overall. Tired but a really enjoyable day all round.

FA Vase Final at Wembley and Canice & Lauren engaged

Woke up with a bit of a heavy head this morning — becoming something of a recurring theme lately!

Got sorted and we headed off around 9.30am to pick up Zoe and Niamh, with Jack coming along too as we dropped him at an Underground station on the way so he could travel across London to meet Jodie. They were off to support one of her brothers who was running a half marathon.

The journey over towards Wembley was unbelievably quick and easy and we parked up on a driveway we’d booked which turned out to be only a couple of minutes’ walk from The Green Man pub — apparently one of the traditional meeting spots before and after matches at Wembley.

We were later than the others who’d travelled up by train but it didn’t matter. We settled in with a couple of pints — Tash very kindly taking on designated driver duties for the day. We were there supporting AFC Stoneham because Kate Millar’s boyfriend, Ollie James (OJ), was playing.

The pub itself was buzzing with excitement and anticipation and it actually felt really good being part of the whole occasion and supporting them properly. Around 11.45am we all wandered down towards Wembley Stadium for the 12.30pm kick-off, grabbed another beer once inside and settled into our seats.

The standard of football was decent and overall it was a really enjoyable experience. We’d quietly upgraded ourselves a little higher than our actual allocated seats to get a better view and spent plenty of time critiquing the match like we knew exactly what we were talking about.

OJ had apparently been a major doubt before the game because of injury and, truthfully, he probably shouldn’t have played at all, but of course he gave it a go anyway. He did well while he was on, although sadly he didn’t come back out after half-time.

The game itself was quite cagey and not exactly end-to-end entertainment, but Stoneham were definitely the better side overall and probably deserved to win it outright. Instead it went to penalties where they held their nerve brilliantly and won 4–2. Massive celebrations afterwards and great to see how much it meant to everyone involved.

After the presentations we headed back to The Green Man intending to carry on celebrating, only to discover something very odd — because of licensing restrictions, neither that pub nor any of the surrounding pubs were allowed to serve alcohol between 3.30pm and 4.30pm. Very strange and very frustrating timing.

We wandered off into town instead, only to discover exactly the same situation everywhere else, so in the end we grabbed a KFC and killed some time before perfectly timing our return to the pub for reopening.

By then more of the girls had arrived and eventually the players turned up too which was good fun to watch as everyone celebrated properly together.

Eventually we made our way home, wished everyone a great evening and Tash drove us back whilst I fell asleep almost immediately in the passenger seat.

Dropped Zoe and Niamh off and then got home where we pottered about doing a few jobs before settling down to watch a bit of TV.

That wasn't the end of it either, on WhatsApp Zoe shared a photo of Canice & Lauren on holiday with her showing off her ring - they'd got engaged! That was lovely news to end the day - completely unexpected. 

By about 10.00pm we finally gave in and headed to bed.

What a long weekend it’s been — but a really good one.

End of Day Summary:
A really enjoyable day out at Wembley supporting AFC Stoneham and OJ. The football, atmosphere and penalty shootout win made it feel like a proper occasion and it was nice being part of the celebrations afterwards too. Another busy social weekend, plenty of laughs and yet another reminder that Tash is probably carrying the sensible side of things at the minute!

Long Training Walk

Woke up around 5.45am, got sorted and then drove out to Christmas Common. Parked up around the corner because the National Trust car park only took cash, but it worked out fine. That said, when we got back there were more cars there and one of them had the rear passenger window smashed in. Most likely they'd left something valuable on display, but what a shame – and out there of all places. I'd be absolutely gutted if that happened to us. Thankfully we'd left nothing in the car, but it's definitely put me off taking Vinnie out there.

We set off and walked (and walked). In the end it was just over 10 miles, mostly up and down hills, although it felt like more downhill than uphill so we'll need to go back and do it in reverse one day. It took us a little over four hours and was really enjoyable. Lovely countryside, some great views and hardly any need to stop. We only paused once for a drink and some sandwiches, so we put in a decent shift and weren't actually too tired by the end of it.

Back home and I was absolutely knackered. The previous couple of nights definitely caught up with me, so I had a bath and then went to bed for an hour or so. Tash headed out with Lucie for Afternoon Tea as part of her 60th birthday celebrations, which left me with the house to myself and a chance to crack on with a few jobs that needed doing.

Didn't do a great deal in the evening. Just took it easy, pottered about, and then headed off to bed fairly early.

I really hope we've been doing enough training for the Alps hike – it's only four weeks away now and suddenly feels very close indeed.

End of day summary

A productive and active day centred around a 10-mile hike from Christmas Common. The walk took over four hours and provided some lovely scenery, good exercise and another useful step towards preparing for the Alps. A smashed car window in the parking area was a reminder to be careful where valuables are left, but thankfully it wasn't our problem. The afternoon was spent recovering from a busy few days, catching up on jobs around the house and enjoying a quiet evening. A good balance of exercise, productivity and recovery – and another reminder that the Alps are coming around very quickly.

Marbella Trip - Day 4 - Hike and Homeward Bound

Last day today — and what a brilliant few days it’s been.

We got up, finished off the remaining healthy breakfast food we had in the apartment, packed everything up and managed to leave by the 10.00am checkout deadline. We still had a little time to spare, so sat by the pool for about 45 minutes before setting off for Caminito del Rey, the gorge walk we’d booked tickets for around 90 minutes away.

I was already conscious of the time, whereas Jack wanted to stop for coffee and toilet breaks along the way. I kept pushing us onwards and, to be fair, it was probably just as well because otherwise we’d have been properly late.

We parked at the finish car park after what felt like an eternity stuck behind a coach on the winding mountain roads. From the roadside we got our first glimpse of the walk itself — narrow pathways clinging to the side of the gorge. It looked both spectacular and slightly intimidating at the same time. Instantly knew this was going to be good.

We caught the shuttle bus to the entrance and had to abandon our usual British politeness slightly to make sure we squeezed onto it. Even then we initially went the wrong way trying to find the entrance path and had to ask for directions from staff and guides. Thankfully, although Jack was technically late for the guided tour meeting point, nobody seemed bothered and he was allowed to rejoin us anyway.

We’d booked guided tickets but decided not to stick with the group and instead walked the route ourselves, which I think was definitely the right call. The guided groups were large and moving slowly and, if I’m honest, most of the information was probably the sort of thing you can read online afterwards anyway.

The walk itself was absolutely spectacular. Truly stunning. At points the water below us was over 100 metres down and the cliffs towered another 300–400 metres above our heads. Everywhere you looked there was another incredible view. We stopped constantly for photos because every bend in the path seemed to reveal something new.

We overtook most of the guided groups as we went and never once felt rushed or like we were missing out. There was one bridge crossing that was particularly exposed and windy which added a bit of excitement, and towards the end we even spotted rock climbers scaling the cliffs which looked absolutely terrifying.

What was pleasantly surprising at the end was that the little food and souvenir huts there — like Christmas market cabins — were actually very reasonably priced rather than the usual tourist rip-off. We grabbed some food and a beer and sat relaxing for a while. The whole walk had taken around two and a half hours in total, which was shorter than expected and nowhere near as physically demanding as we’d imagined. It was more of a scenic stroll than a serious hike, albeit one with some unbelievable scenery.

After that Jack drove us onwards to the mountain town of Mijas. On the way we accidentally went through another tiny village with absurdly narrow roads that caused a fair bit of stress, but Mijas itself was just as tight in places. Still, Jack handled it all well and eventually managed to get us parked.

The town itself was lovely. Whitewashed buildings everywhere, narrow streets, loads of restaurants and little leather and souvenir shops. Tash bought a couple of bags and Jack successfully haggled for a black leather belt. I behaved myself and bought nothing.

We found a pizzeria for dinner and I somehow ended up having a banana split afterwards which felt fully justified after all the walking. Around 8.00pm we headed back towards the airport and dropped the hire car off after filling it with petrol. Amazingly, considering how much driving we’d done, it only cost about £25 to refill — and Jack insisted on paying for that too.

The hire car company were excellent actually — no issues at all and I’d happily use them again. The airport process was equally painless and before long we were sat in the lounge having coffees waiting for the flight.

Unfortunately we then discovered we were on pretty much the last flight leaving the airport that night and it got delayed by around an hour. Frustrating because we already knew we’d be getting home incredibly late anyway. Nothing to do other than scroll social media, listen to music and carry on with my audiobook — Rogue Heroes — which is proving every bit as good as the TV series based on it.

Eventually boarded, managed to get some sleep on the flight and then flew through customs once back in the UK. The courtesy parking people were brilliant and had the car waiting for us despite it being around 3.00am. Naturally, Jack announced he was starving again, so we stopped at McDonald’s where he demolished three Chicken Mayo burgers before I drove us the rest of the way home.

We finally got into bed around 4.15am — with work only a few hours away.

Overall though, this was a genuinely brilliant mini-break. I honestly don’t mind working remotely whilst everyone else is relaxing by the pool or sleeping in the sun. The alternative would probably be not going at all because I don’t really want to burn through annual leave on shorter trips like this. Being able to work during the day and still properly enjoy the evenings and weekends feels like the perfect compromise. It’s the same with Menorca, Cornwall or wherever else we might end up next. Remote working really does make me appreciate both my job and the flexibility it gives me.

Spending the time with Jack was another huge part of what made it so good. He can definitely be opinionated and a bit of a know-it-all at times, but he backs himself and usually knows what he’s talking about. Tash challenges him far more than I do — sometimes I just switch off and let them debate it out between themselves! But it’s obvious he genuinely enjoys spending time with us and he was incredibly generous throughout the trip, constantly insisting on paying for things when we were more than happy to cover them ourselves. That was really appreciated.

What a fantastic break it’s been. I’d happily go back tomorrow and do exactly the same all over again.

End of Day Summary:
An absolutely perfect final day. Caminito del Rey completely lived up to expectations and Mijas was a lovely unexpected bonus before heading home. The whole trip struck a brilliant balance between relaxation, activity, work and quality family time. One of those breaks that leaves you tired when you return — but very, very glad you went.

Marbella Trip - Day 3

Took the morning easy with a nice breakfast before driving over to Estepona, where Tash had arranged bike hire. We managed to find somewhere free to park and then walked down to the rental place. No issues at all getting the bikes sorted — just simple street bikes, exactly what we wanted — and then off we went.

The plan was straightforward: cycle along the seafront promenade and just enjoy the scenery. It was busy enough with pedestrians and other cyclists, so there was a fair bit of dodging and weaving going on, but it was all good fun. We couldn’t stay directly on the beachfront the whole time as parts of the route diverted inland onto normal roads and streets, but that actually made it more interesting because we got to see a bit more of the town itself.

I’ve been genuinely impressed with everything around here. The houses, apartments, cleanliness and overall feel of the place have all been far classier than I expected. I can completely understand now why Jack likes it here so much.

We cycled past some incredible-looking hotels and beach clubs and eventually reached areas we’d already visited earlier in the week. In the end, we’d cycled pretty much non-stop for a couple of hours and covered around 19 miles before deciding we’d earned a rest. We got close to the Old Town, which had been our original target, but found a really decent restaurant beforehand and agreed we’d done enough for the day. Locked the bikes up and settled in for some well-earned food and drinks.

After lunch, we slowly made our way back. The bike hire place shut at 6.00pm so we had plenty of time and took things at a much more relaxed pace. We even stopped on the beach for half an hour to chill out. Naturally, Jack immediately gravitated towards the public gym equipment whilst Tash and I relaxed. Soon enough, another few people joined in, and it started turning into some sort of unofficial competition, so we decided it was probably time to move on!

Things then got slightly chaotic when we took a wrong turn during one of the inland sections and somehow ended up trying to navigate across a very narrow flyover. It was technically possible to cycle across it, but definitely not ideal, and Tash was less than impressed with my navigation skills. Jack and I found the whole thing hilarious — Tash very much did not.

Then, with only about half an hour of the ride remaining, Tash suddenly realised one of her Converse trainers had fallen out of the bike basket somewhere along the route. Jack immediately volunteered to go back and search for it whilst we waited. About fifteen minutes later we spotted him cycling back towards us triumphantly holding the missing trainer in the air. Apparently he’d missed it on the way out but spotted it tucked into a bush whilst returning empty-handed. That definitely improved Tash’s mood!

We made it back without any further dramas, returned the bikes and then rewarded ourselves with ice creams from the shop next door before sitting by the beach soaking up the last of the afternoon sun. I grabbed a couple of tins of lager from the supermarket for later as we’d run out of wine back at the apartment.

Once home, we got showered and sorted, and I spent a bit of time relaxing on the balcony listening to music whilst sharing the beers with Tash. Very nice indeed.

For the evening, we headed back to Puerto Banús and specifically to a restaurant on the harbour front called Picasso’s. Tash and Jack both absolutely love it there and insisted it was where we had to eat. Apparently, you can’t book and just have to queue, which didn’t particularly appeal to me, but thankfully, we arrived early enough that the wait was only around ten minutes.

Parking, however, was another story entirely. Jack squeezed the car into a ridiculously tight parallel parking space using a technique that made absolutely no sense to me whatsoever. I eventually got out of the car because my comments clearly weren’t helping his concentration, but to be fair to him, he nailed it in the end.

Inside the restaurant the atmosphere was brilliant. Near us was a group of older blokes who looked like they’d come straight from the golf course and were absolutely hammered. Nearby there was also a large Austrian group who kept making speeches and singing towards a hen party that had arrived. The whole place felt slightly surreal but in a really entertaining way.

The food itself was excellent, although the portions were absurdly big. I had chicken steak in breadcrumbs which came with what turned out to be an enormous portion of tomato spaghetti rather than chips. There was absolutely no chance I could finish it all, which felt wasteful because it was genuinely very good. Tash and I shared another lovely bottle of wine and even Jack joined in with a glass again.

We stayed there quite a while just enjoying the atmosphere, but there was definitely no room for dessert. By the time we left we were all ridiculously full and surprisingly tired as well. It was actually quite refreshing that none of us felt the need to carry on somewhere else afterwards.

Back at the apartment we did some tidying and packing ready for travelling home tomorrow and then headed off to bed.

End of Day Summary:
A really active but relaxed day. The bike ride along the coast was probably one of the highlights of the holiday and Puerto Banús delivered another fun evening without things turning into a late one. Felt very content by the end of it all — tired, full and properly enjoying the last part of the trip.