Croatia - Day 1 - Monday 31st July

Had to work in the morning, that was a bit of a mistake because I had too much to do in the time available to me. There will be things to go back to that will be quite uncomfortable. It’s my own fault, I should have done the work last night. Instead of thinking I’d be able to get up at 5.00am. Ah well, nothing I can do about it now as I’m on the plane typing this!

Tash sorted things whilst I worked so we had petrol, snacks and dropped Bess round to Charlotte who I think was okay after her drinks and excitement last night!! Bless her.

We set off a bit later than planned but it was fine. Traffic was busy but we got to the hotel but we were using for the transfer and 20mins later we were dropped off at South Terminal ready to meet up with the Millars and Holdens, just one slight snack…they were at North Terminal!! Ah well, had a couple of beers and a wander around and then on the plane. Only 30 mins late so that was acceptable. Both of us were knackered so slept quite well for a bit.

Looking forward to this week, should be enjoyable.

Had an email exchange with Jason Gould earlier in the day and mentioned Kilimanjaro and said I’d need some tips…”only tip I’d give is don’t do it, hated every minute of it!” Oh dear!!

Golf and Punting. Hot, hot, hot!!

Woke up with a bit of a heavy head, but nothing too serious or concerning so got ready and went to golf for 8:30 am. Today there was myself, Wayne, Paul Creed and Robbie Baressi. It was a slow start, but my round got better and better as I went along and by the end of the day I scored my best ever round of 91, which is 23 over par; Wayne shot 90 and was really pissed off and yet I hit 91 and was absolutely delighted.Different standards. 

My round included three pars and 1 birdie so not bad at all.

The weather was absolutely boiling hot, the Sun beating down, and you can smell the grass, being scorched, didn’t put us off, and I went home to leave straight away so that we could go punting on the river.

Zoe, little Liam and Georgia met us down at the college, and both Georgia and Liam had never been punting before , so that was nice to take them out and they enjoyed it but neither of them wanted to have a go but that was fine although it was bloody hot work.

When we finished Natasha and I went back to our house to sort Bess out and I had a quick snooze for an hour Then went over to Zoe‘s for some food which was nice and she enjoying enjoyed entertaining us.

After Zoe as we went back home and sorted things out ahead of the weekend and tidied the house et cetera and I did loads of searching on the Internet for a new golf club because my three wood snapped earlier in the day. Had quite an early night as we were both tired, but it’s been such a lovely long weekend, really enjoyed it.

Best round so far

After work today I went to the golf course and played with Wayne, Paul and Nathan Creed. Was a bit worried because I’ve had really bad back pain ao week because I played to much last week in practice for the golf tournament. 

Today I felt fine though and had a really good round. We played off the white tees and that made such a difference. Odd really becuase it’s only about 10-20 yards but mentally it just seems closer and easier. 

Played some good shots today which I was pleased with, and went round in 90 shots, my best so far has been 94, but I think that might have been off the white tees. Anyway I don’t care, I was chuffed to bits with that, especially when Paul said his target is to break 90 and he’s been playing so much more than me. 

The practise is definitely helping, plus the drive weather meaning shots travel a further distance. 

Hopefully I can build on that. 

30th Wedding Anniversary

 Wow!

So we did it, we've hit the 30-year mark of being married, can't quite believe it really. 35 years of being together, mad isn't it? Just checked and 30 years is a Pearl Wedding - oh dear, didn't get anything for each other though - other than our trip to Norway on the cruise and Le Manoir meal booked to look forward to.

Nice morning but I was working and Tash did jobs, we would have gone out but Jack and Jodie were coming back from their week in Lake Como, Italy, so wanted to be home to see them and it also meant Charlotte and Miles were also able to come over.

We both posted messages on Facebook and got a lot of love and messages on there which was nice

The evening was lovely, nice dinner and plenty of wine, got a bit tipsy if the truth be told

The kids even bought us a present where we have afternoon tea on a boat down the Thames in London.

A very lovely gesture and very expensive, no need for them to spend that much on us.

We looked at photo albums from the wedding, which brought back great memories, it was a lovely day, we did it well. So strange seeing how people have changed over time. It's inevitable of course, but I'd also not realised the people we'd invited to the actual day!

Ah well, here's to another 30 years...