Normal sort of Sunday really - Golf & Chores

Up bright and early with a bit of a heavy head. I had plans to jump in the hot tub to shake it off, but time disappeared quickly and before I knew it, it was 7.15am and I was out the door for golf.

Just Robbie and me today – most of the others had played yesterday in the Central 7’s and didn’t make it through. The weather was decent enough but pretty windy, which made things tricky. We both had very mixed rounds – some good shots, some poor ones – and ended up in the mid-90s. Not where we want to be really, both aiming for sub-90, but that’s golf… always room for improvement.

Stopped to pick up some grout on the way home, and when I got back my new power tool from Amazon had arrived. Got it set up straight away and used it to remove the grout in the shower – and it was brilliant. Genuinely one of those purchases where you’re immediately glad you bought it. Cleared out the areas I needed, had to reset a couple of tiles that came loose, and then re-grouted the whole section. It’s come up really well, so fingers crossed that sorts the leak through the kitchen ceiling.

Tash then had a list of jobs for me over at Zoe’s – tried to fix the curtain pole in the kitchen but couldn’t do much as it came without the proper fixings (no wonder it was in the sale!). Did manage to sort the washing line and the solar lights though, so not a wasted trip.

Back home and finally got into the hot tub – first time using it despite it being on all weekend. Stayed in a bit longer to make the most of it, which was well needed.

We then had dinner with Jack and watched another episode of The Penguin – really enjoying it. Still no sign of Batman, which is actually a good thing – it’s working well as a darker, grounded gangster story.

Pretty tired by this point, so off to bed around 9.45pm. Another busy week ahead, but a really good (and full-on) weekend overall.

End of Day Summary:
A productive and varied day – steady golf, satisfying DIY wins, and useful jobs ticked off. Finished nicely with the hot tub and a good evening in.

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.

Meet up with Tucks, Browns Meal and Drinking!

More jobs this morning!

First win of the day: the rat-chewed internet cable to the outside office. The wired connection had been dead for days and I’d finally bought one of those little connector boxes after watching a YouTube video, thinking I’d try to fix it myself.

While Oscar was here doing the bathroom, I had a go. Sat there patiently lining up all the tiny coloured wires, clipped them in carefully, tested it… nothing. Dead.

Back inside, fiddled again, pushed everything down a bit further, tried once more — SUCCESS! Honestly couldn’t believe it. I’d actually managed to re-wire the thing properly. Saved me getting someone out and meant the office was back in action. Felt very smug.

Next job: the drains. They’d backed up again and I vaguely remembered clearing them with pressure ages ago. Found the right plunger, gave it a go — and unbelievably, that worked as well. Quick, painless, sorted. At this point I was absolutely on a roll.

Moved on to the bar. I’ve been meaning to sort out the glasses for ages and realised I had far too many. So I was ruthless — big clear-out, lots into the bin, and the survivors went through the dishwasher so everything looks clean and tidy now.

By the time Tash got home from her morning out, we got ourselves sorted and headed into town for our 2.00pm booking at Browns with Tucks and Stephen and Sue. Browns was brilliant — food spot on, drinks flowing, great atmosphere. Just a really lovely couple of hours chatting and laughing.

As usual, Tucks grabbed the bill before anyone else had a chance. Afterwards we wandered to O’Neills because he wanted to watch the Formula 1. When that finished we moved to the Cosy Club, ordered more drinks and stayed there for the rest of the afternoon and early evening just chatting away. Eventually we wrapped up, said our goodbyes, and headed home.

The bus got us back fairly early all things considered, so we put a new series on. I was definitely drunk by this point and, in a moment of questionable judgement, opened the Bailey’s I’d bought for Christmas. Stayed up too late watching Gladiator, drinking even more.

All in all, another brilliant weekend — two in a row!

Reflections:
Funny how a day can be so satisfying just from getting things done — fixing that cable and clearing the drains made me feel surprisingly competent. And then a proper old-fashioned social afternoon with great people on top of it all. Probably overdid the drinking (opening the Bailey’s was definitely not part of the plan!), but the whole weekend felt warm, fun, and exactly what I needed.

End of Birthday celebrations

Clocks had changed (an hour backwards) and I was wide awake around 6.30am so got up and went off to golf.

A bit busy down there but I found a slot and set off for 18 holes. I wasn't playing particularly well and as I came to the 9th hole it was 9.00am and all the round up were there – about 10 people – so I thought "bugger that" and came home.

Jobs to be done here of course so I got on with them, things like cutting back the trees and tidying stuff up, went well. Then we made our way over to Sue's as I needed to work on cutting back trees for her too.

Got it done but still loads needed so there will be a few more trips back there. Unexpectedly, she had made us dinner so that was lasagne which was good.

Made our way home and walked Bess and sorted out the Airbnb and settled down to watch some TV in the evening.

**The end of my birthday weekend! It’s been a good one – I've enjoyed it and we've done so much.**

What day is it?

I got up this morning nice and early, got sorted and then came into the office and started working as normal around 7.45am. After raising a few tickets and sending emails, I noticed that the dates on these — and on my laptop — were showing as Sunday 12th October.

I checked with ChatGPT what it might be and reset some settings and restarted the laptop, but no effect.

After about 45 minutes, I messaged the group on Teams with a screenshot from my laptop, because when I opened my personal one that was showing the 12th as well. Luckily, Josh replied saying, “erm, it is Sunday 12th!”

I was honestly shocked — I genuinely and completely believed it to be Monday and a normal start to the week. I made a bit of a joke about it, but at the same time, it played on my mind that it might be something more than just a blip. I was so sure.

Then I came in and stood on the sofa to open the curtains, slipped, and fell — not a great start to the day!

Anyway, Jack was around, and then Charlotte stopped by after her gym session, so it was nice to have them both here for breakfast and catch up. Jack told us everything about the issue with him and Jodie. All very worrying for their relationship — I really hope they sort it out; she’s so lovely.

When they left, we got Jenny’s trees done — quite pleased with them, I must admit, managed to get them looking good.

Did a few more jobs in our garden and then had a quick walk around Shotover before heading home for dinner and a quiet evening in.

Watched some TV and then had an early night — kept worrying about Jack and Jodie. I’m sure it’ll be fine.

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Reflection:
A strange start that properly threw me off balance — literally and mentally! But by the end of the day, things had settled and it was nice having both Jack and Charlotte around. Still, that mix-up about the day has stuck with me; a reminder that I might need a slower start sometimes.

Win of the Day:
Got Jenny’s trees sorted and looking great — proper job, that one.