Dodgems

The day looked promising and the forecast was good. The Silver Vixen was a little shakey, first thing, so we decided not to do anything too strenuous.

During our last trip, we had taken a boat trip down to the Helford River and up towards Frenchman’s Creek. It had looked pretty from the boat, so we decided to drive to Helford and have a look round the village. The SatNav selected a route and we began our journey down the county lanes and single tracks that led round the Helford River to its south side. The whole route seemed to be an exercise in dodging or stopping for oncoming cars and farm vehicles. Helford is 5.1 miles as the crow flies. Our route was about 20 miles by road and took almost an hour.

We parked up and took a gentle stroll into the village of Helford. It really is a picture postcard spot. The tide woes low so the creeks were almost empty, but it took very little imagination to see what it would be like in flood. 

It will come as no surprise that we stopped at The Shipwrights Arms for a drink. We sat in the sunshine, out on one of their terraces. We watched as boats bobbed at anchor and the occasional motorboat puttered along the River.

Moving on, we took the path along to the Ferry. This is a small passenger ferry which shuttles pedestrians back and forth across the River. We had no intention of using it, but though we should explore.

We returned to the car and decided that as we were in the general vicinity we would head down to The Lizard. After the first few miles, this got us onto a decent road and we seemed to arrive in no time.

Having parked we asked the attendant if there was tea room - as you do. We were given instructions to follow the path and directed to a couple. We decided to stroll up to the lighthouse first, then grab a tea. We didn’t climb the lighthouse but did have a wander about before heading for the tea room. 

This is where it went south (well, The Lizard is the southernmost tip of England). We followed the path as directed, but then it clearly became quite steep as we could see the tearooms down below us. It was too steep to risk for the Silver Vixen. Going down might have been all right but coming back up would have been a challenge. We returned to the car and drove back to the village where we grabbed tea, a pasty, and an ice cream and sat in the sun watching the world spin by.

We plotted a less challenging route to get us back to Falmouth. We stopped for some groceries and to fill up with petrol, then headed to our parking place. This is where it all went a bit wrong. The Gorse Fox turned into the spot at the wrong angle and managed to catch the wheel arch on the parking bollard. Having spent the day dodging all and sundry, he ended up hitting something that was stationary! He wasn’t happy… this will need some popping out and a splash of paint!

We had a quiet hour or so before heading out for dinner. We chose Pizza Express tonight. The food was entirely predictable, the views were wonderful, but it was incredibly noisy. So much so, that when Urban-Cub phoned, we had to give up and call her back later.

Out and About

Despite the promising start, we had a few sharp showers as we were getting ready to go out. We walked up to the car and plotted our route. We were off to the Godolphin Estate, not far from Helston. The Estate had been acquired by the NT in the 90s and then the House itself was acquired a while later. (We had wondered why we had never been there before - but it clearly wasn’t NT in the years we visited with the girls).

As with all our visits, it started with a trip to the coffee shop and review of the map of the grounds. The Godolphin family had been Cornish land owners who became wealthy as a result of the tin and copper mines on their land. Their influence increased along with their wealth and eventually made their way into High Society.

Once suitably refreshed we wandered out onto the path that took us past the old stable block. Godolphin is famous for introducing one of the three ancestral Arabians that are the genetic roots of all of toady’s race horses. Having said that, there is no evidence that the horse in question was ever stabled there.

The house was built near the Marazion-Penryn road, and when that was re-routed the main driveway to the house faced an unimposing north wall. Godolphin decided to build a more impressive portico to greet visitors and that is what we see today. 

Going through the main entrance you enter a courtyard around which the old house was structured. You can only visit some areas, as others are used for holiday lets. We wandered through and photographed the courtyard and the ruins on the great hall before heading on towards the gardens.

The gardens were delightful - there were wildflower meadows, formal gardens, an orchard, stew ponds, and a dairy. There were photo opportunities at every turn. The Silver Vixen was completely enchanted by the place.

We returned to the car. As the Gorse Fox started to programme the SatNav, the Silver Vixen asked if he had seen her phone! A few moments of panic ensued. Then she remembered that she had put it down while washing her hands. She headed back to the house. Fortunately, someone had found the phone and was walking round asking if anyone had lost a phone. Retrieved!!!

We headed for Marazion and parked by the beach. We didn’t visit St Michael’s Mount during our last couple of trips to Cornwall. This had to be rectified. Every holiday needs a little bit of magic and there can be few places more magical than St Michael’s Mount.

The causeway was clear so we walked across to the island. Being NT members, we didn’t have to have a booking, nor pay to enter. The sun was out and it was lovely and warm. We wouldn’t bother with the castle this time, we would walk round the lower reaches of the garden. The paths and steps in the southern reaches of the garden are very steep and would be a strain for the Silver Vixen.

We have never walked around these lower pathway before. The afford a view up the cliff face to the castle. The cliff face is painted by the wonderful display of shrubs and flowers clinging to exposed surfaces and making the whole experience quite enchanting. When we got to the end of the path, we sat down on a bench and just enjoyed the view across the bay.

Eventually we had to move and we made our way back round the island. A stop at the tea shop seemed appropriate. We sat an watched as visitors rushed to get onto the causeway before it flooded as tide came in. We ignored the rush. We finished our tea then made our way to the harbour and got the boat back to the mainland (after all, we were meant to be on a cruise this week).

Back at the cottage we had a quiet hour before heading out for dinner. Tonight’s destination was “The Chain Locker” which is just the other side of the Quay. We had a nice table at a panoramic window overlooking the harbour and settled down for some delicious steak. It was a very nice restaurant and certainly worth a return trip.

We finished with our customary walk, then settled in for the evening.

Promising

 

It looks like a very promising start to the day.

Rum Punch

The forecast for the day had improved. Whist some rain was possible, it was unlikely to hit until evening. It was, however, expected to be overcast much of the day. After a leisurely breakfast we wandered into town. The first visit was to the bank. The Silver Vixen’s credit card had stopped working so we wanted to see if they could help. Sure enough, they took one look at the card and realised it had been locked - probably as a result of an accumulation of mistyped PIN codes. A few seconds later it was unlocked and all was well. From the bank we wandered back, stopping at various clothes shops and looking for this and that.

After that excursion we decided to walk towards Gyllyngvase and take a look at the Royal Duchy Hotel. We are very fond of the Brend Group hotels and this is one of their top-rated properties. The Gorse Fox had tried to book us in for this week, but they were fully booked.

The hotel is about 10 minutes walk from the town, up and over a small hill. We found our way (thanks to Google) without incident and wandered in. A very helpful receptionist greeted us and offered to give us a tour of public places. (Being fully booked we couldn’t see any of the guest rooms). There was an indoor pool, sauna, and spa. A gym in under construction. Then they had a series of lounges and bars and terrace lounge with panoramic windows overlooking the sea. Outside there was a spacious terrace with lots of seating and below that, a small lawn. It was very much up to the Brend standard.

We sat in the terrace lounge and had a beer (yes, the Silver Vixen had one too) and marvelled at the view and the way our polarised sun glasses altered the appearance of the sea to make it look like an emerald green, if you looked at certain angles. It was a stunning effect. We went out onto the terrace and found a quiet spot where we could call Jane and wish her a Happy Birthday. They were having a day out at Kew. Gardens. We chatted for a while, but though we were using a video call, it was so bright on the terrace that we could actually see them on the screen.

We strolled back to town, stopping at Lawrance’s Bakery and Bar again. The Silver Vixen had one of their all-day breakfast bowls - fruit, seeds, oats, peanut butter, mixed berries, Açai milk (whatever that is), and honey. Whatever it was, she loved it. The Gorse Fox had a bagel like the one selected the other day (tomato, mozzarella, pesto, and rocket). The bagel filled a hole, but was nowhere near as good as the one he had previously.

The Silver Vixen’s leg was giving her some discomfort so we headed back to the cottage, stopping on the way to book a table for dinner at “Cribbs”. Back at the cottage we had a quiet couple of hours reading - initially sitting on the quay, but it got just a little chilly so we went inside.

Cribbs is as close to the cottage as Amanzi. It is a Caribbean Restaurant. We were shown to a nice table in the window and presented with their menus. In spirit of the place (which one assumes to be rum) we both chose a rum cocktail while deciding on our food selection. The Silver Vixen had some shredded beef brisket tacos to start, and the Gorse Fox had some sticky ribs. A good choice for both of us. Then we moved on to the main course. The Silver Vixen chose the ribs ( a larger portion of the Gorse Fox’s starter) and the Gorse Fox had Curry Goat. He was expecting this to be a lot more spicy than it actually was - but that is not to say it wasn’t delicious.

We had to go for a walk when we finished. It had been a lovely meal but demanded a little exercise before returning to the cottage for the evening.

Wet

This is Cornwall so we have to expect some wet weather. Today was the day. (In fact we are likely to get showers for the next few days). We don’t let it unduly worry us. Once we were up and about and enjoying some morning tea and coffee we decided on a plan for the day.

Wrapped in our wet weather gear we strolled along to the National Maritime Museum of Cornwall expecting to spend an hour there before moving on. Little did we know!

The museum is huge and features a main display hall, and then further side halls at various levels throughout the building. There is also a tower. Which affords a brilliant view over the whole area. We started in the main display hall and were led past boats of all shapes and sizes - yachts, motor boats, rescue boats, gigs, and quirky home built boats. Boats were scattered across the hall but were also suspended, at different heights, from the roof. This meant that as you rose through the various levels of the museum, you saw a whole new display of boats.

We took the lift to the top of the tower. The view was excellent and though it was still raining, the view was not impaired. The Gorse Fox got chatting to the guide who pointed out a few items and explained about the RFA Lyme Bay, which was moored nearby, and Hapag Lloyd cruise ship, Europa 2, which was moored just beyond. We lingered for quite a while before making our way back down.

There was a fascinating display taking the visitor through the history of tattoos in Britain. It appears they certainly date back to the early pilgrims - some of whom were marked to show their piety and the fact they had been to the Holy Land. There was also a discussion whether the Picts were tattooed but the consensus seems to be that they were just painted. The Gorse Fox can see that there is a great deal of art involved, but it is not something he will ever understand.

We stopped for coffee and while taking on the caffeine, Urban-Cub rang. She was buzzzing. They had just got the results of their inventory and the store had clearly improved again since last time. We chatted for a while before she was interrupted by a phone call. The Silver Vixen and Gorse Fox continued our exploration of the museum.

Our next stop was the display hall that featured the “Monsters of the Deep”. This displayed a huge 16th Century map with the various illustrations of sea monsters scattered between the land masses. Most of these were discussed in side exhibits, explaining the legends, the facts, and the fiction. It was fascinating. We spent longer in there than expected and then moved through. A display of some of the specimens that were brought back (in jars) from some of the famous research exhibitions.

Checking his watch as we finally left the museum, we had been captivated for more than three and half hours. We made our way across the Events Square. The rain pounded down and we decided to head for the cottage and a cup of tea. We stopped on the way and booked a table for dinner at a South African restaurant recommended by Tinkerbell.

We settled down with our books and magazines and some tea. We would have a quiet couple of hours before dinner. The rain still washed the streets and houses and fractured the surface of the water beside the quay.

The restaurant is about 20 yards from the cottage. We walked through the archway, and up Quay Street to the corner. We were there. We settled down at a corner table and chatted with the staff while we were deciding on our selection from the menu. We both had a starter - the Silver Vixen had Peri Peri Prawns with Avocado, and the Gorse Fox had the Boerewors Sausage. 

The starters were delicious and it boded well for the main course. The Silver Vixen chose the catch of the day - Lemon Sole served in the pan with saffron rice and lemon butter. It looked super and she tucked straight in. The Gorse Fox chose Ostrich Sosatie - braaied ostrich fillet on a skewer with bacon and apricots, chunky chips, and spiced ghee. It was sensational.

We really liked the restaurant and have already booked a return visit on Saturday. We left the restaurant. The rain had cleared. We made the most of it and went for a walk before returning to the cottage.

We settled down for the evening and watched as the sun painted the river gold as it set.

Old Haunts

The Gorse Fox got up soon after 7:00. It was a bit overcast and the water outside the cottage was like a sheet of glass - no ripple dared sully the perfect surface. As the morning began to take shape, the wind or tide changed and the magic was broken.

Once the Silver Vixen was up and about and we had had some breakfast we decided on the day’s plan. No rain was forecast and it looked as if it would be sunny with plenty of clouds scudding across the sky. We decided on a return to Trelissick.

Trelissick House and Garden sits on a peninsula on the River Fal, near Feock and just close to the King Harry Ferry which shuttles people and cars across the river to the Roseland Peninsula. The Gorse Fox thinks it was about 1989 when we last visited - with Cousteau-Cub and Urban-Cub in tow.

We started with a coffee in the courtyard cafe - it was beautifully sunny and sheltered from any breeze. Despite other people being around, it was strangely tranquil. 

Moving on, we made our way through the gardens, weaving our way along the maze of paths. There were some wonderful specimen trees which seemed to dominate their settings. As we walked, beautiful vistas would open up, showing manicured lawns, wooded glades, bridges, summer houses, and, of course, views across the river.

We finally looped back up to the house. This had not been open during our previous visit. Even now, only a few rooms are open to visitors - the house only becoming a National Trust property in 2013. The rooms were interesting in that the showed some fabulous china. Why? Was the obvious question. Well, it turns out that William Taylor Copeland took over the running of the Spode china factory after the founder died. This was, evidently, how they had made their fortune.

We finished the visit with a wander round the NT Shop and then an on-site Gallery full of local crafts - paintings, embroidery, stained glass mirrors, jewellery and heavens knows what else.

It didn’t take long to get back to Falmouth. We dropped off some stuff at the cottage and then decided to explore some more. We headed west along Church Street, Market Street and along past the Prince of Wales Pier and up the old High Street. Not having any specific destination in mind we turned around and, retracing our steps, walked back to the Events Square. Tucked in the corner was Lawrance’s Bar and Bakery. This seemed like an interesting concept and was worthy of a visit.

The first thing that struck the Gorse Fox was how pink it was. Ellie would love it. It was clearly aimed at a predominantly female audience. The menu is basically filled bagels, sticky cakes and bakes, and cocktails. There was a cursory nod to beer drinkers with a few bottled beers. The Silver Vixen chose a Victoria sandwich and the Gorse Fox had a tomato, mozzarella, and pesto bagel. We both had a beer. Our conclusion was that it was a good idea and deserved to do well.

We wandered across the square and booked a table at “The Shack” for early evening then made our way back towards the cottage. We found a spot at the end of Custom House Quay and settled down in the afternoon sunshine to watch the boats and ferries shuttle back and forth. It really was delightful.

Early evening saw us return too “The Shack”. This restaurant specialises in seafood and the menu is very dependent on what the local fishermen have landed. We both decided on some haddock but saw other people tucking into mountains of mussels or smashing their way into huge crabs.

It was time to return to the cottage and settle in for the evening.

Go West

We were up early. The plan was to leave at 8:00. The packing had all been done last night, so it was just a matter of loading the car and having a spot of breakfast. No coffee was consumed - tea only. This ensured that comfort stops were not required sooner than was reasonable.

The roads, heading West, were empty and we made good time. After Somme internal debate the Gorse Fox decided to stick to the more picturesqueJurassic route rather than nipping up to the A303. Had it not been for the closure of the A35 on the run in to Honiton, this would have been the right choice. As it was we had to divert and find our way down to the A30 several miles before the town.

We stopped for a comfort break at Exeter. (This was always where we would stop when driving down with the girls). A coffee and pastry later, we were back on the road. The road was deserted and we whizzed down to Truro and then round to Falmouth.

Falmouth was a challenge. The written instructions were incomplete and the SatNav kept trying to send us down roads that were closed to vehicles. Eventually, the Gorse Fox and Silver Vixen found the correct route through to the Quay. That was where the next challenge awaited. The cottage was through a narrow archway and opposite the entrance to the archway was scaffolding cladding an old building. Could the Gorse Fox reverse into the arch? Was the archway wide enough to accommodate the car? The answer to both was yes, but only just. There couldn’t have been more than a few centimetres spare either side of the car and the reversing cameras and all round sensors earned their keep. We made it without incident.

Once the car was unloaded we drove it to the allotted parking space, back up the other side of the high street - this was a relief, as it meant that once there, we didn’t have to negotiate the arch again!

Once we were unpacked, we made the most of the sunny (if blustery) afternoon and went for a walk. Shops may have changed hands, but Falmouth itself looks just the same. It was comfortable. It was familiar. Though mid afternoon, we decided to have dinner while we were out and could then settle down for the evening with having to go back out. We stopped at “The Shed” near the National Maritime Museum. We used it several times when we were last here and the Gorse Fox is happy to report that, six years on, it is still as good.

After dinner, we continued our walk for a while before heading back to the cottage. We hadn’t been back for long when the owner popped in to say hello and give us a quick run down on the equipment. The Gorse Fox should probable describe the cottage. It is tucked in a corner of a run of waterfront fishermen’s cottages. Despite being just off the height street and the quay, it is utterly silent except for the call of the gulls and the gentle lapping of the water outside. Downstairs is open plan with seating area, dining area, and kitchen. Upstairs, there are two bedrooms (both en suite) and a small study area. All of them overlook the harbour. It’s very comfortable and ideally situated.

The weather forecast for the week looks a bit changeable so we have not got specific plans. We decide what to do on a daily basis, once we have a better view of the day’s forecast.

Destinations or Routes

 The installation of the updates to Windows finally completed. Tectonic plates seem to move with more urgency that Windows updates.

The rest of the day has been spent in preparation for our forthcoming trip to Cornwall. The Gorse Fox has been packing, been selecting the cables and chargers necessary, and preparing the Sat Nav. The Silver Vixen has been doing a complete Spring Clean of every aspect of the house and garden. The Gorse Fox has helped where perceived necessary.

The car has been fuelled for the trip and the Gorse Fox has tried to programme the SatNav. Unfortunately, the Sat Nav is as friendly as a cornered rat. It took one attempt, followed by two separate experiments based on the manual to get to the point that the Gorse Fox was ready to blast the SatNav with a shotgun. (The Gorse Fox should point out, at this juncture, that he doesn't have access to a shotgun). Finally, he found a "Routes" setting. It was the "routes" setting that he should have been using all along(as opposed to the "destination" setting). The route, and its subtleties, were programmed into the SatNav. We are ready to rock.

Update

 The Gorse Fox has been spoilt by the Mac(s)... Updates seem relatively regular, and relatively quick. Even when they are not quick they usually tell you that there is 9minutes or 23 minutes to go... or whatever the time may be.

This morning the Gorse Fox decided to apply updates to her Dell Windows laptop (called Merlin). It has now been running for 2.5 hours and just asked for a restart. How do Windows users still put up with this? On the Gorse Fox's Linux machines most updates do not even require a restart and most run is a few minutes.

Rooting about

 Ellie was dropped off soon after 7:00. The normal protocol was followed, though the Gorse Fox did have to walk round and retrieve "Bunny" which had been forgotten. Soon after he got back, the doorbell rang. It was Darren. Urban-Cub had also forgotten the Father's Day gift for Pistol Pete. Darren dropped it off.

Once Ellie was at school, the Silver Vixen headed off to the hairdresser and the Gorse Fox updated the accounts then returned to the family tree. Today's focus was the Gorse Fox's 4th and 5th great grandparents in Canbridgeshire. There was some supporting information and several other researchers had published their analysis. Several hours later, the Gorse Fox was happy that he had the start of the next research avenue and was convinced that the other researchers were somewhat shoddy in their analysis. In each case, two siblings were identified that the Gorse Fox would not identify as relatives. He suspects that the mistake was made by one researcher (not understanding the geography of Cambridgeshire and Essex) and was then copied by the others.

After school today, the Silver Vixen and Ellie had a look at their Summer Fair. Ellie clearly had great fun and came home with her face painted as a tiger. The Gorse Fox didn't join in. He was at home preparing Ellie's dinner as she had to eat, then pop next door wit Tinkerbell's birthday card, then be ready for Pistol Pete to collect her.

All is now quiet and we are unlikely to see her again until Monday-week.

Checklists

Ellie woke us at 6:30 but was content to go back to bed with the iPad until it was time to get up. 

The forecast for the day in West Sussex specified a yellow weather warning for thunderstorms and possible local flooding. Not in our neck of the woods it wasn't. We had a shower as we took Ellie to school and then it dried up and improved bit by bit throughout the day. As the Gorse Fox writes, the sun is beating down and we have a glorious evening.

There was no Ocado this week. We didn't have much to get and it was easier to pick it up at Sainsbury's. We were soon sorted out.

This afternoon has been quiet, dedicated to last minute details for our forthcoming trip. What time should we leave? What time can we check-in? Where is the parking? All of this has been sorted and checklists have been made. we just need to wait for the starter flag.

By the way - the Gorse Fox was very impressed to find that he could use "copy & paste" to copy text from his iPhone and paste it directly onto his iMac. He had seen the announcement of the function, but this was the first time he had tried it. It was seamless. Very Impressive.

High Fibre

 The Gorse Fox was up and ready. It was gorgeous start to the day and BT/Openreach were due soon after 8:00. The Silver Vixen took over Ellie's school escort duty and the Gorse Fox waited for the engineer.

The first thing we discovered was that the current ducting was hidden behind some boxing. This took a great deal of effort to take apart and gain access. Then the engineer fed the flexible rod back down the duct towards the junction. It only got about 15m and then stopped. He fiddled and faffed and then called for help. Another engineer arrived. They examined the inspection ducts but could not determine what was happening. It was at this point that engineer no.2 thought it may be a junction in the duct and that the flexible rod wasn't bending on impact. He came up with a cunning plan. The rod was removed and cable ties were looped onto the end. This made it look a bit like a kitchen whisk. When this was fed back into the duct it reached the junction and the flexibility of the cable tie was enough to deflect the rod... job done. Fibre was fed back and terminated. The new connections were made and the new router was installed. He left.

The Gorse Fox spent the next hour going through the tables and checking that all the IP addresses were correct and that everything was working. He then conducted a speed test and seems to be getting a 505Mbps download speed. He's very happy with that.

This afternoon we took Jasper to the cattery. As usual he wasn't too pleased to be in his carrier, but was perfectly happy once he got there and had started his spa break.

Ellie is with us overnight tonight.

Roots

 Ellie woke and charged into our room at 6:15. After a cuddle wit grandpa she was happy to grab the iPad and return to her room until 7:00. That is manageable! We got her ready, as usual, and spent 15 minutes on her "Numbots" maths game before Urban-Cub arrived to take her to school.

Mid-morning the Silver Vixen had an appointment at the dentist. This was the first part of a multi-visit treatment. Not quite knowing what was likely to happen, the Gorse Fox drove her in to Chichester with a view to being nearby if she needed assistance and being available to drive her home. As it happened she was relatively ok. A root had been removed in preparation for a bridge later in the summer. Her mouth was numb but she had to avoid drinks for as long as possible.

While she was in the dentist chair, the Gorse Fox wandered along to the Cathedral grounds. He always feels immensely tranquil when there.

We strolled through the cloisters into another garden where several photographers were set up with their huge telephoto lenses. The Gorse Fox then remembered that we have peregrines nesting by the spire and both the cock and the hen were out keeping watch from opposite pediments by the spire. The Gorse Fox only had his iPhone so did not have the 40x zoom available to him that his Canon camera affords.

As he dropped through a doorway and into an alley, the phone rang. It was the Silver Vixen. She was done. The Gorse Fox hot-footed back to meet her and take her home for a quiet afternoon.

For the Gorse Fox it wasn't that quiet. We had Jasper's annual checkup and jabs. The Gorse Fox wasn't really up to the excitement of the vet, so the Gorse Fox took him - mewling the the whole way there and back - to the outskirts of Chichester. The vet, a sour-faced, humourless woman, gave him a clean bill of health and his annual jab. All is set for his forthcoming spa break with the Cat Whisperer.

Fiddling

 The Gorse Fox explained that the re-jigging of the WiFi mesh worked. iT took hime a little longer to tidy up the cabling changes that had been made. He also had to order a couple of bits from Amazon to finish the job.

The Silver Vixen spent much of the morning on the phone to friend. It was during this call that the Gorse Fox started to think about the changes to our network that are scheduled for Wednesday... One of the changes is a switch to a digital phone line. He asked himself "Does this need a different phone? Will it have the same number?". These were questions he should have asked when the change was requested. It turns out that Yes, and new phone is required - and a new number will probably be allocated. He phoned BT. They cannot send a new phone while the current order is still open - the Gorse Fox needs to wait until Thursday. As for the phone number -m he can request the preservation of the old number... if he isn't too late... but again needs to wait until Thursday.

The Silver Vixen called Jane this afternoon. Their trip to Edinburgh has been cancelled because of the self-serving, treacherous railway unions who put themselves and their perceived needs above the whole country as it tries to recover from the last two years of pandemic. The Gorse Fox cannot adequately describe the contempt he has for these morons.

Re-jig

 After a recent epiphany, the Gorse Fox has spent a while re-jigging his WiFi mesh this morning. He had realised that he could probably move the Master disc to his man cave. The question was, would the mesh still provide the coverage he required and would other discs need to be moved? It only took a little while to shift things about - et voila - the mesh signal is still excellent all round the house and it now runs through a dedicated port on the router.

Fathers' Day

 After some overnight power cuts and thunderstorms, the morning dawned fresher and slightly overcast. The temperature was still hovering around 19C but was several degrees down on the last few days. The Gorse Fox had no football scheduled. In fact, the Arena was closed today so we could not have played even if we wanted.

We had a very quiet morning - mainly reading and drinking coffee. At lunchtime we were scheduled to meet up with Cousteau-Cub and the Coventry Hobbit, Urban-Cub and Ellie, and Darren to have a celebratory "Fathers' Day" lunch at The Giggling Squid. As we arrived we noticed some young girls in their finery having clearly just made the First Communion. Ellie and Urban-Cub began chatting with one at the restaurant and she made her way round to see us and give Ellie some cake. It was a lovely gesture.

It goes without saying that the Gorse Fox was thoroughly spoiled. He had some lovely cards and various bits and (liquid) pieces to enjoy. He is so lucky to have such a wonderful family. 

The food was gorgeous, as usual and the Gorse Fox had his favourite spiced up chicken "Gra Pao". The Silver Vixen had a red curry which she enjoyed - in fact everyone seemed to enjoy lunch - perhaps with the exception of Ellie who limited herself to plan rice.

We sat and chatted until it was time for us all to go our separate ways. Cousteau-Cub and the Coventry Hobbit started their walk home, Urban-Cub, Ellie, and Darren headed for their car, and the Silver Vixen and Gorse Fox went to our car. Five minutes later we were home and settled.

Jibber jabber

 It had been a hot and steamy night. Ellie was awake soon after 6:30 and wanted to watch the iPad. That seemed like a good solution and (if the volume was low) would give us a further 30 minutes sleep. 

After breakfast, and once dressed, Ellie was ready to be collected by the Urban-Cub. The Silver Vixen went with them for Ellie to get her Covid jab (Pfizer). She was very good and made no fuss at all. The Gorse Fox saw her once home and she was her usual cheery self.

The Gorse Fox had his usual cousins' call this morning. This picture of one of our Acers was the backdrop that the selected today.

The Aussie contingent were late to the call, blaming daylight saving time. Everyone else seemed to blame Brexit. ~In fact the conclusions seemed to be that everything wrong with the world : 7,000 cancelled flights in the USA, US gas prices, cost of living in Australia, alignment of the planets, murder of a journalist in Brazil, cost of living in Turkey, Spain, and France, were all consequences of Brexit.

The Gorse Fox has spent much of the rest of the day documenting and checking the home networks. With a switch to full fibre planned for Wednesday, it was important to ensure that all of the static addresses were known and documented. He thinks this is now sorted.

Several hours were also consumed looking at an ancestor. This is because a DNA match has emerged, but the supporting data looks a bit suspect. At this stage, the Gorse Fox thinks he understands the link, but needs documentary proof. (Otherwise it doesn't get into the records). He needs more time time to investigate.

Stunning

 It has been a stunning day. Temperatures have been in the mid-20s and there has been a slight coastal breeze to keep things very comfortable. The Gorse Fox went round to Urban-Cub to escort them to school but then headed home.

The morning was spent catching use on admin. There were Landscaping bills to pay, accounts to bring up to date, Ocado deliveries to cancel, and the Dash Cam to refit. The Dash Cam was first on the agenda. Fortunately Two Hats was around and had some alcohol spray that could be used to clean the windscreen. The mounting pad was refitted and the rear view camera reconnected. The front mounted camera was prepared but not fitted. It is a little heavy so the Gorse Fox decided to give the adhesive time to cure before putting it under any stress.

The rest of the morning was spent on the other admin. One outstanding item was a voucher the kids had given him for his birthday. Today he he booked the event. This is a helicopter ride from Goodwood, along the coast to Portsmouth and then back in along the line of the Downs. This is now scheduled for 17th August.

The early afternoon was spent enjoying the sunshine in the garden. It was immensely peaceful and a slight breeze ensured that it remained comfortable.

Mid-afternoon we had to collect Ellie as she is staying with us overnight (Urban-Cub being on a late shift). As Pistol Pete is working this weekend, Ellie will be with Urban-Cub, picking her up in the morning.

Had a nice long chat with Two Hats and Tinkerbell before dinner. He has just had a skin cancer removed and this afternoon was back at the medical centre to have his stitches removed. He commented that he was feeling 100% better.

Lunch

 Ellie woke up early, but was happy to amuse herself in her room until it was time to get up. It was another lovely start to the day and she was able to got to school in her PE kit.

The morning had the usual shopping interventions, though Ocado were a bit late - which only ever happens on days when we plan to go out. Once they had delivered, we headed for Sainsbury's and raced round in no time flat.

Old Bill and Lady Penelope were taking us to lunch, by way of a "thank you" for the Gorse Fox taking him to the eye clinic on Saturday. We had agreed to go to "Fino" in Felpham. It was almost empty when we arrived but did have more diners trickling in during our meal. We stuck to their lunchtime menu (as opposed to the A la Carte). The Silver Vixen started with mozzarella bon bone with a salsa and the Gorse Fox had Arancini. Both were light and the ideal starters to get juices flowing. (Old Bill and Lady Penelope both had lovely looking plates of whitebait). For the entrees, the Silver Vixen and Gorse Fox both chose spaghetti carbonara, Lady Penelope chose risotto, and Old Bill had the penne arabiata. The meal was delicious and as it was our suggestion, we were delighted that they liked it and vowed to return.

This afternoon has been quiet. Urban-Cub collected Ellie from school and took her swimming - so we were "off duty".

Shorn

 It was a gorgeous day. The sun was up and doing its thing, burning off the early morning cloud. The rest of the day it stayed a wall-to-wall blue with temperatures around 24C. Fabulous.

After the usual school drop off for Ellie, the Silver Vixen headed off to Pilates and the Gorse Fox headed off to Worthing for football. Nestling in the back of the car was 10 litres of draught "Fuzzy Duck" for our ref, Gary. It was a hard game today. The heat may have been a contributing factor but it was predominantly the mix of the teams. Final score was 2-1 to the other team, but the Gorse Fox was happy with his performance - it was certainly better than any of the England defenders who played in the defeat against Hungary last night.

This afternoon was pretty quiet. The Gorse Fox wandered into the village to get his hair cut, then fiddled about trying to change the battery in the garage remote. It was fiddly, but eventually worked.

Absent

 Another glorious start to the day. Urban-Cub dropped Ellie off to us, but she was not too well. In the end we decided that she should stay at home with us.

The Gorse Fox had football scheduled so headed off to Worthing soon after 9:00. There was a fairly good turn out today and we managed to form 4 teams for the round robin. Unfortunately, the Gorse Fox was on the only team with 6 players, when all the rest had 7. This was another case of backs to the wall defending. Despite our numerical disadvantage we managed to win the first game 1-0, draw the second game 1-1, and win the last game 3-1. The Gorse Fox didn't't feel as if he had played as well as he could do, but was clearly effective enough!

Back home Ellie was just having lunch and Urban-Cub was due to collect her. Once we were on our own, the Silver Vixen and Gorse Fox had a snack before she settled in the Orangery and the Gorse Fox popped back to the Gribble Inn to collect the beer ordered yesterday.

The rest of the afternoon was pretty quiet until Cousteau-Cub turned up on her way home from work. It was lovely to see her, as it has been several weeks since her last visit. She stayed for about an hour and we managed to catch iup on her news: her recent trip to Gran Canaria, Jon's trip to Spain, their planned trip to a friend's wedding in Minorca and the recent hassle with her car. We updated her with our news and plans and she disappeared into the evening sun.

Another lovely day.

Beergate

 It was a glorious start to the day. The sun was up and there wasn't a cloud to be seen. Urban-Cub dropped Ellie off and we switched into our normal routine. Once she was at school we settled down for coffee and breakfast.

Lady Penelope came over to see the Silver Vixen mid morning. The Gorse Fox left them to it and retired to the study to do some more detective work on the family tree. The particular link that he was researching was triggered by a DNA match. He is not, however, convinced that this DNA has been adequately researched. He doesn't doubt the DNA showing a family connection. He does doubt that the person submitting the details has the correct pedigree. He rechecked all his research and the supporting evidence and is certain it is correct. The other person, however, has not submitted any evidence to support the people in her line.

The Silver Vixen and Gorse Fox went out for lunch. The Gorse Fox had been asked to get some beer as a gift for Gary, who does the refereeing for us on Wednesdays. It is the club's way of saying Thanks, as he won't take any money. We went to The Gribble Inn and the Gorse Fox ordered 10 litres of Fuzzy Duck to be collected tomorrow. Meanwhile, we settled down to tuna melt on ciabatta with a side of fries. Simple, but delicious and certainly all we would need for the rest of the day.

We collected Ellie from school. Once she had got changed, eaten an ice cream cone, two mini scotch eggs,  and a huge slice of chocolate cake, the Silver Vixen took her to the park while the Gorse Fox prepared her dinner. Heavens knows where she puts it all.

Half a dozen

It looked like a very promising day. A few clouds decorated the deep blue sky and it was already warm when the Gorse Fox got up. 

The Gorse Fox had football this morning. We had another new player join us today. He seemed competent and the Gorse Fox suspects he will settle in over the coming weeks. The game was 5-a-side and was tit-for-tat right through until the last ten minutes. The way the teams had been chosen by the Gorse Fox dictated that he was on the weaker side. This meant that we had to work much harder through the game. It also meant that by the last ten minutes most of the team were on their knees and that cost us several goals as the goalies and one of the backs both decided separately to pass the ball directly to the opposition a couple of times, right in front of goal. The final score was 15-10, but the Gorse Fox was pleased to have scored 6 of our 10.

This afternoon the Silver Vixen's aunt, cousin and his wife came to visit and have dinner with us. The weather was till lovely so we we sat out in the garden and chatted. Urban-Cub turned up with Ellie, to say hello and have a brief chat - she, however, was not staying for dinner as Ellie had to get to bed. The Gorse Fox ordered the food from the Indian takeaway, then started to prepare some salmon and Jersey Royals (with salad) for the Silver Vixen and Aunt Jean. Everything was timed to perfection as the food was delivered just as the timer went off for the salmon.

We had moved inside to eat. There was a cool breeze that would have made it uncomfortable to stay outside. We had a lovely meal as Sue held court. Once in a while, Trevor managed to get a word in (and was corrected) but the rest of us knew our place.

It had ben a lovely afternoon and evening - and the third time we had seen them in three weeks. The Gorse Fox suspects it will be August before we see them again.

No prude

 The Gorse Fox was awake early but forced himself to stay in bed until 7:00. Then, enough was enough; his painful hips had had enough. It was time to be upright and moving around. (The Gorse Fox may not have mentioned it before, but he has considerable discomfort from his hips and thighs overnight; the football may not help but never mind. He will survive).

The morning started with the cousins' call. The Gorse Fox used a photo of the back garden as a background today. After the last few weeks of backdrops he had to convince them that this was really our garden.

It turns out that Simon, in Oz, was currently paying 4 Australian Dollars for a lettuce, so Maggie showed off her wealth by giving us a video tour of her garden with 10 lettuces ready to pick.

Once the call was over, the Gorse Fox had some spare time before taking Old Bill to the eye clinic. 

The previous operation he had on his eyes had been successful but the regrowth of skin cells had been a little ambitious and needed to be dealt with. The Gorse Fox drove him across to Whitely (where the Silver Vixen had been several years back). We parked up and Old Bill went into the clinic for his remedial treatment. 

The Gorse Fox sat in the car and watched various TV episodes on his iPad. Nothing grabbed his attention for long... but, as he was debating the next distraction, Old Bill emerged from the Clinic. We had a quick run home and the Gorse Fox spent most of the afternoon sitting with the Silver Vixen in the garden.

Cousins

 

Ellie was dropped off just after 7:00 this morning. Urban-Cub was already at work so Darren had to get her across to us. She was as right as rain and eager to get ready for her "red, white, and blue" day to celebrate the Queen's Jubilee and Birthday. (There are red flashes on the blue dress she was wearing).

The Gorse Fox spent an inordinate amount of time of the phone with EE (our new mobile phone network). All he wanted to do was switch the numbers that had to be registered in their app when the phones were activated to the numbers that were now active - the old numbers we have always had. A very sweet Welsh girl tried to help (clearly working from home, as the Gorse Fox could hear her daughter causing chaos in the background). In the end, having changed a few things, she concluded it would all be ok in the next 24-48 hours. The Gorse Fox is not convinced, but had lost the will to debate it it further.

Much of the afternoon was spent unravelling the Silver Vixen's DNA matches. The Gorse Fox picked one particular match and tried to follow it down through the generations. It took a fair bit of detective work, but in the end the Gorse Fox had added 36 more cousins to the Silver Vixen's tree and we now have a clear link to some 4th cousins on the maternal line.

Just to make life more fun, Jasper has twice decided to vomit over the carpets, today. Fortunately, we were quick to discover it and having gone through the cleanup protocol, the carpets appear unstained.

Fangs for the memory

 Ellie was with us overnight. She pottered in to our room at 6:35 and asked if she could watch her iPad until it was time to get up. This seemed like a good idea and meant that we could have a few more minutes in bed! Having said that, the Gorse Fox had to get going sharpish this morning. He had an appointment at the dentist.

During the first lockdown, the outside face of one his upper teeth had sheared away. It gave no discomfort, but did require attention. A couple of weeks ago, the inside face of one his lower teeth lost a filling. It was time to get some attention! The dentist poked and prodded before taking some X-rays. Her conclusions was that the Gorse Fox had lost the outside of an upper tooth and the inside of a lower tooth. Hooray for science! She also checked all the other teeth and her assessment was that they were healthy and he should continue whatever his current regimen might be. The seat was dropped backwards, the interrogation light was switched on, and the instruments of torture were exposed. She revved up some of the drills just to make sure the Gorse Fox would be compliant. He settled back and allowed her and her assistant to re-enact the D-Day bombardment in his mouth. Twenty minutes later and several hundred pounds lighter, the Gorse Fox left the Dentist He had two new fillings replacing the old ones and a clean bill of oral health and a suggestion that the next check-up could wait for 12 months instead of the customary 6.

Back home, the Silver Vixen had taken Ellie to school and we both sat down to a coffee before the Ocado delivery arrived. After that we had the usual Sainsbury's top-up before settling down for quiet lunch and afternoon. 

Later Ron

 It looked a bit brighter this morning, though some rain was forecast for later. Ellie was dropped off and we got her ready for school and then took her round for another day's learning.

The Silver Vixen was off to Pilates and the Gorse Fox had football. We were lucky with the weather. It was a sunny but breezy morning while we were playing. The game was a a 3-2 loss to the Gorse Fox's team, but it was played in a good spirit and was great fun. We had started with a minute's silence for "Later Ron", one of our players who had been fighting cancer and finally succumbed over the weekend. He was a lovely chap, despite being a Glasgow Rangers fan!

This afternoon, the Gorse Fox started to transfer the SIMs for the phone. The new SIMs had arrived from EE as part of his recent BT Broadband upgrade. Now he had to get them fired up and registered with the correct numbers. It seems that this latter process is already in train... which was impressive and somewhat surprising. Apparently, all should be switched tomorrow.

Ellie is with us overnight.

Need for Speed

 It was a wet start to the day. The Gorse Fox was hoping that things would dry up by the time he went to football... but no such luck.

Ellie had been at home overnight, so the Gorse Fox wandered round to take her off to school. Back at home the Gorse Fox changed and the Silver Vixen prepared for her morning out. She was going to meet a friend for coffee.

Football was incredibly wet. The rain was not heavy, but it was a penetrating and incessant drizzle. There were only 2 teams this week and we played 8-v-7. The Gorse Fox was on the team with 7 and had his work cut out for him. We survived the first two games 0-0, but conceded a single goal in the final game.

As Urban-Cub had the day off, she would be collecting Ellie from school. This meant that we had a clear afternoon. We had planned to make the most of this and booked to go to the cinema. We took our seats in the auditorium and one by one people filed in. Eventually, there was an audience of 30 for the film - giving everyone plenty of space.

Top Gun: Maverick was the film and from the first moment it had us hooked. It was 130 minutes of pure adrenaline, punctuated with moments of humour, and moments of pathos. It was brilliant. In fact, it was the first film that we have seen that the Silver Vixen has declared "So good that I could see that again". Well, the Gorse Fox wouldn't disagree.

After the film we stopped for a cheeky Nando's and got home just in time to watch the Germany-v-England Nations League game.

On and Off

 The day started with the Gorse Fox wandering round to Urban-Cub's and joining the escort party taking Ellie to school. She had woken up late but was full of her usual morning joys and eager to get back to school.

The Silver Vixen was out for much of the morning. The Gorse Fox used the time to catch up on the accounts and do some emails. Old Bill called round. He has an appointment at the eye clinic on Saturday, and the Gorse Fox had offered to give him a lift. He had been very hesitant after the long wait he suffered lat time, but the Gorse Fox assured him that this was no problem. It is now fixed in the diary.

When the Silver Vixen got home, Gorse Fox noticed that the dash cam was hanging at an obscure angle. This seems to be a problem that occurs when the windscreen get hot. The Gorse Fox re-affixed the dash cam and went indoors. Time passed (but not a lot) and the car alarm went off. The dash cam was off again. Old adhesive was scraped off and area cleaned. Nano tape was applied and dash cam re-affixed. An hour or so later the dash cam was hanging at an impossible angle, again. The Gorse Fox ordered some special (heat resistant) tape which should arrive tomorrow. In the meantime, the nano tape was removed (which was not easy) and a spare double-sided pad that had come with an old dash cam was pressed into place. Let's see if that stays.

We collected Ellie from school. She is staying with us overnight as Urban-Cub is on a late duty. She has spent the las hour or so reading to us from some of her books. She is doing really well and is managing to recognise and read most of the words in these books.

Photos

 It has been a fairly quiet day after the events and journey yesterday. 

The Silver Vixen pottered about with some domestic chores for a little while and the Gorse Fox retired to the  study in order to do some photo filing. This didn't take too long, but cross-checking with Google it did show up some anomalies. This meant that much of the rest of the day was spent correcting the facial mis-recognition of Google Photos. This took significantly longer than it should. 

As the Gorse Fox has commented before (he thinks) the old facial recognition in Picasa seemed far more accurate than that within Google Photos which seems to randomly select faces and add them to the various catalogues. An example a face discovered today was for a "Kevin" which Google had discovered 86 images. Well, of those images one was Kevin, the other 85 were Paul (who it had already identified in a separate catalogue).The Gorse Fox is not at all impressed and is glad that he keeps manual recognition running in his Lightroom Catalogue.

Fixed

 At 15:57 the Gorse Fox received a message from SSEN telling us that they believed our power had now been restored and tanking us for our patience. The Gorse Fox hasn’t noticed any difference, given that we seem to have had power since he got up this morning.

Oh well, they are happy!

Cut

We had a power cut overnight. There seems to be some local confusion as to whether it was off for an hour starting at 4:30, or starting at 5:30. Whatever it was the Gorse Fox was confused to get  text message several hours later. The power had been on for an hour or two and he was enjoying a coffee... the phone pinged to alert him of the incoming message: 

SSEN: POWER CUT UPDATE

Our engineers are working hard to get your power restored, however, due to complexities of repairing the issue, it is going to take longer than initially expected to restore your power. We now aim to have your power restored by 05-JUN-2022 15:00:00. We'll continue to update you if this time changes.

The Gorse Fox is sorry that they are finding the repair to be complex, but it is actually fixed, and has been for a few hours.

Oxen in Oxon

 There had been a lot of rain overnight. Ellie, who had asked to sleep here last night, slept right through and the Gorse Fox was up and about before she stirred. We had to get her washed, dressed, and fed before Pistol Pete came to collect herder the weekend.

We also had plans. We headed off, crossing from West Sussex in to Hampshire, Berkshire and Wiltshire before looping back into Oxfordshire. The Silver Vixen's nephew and partner were holding a BBQ for the family as a celebration for the 1 year-old's birthday and as a pseudo christening. It was only a pseudo christening because there were still so problems with availability at the church and some restrictions on numbers. 

The journey was slow as we headed up to Winchester and then as we finally got some clearer roads, the heavens opened and we drove through some very heavy rain. By the time we arrived, the rain had cleared and the sun was battling the clouds for supremacy.

We spent a lovely afternoon out in the garden as Trevor drove the BBQ and the buffet table was kept topped up with the mandatory mountains of food. Trevor seemed to be at the grill for at least 2 hours. There were dozens of thick burgers (the Gorse Fox had noticed the nearby fields looked somewhat depleted), several thousand sausages and the complete output from a poultry farm.

It was particularly nice to see Kevin (Eleanor's husband) there for the event. It is lovely that he is not only welcomed to these events, but also feels comfortable to attend. Because of prior commitments, we were the only family members that were there, but spent a lovely afternoon chatting with their friends and Caroline's family.

As with all family parties, at some point the youngsters headed out to the playing fields behind the house to play ball games. The Gorse Fox has decided that this is no longer an appropriate activity for a man of his advancing years and his competitive nature. He watched for a while, with amusement, but managed to control the urge to join in.

After a lovely day we said out goodbyes and headed off home. The journey home was much better and we were sitting down in the living room before 8 o'clock. We made an evening of it by watching the Jubilee Concert from outside the Palace. The event was wonderful, but the acts were a very mixed bag. Queen was good, Alicia Keys was brilliant, Andrea Bocelli was brilliant but the rest were "meh!". What was fantastic, however, was the projection of images onto the Palace and the use of synchronised drones to form images and write messages in the sky above the Palace.

Keyboard

 You may remember that the Gorse Fox had problems with his Apple keyboard on his iPad. Eventually, he replaced it with a Logitech keyboard and has been perfectly satisfied ever since. Yesterday, the Silver Vixen reported problems with her Apple keyboard on her iPad. This has, apparently, been going on for a little while now. The Gorse Fox explained that "No, it isn't you. It is a very poorly executed design of a keyboard." A new Logitech keyboard was ordered (for £20 less than the Gorse Fox had to pay) and this afternoon it arrived on the daily Amazon drop.

Keyboard connected... iPad working flawlessly.

Lesson: despite everything - don't be tempted by the Apple keyboard. There are plenty of better (and cheaper) alternatives on the market.

Delightful

It has been a delightful day. Very quiet, pleasantly warm, a couple of sprinkles of rain, but generally lovely.

The Gorse Fox, once caffeinated and filled with oats, spent some time on the accounts. The Silver Vixen headed out to the garden. She had the shrubs from yesterday's shopping trip to plant. She pottered for much of the day. The Gorse Fox sat and listened to Simon Evans' Podcasts. Unfortunately, he has now caught up... but he loved the description "a City had a Cathedral, a town had a market, a village had an idiot, and a hamlet had a pig - and even that was for rent". Genius.

The Gorse Fox will miss tomorrow's cousins' call. We air heading off to the Oxon/Wilts borders for a meeting of the Silver Vixen's family. It was only polite to explain to the cousins that he would not be on the call. He wrote: "I am sorry, but yet again I am unable to attend this call. The local Platinum Jubilee Parade and Pageant is gathering outside the stable block and whilst the staff are managing the marshalling of floats, vehicles and horses, I have been asked to see it off… then I am taking the salute for the fly past." Hopefully, this will assuage any slight they may have inferred from his absence on the call.

Platinum Bank Holiday

 The Gorse Fox was delighted to wake up and realise that it was a Bank Holiday and, as such, he didn't have to go to work. Then again, as he is retired, it was one of 365.25 holidays he has every year. He still finds it immensely hard to come to terms with this fact and frequently dreams of meeting he is due to attend with colleagues or clients. You would have thought that, after 8 years, he would have settled.

The weather today has been gorgeous. Sunny and warm, without being hot. The Gorse Fox and the Silver Vixen had the usual shopping schedule this morning but then went to the plant nursery at Shopwhyke for some shrubs that the Silver Vixen wanted for the raised bed. Once the shrubs and accompanying compost was suitably ensconced in the garden, we settled down to a quiet afternoon. 

We watched the fly past for Her Majesty's Platinum Jubilee during lunch. It was wonderful to see so many people in The Mall supporting the Queen and a shame that the Woke BBC, in an uncharacteristic moment of balance, had to point out that not everyone supported the Monarchy (that has served us so well for a 1000 years). As far as the Gorse Fox is concerned, they can leave and live in some republic somewhere, where they end up with a Trump, Macron, or a Putin as head of state.

We spent the afternoon in the garden. The Silver Vixen was listening to the radio through her AirPods, and the Gorse Fox was listening to Simon Evans through his. It was a lovely afternoon and was filled with laughter.

18,17,16,15

 The Gorse Fox was up soon after 7:00. Jasper was whingeing and wanted to go out. The Gorse Fox obliged then settled down to his morning coffee.

The Silver Vixen did not have Pilates today so she stayed put when the Gorse Fox headed off for football.

Football was originally scheduled for 18 players. This meant 3 teams of 6 and a round robin over 90 minutes. One dropped out, then another. We had 16 on the list. Two teams of 8. Not ideal, but still manageable. In the end we had another drop out. This meant we had a 7-v-8-v-7 game where one the team of 8 shed a player to the team of 7 for the second half. Over all it was a really good game. The Gorse Fox's Yellow team ended up 5-1 winners. The thing that was most satisfying was the way in which the defence worked together to snuff out the Orange attacking threat.

Traffic was dreadful coming home. In fact, at one point, the Gorse Fox doubled back on himself and took a completely different route home. He has no idea what the deal was but was not sufficiently interested to sit there in the queue and find out.

Back home it has been a quiet afternoon. Late afternoon the Silver Vixen popped round to see Urban-Cub before we had supper. From what she has said, the Coventry Hobbit will be delayed in Spain(*) by the current travel problems and is now coming home a day later than planned.

(*) The Coventry Hobbit had popped over to Spain to see his parents, who live there. It was only planned to be a long weekend but is now that bit longer.

Own account

We had a lot of rain overnight. We also had thunder. The thunder sounded as if it was directly overhead and spectacularly loud. Once the Gorse Fox had registered what was going on, he turned over and went back to sleep.

Old census record use the phrase "Own account" to define people who were independently comfortable and did not work. There was football scheduled for the Gorse Fox and the Silver Vixen was meeting with a friend to celebrate her birthday.  This meant that the Gorse Fox was on his own account for much of the day.

Football was the usual case of splitting into 4 teams then playing a round robin. The Gorse Fox was in "Green 1" and it looked like a well balanced team. The first game was probably our hardest, playing against a team with two of the most mobile and most industrious attackers. We held them to 1-1 draw much to our own surprise. The second game was a 2-1 win for us, but unfortunately the Gorse Fox gave away a penalty for their goal. (He kicked the ball while it was in contact with the line demarcating the goal area - this is a no no!). The final game looked as if it would be a hard game but with some stout defending and some slick passing we ended up 4-1 winners. The ref came to see us at the end of the game and congratulated us on "some lovely football".

Back home, the Gorse Fox had the afternoon "on his own account". After a bite to eat, he rested for a while then headed for the study. He spent the afternoon working on the family tree. Today the aim was to try and fill in further details for some of the DNA matches that he has. He picked two at random and traced the down through the generations. He ended up by adding nearly 20 new people to the tree.

The Silver Vixen got home with her friend at about 5:15. They had a cup of tea and chatted while the Gorse Fox prepared his supper. (The Silver Vixen ate out at lunchtime, and didn't need supper). This was the ideal opportunity to use up some pasta sauce that he had in the freezer from a previous meal.

Half-term

 It's half term so the Gorse Fox and Silver Vixen don't have to get up at a specific time so that we can greet Ellie. Well, that's the theory. In practice, for the last two mornings, Jasper has leapt onto the bed at 6:30 and demanding attention. Eventually, unable to ignore him, the Gorse Fox has got up and opened the door so that he go out out. The Gorse Fox has returned to bed, but but then is wide awake and unable to settle.

It was cloudy at first but by mid-afternoon the sun had broken through. There was an article in the news over the last day or so saying that Chichester is the sunniest coastal town/city in the country. The Gorse Fox can't remember the exact numbers but thinks it was around 1919 hours of sunshine per year, ahead of Brighton, Southend, Portsmouth and so forth. Here in and around Bognor Regis we actually recorded 1920.8 hours. Having said that, it looks as if we may get some rain tomorrow!

The morning was occupied with various chores (and some retro blogging). This afternoon has been quiet. The Gorse Fox has been scrambling about in the family tree. He has found various bits and pieces but hasn't made any significant finds.

Ninety-two

 Another bright day and pleasantly sunny, if not overly warm.

The Gorse Fox had football scheduled. It was looking like 6-a-side, with two new players this weekend. It ended up 5-v-6 as one regular had to drop out. The new chaps were quite good. One, a goalkeeper, the other an outfield play with shot on him like howitzer. The way the teams worked out, the Gorse Fox had to play in midfield much more as we only had one forward in our yellow team. By half time, with a one man disadvantage, we were 4-3 up, with all 4 goals from the Gorse Fox. In the second half we had the extra man... and despite this and a further goal from the Gorse Fox and one from our conventional forward we lost 8-6. It was good run out.

The Silver Vixen had been collecting a lot of Ellie's old toys and games and cleaning them up. We loaded them into the car and then went round to Urban-Cub. There we loaded her sandpit and even more toys into the car before heading across to Brighton. It was the Silver Vixen's aunt's 92nd Birthday and we had been invited to her cousin's for a BBQ to celebrate. All of the toys were for them, for their grandchildren.

We stood and chatted in the garden. The Silver Vixen did a tour of the flower beds with Sue and the Gorse Fox chatted with Trevor and Jean as the meat slowly cooked. As time went on, the clouds became a little darker, and a little more threatening. The BBQ had, of course, attracted the rain. Soon it started to spit and slowly built up. Everyone else went indoors, leaving Trevor cooking at the grill and the Gorse Fox holding a big umbrella over the two of us. Sue kept wandering out to ask "are we nearly there yet?" but Trevor was intent on making sure all of the meat was properly cooked.

Finally everything was ready, we gathered in their kitchen diner and tucked in to burger, sausages, salmon, chicken, salad, sweetcorn and various rolls. It was a lovely feast. We chatted about all and sundry. We had a chance to talk with Alan, who has been performing on the P&O cruise ship Iona. It was interesting hearing how life works out for the performers on one of these ships and how much Covid had curtailed what they could do. We also got on to the subject of DNA and family history, but there were no huge revelations.

We said goodbye early evening and zipped back across the A27, home. We will be seeing them again next weekend at their son, Jon's, BBQ.

Old haunts

 It was a bright day, but there was a cool wind. We were scheduled to go and see Betty and Barney Rubble so the Gorse Fox had to apologise to the cousins regarding his absence from the call. He explained: "opening the local fete down in the lower paddock, then off to a garden party with the Lord Lieutenant". He'll have to think of another excuse for next weekend.

We drove up through the countryside, crossing the Downs near the Hartings. It is always such a pretty drive... onwards round Petersfield, through Selborn and Alton, and on to Odiham.

We settled down with Betty and Barney over a coffee and caught up with all their news and, being the age we are, all of our various aches and pains! Time whistled by and before we knew it it was time to head off to lunch.

It was only a few minutes to The Mill House. The Gorse Fox always thinks of this as Blubeckers, but it has changed hands several times since it was our regular haunt in the 80s and 90s. It is still as picturesque as it always was and haas been well maintained across the various owners.

We settled down for our lunch. The menu provided a good selection of starters, entrees, puddings, snacks, sandwiches and drinks. The Gorse Fox enjoyed some chorizo sausages as a starter and then had their fish and chips. The Silver Vixen started with some roasted red pepper hummus then she and Betty enjoyed their fish cakes, and Barney had a steak burger. After all that, there was no room for a dessert. We paid the bill and pottered back to spend the afternoon drinking tea, chatting, and then finally having some tart with strawberries and cream. It was a lovely afternoon but we finally had to make a move home. 

Blue

 There is not a huge amount to report. The skies have been blue all day, the temperatures have been deliciously comfortable and the Gorse Fox and Silver Vixen have just pottered around.

The Gorse Fox started with the customary walk to Urban-Cub so that he could accompany Ellie round to school. Ellie was in splendid form and charged down the stairs when he arrived. She shouted "Grandpa, grandpa!" then there herself from the fourth or fifth step up into his arms. That was a lovely start to the day!

While the Silver Vixen did some ironing, the Gorse Fox was looking into chelatest information from P&O. Basically, he had to decide on whether to let the cruise fees stand, or ask for a refund then pay again closer to the voyage. He feels that he may as well let things ride. That way he knows the cruise is already paid for and with interest rates as low as they are, he isn't really losing out. He also had to check that our travel insurance was adequate... and had at least £2,000,000 in cover for medical cover. This took a bit of tracking down, but the Gorse Fox finally found that we are covered for 1£10,000,000 so that should be adequate!

The DashCam has fallen off the windscreen again. The heat is clearly a factor here. The Gorse Fox peeled all the old adhesive off and affixed the new pad. It was fiddly, but hopefully it will do the trick.

The rest of the afternoon was spent looking at the Silver Vixen's part of the family tree. He managed to find some new data, but only for ancillary relations, not direct ancestors.

Splashing Out

 It has been a mild, grey but dry day. We wandered round to Urban-Cub (who is still off-sick from work) to take Ellie to school.

The morning was a typical Thursday - Ocado delivery, plus Sainsbury's top-up. 

The Silver Vixen went round to collect Ellie from school (with Urban-Cub). Then they went off to Ellie's swimming lessons. She is now starting to swim properly, though the Silver Vixen says she dives too deep to get started and uses too much energy to just get back to the surface and start her stroke. That will come with time and shows that she isn't concerned about being under water (which is very good).

Nothing else to report.