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Still a bit of wind around after last night’s storm. Not sure it was a storm particularly but it rained enough to force us inside for the bbq. Lots of food left over. I’m sure it will get eaten. Going to treat meself to a bacon roll this morning. It is the weekend after all. Apparently.

The person doing the weather forecast on the beeb slipped in the word “sadly” when it came to the bit about rain being expected. Sadly?! We’ve all been looking forward to a bit of rain. Well gardeners have anyway. And the water companies. And farmers though it’s probably a bit late for them.

I suppose we could specifically ask for rain overnight, or during the week, or at least when we aren’t planning to have a barbecue but it doesn’t really matter. I quite like heavy vertical summer rain.

We have a relaxed day in prospect. Lions game at eleven, plus the criquet plus tennis aaand we are off to the Lincoln Jazz Festival for the afternoon session. Lincoln Cathedral Chapter House 2pm til 5pm followed by more jazz in the cathedral caff with dinner. Shud b gud. Feels a bit odd holding a jazz festival in a cathedral. You associate jazz with boozy bars. I can’t see them letting you take beer into the Chapter House though they will be serving it in the caff apaz. See how it goze.

Then THG wants to watch the women’s Euro footie. The cricket will have finished for the day by then. I’m going to have cricket and rugby on two screens this morning so that I won’t miss a minute of the action. If anyone wants to join me just swing by the shed. Cricket on the big screen and rugby on one of my monitors.

Noticed yesterday btw there was a poppy growing in the middle of what would once have been termed the lawn. V pretty. Then this morning THG remarked that she’d seen other flowers a growing in a similar  fashion. Must have seeded from the wild flower meadow. Unfortunately the meadow itself has very few blooms in evidence this year. I have been watering it. The suggestion was made that we dig up the ones growing in the lawn and move  them to the meadow. Feels high risk but THG knows what she is doing.

Shortly after five ey em it is twenty degrees. It is actually a good time of day to be up. The birds are all chattering away contentedly. Shed doors open. Another good day ahead.

Yesterday was very much a Wimbledon watching day. We got our respective exercise out of the way in the morning and by mid afternoon were back watching the action. Don’t really look at tennis any other time of year but that is ok. I won’t have any purists look down their noses and say I’m not really a tennis fan. I’m not but I do like a bit of Wimbledon.

Time was our John would win Wimbledon tickets in the ballot at the Eastgate Tennis Club of which he was a member. THG and I would take it in turns to go with the lad. The tickets were almost always Centre Court. We would take a picnic and gorge ourselves on strawberries and cream. 

The latter was very much not sourced inside the All England Lawn Tennis Club itself, not at a pound a strawberry, or whatever it was. I’d buy a large punnet from a supermarket and a large pot of double cream. Then I’d whip a couple of plastic pint glasses from a bar at the tennis and some sachets of sugar and we were away. A pint of strawberries and cream each.

Harry Dunn met us  there once. Harry always had a temporary job there during Wimbledon fortnight. He would look after Rafael Nadal while he was at the ground. Harry brought us bars of chocolate from the men’s changing rooms.

We would always have to leave before the end of the action to catch a train back north. The one exception to this was in John’s last year of membership where THG and I both went leaving the lad at home to watch it on the telly. On that occasion we stayed in a hotel somewhere in Kensington. We were too knackered after a long day in the sun to have much of a night out but at least we didn’t have to rush to catch a train.

Back in the pool this morning. I’m trying to make it a regular morning activity. Still fine tuning the best time to get there. Eleven thirty is looking sensible.

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