It’s been a while…

…since the last entry, but there’s been a lot going on and I can’t seem to find the time to write anything at the moment. Lets try a bit of a catch up and hope that things will calm down a bit when March arrives!

Dave was up for visit the weekend before last – it was great to catch up with all his news, and in keeping with previous visits we managed to convince him to make an inappropriate purchase whilst he was here. Unfortunately, for legal reasons, he was returning to London by coach and train (via his folks in Ashton) – it would have been much more fun to see him try and talk the six foot rug from Ikea onto an EasyJet flight as hand luggage.

In extension news, all the requisite approvals from the various Council departments are now in place for the single storey version and with luck we might see some building action begin in the next few weeks. Watch this space!

We’ve also been contacted by an old friend of my Dad’s, who’d spotted Angela’s entry on Genes Reunited. Jim Ward was stationed with my Dad with they did their National Service just after the war, and my Dad even went up to Greenock for Jim’s wedding in early Fifties but then lost touch. My Dad often talked about Jim (or Jimmy as he called him) when we moved to Ayrshire and wondered if he was still in the area – it’s just a shame that we couldn’t get them together before my Dad died. We’re hoping to meet up with Jim and his wife and swap a few stories some time soon!

I managed the first game of Hockey since mid January last Saturday, and we went down to a narrow 2-3 defeat to the team in second place in the league – we were 0-2 down at halftime and pulled it back to 2-2 only to concede the winner in the final few minutes. Some dodgy umpiring didn’t do us any favours, but if we can play like that for the rest of the season we should still manage to avoid relegation. Hopefully…

It’s snooker again tonight (also first time since mid January) provided the road to Largs isn’t still flooded – can’t remember the last time I won, I think the score is something like 15-5 to Darren so I’d better start soon!

The Python Years

I’ve just finished reading the rather good Michael Palin Diaries 1969-1979: The Python Years – a fascinating read for anyone with even a passing interest in the Pythons. From the very first TV show through to the UK release of the The Life of Brian you get the full story straight from the horses mouth. It’s all very readable too – thorougly recommended.

Grandad was down for a visit yesterday too, so we managed to escape for a Valentine’s dinner at the Lounge in Largs – Guinea Fowl to start, Chateuxbriand for the main course and a cheese board to finish. It was nice to get out on out own and the food was excellent – tried to book the babysitting services again but turns out we don’t actually have any free weekends until April!

Center Parcs Again

We’re just back from another weekend at Center Parcs – this time we met Graham, Rachel, Mark & Jack there for an action packed weekend! Mark and Megan had a ball just having someone to play with, and although we were all worn out come Monday morning a good time was had by all.

By the time we got back the council had finished dropping the kerb outside the house – they had arrived on Friday just as we were leaving. Since we moved in nearly seven years ago we’ve had a double width drive with a single width drop, which meant a bit of cunning manouevering each time we came home to avoid bumping up the kerb. They’ve made a pretty neat job of it, and couldn’t really have timed it any better if they’d tried – now we just have to wait for the bill.

Looks like there could be some extension building activity in the very near future, but I’m not counting any chickens on that front just yet – there’s still a couple of hoops to jump through yet.