Winning By Being Last

Wordle gradually takes up more of my mornings. Today’s previously unheard of word was toughie and I only cracked it by basically spending an hour typing in random letters from the few I had left to find a valid word. 

Spending the time on this was only possible because our FY23 Kick Off, no me neither, which I was supposed to be watching online didn’t happen because the technology collapsed. So I missed out on watching fitness guru Joe Wicks who was the guest speaker, no me neither. 

The Lad is at the vets on Tuesday for his Kennel Cough jab so that we can put him in kennels while we’re at the Commonwealth Games. Then I find out that our usual kennels are not free. This is due to it being August and we never usually need the kennels in August. Luckily our back up plan, Babbington Kennels, can squeeze him in. He looks thrilled.

I bike to work on Wednesday and find that we finally have new neighbours where my brother’s company was. They didn’t bother coming back after lockdown. Our new neighbours aren’t really using any car parking spaces which used to be the main problem with having neighbours but then nor are we these days. Today there’s just three of us in the office.

I do my gym workout at lunchtime and then in the evening it’s dog training.

On Thursday we meet up with the Celebrant who will be conducting my Mum’s funeral and we finally get everything sorted. One prayer, three poems, three pieces of music and my brother doing the eulogy. We’ve also chosen five photos for the Order of Service but as I point out there’s nothing from the last 40 years which is a shame but my Mum would certainly approve.

In the evening with the outdoor tennis courts being closed we play tennis in the big bubble thing where my opponent nearly dies of heat exhaustion. Personally I didn’t think it was too bad at all.

On Friday another person jumps ship at work and hands in their notice. They’ll be no leaving do in Derby though as they are based down south.

I receive my renewal documents for the RAC and while I’m not quibbling about the overall cost it is priced in a very odd way. It’s £4.98 a year plus a £33 admin fee.

On Saturday we don’t Parkrun because L and Daughter are running the Crich Monument 10K. Which isn’t actually 10k and is more like 11K or something like that, they don’t seem sure. I spectate because as I recall this was one of my least favourite races of all time and my least favourite races list is a long list. I still have nightmares about it twelve years on.

The two of them say with confidence that they will be last but they’re not and the guy who is last wins a bottle of Champagne for being last. They will need to try harder if they do it again. Clearly he’d ‘won’ it before because he blatantly went out of his way to make sure he was last.

I bring my Dad along to watch and he has a great time although we spend most of it in the beer tent. There’s even a WWII flypast.

On Sunday we have a night out in Canning Circus, the Good Fellow George and the Borlase, with the Lad.

(Sunday 17^th July)