For The Birds

Nottingham Castle goes bust after its rather expensive refit doesn’t pull in the extra visitors they thought it would. Perhaps they should have stuck to hosting the beer festival. 

The World Cup is underway and there are four games a day at different times. This may have kicked off a new wave of working from home. England play Iran first on Monday, are 3-0 up at half time and end up winning 6-2. Nobody saw that coming. They then struggle to a 0-0 draw with the USA on Friday. Everyone saw that coming.

We now have bird feeders in the garden and have quickly been struggling to keep up with demand. L started by putting up some ‘fat’ balls up the garden, which are actually suet balls, but we now also have a bird seed dispenser as well. The problem is both seem to empty in record time and now have a garden full of birds that are too full of fat ball to take off.

The Lad seems to be enjoying the World Cup more than me. I leave him curled up on the settee watching Denmark v Tunisia while I work in my office.

L re-joins her old gym, now run by JD Gyms, on a Black Friday offer. She copes ably with being the new girl and says it's good to be back. Now starts the long process of persuading me to join. It is true I will need a new gym once my office closes next month preventing me going (infrequently) to the one on Pride Park.

Talking of the old office closing, my old MD advises he is leaving the new company on the 19^th December, now that he’s sold everything off. The really sad thing was the small number of people on the distribution list indicating how few of the old company are still here.

I go into the office on Thursday and he gives me, there’s only us and one other person there, that there’s a leaving do on the 9^th. Although I’m not sure getting everyone one drunk would work out well for him. I can’t go because we’re in the Lakes and I’m not rescheduling that.

By lunchtime I’m the only one left in the office so I have a late lunch, spend 15 mins in the gym and then head home. I only use three pieces of equipment at the gym but typically one of them, the leg press, was out of order and there’s no version of that in the free weights. I’m back home for 3pm.

On Friday it’s Iran v Wales and it still doesn’t go well for Wales, who lose 2-0. They were terrible. Naturally L's boss, a Wales man, hasn't been in the office and now he’ll be in hiding.

L says she needs chocolate, cake and wine. I can only assume she's watching Qatar v Senegal.

On Saturday L parkruns at Alvaston, number 251, her 250th t-shirt is now on order. 

In the evening we’re out at Nicco’s in Derby with some friends. While on Sunday it’s the FA Cup 2^nd Round with Derby away at Newport County. It’s live on ITV so the Lad swaps our settee for my Dad’s settee as we both go over to watch the match. As I've said, he does seem to like his football. Derby come from behind to win 2-1, then we head off for our post-match pint. He likes that bit too.

(Sunday 27^th November)

250th Parkrun

The Lad spends most of Monday in his bed resting his eyes, comatose, catching up on his heavy day yesterday.

He does summon the strength to leap the gate, right in front of me, to get at the postman. He seems to be getting rather good at this. Although quite why the postman has come this morning, who knows. What’s wrong with 4pm as usual? I consider leaving the Lad there but in the end let him back in but only really so that I can get the post off him.

On Tuesday evening my Dad and I go to the FA Cup replay against Torquay United and Derby cruise through 5-0. The smallish crowd of just over 7,000 means only half the ground is open, so we have to move seats to the other side of the ground as we have done for all the Cup matches so far. Derby’s bar is also closed so we have to head to the Exeter afterwards.

On Wednesday I head over to Derby post-work to meet my friend for a few drinks. He has started drinking halves but two at a time, of different beers. L’s always said I should have a half to try a new beer. He’s doubling down on this. We drink in the Alexandra and then go to the Exeter for food.

On Thursday I have a Committee Meeting in the evening while L is out for a walk and lunch with her friends in Derby.

On Friday we try a new Indian restaurant called Tarka on Midland Road in Derby with friends. The food is ok but they don’t sell alcohol which means it’s a real dilemma what to drink. Although to be fair it’s always a dilemma what to drink in an Indian restaurant even when they do sell alcohol as none of it is much good.

Saturday is L’s 250^th Parkrun which she does a Clifton. Afterwards the Lad and I present her a 250^th parkrun buff that we purchased in preparation for this great day.

Then on Sunday she runs the Heanor Pudding Run 10k at Shipley Park. The Lad, my Dad and I go along to support but spend most of the time queuing at the park café which rather annoying the run no longer goes past. So then we have to quickly hot foot it to the finish line.

(Sunday 20^th November)

Other Stockists Are Available

L continues to do the occasional class at David Lloyds even though she’s now quit and her membership ends at the end of the year. She says they all seem very quiet, so perhaps everyone else is leaving as well. 

Meanwhile L’s boss is going round the various Aldi's in the area, buying up their 'cheap posh' wine ready for a drinks party he's having. We never thought he’d been seen dead in Aldi so he may be doing it in disguise.

Sainsbury’s seem to have decided to have stop stocking Markies, as in dog treats, which has caused a bit of a trauma in our household. Other stockists are, thankfully, available.

I bike into work on Thursday to find I’m the only one there until our former MD turns up. L works from home alongside my usual co-worker.

I go out with my Dad later and take him for a pint. I come home first to collect the Lad and also because I can’t really take my Dad to the pub on my bike. Although he would probably be game for a backie.

L sets herself a small eco mission to stop using disposable coffee cups. Unfortunately she will get little help from the coffee shops or the Government. It’s immensely frustrating that so many places are going backwards on this. The likes of Wollaton Park used to use proper mugs in their cafes but now it’s all takeaway cups which means we rarely go there but it doesn’t seem to put most people off.

Derby go to Anfield in the League Cup and take Liverpool all the way to penalties where they then lose.

L parkruns at Wollaton on Saturday in what is her 249^th parkrun. Next week will be her 250^th.

Sunday is the dog club's Members Day where everyone from our club who wants to can complete in up to three runs. 45 dogs turn up. If only we could get just a fraction of that turnout for our AGM. The Lad doesn’t disgrace himself or embarrass me for a change. At least not at first. His first run is excellent. Just one pole down and a wide turn while recording the third fast time. Which would have been the fastest without those things. His second run was ok but, yes, his third one was embarrassing. 

I make my judging début for all of one run, while someone else was on a loo break. My Dad comes to watch and has a great time. He then goes home with my brother while we go straight to pick L up from one of her rearranged book talks.

(Sunday 13^th November)

Another Unexplained Freebie

On Monday we again do the local primary school’s Halloween Trail only this year we do it in heavy rain. Daughter joins but we don’t stick it out for long given the state of the weather. 

At least there’s plenty of fresh rainwater to swim in when L gets to the outdoor pool the next morning.

I go into work on Wednesday on the bus. Which turns up on time but the Mango app is playing up so several people got a free ride. It's very windy as well as wet which is why I didn’t cycle.

I look on the camera and see that the Lad is helping himself to the bird balls that were in a bag in the kitchen. At least giving them a good licking if nothing else. L nips home and saves him from himself.

I meet my ex-colleague for lunch and get updated on life in retirement. He’s just got his bus pass and wasn’t surprised to hear about the impending closure of our old office.

Then there is another unexplained freebie on the Red Arrow on the way home.

Having failed to get into the London Marathon, the next thing on the schedule to fail to get into is Glastonbury. Tickets go on sale on Thursday and Sunday. Of course both attempts end in utter un-heroic failure. Not a sniff.

L is at Derby Book Festival for three days from Friday having bought a season ticket to cover all the sessions. The four talks per day have rather large gaps between them and two of them are postponed to a different week which makes it quite a marathon for her.

She finds out on day one that the one about Henry Chips Channon was about a Tory politician from early last century and not a child’s book. Though it’s probably very similar really. We collect her at 8:30.

On Saturday L parkruns before returning to the Book Festival where it’s her turn for a freebie on the Red Arrow. I’m not sure many people pay. We meet her afterwards in the Exeter.

On Sunday I go to my Dad’s the watch Derby in the FA Cup First Round away at Torquay United which has been chosen for showing on ITV. Derby are 2-0 up and cruising until they gave away a penalty which resulted in a sending off, then they conceded a late equaliser. They’ll be a replay.

L skips the last of her book talks which means my Dad and I head off early to meet her in the Exeter for a roast beef cob. That they run out of. Nick Wallis, famous of the Post Office scandal, whom L has just watched obviously has the same idea and is there in the pub.

(Sunday 6^th November)