Too Good To Turn Down

I’m on the bus as its cold and icy again. In fact the pavements are so icy it could be hard work for Doggo on his walk. L is off work today and she delays their trip out to give things time to thaw out.

After work L comes over to join me in Derby Arena’s gym.

It’s the World Cup draw tonight and England find out that they will face Belgium, Panama and Tunisia. That’s us out then, although it couldn’t really be any easier. Not that it matters, it’s in Russia so you know who’s going to win.

One of FIFA's greatest critics, Gary Lineker, is in Moscow helping with the draw. Presumably the money was just too good to turn down. Come to think of it, why is anyone in the land of state sponsored doping working for an organisation that is on trial in New York on corruption charges. As yes, the money was just too good to turn down. 

(Friday 1^st December)

A Torturous Journey

Dogging tonight may take place amidst thunder and lightning according to the forecast, interspersed with sunny spells. Sounds entertaining. I will pack a sun hat and some rubber soled wellies along with my new Sochi 2014 t-shirt which has finally arrived.

It was a torturous journey. It’s taken months. Then last week the shirts got seized at customs as they arrived from Moscow. Seized that is by people intent on making even more money out of us. The delivery cost from Russia had doubled the price of the shirts as it was. Now they were asking for £42 to release them from customs. This apparently is made up of search fees, admin charges and forward postage. I refused to pay and the company ‘contracted’ by customs instead said they’d email the Sochi Shop to see if they’d pay. Good luck with that I thought, response time there is about a month per email.

However the next day the package was mysteriously paid for and released to us, so I can ‘dog’ tonight in my new shirt.

(Monday 9^th June)

Steadying The Nerves

Two days to go. 

L asks if everyone at work is excited for me? I’m not sure excited is the word they’re using. Certainly no one appears to be jealous of me. L, however, does seems to be very excited by the whole thing.

Many moons ago we ordered some souvenir Sochi T-shirts. Remember them? Apparently they’ve just been dispatched from Moscow. They could be a while yet though and have they’ve also got to negotiate customs.

My final training session tonight, a swim. I do 70 lengths and L joins me, although not doing quite so many.

Then perhaps just a couple glasses of wine to steady the nerves. 

(Friday 30^th May)

Olympics Tickets

Wow. I have secured Olympics tickets. A bit late you say? Ah but not if you’re talking next year’s Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia .

I entered the ticket ballot and unlike London 2012 where I originally got zilch, I was offered tickets for two Bobsleigh sessions and three Skeleton sessions.

I part with the cash, although they are quite a bit cheaper than those for London. So Sochi here we come, if we can get a hotel and a flight. Most of which, don’t seem to be built yet. 

I suppose we’ll get there somehow, even if we have to go there via somewhere boring like St Petersburg or Moscow. I wonder if we can camp... It’s not that cold in Russia in February is it?

I buy tickets for the two Bobsleigh sessions covering all four runs of the two-man bob and one of the Skeleton sessions covering men’s qualifying and the finals of the women’s event. It’ll all be a bit zoomy and fast but L will love that.

Of course GB’s Amy Williams is the reigning Olympic Skeleton champion. She's since retired but Shelley Rudman, who got silver back in 2006, is the current World Cup champion and now World Champion after winning gold a few weeks ago in St Moritz.

Tickets go on general sale on Monday, so I’ll see if I can get any others then.

In what is a busy day, the Kendal house purchase also goes through. I arrange for a letting agent to collect the keys, so we don’t need to hot foot it up there just yet but will need to drop in and see him at some point.

Squash ends in a close 2-3 defeat and a heated debate about ‘lets’. I was pleased with my game. I always target games 1 and 4. Game 1 before he’s warmed up and Game 4 when he’s knackered but I don’t usually get them both though. Result.

L walks the dogs from the leisure centre to her work, from where I collect them all along with a load of old computer gear that if we don’t want will go to the tip.

Basically it amounts to a couple of dead printers, a third one that works and a pre-historic computer which turns out to be a Tandon which is the first PC I ever had at work. Oh the memories.

(Thursday 7^th February)