Advantage Murray.

That's what the umpire just said, but at 2-2, two sets down & struggling to hold his service, Murray doesn't appear to have much of an advantage.
He does have moments of brilliance but Gasquet is playing well.

I played a couple of hours of tennis at Coleshill this morning - I make up a foursome on Monday & Wednesday mornings, if available. Two of the ladies are in their seventies, but very competent players with good reach, if limited footwork. We play for enjoyment, to keep the ball in play really - no shouting or punching the air, which is good practice for me.
It was delightful this morning, bright sunshine & very little wind.
Afterwards I went on to the gym & did a workout & swim, then on to Solihull to shop.
We are going to Henley Regatta on Friday. G says that I need some wedge heeled shoes to cope with the grass/mud, if wet. I found some very stylish corn coloured ones in Gordon Scotts' sale.
I don't know what would go with them, though.
As I couldn't recall what I had in the wardrobe, it was easier to look for something to go with them.
I found a superb dress in Beatties' sale - chocolate brown, going to neutral & then corn coloured at the hem. There is even a corn coloured bolero style cardigan.
All of this is still expensive & I don't know if it is worth one & a half days pay - I haven't bought anything....yet.
The price of vanity.

They are into a tie-breaker in set 3 - Murray has just won the set witha truly remarkable shot.
He's still in the game!

G is at his new gym tonight, in Coventry.

Congratulations to James.

James had his results on Friday & is now a fully qualified chiropractor - all those with aches & pains form an orderly queue, behind G!
I was teaching a difficult class at Granville school on Friday when G phoned with the news.
By careful choice of response, they were convinced that it was the Head calling to check on their behaviour, following the silence to ascertain who had the illegal phone!
I called at M&S, Ventura Park on the way home to have coffee with the Kingsbury clan & catch up on the gossip.

Yesterday we went to see JR in Cambridge - the weather was beautiful, warm & sunny.
We went to The Angel at Stoke by Nayland, picked from The Michelin guide; Peter drove up from Mistley & met us for lunch.
We had a potter around Dedham & then went to Flatford mill, where you "park & walk"
JR had last been there in the '60s, neither G nor I had been before, but JR said that it hadn't changed, just the trees had grown up somewhat.

Today I went to St James to join P, A & extended family at the family service, following J &T's christening there last Sunday. There were two baptisms, the second was Jack Daniel! The priest made some quip, then baptised him "Jack Daniels"!
We had scrambled egg & smoked salmon for lunch, read the papers & gardened this afternoon, dodging showers.
We have dined on fishcakes & asparagus, bought yesterday, in Suffolk, & watched a Jeremy Clarkson documentary on Sr Nazaire.
Time for bed.

A good second week for Wimbledon predicted.



Will Lott's cottage - The Hay (wain missing) apologies to J Constable!

On the lookout for the wain, on the way back to the mill.

Would we have added something to the original?

Question Time from Bexhill on Sea.

What a motley crew they have tonight, a baroness/diplomat,Yvette Cooper, wife of Ed Balls & chief secretary to the Treasury, Ann Leslie,a Lib Dem MP & a large bloke wearing a puff-sleeved, gingham dress. Apparently he is an artist.
G is at a dinner, so I can watch it, shame it's not better.

Yesterday I gardened all day, including making a bonfire in the field, of the next 4/5 feet of the trunks of the leylandii hedge that G had removed with his new tool - a cross between a chainsaw & hedge cutter, & clearing the border under the lounge window.
There was a partridge nest under the periwinkle, by the front door - hatched & flown apart from a couple of eggs.
When I had finished I bathed & collapsed in front of the TV to watch Wimbledon - bliss.
I did another 3 hours gardening/clearing the yard this morning before going to Kenilworth & Knowle to shop, in the sunshine.
It has rained ever since & the yard has big puddles.
I am teaching tomorrow so will not have to think about what to do until after 3.50pm

I have some great photos of Jessie & Thomas's christening, on Sunday.
Ben looked particularly "Mr Bean" for the occasion.

Yvette Cooper is aggravating in the extreme; she & Ed Balls, a match made in Heaven!
They are being investigated over housing claims.

Here I am!

Well, did anyone miss me anyway?
I have been on "Granny duty" in Bournemouth for a few days.
The twins, Sebastian & Harriet are delightful, a good size & very placid.
G & the babies are all doing well; J is finding it very tiring!
I didn't take a camera as I couldn't find the battery charger & I was a bit busy anyway.
J & G even managed about four hours sleep on the first night home, on Sunday.
Oscar & I have been on the beach every day & done some bracing walks along the prom & the cliffs, all in balmy weather.
He loved the wind on Sunday - arms out as wings & shouting from the buggy - I didn't take him out in case he blew away!
P came down on the train on Monday & we drove home together in the evening.
P only travels First Class nowadays so I was pleased that I had G's car!

Yesterday was "Thomas Day". We had great fun out in the sunshine, spending a long time on the swings, in the park & the garden. He has some innate football skills which we are building on so that he will be able to kick a ball as soon as he can walk.

The rain has passed over; blue sky & sunshine; I shall garden with gusto until I run out of energy, which may then coincide with Wimbledon on TV.
I have lost 3lb this week so must eat little, apart from fish & fruit, & exercise frantically to loose a little more whilst I'm on a winning streak.
(I'm not sure that's the right word!)

Wimbledon or bust!

OK, so I did two blogs with fantastic news & photos & only two lotto nerds find it worthy of comment.
I did speak to every one of my relatives on the phone during the day.(almost)
Today G went out early for the train to London - home alone again.
I blogged the photos that G had taken & put on my laptop at midnight , when he got home, & prepared to go to the gym.
The ladies from the tennis club phoned & invited me for a game, so I drove to Coleshill and we played for an hour & a half, during which time I served a number of double faults but improved overall.
I have only played about half a dozen times since we moved here in 1979, so have a lot of catching up to do.
I went on to the gym, swam 25 lengths & had five minutes in the spa before hitting M&S for tea & a scone.
I then went to Homebase at Monkspath & broke the habit of a lifetime by deciding to come home down the M42.
This was closed at the Solihull turn & it took me well over an hour to get home.
Stuff the M42!
I am now fed, have napped & may even do some ironing.
The weather has turned, tomorrow looks cold & wet; perhaps I'll leave it then.

Here they are!

Harriet & Sebastian: photos by grandad G.

The twins are here.

The news for today,17 June is that Gina had the twins this morning, as planned, by Cesarean.
All are doing well.
Sebastian James Adam, 8lb 4oz
Harriet Elizabeth Jane, 7lb 8oz (I think - these weights were given verbally by G, who is on his way back from Bournemouth, eta, midnight)
Love & best wishes to all.
The grandchildren now number eight, for the next three weeks anyway, until W & K's son is born:
Jessica, 4
Tim, 4
Jeremy, 2
Oscar, 1
Katie Poppy, 1
Thomas, 1
Harriet 0
Sebastion, 0
Friends are amazed at how quickly we have amassed this large family - it took little effort on the part of G & me, really.
There will be 19 of us if everyone is available for next Easter's holiday, unless there is something I don't know (chance for sarcasm there!)
We shall need a youth hostel!

AJ & I had a great game of tennis early on Monday before hitting Solihull for lunch at Zizzis (half price, compliments of the Telegraph)
Food was great, service painfully slow.

Thomas entertained me today; he was recovering from his weekend birthday celebrations.
I have stayed awake all day!

Where is everyone?

Aj is here with me, so we are watching Nadal vs Djokovic in the final of the Artois championship (tennis, not beer-drinking!)
The wise money is on Nadal as he is the better player.
It's good when life is that simple.
I do like to see players in WHITE, not green/grey Lycra with matching headband.
AJ tells me that Wimbledon still has white - you can perhaps imagine the conversation here - a bit "retirement home".
How did the race go, William?
G is still in Le Mans - these 24 hour races take quite a while!

AJ & I did Kenilworth, Knowle & Solihull yesterday, before dropping in at Thomas's birthday party for a cuddle & a piece of cake.
We stayed in & ate salmon & salad, strawberries & cream, in the evening, forgoing the wine tasting at Laithwaites.
AJ is a slave to her digestive tract!
We had a lie-in this morning as I had an 11.00 o'clock service to take at Whitacre.
We have just had lunch in the lounge as it is overcast, 14 degrees & this will not tempt AJ to leave the TV/tennis.
I'll put on a picture following "Big William's" comment on "text".
That's insecurity for you.

Nadal is 1 -3 down!
Perhaps life isn't that simple after all.

Queen's Club - Artois championship.

Le Mans 2008. G is top right, third row, third in!

A short break at the sea-side.

A text early on Thursday morning asked me to babysit on Friday..... in Bournemouth.
I set off on Thursday lunchtime, in G's car, with Sat Nav, & arrived two & a half hours later.
Beat that!
I've had a lovely time, looking after Oscar; we have been on the beach each afternoon, with a trip to the park this morning.
G looks great, the twins will arrive on Tuesday morning.

I drove home this evening.
All went well until I let the Sat Nav take me off the M40 at the A46 & then did a tour of Coventry. I can't believe how far I went, having faith that it knew a better route than I did, before resetting it & coming home.
I must set it on "Go Home" & find out in which corner of Coventry this device feels "at home".

AJ is here for an action packed weekend (I will wake her up in a moment, & send her to bed).
She had the dinner on the table & the wine open by the time I arrived - it was Joan Collins who said that what she needed was a "good wife",

after four husbands (I think)

G is sunning himself in Le Mans.

Lee has it!

Second blog attempt tonight.
I signed in to take W's advice regarding Html, only to find that the toolbar had returned of its own accord.
I started my blog only to get a 4 minute warning that "windows was shutting down", taking my blog with it.
I then went to the Church Council meeting, arriving home at 8.30pm to prepare dinner &, highlight of the week, watch the final of "The apprentice".
I, like aj, thought Alex had it.
Claire's too "gobby"
Helene's a winging backstabber.
Lee's a self-promoting liar.
Alex was supportive & quite sweet (only 24!)
He did the bulk of the work on the perfume & the other team loused up with the gambling connection.
I note that they have all lost weight over the 12 weeks, so I am applying for next year!
I am encouraging G to do likewise.
Perhaps we could both be in the final.
This could, of course, cause marital disharmony!

How about Gordon's "moral compass"?
Does this now embrace bribery of Unionist & Labour MPs?

I have been at Granville School today.
Hard work, especially the two lessons supporting a student science teacher - lamentable.
I filled the tank (£1.28 per litre), came home & slept it off.
I can do spellcheck now I have a toolbar back, although it rarely finds anything.

Picture catch up:

Hedgehog in the garden on Saturday.

Thrushes in the honeysuckle - now flown, but parents remain, perhaps we'll have a second clutch.

Tuesday is Thomas day!

I was at the gym at 8.00am this morning & then on to Paula's for 10.30am where five rather well-spoken burly men were tree pruning.
The garden is now a great deal lighter so that A will be able to see well enough to garden in the evenings, after work.
Thomas & I played, slept, gardened & went for a walk to the park to go on the swings & baby-slide, in bright sunshine.
We did a tour of the "golden half-mile", including shopping at the greengrocers & M&S Food.
The greengrocers is much cheaper, but limited in choice.
On returning home, there were three phone messages: G, saying fill up with fuel (tanker drivers' strike on Friday),Granville School asking me to go in tomorrow & Peter T, to arrange a get-together.
Yes, yes, yes.
We have been to The George in the Tree at Balsall Common for a meal - OK, but not great.
It starts with a high score as I didn't have to buy, cook or clear up anything.
There is a moral here: when in a steak house, eat steak.
This page has lost it's top bit with spellcheck, etc.
Any suggestions?

Whew!. Another scorcher.

G forgot to take his phone to work on Friday, so I spruced up a bit, took it to work & then drove on to Knowle & Solihull to shop, in the sunshine, in the lotus.
I drove home, cleaned the cars & gardened.
B & E came to dinner, stayed over & flew to Belfast on Saturday morning, leaving Tim & KP with us for the weekend.
G did the airport run.
The day proper began at 6.50am with Tim's first conversation/question session of the day, followed shortly afterwards by KP.
We went to Ash End House Farm to see the animals & climb on things.
KP wasn't too sure about the former.
The pigs were very smelly!
P, Jessie & Thomas came to lunch, then Tim & Jessie played in & out of the tent & did miles on the tractor & "bike with no pedals"; imaginative play.
Jessie - "I have to go to the dentist on the way to work, for a filling"
Tim - "What would you like for dinner, my darling".
Tea, goat feeding, bath & bed.
On Sunday we played in the garden,without P & Jessie, I had to do the imaginative play in & out of the tent bit which was er fun.
We cleaned the V40, went for a walk, cooked, cleared up pruned branches after Grandad & Steve spent ages introducing Tim to insects, goats & cows.
Tim's highlight of the day was when the rice pudding for dinner slid out of the oven & spilled all over the floor. Yuk!
During the afternoon G cut about 8 feet off the top of the ley landii.When he came down the ladder Tim popped out to say "Grandad, Granny & I are glad that you've come down as we were worried about you" I don't know how he knew that I was!
After dinner, when the family had left, we cleared up the mess (from the ley landii), building a vast bonfire in the field.
Two hours later I climbed into the bath & fell asleep.
A great weekend.
Today, I have rested

what a scorcher!

Well, pretty warm anyway.
I officially opened the conservatory doors for the summer today, put washing on the line in the sunshine & then spent the rest of the day gardening - clearing the borders of weeds & bluebells, ready for bedding plants.
I still have quite a lot to do, but I am pleased with the results co far.
On the ornithology front, the thrushes have flown safely; the wrens have a nest in one of the hanging baskets & both parents are very busy taking in food. It is fascinating to watch their skill in flying around the hanging basket to enter the tiny entrance near the wall.

Question Time is a bit dull, David Milliband comes over very well though. He is too bright to want to be party leader in the present climate, we're told.
Apparently, I am one of the losers in the changes in tax thresholds.
Shucks!

Thanks for the comments.

Back to school.

Yesterday's blog had no photos as they wouldn't load - I'll try again today.
Nobody felt it worthy of comment so I had better find some tatty goods to offer for sale, bicycle wheels & the like.
I do have four Edwardian bedroom chairs - two with caned seats & backs, two with painted backs, in need of the seats re-reeding.I could go into great detail as to how uncomfortable they are & no good at all for standing on to reach the top of the wardrobe.
How's that for sales technique, W?

This week seemed a little self-indulgent as I had nothing planned for the remainder of the week. I could "set my own agenda", as G says.
I intended to garden today, then Granville School phoned at 7.00am, so off I went for a day at school - 3 french, 1 maths & 1 english lesson.
Maths was the hardest work. Monsters!
I stopped at JS & M&S in Ventura Park on the way home to take on some victuals, then home for a cup of tea & a toasted teacake.
Tomorrow, I shall garden!

Monsters - there were more than this!

This was yesterday's "rainy day" picture.

Two more wedding photos:

3 June already.

It rained all last night & again today until 4.30pm.
It was my "Thomas day", which involved a lot of playing, cuddling & sleeping. Thomas also ate heartily & pooed regularly.
The constant rain kept us indoors until tea-time, when we managed to walk to the park & around the rose garden, between showers.
There was a great deal of surface water, the flower beds were submerged, but we were rewarded by seeing lots of dogs, all taking advantage of the break in the rain.
Thomas, unlike Jessie , finds dogs very exciting. She finds them terrifying.
G dropped in on his way home from work & we collected a takeaway (the usual) on the way home.

I should be at the gym....

A brilliant weekend.
Thomas came to play on Friday, stayed overnight & went to Guildford with us on Saturday to S & M's wedding.
He was great fun, slept well, & was very well behaved throughout.
We arrived in good time to have a snack, give T his lunch, spruce up a little & walk to the church. I have learnt that babies are a hazard if wearing a large hat - T took a long look at mine & then determined that I had inadvertently put a toy on my head & that he would remove it when I wasn't looking!
The wedding was wonderful, Sarah's entourage was beautiful & the sun shone.

What more could you ask?

Jessie was an enchanting flower girl hitching her skirts & running around the gardens with Tim, B in pursuit.
Following a delicious meal, we gathered for an evening's socialising & entertainment - much of this supplied by Tim & Jessie break dancing.

Where did they learn that!
Hot bacon baps were served at mid-night - a brilliant idea.

On Sunday morning we took cousin Elizabeth to Gatwick & then went to Bournemouth to see J, G & Oscar.
We went to "The Pierpoint", just above Bosombe pier & had an excellent lunch,
Oscar was great fun, G was enormous & J relieved!

G managed to fit in a visit to his "outfitters" in Boscombe before we set off for home - another sleeping opportunity for me, I did manage the odd hour or two en route.
How did I ever manage to stay awake a whole day at work?

NB. Bridegroom's hairstyle must be able to hold confetti!