24-Sep to 30-Sep 2011

Sat 24-Sep: Connor's 9th birthday today, here he is showing me his main present from his mum and dad... a Razor scooter which creates a trail of sparks when you put the brake on. You can see a spark in the image above. Since he kept looking behind him at the sparks he had a tendency to crash into things. As ever with the grandsons, the evening was eventful. Connor managed to frisbee a soft skateboard onto the two storey house roof, Sammy lost one of his Croc shoes in the pile of stuff in Beth's shed so they spent an hour in the dark potholing into the depths trying to recover it (without success), ending the night trampolining in pitch darkness. At least that's what I think they were doing... all we could see were Connor's new night vision goggle lights going up and down. For Sammy's birthday in December he wants a mini, a tarantula spider and a mobile 'phone. Cue disappointment.

Sun 25-Sep: Well, that's another sign, a fairly major one, that Summer is finally over. Here we are sitting in our favourite seat looking over Hemingford Meadow on the last Sunday Holt Island Nature Reserve is open. So put away all the Summer Sunday pleasures for another year. No more pleasant sitting in the sun watching the boats glide by, the sounds drifting in of the brass band playing on The Waits. No more Italian ice cream from Mario on the The Quay. And only a few more chances to sit outside for lunch or coffee at The Dolphin.

Mon 26-Sep: Off to Cambridge late afternoon on the guided busway to see End Of The Rainbow at the Cambridge Arts Theatre. We sat in the gardens of the Round Church to eat our Sainsbury's tea before heading off for a coffee in the theatre bar and then taking our seats for what was the best evening's entertainment we've had for a long time. Tracie Bennett was excellent in the starring role... not quite sure how she can belt it out like that five nights a week.

Tue 27-Sep: First squash match for four months against David, following him breaking his leg in May. Here he is warming up. 'Surely not' said his mother, concerned that his ankle might not be ready. Forget his ankle... he beat me 5-0. Convinced myself I subconsciously gave him a chance... and didn't want his dog Jazz to get a good kicking when he arrived home.

Wed 28-Sep: Just parked the Pashley before going into the Town Hall (in the background) for a meeting of the Amenities Committee. They're responsible for the allotments and were going to discuss a proposal for the tenants to self manage the allotments, so sitting in to hear what the outcome was. The Planning Committee met first and fortunately theirs was a short session since, when it came to the Amenities Committee, because of apologies there were only two of them and therefore the meeting had to be opened and closed because they didn't have a quorum. So back home I cycled... no chore since I love coasting through the traffic free streets of St Ives at night.

Thu 29-Sep: Another Thursday, another session with the grandsons in front of the squash hall vending machine. After we'd played I said I needed to pop to the toilet, and as usual the pair of them rushed into the changing rooms to get in first (normally followed by Connor putting his finger under the wash basin tap to spray Sammy with water). While they were messing about I nipped out to put the sign I'd prepared earlier on the vending machine... 'OUT OF ORDER, DO NOT USE'. So when the sausages refocused and headed for the sweets disappointment was to await them. Unfortunately it didn't quite go according to plan... they might be mad as a bag of frogs but Connor spotted there was writing on the reverse 'ESPECIALLY CONNOR & SAMMY'. The notice was ripped up before they both went for me here. Will be making another attempt in a few weeks, when a notice will appear stating because of a world sugar shortage prices have been increased to three times those displayed, putting the contents just out of their price range. Might just escape with my life!

Fri 30-Sep: With the temperature in the 80s, strong sunshine and clear blue skies time for a BBQ on the allotment. So here we all are scoffing red wine waiting for the sausages and burgers cooking on my new gas stove. Grandsons and Paige are playing on the back plot. As the night drew in the bi-annual camp fire was lit and we watched the moon rise.