23-Jun to 29-Jun 2013

Sun 23-Jun

Bit of hurried gardening this afternoon, getting plants in the front border before Beth came to visit and have it away with the best specimens. Rather proudly showed her my home made support for the abutilon that is on show every morning while we have breakfast. Didn't quite get the show of awe at my prowess that I expected!

Mon 24-Jun

Stupid! Stupid! Stupid! My scoreline for this morning's men's singles bowls match looks pretty reasonable losing 21-16, considering my opponent is the sometime B team captain. But I should have won. 

Twice in the early ends, with me one shot up and last to bowl, I knocked one of his bowls in to take shot. Add to that another bowl I gave him when he was one up and I knocked another in for him. So without those freebies I gave him I would have been 18-13 up rather than 16-16. 

OK, so he might still have gained 5 in the next three ends, tying the score at 18-18. But I suspect the physiological effect of being 18-13 down to someone who'd only been playing five weeks would have done for him. 

Note to self... if you're one shot up and last to bowl, NEVER NEVER NEVER try for an extra shot if the jack is surrounded by your opponent's bowls. DRAT!



Tue 25-Jun

Izzy's sports day this morning. Here's the sausage flying down the home straight in the space hopper race to take first place! Becky must have given her nitro glycerine for breakfast, she was so full of energy throughout the event.


Wed 26-Jun

Did the walk to Woodhurst this morning in warm sunshine. All along the route wild roses were in full bloom, some climbing really high amongst hedges or trees. Here are a few. Must get some for the back garden, to climb up amongst the berberis I intend to plant around the fencing.



Thu 27-Jun

Off to Cambridge this morning for lunch at M&S, then Cambridge Arts Theatre to watch Birdsong. But before lunch we wandered through the busy streets with echoes of any language other than English, disappeared down a quiet side street to amble past gorgeous Victorian terraced houses, and came upon Jesus Green. 

We'd come to see this... the ghostly cherry trees, stripped bare and completely covered with cobweb. Caused by the native ermine caterpillars, they depend on the cherry trees and spin the web to protect themselves from birds.

After, we wandered along The Cam to Midsummer Common, up some tiny side streets lined with more beautiful houses, and came out at Parker's Piece to the sight of hundreds of schoolchildren playing sports. Just love Cambridge!


Fri 28-Jun

Another day, another lost bowls match this morning. Sob! But again there was a story behind the result. Whitewashed in the first set (this competition is best of 3 sets, each of 7 ends) I continued to struggle to find a good length in the second set, starting the first end by watching my opponent go 4 up. Must be curtains.

But wait! My opponent realised I should have rolled jack at the start of the second set, since he'd won the toss and rolled on the first. So replaying the first end, I rolled to maximum length, having noticed he liked a short end. Bingo! I won my first end and went 3 up!

It was nip and tuck all the way to the penultimate end, me 5-4 down and with last shot, my opponent lying with 3 balls. But wait... my last bowl, which looked rather straight when it left my hand, continued unusually straight and knocked his ball resting against the jack out... 1 to me and 5 all on the last end!

Rolled the jack to a maximum length, and my last bowl took the lead. Could I level the score to one set all? Yes, you guessed it... all credit to my opponent, who rolled his last ball up to the jack to win the end 6-5, the match 2-0 in sets.

Note to self... since you don't know the green and still waste one or two bowls per end, grab the opportunity of a practice roll beforehand to get up to speed.

Sat 29-Jun

Don't quite understand it. In a couple of afternoon sessions I've managed to make more headway on bricking for phase 2 of the garden redesign than anything in the previous two months. Finished edging the patio in one spell, and this afternoon prepared for and started the first of the two outer edges. Slow but sure with these... don't want to end up several inches higher or lower when the whole thing joins up.