Tournament Debut

Sam made his "proper" football debut recently in a school tournament here in beautiful downtown King's Lynn.  Here's the team in a pre-match and pre-mud traditional pose.

He was looking forward to it for weeks beforehand, it was practically the only topic of conversation.  The boys weren't too happy about the lurid purple kit though, and it clashed disastrously with Sam's new Nike Mercurial boots (as worn by someone called Christopher Ronaldos, or something).

The school were taking part against six others in a round-robin competition.  All the boys were extremely nervous as they received last minute words of wisdom from their coach.

Hot corner kick action!

The first game ended in a 0-4 defeat which zapped a little of their confidence, but they took to the field enthusiastically for the second game.  They won 3-0!

All the players had to take a turn in goal, and Sam was no exception.  Unluckily for him it was the game against the eventual winners of the tournament, who were very good.  The game was one-way traffic but Sam made some great saves, including pulling on shot that was across the line back out of the goal and playing on - he got away with it too.  I overheard the PE teacher of the opponents saying "That goalie's had a good game" - he had too.

Sam's goalie game ended 0-2 which was a good result against by far the best team involved.

The six games produced scores of 0-4, 3-0, 0-1, 1-0, 0-2 and 2-1.  Three wins, three losses, but the boys all really enjoyed themselves.  They ended the morning with this impromptu show of team

spirit during the medal presentation.

Top Gear Challenges - The Water In The Lap Test

The chaps on Top Gear are often asked to take part in "a series of challenges", and we thought we'd join in the fun as well!

So....a car, some containers, and a whole lot of water....what on earth will we be doing?  We started our challenge outside Strikes bowling alley on a chilly, grey Saturday afternoon in October.

A-ha!  When Clarkson, May and Hammond were comparing British Leyland cars of the seventies, one of the tests was to discover which of their chosen chariots had retained the best suspension performance, and they chose to do this by driving over a rough vehicle testing roadway with bowls of water on their knees.  Sounded like fun!

Fill 'em up and let's roll....

First test was to drive down Wisbech Road, known locally for the over-abundance of speed bumps.  We didn't make just one pass though, oh no, four times over the sleeping policemen, then a pit-stop to inspect the damage....

There was a lot of water newly located to Sam and Dad's nether regions.  A LOT.  Sam was a bit chilly so he decided to do a vigourous impersonation of Rigsby to warm himself up a bit, "Yes, yes Miss Jones, I'm a man of the world you know...."

Next it was onward to Hardwick Road, and the steep humpback bridge over the railway line.  Typically, the traffic was queueing back over the hump, so we sat at an uncomfortable angle with the icy water trickling around our bits and pieces.  Whose idea was this again?

We carried out another damage inspection in the Halfords car park.  Yep, it definitely looks like we've simultaneously wet ourselves!  The car seats weren't feeling too good either.

Never one to do things by halves, Sam polished off the remaining water when we reached home turf, by tipping the whole lot over his head....

And yes, it was FLIPPIN' FREEZING!

Lincoln Sausage Festival 2012

And so we found ourselves at Lincoln Castle visiting the annual Lincoln Sausage Festival, Sam, Dad and Sam's cousin James.  First things first, Sam made friends with a huge banger....

He wasn't too keen on cosying up with the whopping sausage but bravely went for a hug.  Come on dude, it ain't that scary!

The festival is held in the grounds of Lincoln Castle, which is atop the city's hill.  This is the main approach from the downhill area, it's a very steep path up the hill, which is imaginatively called....wait for it, wait for it....Steep Hill.  Must have taken ages to come up with that one.  We discussed what modes of transport would be best if we wanted to race each other back down;  bike was ruled out (too bumpy on the cobbles), ditto skateboard and roller skates.  Space hopper was considered favourably until we hit on the perfect method - zorb race down Steep Hill!  When we win the lottery....

One great thing about the sausage festival is that you're allowed into the castle for free.  Great scheme Lincoln, please do it again next year.

Although we arrived mid-afternoon the place was still thronged with visitors, sampling the wealth of fabulous foods being offered at the dozens of stalls.  I shoved a sausage bun down the nippers to keep up energy levels (as if they needed it) and we trawled around hunting for free samples.

Top of the entertainment bill was a band called The Cosmic Sausages.  They were extremely funny, very versatile in the range of music they played (from Anarchy In The UK to You're Beautiful by Bruno Mars), but their best number was My Old Man Said Follow The Van.  This was because they had a special guest playing the spoons for One Song Only - me!  They asked for a volunteer and Sam's hand shot up....I grabbed it and lowered it, but then James put his hand up too....I'll get him back one way or another.  And that was how I ended up playing the spoons and dancing like a pearly king in the middle of Lincoln Castle....

My reward was a fetching pair of sparkly sunglasses, modelled here by mister Elton James....

And later on by Dame Samuel Etheridge....

The beautiful Lincoln Cathedral was also open to the public, and it's just a short meander across the cobbles from the castle - it would have been rude not to pop in for an hour or so.  Of course, you must try to find the legendary Lincoln Imp when you visit, it's hidden in the masonry and brings good luck to all who spot him.  If you want to cheat you can pop 20p in a slot and he's lit up by electrickery, which I bet he hates!  Here's Sam and James imp-spotting - the imp is in the illuminated perch at the top of the column right in front of them....

Amazingly I spotted two more imps on the way out of the cathedral....do the myth-writers know about this pair I wonder?

Sausages, imps, crazy specs, six-foot bangers, and live music, what more could you want?  How's about exploring the spooky dungeons and cells in the castle, and a return to the incredibly oppressive and genuinely frightening chapel?

All finished off with a bout of hill-rolling, obviously.  Dad didn't participate.  Last time I rolled down a hill inside a castle (Castle Rising near King's Lynn if you're interested) I observed "OK.  I can see the castle.  It's upside down.  And not one single part of my body is in contact with the ground.  This is going to hurt...."  It did!  I thought I'd broken my ankle, poor old man than I am.  It was lucky that I landed on Sam, winding him and kicking him in the eye in the process, nice work son....

Paparazzi With Nana

Now Nana, don't look away from the camera until the flashing finishes....take one!

Not quite....remember, look at the camera until the flashing finishes....take two!

Nearly!  Keep looking at the camera until it stops flashing....ready....take three!

Ooooh, not quite....you need to look at the camera until it stops flashing....and NO rude hand gestures Samuel!  Standby everybody....take four....

GREAT!

Dean & Nicola's Wedding - 30 September 2012

We were proud to be part of another fabulous family occasion last weekend - the wedding of my nephew (Sam's cousin) Dean Brooks and his fab girlie, Nicola Saxelby!  Sam was chosen to be a page boy, and joined forces with bridesmaids Gemma (Nicola's daughter) and Emma (one of Sam's first cousins).  They all look lovely!

Here's Sam's Uncle Trev giving Dean a few last minute words of fatherly wisdom just before the arrival of the bride.  The wedding was held at the Petwood-Hotel in Woodhall Spa, Lincolnshire, which was used as the Officers' Mess for 617 Sqn during WWII (the Dambusters), and was also used for Dean's sister Linzi's wedding in 2001....

Fashionably late, Nicola swept into the room, escorted by her Dad.

The bridesmaid's sorted out Nicola's lovely dress while Sam....."supervised".....

After the ceremony everybody retreated to the gardens and enjoyed the beautiful surroundings.  Here's Sam and his Nana, both looking very happy with the world!

The main players were the first to be dragged away by super snapper Dave "Digital" Dawson.

After the customary hour of photos there was little wonder that Sam needed a drink - it was NOT gin and tonic, take no notice of what he tells you....and that's Dad's orange juice on the bar....

Sam, Gemma and Emma made an extremely photogenic trio of helpers, no wonder Dean and Nicola chose them eh?

The meal was delicious, chicken and anchovies to start, roast beef with super-spicy gravy for the main, and an utterly OMFG cheesecake for dessert.  And there were bubbles for guests to play with, huzzah!  Here's Sam watching the children (Auntie Lou and Nana) playing.

Sam sneaked to the front to snap the happy couple slicing into their wedding cake....

....and snapped the mountain of tasty cupcakes that we scoffed soon after.


All in all an absolutely delightful and memorable occasion.  Thank you Dean and Nicola!

2012 London Olympic Games - Pt II

Oh, Ebba.  Ebba, Ebba, Ebba.  Lovely Ebba Jungmark.  A Swedish high jumper.  Top tip, a good pair of binoculars considerably enhances the fun of watching the Women's High Jump.

We had a competition to see who could take the best photo of the jumping....the one above is Sam's....

....and this one is Dad's....who wins?

Every seat in the Olympic Stadium has a great view of the action, and here is our own vista.  What a lovely place, wish we were back there now....

While the noise level was generally quite high, depending on what was happening, when runners took to the track the volume went to eleven (Spinal Tap reference).

Sam went bananas whenever people ran past, but then again, so did everybody else.

We held another contest to take pole vault action shots....this is Sam's....

....and this one Dad's.  Dad the easy winner methinks!

The only negative aspect of the Olympic Park is the terrible Orbit sculpture, what an eyesore!  It looks either like a Meccano model gone disastrously wrong, or a pile of scrap metal.  Terrible!

Worst of all it dominates the skyline.  Get Rid Of It!

And finally - we saw Uncle Ru's crane!  He maintains these monsters all over the UK, and this is one of his biggest.  What a whopper.


So that was our trip to the 2012 London Olympics.  As we were leaving the Park I told Sam to have a good look round, remember it all, because Sam & Dad will never have the chance to go to a UK Olympics together ever again.  We loved our Most Excellent adventure, and we made some fabulous memories to take with us.