Not quite 62

From http://ianrstewart.blogspot.com/

It's been a very lazy Saturday - I've hardly moved from my chair all day. Jo dashed in to Costco this morning to get supplies for my birthday lunch tomorrow - did I want to come along? No thanks - Saturdays are nicer when I don't have to jump in a car.

I've been trying to get a game of squash doubles all week, but failed miserably - still it meant that I did actually go to Bannatyne's 3 days in a row - Wednesday, Thursday and Friday - that's something of a record, I think - is it an indication that my increased dosage of beta-blockers is helping? Perhaps. Coincidentally, I saw my cardiologist again on Thursday - routine check-up - and he said I could up the dosage again if I wanted? I said I would try it for a month and see how I got on. It's still only 10 mg - by comparison, Jo's on 25 mg.

Nothing much else to report - it was Helen's birthday yesterday - how old? Well, that would be telling - let's just say she's looking forward to enjoying some discounted rail travel soon! I bet she and Barry are enjoying their retirement. Talking about which, the subject of my age and me potentially phasing out of the business was discussed last week, but there was little or no reaction - until yesterday that is, when I was suddenly given an unexpected (and most welcome) bonus. I guess that means no change then? Still at least it will help pay for our recent big luxury holiday in the southern hemisphere.

Jo's slaving away in the kitchen - preparing for my birthday lunch tomorrow. I said keep it simple - prawns and bread in a buffet is plenty for me - but there's obviously going to be a few extras. Jo's big birthday is just 2 weeks away now - I've booked a table at the Marcliffe on the Saturday night for the two of us - but what should I buy her? I can't just leave it at one dinner and business class upgrades on our holiday. Ideas please.

Sporting weekend

From http://ianrstewart.blogspot.com/

I was so looking forward to be being back to a British/Scottish sporting weekend - but then I started to feel a bit rough on Friday, and, since then, I've been plagued with a chest and head cold. Every time this happens, my voice goes and it becomes hard to converse - especially in crowded pubs. It spoiled my enjoyment a bit, but at least I did manage along to both Pittodrie on Saturday and Murrayfield yesterday.

Colin and I even squeezed in a very rare visit to a CAMRA branch meeting after the football. This one was held in the Blue Lamp - what a dull, depressing place that is - and it was also the annual confirmation of the votes for our area's GBG entries, plus voting for the various pubs of the year - Islands, Country and City categories. Quite interesting - and afterwards we popped down to the Moorings for a beer before we caught the bus home.

Aberdeen's 0-0 draw with Hearts was a whole lot better than Scotland's efforts yesterday. Don't be fooled by the closeness of the scoreline - 18-21 in Ireland's favour - we weren't really at the races.

We left for Edinburgh quite early on Sunday morning - so early, in fact, that, despite doing a little detour to pick up Keith Gray, who was staying at Dalgety Bay, we were safely parked up and in to the centre of Edinburgh well before opening time! Two cups of tea and a "Teuchter Roll" were consumed before they started serving ale. The place was heaving with frustrated rugby fans well before the "first orders" bell rang - now that's a novelty. Edinburgh need to get this sorted out - at least for rugby match days.

Our seats at Murrayfield were high up in the West Stand and we had magnificent views, not only of the play, but also the wonderful Edinburgh skyline:

We managed home in good time, and Jo took pity on me and poured me, not one, but two, consecutive glasses of hot toddy for my cold! We finished watching the last couple of episodes of the 80's Tutti Frutti series - a nice bit of nostalgia starring Robbie Coltrane and Emma Thompson.

And, of course, this was Oscars weekend. Glad to see that The King's Speech did well, and not surprised that Natalie Portman won Best Actress in the Black Swan. Those were the two movies we saw with Kelly in Melbourne - how cool is that?