The week so far

It was a lovely day for our annual Challenge match on Sunday - and shorts were duly donned. Scotland soundly thrashed the Rest of the World and we had a nice meal afterwards. The winning team (minus 1) are shown above.

I managed trips to the gym on Monday and Tuesday and also a bit of racketball on Monday evening, followed by a beer with Ken Page, who flew back to Abu Dhabi on the redeye on Tuesday morning.

I got home last night to see that Ross' old brown Saab was no longer in the driveway. Surprise, surprise, he had actually finally got it through its M.o.T. - and what's more, it had passed! I took him up to pick up the car and, to celebrate, I filled his car with petrol and then tried to get his insurance renewed online (fianlly managed tonight - Weds). Just the tax to be done now.

Ross has sent off two job applications as well - I posted them tonight - good luck!

No more evening golf now (dark too early), so I'm making my comeback at 5-a-side tonight - hope I survive OK!

Saturday

The weather continued fair in Banchory although it was a litte cloudy when we went to Kemnay to play in the Texas Scramble there - didn't do too well - we were last when we left the clubhouse! Watched the first half of the Scotland match at Kemnay and caught the end of the game back home with Gary, Ross and Luca.

Carole came over later on and we all walked over to the golf club for Ross' birthday tea. We sat on the new balcony for a drink first of all and then went through for dinner.

Another bright start to the day (Sunday) - I might get the shorts on for our annual Scotland v Rest of World Challenge match.

Thu/Fri

Rested from golf after 6 consecutive days, but did a brief (and light) stint at Bannatyne's on Thursday - my only visit this week.

I caught up with a lot of stuff on Friday in the office and went home and had tea with Ross - macaroni cheese - made by Ross - on his 24th birthday too (Jo had a ong-standing engagement and was out tonight). Kelly phoned and I chastised her for not reading my blog and knowing what was happening! She spoke to Ross, who was going to stay in, but when I returned from the golf club, there was nobody in the house - I guess he must have changed his mind.

Ross isn't getting enough hours at his IT job in Aberdeen and as he's no longer at the garage, he needs to find something else. There were a couple of potential jobs in the papers today, but I've also suggested he starts up on his own as as an IT service - hope he gives it a go.

Great weather - hope it continues all weekend!

August/September update

Been a busy period and I haven't been able to keep the blog up to date - partly due to technical problems - Office 2007 was installed on my laptop and since then, nothing but problems - but hopefully sorted out.

Since my last posting, there's been Kieran's 18th birthday (had to miss the party which was arranged at short notice); we've had a weekend in Edinburgh at the Fringe with Colin and Johanne; the squash club's AGM - which resolved to wind up our existing legal entity and start again; and lots and lots of golf! The season's fast coming to an end and the nights are noticeably drawing in now, so it's been cram it in time. Here's my schedule for the last couple of weeks:

Fri 24/8 - outing at Blairgowrie - organised by Peter and played in brilliant weather this time.

(Sat/Sun - no golf - at Fringe - see photo of Jo and Joanne above)

Mon 27/8 - semi final of Learney Cup at Torphins (won)

Weds 29/8 - last night of our Summer Quaich competition, which is followed by a slide show presentation I give reviewing the season.

Fri 31/8 - Aboyne for the Terry Edmonds Memorial trophy

Sat 1/9 - Banchory medal (69 after a disastrous 7 at the last!)

Sun 2/9 - Grantown Open

Mon 3/9 - Boat of Garten - the second of our biannual trips there - came 2nd overall - just missed out to Les. Headed down afterwards to Glasgow to have supper with Barry, Helen and Dad - see photo above taken in the Three Craws.

Tue 4/9 - HSBC Corporate golf day at Gleneagles - our team won! - Scotty Cameron putters as prizes!

Wed 5/9 - Torphins - final of Learney Cup - which I won!

I'm resting today - no more golf - at least not until Saturday when we're playing in the Kemnay Texas Scramble Open. That's followed on Sunday by our annual Scotland v Rest of World Challenge match - we're all having lunch down at the golf club afterwards - it's usually a good and sociable day.

What else has happened recently? Well, we've rented a big house for the coming trips to Cornwall - Gary, Carole and Luca are coming down with us in September and the same house will be used by Lucy and Co when they travel down in October.

Gary and Carole are delighted that they have finally got a house - in Inverurie - haven't seen it yet, but entry's next month.

Weds

What a glorious day! - and it was the penultimate night of our Summer Quaich competition shorts were in order - here I am with Ken Black and Dick Taylor.

The property in St Ives is available for both September and October but the rates are dear because they require a minimum of 3 nights (September) and the October stay straddles 2 weeks, one of them the school holidays, so we have to pay for a week for the 4 nights' stay. Still, it's a big place and a good location, so we might just go for it.

Sun/Mon/Tue

Gary and Carole came over mid afternoon on Sunday and stayed for tea - steak pie from Banchory's new butcher - very good. We watched the Dons make a good start against Celtic but then lose it late on.

Luca was great - happy to sit up for long periods now - although judicious use of pillows behind is still advised - see above. Gary and Carole now have their eyes on 3 other properties - one ready to walk in to in Inverurie - Carole loves it but is a little concerned that the garden is a little too small. The other properties are in Insch and Oyne and they'll be visiting all 3 again this week, along with any others that come along.

Jo was back at school on Monday - training day - and she was full of moans again - and more of them today (Tuesday) - but it seems she is perfectly justified - she can't even get the janitor to change a light bulb - "not my job, guv".

I managed a brief trip to the gym yesterday and some squash with Keith last night. We went to the golf club but they were between casks so we decided to make a swift trip round to the Stag to try out their ale - they've just started doing it and it was pretty good - could be on the Friday night rota from now on.

I was in Fraserburgh all day today but left there at the speed of sound to try to get to Bannatyne's before 4:00 pm when my day pass becomes invalid - I made it with one minute to spare! I had a really good workout, doing all my upper body, leg and cardio exercises - it's bound to hurt tomorrow!

Kelly phoned tonight - Craig had spotted another more suitable property near St Ives - it looks good and perhaps Jo and I might stay there in September as a kind of dummy run for the Lesinas visit in October - see http://www.holidaylettings.co.uk/rentals/st-ives/11074

Sunday at home

Sunday morning and it's been raining all night. I got up at the usual time, but felt pretty sure the courses would be closed - I was right - and relieved - think I needed a day's rest as I feel pretty tired and sore from the exertions of the last week.

I suppose I could have gone to Pittodrie to see the Dons play Celtic, but it's on Setanta and I can channel hop to the Manchester derby and the Liverpool-Chelsea match later - all from the comfort of my armchair - a definite no-brainer.

Anyway, Gary phoned this morning and he, Carole and Luca are coming over after house hunting, so at least I won't miss them.

Kelly phoned last night - she has viewed 2 of the potential properties that Lucy & Co can stay in when they come down. She preferred the quieter one, so it's up to Lucy now to see if she thinks it would be OK for the boys.

Review of week

Busy Monday at work - still looking at potential acquisition in Grantown, but had to tell MD today that he wasn't getting everything his own way.

Harry, Richard, Jas and I played doubles in the evening and we were joined by Archie for a beer in the golf club.

Been a bit of a reflective week - it was 5 years to the day that Mum died (Sunday) and 3 years to the day since our former chairman, Dr. Clark, died (Tuesday).

Jo came along to Bannatyne's on Tuesday for a swim (she forgot her trainers so couldn't go the gym) and we had a quick bite there before driving out to meet Gary at the house that he and Carole were making a bid for. It was a bijou cottage in a quiet location and they put in an offer in time for closing at noon on Wednesday, but, despite being the highest offer, they unfortunately didn't get it.

No sooner had Gary and Carole got the bad news (again) about their bid for a house failing than a text came through from Kelly saying that she and Craig had had success with their offer.

I had dinner on Tuesday evening at Maryculter House Hotel with our computer suppliers - nice place and the food was fine.

It was the pre-penultimate night of our season long Summer Quaich competition on Wednesday - the nights are noticeably drawing in now. It was also a club stableford and I played pretty well although I was slightly disappointed in my finish which meant I "only" scored 37 points when I thought 40 was on the cards.

Thursday brought the weekly drive up to Fraserburgh for the management meetings and I also took the opportunity to get my laptop software upgraded to Office 2007 - it's a bit different and takes some getting used to.

Jo came in to Bannatyne's again and this time we both spent some time in the gym and then the pool before going to Shepherd's Rest at Westhill for our tea. The place has expanded a bit since we were last there and it's all table service. They also now have 10 ales on and it was an interesting selection, including an old favourite of ours, McMullen's Country Best, which was our local brew many years ago when we used to live in Hertfordshire.

With the end of the golf season fast approaching, there's lots of outings on the agenda and on Friday afternoon eight of us headed for St Andrews Bay to play the Devlin course. It was a lovely afternoon on a terrific course with superb greens - and what's more, I played really well - particularly on the front nine. I started with a par, then had a birdie and then I hit the par 5 third green in two and just missed my eagle putt. I was one over par gross at the turn (23 points) and although I faded a bit on the back nine, I still won the outing overall, despite the disadvantage of having to pull a trolley as I still didn't have my Powacaddy fixed.

A couple of excellent beers in the Whey Pat, followed by a curry at the Balaka rounded off an excellent day.

Up on Saturday morning for the medal and it was a bit damp, but we managed round, although the magic of the midweek had deserted me a bit and I will now be playing off 12 tomorrow, having gone up 0.1 to 11.5.

I at least had the consolation of playing with my Powacaddy again, but still it wasn't right - one of the wheels was still locked and it was pulling wildly left and struggled to go up hills. I went straight in to see the assistant pro, Stuart after my round and he immediately knew what was wrong and instantly fixed it. It turned out that he hadn't been given a full briefing by David, our pro, on what had to be done. This is the 3rd time it's been in - hopefully it's now OK - I need it for tomorrow as I have 36 holes to play, weather permitting. It's the Claret Jug at Banchory in the morning and then the Rotary charity tournament at Inchmarlo in the afternoon.

Weekend

Got round pretty dry at Torphins yesterday morning - warm and only occasional very light drizzle. Also managed some squash in the evening with Keith, Jas and Harry.

Jo and I watched a film in the evening - a romcom - it was OK.

This morning, it was off to Forfar for the Open - I was driving - picked up Syd and Jas at the golf club then drove up to Dave's. The overnight rain had stopped in our area but when we got within 5 miles of Forfar, the rain started again and it was pretty miserable for the first hour or so - but warm and sunny at the end.

When we dropped Dave off after golf, Doris invited us in for a drink and a tour of their lovely new house and garden - I discovered that, as well as the acre and a half their house is in, Doris owns 50 acres of adjoining fields, which she lets out for grazing.

Doris had indicated that she wanted to talk to me about Dave - she had been concerned at changes in him over the last year or so. She had finally managed to get him to go to a doctor and they are due back again this week. So far nothing conclusive, but Doris thinks that something happened last November - we'll have to wait and see.

Tonight, Jo and I are catching up with old Corries - but the final round of the PGA beckons soon for me!

Saturday morning

As promised, here's Jo and her new hair colouring - she had it up last night, so you can't quite see it all - but you can get the idea.

I survived the 5-a-side match at the Beach last night, although I do feel pretty stiff today. It was good to see the usual crew in the Legion last night and have a chat and a few beers - Colin, Dave, Ian Sharp and John McWhinnie were all there, and Ian McRae managed to make a brief appearance.

I'm heading off to Torphins soon for the medal. Gary is coming through with Luca some time, to allow Carole time and space to prepare for the arrival of her sister and family, here for a few days.

The weather's been fine this week, but not sure what the weekend will bring - we might get lucky this morning, but there's a definite chance of rain tomorrow when we're at Forfar for the Open.

Rest of first week back at work

Been pretty busy catching up again, but I've managed to get some golf in too! Only had one visit to Bannatyne's however - and I've got an assessment booked next Wednesday - expecting bad results!

Enjoyed the sunshine and playing in shorts in our Quaich on Wednesday evening. Won my tie at Torphins on Thursday, so that's me through to the semis now. Jo was out with the girls for dinner at St Tropez - she had her hair coloured in the morning - looks very nice - photo to follow, hopefully.

Met Gary for lunch today (Friday) - Jo was with Carole looking at another house in Pitmedden, although they seem pretty keen on one in Tarves.

Off to play 5-a-sides now - don't know how I'll cope, but looking forward to beer in the Legion later!

More Tuesday

Good news - our bags were finally delivered mid-morning today - only 3 days late!

Had our meeting with the local councillors, BDI and Rod Stone, Aberdeenshire Council official, this morning. Nice noises made, but it seems as if the most immediate and realistic option the squash club have got is with Jamie Burnett's long-awaited Hill of Banchory development, which looks like it will get the go-ahead from ACC next month. Funding will then be the issue.

When we arrived at Heathrow a little bleary eyed on Saturday, Jo took the above two photos of me with my new sets of glasses on - that's the distance ones on the left, and the reading ones on the right.

Back to work

Back to work and I did a full day from 8 till 5, not moving from my desk.

Several phone calls to BA, the last of which told me the first of our bags had arrived at Aberdeen and the second was due later on.

Managed a game of squash at Crathes after work - good to get some exercise and nice to see the lads again.

It's now Tuesday 10:30 am and it appears as if our file is closed with BA, but we still haven't had a call to say our bags are on their way.

Home again

The journey home wasn't too bad, although we were delayed an hour and a half at Medford - something that always seems to happen when flying in to SFO. It did mean that we didn't have the spare time we thought we might have to have a quick snack/late lunch at SFO, so we were ravenous by the time they served the first meal on the flight to London - not ravenous enough, mind you, to forgo a couple of G & T's and London Prides before the meal!

The flight was good and Jo liked the seats by the window. Neither of us slept - we just watched movies all night. Jo was delighted to see Shrek 3, which she hadn't yet had the chance to go and see at the cinema.

We arrived at Heathrow slightly early and made our way through flight connections to BA's holding lounge at Gate 5 for Scottish flights. We had a few hours to kill and we've made a mental note not to go through flight connections if this happens again - it's better just to go out in to the main terminal building - at least there are a number of shops and restaurants to choose from there - the choice is quite limited near Gate 5. Of course we could have gone out again but that would have meant coming back through security again and having done it once through flight connections, we were not of a mind to do this.

Our arrival being early meant we had the galling sight of watching the earlier flight to Aberdeen take off as we waited - we had decided not to ask if they could put us on this, as we (somewhat laughingly as it now turns out) thought that our bags would be checked on to the later flight anyway.

Of course, when we got to Aberdeen, no bags! I'm now writing this on Sunday evening and still no sign of them - I've just phoned and was told they were due to be put on the 4:45 from Heathrow this afternoon - but the girl was a little vague about it. We'll wait and see what tomorrow brings.

Anyway, Ross was on time to pick us up and take us home to Banchory. His car's jacked up in the driveway waiting to have the brakes fitted for its MoT on Tuesday - he thought that Derek Glass was coming back over this morning to do it, but no sign of him.

No food in the house on Saturday either so Jo and I, plus Ross walked along to the Douglas for a bar supper and then home to bed well before 8:00 pm! I thought I would sleep all night, but, no - 1:00 am in the morning and ding! - lights on in my brain and I couldn't get back to sleep. I finally rose about 6:30 - I was just starting to get sleepy again by then, but had a 9:00 am tee time in the Torphins Open.

I had picked up my electric Powacaddy on Saturday from our golf pro - it had been there for the last few weeks for a bit of routine maintenance. The pro went to great lengths to explain every little bit of work he had done on it, but when I actually put it to use this morning, it let me down big time.

Right from the start, it seemed a little odd, but by the time I got to the 7th, it made an enormous noise and refused to budge. I had to push it from there - and that's no easy task when the bag is enormous and jam-packed full and I'm knackered from lack of sleep. I ditched it at the clubhouse and managed to borrow an old pull caddy for the second nine. Didn't seem to affect my golf as I shot a respectable net 65.

Anyway, I'll try the early night routine again tonight and hope I get a bit more sleep prior to returning to work tomorrow.