Sunday 28th April 2013 to Saturday 4th May 2013

Sunday 28th April 2013
Up at crack of dawn.  Didn't sleep well at all.  Such is life.  Slow 6.7 mph run.  All good.
https://www.facebook.com/paul.d.siddall/activity/10151636510402323?notif_t=open_graph_action_like

Monday 29th April 2013
Did a short spin on the bike to fetch papers (3.5miles?),  Which was nice.  Golf at Broughton Heath which was also quite good - scored pretty well - two pars on front nine and four in a row on back nine.  Work.  Left work about 6pm - did some more cycling (6 miles) before it went dark then planted 6 cucumbers and three pots with basil in em.  All good stuff.

Tuesday 30th April 2013
Up 5:50 after ignoring alarm clock twice.  Short 3.5 miles run at 9:50 pace is okay.   Long day at work ahead - up to Eckington at lunch time then down to St Neots late afternoon.   Eckington got moved to Thursday.  Went to St Neots though.  All went well back home for 10:30 all good.

Wednesday 1st May 2013
Dragged mesen out of bed at 5:55 - bit of a struggle. Ran for 3.88 miles at I think 10:20 ish pace which is a bit average but very tired and a bit of jip in left ankle.  Such is life.  Got into work for 8:45 - very late.   Such is life. Did a mile walk at lunch time which is from the office to the other side of the railway bridge and back.
 Got home - had tea then got all the mowing done.  Good stuff.   Went out and hit a 6-iron a few times up the golf course - some shots very sweet indeed, even the bad ones didn't lose a tremendous amount of distance.

Thursday 2nd May 2013
Up at 5:50.  Woke up the wee laddie.  Did as many jobs as I could ahead of a quick six mile bike ride.  Watered everything - runner beans and onions poking through.  Will be planting the runner beans outside in a few weeks all being well.  In to the office before my boss for just about first time this week - all this gardening stuff definitely getting in the way of things.   Golfing after work with Ed, Mike and Tom from work at the 11 hole Alfreton Golf Course - how does that work you ask - see course layout below!

Tom on one of his many putts!

Side of the fifth tee box - it's a pretty course

Alfreton Golf Course, Derbyshire - Course Layout

Final score card - we didn't get full 18 holes in but was fun none-the-less.

Sorted it out through GroupOn - £32 for four ball with bacon cob and a coffee to kick off.  Made it like a mini-society outing with prize for nearest the pin on 6th hole going to Mike, longest drive on 8th going to Tom and Ed got the best chip-in prize which was added at the end of the comp!

Friday 3rd May 2013 
Up early after bed late.   3.5 mile run at 10:18 pace.  Ok.  Watered everything.  Took Doug some tomato plants.  Picked up some paperwork from Hollie on my way in to office for just gone 9am.  All good so far.


Saturday 4th May 2013
Up at 4am.  Made the child a cup of tea, went back to bed but couldn't sleep.  Fetched a Draper 180l tumble composter from Hallmark Tractors in Sudbury.  Will make usable composty stuff in 2 months flat.

Golf was okay - shot 90 which was steady after starting with an 8, John won though on same score with his 26 handicap -  bandit.

Got home had a look at the folding BBQ that I did purchase from Lidl not two days ago - quite impressed.

To finish off the day went to see Greg Locke at Derby Assembly Rooms he was really, really funny.

Sunday 21st April 2012 to Saturday 27th April 2012

Sunday 21st April 2013
Up early.  Mum's 70th party today so got haircut.
Started a new blog on my metre square project:  http://metresquare.blogspot.co.uk/

Monday 22nd April 2013
Woke up at 4am to get Phil off to work.  Got up proper at 5:45. Slow 4 mile run completed 10:30 sort of pace but was a bit knackered to say the least. Watered everything, breakfast and off to work.

Got back from work - mowed front lawn, put a door on hinges to cover up Phil's lean-to.  Put hooks on the metre sqaure garden to fasten down the cold-frame which goes on at night.   Planted two more marigolds back right hopefully they'll be okay helping the 1 x Tomato and 8 x Runner beans that will be going in at the back.

Went a walk up the golf course to try out some Taylormade RAC irons I bought cheap from eBay.  They're good golfer irons so probably not right for me but the sound when you smack an 8-iron right out the middle is sweet!   We'll see.


Tuesday 23rd April 2013
Up at crack of dawn.  Got PJ up for work.  Back to bed for a bit then proper up at 5:30.  Put a grip on a driver I'm assembling after Phil cut the shaft to size for me last night.  Then off for a run up town.  5.18 miles in 52m 07s which works out at about 10:09 miles I think.   Which will do for now.   Bit late for getting off to work but in the office for 8:40.  Best I could do after watering tons and ton of plants!

Good day at work.  Home in good time.  Mowed back lawn as had some grief about that even though there is basically bugger-all back garden now we've had the drive done.  Never mind.   Bit of watering.  Also planted another Home Bargains Raspberry and another Home Bargains Redcurrant - princely sum of £1.49 each - it remains to be seen as to whether they'll do anything.  I don't even know if they are summer or autumn raspberries so will need to keep a careful eye on em!

Went up the golf course to try out the new driver I assembled - a Tour Edge Tour Exotics 9 degree head on a True Temper stratus steel shaft.  Also an opportunity to try the Taylor Made RAC Irons that were bought for selling on but just fly when you catch them - hit a 4-iron into the 18th hole approximately 176 yards according to GPS Mapedit.   Couple of drives as well at least 240 yards which is good for me - found out the secret of this driver is to use a lower white tee rather than the big grey castle tees that have been using with the bigger modern drivers.

All good.


Wednesday 24th April 2013
With all the gardening duties I've been beaten into work a couple of times by my boss which I'm not keen at all on.  So today got up earlier did some of the stuff I normally do after running before running and got in before him at just gone 8:30 with a detour for A38 traffic queuing - would have been earlier other-wise.  A slow 3.5mile run today at 10:33 pace!   Legs felt tired right from the off though so not kicking myself about that!

3lb off at group which is better after last weeks outcome of two weeks of whisky solace.

Re-potted all the tomato plants into bigger pots - they're all over the place currently!

Went and did a bit of golf practice but it was a bit dark. Driver was all over the place but the 8-iron sounds awesome.


Thursday 25th April 2013
Up early'ish.  V tired.  got the bike out and did 7 slowish miles.  First time since November.  Watered everything then into work for a meeting at 8:30.  Got home quite early all told.  Did a load of gardening type stuff - put some more azaleas into bigger pots.  Planted some dwarf sunflowers and some sweet corn.  Sorted out all the trays and moved things about a bit.  Watered the new fruit trees.

Friday 26th April 2013
Woke Phil up at 4am.  Back to bed and only just managed to get out of bed for 5:50.  Slow run up town and back - only 2.5 miles but better than nothing.   Dropped some paperwork off at Belper and still got into office on time.  All good stuff.

Saturday 27th April 2012
Up at 4am, did the child a cup of tea then went to bed again at 5am, slept in til 8:30!   Golf was good'ish apart from finishing with a ten - had a birdie and four pars amongst a right old load of rubbish!


16/5  

Sunday 14th April 2013 to Saturday 20th April 2013

Sunday 14th April 2013
Up at 4am.   Went a 3 mile run = life had to start again.  Loads of gardening.  Nipped over to me mum and dads.  Washed cars.  Enough - watched golf but went to bed before Cabrera had got to the turn.

Monday 15th April 2013
Woke up at 4am but stopped in bed til 5:40.  Got up polished shoes, watered plants I could without disturbing folks.  Went for a 3.5 mile run picking up the papers on the way.   Few more jobs then back to the office.  Am planning to climb Holyhead mountain when get back to Anglesey in the summer so did a bit of research for that after work.

Tuesday 16th April 2013
Woke early doors - didn't get up til 5:40 though, ha ha.  Five mile run at just under ten minute miles.  It'll have to do.  I know a certain cousin of mine has just banged out five miles in under 40 minutes but then he's about four stone lighter than me!   Never mind.  In the office early.  Longish day, meeting with the National Field Director at 5:30, all good though.  Bit of shopping at Aldi; getting organised to create a metre squared garden - will be interesting.   Set up a new domain for Vic and Linda.  http://www.churchbaycottages.com

Wednesday 17th April 2013
Up at 5:45.  Watering everything. Fed the tomato plants. Ran 2.5 miles for papers at 9:49 pace which is good enough. Got the boss and daughter up.  Got off to work. In just after 8.30 - everything is running a bit late today.

Thursday 18th April 2013
Up at 5:50.  Felt knackered.  Did a bit of watering.  3.2 miles run at a slow 10:25 pace - although stopped and cleared some wood off Watery Lane and ran last mile into a 90 million mile an hour headwind so probably not that bad really.  Finished off watering, got ready and came into work.   After work we cut the 6 x 2" wood up to make a metre squared garden - if I'd known the wood was so cheap I'd have gone for a full four footer which I might still end up doing.

Friday 19th April 2013
Up at 5:40.  Woke Phil up slow five mile run  10:19 pace.  Went to group 5.5lbs on since Pippy D passed away three weeks ago but that's after several litres of Whisky so am actually quite pleased with that.

Saturday 20th April 2013
Up early.  Worked on the metre squared garden - it's looking something like now.
Golf at lunchtime - bloody awful - 102 !!!  Tidied me shed up - can get the bike out now!




16/8

Saturday 6th April 2013 to Saturday 13th April 2013

Isle of Anglesey, North West Beaches :  The Return of Billy the Bass and other species

Saturday 6^th April 2013

We’d almost cancelled going to Anglesey for the weekend following the death of the pooch but in the end decided “what the hell we’ll go”.  Glad we did too, it’s still as pretty as anywhere in my opinion.

It’s been mighty cold though so we made plenty use of this.

Bait digging proved difficult with worms showing casts but not holes making it damned hard to dig em. Got a dozen a day, plenty enough for fishing for a single-hook rig, would have liked two hook flapper rig but beggars can’t be choosers and all that.

Only fished at night, as rarely have had much joy in daylight hours.  First night was very quiet but a welcome return from Billy Bass saved el blanco – only a l’il un but nice to see and backs up my theory that little buggers never really go away!   Released him, couple more casts then called it a night.  Fished local lug on a single hook flapper to conserve the bait, the one bite (he shoots, he scores) came about 20 minutes after the top of the tide.

Sunday 7^th April 2013

A couple of walks to pick up driftwood for the fire.  More bait-digging at low tide.  Have got into the habit of changing hooks before every session but cocked up today replacing the 2/0 aberdeen I had on Saturday with a 4/0 that meant a lot of missed bites (you know the sort I mean).  Anyway saving the blank on the second night again using same rig and bait was this fine specimen of a whiting (probably this same one been pulling my chain all night!)  Lord knows how he got a hook that size in his mouth?  “Eyes bigger than his belly” my Uncle Peter would have said.

Monday 8^th April 2013

Fished the beach from the ramp on – bit of a lively night weather-wise and as soon as I’d avoided the blank with a whiting just after high on local lug I was happy to call it a night.

Tuesday 9^th April 2013

Fished with local legend Vic owner of Church Bay’s Ty Newydd camp site and cottages.  Didn’t take any pictures which was a shame as started off with a dogfish and then got a couple of whitings before calling it a night.  Local lug again.

Wednesday 10^th April 2013

Last night of the break as we’d decided to return to Derbyshire on Thursday.   Went to visit South Stack - bit wet and miserable so we didn't do the steps but had a look from Elin's Tower which was nice - hell it's a long way down!

Finally day and had a not  blanked – it went into extra time today, though.  I spotted a neat sandbar appearing in the  local beach that looked to be good for flatties a couple of hours after low.

So made up a rig with plenty of bling and went down about 8pm to give it a go but no joy so once the gulley was out of reach I went back up to the cottage for an hour or two and returned with about an hour and half left up to high tide.  First cast another new species for 2013 with a shore rockling (pretty sure it was).  He came in on rag from nearby Valley Baits - helpful as always.   Released the little beggar and next cast was well snagged so snapped off and called it a night – got to be up early for trip home. 

Anyway five nights, four species, no blanks only a bit of tackle lost (recovered most of the rig and weight when tide had gone out following morning). Hoping for some decent weather to return and then it’ll be camping and kayak fishing when Summer kicks in!

Thursday 11th April 2013
We decided to come home - number one son didn't come with us and we were cold!  Got home, got unloaded, got a load of gardening done.  All good'ish.

Friday 12th April 2013
More gardening.  Tidied up the mini-greenhouses.  Went and played nine holes - not too bad considering it was weeks since previous time I'd played.

Saturday 13th April 2013
Up early.  More gardening.  Golf with John and Doug at 2:36 - played okay with a card for handicap calculation over nine holes went round in 43 with a couple of pars at 2 and 5 and a birdie at 8.   All steady enough stuff.