The Hundred and Jimmy Anderson

 

Max spotted us in the crown on TV and
managed to grab a screen shot

Arthur is getting quite interested in cricket. Margaret has wondered about taking him to a T20, but Sam beat us to it and booked tickets for The Hundred at the Oval.

So, Arthur was with us a couple of weeks ago and watched the daily highlights of the England v India test. He enjoyed the highlights, but he kept asking who had won. I told him the match lasted five days and no-one had won yet. He couldn’t understand that play could go on all day and no-one had won. Test cricket can be quite hard to fathom and it requires pain, age and experience to appreciate properly.

The Hundred is supposed to address those issues and make cricket accessible to younger, less knowledgeable viewers.

The match was against Manchester and there’s a women’s match followed by the men. Each team faces 100 balls and there are fielding restrictions for the first 25 balls in order to encourage the batsmen to hit over the protective ring for a more spectacular show. It started at 11am and both matches were done by 4.30pm.

The format has had its critics, but I enjoyed it and so did Arthur and Saoirse. Arthur won’t remember, but he did get to see the great Jimmy Anderson, the finest test bowler England has produced and taker of more than 700 test wickets. He came out to bat 11 for Manchester and got a massive reception. He didn’t take a wicket and got knocked around by some lucky shots and poor fielding. I saw him on his Test debut against Zimbabwe at Lord’s with Margaret and Max and he took five wickets (his first five) so great to see him one more time.

Alice persuades me that Queensgate is a fun place

Alice and Paddington Bear in Queensgate.
What a magical place!

Alice slept over last night because Max and Inna wanted to celebrate their anniversary. It meant there was no early start, although she was awake at the crack of dawn, so no early drive but no lie-in either.

We were going shoe-shopping with her to buy new shoes for starting school and we’d booked a fitting slot at Clarks in Queensgate. This is a big moment … your first school shoes, but also the end of individualism and the start of conformity. All Alice’s shoes are colourful or glittery, these were black with the smallest bow, also black; and a pair of pumps (also black).

We did buy a pair of pink trainers as well and she was delighted with those until she saw multicoloured shoes with flashing lights in the soles in Skechers.

I’ve decided that Queensgate is in decline and has no shops worth visiting, but Alice saw things very differently. It has multi-storey car parks and you can drive right to the top, there’s a lift that takes you down to the shops at the touch of a button and, when the lift doors open, you’re presented with a bright, shiny play space that makes you want to run.

After looking down on the buses, she charged forward and when we passed Lush, she couldn’t believe it. “Look at all the soap grandad, it smells amazing!”

Clarks was a more serious business, but very interesting, then there was a long escalator and electric cars that you could drive in the main square. She loved St John’s Church, she loved Wildwood and, I have to say, I left Peterborough with a much more positive view than I’ve had for a long time. Shopping was never so much fun.

Why do I keep falling asleep?

 It is 5.20pm on Friday and we’re going across to the Rose & Crown in an hour for dinner with our friends Pauline and Chris Coakley. I’ve just woken up after a two-hour sleep. I only woke up because Mabel, our Springer Spaniel, realised it was dinner time and leapt from my bed where she’d also been sleeping.

I have been sleeping a lot just lately, I can fall asleep just about anywhere and any time from 10am through to 5pm. I also get about five or six hours at night. Last Saturday, we took Arthur and Saoirse to the Luxe Cinema in Wisbech to watch Bad Guys II and I fell asleep during the film for about 45 minutes.

I’m not sure if this is a natural progression in my life; like an old dog, I’ll sleep more and more until eventually I don’t wake up (not a bad way to go) or whether it’s a sign of a more serious health concern. Perhaps I should Google “falling asleep during the day” and find 20 things that could be the end of me?

Well, apart from sleeping, what’s been happening in my life? We are coming to the end of our Monday Alice duty, which has been a fixture of our lives for almost four years. Alice starts school in just over three weeks and we will get an extra day during the week to do things (or to fall asleep). I’ll miss looking after her. Of all our grandchildren, I’ve had the chance to watch her grow through two car seats (backward-facing to forward-with-seatbelt) and develop from a baby, through toddler to a proper little girl. She’s given us endless pleasure and we’ll both miss Mondays, although not the 7am start in winter. I think we’ll still see quite a lot of her during school holidays, so that will be something to look forward to. We’ve already booked one of the beach cabins at the Le Strange Arms in Old Hunstanton for the autumn half-term.

Alice is more than ready for school. She enjoys nursery/pre-school where she’s spent three days a week from the age of around nine months. She’s confident, mixes well and I think she’s popular with the other children. We meet one or two of them when we’re out and about with her on Mondays and they’re always delighted to see her. Like all our grandchildren, she’s super smart and also has a good vocabulary, although it has been delivered in a stronger and stronger Leicestershire accent. Tom asked me what a Leicestershire accent sounded like and I struggled to describe it; it’s not northern, but some of the vowel sounds are similar.

High-tech ice-cream

I’ve just had an old person’s run-in with technology. Margaret and I were in Cambridge to look after Julia, Aureliano and Florencia while Lucia received her doctorate. Carlos and Nidia had come across from Ecuador to see the ceremony. 

We met up outside King’s College first thing and we hired a punt on the river to amuse the children while the ceremony took place. 

They very much enjoyed the experience. We were punted by a chap called Ben, a student at Edinburgh and a former King’s, Ely student. 

He gave us lots of interesting history about the colleges and the children listened politely, but definitely became more alert when there seemed the risk of running down a duck or Ben bumping his head on the low bridges. 

Afterwards, they were all dining in King’s College (including the children) so Margaret and I were able to look around the shops and have some lunch. 

It was a scorching day and also my birthday, so I thought I’d treat myself to an ice-cream from this posh ice-cream shop. 

We went in, there were four people behind the counter and no-one was making eye contact. 

We spent a minute looking at the different flavours on display and talking about what I’d have and still no-one made eye contact or asked if they could help. 

Eventually I said: can anyone get me an ice-cream? 

The answer was that you have to order it on the screen. “Can’t I just tell you what I want?” 

“No.” 

“OK forget it.” 

“No, no sir, I’ll help you.” And the chap came around from behind the counter. “Press the screen to start, now select the ice-cream you like.” 

“I just want a cornet”. 

“OK, there are three sizes, which would you like?” The middle one was a ridiculous £7.45, but it was my birthday so I thought I’d push the boat out. 

“Now select the four flavours you'd like.” 

“I only want a cherry cornet! OK, this is ridiculous. I just want an ice-cream and you can’t just make one for me.” 

Point made, I left the shop ice-creamless. I’m all for technology, but only when it serves a useful purpose. This seems like a solution looking for a problem that doesn’t exist. 

We used the park-and-ride to get to Cambridge and we’ll probably do it again, now we’ve discovered it. Trumpington park-and-ride is just off the M11, it’s free to park and the buses run into the city centre every 15 minutes. They cost £3.50 return.

Playing with Alice

Alice has very imaginative play. She can create a world in her imagination and interact with it. I’ve not known any of my other grandchildren do it like her. 

Alice takes ideas from film, TV and books and she loves having someone to play with. She sometimes wants to be in charge but will often take new ideas and spin them into the backdrop. I’ve successfully introduced Scary Cat, pirates and dinosaurs into games. Elsa, from Frozen is a popular character (always played by Alice) and she’s handy person to be because if the game’s getting a bit dull, you can always start freezing the other players.

Often, I’m quite glad to be frozen like a statue so I can have a bit of a rest. We been doing a fairy story in Spanish in Spanish Plus the other week – los tres cerditos (three little pigs) and I thought I’d talk about the Big Bad Wolf (our game needed a baddie). Alice said she didn’t like the Big Bad Wolf because he was scary. I told her the story of the Three Little Pigs with the emphasis on the incompetent wolf and then I asked if she knew the story of Red Riding Hood. 

She did, she had a book and we rummaged though her library to find it so I could read it to her. She enjoyed it and then wanted to play Little Red Riding Hood. In this version, she was Elsa, I was the wolf and RRH was an invisible figment of our imagination. When she came walking through the woods, the plan was that Elsa would freeze her and then the BBW could catch and eat her. 

Today, we were playing with Lego/Duplo, little pots and water. The Duplo dog got stuck in the pot and, joking, I said “we need to call for Paw Patrol.” She seized on the idea. She was Sky, I was Ryder … Oh no, the dog (it’s Rubble, decides Alice) is stuck in the pot. We need Paw Patrol, let’s yelp for help. Pups to the Look-out. Sky, Rubble is stuck in the pot, use your winch to get him out. There’s some singing of the Paw Patrol anthem (with some variation because I can’t remember it) to set the scene, then Sky (Alice) arrives to pull out Rubble and everyone is safe. “Again,” says Alice and we repeat half a dozen times until there’s a game change. 

 Now, the Lego horse is stuck on the table and his mummy can’t get to him. We need Paw Patrol, let’s yelp for help. Pups to the Look-out. Sky, we need you winch to lift the baby horse off the table and return him to his mother. Repeat six times, with no lapse of enthusiasm. The Paw Patrol song must be sung and Ryder has to go to the Look-out to brief the dogs… The loop is finally severed when it’s time to head for Thurmaston shopping centre.

Feeding Red Kites in the garden

Red Kite in the conifer

Margaret has been feeding red kites from the garden.

We’ve seen red kites become more and more common in the past few years and they seem to have usurped buzzards as the top carrion bird in the area.

They’re lovely to see – huge birds with forked tails, riding thermals around the village or patrolling low over houses in the hope of spotting something tasty. I’ve never seen them land anywhere near houses, although one has been sitting in a large conifer at the corner of Arkady’s property (the windmill). It’s been there several times and will sit for hours, probably digesting its latest meal.

On Sunday, June 29, Sam and Lucy staged a birthday party for Julia and she brought back some cake (a rather large slab). I did my best to eat it, but after a week, Margaret put it on the lawn for the birds.

She was staggered to see a kite swoop down and grab the cake and fly off. I honestly thought our garden would be too small for a bird of this size to dive in, grab and have enough room to fly up and away. They look so big close too and with their wings fully outstretched, it seems they could touch either side of the lawn. I certainly underestimated their flying abilities!

Since the cake grab, Margaret has put more food on the lawn and they’ve been back and taken it. She now buys them chicken wings and we’ve heard them crying (possibly saying “feed me”).

So, we’ve heard a call, and a kite is sitting in the conifer at the side of Maggie’s garden. Margaret has left a chicken wing and by the time she’s back in the house, it has swooped down and taken it.

Sometimes she goes out in the garden and hears them call. She does an imitation of their cry in response and goes to get a chicken wing. It does sound a bit bonkers, but it does work, and they’ve been fed almost every day for the past three weeks.

I have tried to video them, but they don’t play ball. However, I did manage to take this through the lounge window.

Auntie Pam died

Some sad, but not unexpected, news this week. My Aunt Pam, the youngest of my dad’s sisters has died, aged 91. Aunt Pam was certainly my favourite aunt when I was growing up. I always liked to spend time with her, and she seemed to be the member of the Rayner family that my mum was closest to. My dad was the eldest, followed by Joan and then, some years later, by Pam. The two sisters were lovely people and helped enormously after my mum died. Aunt Joan and her husband (Uncle Don) were the noisier couple by a long way, always kind to me, always great fun, but could be a little overwhelming. Aunt Pam and her husband Ken were both quiet, but no less fun. I also enjoying playing with their daughter Carole when I was smaller. Aunt Pam always had a dog, at least one cat and various other animals – rabbits, guinea pigs and, for a few years, a sparrow called Gavin, which was a rescued fledgling and lived in the house (a proper house sparrow). She was the last of that generation, which is sad and a little bit chilling because I am the generation closest to the end of the conveyor belt of life!