Amid the euphoria of promotion and anticipation of a good home win to crown of an excellent season both on and off the pitch I find myself wondering how to cope for three months without the jubilation and frustrations that surround the eagerly awaited 3 till 5 on a Saturday even if I am confined to following from a distance (only one game attended in 14-15). I guess the early (June) summer holiday is a distraction but what other high low inducing legal, moral and healthy pursuits can temporarily replace the Watford buzz???? I try and get emotional about cricket but its not the same........ What do fellow orns do to survive the lack of summer footie?
I'm doing a 100 km challenge at the end of June so at least my training will increase properly once the excitement is over - I'm not disciplined enouigh to be traipsing across fields when we're away at Milwall! Then it will be the horse racing flat season and athletics taking over - but it's not the same.
Well I'm losing my job at the end of June so will be looking for a new one over the next couple of months, with a possible relocation needed... plus a 3-week road trip in America in July once I have left the job! May also look at where our pre-seaon tour is and pop over for a few days!
Nothing fills the gap really but at least the preparation for the Prem should create some interesting news over the summer. Off topic Salisbury - we had a short break recently at a place called Shaftesbury - not far from Salisbury and took in a visit to Salisbury Cathedral, viewed the Magna Carta there etc - lovely area.
Should have popped into Ted heath's old house, Arundells in the cathedral Close opposite the cathedral. Well worth a visit.
Sorry about your job Kev - unless it is a planned and desired change. Hope you find something else that suits you even better
yes it is a lovely city, and a good time to visit - the 800th anniversary of the Magna Carta and quite a big fuss is being made over it. In the Lonely Planet's top 10 places to visit this year!
Thanks. Government agency with lots of cost cutting and a big restructure. Job is being centralised so didn't really fancy going with it, so partly my choice anyway!
Good luck in your search Kev. The season back in the days before all the Euro stuff, started the last week of August and finished the last week of April, with the FA Cup Final the first week in May, so not too different now. I am glad we are not involved in the play offs as I will be off to Corsica in two weeks time for a couple of weeks. Start of July and Le Tour starts taking things to the pre-season games. Might try to catch some tennis and some cricket, but they both need a wet day here so I can stay indoors.
May sail round the world, climb Everest, swim the Amazon and hike to the North Pole...or possibly watch a bit of cricket, tend to the vegetables, drink a glass or two of wine pop across to France and write a bit more of the fourth Winfrith novel...
Hopefully I will do some skiing this year. An operation on my ankle stopped that last year. Other than that i will get some uninterrupted sleep on Saturday night/Sunday morning.
They must have gone up market since I last used one of their guides - for a two month do-it-yourself-on-the-cheap tour of India. It just hit me - that was about 40 years ago...
I've got my first Sunday League softball season coming up - last year it was the corporate league which was on Wednesday evenings. NZ, I must admit I've considered going skiing there - just thought it would be novel to go skiing in our summer somewhere other than a dry ski slope or indoor snow dome. What are the resorts like there?
Skiing in NZ is nothing like that in Europe. There is very little accommodation on the mountains. Most people stay locally and drive up or get the bus each day. Foreigners find the mountain roads a bit hairy. There are very few queues on the South Island ski fields (I've never skied in the North Island) and the terrains are much smaller than what you will be used to - no skiing different pistes all day. The vertical drops are not what you get in the Alps, either. On the positive side there is plenty to challenge all grades of skiers and boarders. The views are stunning and you can go to different fields each day. Mid week skiing is wonderful - very few people and lots of powder after a fresh dump of snow, if you want it. There are also club fields, which are owned by members but which allow non-members to use them. You can almost have the mountain to yourself on those in mid-week, outside the school holidays. The bigger commercial fields charge about £50 a day, with the price decreasing in smaller areas. You could also try Dubai, of course, but if you want a more European type of ski holiday go to Bariloche in Argentina. It is probably cheaper there, too, though it is 20 years since I was last there.
Dreading it! I've been asked to sing at a wedding in June in majorca so that's 3 days accounted for, oh and i'm hopefully moving so that's going to take up some time! Other than that? I'm going to pine and ache for pre season! Good luck in the job search Kev!
