9th November 2008

What? Another blog post so soon? Yes indeed! When your daughter marches through town looking as smart as a Guardsman on parade, it demands immediate attention. Sarah took part in Harborough’s Remembrance Sunday Parade, and Sue and I were bursting with pride. Honestly, if we’d been any prouder, we’d have exploded in a small puff of tweed and Union Jacks.

Of course, it wouldn’t be a proper parade without the correct footwear. So, the day before, Sue had to drive to Thrapston, apparently the spiritual home of obscure uniform accessories, to buy the only acceptable pair of ‘Air Cadet’ shoes. Having seen them, I can report they bear an uncanny resemblance to school shoes, albeit school shoes with a strict sense of duty.

While Sarah was getting parade-ready, I was busy limping around Oakham School, where I’d been roped in to referee a rugby match. Unfortunately, I tweaked my hamstring early on (ouch!!!), which turned the rest of the game into a gentle jog behind a blur of teenage athletes. I’m fairly sure I missed half the infringements, possibly even the ball at times, but I soldiered on. Oakham won 47–0, though I suspect the opposition never saw much of the ball either. The games master, it turns out, is an ex-England and Leicester Tigers player, which probably explains the scoreline (and possibly my hamstring injury, intimidation by association).

On a cheerier note, news from the Newark branch: Suraj has landed a permanent role with the council! A lovely surprise, particularly as they’ve just announced a round of redundancies. We’re assuming they gave him the job before the memo went round…