19th April 2024

On the day Sue and I flew back from Albania, most of the family enjoyed a day out on the water. It happened to be the day after Jamie’s birthday; some of his clients had treated him to a meal in London, and unfortunately, he didn’t make it back in time to join the others. As an extra Christmas present to the whole family, Sue and I had hired a day boat on the Grand Union Canal from The Wharf in Market Harborough for the family. The weather was kind, and they had a wonderful time, even managing to stop for lunch at the pub in Foxton.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The family have been busy:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Usually, when we return from a trip, I sort and organise the photos we’ve taken and create a video of memories, and the ten days spent in Albania were no exception. With only a week before we were due to jet off to Italy, there was some urgency to complete the film. Fortunately, some dreadful British weather conspired to keep me indoors, allowing me to focus on the task, and by the 24th, it was finished and published on YouTube: Albania 2024.

Somehow, in between video editing sessions, and inspired by Jamie and Sarah, I managed to sow several rows of beetroot, carrots, lettuce, and peas, mow the soggy lawns, and deadhead the tulips and daffodils. Hopefully, the cold and wet weather will soon come to an end, and my little seeds and seedlings will have a chance to flourish.

On Friday the 27th, our usual family night continued with a full complement of members. Sue and I hosted, with Sue preparing a splendid Pie Night meal, offering a choice of salmon Wellington, salmon and prawn Wellington, and chicken pie. Pool and Rummikub provided the evening’s entertainment for the adults, the toy box came out for the children, and the dogs enjoyed a good sniff and a run around the garden.

Having completed the Albania video, I set about creating one from Sean’s and my jolly to Pescara in Italy. It was finished by Saturday, just in time to show the gang who came round to watch, in the garden room, Tigers frustratingly lose to the Bears, followed by England Women’s victory over France: Pescara 2024. The blog of the trip can be viewed here: Italian Jaunt and Pickpockets!

On Thursday the 29th, Sean, Jim and I caught the five o’clock train to Leicester to attend the opening night of J.B. Priestley’s play Dangerous Corner at the Little Theatre.

Synopsis: Let sleeping dogs lie? Or… maybe we should lift that first stone to find what’s lurking underneath? The members of the Caplan family publishing firm may regret an examination into the death of their beloved brother, for they may each be forced to face their involvement in his demise. Their evening of celebration may not end quite as intended, and the long-held secrets and lies may actually turn their comfortable (smug?) lives upside down. J B Priestley, author of An Inspector Calls, again plays with time in this gripping play, showing what might happen should a careless, seemingly innocent question be asked.

Prior to the performance, we had booked a table for six o’clock at the excellent Kayal, authentic Keralan seafood being their speciality. As usual, we dropped into the Barley Mow pub, conveniently located next door, for refreshments until it was time to dine. The Little Theatre is just five minutes away, around the corner, and with our appetites well satisfied, we were seated with a glass of red wine in hand by the time the performance began.

And what a performance it was, superb acting all round and more twists in the tale than a corkscrew! The return to the opening scene as the finale, with one last thought-provoking twist, was a stroke of genius.

The following evening, I joined Sean and Jeremy at the Leicester Tigers stadium to watch a doubleheader of County Cup Rugby Finals, with both the Harborough Colts and First Team in action. With the Under 14s and Under 17s already crowned champions earlier in the month, expectations were high.

The Colts were up first against Hinckley. Although they opened the scoring, they eventually lost a very close contest against a much older side. With more accurate passing and less wastefulness in front of the line, they might well have taken the win, but it was a riveting match and an excellent warm-up for the main event to follow.

Harborough 1sts were (on paper) taking on superior opposition in Syston, who played in the league above. Though it seemed at first that Syston would romp away with the game through their outstanding kicker, who calmly slotted two penalties from the halfway line, then backed it up with a try, the omens didn’t look good. But a remarkable second half of forward attacks by Harborough, combined with resolute defence from their young backs, produced two tries. The change to a forward focus paid dividends, and in the dying seconds of the game with the score giving a narrow 19:17 lead to Syston, Harborough converted a penalty to win 19:20. For the second year in a row, Harborough have won the County Cup by a single point. Two brilliant games!