My people call me the dude. I share my teachings in the passages below... (along with many typos, grammatical errors and lazy writing)
I spotted this tractor in one of the charity shop windows on Thursday night whilst walking back from the station, luckily it was still there on Saturday so I bought it for Arthur. He was with me all morning whilst Flo went to her dance and ballet classes.
They surprisingly were interested and watch most of it.
Flo had her first rugby of the u8s this Sunday. It was at TJs and about 5 or 6 local sits came to visit.
I can't go into the details but things are interesting at work at the minute. It's going to be a fun week. Lots to do, lots to analyse. Hopefully I can keep my head down.
April's off to Chicago early tomorrow morning. She's off to see a band called the Mountain Goats. She flys back on Monday but late and going straight to work from Heathrow. Then out again in the evening!
I'm at home with the kids. We've got plenty to do though. School on Friday. Ballet and dancing for Flo in the morning followed by Arthur's skateboarding lesson in the afternoon. I think we'll pop to the rugby club to watch the ladies in the World Cup final. Sunday is an early start as there is a minis rugby festival on at the club, the u6s have to start at 8:45 to accommodate, which means I need to be there at 8 to set up. I've then got to hang around till at least 1 as Florence is part of the tournament in the u8s.
After that I think we'll head home and watch a film.
Monday back to school, but we need a babysitter in the evening so I can do the second part of the first contact session back at the club.
Bruises from Saturday's game
Kent RFU put on a first contact coaching session about how to prep the kids for tackling. Flo's in the u8s at the minute but contact starts next year where i'll be helping out with her coaching again.
Some photos of me. One of the opposition staff took some photos from Saturday's game and i'm in a few of them.
I've filled out my tax return last week and my accountant thinks I am due £4,100. Woohoo!
I think it's due to me being out of work for the best part of 4 months last year, I would have been paying tax at a rate that assumes I would have continued earning. That £4k will be nice.
I won't get to spend it on myself though. We're due to get a new car in December and the school fees never end.
I cooked some lovely fish for lunch on Saturday, roasted the haddock with tomatoes and onions. Buttered new potatoes with mint and some beetroot.
Arthur has been asking if he can learn to play the drums. He had his first lesson on Saturday and absolutely loved it!
It was against Leigh, the team I played for 4 times last season. We deserved the win but it was a tough game.
My hand got stamped on on Saturday, pretty sore to touch and the colour is beginning to come out but nothing broken. Or more broken than before.
Our GM was ill yesterday so we did a one shot dungeon crawl. We played this Basic Fantasy role-playing game. It was good fun, we only had 2 character deaths (including my starting character, a halfling thief.
There's a miniature train set on the walk back from the rugby club and we usually don't have time to have a shot on it. We had one of Flo's friends with us for the afternoon so we thought we'd kill a little more time and have a go.
Match Report: TJs 3XV 62 – Canterbury 4XV 5
Captain Zaug’s reign of terror begins with a bang
Tonbridge Juddians kicked off their campaign in emphatic style with a thumping 62–5 victory over Canterbury, in a match that will be remembered as much for its quirks as its scoreline.
Canterbury showed grit and spirit, but they were always going to face an uphill battle against a TJ's side boasting a lively mix of the battered and beautiful alongside the disgustingly young..
The game began with some unexpected drama, as Lamby, donning Canterbury colours to even up the numbers wasted no time in earning himself a yellow card. Dubbed “the saboteur,” his stint on the opposite side was brief but memorable.
From there, the floodgates opened. Mr Clark carved through the midfield like a hot knife through Canterbury butter, while Tom Milburn quickly discovered that not all of his teammates shared his enthusiasm for tackling.
The star of the afternoon was undoubtedly Jamie Fitch, who despite arriving in the manner of a sullen teenager, AirPods firmly in place, went on to bag himself a dazzling hat-trick. His clinical finishing left Canterbury defenders grasping at shadows.
Adding further gloss to the performance was Zach Green, whose boot proved just as sharp as Fitch’s finishing. Slotting six conversions with composure, Green kept the scoreboard ticking and Canterbury firmly out of reach.
Nam delivered one of the moments of the day, diving over the line like a dolphin possessed, while the sidelines erupted thanks to the ever-vocal Henry Armstrong, orchestrating the cheers with gusto.
By the final whistle, the scoreboard told it's own story, 62 points amassed with flair, Canterbury’s lone try serving as a consolation in an otherwise one-sided affair.
Honourable mentions go to all the debutants, who played their part in ensuring TJ's winning start was as emphatic as it was entertaining.
The gym has new machines and you can now run on the streets of Chicago, although I was actually walking. Take me back to when I was pushing Florence around Chicago all day waiting for April to get in from work.
One of the restaurants we used to go to in the city when we were in more regularly and pre kids has started home delivery. We thought we'd give it a go. Whilst I picked up the kids, April finished off the food. Pretty decent. Not sure what we spent but sure it was more than a pretty penny. It was good. The kids tried some of it (some was too spicy) and enjoyed it.
One of our players was killed last night, and another downed but we managed to beat the mighty Borthak (big wolf thing) represented by the bear with sharks for hands... We have the ability to resurrect the player so we're okay. That was a tough fight.
I played for the badgers on Saturday but the game was called off with about 20 mins to go. One of our players got hit in the back and couldn't breath, he lost consciousness twice but thankfully we think he's okay,
I've got a game of rugby on Saturday. It's for the badgers, a local barbarian side that i've played with a few times. In preparation i've been able to go to their weekly summer touch rugby sessions for the past two weeks over in Hever.
It's been a long summer holiday, approx. 7.5 weeks! Here they are outside our house on the way into school. Flo's now in Prep / year 3 and Arthur stay's in pre-prep in year 1
