JEDI July 2010: Day 4 - Mr Helper

Today the youth of our church up sticks and head for an activity-filled weekend away on the Isle of Wight. For reasons I have since forgotten, I find myself about to board the minibus with them as part of the six-strong team of leaders.

Andy is the church youth worker and main leader, and for the past couple of hours I have been aiding him with the final preparations, providing a taxi service for the collection of a needlessly enormous VW van, which then had to be loaded with everyone's luggage and equipment. It should be noted that the first thing Andy did upon attempting to drive the van was to stall it, though while we were loading up he did appear to become increasingly attached to it. It remains to be seen whether this will remain the case come Sunday night! While we were packing the van another one of our leaders, Ray, arrived with one of the community minibuses, so with another waiting on the Island we are certainly not short on transport.

Considering we are only staying for two nights, there did seem to be a good number of huge and heavy bags amongst the children's luggage. Personally I prefer to travel fairly light, and with the weather set fair I'm hedging my bets on not being caught out, with only two small bags of necessities in tow. I may have only needed one bag, were it not for all the tech and the accompanying chargers which inevitably make the trip also!

Although I am very much looking forward to the excitement and challenge of the trip, one downside will be missing Grandad's birthday celebrations this evening, for the second year running. Still, happy birthday 'Boilo'...75 and still going strong!

Anyway, we'll be off very shortly so I'd better get moving. Don't expect a post tomorrow due to the probable lack of time and internet at our accommodation, though I will try and scribble a quick note in the evening to type up upon my return. Have a great weekend everybody!

JEDI July 2010: Day 3 - Mr Jinx

Today's events have confirmed to me beyond any reasonable doubt that I am indeed a jinx - at least as far as church cricket is concerned. Over the past two seasons the team has competed in a grand total of nine matches, two of which we have won, with every other game ending is disappointment. To the same effect, out of the nine contests, I have played in seven and missed just two. Any guesses which two? See? Told you I was a jinx. (Either that or I'm simply not very good at cricket, which is just as viable an explanation, if not more so.)

Having said that, the efforts of the team in this evening's match did little to help my cause, as having been handed a rare opportunity to bat first in the context of what was originally an 18-over game, we managed just 37 for 9 wickets after ten overs. I had been entrusted with the score book, and the unrelenting rate at which wickets fell pursuaded me on several occasions that I must have made a mistake. Sadly, my scoring was completely accurate and this meant that the match had to be modified to two innings of ten overs, otherwise we'd have all been home in time for tea! For my part, I had come in at nine and defended the first ball before launching one towards the boundary. Unfortunately, at this point somebody decided it was their duty to ruin my day and appeared out of nowhere to take the catch. Thanks for that.

In the field things improved slightly, though I declined the chance to bowl given my dismal recent record and the tight run chase, preferring instead to stand wherever I was told to and make vain attempts to block anything that came my way. After restricting the opposition to 50 in their first innings, the team put in a much stronger batting display to leave a run chase of 53. This was billed as a potentially close affair, though the fact I was on the field meant the outcome was all but certain in my mind. True to form, the target was achieved in the final over.

In spite of my personal apathy the game was played competitively and in good spirit, with both teams taking advantage of the pavilion bar at the conclusion of play. My mood was improved through an enjoyable chat with another one of our players about subjects ranging from golf to greenhouse gases, though it was of course left to Dad and yours truly to wash up and tidy the pavilion. This was not aided by Dad shattering a pint glass all over the floor. Nice one pops.

Other than cricket I enjoyed a fairly quiet day today, preserving energy for a hectic weekend away as a helper with one of our church youth groups starting tomorrow.

As an aside, prizes have started to be distributed in our family world cup sweepstake, and who would have thought Uruguay would make the semis? Good news for Grandma, but bad news for Ernest, Lydia and Kaye, whose potentially strong picks of France, Portugal and Italy all bombed out early. Never mind guys...there's always 2014!

JEDI July 2010: Day 2 - Mr Overambitious

To all who didn't have the faintest clue what was going on in yesterday's post (that would include me then), a belated warm welcome to the second year of Journal Every Day In July. This is a month-long blogging challenge which, as you can see, I have already failed, having missed the first five days of the project. However, fear not, as from this day forth you can follow me, along with my good friends Beth and Lydia as we cast an eye over the many (potentially) exciting events of the month to come. If you still have no idea what I'm rattling on about, I would suggest taking a look at my first post from last year, and should you still remain clueless then we must conclude that you are a super spesh space monkey and send you back to Bebo with haste.

I made a special effort to be up at a reasonable time today, as looking back at previous blog posts the night before had made me aware that my recent trend of rising at 10am was not helping to make the most of the day. Mum and Dad were therefore justifiably surprised when I arrived downstairs at just gone 7!

Today's itinerary included a trip to Hythe with Lydia to buy such essential items as nail varnish, as well as birthday presents for Grandad. We also attempted to drop in on the Boilos to collect Lydia's keys but their house was vacant upon arrival and we assumed they had gallivanted out for the day. It was therefore onwards to Tesco car wash, and with the Jalopy making its first outing in nearly two weeks after the first the holiday and then a flat battery, a good scrubbing was long overdue.

Lydia and I had brought a picnic lunch with us, so we drove out to the forest and ate in the car park opposite Beaulieu Road Station. After several days spent indoors it was nice to be out and about, even though the many days of recent sunshine had given way to cloudier conditions.

Unwisely, I had earlier arranged to play badminton with Jonny P at 3pm, just a few hours before my two-hour club session at 7. I went into the first match full of confidence, though this quickly evaporated upon realising that my low stamina would always prevent me from moving up to a higher level of play. While Jon and I played out fairly even games, when it came to executing winning shots he was evidently shaper than me. Definitely something to work on, as badminton is undoubtedly my strongest sport and upping the fitness levels would certainly improve my all-round game. After a 5-1 tonking (albeit with several tight games) it was home for a light tea and the news that Ernest had bullied his way back from Manchester in time to collect me for the 'second round'.

In the DP Badminton club we play doubles games, so the going is a bit easier. That said, there are still some very good players among the 10 or so that turn out each week. On this occasion we welcomed two new members and, as usual, I remained on court almost solidly for the entire two hours, playing both with and against virtually every other player. Despite feeling that too many of my smashes were hitting the top of the net, I didn't think I played too badly overall and it was encouraging to have commented that both me and Ernest had tangibly improved our games since joining the club.

By the time 9 o'clock came around I could definitely tell that I had played three hours of badminton in one day, and for this reason bed is now currently very high on my agenda!

Night all!

JEDI July 2010: Day 1 - Mr Late

"Knock knock."

"Who's there?"

"Dominic."

"Dominic who?"

"Eh, what...? No, it's not a joke. It's Dominic here. I'm sorry, I got held up - holidays n' stuff, you know how it is. Please let me in."

"Oh, I'm not sure we can allow that, Sir. JEDI July participants must be dedicated time-keepers, and you, I'm afraid, evidently appear to lack this fundamental quality."

"I know, and I'm sorry, but..."

"There's no point in arguing, Sir. After last year's dismal showing the JEDI Council launched an enquiry into your work, with the verdict being that you are entirely unsuitable for inclusion in this project. Your posts are named with little imagination, the content itself is dreary, your grammar is cumbersome and that's before we even mention the length..."

"Please, Sir! It's not my fault. I was young, naïve and slightly spesh back then, but I'm much wiser now. Please give me a second chance, I'm begging you. Lydia will have my guts for garters otherwise."

"Hmm...you are very pursuasive man, Sir. I shall have to speak with my superiors. You promise not to mention dust or rattle on for ages about tedium?"

"Yes, of course, indeed, no problem, affermative..."

"It appears you may have to work at it...Tell you what, if you were to give me a ride in your courtesy sleigh then we may be able to strike a deal."

"You drive a hard bargain, my friend, but luckily for you I'm a desperate man."

"You may therefore proceed, but I'm warning you - step out of line and you'll be out that door quicker than you can say 'cheese roll'. Got it?"

"Cheers, thanks, sorry, cheers, sorry, ta, thanks, sorry, ta, cheers, thanks, sorry..."

Welcome to JEDI July 2010.