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!