Day 4 - breakfast and boats

A non park day today, but still filled with Disney magic. We started off with our breakfast reservation at Chef Mickey's, managing to meet all of the characters whilst at the same time eating far too much.






After breakfast Jake and Owen made a beeline for the arcade, where they stayed for some considerable time, and it was nearly lunchtime (not that we could manage any) by the time that we headed out again, this time to the Contemporary Resort marina where we hired a pontoon boat, and took a leisurely cruise around Bay Lake and the Seven Seas Lagoon.






This afternoon was spent enjoying pool fun - slides, games, table tennis, spa, and lava berry smoothies!

We went out to Denny's for a dinner, and the boys are in bed watching a Disney movie on the TV.

Day 3 - On Top of the World

Another early start this morning - we were out of the door just after quarter to eight and in the car to Epcot. We were only a couple of rows back in the car park and so only a short walk to the turnstiles. There was a little queue there, but it didn't hold us up for very long, and once we were through, it was straight over to Soarin' for the first ride of the day.

On our way in to the park, I took our first photo of the day. To give an indication of how hot and particularly how humid it is, as soon as I took the cover off, the lens fogged up, hence the following photo.



Once we'd Soared, we crossed over Future World and into the line for Test Track. Even though it was only just nine o'clock, the wait was about 25 minutes, but it was worth it for the ride.

Already it was time for a pitstop, and as well as buying drinks we bought a water / fan / spray bottle, which came in very useful for the rest of our time in Epcot.

Next was Spaceship Earth, before a trip to Innoventions and then to Ice Station Cool. As expected, Owen wasn't too keen on Beverley, but we all enjoyed the Smart Watermelon and the Kinley Lemon.

Moving into Future World we stopped for a pastry, and I couldn't resist taking the traditional Epcot photo (almost as corny as the many castle photos from MK).



We made it half way around the World Showcase, enjoying a boat ride in Mexico and a Kim Possible challenge in Germany, before getting the boat back across the lagoon and heading for the front gates. We stopped in to Mouse Gear on the way, but the boys made the only purchases, getting some sweets.



We split up on the way back - I brought the car whilst the others took the monorail. Due to the need to change trains plus the fact that the Contemporary is the last stop on the resort monorail from TTC, I was back long before the others.

Nicky picked up some cheese and some ham from the Marketplace on the way back, and so we had bagels for lunch (once the boys had reappeared from the arcade).

We relaxed at the hotel for most of the afternoon - watching TV, playing games at the Community Hall, going in the pool, and taking photos around the resort.




Rested up, this evening we went to the Winter Summerland crazy golf. Obviously, modesty means that I can't possibly reveal the final scores, but we did all manage at least one hole in one.



Then, to round off the day, we went up to the Top of the World lounge and had some supper and went out onto the observation deck to watch the Magic Kingdom fireworks.

Day 2 - Magic Kingdom

The IT guy came round to our room whilst we were out today and has provided us with a new internet cable, as the previous one wasn't working - hence yesterday's IT troubles. So now we are connected to the world properly once again. Facebook has been checked, photos are being uploaded as I type, and all is well with the world.

As I failed to provide a full account of yesterday, here is a quick summary.

Jon picked us up bang on time, and we were on the road by half past five, and dropped off at the airport, north terminal for a change, in plenty of time. I think that we were just about the first people to be checked in for our flight, and once we'd waved goodbye to our luggage, we headed through security (none of us set off the security alarms for a change) and went in search of breakfast.

North Terminal doesn't have a Frankie and Benny's and so the closest that we could manage was breakfast at Garfunkel's. We had plenty of time to do our airport shopping - I got a couple of books, one by Marcus du Sautoy and one by Matthew Syed), the boys got some football magazines, and Nicky got her perfume. Oh yes, and re Jon's comment on an earlier post, Nicky did get some earrings as well (and has bought a necklace today!!).

At the gate for the plane, we discovered that it is indeed a small world after all as we bumped into my cousin Claire - she is in Florida for a fortnight with her family, staying at the Quality Inn on I-Drive.

The flight went smoothly - the extra legroom in the premium seats is definitely a benefit. The boys both managed to have a little snooze after lunch, and so far (touch wood) they have been absolutely fine on the jet-lag front - in fact they seem to have rather more energy than the grown-ups in the party.

The nine hours didn't seem to drag too much thanks to the films, TV, music and snoozing. I found a Texas Hold'em game on the in flight entertainment system which whiled away a couple of hours.

One of the benefits of being in the premium seats is that we were off the plane first, and so we were at the front of the line for immigration. This was probably just as well, as their computer systems were having some troubles, and so we were stood at one of the desks for at least ten minutes, during which time the rest of the immigration hall filled up with queue.

Our immigration officer was very nice, and was chatting with us and apologising for the delay. Interestingly, she did ask to see the letter that Owen's Mum had written, but there were no problems with getting us all into the country!

Once they had got their systems back up and running we went to collect our bags, and off to find our Alamo hire car centre (which is just outside the main terminal). One unusual point - we had a rented a "fullsize" rental car, and rather than be allocated a specific vehicle, once the paperwork had been completed, the guy on the desk pointed out a row of cars in the parking lot, and said that those were the fullsize ones, and that we could pick whichever one we fancied and take it - the keys were all in the cars.

So we wandered down the row, past a few Toyota Camrys and passed a few Impalas, and then we came to a black Dodge Avenger, which the boys immediately declared was the one for us - so that's what we took.

The deal with the rental car is that we have paid for a full tank of petrol, so this time we don't have to fill up on the way back to the airport. The upside of this is that we don't have to grapple with the complexities of American filling stations (which which my reputation is rather mixed), but the downside is that if we still have loads in the tank when we take it back, we will be wasting money. Mind you, I'm guessing that the Avenger's MPG is less than impressive, so we will probably get through it!

En route from the airport we decided that we'd rather just get to the hotel and unpack and not make a stop at the supermarket on the way, so we came straight to Bay Lake Towers. Checking in we were a little disappointed to be given a ground floor room, but there were no others available. In some ways, it is actually working out quite well, as we are pretty close to the pool, and we can get there by heading round the corner from our little terrace.

Once we were unpacked, food was required and so we went over the elevated walkway to the main Contemporary Resort and to the Contempo Cafe (which I think must be fairly new and a concession the the fact that Contemporary now has a DVC bit - it also appears to have pinched some of Chef Mickey's space) and had flatbreads / burgers, as well as getting our refillable mugs for the holiday - which I think are going to come in for some pretty heavy use in this heat.

On the way back the boys spotted the arcade, and so they loaded up a card with some credit and stopped for a quick play whilst Nicky and I picked up a few essentials (water, coffee and so on) at the little Marketplace store.

I'd been trying on and off to get the laptop to connect up in the room, but with no success, and so I phoned their support line. They took me through checking the settings on the computer, but they were all fine, and so they said that they'd send someone round to check the connections in the room - hence no post yesterday other than the quick one from the phone.

By this time we were all pretty much done in and so we called it a day. We managed to avoid working out how many hours it had been since we'd all got up many many hours and many many miles ago, but I think that it is safe to say that we all slept very well.

This morning, Nicky woke up at 4am - my fault because my phone buzzed on the bedside table with a reminder from my calendar - not that I heard it. The reminder was to let is know that we were on holiday. After that, we didn't get up until around seven, which is not bad going on day one, as often we have been up earlier, slowly getting used to the time difference.

Before we headed out I called the front desk to check that we would be able to buy park tickets at the entrance to the park. Sounds silly I know, but I realised that if we were going straight to the entrance then we would be bypassing the Ticket and Transportation Centre where most of the ticket booths are. However, the front desk reassured me that we could go to Guest Services at the gates and get the tickets there.

So, we walked to the Magic Kingdom - now there's a first - and it only took five minutes or so, and we were at the gates at a little after 8am. Today was an Extra Magic Hour morning at MK, and so we were able to go into the parks a little early (mind you, thinking back, we didn't have to show our resort ID when getting on rides before 9am?).

Once tickets were purchased we were through the turnstiles and off down Main Street. Nicky had the Bloggie video camera out to record the moment for posterity, but I'm afraid I haven't got to uploading of videos yet.

First stop (I bet Nanny and Granddad can guess this one) - the Main Street bakery, where we all had a morning pastry to set us on our way.

Second stop - and another unsurprising one - the Buzz Lightyear ride, where we only waited a couple of minutes at most. Jake and Owen went in front in one vehicle and Nicky and I went in the next one. In terms of scores, let's just say that the car behind won by quite a handsome margin - not that we're competitive at all!!

After Buzz we went up to the Transit Authority for a ride around Tomorrowland. As we went through Space Mountain, all of the lights were on, so we had a bit of a rare treat of being able to see all of the ride tracks where normally it is in darkness. The drawback of this turned out to be that the lights were on because they were having technical troubles with the ride, and so we weren't able to ride today.

Next stop was the Indy Speedway which we bumped our way around. By now it was getting pretty hot, and so we all agreed that making Philharmagic (in an air conditioned theatre) our next stop would be a very good idea).



Walking through Fantasyland it was interesting to see all of the building work that is going on for the expansion - due to be opening next year.

After we'd watched Donald and the orchestra in 3D we went to the famous "It's a Small World" and sung our way around in our little boat. Has to be done! (As we were going around the ride, we were picking out the various countries that are depicted by the characters. The group behind us was doing the same thing, and when they pointed out India, one of the members of their party said, "That's where all our jobs have gone!")

We decided that we could do one more ride before an ice cream break, and so we went to the Haunted Mansion, enjoying some of the new entertainments in the queueing area along the way, and then we stopped off for ice cream cookie sandwiches all round, before having our photos taken with Donald Duck.




Our final ride of the morning was on Pirates of the Caribbean. By now it was just after 11am, and whilst it was getting a little busier, it still wasn't too busy around the park, and the wait for Pirates was only about 15 minutes.



At this point we agreed that heading back to the hotel would be a good idea, so we went back to Main Street and through the shops (Nicky found a necklace) to the entrance, and rode the monorail back to our hotel. The boys stopped off in the arcade again for a quick play on the way back to our room.

After a brief pit-stop it was off to the pool for a swim. We swapped pools after about an hour so that we could go to the pool-side cafe at the main Contemporary pool where there was a slightly larger selection on the menu. Sitting at a table near the pool with our food, we were very popular with the local wildlife, and a fair number of birds and a few ducks were begudging us every mouthful.

I joined the boys in the pool after lunch for a ball game, but it started to come over rather overcast. Spotting that rain was on the way, Nicky headed back to the room with our stuff, but it wasn't until the rain started that the rest of us headed back. By the time we got back to our room, across the grass and onto our patio, the rain was seriously hard, and we may well have been wetter than when we got out of the pool.

We rested up in our room for a while, and true to form the rain didn't last for very long. We watched a bit of TV and then headed out in the car for a trip to Walgreen's for some more provisions, and we ended up trying out Applebee's for dinner. (Food was nice, but I don't think that it will prove to be as popular as our favourite Denny's / IHOP.)

Back at the hotel, I am catching up on the blogging and Nicky has gone round to the pool with the boys so that they could have another dip before bedtime.

I think we'll all be off to bed fairly soon. The plan is to head off to another park tomorrow morning - Epcot currently looking favourite.

BLT

Arrived and settled in to BLT.

Would blog at length but combination of IT issues and tiredness conspiring against me.

Hopefully more tomorrow.

Airport

The next time I post will hopefully be today, but possibly only US time rather than UK time! So here's a quick post from Gate 48.

All gone smoothly so far getting to the airport, through check in, security and so on.

Airport purchases have been made - books, perfume, footie magazines, snacks etc, and Jake and Owen have tried out some of the arcade games.

Should be boarding soon, so will check in again later.

Preparations

Holiday preparations are pretty much complete. They need to be as we will be heading off to the airport in about six hours from now.

As always, selecting which t-shirts to take took me about five minutes, and to the eternal annoyance of my lovely wife, I consider the important things about getting ready for holiday to be making sure that I have downloaded the software I want to my i-pad, sync-ing my i-pod, and collecting up enough chargers and other electrical paraphernalia to sink a battleship.

Moment of panic when we weighed our bags and thought that they were pushing our weight limit already, but relief when we realised that we were reading the lb scale rather than the kg scale and actually we were ok by about a factor of two!

Still haven't made a final decision on which reading books to take. May go spartan on the packing and only put two in - gives me an excuse to have a look at the bookshops at the airport.

Quandary - realised this evening that Mac Book Air is considerably cheaper in the US than the UK. The £849 version in the UK can be acquired in the US (same spec except possibly needing to buy a UK plug when you get home) for $999. At 1.58, which was the rate we got for our spending money, that would be £632, a saving of £217. What to do, what to do? Oh dear!

Jake's laptop is coming on holiday with us (as my Sony laptop is rather old and slow these days) and last night I checked that I can upload our Bloggie videos to Flickr, and sure enough I can (see below for proof). So, if all goes well, I should be able to post photos and videos to the blog over the next ten days.

Anita Skorgan

Anita Skorgan is a Norwegian singer-songwriter, and she was on the radio today, talking about the events that have recently taken place in her country. A couple of her songs were played, taken from her album Adventus. One of them (below) is called "Is it true?" and one was called "Here". They are both really rather beautiful.

Shuttle

For me, there have always been lots of things that have made me love America. Growing up, all of the coolest things were American - whether it was Coca Cola, Nike trainers, Michael Jackson or the Superbowl. More recently, I've discovered that I love the place just as much when I actually visit it (even if I've only managed to see a few bits so far), and fever pitch is fast approaching as it is "only three more sleeps" until we're there again.

I have a particularly vivid memory of the last time we were in Orlando. We'd been through our usual routine at the airport: collecting bags, getting through immigration, and picking up our hire car, and we were driving along towards I-4, passing familiar landmarks along the way, and I clearly remember suddenly thinking, "Wow, we're back. I love this place so much!", and being truly happy. Just a few days, and I'll get that all over again.

Anyway, growing up, there was one other thing that made the US a place of wonder, and that was the whole astronauts, rockets, and space race thing. I'm (far!) too young to remember the moon landings in '69, which, according to Kennedy's speech at the start of the decade, the US chose to do not because it was easy, but because it was hard, and "because that goal will serve to organise and measure the best of our energies and skills".

However, what I have grown up with is the Space Shuttle, which flew its first mission when I was eight years old, and which flew its final mission when I was thirty-eight.

As a child, the notion that something could be sent into space, come back and land like an aeroplane, refuel, and go round again was just totally mind-bending.

We all know that the Shuttle programme went through its tough and tragic times. Thinking again about my own growing up, the Challenger disaster was my own "Kennedy" moment, in that I can clearly remember the news coming through of this terrible event.

However, showing the world that they weren't to be beaten, Nasa picked themselves up and dusted themselves off, and carried on with the Shuttle missions, amazing the world with space walks and space stations.

Disaster struck again in 2003 when Columbia broke up on re-entry, and whilst after a pause, the missions continued, clearly the Shuttle was living on borrowed time, and the 135th and final mission has recently returned to earth.

One of the reasons given for ending the missions seems to be budgetary. Whilst the whole world goes through a rocky patch financially, this could be seen as understandable, and as is often the case, it's all too easy to measure the savings in terms of welfare packages, schools or hospitals. Thankfully, I don't have the task of trying to balance the books of the world's largest economy (keeping an eye on the household budget is quite enough for me), but having America tell the rest of the world that they won't be flying Shuttles because they can't afford to is really sad, and to an outsider, does take just a tiny bit of the shine off of the admiration felt for the nation.

Hitching a ride with the Russians for the next few years in order to get to the ISS is just not cool. Is this another indicator of the beginning of the end for America, as China et al come rushing up to meet and overtake it in economic terms?

What the US need to do, and soon, is confirm exactly what is happening with regard to the Shuttle replacement, and when we can expect to see it entering service.

When Atlantis touched down at the Kennedy Space Center last week, despite all the plaudits and congratulations for another successful mission, the US took a backward step, and we all want to see a Giant Leap to new heights soon.

Norway

News full of sadness today as we start to learn a little more about the terrible events that took place in Norway. One deeply disturbed individual has caused a terrible tragedy that a whole country is suffering from. Our prayers and thoughts are for all of the people caught up in this awful thing.

Holiday

The holiday season is creeping up on us. Jake has finished school, and enjoyed his first day of summer holiday today. Whilst they were in the village, N&J bumped into Owen with his Gran in the Post Office getting some dollars ready for next week. Only five days and we'll be there.

Spoke to Mum and Dad this evening, and they're off early tomorrow morning for their summer visit to Es Moli.

As I sit here this evening the rain is coming down, but the forecasters seem to suggest that the next few days should be dry and warm. Hopefully the weather will stay fine and dry for Jake's cricket course on Monday and Tuesday. Mind you, we should probably prepare ourselves for some rain over the next few weeks. At this time of year it is pretty hot and humid in Florida, and some days by the middle of the afternoon an almighty storm comes rolling in to clear the air, and for a little while it rains, it really really rains. The last time we were there in the summer it was around the time of Jake's 4th birthday, and on a few occasions we got well and truly soaked to the skin when we were caught out in the downpours. Still, at least it will be hot.

The End

Today marks something of an end of an era for Jake - his last day at Tunbury.

All seemed to go fine, and he's done fantastically well there over the last seven years there.

Best of all, he's looking forward to getting stuck into his new school in September.

Lunch

Off to Reading for a meeting this afternoon, followed by a dinner. Not sure what time I will get home so thought that I would send in a quick lunchtime message.

As we all dash around being busy today, spare a thought for this guy.

Cube

Imagine a Rubik's cube, but one without any of the internal mechanics that make it turn - so, one made up of 27 smaller cubes.

Question: How many cubes have zero, one, two or three painted sides?

The answers are 1, 6, 12 and 8 respectively.

Now imagine a similar cube, but rather than being made up of 3 smaller cubes on each side, it is made up of n smaller cubes on each side. Now how many cubes have zero, one, two or three painted sides?

Answers:

0 - (n-2)^3

1 - 6(n-2)^2

2 - 12(n-2)

3 - 8

Answers all worked out by Jake in a self-inspired work extension at school.

Now there's someone who is ready for the challenges of grammar school!

*Dad glows a little bit with pride*

Thesp

Today, at long last, it was the year 6 play. On pain of death I was home in plenty of time to get across to school in time for the seven o'clock performance.

The show was called "The Seven-Sided Dice" and in it Jake played the part of Reverend Green. He did a great job, and everyone had lots of fun.

Well done Jake!

Clarke

So, at the start of the tournament, all of the talk was of a particular golfer from Northern Ireland. Whilst we all roared for Rory following his US Open win a few weeks ago, it is hard to imagine a more popular winner than the one we saw today. Darren Clarke - what a great guy.

For a while it looked like Phil would come charging through the field, out in 30 strokes and another birdie on the tenth, but after missing a short putt on the 11th, the wheels rather fell of his round. The other main US challenger, Dustin Johnson, was hanging in there until he pushed his second to the 14th out of bounds, and Darren was sitting pretty four shots up with four holes left to play.

He may have enjoyed a few moments of luck along the way, a kind bounce here, skipping over a bunker there, but no-one in Sandwich was going to begrudge him that. He carried on seemingly without a care in the world.

His post match interview was especially touching. Beaming throughout, he was unable to find words just for a few seconds when the interviewer made reference to the tough times he's faced in recent years. After a moment or two, he simply said, "It's for the kids."

So, Northern Ireland clearly the powerhouse in world golf at the moment - three out of the last six major winners.

Roll on the US PGA next month!

Prom

This morning Jake and I went to pick up my car from the garage. Apparently the problem wasn't quite what the RAC man had diagnosed, but the only bit that I understood of what they were trying to explain to me was that it is all fixed now, and frankly that is all I needed to know.

We left the hire car at the garage for the hire company to pick up. We agreed that the 3008 got a thumbs up. It certainly did a good job of taking me to Sandwich and back yesterday.

I was glad that I wasn't at the course today. Whilst the weather looked ok by the end of play, for the majority of the day it looked absolutely terrible, and a number of players were saying that it was the worst they have ever played in.

Here are a few pictures from last night's School Prom. A few parents had splashed out on fancy cars to bring the children in (whereas we just took photos of Jake stood in front of them!). Sounds like a fun time was had by all.

Open

4.45am - I'm up, at an alarmingly early time for the second day in a row, and I'm sat in front of the computer, checking the Sandwich weather. It looks like it will be sunny all day, with temperatures in the afternoon getting up to 22. I've decided that I will take the fleece, but not jackets or waterproofs.

6.30am - On the park and ride bus taking us to the course. So, it turns out that the organisers are not kidding when they say that mobile phones will not be allowed onto the course. I'd decided to ignore this and smuggle my phone in and keep it on silent. However, as I approach the buses, I see that there is airport style security set up which everyone is going through before getting on board. Not wanting to risk either not getting in, or being kicked out later, I send a quick text to Nicky and leave the phone in the car. Being incommunicado for a whole day seems rather odd these days! It means that I won't be able to be in touch with Darren during the day, as he is coming along to be corporately entertained by one of the major sponsors of the tournament. So, chances of a repeat of the Wimbledon moment when Jake and I had a call upgrading our attendance disappear.

6:45am - Arrived at the course. As I boarded the bus I was given a little slip of paper to confirm that I had been through security and had my bag searched already, so that I didn't have to do it again at the entrance. My bag did cause some concern to the x-ray machine operator, and I had to show them that what they could see was an i-pod and not a phone. (Mind you, I didn't have to turn it on to prove that it was just an i-pod and not an i-phone.) Walking on to the course I decide that I don't need one of their official souvenir programmes - I printed out the tee times and a course map at home before setting off.

7.45am - After a wander around some of the early holes, I've settled into the grandstand behind the first green to watch some of the early groups come through.

8.10am - i-pod on, and binoculars out, watching the second shots from down the fairway come in to the first green. Quite impressed myself with my organisation on this one. Firstly, I remembered that putting some binoculars in my bag would be a good idea, and secondly, I was able to find them. We still have the ones that were given out ages ago when I went to a racing day with work. Darren Clarke just came through, getting a big ovation on his way - definitely one of the crowd's favourites. The sun is out and the fleece is off - it's warming up nicely - not a cloud to be seen in the sky.

9.15am - Looking down the fairway, it's clear that this is a big group on its way. Here comes Westwood, and he's being followed by a cameraman on a Segway.

9.45am - Following Westwood's group around (he is playing with Charl Schwartzel and Steve Stricker) and Lee has started birdie, bogey, par. Three good tee shots into the par 3 third, but only Schwartzel makes the birdie putt.

10.20am - a quick pit stop for me on the way down the 4th, but with a fresh bottle of water in hand, I only miss the tee shots, and catch up with them on the fairway. Lee and Charl both come away with pars, and Stricker holes a good putt for bogey. Walking down the 4th I am behind a group of four guys who are wearing white T-shirts, with one big black capital letter on the back of each one. S-E-V-E.

10.35am - great atmosphere on the par 3 6th. It's something of a bowl green, and I'm looking across at a steep bank on the other side of the green, which due to the shape of the ridge, and the row of heads all along the top of it, looks like a porcupine of people. All three safely onto the green, and Lee putts first. He has about 30 feet to the hole and is putting straight towards me. There's a big break on the putt, and he judges it well, but it just shades the hole and goes 3ft past. He misses the return and three putts for bogey. Some great noises adding to the atmosphere: as they took their tee shots on this hole, I was maybe twenty yards in front of the tee, and could clearly hear the balls as they fizzed up into the air off the tee; then on the green, as Lee's putt came towards me there was the rapid click-click from a bank of cameras on a raised platform behind me.

11.00am - a messy par 5 7th from this group, with none of them troubling the fairway much, but Lee manages to come away with a birdie. As we're near the 7th green, the porcupine back at the 6th starts going crazy, and a rumour quickly works its way round the crowd that Watson has just got a hole in one - fantastic! Within our group, Charl is definitely having the best of it so far.

11.25am - definitely an up and down round so far for Lee. No sooner does he birdie on 7, he bogeys on 8. To prove the point that Charl is having the best of it, they are both just off the green, and Lee chips past the hole and misses the return, and Charl nearly chips in.

11.40am - Aaargh! Lee just three-putted the 9th and has dropped another shot. I'm a bit confused by the scoreboards, as they have Westwood as +3 for the first nine (and therefore +4 overall) whereas I thought he was +2. Time to start worrying about the cut. [Note - later investigation shows that Lee actually took a 6 on the par 4 8th whereas I had thought it was just a bogey.]

Midday - Westwood makes a good save at 10. He hits a terrible second shot, pushed short and to the right, and finds a bunker in front of the green. However the bunker is set well below the putting surface, and he is playing from the sand at least 15 feet below the hole. Despite this, he manages a great shot to about 3ft and holes the putt. Mind you, the other two both card birdies.

12.15pm - Par 3 11th. Schwartzel - birdie, Westwood - par, Stricker - bogey.

12.30pm - Time for a sit down and to munch on some of my lunch as we head down the side of the 13th. The grandstands are all looking pretty full up - I may have to wait a while once I have chosen a spot to sit.

12.55pm - just bumped into a former colleague of mine (Rob) on the 13th. On 14, Schwartzel hits a wayward drive beyond the ropes and into the crowd on the left. I form part of the crowd U around the ball, and we watch Charl come over, assess his terrible lie, and then punch out a fantastic recovery back to the middle of the fairway. This is the corner of the course nearest to the field that's full of helicopters. They've been ferrying people around all day - probably mostly for players but maybe for some VIP visitors as well.

1.20pm - Lee birdies the 15th - maybe there is still hope.

1.35pm - Hope comes, hope goes! Lee hits a decent tee shot into the 16th green, about 20ft from the pin, but three putts for bogey.

1.50pm - I've moved ahead one group and have a spot in the grandstand on the 18th, just watching Furyk and Langer finish off before Lee's group appears.

2.50pm - So, I saw Westwood finish off with a disappointing 73, looking uncertain as to whether he will make it through to the weekend. Stuck around on the 18th to watch the next couple of groups come through, so saw Phil in the next group and then we all gave Tom Watson a standing ovation. Tom Lewis, the amateur, was lucky not to go out of bounds behind the green, after bouncing back off a fence post. I've been watching some of the later groups to go out warming up on the practice green, including Fisher and Daly. John Daly looks to be half the man he once was.

4.10pm - Had a look around in the tented village. Nothing really took my fancy in the merchandise store. If I want a new polo shirt, I think I'd prefer just to go to the sports store rather than have one from here. Gary Player was in the merchandise store signing copies of his book. I grabbed a burger (expensive but quite nice) and have now settled in to the grandstand behind the 16th tee. As predicted, I did have to wait for a little while to get a seat.

4.25pm - Todd Hamilton isn't having a good 16th. He's just played out of the bunker to the right of the green straight across and into the bunker on the left. His next bunker shot is much better, finishing about 3ft from the hole, but he misses the short putt and takes a double bogey.

6.50pm - On the park and ride bus back to the car park. I stayed on the 16th until about half past six, and left once Rory's group came through (Rory got a par). I was sat on the back row of the grandstand, and so could see lots of other holes. I saw, through the binoculars, Rory play the 9th green, and then could keep an eye on his progress as he neared the 16th. By the time he came through it was getting a bit nippy with a bit of a breeze getting up.

8.20pm - back home after a long but enjoyable day.

Jersey

Been to Jersey today.

Can't stop for long here now as another early start tomorrow morning - this time to head down to Sandwich to watch some golf.

Car trouble

"Water pump collapsed causing auxiliary belt to fall off".

That's what the RAC man's report says, and it turns out that on the whole, this isn't a good thing.

Thankfully it happened not very far from home, so all I was aware of was the fact that lots of warning lights came on in the car, which I made a point of ignoring for the last mile of my journey.

The car will be getting a tow to the local garage in the morning, where hopefully they will be putting it together again.

Unfortunately, I have a rather early start in tomorrow, as I am off to Jersey for a meeting. Being without a working car means that Nicky will be getting up along with me at stupid-o-clock to give me a lift to the airport.

Jake has very sensibly decamped to Nanny and Grandad's so that he doesn't have to be woken up along with the rest of the household.

Right - can't sit here typing. Need to go to bed. It'll be time to get up soon.

Work

Interesting news from a colleague at work today - will be catching up with her tomorrow to find out some more. Sounds like she's been having some similar conversations to the ones that I've had over the last week or so, but hers have reached a considerably more advanced stage.

Wish I could blog at considerably greater length about my thoughts on this topic, which fluctuate dramatically by the hour, but probably best not to!

Report

The tee times for the first two days of the Open have been published today, and there are definitely some interesting groupings. The earliest tee time on Friday morning is 6.30am, and the last one is after 4pm, so it could turn into a long day. Rory gets off on day 2 around 2pm. The question is whether I stake out a spot to watch from (like I did last time behind the 16th green) or whether I follow a game around all 18 holes - or maybe a bit of both?

No mobile phones are allowed on the course - which may be a blessing - means that I can ignore work e-mails for a whole day. Then again, it would also mean being out of touch with home, which isn't so appealing. I wonder whether they search your bags (and pockets) on the way in, and whether being spotted with a phone inside the course equals expulsion? Tricky one.

Anyway, the most important news of the day is the end of year report. Glowing once again (full of level 5's plus one level 6) with great comments from his teacher.

Clever boy!!

Legend

Earlier this year, the sporting world lost one of its true legends. He was a maverick, he was a genius, he was massively popular, he was probably the first golfer whose name I knew. He may not have won as many majors as Nicklaus or Woods, but he was just as special, and from a European perspective even more so. Playing his way out of the undergrowth, or even out of the car park, followed by fist-pumping celebrations as the putts went in, he was an inspiration to a whole generation of golfers and golf fans. He brought new life and new excitement to the Ryder Cup, and made the Europeans believe. His partnership with Olazabel struck fear into American hearts - they were untouchable.

And he was more besides. A man who loved life and loved the opportunities that playing golf gave him. A man who in his final years showed us how his spirit wouldn't be defeated and how to tackle life's biggest challenges with dignity and strength.

We loved Seve very much, and he will be sadly missed.

BBQ

Annual street BBQ this evening.

Home late.

Need to be up early and with it enough to play the piano at church tomorrow morning.

Oh dear.

The End

Everything seems to be ending at the moment. The News of the World is shutting up shop after this weekend's edition, and the headline writers were having lots of fun with this in today's papers - things like "The end of the World is nigh" and "Goodbye cruel World". Kind of appropriate to pun the punners. Mind you, it has been rather alarming to see the other news headlines today - "Coulson arrested"!

The last ever Space Shuttle mission has departed from Cape Kennedy - the end of an era. I feel a bit like I've grown up with the Shuttle - its first mission was when I was little, I remember the news coming through of the Challenger disaster - for some reason I remember Bec telling me, as she'd heard it on the radio, and then more recently we'd been to see the Shuttle's home in Orlando.

The other era-ending moment today was Jonny's departure from the breakfast show. Frustratingly I didn't manage to hear much of the show today as I spent most of my journey to work on a conference call, so I may have to use the "listen again" feature over the weekend. I have at least listened to the special version of Promise Me sung by Beverley Craven.

T20

Only just home in time to blog this evening, so it's going to be a short one as it is way past my bedtime.

Been to the T20 at Hove this evening. Sussex beat Glamorgan in the last over.

More tomorrow.

Return

I was away, but now I have returned. It was a little odd staying in the Seattle in anything other than wintry conditions, but Brighton tried to make me feel at home yesterday afternoon but pouring with rain whilst we were out and about in the town on our scavenger hunt.

Not that I am competitive, but I am pleased to report that my team won. Admittedly it was partly assisted by my willingness to subsidise the meagre budget we had been given to acquire all of the things on the list, but even so, some of the most entertaining bits were getting photos, which included a team member on a skateboard, a team member in the sea, a team member on a fairground ride, a team member playing a musical instrument, the whole team with an animal, and the whole team with a policeman!

I think that the afternoon and evening were a success. I think that most people appreciate being given the opportunity to have an afternoon of silly games at work. It was a bit of a shame that not more people were able to stay over at the hotel, so after dinner there were only about fifteen left in the bar. It was also mildly assuming and a little disconcerting to look around the group and realise that I was the oldest one there by quite a margin.

Off to the T20 at Hove tomorrow evening - hoping that the weather picks up a bit.

Oh yes, and after my interesting meeting on Monday lunchtime, I now have another one set up for Friday afternoon.

One final thing for today - skipped through a recording of last night's Holby when I got in this evening, and sure enough, we now have a fully fledged TV star in the family.

Away

Miff is on an away day today and unable to blog in detail due to a pressing need to be propping up a bar.

Normal service will be resumed tomorrow.

Meltdown

I'm reading a book at the moment called "Too Big to Fail" which (like so many others) has been sat on my shelves for quite some time. However, this one was borrowed from my boss earlier this year, and he keeps asking me if I've read it yet, so I thought that I ought to crack on with it so that I can return it.

It is all about the meltdown of the global financial system that took place in 2008, focusing in particular on Lehman and AIG. It can be quite hard to follow at times due to the huge cast of characters involved, and is essentially 500 pages of a monumentally bad, slow-motion pile up.

Today I was in London for a couple of meetings. The first one of which was at an investment firm - nothing to do with the firm itself, but rather a small pension scheme that it has for some of its employees. I was done there with some time to spare before my second meeting, which was at a hotel near St Paul's. Wandering along the road nearby, it was entertaining to think that I was walking past the London offices of some of the organisations that feature prominently in the book. I sat in a coffee shop overlooking the cathedral and read a few more chapters.

By the way, the cathedral itself is looking rather splendid. The external cleanup operation appears to be complete, and most of the stonework is now white again rather than a dark city grime-based colour.

My second meeting of the day was definitely interesting, and who knows where it might lead ...

Back up

It is only three and a half weeks until we go on holiday, and I really could do with getting organised with photos and cameras.

My photo storage system involves having lots of "albums" in iphoto, all numbered up according to various events, and for their to be a replica of these albums saved as folders onto our external hard drive. On top of that, pictures are uploaded to flickr (stored in "sets" which are grouped in year-based "collections").

Today I've sorted out iphoto and got the hard disk backup up to date. Flickr takes considerably longer due to the uploading speed on the computer, but I have made some good progress today. Admittedly I am still working my way through last summer's cruise holiday, but I am hoping that once that is done I will discover that a fair amount of more recent stuff has already been uploaded, and it won't take me too much longer to get up to date.

It would be great if the uploading could be up to date before holidays, as we all know that I will have another several hundred to do once we get back from Florida.

As for the plan to start scanning, sorting, and uploading old prints from film cameras (remember those?), who knows when I'll get around to that!

Trophy time

A busy day here at Lofty Towers. Nicky was teaching this morning, and on her way home picked up a visitor who is staying with us until tomorrow. Her name is Poppy.

This afternoon we made a visit to Ashford where Heather was celebrating her 40th birthday. We stayed for a bit of BBQ but couldn't hang around for too long, as we needed to be back here in time for our final appointment of the day, which was at Jake's end of season football club do.

All of the players were given a trophy to reward their hard work during the season:

Then, later in the evening, the big awards were brought out. Owen was the joint winner of the manager's player of the season award, and Jake won the sponsor's award.

Here are two proud boys with their trophies:

The Polite Predator

The Men's Final at Wimbledon will have to be quite some match to live up to today's semi-finals. Having seen the highlights this evening, it looks like Djokovic and Tsonga put on quite an acrobatic show, and the Frenchman is definitely a crowd-pleaser.

Then, second up on centre court was the main event, and hopes were high given how positively Murray started, taking the first set with some aggressive play. Then, the pundits tell us that the whole match hinged on a single point in the fourth game of the second set.

Murray was leading 2-1, and Nadal was 15-30 down on his serve. Murray had the chance to put away a relatively easy winner, and fired the ball three inches beyond the baseline. Rather than two break points for Murray, it was 30 all, and Nadal went on to win the game. Not only did he win that one, he went on a run, winning something like 11 out of the next 13 games to zoom into a two sets to one lead, and be a break up in the fourth.

There was a flicker of hope in the middle of the fourth as Murray had a few points to break back, but he couldn't convert them, and then that was pretty much that.

Being the diplomat that he always is, in his post match interview, Nadal explained how he felt sorry for Murray and how the Scot has the game to win a Grand Slam sooner or later.

I can't help but wonder if when asked what Murray needs to do to win a Grand Slam, Nadal was really thinking: "Well, he needs for me not to be playing for a start!"

Oh well - semi-finals again, and next year 75 will become 76.