Last day of super cricket holiday

Well today is the flipping last day of the Scarborough festival, and Yorkshire are still at the crease. What a blinking day it was, starting off with me meeting super polite boy Jamie Harrison in the street as I was going up to the ground. He is jolly lovely and his mummy should be super proud of him.

Well I had check the weather forecast ( scorchio), I had dressed appropriately ( which by the time I got to Scarbabos was very inappropriate due to way to much cleavage so had to have a quick change at lunch time).

So lets see what actually happened on the field and not on the boundary.... well Daddy Rushworth came to sit with me and we had a flipping good laugh, the cricket was slow ( Durham needed wickets) and so he decided to go for a walk around the ground, no sooner had he set off then the wickets started to tumble. Jamie Harrison took 2, Rushworth took 1 and also did an amazing bit of fielding work to run out Rashid. then 2 a pieces form Borthwick, Stokes and Wood, including the wicket of His Royal Ryanness which then signaled lunch and Durham to enforce the follow on.

Now his Royal Ryanness and Gillespie the Gallant have obviously noticed the lack of posterior picture taking, well maybe today will be the day.

Yorkshire went back in to bat and after an early strike by 'Rushy' which removed Lyth, Jaques and new boy Kane Williamson settled themselves in to each making great end of day totals 151 & 90 respectively. Well it really is goign to be a great final day and I had considered going back to Tykes Towers and then scooting off to Chester Le St. No flipping chance! Wouldn't miss the end of this for the world!


Daddy Sidebottom( Arnie to his mates) also came out to see the game and support his 'boy' and managed to keep a low profile ( yeah right!).



Sad news as given to me when I got home last night that amazing poet ( whom I had to study for English A' level) Seamus Heaney had died. A great man who was not only a great poet but someone who fought to stop the decline of the English language, as he hated the fact that text speak was part of everyday life and 'Americanisations' were accepted as English. truly great man.

RIP Seamus Heaney.

Well I have got to go and head off across the Moors  and get my special seat in the ground ( by the boundary). |I have to say that I am super flipping tired out and need to have a lie in and an afternoon nap, but that can be tomorrow!

Day two in Scarbados!

Well I set off over the Moors road to Scarbados and made it there in such super quick time that Dame Didi thought I had been doing the speeding thing. How very dare she! Moi! speeding!!!.
I settled myself down in my usual Scarbados seat and was watching Gillespie the Gallant and his Royal Ryanness warming up when I realised that a gentleman had sat down next to me. It was only Mr Rushworth Daddy of Chris and lovely dog Pasha.  ( he had seen my orange curls as he came through the gate!!!)

Oh dear what a flipping '2 an 8' I, Lady Lainey was in. As you know I am a true Tykey Princess even though I had been brought in in the Land of the Prince Bishops! So I  had to spend the day cheering on Durham whilst screaming inside for Yorkshire!!!.

However Mr Rushworth (aka Rushy's Dad) is a top boy and not only provided me with sustenance ( yeah cos I look like I need it!) but also made me flipping laugh until my sides ached and we talked cricket all day ( well and bikes and home improvements).

And so to what happened on day two. Well Durham were still in batting and the tail enders did amazing things. Richardson with his first century  (102), super polite boy Jamie Harrison  (35) Wood (20) and of course Mr Rushworth Jnr  (1). Durham ended theior first innings on 573

His Royal Ryanness took another wicket whihc brought his haul up to 601. What a top boy too.

Yorkshire went into bat with Rushy taking first blood. there was much cheering on our bench. Then a Yorkshire cricketer ( not naming him) took a knock on the box and went down like a sack of spuds. Why do they bring them a glass of water??? I think the last thing he wanted was a drink!.

Mr Rushworth Snr and I were discussing the returned use of the magic sponge ( which I touched on a while ago in my blog. Is Rushy's dad a secret reader???). As he said, a quick pat with ice cold water does wonders for anyone!.

Williamson and Bairstow are still at the crease as play resumes today and Yorkshire are 182-3.

In reality Yorkshire would settle for a draw from this match and so would I, Lady Lainey, but I do not think that this is in the mind of Durham at all. Lets see what happens.

I also managed to secure some 'little men' for my new garden project, however more of that on another day.

Australia were in T20 action last night against England, the wonderful Michael Carberry was doing water boy duties!!!!!!!!! What the Donald Duck was that all about??????

Joe Root took a bang to his helmet which smashed the grill and in the words of Job the Jolly 'bust his gob'!!! However like a true Tyke he carried on playing ( you know I am sure that Geoff Boycott played with a broken leg!!! only joking!)

Aaron Finch the young Australian hit an amazing 156  which helped to secure the Aussies win. It could be interesting as the T20 road show trundles up to Chester Le Street for Saturdays match.


And so now I much set off and wend my way over to sunny Scarbados to see what today holds for my Tykes and also former besty home county ( except if Mr Rushworth is sitting with me) of Durham.


Oh I also caught a bit of sun yesterday too, as it was flipping hot at times.

WOOOOOO I'm going to Scarbados!

Woooooo I'm going to Scarbados
Woooooo land of the B& B
Woooooo I'm going to see my Tykes
By the freezing cold north sea!!!


Yes it's finally here the day that I Lady Lainey have been waiting for, first day of my Scarbados adventure. I am at Chateau Saltburn and about to set off on my journey across the Moors to Scarbados. The sun is (sort of ) shining and it looks as if it might be a nice day.

It was a super brilliant day yesterday for his Royal Ryanness, as he took two Durham wickets in his first over! Top boy! he then went on th takie another wicket bringing his first class haul to 600.  I was fair bouncing  around super swanky Lady Lainey office.However Durham fought back and ended the day on 406-6. Its goign to be a day and a half today me thinks.

Good news also in the Tykes camp as Adam Lyth signed a new contract with the club. I am still worrying that His Royal Ryanness may retire soon, that  flipping thought needs to be knocked right out of my curly head soon!

After saying yesterday that 'peegate' had calmed down................it came back, as the England team apologised for inappropriate behaviour. Now forgive me for saying but it wasn't all the England team that were involved, and they are all being tarred with the same brush. And how come KP always comes up smelling of roses??????

Not right in any sense!!!

Former besty home county in the south Hampshire were in action  in Southport ( oh yes I have been there!!! it ws supposed to be a 'holiday' camp and was more like a concentration camp), They kept the run rate down and Lancashire finished the day on 295-8. #COYH!!!

Well got to get on the road and get off to Scarbados, hopefully there will be lots to report tomorrow and Pauly Paul, I will not be drinking as I am driving!!!

Getting ready for the off!!

Well its a dull day here at Tykes Towers but nothing can dampen my mood ( not now that I am over the worst hangover in history), as I load the 35 suitcases into Lady Lainey limo ready for heading over to Chateau Saltburn ce soir! My Tykes are there ready for the first days play and its going to be a 'biggy'.

Yes I have packed for every impossibility ( well you never know I may need a full length ball gown some time this week, I did draw the line at my wedding dress as most of my top Tyke boys are married already). I am not sure how I am going to get through the day at super swanky Lady Lainey office!!!!.

The only black spot on the horizon is the fact that captain of former besty home county of Durham has said that Durham have the 'nous to win the title'. Well sorry to say but I still have faith in my Yorkshire boys and that's the way that it is going to stay.


So they have announced the team for the ODI series against Australia, and Cook, Anderson, Bell, Broad and Swann are being rested. However this has made way for the lovely Michael  Carberry to come out and show everyone how truly great he is.

News that filtered through yesterday and was very quickly crushed is of another 'peegate' incident, however this time one of the usual suspects was named ( quelle surprise). with Cook, Broad and KP being named as culprits who urinated on the wicket at the Oval late on Saturday night amid celebrations. Now am I being a bit dim????? why had they not returned to their hotel. What were they doing sitting around on the field????? I think that the future 'celebrations' need to be taken in hand and the team given a flipping stiff talking to. Really its not cricket and it certainly does not show sportsmen in a good light.
Showing their true side!

Sorry that this is such a short blog today but I have so much to do in readiness for the coming days  and I am super flipping excited!!!!

Until tomorrow!!!!!!!!!!!

Oh no it's a work day!

Well it was a super flipping hot Bank Holiday Monday and the flipping awful thing is that today looks as if it might be the same!!!! And I will be in super swanky Lady Lainey office.................with a very bad headache.

Oh yes it was my last cricket match at The Riverside for this season, so I kind of went out with a bang, and judging by the bruises on my legs I would say a few bumps too. Job the Jolly came with his mate, but sat as far away from I, Lady Lainey as he could (???)  whilst still being able to enjoy cricket. However I did spy him and went to have a little chat. He however didn't buy me a flipping drink!

So what happened at the cricket I hear you all asking, well Durham went into bat first and lost Mustard within minutes. However they went on to score  275 in their 40 overs. Surrey however were not looking too good, Dominic Sibley being top scorer on 37, and they were all out for 142. Giving Durham a big win. Mr Funky  who had disappeared off to FOOTBALL!!!! had arrived back in time to see close of play and pour  I ,Lady Lainey into the big blue tank thing. Luckily I fell asleep on the way home.

Yorkshire were not having a good day 215-5 was a good score but Glamorgan answered with 216-6! and they secured a YB40 semi final place!

Derbyshire and Hampshire were fighting it out and Hampshire were victors. This means that Hampshire will host Glamorgan next month. ( and the flipping final is when I am in La Belle France)


So this week is a  big week in the life of I Lady Lainey, apart from never drinking again, I am off to Scarbados and cheering on my super besty cricket team in the whole world....................yes my Tykes are taking on former besty home county of Durham. Now this should be interesting!

However now it is time to set off to super swanky Lady Lainey office to hopefully have a nap and then spend the rest of the day looking pretty ( which unbelievably, is not something that I am looking at this moment!).

Hope you all have a great day where ever you are!

Holiday Monday

Mr Funky's ruby slippers, Lady Lainey's pretty sandals

Woohoo a lie in this morning, until 7am!!!! and now I am up and getting frantic as it is another cricket day and there are quails eggs to boil, cavier sandwiches to make and orange curls to be sorted out ( notice I never mentioned a comb!).However before any of that its time for a catch up on yesterday.


Mr Funky the chauffeur  was punctual and arrived at 10 of the clock, and we went off to pick up Pauly Paul and then head off to The Riverside. The weather was 'odd' to say the least but it didn't rain. However Durham made short work of Surrey. Super polite young man Jamie Harrison took another wicket whilst Mark Wood finished the day on 5-44. This win moves Durham up to second in the table behind my beloved Tykes so I can tell you that when I am off to Scarbados on Thursday, it could be hearts in mouths time.
Gareth Batty came into bat for Surrey just before lunch and was out straight away, however not a thump or harsh word from him!.

The match was over very quickly and we all set off home, so that I Lady Lainey could have a little nap and then put lots of Lady Lainey rubbish  treasures on ebay to try to make some room in Tykes Towers which is now bursting at the seams!

Bad light seems to have been the curse of many of the matches over the last few days however bad light caused the end of the 5th Ashes test , with England winning 3-0. England were denied a probable win in this match but the Umpires called the light into question and the match ended. Now considering that for the last 5 tests any decision that an Umpire has made has usually been over ruled, I was amazed that the decision stood!!!!#umpireswordislaw.


Today see YB40 action around the country. As I have already said I am off to the Riverside and so is top office boy Job the Jolly ( cos I am nice and got him tickets!), however I think that he is going to be sitting as far away from me as possible (well putting up with me in the office is enough for anyone, he doesn't really want to see me on his day off!).

My Tykey Vikings are in action at home against Glamorgan, Phil Jaques is captaining the team today which does not his Royal Ryanness in, I guess they are resting him ready for my arrival at Scarbados! so today it is a huge shout out for my Vikings and #coyt.


Derbyshire are in action against Hampshire, so I will be interested to see what the outcome of that match is.

Finally over in Belgium, my beloved Baron Button came home in 6th position ( no where flipping near the podium for gollies sake!). He said that he was not sure that they had the right strategy. However right or wrong at least LH didn't win it was Vettel ( quelle surprise) who took the glory.
I am gutted for Jenson, he should be winning!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


So now I am off to put on my clothes ( please note I have note been writing this naked, I am still in my jimjams!!) and get myself ready for the cricket.

Cricket ahoy!!!!

So today all flipping ready I have packed up lunch and tea, for Mr Funky the Chauffeur, Pauly Paul and I, Lady Lainey as we are going off to the cricket today, rain or rain!!

Durham did play yesterday but without the support of I Lady Lainey who took the opportunity to go to the shops and then take my monster children nephews to the shops, it is now getting closer to the time when Lord Christophe goes off to learn all things Architectural and so we managed to buy him some bits and pieces to make his room more homely when he goes. ( including a super picture of his besty Auntie  Lady Lainey in the whole world, what more could he want!)

So what did happen at Durham, well as you know for the past year I have been singing the praises of super polite boy Jamie Harrison who has been in the ranks of the 2nd XI nearly as long as Brath has! ( another bone of contention). However they decided to let him have a little go in the first team and flipping heck what a great decision that was, with bowling figures of  5-31, Surrey were really crumbling. Unless they pull something amazing out of the bag today I think that we will be home before tea! ( waste of time making the butties!).
Time to really have a clear out of the 'oldies' ( same moan every season from moi), and bring the youngsters up, and maybe bring Mitch Clayden back from Kent???????????????????? just a suggestion!

Down at the Oval, persistent rain stopped any hope of. play yesterday which meant that KP was able to 'tweet' all his mates, Joe Root was able to do his holiday homework and Ian Bell would have been working  on his victory speech ( cos he is bound to make one!). Better luck today.


Today also sees the Belgian Grand prix taking place, now you may have noticed that I have not been reporting too often on this, well if Baron Button was climbing up on the podium more then I would be, but sadly it is not to be, his car is letting him down and he is letting me down. Come on Jenson, Paul Di Resta is ahead of you on the grid and LH has pole ( I know where I would like to stick it!).
Unfortunately in 7th place next to Jenson on the grid is the lean mean crashing machine Romain Grosjean. Jenson move away form him as quickly as possible!!!!!


So time to head off to the shower to wash the orange curls and get ready for the off, can't keep Mr Funky waiting.

Have a super fabby day.

Super flipping cricket Saturday

Woohoo it is a super cricket Saturday but due to flipping pouring rain over night  I, Lady Lainey and Pauly Paul have decided not to make the journey to the Riverside.It is brightening up here at Tykes Towers but still raining so I guess that I will be going to town and getting shopping and also getting on with packing my case for upcoming jollies to France.

So what happened yesterday I hear you all screaming. Well blow me down! His Royal Ryanness only flipping went and took a wicket with the 5 th ball of the morning yesterday and took his 596th 1st class victim, equally the record of Daddy Sidebottom ( Arnie to his mates).  But by later in the afternoon Ryan had overtaken his daddy. Finishing the day on 597 wickets.What a great day for father and son.

And actually what a great day for Yorkshire, it looked as if they might take Notts out with an innings in hand, however Notts fought back and put Yorkshire back into bat needing 10 runs to win. Well you guessed it, 5 balls, 10 runs from Adam Lyth  and  all the Tykes in the bus on the way home! Fantastic.

The Yorkshire bus now trundles off to Scarbados, where I Lady Lainey will be next week. I am super flipping excited!.


Also brilliant news from Derby where Derbyshire defeated Middlesex by 56 runs, I bet there was much whooping and cheering and to be honest, I was a little bit glad that they had won.I want them to stay in division one!

Well over at The Riverside, after Chris Tremlet had taken nearly every Durham wicket, Surrey went into bat and were reduced to 97-6 before bad light halted play. Now this morning I have been reliably informed that the light was not that bad and it got brighter but they never came back out to play ( thank you Pauly Paul).


Over at the Test, it can only be described as 'watching paint dry' with little Joe Root scoring 68 and still looking as if he should be captaining the school first XI. He was interviewed by Mark Nicholas last night and is about 3ft taller than the former Hampshire man but really looks about 10 years old!!!


 So today I am now off to Lady laineyville shops, I may have a little jaunt up to Chester-le-Street after lunch, but then again I may just have a nap!!!!!!

Oh yes it's really is F(ryan)day

OMG, it is F(ryan)day and nearly the start of a super crickety bank holiday weekend for I, Lady Lainey.....................................................................however, we haven't discussed yesterday yet and I am not talking about the Test match either!

So without further ado let us get straight to the most important scores from yesterday. As you are all aware, in super swanky Lady Lainey office, we listen to the TMS on't wireless, which is blinking  great except that they only do a county scores round up at lunch and tea. So I Lady Lainey and Job the Jolly keep up with all things cricket on Twitter. So here is what happened.

I, Lady Lainey am sitting at my desk looking pretty and drinking gallons of green tea ( new health kick), I check Twitter. My Tykes have only gone and scored 407 runs with little Jonny Bairstow scoring 62 and Steven Patterson scoring 40 putting on  91 in a ninth wicket stand. Little beauties!!!!.

Job the Jolly and I have a little chat about work ( yukky four letter word) and then I file my nails, when I  check Twitter I cannot flipping believe it. I tell you I was spinning round in my chair faster than Linda Blairs head in 'The Exorcist'. 'Jobbers!!!' I screamed  ' My flipping Ryan has only gone and taken two wickets in the first 30 seconds of play' ( OK a slight exaggeration but you get the drift).

This continued with Ryan and Steven Patterson clearing out the Notts players, I, Lady Lainey whooping in  my office .................and then it rained and they all came off. Well this gave me a flipping chance to catch my breath. And have a cup of coffee!! So by the time the players went back on I was bouncing!.

By the time I  got home, His Royal Ryanness has claimed 4 wickets, Patterson had claimed 5 and Rashid had finished it off!! Thus forcing the follow on. Yep and you guessed it, The 'purple undies' boy only went and took another wicket, followed by the great double act of Plunkett and Brooks. What a flipping day for Yorkshire. Those boys are on fire!

And then we get to former besty home county of Durham who  scored 309 and were nearly all bowled out by Chris Tremlett. Oh well that's, that cricket report!

I am keeping a little eye on Derbyshire as I do not want them to be relegated and after a great performance yesterday they are fighting to stay up.Today is the last day of the match and I will be watching intently on Twitter.

So finally the Test. Well Australia did jolly well, Darren Lehmann has been fined for saying harsh things about Stuart broad ( flipping heck I say harsh things about lots of people in this blog). and we go into day 3! End of report.

Really Thursday was Yorkshire's day and I know that some readers will say that I am totally biased but do you want to know something??? I am and I don't care.

#WAYAW

A tiny tear this morning

Bodie and Mrs Magoo

Well not only do I Lady Lainey write a blog, I also follow a blog about two little Border Terriers who live in New Zealand. http://smallbrowndogs.blogspot.co.uk/   however this morning I tuned in for a little peep at all things small brown and hairy to see the terrible news that Mrs Magoo is no longer with us, after being quite poorly since February. I have to admit to having a little tear. Never good to lose someone that you love very much.

So as I wipe my eyes ( for the flipping hundredth time) I am moving very swiftly on to all things  cricket. Well it truly was a mad old cricket day yesterday. The start of the 5th test and England  putting out two débutantes in the place of Bresnan ( injured) and Bairstow ( not picked). However Shane Watson halted what was a new England attack with a superb 176, that helped the visitors to 307-4 at the close of play. The bowling from England I would say was lack lustre and to be honest I have no idea why they took out Bairstow . However as you all flipping well know I am not on the selectors committee, but when I am  'The king of Cricket' there will be blinking big changes.

Controversial comments from Darren Lehmann regarding Stuart Broad, whom he called a 'blatent cheat'. oh dear its all kicking off, handbags at dawn and all that malarkey! And if they want to borrow a couple, they know where to come!!!

My Tykes are in action at Nottinghamshire and yesterday saw them put on  327 runs for the loss of 8 wickets. ( Luke Fletcher taking  a 5 wicket haul). However with my Top Tykey bowler attack chomping at the bit, I see this as being a great match, just a shame that I cannot be there.

Gillespie the Gallant is back on twitter giving his concise comments to the day. Great to have him back and we all know that Yorkshire are #topteam #strongunit #ladylaineysfavourites

Former besty home county of Durham begin play today against Surrey, in what they are classing as a race to the title. COME ON!!!! PLLLEEESSEEE!!!  Tykes go top!!!

I was also keeping my super blue eyes on Derbyshire yesterday as I don't want to see them relegated. They managed to keep Middlesex at bay and picked up some much needed points too. Come on Derbyshire pull your finger out.

Hampshire played their youngest player in a first team match  since 1867 on Tuesday when Brad Taylor took the field. He admitted to being nervous, but played like a true professional. The young spin bowler took the wicket of Simon Katich and although Hampshire lost the match by 5 runs it will always be memorable to Brad.

Hampshire hit the headlines many moons ago when they sent out in the 2XI a 15 year Liam Botham. The young Botham stated that he wanted to be better then his father. HMMMMMM famous last words!.

So although I am still struggling to find form, and still feel as though I have been hit by a steam roller, I am off to super swanky Lady Lainey office where Job the Jolly and I will be listening to TMS and drinking copious amounts of 'green tea', oh yes the Lady and the Jobbers are on a health kick!

Lady Lainey makes preparations

Yes I Lady Lainey am making preparations for the next few weeks ( ie until I fly off home to France). I have organised the next couple of weekends of cricket and also am trying to sort out ( already) my flipping case for going home. I tell you all this weight restriction nonsense, gets my flipping curls in a twirl. I am limited to the amount of shoes, handbags and tiaras I can take...........and that is never a good thing. A Lady Lainey without her tiara is like his Royal Ryanness without his purple undies ( yea I still have this on my mind!!! see above pic, can you spot him?).

And moving very swiftly on to cricket from yesterday. Sadly former besty home county in the south, Hampshire lost to Lancashire ( who once again did not play the lovely Oliver Newby). This was another blow for Dimi in the run up to his retirement. I really wanted to see him go out with a bang.

 Today however see the start of the 5th test and the rumour that Monty Panesar still wants to play for England, well get to the back of the queue. And after a very poor performance yesterday against Essex, I think that he needs to stay in the nets! Rumours also going mad about whether Tremlett will be in the team. I think it will be the usual suspects plus a couple of super egos. However lets see what  really happens.

Finns name is also back in the England running, but my view ( not that anyone really cares) is that he should take the remainder of the season to get fit and improve. #justmythoughts

 I have just been scanning the Division One table and think that Derbyshire need to get a wriggle on to avoid relegation, so I am really going to have to cheer on former besty home team of Durham this weekend to get them to beat Surrey ( who are a step above Derbyshire).
Yorkshire are 10 points clear ( but that means nothing apart from we need excellent batting and bowling) and they have a game in hand. #coyt

We are now on countdown with 7 days until I am off to Scarbados, 7 days before I go off to support my Tykes, 7 days until I can 'splodge' in the sea, eat fish and chips, washed down with ginger beer and then finished off with candy floss.................not forgetting the sick bag for the way home! Maybe I will forget stuffing my face as green is never a good look with orange.



Yesterday also saw the wonderful photographs of The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge with Prince George and their dogs. A wonderful family photograph and the great thing is, not taken by a stuffy official photographer, but taken by the Duchess's father, at his home.I really think that these two young royals are going to be doing things their way!

I'm tired!!!!

Well after my first day back at work, I was ready for an early night, and I trotted up 'the wooden hill to Bedfordshire' about 9 pm. It was bliss as I settled down for some decent sleep. Alas it was not to be as the 'surfs' in the 'cottage' next to Tykes Towers, decided to have a bit of a feud which carried on, inside, outside back inside and then at 4am all went quiet. They must have gone to bed. How flipping nice for them. I am now in a state of severe sleep deprivation and just know that today is not going to be an easy day, however................


I was super flipping bouncy happy when I heard that Michael Carberry had been named in the T20 squad, about flipping time, this is a great cricketer and top Hants boy too. That made a dull Monday slightly better!
Not a good Monday for the much over rated ( in my book) Monty Panesar, after the disgraceful incident a couple of weeks ago, he is now seeing out the season at Essex.
England are still  waving Chris Tremlett around, will he be used in the 5th test to replace the injured Tim Bresnan? well I hope not as I do not think that he is up to scratch .

Tonight sees Hampshire in YB 40 action against Lancashire. And I for one am jolly well hoping that Hampshire stuff them. Not cricket, I hear you all shouting. Yeah well its nearly the end of the season so lets have some great wins.

Which is what I am hoping for next week when I go off to 'Scarbados' for a couple of days to see my beloved Tykes take on former besty home county of Durham. Dame Didi has said that I can use Chateau Saltburn as a base ( and I will be able to prepare my lunches of cavier and quails eggs). Super flipping excited about that. Hope the weather is good.

But before all that ( and I will have to start packing my case in readiness) I am taking Pauly Paul up to The Riverside on Saturday as Mr Funky the Chauffeur has wimped out of his duties. So it will just be Pauly and I 'cheering' on Durham.


Now I am about to try to get myself ready to go to super swanky Lady Lainey office, where it will be the boys and I for today and then Pony Paul is off to Amsterdam for 3 days, but will he remember any of it??????

Top T20 boy!!!

I'm back

Yes I am back. I, Lady Lainey am back in the world of blogging after having a little break to go and party hard in former home town in South of Blighty. so lets have a slight recap as to what I have been up to.

I'm back (part one)

Former home town of Northwood ( and Pinner and Eastcote) had no idea what hit it this weekend as Thursday  the orange curly haired one  descended on the unsuspecting North London suburb. Yes I Lady Lainey had arrived back to cause havoc for a few days.

Friday saw me having lunch with besty girly friend Zemina,  catching up on all important news ( eg how many new pairs of shoes or handbags we had bought recently)and then having an alfresco dinner with Zemina, Gary, Countess Cruse and her  Consort Andy. After way too much wine and sitting in the garden until the wee small hours, beds were calling to us all and Friday slipped into Saturday.

I'm back ( part two)

Saturday dawned bright and warm, and I, Lady Lainey and Countess Cruse went off to Pinner to do a spot of shopping, Then I received a phone call asking if I would like to go for coffee with top friend and ex Hants bowler JJ. How on earth was a girl going to refuse that! So armed with JJ's birthday pressie ( 3 years late!) I was whisked away to a wonderful Lebanese restaurant  (we had been before and it is good), where I did have a coffee after a great meal with Lebanese Wine and gorgeous Baklava.

After a good couple of hours ( or three) we left the restaurant and I have to say that I had been given some words of wisdom over lunch. And I have taken them all on board, Yes JJ I really have.

However the other Hampshire boys were not having such a great day and got knocked out in the T20 semi final!!!  Nothamptonshire, who were appearing in their first Finals Day went on to win the title!

Saturday evening was a civilised affairs with a wonderful dinner to celebrate Countess Cruse's birthday, all was good until the last guest left at 1.30am, when Andy got his second wind and we were then whooping and partying until 5am. The photographs tell the whole story and I can assure you that they will never be seen on 'Tales from the Boundary'

Sunday I  managed to crawl out of bed in time to make my way to Kings Cross, where I had to sit on the train for for hours due to an 'incident' at Potters Bar. I was one tired Lady Lainey when Mr Funky the Chauffeur came to pick me up. And couldn't really summon the energy to 'chatter for England', preferring to snore my little orange head off on the drive home.

Other crickety news is that top Tyke bowler Timmy Bresnan is now out for the rest of the season with a stress fracture to his back. A very sad end to the season for Tim, but he'll be back!

And finally I am well and truly back...................at Tykes Towers and back to the mundane things, like going to super swanky Lady Lainey office, shouting at the boys and drinking copious amounts of coffee which makes a change from the copious amount of wine that I have been gulping down over the last four days. More importantly a new and improved Lady Lainey is back ( after some words of wisdom) and things are a changing from here on!!!!

Rain Rain go away

Its so horrid outside I needed a 'cheer me up' picture

I woke up at stupid o' clock to hear the sound of lashing rain outside of Tykes Towers, yes it flipping well would rain when I have a long journey ahead of moi!
It is now still raining but looks to be brightening up, or is it just that it is getting lighter?

So all the bags are packed, and 300 outfits have been crammed in  ( OK that is a very slight exaggeration), so I think that you get the idea.

I am also a tad excited as I may even be seeing besty Hampshire ex bowler friend JJ, whilst I am in the city! Now that's exciting. He was telling me last night that the besty batsman at former besty county in the South ( Hampshire) is also a qualified electrician. I flipping wish that I had known this when Hampshire were playing up here I would have asked him to sort out the light in the boot room and the kitchen. In case you are wondering who the electrical wizard of Southampton is, it is none other than Michael Carberry. ( yes my fave Hampshire boy). A man of many talents.



Oh snore, snore, yawn , yawn. KP obviously didn't like Stuart Broad getting lots of media coverage this week and is now letting anyone that is listening know that he is available for the 5th test after a scan on his right knee. Oh be still my beating heart, I am so flipping chuffed about that!!!!!

Yorkshire meanwhile have been topping up the team and have signed New Zealand batsman Kane Williamson ( oh chuffing hell I bet he is related to 'would like to be Lord Lainey' and if he isn't , the ginger whinger will probably say he is!). Gillespie the Gallant said that they needed to boost their batting options for the end of the season and he is the man.

Yorkshire are 10 points clear on top of the table with five matches to go
#COYT

Not much other sporty news today mainly because I have to get a flipping wriggle on as Pony Paul is coming to pick me up shortly and then its party on...........................


TBC

Everything is coming up orange

Well the curls are a not so subtle shade of orange ( please note that the picture above is not moi!) and that is one more job ticked off my 'to do' list. So tonight I have only to sort myself out and get myself ready before I set off on my journey to the other end of the country.

Which is where Durham nearly were yesterday for their match against Essex. Sadly there journey south was in vain and the Dinosaurs Dynomos were well and truly beaten, Durham scored  138 but Essex came back with  139 in 26.3 overs. It looks as if Essex were getting a bit of practise in for Saturday and Finals Day.

Things were fairing better at Headingley were Yorkshire were taking on Unicorns.Yorkshire made 266 in their 40 overs with Unicorns only managing  234. A great win by The Vikings and to be honest i never expected any less.

The Netherlands were taking part against Sussex but unfortunately could not continue their winning streak and lost! Never mind it is the taking part ( but hell, if you are taking part you should be winning!).


Hampshire also beat Scotland, so moving steadily on for Saturday!

Australia have taken their thrashing  rather badly with coach Lehmann telling the boys that their careers are on the line if they don't step up to the mark. Now to be honest, this is a fairly new team, there has been trouble in the camp for most of the cricket season and surely the 'coachy' thing to do would be to encourage the boys and lead them forward rather than to threaten them. Or is this a cunning plan to lull the England team into their usual smug and satisfied position and then beat the life out of them in the 5th test????? who knows!.

England Lions have named their team to take on Australia on Friday. with the surprise call up of none other than Laim Plunkett who after a glittering start to his career went on a downward spiral, ending in a terrible turn of events last season ( look through last years blogs). However this season after a move to The Mighty Yorkshire and being taken under the wing of Gillespie the Gallant ( not a bad place to be!) he is now showing what he is made of and looks to be getting a second chance. Good luck Liam and keep focused.
Gary Ballance and Alex Lees have also been named in the squad so a good Tykey turnout!

Well due to besty friend in the south Countess Cruse having an accident and breaking several fingers, the cat is now out of the bag ( actually if the cat had been in the house the Countess would never have broken said fingers) and she is aware that I am arriving on her doorstep tomorrow evening. Although the surprise is gone the excitement is mounting ( or excrement as autocorrect keeps putting in and I hope that she won't be doing that with the excitement!!!!).

So as I contemplate my last full day in super swanky Lady Lainey office this week, I note that yesterday there was not much shouting going on ( although lots of coffee swilling) so guess I will have to change that today.

have a super day where ever you are.

Singapore here I come...

Well Sir Robert the Viceroy of Singapore phoned me at lunchtime yesterday  to tell me he was sending me a blinking picutre of The Raffles Hotel which he has to keep walking past as he is not allowed to go in until I am with him ( Singapores slings all round). He said I had to start seriously saving to go out there and stop buying shoes, handbags, tiaras etc. Well what is a girl to do???? So many bargains!!!


Well the Lady was whooping with delight last night and in a tiara twirling frenzy as England beat the Australians at Chester Le Street, however it wasn't plain sailing. The Aussies did give them a run for their money and to be honest, with some more hard work, this will be a team to be reckoned with. Credit goes to Stuart broad who proved that when the time is right he can overcome being 'crocked' and step up to the mark. Inspired bowing on his part helped to take the Australian team apart. However as you know, no one man is the team and the whole effort by England ( yes including Bell and KP) helped to secure a fine win.
Jolly well done to the boys and now on to the 5th and final test.

Sadly Graham Onions who was omitted from this test looks as if he will not get a chance to shine this time as he has broken his finger and will be out of action. He broke his finger in the YB40 match against Scotland although he is hoping to be fit for the Durham v Surrey matches at the end of the month.


Cricket taking lace today is YB40 action with besty home county of Yorkshire in action against unicorns at the home of cricket ( Headingley). Former besty home county of Durham are in Essex ( no white stilettos boys!).  Former besty home county in the South , Hampshire have done a mammoth journey to Glasgow to take on Scotland  Good luck to all the  teams ( but more luck to Yorkshire!!)

Tykes Towers is now in a frenzy ( not to mention Her Ladyship) as the time draws nearer for the big birthday bash. The case is nearly packed but the orange curls have still to have a top of colour ( tonight) and the birthday and xmas pressies ( to save on postage later in the year) are still to go into the case. I am hoping that with the help of 'big' John Pallant I might be able to acquire a cutting of the hydrangea that I bought for super friend Bruce Ritchie many years ago and which grows against the wall of the cricket Pavilion at MTS. I hope that I can do this as then I can take a cutting with me to la belle France when I go off their to live and will always have a memory of Bruce growing in my garden.

Job the Jolly is off on his jollies with little Sir Ben, I hope that they have a great time and enjoy the zoo and seaworld. however I am thinking that Sir Ben will enjoy Nickleodeon world more!

Big hugs go out to Dame Didi who after a trying weekend is hopefully settling down to a quieter week.
Not long to France now so keep thinking about that!


And time has now flipping well run away and I must wend my way to super swanky Lady Lainey office where it is only Pony Paul and I . So better get gargling to get my shouting voice into full working order.

And the sun is shining.

Start of the Big Birthday Bash week

Yes it is the start of the week and the countdown to the Big Birthday Bash, no not mine, silly billy's, besty friend in the south is having a birthday this week and I am going to surprise her! I am super excited and it cannot come soon enough, as it has been a while since we had a birthday bash, ( well 20th July to be precise!).


So was there any need for celebrations yesterday at the Ashes test? Well I suppose so if you are a great fan of Bell ( of which I am not,too much loving himself for my liking). However he did score a century which helped England who were 49-3 at one point. He was 105 not out at close of play ( of which I saw none due to being super flipping busy all day at Tykes Towers). The Australian bowling appears to be getting stronger and they had a few surprises for England players. Trott was cruising along at 23 and was surprised by a bouncer from Harris. However Lyon is still an unknown quantity for England and a great addition to Australia.
TBC..........


And so to the YB40 matches yesterday . Besty home county of Yorkshire were away to Leicestershire and sadly lost in what was a very close match My super Tykey Vikings were 228-7 in their 40 overs and they even had a Robinson playing ( we flipping well get in everywhere). Sadly it was not enough and Leicester made 232-7 with a ball to spare. Now that must have been some match.

The match in Glasgow with former besty home county of Durham against Scotland was interrupted by rain which brought  in the D/L system meaning that Durham won by 8 wickets.


Warwickshire were hosting the Netherlands in a YB 40 overs match and lost!It must have been a close one as Netherlands won by 5 runs.


So what was I Lady Lainey up to yesterday, well after my lie in, I was washing, hanging it out, bringing it in ( rain), hanging it out, bringing it n( rain) leaving it indoors.
Doing a spot of sewing and then FINALLY putting up the last curtain pole and rehanging the curtains.
Then it was lots of dusting and hoovering to get the house into tip top order, before crashing out on the chaise longue for a well deserved nap!.

Oh yes and I also did a fair amount of cooking too!!!

So today I am back in super swanky Lady Lainey office with a full compliment of boys to shout at, however only for one day, as Job thye jolly goes off on his jollies tonight!!!

Lazy Daisy!

Well I had a super flipping lie in this morning!, I woke up first of all at 4.30am and couldn't get back to sleep, just when I convinced myself that I should get up and do something constructive, I turned over and went back to sleep until 7.30am!! Now that was a real lie in................


..........which is something that the teams will not be doing this morning as they will be munching on brekkie and making their way to The Riverside ground for day 3 of the test.

Yesterday it was a strange day,England initially looked strong when they went into bowl with Stuart broad seeing off the top three Australians before lunch. However Shane Watson and Chris Rogers came into the crease and played brilliantly. Watson went at 68 but Rogers went on to make his maiden Ashes century and he received the applause in a truly humble way. No strutting about on the wicket for him and waving his bat ( a la KP). He looked totally amazed that he had done it.

The umpires then took the players off for bad light and eventually called off the match for the day which was a great shame for the spectators.However it all resumes today and as it swings one way and then the other there is no real telling how this match will end.

Today sees my Tykey Vikings in action against Leicestershire in a 40 overs match. I can't find the team line up so they must be keeping it under wraps until they get there!

Durham have travelled up to Glasgow to take on Scotland in a 40 over match.Now that could go either way as I think that Scotland are  a great bowling team but their batting lets them done.

Good luck to both clubs today.

And what will I Lady Lainey be doing today, well I will be putting up another curtain pole, doing a spot of cooking and then having a little nap, before possibly painting another couple of railings!

OH joy, the life of a Lady is so enviable, however I have to say jolly flipping well done to James  at All Out Cricket, who posted out my T shirt, and I received it yesterday. Top marks for promptness!and a flipping nice T shirt too!

Lady Lainey's weekend of rest

Well if you think that I am going to be having a restful weekend, think again! No lazing around on the chaise longue, no having pizza or Indian delivered. Much as I would like to have a lazy weekend, it is never going to happen.

So the 4th test kicked off yesterday in Chester Le Street, Co Durham. YES County Durham! where people are not 'Geordies' and Newcastle is 10 miles up the A1. However after listening to TMS  yesterday I think that Durham CCC need to change their flipping name to Newcastle CCC, as this was all they talked about. Nothing about the beautiful city of Durham complete with Cathedral and Castle, nothing about the heritage of Durham. Nope!!! However we now know a lot more about the night life in Newcastle! Which probably explains why the England team are shacked up in Lady lainey workville.

I did however find out ( according to some eedjit on TMS) the Finchale end is named after the river Finchale ( no such river, it is named after the direction to Finchale Abbey) I was waiting to be informed that the Lumley end was named after Joanna!

The cricket was not much better than the commentary to be honest.Alistair Cook took forever to get a half century. KP, came out swaggering and waving his bat ( hey no tape on here!). And not too long before he was back in the 'hutch'. In fact it is fair to say that Australia took control of the game from the start. Today is another day so lets see what happens.

Sad news for Surrey that they will be without skipper Gareth Batty ( top tyke too), who received a two match suspension for inappropriate conduct on the field. Looks like he was getting a tad cross with some of the Somerset boys. Well now he isn't going to get a bat on Finals Day and at 35 years old he should know flipping better.

So what of today, well as soon as I have finished typing this I am off to Homebase and then back to Tykes Towers to get the new curtain poles put up,  scrape some more paint off the tiles in the hallway and then packing and wrapping of pressies and then ...........nap time.

And whilst this is all happening I will of course be glued to the test.

And it looks as if it is going to be a glorious day too.


have a good one!

F(ryan)day and end of working weeK!

Flipping heck it is F(rayn)day again and I can feel a tiara throwing tantrum brewing. Why you might chuffing well ask? Well I am super flipping tired due to being awake since 2.30am and not being able to get my full amount of beauty sleep. Goodness only knows what woke me up, but I was unable to get back to the land of nod and as such, my orange curls this morning are in a tangle and I will need match sticks to keep my eyes open today at super swanky Lady Lainey office. Do you think that I will get away with having 40 winks at my desk? Well I will be doing it at some point and woe betide anyone ( Job the Jolly) who wakes me up.

Well Thursday was a super fab day, I entered a competition on Twitter and only flipping well went and won it. So very soon a super 'Crease cricket; t shirt will be winging its way to Tykes Towers. What a flipping result!

And talking about results, and talking about results the T20 finals day line up is announced with Hampshire talking on Surrey and Essex facing Northants in the semis, which will be closely followed by the final on Saturday 17th August. sadly although I am in town on the big day, I am actually going to be partying, as it is besty friend Countess Cruses birthday.

The bat taping saga drones on , with Cook stating that it is 'whole load of rubbish', whilst named offender KP says these are 'hurtful lies'. Well it wouldn't be test season without KP making top sport headlines for anything but cricket.

Michael Carberry meanwhile is hoping that his continued run of great batting will hold him in good stead for next years IPL.The 32 year old is hoping that a cricket franchise over in India will look at his great season here in Blighty and give him a chance to play. Well that makes two of us. 

The bandwagon has finally stopped at Chester Le Street for the 4th test which stars today, with many travelling fans sampling the delights of Durham City.Hope none of them make it to Lady laineyville cricket club tonight as I may wander down to partake of a couple of sherry shandies!

Not long now until we here the results of Lord Christopher A' levels. Hers hoping that he does well so that Dame Didi and I can go and visit him when he is at uni, and sample the delights of student life ( and show them how to party!). We might even do a spot of shopping!

Yesterday I missed the birthday of former fave bowler of I Lady Lainey. So Angus Fraser, I hope that you had a cracking birthday and don;t have too much of a sore head today!

So with the test looming and work in my intray, I am wandering off to super swanky Lady Lainey office to shout at jobbers, have a kip, drink gallons of coffee, have a kip, listen to the test, and then finally come home.

Hope you all have a great day.

Thursday already!!!

Flipping heck it is Thursday already I cannot believe it, the weeks are going so quickly that they are  speeding past like a high speed train! Yes it is Thursday however we need to have a recap on what was occurring last night in the T20 quarter final.

Well. well..well.the wonderful Michael Carberry sent Hampshire through to finals day with an unbeaten century, as they posted 202-3 in their 20 overs. Well Lancashire went into bat, and I tell you I flipping wish that I had been at the Rose bowl last night. Lancashire finished their innings on 201-4. Hells bells the Hampshire fans must have had their hearts in their mouths!!! If they were not in danger of stopping beating at all. That must have been some match to watch!!!

Jolly well done to Hampshire who are going to try to regain their title. so today we are giving a huge shout out for the Giles Whites boys. #COYH

Also yesterday cheating rumours were abounding with KP's name being bandied about. He took to twitter (naturally) to proclaim his innocence. Why oh why???? Why not do this through the proper channels???? Like his agent making a statement????? No if he takes to Twitter he can then wallow in the replies to his tweet knowing how much he is loved. Why would he cheat was one question that he asked. Well why would he text South African players last year???????

The Australian squad has been named for the start of the 4th test tomorrow, with Aston Agar being omitted again. Well his first test will never be beaten thats for sure!.

after Andy Flower stating yesterday that the 'boys' had not been on a full blow celebratory extravaganza after the weekends end of test, news came through that one of the boys was being jolly well badly behaved in Brighton, and he was one that was named in the squad but didn't make the team. I am not naming names as it is all out there to read however I think that 'weegate' is hideous and shows this man in his true light!
Joe Root and Tim Bresnan were caught having a crafty cigarette too! not quite as bad as urinating on bouncers but bad enough for sportsmen!!!!


Shane Warne had  commented that England players were smug and arrogant ( been reading my blog Shaney?). To which Paul Collingwood replied ( yes Paul Collingwood!). Well I personally think that the players are smug and arrogent, they are self absorbed and think that they are going to win before they even hit the field.This has been growing in recent years and makes the team look crass. They are only as good as the matches that they play well!


 Paul Collingwood wrote an article prior to his international retirement saying that he couldn't bear his children crying when he was leaving to go on tour and how hard it was to be away from his family. Put yourself in the shoes of the armed forces Paul, These men go away for months at a time never sure if they are going to return! At least you knew that you would be going home at the end of the tours!

Oh my giddy aunt!!! It is THursday and I was off on a flipping rant. well there is nothing like getting your blood boiling before heading off to super swanky Lady lainey office. Watch out Jo the Jolly

And the sunshine continues

Oh yes we are back to sunshine again and very welcome it is too after the monsoon like conditions of Monday.
Yesterday I was speaking to Sir Robert Viceroy of Singapore and he said that the weather was much the same over there................however he won't be coming back to old Blighty!!

And so last night was the first lot of T20 quarter finals with former besty home team of Durham in action against Northamptonshire and Surrey in action against Somerset.
Durham looked to be keeping the runs down and Breeze and Stokes took wickets, but then Northants got a spurt of running energy and finished heir 20 overs on 183. This look quite 'doable' for durham but true to form they let it slip with only Stokes making a decent score (51) and finishing on 147. Well thats the end of that for them.

Somerset batted first in their match and made  148 for their 20 overs, Surrey came in and scored 151 to take them through to finals day on 17th august.
Now this day is very important in the life of I, Lady Lainey  as 6 years ago on 17th August, finals day, Durham won the T20 title AND I left former Lord Lainey to start a new life in LT Towers. This year on finals day I will be celebrating the Big Birthday Bash and not even giving his former Lordship a passing thought.


Over at Yorkshire, Gillespie the Gallant is back with the team and ready to take them to a successful end to the season.#coyt.

As the Test Match bandwagon trundles nearer to Chester Le Street Andy Flower and Alistair Cook have said that they are focusing on the series. There were not extravagant celebrations ( I now some one who will be saving this until the end at least there will not be the same culprit in the team that 'spent a penny' in the garden of number 10 #ignorantloutishbehaviour)
Cook says that they are showing good batting ( top order not so in my flipping opinion) I am not sure he has been watching the same matches as me!!!

If you mention China, the current image is of smog covered cities, stark contrasts between the rich and poor and one child per set of parents. However the question is now being asked if cricket has a future in China. Basketball is the game of choice but they have put together a woman's cricket  team. There are some private grounds but most sport is played in universities and here the skills seem to be coming to the fore. There is also a passion for the game growing. so who knows when we will be seeing them in the World Cup.

Well after the 'excitement' of sorting out the antivirus update yesterday, today I lady Lainey am holding the fort single handedly whilst Job the Jolly goes off to Middlesbrough to sort out some extra work.Feet up and 40 winks methinks!!!.

Sunshine again

Oh yes indeedy, the sun has got his hat on and I can at least return to wearing my Jimmy Choos instead of my trusty Hunters! Who would have thought it, Hunters in August. After driving home in monsoon like conditions last night and finding the bottom of Tykes Towers drive underwater, I began to think that we'd had summer and were in Autumn. However today's start seems to say otherwise.

Rain affected play at Old Trafford, but meant that England regained the Ashes, however the Australians are now talking about drawing the series which I thin would be a great boost for a 'new' team and also give England a run for their money. When rain stopped play yesterday. When rain stopped play yesterday  TMS treated us to an interview with KP from 2005, after 5 minutes of hearing his 'squeaky' voice droning on and on and on about how good he was, I politely ( yeah right!) told Job the Jolly that I was turning the radio over to any station I could find and we spent the afternoon listening to 'Happy Hardcore' and Nutty and Bonkers' type music!!!!
Captain Cook did say that England had not been at their best which in any ones books is an understatement, I think that egos were clashing in the dressing room. Maybe before the 4th test KP and Bell can have a wrestling match that way they will know who is the greatest!!!.

Graham Onions has been recalled for the 4th test which means that he doesn't have far to travel and the ECB don't have to pay for his hotel room, that money can be spent widening the doors of KP's room to enable him and his ego to get in!

After former besty home county of Durham lost in 2.5 days to Middlesex, besty home county of Yorkshire went the distance with Warwickshire and drew their match.This still has them top of Division one by 10 points form Sussex. So its a flipping huge shout out of #coyt.

Apparently from the moment that Prince George of Cambridge made his debut with his parents on the steps of St Mary's Paddington. Websites have been crashing as people have been trying to get their hands on the things that the Duchess of Cambridge was wearing and also blankets that the young Prince was wrapped in. This is just the start and I believe that the Duchess will have the baby dressed in normal high street garb. Good for you Catherine .

Busy busy busy is the order of this week, as I continue with work at the Towers and fit in time to go to super swanky Lady Lainey office so with that said, best to get on my way!!!

Stormy Monday

Well it started to rain last night and hasn't flipping well stopped since. Mr Funky cut the lawns at Tykes Towers yesterday and they are now about an inch higher than they were!!! I also cracked on with the railings and am now in sight of the finishing line, another couple of weeks and I will be there, YIPPEEE!!!. I am also hoping this week to have some reed screening around the walls of the extensive grounds of Tykes Towers and then there is only on section of the grounds to deal with! And you just know that this is going to be the worst bit.

So to summarise, after writing my blog yesterday, I painted railings, tidied borders, put up my very swish new 'outdoor' clock. Put up the batons to hold the screening, and then moved indoors. Where I took down the old curtain rails and prepared to put up super swish new curtain poles this week. WOWWEEE I was super blinking busy yesterday.


Which is what Australia were being yesterday until rain stopped play. They are currently leading by   runs  after seeing off England for a good score of  368 with Siddle and Starc taking the bulk of the wickets. Australia then went into bat and closed on 172-7.
I for one am super hoping that rain does not affect today and hope that it has all swept over to the North East of Blighty leaving Manchester to bask in sunshine today!

Oh deary me over at Lords Middlesex cruised to a win against former besty home side of Durham, all in three days.So Durham are probably home in their own beds as I type and reliving the last few days!

However over at Headingley it looks like a busy day (weather permitting) as Yorkshire bowled Warwickshire out for  309 leaving them trailing by 7 runs. They went in to bat and overnight were 148-7, with Gale, Ballance and Plunkett putting on the majority of the runs.

So today at super swanky Lady Lainey office there is only Job the Jolly ( aka jo Bling) as Pony Paul is on his jollies, I methinks it may have been a bit wet in the tent last night. So come 10.30am we can tune int TMS without any moaning and groaning and also have  whole week without 'squeaky noises' coming form the other side of the office.

so without further ado I will wend my weary way to the office, shot at Job, do a spot of work and then look pretty for the remaining 6hours and 55 minutes.

Bon Journee

Lady Lainey sets to work.

It was a beautiful summers day yesterday with the exception of the wind which was a blessed relief from the constant the that we had been living with. I Lady Lainey had great plans of what i was going to do with my day, but actually didn't do anything that I had planned. With the lack of 'staff' here at Tykes Towers I settled down to the mundane tasks of washing and cleaning, I soon got bored with that so went to the shops and got lunches for Job the Jolly (aka Jo Bling) as Pony Paul is on his jollies now.

Then I went round to visit Countess Christine of Mc Nally and the lovely Royal Hounds ( well Leo and Sheba). After being 'loved to death' by the two of them  I settled down to coffee and a chat. Then it was time to come home and settle down for a nap!

I watched the highlights from the test when I woke up, ah yes............. well he did what they all hoped that he would, yes KP  hit a century and according to the hacks today, 'brought England right back into the game'. ' 'Rescued England', ' Showed he is the man'. Yes KP was the star of day three as he  scored 113 with Cook making 62. Close of play England were  233 behind with rain forecast for today and tomorrow. Draw anyone???


Over at Headingley Yorkshire closed their innings on 302 all out and then with Plunkett taking 4 wickets, His Royal Ryanness  and Rashid taking one and Patterson ,two Warwickshire closed the day on  221-8. So today they are going for it! #coyt.

Former besty home county of Durham are still at Lords ( no not Lourdes #pyos) and it was very nearly as I predicted, that it would be all over yesterday. Durham were again bowled out for  171 and the close of play saw Middlesex 103-2, meaning that it should all be over by lunchtime!


So what is on the agenda today.............well the railings are not self painting so I will have to crack on with them and I am also having a little trip to the DIY shop for a couple of paving slabs, some garage door paint and then I am really going to have to get busy busy busy.

Flipping heck, a Lady's life should not be this jolly busy, with hard work and manual labour...........I should be lying on the chaise longue being fed grapes by Sir Sean of Bean or Kieffer Sutherland, oh well in another life.

The 400th blog!

Well  twirl my tiara and call me Her Ladyship, this is my 400th blog, can you believe I have been writing 400 little insights into my tres exciting life? Bringing you all the gossip and news form the cricket world as well as all the updates form Tykes Towers?

Are you bored yet?

well I have not quite got bored with writing all this rubbish  very important 'stuff' so on I go.

Firstly The Blades were in action last night ( oh yes it is getting back to the footy season which means only one thing, cricket is nearly over for another year).  They were taking on Notts County at Bramell Lane.They only went and won 2-1. Flipping brilliant and top Tyke footy team too.

So over at the test Australia had a brilliant day and eventually declared on  527-7, well they thought to give England a little bat, well sort of at the close of play England were 52-2. Siddle went in and took out two tykes, Root and Bresnan who had gone in as nightwatchman. Well it is going to be interesting today.

Former besty home team of Durham are at The home of Cricket and seem to be in a spot of bother. They made 143 in 49.5 overs!!!! However Middlesex went into bat and Durham decided to give them a taste of their own medicine ending the day on  126-5. Well they could wrap the game up today at this rate.

Yorkshire seemed to fair slightly better at The True home of cricket, Headingley. They closed day one on  294-9. With Gary Ballance making a brilliant 112 and his Royal Ryanness making 4! Well he is a bowler. Liam Plunkett and Jack Brooks were also awarded their county caps.#proudtobeatyke.


So what about today?

Well after returning to Tykes Towers last night to find that the wonderful Paul the window man, had kindly fitted my new kitchen door, I am at a bit of a loss ( I thought he was coming today), so I might have a wander down to the local cricket club and spoil 'someones' day!.

Oh yes and just for the record ( Pauly Paul and Duke of Adelaide), I am happily divorced, do not need/want/have a man in my life, and do not get up to anything unladylike. fancy trying to besmirch my reputation on Twitter!!! How very dare you!!

And finally hope that Dame Didi had a great evening at Lion D'or, I am super excited about going in September!

Its F(ryan)day

 Well once again it is  F(ryan)day again and after the 'excitement' of test Thursday which was also Yorkshire Day ( but I did not dare to mention it for fear of being declared biased), I cannot believe that  the end of the week has come around again. Where is the time going? It is August and before we know it  Pere Noel will be knocking on the door.



Well yesterday at the test Australia decided to pull out all the stops and give old blighty a run for their money. Despite some dubious  umpiring decisions they didn't do too badly! And toppo for Yorkshire day Top bowling Tyke Timmy Bresnan took the first wicket. White roses all round.

I nipped of to Chateau Saltburn after work and went to have a dip in the sea, jolly flipping chilly and as I was worried that Greenpeace might come and harpoon me and drag me out into the North Sea I beat a hasty retreat back to Lady Lainey limo and a hot cup of coffee back at the Chateau.

Besty home county of Yorkshire are in action today against Warwickshire and former besty home county of Durham are at the home of cricket taking on Middlesex.

Fingers crossed that top coach of Yorkshire Gillespie the Gallant is back on duty tomorrow, he has been missed, however understandable in the very sad circumstances.

Its a very short one today as I have a million things to do before I get to super swanky Lady Lainey office for Pony Pauls last day before his jollies. Hope the new car comes back in one piece! Well two as it already has had a 'ding'!!!

BOYS!!!!

Test Thursday

So today is the start of the 3rd test at Old Trafford, and England are being 'wary of past mistakes' however rumour has it that KP is fit to play. Mistake number 1. He obviously didn't want to be outshone by the small and mighty James Taylor who sounds as if he may be omitted form the team. Mistake number 2. So far they re not being very wary!!!

The quarter finals draw took place last night and Hampshire will host Lancashire, with Nottinghamshire hosting Essex ( never the same team since the retirement of Ronnie Irani). Northants host Durham whilst Surrey are home to Sussex. These all take place between Tuesday and Thursday next week. I am (not so )silently rooting for Hampshire as this will be the last season for the wonderful Dimitri Masceranhas.


News from former besty home county of Durham is that Geoff Cook will return to work within a week or two after suffering a heart attack in June. This should mean that the price of wine in Austin's bar can return to the normal  as they will not have to pay Neil Killeen to coach the second XI and Jon Lewis can return to his usual position.
We all wish Geoff and long and happy time with Durham.


Dame Didi and I tried without nay luck to have a conversation on Skype last night but to no avail, her skype wouldn't connect with mine. Answers on a postcard to.............


Tzarina Kaaterina phoned last night and after 30 minutes chattering I am still not sure what she was talking about!!!

I awoke this morning to a text from 'Would like to be Lord Lainey'!!! WTF why can't he just disappear. Apparently he was 240 miles away and had bumped into the 2ndXI captain of the team that I used to make teas for last season. That would have been nice, two small town boys a long way from home #keepeachothercompany.



Well only one more day until Pony Paul is off on his jollys, he is demob happy at the moment however I know that in a matter of weeks I will be exactly the same.
So I will have to go to super swanky Lady Lainey office and rain on his parade !!