I appear to be bouncing back

Well it is Tuesday and I appear to have some curls back.

Its a  bit of a relief but I  still can't get it coloured yet. I will see what the hairdresser says later in the week. I am looking a very dull orange rather than my usual 'vibrant' colour.

As if I don't have enough going on, yesterday I  signed up for a level 3 Sports nutrition course and within  half an hour of telling a friend this, I had 3 people asking if they can come to talk to me when I have finished  the course.
To be honest I think that I am going to be using them as guinea pigs  whilst  doing the training.

I am running this along side the life coaching and NLP courses, I guess it will keep me out of mischief.

The one thing that drew me  towards this course was the module on vegan and vegetarian diet in sport.

Obviously with my catering background, food is a big part of my life, I despair at all people who talk 'clean eating' post pictures of their food with chocolate spread  to name but one thing. Because chocolate isn't a processed food!!!!???
I am sick of faddy eaters.

However that aside it will be interesting to see what I personally get out of this let alone the 'Thai boxers' who are making enquiries!

 On the crickety front, not a lot to report, but I did read a great article.
Entitled ' When you're neutral ( calm) v When you're partisan( crazy).

Do I behave differently when watching a team that I have no allegiance to?

I love cricket whether it is club, school, international or domestic, but does it affect how I feel/behave?

 A very interesting read and it got me thinking about how I conduct myself at  cricket.

I tend to sit relatively quietly and take in what is going on, I have only once really let any real emotion show in public  and sadly that was caught on Sky. Crying at Lords when your team lose appears to be very unsportsmanlike, however what could not be seen,  two of my friends from opposing sides shaking hands on the field. That was really the cause of the bulk of the tears.

I do not go down the 'born again' cricket fan route, being so vocal about the  new hobby ( even when you are completely wrong in what you are saying despite digesting 'The laws of cricket' for breakfast) and sit at the match tweeting and tagging in every cricketer who has hit/caught/bowled the ball, in the hope that they will follow you.


I think that I am neutral when I need to be and partisan when the stakes are high.
 
I may write in an overly zealous way about Yorkshire during the season but it is my blog and I am allowed to do that.Although of course there are people who HAVE to make  negative comments about this.
They are obviously  partisan.

One thing I do know is that I am counting down the days until the start of the season.
Now that is one event that I am partisan about. No amount of cricket on TV can make up for the real thing!

Roll on April.

Defeat snatched from the jaws of victory!

Well, well, well, What the Donald Duck can you say about yesterdays cricket.

If you are from India, you will say that a tremendous  final over by Bumrah gave them a five run win over England.

If you are a sore losing Irsihman, you will say that poor umpiring decisions cost England the match.

What is your version of events.

Mine?

Well I am not sure that Rooty was out but he was given, England should have won this but they didn't
There is no point in crying over spilt milk, time to move onto Wednesday and the final match in the series.

The Man with no lips has also been talking to the press about how he would love to go back to Perth Scorchers end of this year if England don't call.
Really????!!!!!

The 34 year old still thinks that he has a chance when there are so many youngsters on the sidelines???
 I would be very disappointed if England did recall him, especially as I personally think that the way forward ( as they seem to be doing now in Australia), is bringing the youngsters forward and giving them a chance instead of hanging onto deadwood.

My opinion only.

Knowing that the selectors are very 'boys club' I would imagine that 'no lips' would be thrown in to the mix still.

Worrying talk filtered through to I Lady Lainey, talk in Australia is that T20 could usurp Test Cricket!!!!!????

Seriously????!!!!

3 hours cricket could replace 5 days????!!!!

This is my worry that the format of test/ county cricket is replaced with the 'one night stand' of the game.

I know about bums on seats and I know about maximum profit for minimum outlay,but seriously how can anyone think that T20 would ever be better that a Test Match.

Test and county cricket may look like a woman in her latter years still trying to compete with the thrilling stunning younger model, but there is a wealth of knowledge in that woman,and  knowledge is far more alluring.
Knowledge will always win hands down.
My opinion only

Well on that note I guess I had better go and see what is happening in Super Swanky Lady Lainey office as Trill Boy reckoned he was going in to do some work yesterday..................................probably went in to make calls and use the internet........................

cricket today

Well I am up and ready for a busy morning before an afternoon of cricket.

Freezer to defrost, Pav Bhaji, cauliflower dhal and chick pea patties to make, and then time to sit down and watch the England.

Yesterday involved lost of noise in the kitchen as Rhys worked his magic. When he removed the worktops that were fitted in the house in the early 1970's, I was very sad. I know that the worktops that have now been fitted will not stand the wear and tear of 40+ years. The old tops were in immaculate condition a credit to the maker.

I was super busy as I had a date with Abraham Benjamin.
 And South Africa had a brilliant game with an 8 wicket win.
I have to say that SA's bowlers put on a great display. Im looking forward to Trent Bridge.

Meanwhile  in Australia it was the final of the Big Bash. Scorchers V Sixers.
 I was cheering for the Scorchers ( Auntie Mollie would be decked in orange) as 'Little' Timmy Bresnan was playing ( so was the man with no lips)

Timmy took 3-40 and  saw the Sixers end their 20 overs on 141-9
A great batting display from Michael Klinger  ( 71 not out)  pushed the  Scorchers over the line  with just over 4 overs remaining.

Very well done to all the Perth boys however the celebration pictures of the man with no lips smiling...........well its the stuff of nightmares.

Well its time to get the freezer sorted and ( hurrah!) the washing machine on.
 Sunday morning rituals return and I also have the joy of a quiet hour doing the RSPB 'Bird Watch'.

I have decided to do this from 11-12.

I do this every year and love just spending the time watching the coming and goings,

Pete the pigeon has been eating is body weight daily, as I have over the past few weeks increased the food that I have been putting out.
So feet up and an hours relax watching the wildlife.

the kitchen makeover begins in earnest

well after yesterdays complete shambles of a blog, I am taking it carefully today!

I was pleased to find out that I had managed to post the blog version 2 in time for Dave to read as he walked over the car park.

Today I am also up and about super early, as young Rhys is coming to make a start on the kitchen.

I also have guests for dinner tonight?

Who thought  of that?????

Well I am sure there is a mountain of curry in the freezer that can be 'nuked' and if they don't like it they needn't come again! (I don't mean that at all)..

I do have some soup on as we speak ( 'end of the week soup' ie  everything that was left in the fridge  thrown in to a pan).

You will notice that there has been no mention of  washing!!!

Well obviously that will be for another day !

I tried to immerse myself in a 'little bubble of calm' yesterday at Super Swanky Lady Lainey office, but that got shot out of the window within less than an hour.

To be replaced by my 'little bubble of excitement' when the announcement was made that Little Timmy Bresnan has been made Vice Captain of the Yorkshire team.
What brilliant news that is and it jolly well brightened my day, which was in much need of some sparkle.
I personally, as I have said, thought that he should have been Captain.................but what do I know.

The team for the  WI's ODI squad was announced and obviously they are of  the thought that David Willey will be repaired and will not break again as his name was in the hat. It was looking very like 'Yorkland' .

Not a bad thing though.

And talking West Indies, they announced that they have appointed Stuart Law as their new coach, he will be working closly with Jimmy Adams who was only recently appointed as Director of Cricket.
Lets see what Aussie magic he brings to the team.

Today, apart from the banging and sawing and hammering that will be going on in the kitchen. is a full on cricket day. There is South Africa on Sky and The Big Bash final in channel 5.
So if you Rhys needs tea, he will have to do it himself as I will be wrapped in blanky and lounging on the sofa.

Have a splendid cricket day.

F(ryan)day full speed to the weekend

Well it's F(ryan)day and if the 'little' incident that has just occurred is anything to go by it is not going to be a good one.

yes as I went to post the blog my laptop decided to  delete the whole thing!

I am sitting here in complete distress as

1. this will not be posted in time for Dave to read it as he walks over the car park

2. I cannot even begin to try to rewrite the whole lot again

3. I don't really have the time to do it all again.


so here in a nutshell and from what my addled brain can remember  are the highlights of the 'deleted blog.

A.England won their T20 match with both Root and Morgan having a good knock.

B. I need a new job as work has become a complete shambles

C. I have text my donation in support of Yorks CCC 'Wear Red Day' check out the website.

D. I am totally exhausted after having only 3 hours sleep due to mulling over office events

E. I am off  to face it all again.



Sorry for the format of todays effort, but I am really pushed for time and losing the whole thing was not what I needed this morning.

I hope that you all have a great F(ryan)day, actually I hope I do.

I will return tomorrow when I will be a panic as I wait for the kitchen makeover to be completed.

Things are moving along nicely

So the end of the week is nearly in sight and it hasn't been too bad.
I just have to get through the scan next week and the results and I can then started on the 'pre season' things.

1. Trip to Wentworth

2. Trip to the National Coal Mining Museum

3. AGM

4. Dubai ( fingers crossed)

In between these things, there is some serious work to be sorted. ( which may jeopardise  no3).
I am prepared to forgo number 3 ( for the umpteenth time,) so that I can break the back of major project (visits & all)  and have most of the summer watching as much cricket as holibobs allow.

There I have made a plan and I need to stick with it.

I also need to make a plan re The chateau and whether I will be downsizing in the coming year.

Right onto more important things.

There was sad news  yesterday when Lancashire announced that Tom Smith their Captain  would be retiring forthwith due to injury.
Tom may have  played on the 'dark side' but a great player he most certainly was. Having watched   him over the years I am sad to see him move on.
I wish him all the best in his future endeavours.

Well after Gary Ashworth light-heartedly put the cat amongst the pigeons with a tweet yesterday morning pertaining to  Aussies suitable to be a much needed 'Yorkshire overseas player'. I have to say that I am disappointed Danni Minogue didn't get a chance, but I am still  holding out for Nick Cave!!

It had to be one of the best tweets I have seen in ages and had me laughing most of the morning.

I am however putting my 'boonarang' on Bouncer from Neighbours!

News from Trevor Bayliss re The Champions Trophy shows that 'holiday freeloader' Steve Finn looks to be in contentions again. How many hols can this boy get from the ECB?
Mark Wood  is also being talked about, he seems to be the one trick pony, who sadly  is having fetlock problems!(OK ankle!!)
I don't get why they are looking players who either don't play or are injured.

OOOOOHHHHHH tooo early for one of my rants I think.


OOOOHHHHHH though to Abraham Benjamin who hit a half century, 63 to be precise, against Sri Lanka on his return to cricket after six month out with an elbow injury.
I know that he wont be playing in  the tests here but he will be with the team!


And with that I am heading out in to Thursday,

Have a good one.

OH MY DOWNWARD DOG!

Well last night I decided that yogalates was the order of the evening. I got through the hour session!
 Yippeeee!!!!!

And now I am worrying that I may not be able to get out of bed as I ache in places that I didn't know existed!

No pain, no gain as they say!

In the BBL it is all gearing up for the final this weekend. The Perth Scorchers are already there, Little Timmy Bresnan being part of it all.
Mitch Johnson . who upset me terribly when he retired from International cricket; was my all time hero in this match as he took 3-3, one of which was 'HWMNBNITB.
Oh how I smiled in the most unsportsman like way!
I bet Auntie Molly will be donning her orange shirt and cheering her boys to a win in the final.

Controversially, the Australian National coach took to Twitter to make comment about 'HWMNBNITB' too. I never realised that we had so much in common!

Headlines on the BBC website say that Lancashire are aiming to bring in a 'major figure' for T20.
I am keeping my fingers crossed that it isn't 'Fatty Flintoff'!!

And to be honest it is still quite up in the air at Yorkshire re the overseas player this season. As I mentioned a few blogs ago re Peter Hanscomb.
We have not been lucky with our choices the last few seasons ( or too clever in selecting before Australia did).
Aaron Finch not wanting to come back to Yorkshire and going to Surrey, talk about putting as many miles between him and us!!
I wonder what Martyn and Andrew come up with as Plan B.

A funny thing happened yesterday as I was approached to possibly do some cookery demos at vegan food festivals this year.
Will I do it?
 Well I will wait to see what they would like me to do and then have a think about it.
I may have to get in to the kitchen and get my inventing head on!

Right now I am getting my 'boss lady' head on and heading off to the office.

I really need my Weetabix Protein this morning.

well it is mid week so I  half way through the madness that constitutes work.

``

Onward and upward

There I am right at the front of the picture

well we are now getting closer to the start of the season and all this entails.
I had made enquiries about being a 'Yorkie' at some of the matches, but as most are during the week I would have to take  holiday and I am trying to avoid any unnecessary holiday usage so that I can get away to Dubai. What a dilemma, I want to help the club but will leave myself short if I do????!!!!!

Oh well maybe when I retire ( and the way I feel at the moment that is not too far away!)

After all the excitement yesterday afternoon of finding myself ( along with several thousand other Yorkie fans) on the ECB website ( see above pic), I rapidly lost the will to do any work and packed up early  for the day.

I got home and instead if cracking on with all the things that I should be doing, I sat down and continued reading 'Black Diamonds; by Catherine Bailey/ I just cannot put this book down.
It is the story of the Fitzwilliam Dynasty and the Wentworth Estate. I am not saying any more as it is well worth a read.

I fell asleep last night reading it!!!!

I do know that I am planning to visit Wentworth this year.

I also read the news that Trevor Bayliss was ' a little disappointed' with the bowling during the ODI series. Seriously!!! this is cricket news!!???
I think that  we may all have been 'a little disappointed' with areas of the teams performance.
Luckily 'cricket  pundit' Mark Butcher says that they  shouldn't  be too disheartened.
Well that has put my mind at rest...................not!!!

I still think that if we are debating Root for the England Captain role lets have a new ODI /T20 Captain too.

Other news re the team ( and any possible Yorkshire appearances) David Willey had a scan on his shoulder after leaving the field on Sunday and it has been said that there is no significant damage.

Well I am about to leave for the day.
All stations go at the moment and lots to do.


Happy Tuesday 



 

New week

Well the new week starts and determined that this is the start of good things.
I know that you can't wish then on yourself but I am going to start by thinking positive.

I have a 'to do' list ' of only 5 things as usually it is as long as my arm and I bin it before I get to the second,
 Tonight I am going to 'yogalates' which as you can tell is a mix of yoga nad pilates, before heading home.
 Yes hopefully this will be a 3 times a week occurance.

So what happened yesterday?

Well after a little scare when I heard 'thumping' noises from the washing machine and then couldn't find my phone ( It was in the water butt in the garden obviously!!! and there was a hairbrush in the washing machine.............which is made even odder by the fact that I don't brush my hair ever). I settled down to watch the cricket.

England posted a terrific score  of 321-8
India came in and were 2 wickets down in no time, however  all eyes were on Kholi as he hit 55 to steady the ship.

This game turned out to be another exhibition by India of how to take things to the wire in a run chase, and also a great last over of bowling by England.

England won by 5 runs, but you just know that it could so easily have gone the other way.


Australia won the 4th ODI by 86 runs and look to be building themselves a good team again.
The Australia team of 1987 who won the World Cup finall got their medals 30 years on.
 The team were all brought  back together to get them.

As you may or may not know, my friend Clare is off to Uganda soon to work with 'Cricket without Boundaries' a charity very close to my heart.
She is fund raising still, so any help will be greatly appreciated. I will be posting more info in this over the next week.
Well done Clare, spreading your passion for the game.

I have quite a lot of things to sort out today in the office and then it will be a busy week.
However I will be making sure that I have feet up at lunchtime and probably having a nap.

 Well best to go as who else will shout at boys, drink copious amounts of Redbush tea and look pretty for 7 hours..........................

Have a good day/ week.

lazy Sunday

Good morning Sunday I am in bed and listening to Captain Morgan making excuses for England being so rubbish in India.
Jonny B is back and it will be interesting to see if this makes any difference.

I have chosen not to watch the opening of this match as I cannot bear to see the Irishman who captains us look so disinterested when they play our national anthem.

Over in the Desert T20 Captain Morgans former team Ireland, got well and truly thrashed by Afghanistan in the final They had beaten Scotland to get to there.
All out for 71! that was some collapse

Down under, HWMNBNITB has been his usual 'up his own a&&e' self when he refused to have a photograph taken with young British tennis player Dan Evans. To be honest Dan, I could have thought of a lot of other South African players to have had your picture taken with!!!!!!


Back in Yorkshire. after the unveiling of Peter Hanscomb as their over seas player and him commenting that he would commit to the whole season.....................well he is playing exceptionally for Australia so you just know what is going to happen!
I did say not to look at an Australian but did they listen?
Of course not.
The past few seasons have shown that where T20/ overseas players are concerned, we have been given short shrift.  Players tip up, get called up and then leave us in the poo.

I have not doubt that the club has a plan B so I will wait to hear.

Well yesterday was another lazy one and I even managed a 2 hour nap!
I have to get myself in to some sort of order today and get things done, especially as next weekend sees the new kitchen being sorted .

However I think another hour in bed will be the order of the morning.

This is all new to me, I would normally have done 4 loads of washing, hoovered the house and be making chick pea patties now!
I am not sure the lazy route is doing me any good!

And so 'Le Weekend' et arrive

I am typing this from 'mon lit' as I am struggling to get up today.
Well who cares it is 'Le Weekend' as we would say back home.

Plans for today.................

1. Finish this

2. Have another hour in bed

3. Walk to town (3 mins)

4. walk around town (2.5mins)

5. Walk back to the Chateau  ( long way round 5 mins)

6. Pretend to do 'stuff'

7. have a nap

8. repeat '6' a few times until bed time

There it is in a nutshell

Now is there anything more?

well yesterday I lost my temper rather badly.
The week before ( when I was not at my best) I was asked to  ask a cricketer if he would appear at the local Cricket Club. So after a bit of thought about whether I would ask, I did.
Luckily the said cricketer was more than happy to do the 'gig' and I contacted the club contact to say he would do it .

Now a few weeks ago I had been given a heads up that said club were having  2 other people as a season open evening Q & A.

I didn't think anything about this when I made the request.

So a week goes by and yesterday an email pops up from club contact, saying that  they were having the 2 people I had originally been told about!

Well I was flipping furious, firstly as they were asking me to use my contacts  again, I did this for them last year.And  then  I had to go back to said cricketer and explain who was doing it.
luckily he was OK about it and made me laugh with his response.

From now on, I will be more selective about doing favours.

If said cricketer is reading this once again I am very sorry.


And in other cricket news
YES!!!

Jonny B is back in the T20 squad

Also the ECB and ICC are hell bent on killing cricket in this country as they are now looking at football stadiums to host the World Cup in 2019.
Depriving clubs of revenue and making their balance sheets  turn red, which was the colour of my face when I read the article!

Its way too early for all this ranting so I am going back to sleep.

Bon weekend

F(ryan)day and I'm ready for the weekend

Well it is the last day of the working week and even though I will have only put in four days this week, I will be glad when today is over.

I am feeling much relieved and hence better but I am still very tired so I am going  to have another lazy weekend.

There will of course be washing and cooking but there will also be lots of sleeping going on!

Today is full on busy as I have a lot to get put in place for major projects as well as being pushed for  O & M's on projects that we are no where near finishing ( read this as stern phone calls this morning to put a halt to further emails).


Yesterday saw England in more one day action and they lost the match and the series. Enough said on that I think


If appears that  there is some investigation by Cricket Australia about comms between Strikers captain Brad Hodge ( who was 'mic'd up) and a commentator.
Some stats were given over the mic re the batsman and one of the team bowlers and a change of bowling ensued. No wicket was taken but it does not look to have been 'cricket'

funnily enough 'HWMNBKITB' was also on comms and reported to have said 'naughty naughty'.

Oh how I laughed at that. #hypocrite

How I see it, is that when commentators are on air they are throwing stats around right left and centre ( to appear to be more 'badgerish' than I, Lady Lainey). if you mic up a player and he can hear what is being said in the comms box then stop the practise immediately. I know that they can switch them on and off.
The question is why was the commentator stupid enough to give the stats in the first place!!!

To be honest I still shudder at Fatty Flintoff doing his Elvis rendition a couple of seasons ago.



Yesterday afternoon as I was making myself a coffee, I glanced out of the kitchen window...........................................and only saw  'Fuzzy chops' Murphy trotting past with his Daddy.
I had to resist the  urge to run downstairs and out of the door after him.

Ahhh I miss my little 'office mate'


right I am out of here!

A sad day for the ladies

very sad news filtered through last evening that the greatest English women's cricketer , Rachael Hayhoe-Flint, had passed away aged 77.
Flint is probably the first name of a woman cricketer that we ever knew, and to me she was an inspiration. I remember watching her being interviewed when I was younger and thinking 'I want to play cricket like her'.
I found this picture of her and had to laugh as even when I played  ( and was coached by the great Harry Latchaman) I wore the same kind of 'shorts' as those!  We all did as we tipped up for matches every Sunday morning for 'Harefield Ladies'.
None  of the 'long trousers' we were there in our 'ladylike' version of whites.

Her impact on woman's cricket here in England was immense, she was a strong woman with an even stronger voice.

RIP


In other cricket news,after my mini rant about IPL over England, it was announced yesterday that Joe Root would not be putting himself forward, so that he could spend more time with his new son.

Ireland beat the UAE in the Desert T20 and qualify for the semi finals.

And then last night............................................


.....................word came through that Abraham Benjamin would not be playing in the test matches in England later this year!!!!!  WHAAATTTT!!!!!

I quickly sent a tweet to Sophie, we were both beside ourselves.

Then Yorks CCC  Chairman  and all round good egg  Steve Denison tweeted that AB would be playing one day matches. So guess that I might have to get myself along to Headingley in May.

I tell you if 'The Stare' bottles out of the tour I could be on the next plane to South Africa  to give him a swift kick up the jacksie!!


And what about me.

Well yesterday as you know, I took a days holiday and went back to bed after posting my blog.
Then before lunch I had a walk into town, bought a lot of reduced Xmas bits and put them away in Narnia until later in the year
Came home has some lunch and went back to bed to watch a DVD.
Around dinner time I sort of got my 'secondwind' as I prepared risotto.
Tonight's meal is all prepared, just to be cooked and my lunch for today is in the fridge waiting for me.
I even had time to tackle ( unsuccessfully) the little corner shelves of the pantry.

No wonder I was back in bed before 7pm!!

And today?

Well I am up, dressed and trying to do something with the oddly strange straight hair.

Hope my curls come back, I feel very 'unlainey' without them.

England or IPL

Well now, I have been reading up on the central contract system to see how badly off England  players are that they are 'hawking their mutton' in the IPL.

It now seems that all the T20 action around the world and the money that it pays players is effecting the fact that they have been chosen to play for their Countries. The annoying thing is that they may be allowed to go to the BBL or IPL, but during the summer they are not allowed to play for their counties!
However it appears that the ECB may clamp down on Captain Morgan, and his IPL adventure.
It does seem that it is about money now and gathering as much as they can.
It doesn't help with fitness in the English season either as some players seem to be playing 12 months of the year and not really giving their bodies a rest.

Just a little observation and you may or may not agree , but somehow I do think that there needs to be some kind of agreement with International players  as too playing in only one  T20 series ( e.g either CPL, IPL ,BBL or RamSlam)

OK enough venting .

Back in the desert T20, Scotland beat The Netherlands  and Ireland  kept their dreams alive as they beat Namibia.

Well after a very fraught week, I got back blood tests last night  and apparently I am 'as fit as a lop' ( Docs words not mine).I still have to go for a scan in a couple of weeks, just to back the test up.
 I am also doing something today  that I never do. I am taking a days holiday today just to try to pull myself together a little bit.
I feel like a well wrung out dish cloth, so thought that I would take a step back and recharge my batteries.
And keep up with my Strikers in their last match in the BBL.They won't be going any further but they are still my 'adopted' boys.

have a great day.............................I am going back to bed for a couple of hours!

Lets do Tuesday!

Time to do Tuesday and its going to be a tough day! So with this in mind I am posting a picture which makes me smile ( and isn't of Fuzzy Chops Murphy). Yes I had a fun few hours a couple of seasons ago when I interviewed Dizzy.
He made me laugh and blush all at the same time, and also told me what a cricket 'tragic' I was.


Talking Dizzy, The Strikers played a valiant game yesterday with Ness talking 2 wicket and 2 catches and despite all attempts with the bat they fell 6 short.
To  say that I was gutted is an understatement , but it must have been nothing to how the lads felt.
They have one more match and they need to win this, just for themselves.
Quite a nasty accident happened during the Strikers innings when Brad Hodge's bat slipped from his hands and hit the Renegades wicket keeper Peter Nevill. It is suspected that he has a fractured jaw and is the second time this season that he has left the field after being hit.


The Desert T20 is in full swing at the moment, Afghanistan beat Ireland and Scotland beat Hong Kong.

There is little information on these matches  but I am trying to keep an eye on any glimmer of news.

And Australia have hired Monty Panesar ahead of their India tour. Well I never saw that coming!


On to  other news, Monday in Super Swanky Lady Lainey office was uneventful, probably because I was totally zoned out most of the day. I recall Trill Boy singing ( the wrong words of course) but my head was ( and is ) so full of other stuff that I even let this go.

Even the thought of the Middle East and the new project failed to really register.
I'm not really myself at the moment and it is starting to become obvious to even the hard nut office boys.

Must try harder today to appear normal ( what ever normal is).

Well I am off to start Tuesday and see what it will hold today, I think it is going to be the longest one on record!

Have a great Tuesday and try not to be as stressed out as I am at the moment.

new week, what will this one hold?

And so a new week begins and the England team will be hoping that it is the start of  a better one for them.

Yesterday they were given a master class in how to chase down 350.

England set the bar seemingly  high for the India team after cracking knocks from Roy and Root  (73 & 78 respectively).
And it was all looking favourable for England as India sank to 63-4.
Captain Morgan had that 'smirk' on his face, you know the one, not sure if he is smiling or has wind!

However  Kholi and Jadhav had other ideas and with knocks of 122 and 120 they were steering India to the fourth highest ever run chase win.

it was some game.
Captain M said we need to look at the bowling ahead of next game. Lady Lainey says lets look at the Captain (part timer thast he is).

Down under Australia were beaten by Pakistan who levelled the series.
It was Pakistan's first win in Australia for 12 years.
The 3ed ODI takes place on Thursday in Perth.

Today sees my Strikers in action and they need to win their next  2 matches to survive.
They lost 'Big' Billy to Australia but they have Michael Neser and Chris Jordon and Kieron Pollard so I have high hopes for them.

Come on boys you have not played to your full potential this season. Pull out the stops and get winning.


The remainder of my Sunday  was spent knitting and chilling out.
 And after a long lie in, I didn't even have a nap!

And today, well I could do with a lie in and am not looking forward to the week ahead. I fear it is going to be a tough one.

Until tomorrow.

Happy Birthday to HRR

Happy Birthday to you
Happy Birthday to you
Happy Birthday old timer
I hope you like this rhyme(r)


Yes today is the birthday of His Royal Ryanness who is 39 years young. He is about to enter his 20 season in cricket and will be opening the bowling ( hopefully ) against Hampshire in April with a FC wicket haul of 737 wickets in 222 FC matches.

The 'Rolls Royce' of  Yorkshire.

I hope that he has a super day and if he hasn't read the blog this morning no doubt someone will tip him off that I have written about him!

There's always one tattle tail!

And in other news, well the beds are stripped and in the washing machine. I just  to sort out lunches for the next week and then I won't be having a nap, as U had a super long sleep last night. (11 hours according to my watch/fit thing)
Cooking and washing may seem to be my weekend preoccupation but believe me, over winter it is quite refreshing to be able to do the housework and then watch TV. Summers have been very busy over the years and I need time to rest and recharge my batteries.

I have missed the start of the cricket but I think that I needed the sleep mire.

England are currently 99-1 with  17 overs remaining.

once I have cooked my breakfast I will sit down and watch India's innings

I have in the slow cooker at the moment a vegan 'sausage' casserole. Not sure how it will turn out but I will see when I have it for dinner.

well that's about it for today as I have lots to do  and getting up late has kind of set me back about 4 hours!

have a super Sunday and if you are in the North east take a brolly with you as it is wet and miserable

Until tomorrow

Sort out Saturday

Well it is Saturday and I am about to load the boot of the car with things for the charity shop and the 'dechetterie', then I am going to come home and lock the door and not stir until Monday AM when I have to go to work.

It's cold and its icy and I see no point in heading out into it after the mornings jobs.

The dressing room  is 'steaming' at the moment, as I have set up the clothes dryers in there and hope that I have some dry clothing for Monday. ( I am a tumbledryerphobe)

yesterday after the initial fall of snow that made the extensive grounds of the chateau look like Narnia ( no not under my stairs) and caused the Gentlemen of Tykeshire to disappear from sight, and after a torturous drive to work, due to imbecile drivers, the day turned out sunny but very cold.

Work was the usual entertaining drivel.


Trill Boy.  YOUS lot didn't go to the same school what I went to.

Lady Lainey, no you are correct, we didn't, ours wasn't 'approved'

Trill Boy ( last comment sweeps over his head). I have a high IQ

Lady Lainey  REALLY!  how high is it?


Trill Boy, I don't know but it's high.

Lady Lainey. Are you a member of Mensa?

Trill Boy  Is that the club in Darlington?

Lady Lainey  dear lord, its like lining up half a dozen shovels and telling him to take his pick!

This is just an example of what I put up with daily if not several times daily!

Ah well I should know better by now.

time to head off and do 'stuff'

have a great Saturday and keep warm.

Finally F(ryan)day

Well it's F(ryan)day and the only thing that means is that I am closer to the weekend and doing nothing. I am tired beyond belief and we have snow!
I woke up at 3am very cold and switched on the electric blanket. I had a peep out of the window and  nothing, then I got up at 5.15am and it was starting to come down, now less than an hour later, it is coming down like mad!
Oh joy!

I think that tonight when I get home I need to get the washing sorted and on, and get the dishwasher cleaned and reloaded. have a  full on busy 20 minutes and then wrap myself up in my blanky  in front of the TV.
No chance of going out gallivanting I can tell you. Sequin tube top, mini skirt and Hunters....................never a good look (and I am talking about the  tube top and mini skirt).

well now, in cricket, Twitter was all a twittering about the news that Captain Cook would be meeting with Andrew Strauss today. Everyone and their dog was speculating on what time it was taking place, would Cook step down as Captain, Who would take over, who would be buying the first round in the bar!

To be honest all of this diverts attention from the fact that the team were hammered in the last warm up match.
I would be seriously worried if Cook decided to resign now as Captain and if he is goign at the end of the tour, I doubt that we will know today. I may be wrong on that though.

I do think however that someone had leaked the news of the meeting.

So yesterday was 'kiss a ginger day' and I was hoping that Fuzzy chops Murphy, the greatest ginger dog in the world, would tip up.
Sadly it was not to be and Trill Boy  decided that he would offer to kiss me.
Yuk!
A very smart slap with a metal ruler made sure that he gave me a wide berth for the rest of the working day.

I think that I may have to cut my ramblings short and head out the door. not looking forward to today at work.

Happy F(ryan)day and  keep warm and safe.

Another week nearly over

And its been an odd one, this time last week I had lots of plans and then today I am back in limbo.
Have you ever had that feeling 'Why me?'

Anyhoo, not a lot I can do until next week so best to try to push all things to the back of my mind and get on with the job in hand.

So after LOTS and LOTS of cricket news yesterday what do we have today.

Well Yorkshire CCC are signing AD de Villiers on a Kolpak contract along with Dale Steyn, they are looking to supplement the batting and bowling. AB and Dale have been desperate to get to Leeds and work with the best team in the world.

OK!!!!! IT'S A FIB but there is so little news that I had to make some up

It would have either made you smile ( me) or made you start tearing your hair out ( you)

But on the 'Kolpak ' front it is now looking as if Marchant de Lange may not be heading to Glamorgan after all. I am still waiting for confirmation of this.............either way.

There was some boring news about 'the man with no lips' but since there was a picture of him with the article I couldn't bring myself to read it.

Interesting to see that Mitch Johnson 'might' consider coming out of retirement for the T20I series in Australia.Surely he can't just select himself to play?
And even though I loves him lots, I cannot help but think that if he really said he was considering doing this, then he is not putting out good vibes about his thoughts of the current team.
We'll have to wait and see.

And finally Captain Morgan does not seem to be match ready despite a nice long break from International cricket!!!!

Last night when I got home I decided to get busy and use up the elderberries that were in the freezer, I now have a few jars of chutney in the pantry and the house still has a wonderful smell this morning,

I like the smell of it but never eat it.

Right off to do my stuff.

Mid week

It's Wednesday and I am up but don't think that I am functioning to my best ability, having been awake since 2.30am due to hideously  high winds, Not a great start to the day so I am posting a picture of old Fuzzy face Murphy to cheer myself up and hoping  that he may just come back to the office. He was remarkably more intelligent than the mob I have to look at everyday and he smelt considerably better!

Yesterday saw England in action against India A, and they finally won a match on the subcontinent. Lets see if we are still saying this, this  time next week!!!

And My Adelaide Strikers  were in action against Melbourne Stars.
 'HWMNBNITB' was playing up when he asked the 'other' KP ( Keiron Pollard)  to remove some tape from his hand when he was bowling to him..........................just a shame that England hadn't asked 'HWMNBNITB' for his  mobile phone during  the series against South Africa in 2012
And before anyone gets onto their 'high horse' about what I have just written.
 Tough!!!
I dislike this man, he is nothing but a cricket whore and will go wherever the money is best. He is disloyal to his country ( which ever side of the country fence he is on at the time).
This is my opinion and I stick with it.

Anyway he got run out!
And my Strikers lost I was gutted.

End

HUGE NEWS yesterday that the lovely Michael Carberry who is the only person to out smile TLJL is looking to be back with the Hampshire squad this season. This is just the best news after his shock cancer news last season.
Here at The Chateau and over at Chateau Didi, we love Carbs.

Ah well, time/tide/high winds and snow wait for no Lady so best to get a wiggle on and get myself to Super Swanky Lady Lainey office

oh and to add some extra cricket news, Jimmy Adams has been named West Indies Director of Cricket.

Cricket news aplenty today.
see you tomorrow

News Tuesday

Well news is in that Little Joey Root is now a 'Daddy' to little Alfred William , yes there is another Yorkshire batsman on the way.

many congratulations to Joe and Carrie on their little bundle of joy who arrived on Sunday.

As you all know I love babies..................and then they grow up!!

Other possible Joey news should be aired very soon, as it is rumoured that Captain Cook is about to step down  in favour of  Joe.
 If this is true then I have even less respect for Cook who played the 'baby' card to explain his terrible performance in the last test, and yes I know every hack on Fleet Street ( yes I know that they no longer hang out there) had plenty to say about it.
This is most definitely the wrong time for Joe to be named Captain only 4 years after his debut. He needs more time, not land in India and have this thrust on him when he is still on cloud nine after Alfred William made his appearance!
Is there a complete lack of sense in the England Camp?
Seriously!!!
I am sendng my CV as we speak as I think that they need a woman in there to sort them out!

Oh dear so early and already on a rant.

After last weeks slating of two South African players who were coming to Hampshire on Kolpak contracts , this week sees two more joining the ranks of Sussex and possibly Glamorgan. These are,  I am led to believe if the ECB OK's, it but it looks like this summer their may be a South African invasion in more ways than a Test Series!!


I have been trying to sort out my holibobs so that  I can sneak in a but of R & R in the sunshine in Dubai, on top of ensuring that I will be seeing as much of Yorkshire as possible. Not as easy as it seems but I think that I will see a fair amount of my boys this summer as well as a couple of Internationals thrown in for good measure.

I managed to sort out the last few hotel bookings for the season and think that apart from possible 'Quarters and Semis' I am sorted.

Very exciting!!!!

I can hardly wait!!!!
Ah well time to head off to the office now, something that I could gladly wait for.


Until tomorrow

It's Monday...enough said

.......................however the good news is that it is nearly  10 weeks until the clock 'spring' forward and we will be really close to the cricket season .It is are already gradually getting lighter, I notice it in the mornings and especially when I leave Super Swanky Lady Lainey office. All good signs and sure to make everyone smile.

My besty friend Rob in Dubai is still trying to get me to go out for a holiday, I might just do a bit of investigating the fixtures of the North/South tournament and see if I can get out and see some cricket and even cheer TLJL on. I have been putting this visit off for so long now that it seems that I am being rude. To be honest I don't really have the holiday time to go as most is  used to go and watch my beloved Yorkshire. I may just have to bite the bullet, and see which matches I can do with missing ( which would be none in my honest opinion).

So yesterday was not  that busy here in the chateau as I had another lazy day.
It is becoming something of a habit at the moment but I really am not a winter person and prefer to hibernate..
I did meet The Dame and then came home to sort out lunches for this week at work, then I just chilled out and watched some DVDs.

I also started writing up my first piece of 'homework' and believe me it has been quite amazing what I took in during my first 'lecture'. However there is still a long way to go and  I still have to start the NLP side of it, but small steps and all that!



Tomorrow see the start of the One Day series in India. Luckily we are looking at start tines of 8am which means that I will be able to get more rest and listen to the match at work.
Team news is expected today.

No news on the Root baby.

There was a wonderful tweet out there in 'Twitterland' yesterday from the son in law of a gentleman who suffered a heart attack on the last day of the season. Coach Gale had only gone and given him a call to see how he was.
Fantastic touch.

Right I am now out the door on the way to day one of week 2.

There must be a better way to earn a crust, but sometimes its better the devil you know..........



A tout a l'heure

Sunday slowdown

its Sunday and after a very long lie in yesterday I am trying to get back to regular times and out of the bad ways that I appear to have developed over the Christmas holidays.

Yesterday I  was so sleepy doing my blog that I forgot quite a few things.

 The Adelaide Strikers are going to be losing 'Big'Billy Stanlake, who  has been nabbed by the national team and who I have been banging on about since last seasons BBL.
The Strikers won their first match on Friday and are still in the running but sadly some of the call ups will have an effect on the team.
I still am keeping the faith.

Dame Didi called over for lunch yesterday and I introduced her to full vegan fare, she must have liked it as she had cleared her plate before me!!

I am so excited as I am having a new handbag made for me by the fabulously talented Catherine of 'The Cats Corsets'. The bag will be revealed in its full glory when I receive it. At the moment  we have had a slight delay with the handle. I am bursting to see it in its whole glory.

The rest of the day was spent just doing bits and pieces and sorting out things for the new batch of 'cricknits' which I hope to unveil on their Twitter page and the Etsy shop in time for the new season.

Which reminds me that I am totally excited now that the AGM has been announced to take place on the 18th March. It looks like we will be having a good old 'gang' catch up.

In other cricket news Middlesex have announced that they are having Adam Voges back as overseas player this season. Voges who at present is recovering from a hamstring injury, will be having his fourth spell with the current champs.

And Australia beat Pakistan to make a clean sweep of the series and show that they are on the way back. This was their first series win since February last year.Also they now bolster their numbers  ready for the next round of one day matches.

Interestingly much hyped but not on Lady Lainey radar Aaron Finch has been dropped along with George Bailey and 'newbie; Hilton Cartwright.

Glenn Maxwell is back in the line up so it will be interesting to see how he gets on mow that he is back in the fold.
Ah Glenn 'hotelkeygate' was only just talked about before new year!

Well it is time to strip the beds,and get the washing machine on , then I have some bread to bake, a vegetable bolognaise to make and meet Dame Didi at noon.

Best to get myself sorted then

Maybe Sunday will not be as slow as I had hoped!

Bonjour le weekend

Bonjour from The Chateau, I have only  been awake  for a half hour  and am still in bed typing this on the 'lapdog'!
I fear that this weekend may be given up to sleeping and generally being lazy..............well it has been my first week back at work this year!

So last night I had a young pup of a joiner call round to quote me on putting in some new worktops dans la cuisine. The whole of la cuisine is in the midst of a makeover and this will be the one thing that draws it all together.
I was very impressed by his professionalism and hope to get some of the other joinery jobs done here.

As I speculated the other day, Virat Kohli has been named as India captain after the resignation of MS Dhoni. Another good prediction this week.

Well the ECB have somehow managed to get Investec to opt to use a break clause  in their 10 year sponsorship contract, meaning that they are pulling out after 6 years. Hmmmm I wonder who the ECB can get to stump up £50m to take their place.

The Abbott debate still rolls on, poor bloke hasn't even got here and County players are having a go at him!
I am sure that he has not done this lightly and will have weighed up the pros and cons.

Well its time to haul myself out of bed and get cooking as The Dame is tipping up for lunch after having her barnet chopped.

So I need to get myself into gear.

And the rest of the day will hopefully be about  dropping things at the charity shop and then coming home for a nap.

well short one today

until tomorrow

It's the first F(rayn)day of 2017

Welcome to the first F(ryan)day of 2017 and the end of the first  working week of the year. To say that I am excited is an understatement, I have only been at work 4 days this week and its been torture.

However it nearly the weekend and I am not sure what I am going to do with myself as bizarrely last night when I got home I did 2 loads of washing. Which means that this weekend I will not be listening to the sound of the washing machine at stupid o' clock!

Other strange things occurring yesterday...................after previously reporting that Kyle Abbott would be coming to Hampshire, sure as eggs is eggs, it happened but not without a huge furore!!.
The poor guy was in tears as he made his decision to quite South African international cricket and asked that people would respect his decision, not something that Faf du Plessis took into account as he  got on his high springbok..
Following him to Hampshire is the very lovely Rilee Rossouw, who also is coming here after signing  a  Kolpak deal.

Do I have anything to say about these deals??
Well I wonder if they are halting the progression of any young English cricketers, but apart from that hopefully they will put some bums on seats as the Ageas bowl.

Kent are rebuilding  with teeny tiny Matt Walker as Head coach, many years ago when he was playing on Kent seconds, I mistook him for a little boy that had wandered on to the field!
They have also named Alan Donald as Assistant coach.
 will be interesting to see how this works for the club this season.

I had my first 'lecture' for my new course. It was an eye opener I can say, interesting looking at how social media can tell you a lot about your friends and family. Low self esteem was highlighted and it was interesting to see how true it was. 'Attention seeking' was also pointed out. It  makes you look at post  in a whole new way.

All incredibly interesting stuff.
And now best head off and do the boring stuff that pays the mortgage.

Happy F(ryan)day.

First week back is nearly over

Well thank goodness it is nearly Friday  and the weekend because if I had to have more than  two days in the office with 'office boys' I may well be tempted to take notice of the above!!.

If it's not the singing, its the gossipping.
If its not the gossipping its the inability to concentrate for longer than 2 minutes (tops)
If its not lack of concentration, its singing ( repeat for 7 hours)

I tell you, I have a short temper anyway and it now is even shorter 1 minute ( tops)


Captain Morgan ( not  the drink) managed to become a hero in Australia when he hit a six off the final ball taking Sydney Thunder to a win.I guess the rest that he had not going out to Bangladesh must have helped him get ready for his big money spinning  few weeks down under.
 Hmmmm not a hero in my eyes and lets see how he pans out for England in his next outing, sure he will be tired out and probably injured from carrying his earnings  to the bank!

Rather a surprise to see that MS Dhoni has stepped down as Captain of the India  one day team ahead of the upcoming series. He will still be in the line up of the one day matches and the upcoming T20 series.
Leading candidate to take over is Virat Kohli.

Current County Championship custodians for Yorkshire, Middlesex have announced that James Franklin will be with them until the end of season 2018. I don't see him being a match for my boys this season,

In BBL action, Perth Scorchers are in action so that will keep Auntie Molly happy!, meanwhile yesterday Adelaide Strikers had an 'Adopt a Striker' day, flipping heck I missed my chance to adopt 'Big' Billy and Ness!!!  totally gutted!!

Ah well time to gird my loins and head out the door, and judging by the frost on the cars this morning it is going to be another cold one!

Bon journee

It's the middle of the week already

Yes indeedy it is the middle of the week and  I have already missed a birthday!

Yesterday was the birthday of super Tyke follower and great chum Mark, he was not quite as old as the chairman says that I am and so will be less prone to my aches and pains.
belated birthday wishes Mark I hope that you had a great day.


I had a day that was not too bad in Super Swanky Lady Lainey office, this was mainly because I was so cold I was wearing a woolly pom pom hat and couldn't hear a thing that the boys were saying.
 have to say that walking in yesterday morning to temperatures that were colder than outside nearly had me throwing in a days holiday and heading back home!

However further from home, in another hemisphere to be precise, David Warne, the 'marmite' boy of Australian cricket made a little bit of cricket history, when he became only the fifth batsman to hit a century in the first session. He got there in 78 balls which is a great achievement . He is the first Australian to do this.

Soon to be Tyke, Peter Hanscomb added 110 and Yorkshire born Renshaw hit an outstanding 184. I would say that they had all had 3 shredded wheat!

Former besty team in the south (Hampshire) are remaining silent on the whether they have re signed South African Kyle Abbott on a long term deal as a Kolpak registration. No idea why they wouldn't make this known.
Abbott is currently with the South African team, a position that opened up for him after my little crush Dale 'The Stare' Steyn was injured. 
Hampshire  also have George Bailey with the team again this season after his time at Middx.

Much as I am not the greatest fan of T20 this years announced signings have the forthcoming games warming up to be a bit of great entertainment.

I actually think that I might only get to see 2-3 but hey its better than not seeing any live cricket.

I am now off to try to rack up my 10,000 steps today, and I suppose that I should get my head around the archiving and O & M's that need to be done.

It is Wednesday and so the weekend is on the way, YEAY!!!!!

Back to the grind

Well I am up and dressed and ready to head off to the office, I am decked out in thermals and every jumpy I possess as the Landlord will have switched off the heating the minute we walked out on the 21st and we will not be getting the building warm again until well into next week as the antique heating system struggles against the cold and damp. Yes Super Swanky Lady Lainey office is nothing of the kind!

And you wonder why  I am always full of cold and worse!

That aside it is now so much closer to the season that my thoughts are turning to getting a bag packed in readiness, which will make a change from the usual 'hour before leaving' throwing of things into the case.

However there is a few months before I will be away.
Over in Australia Timmy Bresnan has gone over to replace David Willey, who seems to have been playing very well.Lets hope he makes last seasons much anticipated  impact with my boys this season.

Over in Australia, the hosts are 354-3 which is pretty impressive, as I said earlier this week they are looking much improved.

I am hoping that the Christmas break for the England team will prove to be beneficial to their next round of matches.

And with that I am off to work, I don't really want to go as its cold outside but hey, I'll be fine when I get there.............................if I try to convince myself it might just happen!

At least tomorrow is Wednesday !

Last day of my holibobs

well the New Year is here and before we know it we will be racing along at supersonic speed towards the cricket season. I for one cannot wait.
however before that I am embarking on my new courses.
what  are they?
Well I am about to start training to be a life coach and then learn all about NLP  and how to use this.
All very different from life in Super Swanky Lady Lainey office but I am thinking that the NLP would come in handy!
I am a firm believer that it is never too late to learn something new,

Life here in the Chateau I hope will be at a much less frenzied pace this year, I am still clearing out ready for the move to France, but as that is a way off I still want to get rid of as much 'stuff' that I have accumulated over the years in advance.
So in the last 10 days I have taken 3 bags to the charity shop, sold some on ebay and have another bag nearly full. A trip to the tip this weekend will clear some of the junk out of the garage and I am nearer to my goal.

Cricket news still a little thin on the ground, but the news that 'Little' Joey Root is not joining the team until after the birth of his first child, knocked me sideways.
He will be with the team after the birth, which gets him out of nappy changing!!!

Ricky Ponting is set to join Justin Langer and Jason Gillespie with the Australian T20 team for the series which starts in next month.
And Jason's team The Adelaide Strikers are in action as I type this....................and need to get some runs!

Well time for a cuppa and I am going to have another hour in bed since it is the last day of my holidays.
I am very proud to say that I have not been near the 'sales' and don't intend to.

Blog will be posted at the usual time tomorrow......................stupid o' clock!

New year and the season is nearer.

Happy New Year everyone, I am on day one of Dry January ( again) this year I am not doing it for charity I am doing it for my liver! Lets see if I go the 31 days this year as I did last year!

I am thinking that it will be beneficial to me especially as  it ties in nicely with starting the first of my courses just in time for the New Year. I tell you this year is going to be brilliant.

So last night I was invited to a very swanky ball to stand in for BKOTF  who is back off in the icy wastes of Scandinavia.I had something to wear I just didn't have the get up and go to go.
I decided to stay at home, well let me just say that had to be the biggest mistake. I think that my headache may have been lesser this morning if I had gone out gallivanting

This morning the birdsnest is as 'mushed' as my head so  I think that a shower is needed to try to restore some sort of normality!.

Is there any cricket news I hear you say?

well lets see.........................

ohh yes Yorkshire CCC  have announced our overseas player for next season. None other than Peter Hanscomb. I am sure that he will be a great addition to the side for the coming season.

And in Australia The Adelaide Strikers had their first win with big Billy Stanlake taking 3-17!
next stop Hobart for the boys in blue.

I am now about to bake some bread and put some more washing on and then slob out and  watch BBL on channel 5 .



I wish you all a Happy and healthy New Year.

Its getting closer to the cricket season by the minute!