The birds are in full voice

Well the birds were singing their little hearts out at 4am this morning and had been singing until well after 6pm last night, its a sure sign that spring is on the way, even though they are saying that there may still be snow heading over to us.

I much prefer the chirping of the birds to the ringing of the phone in the early morning however that's sorted and now fort he rest of the day.

Former Yorkshire coach Jason Gillespie has been pushing for former Yorkshire overseas player Glenn Maxwell to be given the nod for the 2nd test in Bangalore.
With Mitch Marsh coming under scrutiny over score of 4 & 32 in two innings, Gillespie thinks that Maxwell is the man for the job however  he does however think that a change is unlikely but is pushing 'The Big Show' as a good option.

Durham 'unveiled' Ian Botham as their new Chairman, yesterday and he said that the points thrown at them at the end of last season as well as relegation, would not stop them achieving success.
Financial woes have been sorted and the team are ready to move on.
Lets hope that finances have been able to provide a wine cellar fit for the new Chairman.

As the start of the season draws closer my thoughts are turning to matches that I will be attending.
I have made some cuts in my season this year so that I can head out to 'La belle france' to sort out some things sooner rather than later.
I foresee a lot of travelling on the horizon and I don't mean just the A1 (probably the A26 to the Champagne region).
however the A1 is the port of call today so I had best head out.

Last day of February today. That should raise a smile

And the Oscar goes to.......

........well to to be honest I have no idea, I do know that there was some mix up in an announcement but that's it. So if you were hoping for some showbizzy type news I will have to say that I don't have any.

What I do know is the Zimbabwe got bowled out for 54 in the ODI against Afghanistan. Not a great day for the little team but onward and upward.

In domestic cricket in Australia , George Bailey is nearing his 20th FC century, I am looking forward to seeing him play when he comes back to these shores.

In the chateau yesterday, true to say that things did not go as planned.
I was merrily doing the washing and the cooking for the week ahead when my phone kept beeping.
it was the Dame, well now, things look to be taking a turn for the better in her Chateau and hopefully the next few weeks will prove this.
it was all excitement.

it spurred me on to get back to the clearing in hand and all was going swimmingly until I had a visitor and spent an hour and a half trying to calm down a friend who was exceptionally upset.

And that was it for me, I had achieved some things on my 'to do' list but the rest is on a back burner for this week.

I have still not finished my drafted letter to France and still have to get into the cupboard in the dressing room.

However hopefully this week, there will be more crickety news, lots of house clearing and some good news on the French front.

And now I need to get into the shower as I have taken 4 calls already and need to head out to the office to sort out the rest.

have a great start to the working week, don't work too hard and smile!!!

Sunday lie in

Ah a little lie in this morning and no calls to answer up to now, so the beds are stripped and the washing is on!
Butternut squash is prepared for a batch of soup and cauliflower korma is the other dish of the day.

I will then be doing a spot of 'yogalates' before settling down to watch rubbish TV.

Well that's the plan and who knows what will happen.

The pantry door was replaced yesterday although the boot room has to wait a little while longer.

I drafted a letter to send out to France and tried to give advice to a friend in distress.
All in all not the day I had planned at all.

So lets see what happened in the cricket world

as I said yesterday, Australia did indeed thrash India and some. A great performance from a team who are looking better by the minute.

Captain Morgan hit a top score in the England warm up match  and had the hacks raving. Lets see how he does in the 'real' thing.

I am still reading things about the 'gender neutralising' of cricket terms, am I the only person that thinks this is not quite cricket?
is it a bad thing to be called a 'batsman' over a 'batter'.
I don;t want to keep harping on about this but as a woman I don't think that there is anything wrong with the names. They have been in place since the dawn of the game.

right short one as the washing is ready to either
1. be blown off my line into next doors
2. adorn the dressing room whilst it is drying

have a great Sunday

cold wet & windy....but

There is still washing to be done!!!


I am not sure where I will put it when it is done but I am cracking on.
Rhys the lovely joiner is coming to put new doors on the pantry and the boot room and then I can get on with the rest of the clear out.
Today I am tackling the 'office' which for the purpose of selling will be turned back into a 'bedroom/offiice' instead of an office/junkroom.

I am dreading starting on the 'dressing room' when that is turned back into a bedroom.

however it has to be done as it is all part of the 'plan'

I have just been scanning the cricket news and wished that I had continued to sort out my smalls  when I hit on the fact that 'Captain Morgan '( and not the liquid kind) wants to stay Captain until 2019. I suppose he is giving Ireland a chance to get settled into their test status before jumping ship.

Over in New Zealia, South Africa posted 271-8 in their allotted overs and New Zealia are  107-9 not sure that will last until I have finished the blog!

South Africa back on form by the look of it ( that's bound to be kiss of death!).

I received the annual report from Yorkshire CCC yesterday  which I was going to read  it last night but as I had an early night that is on the agenda for todays reading.


well the rain has stopped so I may get some washing on the line but as it is still windy I'll probably get my 10000 steps in running next door to retrieve washing that has gone to visit them. may be wise to only hang heavy items out to dry!

And with that I am off for the day, 2 phone calls already so hopefully that's them sorted for Saturday.

have a great day/weekend

Final F(ryan)day

So as we know an era is coming to an end at Yorkshire, so too an era is coming to an end here at 'Tales from the Boundary.'

yes I have decided that this will be the last F(ryan) day  after nearly 5 years.
As we have said all good things come to an end and a change is as good as a rest and all that malarkey.

So yesterday as I was having a little shifty through the restaurants for sale in France ( a you do!), I happened upon a town called 'Tourettes'.........................yes well I thought I would comment on how apt it would be for me to live there before the Dame piped up.

Nice little restaurant of up to 59covers BUT in the South of France, where I have no desire to live. So that was the end of that,
The place in Northern France is still winning at the mo although I have spotted something near to the Luxembourg border.

However that is all in the future and now time to recap on all things crickety

The real Australia were all out for 280 and India are 70 -3 at lunch.
The pick of the Australian batsmen being Renshaw and Starc with 68 & 61 respectively.

And talking batsmen.................................well the word, in Australia the ladies of cricket have been pushing for the ( overly used in my opinion) word 'batter' to apply to someone at the crease and for there to just be a 'twelfth' rather than twelfth man!!!!.

Seriously!! ????

Well being involved in cricket and catering all my life I know one thing, there is no batter in cricket but there is lots in pancakes ( especially next week when it is  'Fat Tuesday') and Yorkshire pudding.

What next?

No more 'fine leg 'in case ladies are upset, we could have 'fairly curvy  leg'

And no more 'Cow corner' ? so as not to offend non meat eaters we could have 'TVP corner' ( that's textured vegetable protein to the meat eating readers).

This is silly, I seriously think that using the word 'batter' is a form of laziness rather than an issue.

Right off my high horse and  into the horse power as I head off down the A1.

have a great ( and last) F(ryan)day where ever you are

Full steam ahead

Well it is looking better on the new blog/websitey front and hopefully it will be informative for anyone who happens to read it, when it eventually gets going, which won't be in the next month but getting there slowly.

It's a little bit exciting for me, not so sure it will be for you!

So after the news that HRR is retiring at the end of the season, there was a lot of press coverage.
Its hard to believe, being only 21, that I have followed  his 20 year career, I am guessing my mummy read the paper to me when I was in the cot!

That aside, I was not shocked by the news as you have to admit, you must have seen it coming?
 The 'Rolls Royce' has broken down a few times in the last few seasons and to be honest the RAC fees must have been astronomical on him. ( was going to say AA but that doesn't sound too good!).
We can only wish him well in whatever he does next.

He'll be able to do what he likes with  his hair off now that he no longer has to emulate my hair style ( although a few weeks ago he may have had to buy some straighteners!).

The 'other' Australia team won against Sri Lanka yesterday and managing to halt being rolled over by the island team.

South Africa lost against New Zealia ( as it is known in these parts), which brought to an end there 13 match, 4 month of ODI wins. Abraham Benjamin gave  a cracking interview highlighting the flaws in the team.
I like him a lot, I think that he is a great leader and appears to be an all round good egg to boot.

The 'real' Australia team are currently munching their lunch and are 84-1 against India.

I am 4 phone calls into the day and about to  throw some porridge down my cakehole.

Ah the glamorous life!

until tomorrow, when for some it is nearly the weekend.

Happy Thursday

Wednesday already!

Wow  Wednesday already I would like to say midweek, but as I am currently sort of 'doing' weekends too at the mo , well doesn't make much difference to me!

Is there any change in the  speed of clearing things out?

No, not at all, in fact last night saw a forward surge as I headed to Narnia ( under the stairs) and found amongst other things a brand new boxed inflatable mattress!!!!!
Seriously!!!!

This is now on going on the local sale site so that it can be shot of, if anyone is interested let me know! Grab a bargain!

And then I hit on the  6 boxes of vinyl!

Well I decided that this would have to wait as once I opened this up it would induce a very long trip down memory lane.

I  had to fight my way through 2 Lands End padded jackets, 2 Yorkshire CCC rain jackets, an Army regulation camouflage jacket, and  two fleeces on the way out!.

Think that there may be some 'downsizing' there too.
Who brought all this 'stuff' into the house???!!!

More to the point, when do I get the skip to get rid of it!


anyhooo less of house stuff and more of cricket stuff.

The expected announcement came through that HRR will be retiring at the end of this season.
This is his 20th professional season in cricket and he has been a valued member of Yorkshire, Nottinghamshire and England.
As he goes into the start of the season with a total of 737 first class wickets, I wonder what his finishing total will be.
it looks as if  there is not only me making changes to our lives.


If you are 'Backing green' then is will be good news. Ireland are planning on playing their first test match next year.
That should be interesting. Probably have a new member of the squad soon..................

Zimbabwe pulled off a  cracking win against Afghanistan to keep their chances alive in the series. Defending 129, they fought through to win by 3 runs.
This is the kind of cricket that I love, real edge of the seat stuff.

I am following the preparations for the season of the French national cricket team and the French ladies team.
I will keep you updated throughout the season as to how my 'home' team are getting on.

And with that I need to check my emails and sort out some 'logistics' stuff  before the phone rings again.

Have a great Wednesday.

The power of downsizing

Ah yes, although I am not downsizing house wise just at this moment, I am getting very much into it in other parts of my life. It's like a proper spring clean. I tell you, the article I read last week has had a massive impact on things.

The house decluttering in preparation for 'le grand' move has made me look at everything very closely, hence a few trips to the charity shop.

I spent last night moving furniture around just to see how it 'looked'.

I like change I have decided.

Now I just have to keep up the momentum and I will be on the ferry to France before I know it.

The Dame is hoping that today is the day for her and she will be off too.

Allez!!!!

I see that Trotty has signed until 2018 with Warwickshire. Jonathan has pulled himself back in to cricket after taking a break a couple of seasons ago for health reason ( which has been well documented).
His commitment to the game is to be commended, at 35 he is not the youngest player on the circuit but certainly not the oldest.

Interesting to read that the ECB and PCA are looking into a 'pay;problem  caused by the IPL. centrally contracted Players are docked  a percentage of their earnings per days they play in the IPL.
This goes back about 6 years when IPL was looked on not as favourably as it is now. Andrew Strauss is now said to actively encourage players to go and play out there.

My thoughts are that as we are always hearing about how tired they are and how much cricket they are playing surely a break and then a bit of County duty would be better.

Love it or hate it,the IPL will be with us very soon.

And finally today, a huge shout out to 'Big Wayne' from Sutton United who has to be the all time hero of any non league/Sunday League footballer.
cleaning the dugout, scoffing pies  and just being an all round ( sorry about the pun) good egg. Although Sutton lost to Aresenal, it was the match of the century  at Gander Green.

Right phone is ringing for the 4th time this early morning so best get on .

Dawn chorus

Well it was  the sound of birds that woke me this morning at 4am and not the phone ringing. Maybe today is the turning point and things can start to get back to normal. ( I say this with fingers crossed)
As I said yesterday we are very close to 'springing; forward an hour and the birds obviously are sensing it too judging by their vocal alarm call.

As 'le grand' clear out and move around is now in full flow it was  a day of surprises. When I stumbled on my dolls china tea set.
Ah how many hours had I served orange squash from the teapot. It is still in the original box and in pristine condition which considering that the dog was more often than not stomping through the said tea parties , is quite amazing.
However memories aside this is one of the things on the  ' clear out list'.
I know have a lot more to take to the charity shop and the garage is again filling up with things to go to the decheterrie.
I could be boxed up and ready to move before I know it.

So checking out the crickety news,
Australia were beaten by Sri Lanka in the 2nd T20 in what was a very tight match.

South Africa beat New Zealia and Afghanistan took a 2-0 series lead over Zimbabwe.

It was also announced that former Pakistan Captain Shahid Alfridi is retiring from International cricket. He will however continue to play  domestic cricket.

Well it is still cold and dark, but as the phone has just started for the day, best to get on and do 'stuff'

Enjoy your week.

Quiet Sunday

After a brilliant evening/night/morning, I crawled into bed thinking that if I got a couple of hours sleep before the phone started ringing it would be good.
Well I actually managed to have a good few hours of shut eye before one call came through.
So I am hopeful that it is going to be  a quiet Sunday and have everything planned to make it just that.

I have been scanning the array of live scores coming in from matches.
New Zealia V South Africa
Australia   V Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka A V England Lions
Zimbabwe v Afghanistan

There is lots going on and also the PSL is still ongoing. Although all the hype surrounding the IPL is actually getting boring now.It really is about money and the ridiculously large amounts that clubs will pay for players.
I really do dread this coming to the UK.

However I have just read that Mitch Starc has parted company with the Royal Challengers Bangalore. This on the eve of the IPL auction too.
It seems though, although not confirmed that he may not be taking part at all and concentrating on his international commitments.

There is a large shining orb in the sky today which is something that we haven't seen for a while,so I am thinking that I need to get some washing outside to dry and also spend an hour in the garden sorting out the plants.

Snowdrops have finally made it through and daffodils are looking as if they may be blooming soon. Spring is on the way and it is less than 6 weeks until the clocks go forward. Now that I cannot wait for.

It may be a quiet Sunday but I doubt it is going to be restful

Late night brawls, early calls

Well, no sleep is not the way forward I can tell you, I had a very cunning plan to get a decent nights sleep  last night. ( It involved a hefty glug of Jameson's)

However thanks to a drunken brawl at the bottom of the street which involved some words that I had never heard before and the  local bobbies popping along , I managed to get my head down about 3am and before I knew it my phone was ringing at 5.30am with the first of the days requests.

So now fuelled by French ground coffee I am trying to get myself in to gear.

As  the 'main' Australia team are in India, Australia MkII are hosting the T20 series against Sri Lanka, yesterdays match in Melbourne was won by the visitors. Next match is on Sunday morning UK time .

News that Jonny B has put himself up for the IPL auction means that if he is snapped up ( and why wouldn't he be?) he will miss the first month of the County Championship. This does mean though that the lovely Andrew Hodd may step into JB's gloves.
Hoddy got a massive thumbs up from 2 former Middx CCC Presidents after he chatted to them in the Lords Tavern at the end of last season .

As the Yorkshire groundsmen scarified the hallowed turf yesterday, my thoughts are turning to the extensive grounds of the Chateau, since it is dry I may go out and give it a go today and tomorrow.

Well that and a list as long as my arm of things to do.

So I will keep this short and start ticking off my list whilst (still) answering  work related calls.

Until tomorrow and as its cocktails and canapes tonight I am not sure what time the blog will land tomorrow!

bon weekend

F(ryan)day

Yes it is F(ryan)day and as such is normally a time of celebrations, as it is the end of the working week, not so at the moment though. However still time to pop out for dinner and a catch up tonight & tomorrow  so that is something to look forward to.


We are all looking forward to the new England captain , our very own little 'Joey' Root, whose every move and comments are being documented at the moment.
He does seem to be the 'new broom' that is needed and on top of that appears to have the backing and admiration of the team.I have read a lot of the interviews with him and he does ( as we already knew) have his head screwed on properly.

I have been busy reading an article about the 'base price' in the IPL, it is really sad that money is the main thing in this form of the  game. My big dread 'when' the franchise thing comes here.
The problem they were discussing was that if you set the 'base rate' of the player up for auction too high they may lose out and if its too low there is not much money made ( obviously).
Indian players obviously have a better chance of being picked over some of the overseas big names.
351  players are up for auction with no where near that amount of players being needed.
A lot of disappointed faces.

I think that when they bring it here, they should parade the players round in front of everyone like some up to date  Roman slaving market.
Dancing girls doing their stuff in the back ground.
There could be a couple of hot tubs in the front row where competition winners get the chance to see the sale up close whilst drinking free Prosecco. Bacchanalian!!!!
Sky could televise it.

Well you never know!

Meanwhile Australia will be taking on Sri Lanka today in Melbourne, so interesting to see how that pans out.


Ah well it is time to head off, I made the most of last night at home as I clear out in preparation for all change.
I got  box of books sorted out for the Yorkshire CCC Academy  book stall, 2 boxes of glasses for the charity shop and started sorting through other 'junk'.

There could be a 'vide grenier' in the offing very soon.

However before that it is back to calls and emails

have a great F(ryan)day

the end is nigh

The weekend is closing in and I for one will be glad of a 'lie in'. its been a tiring week, but hey that's life.

I am guessing that life  has been tiring  for Australian cricketer Adam Voges who has announced that he will retire from international duties.
However not before he played  in the Prime Ministers XI against Sri Lanka, scoring a brilliant 54
He will be turning out again this season for Middlesex too.


David Willey will not be taking part in the England tour to The West Indies due to the shoulder injury that he picked up in India last month.
He has had an operation  but is not due to be fit until April, when hopefully we will see him at Headingley.

Luckily though 'holiday boy', he of the permanently packed case, has been brought in to replace Willey.
I am putting 6d on him not playing at all.

We are constantly buffeted with details of continuing corruption in sport, and cricket is no different.
With investigations into fixing in the PSL.

Arrests have been made including a Pakistan player, here in the UK.

Once again it makes you wonder if money really does have more hold than career.
I appreciate that in most countries, money for life outside of cricket is vital, but does reputation not come into it?


And yesterday was full of interviews with Joe Root the poor boy will be exhausted before he takes up his role properly!

Great to hear his thoughts on his new role, funnier to have Dame Didi phone up to say he is just a 'bebe'
The makings of a great Captain and of course from Yorkshire.

It seems to be the time of change for  everyone  as Derbyshire Chairman, Chris Grant,  stands down after 6 years, he is looking to stand for the ECB!
Good or bad move? And close to the start of the season too.

Well its been busy since stupid o' clock ( stupider than normal), so I am off to grab a coffee and tinned coconut milk ( I tell you it is the way forward), handful of almonds and crack on.

For my sister

After a very funny conversation with the Dame recently, today I thought that I would relate a tale from my past.

I was not much more than 10 years old and accompanied by my two older sisters headed to London ( Victoria) to get to Gatwick to fly out to Africa on a splendid adventure.

Initially the 3 of us were due to fly to Moscow for  a week, but due to eldest sister Kiki working in the secret service ( OK it was the Police) she was unable to get the necessary paperwork to go, so  there we were hurtling down the M1 on a National Express coach.
And then it broke down at Scratchwood, not the services you understand, far enough away that in the middle of February, we were on the side of the motorway  at approx. 5.00am!

By the time a replacement coach came ( and remember this is before the days of mobile phones and the bus driver had to leg it to the services to make a call from a phone box, remember those????) we knew that we were not going to make out 9am flight to Africa.

When we arrived at Victoria, Kiki made pleading phone calls to the airport to see what could be done.

We arrived at Gatwick unbelievably only a matter of 10 mins after the plane had left.

Staff tried to see if they could help us, we were all dead on our feet and not sure where we were, what day it was, and more to the point what was going to happen.

we were sent to get something to eat and drink whilst they worked on our plight.

When we returned to the desk, we were told that we had been booked on to a flight from Luton airport to our destination and would leave at tea time. If we hopped to it could be on the next 'Green Line' bus  to Luton, taking in the scenery of various counties on the way.

Too tired to do much else, we, got on the bus and headed to Luton.

Never in those days would you have heard travellers heave a sigh of relief when they saw the departure lounge of this airport, but  we did.

So we settled down to wait for the teatime flight, and waited, and waited and waited.

We were sent to get some dinner as the flight was delayed until 10pm.

we  thought we had best  ring the parents.

'Oh goodness' declared Her Serence Highness,

'Why the devil are you phoning from Africa?'


Yes indeed, we should have been  settled in our hotel, had a dip in the pool, had lunch and dinner and at this time be dolling ourselves up to go to the hotel disco!

Kiki told her the story in a nutshell and  then we went back to waiting to board.

It was raining as we headed out onto the runway to board the plane.

We took off into a thunderstorm and believe me I never want to see lightning that close to me ever again.

We landed  slightly shaken but safe and were taken to the hotel in the early  hours.

Having been given our key ( tiny key on a solid brass keyring the size of a saucer, and I can still hear the sound of said keyrings being dropped on marble floors now!).

We headed off to our room, Kiki in charge, marching off to the room, she opened the door and walked in ........................................................only to find a naked man on the bed.

Ah it turned out that we were in the wrong room, worryingly though the key opened it!

We found our room (easy mistake, we were in A5 and had just gone into room 5)????!!!!!

However there were only 2 beds when there should have been 3.

Step up Didi, she took off to the reception and  10 minutes later was carrying another bed in with the help of a porter. I tell  you I swore that she would give up her banking job when we got home and take a job with Pickfords!

Surely now we could relax and enjoy our holiday.

Bed, sleep and then waking up to sunshine and warmth pouring through the patio doors.

We got ready and decided to head out for a walk to get our bearings................................................and couldn't open the door!!!!!

The key that had opened the wrong door and then the right door last night would not open the door at all this morning.

Didi steps up again and climbs over the balcony,, this was not as dangerous as it sounds as we were on the ground floor!

she takes the key and opens the door from the other side, let us out and we never looked back.

This country became a yearly sometimes bi-yearly haunt and is still very dear to us all, although now it is not safe to travel there.


 I'm  sorry to say that I  never even  mentioned the near 3rd degree burns from water heating elements ( remember those before the 'invention' of travel kettles and hospitality trays??) and enamel mugs....................... ah well I'll save that for another day.

have a good one!

Looking ahead

Whilst still working through the logistics nightmare that I seem to be living in at the moment  ( like groundhog day but with 'grumps' instead of groundhogs), I scribbled down on my 'to do' list, things to be done in the next 6 weeks. I think that I may meet myself coming back, no change there then!

However that is all to come and at the moment its too full on busy to think of anything other then the next couple of hours.

My early morning (4.30am) ritual now is to find some interesting cricket info to read for half an hour and then scribble on here.

so lets see what today washed up.

Well as expected Joe Root was named as Test Captain, which is wonderful news as he comes from Yorkshire and is a mighty good cricketer to boot.
There has obviously been a lot written about whether he is the man for the job/ready for the job/wants the job.
 Only time will tell on this ( except for the last bit as he wouldn't have taken it if he hadn't wanted it). 
I personally wish him the best of luck and know that he will give it his all.

Not so good news that Sam Harper the young Aussie wicketkeeper that I mentioned had been hit by a bat the other day, is still in hospital three days on.
There has been no other information.
Wishing him a very speedy recovery

A very interesting cricket read this morning on the thoughts of former Aussie test Paceman Stuart Clark. He is quite scathing about International T20 ahead of Australia field a 'second string side' in the upcoming series against Sri Lanka.

He believes that T20 should be solely played at domestic level with the exception of World T20.
As this Australian series comes at they are reaching the end of their season  and with the ;main Australian; team are in India, there are few/none of the big names that people would pay the money to go to see.
Clark is very blunt in his opinion, and it is worth reading.

Well I think that it is fairly well known how I feel about it, but hey that's just me!

I was having a little chat with a chum about the up and coming season and it seems that we are both looking forward to it, and also getting away to see friends ( and family) too during the season.

Well its getting closer.

quite a lot more rain

well after braving wind and rain again this morning I wounder just how much more water can fall out of the sky?
Well judging by the last 2 hours I would say quite a lot!

I have been making use of the last couple of hours reading a couple of articles.
One by Rilee Rossouw, one of the three South African cricketers who are coming here this summer on Kolpak deals.
He had played in 36ODI and 15 T20's for his country before deciding to end his national side allegiance and  come to former besty county in the South, Hampshire.
He was being earmarked by the national side as a future test batsman, which made his decision even more difficult for him, but also difficult for the national coach to understand.

We see the signed deals and read the aftermath of the decision, but obviously this is not something that you do lightly.

Good luck to all three of them in the UK.

Sad to see that Yorkshires Matt Fisher will  miss the two, four day series in India due to an injury sustained in the one day series. Matt missed the whole of last season with a hamstring problem and obviously this further injury ( groin, not hammy)  is a worry.

Wishing him a speedy recovery.

Well it is super short today as it is full on busy and I'm being called now.

Have a great week

Rain and more rain

Well the wind and rain are relentless and I am sitting here thinking that the plan for the day should include lots of lying around on the sofa with blanky, however there is no chance of that as the washing is on, the dishwasher is filing up nicely, another batch of chickpea patties are made and I am about to head for the shower.

I am then going out with besty friend Christine for a spot of shopping and lunch. Then I can come home and get settled on the sofa.

I have a list of things to do too which includes decorating big spare bedroom, after  a message from Pip in South Africa that he may be making a flying visit here.
More importantly though I have to check out trains etc for a dash down to Bath/Bristol fingers crossed.
Best get onto it.


There was a lot more than finger crossing in Australia, when Sam Harper the young Aussie wicketkeeper was struck on the head by a bat during the Sheffield Shield match.
Sam was wearing a a helmet but was given a brain scan and kept in hospital overnight for observation.

The England Lions are taking on Sri Lanka Presidents XI. Day one saw Sri Lanka 153/9.
Some great bowling from the England boys.

Sadly in the T20 Blind World Cup, England were thrashed by Pakistan. Well done to all teams that took part absolutely brilliant to see cricket bringing all abilities & disabilities togther .


short one today as I have a lot to do.

So time to jump to it.

Have a peaceful Sunday

Making inroads

Well it is  full steam ahead today already, as there was a lot to do in all areas.

I  managed to get the garden incinerator filled last night ( in the dark and rain) and emptied ( read as set it going), so that leaves (no pun intended) the new patio/decking area to be marked out at some point this afternoon.
This project has jolly well taken too long to be completed and I need it done by May so best to crack on.

I also packed up the first lot of 'hamper samples'. So some of you may be surprised in the next week or so, if you don't get something in the post no doubt you will have something hand delivered at some point.

A spot of 'logistics'  being  done  this morning,which has been on going since 5.30am.

I'm trying to contain the excitement though as I  have a trip to the dechetterie after lunch and then  work in the garden and garage before I settle down to watch  'Fortitude'.

Well that's the plan but who knows.

On the cricket front,it was revealed yesterday that Joe Root, Ben Stokes and Stuart Broad are all in talks re the Captains job.
Well now,who would you put your 5p on.

Over in India Virat Kohli has been doing.....................well doing a Kohli, double centuries in four successive series. the Indian Captain is showing that he is a force to be reckoned with.

And then there was  de Kock  & Amla, what a knock that was, in their ODI match.109 &154 respectively!
 however du Plessey and de Villiers did not look in great form with 41 &14. Still it was a cracking match.

News came through yesterday  that Glamorgan wicket keeper and former captain Mark Wallace has decided to retire forthwith.  Having spent over 18 years in the first team I think he deserves a rest!

And I was sad to hear that Italy have parted company with their head coach who has been in the Italian cricket set up for 19 years.

Having watched the team over the last few years  the coaches influence has been evident. Now time for him to move on to cricket fields new.

Well  it's still pouring with rain here but at least its not snowing.

Have a great weekend

So it is F(ryan)day

Ah hello F(ryan)day I am looking forward to the weekend when I can put my feet  up, do some  knitting  and scare myself binge watching 'Fortitude' with a glass of wine.


To be honest I am still totally worn out after all the 'scanning' and travels, floods ( yes a  flooded kitchen) of the last couple of weeks, so I need to at least try to get my breath back.

Although now that I have quotes on jobs to be done, it looks as if the house may be on the market sooner than expected.


Anyhoo what is happening in cricket.

Well no sooner had I posted the blog yesterday about the treble century in T20 in Delhi by Mohit Ahlawat, then I see that he has been picked up by  The Delhi Daredevils for a trial ahead of the IPL.

How brilliant is that?!

I am loving all the England team are coming out and backing Joe Root for the vacant captains job, its sort of looks as if none of them want it and are piling it all on Rooty.

Poisoned challace????

Interesting to read that former Captain Cook felt that he had been 'left out to dry' over the 'HWMNBNITB' sacking, by the ECB.
If you get a chance,his comments are worth a read.
Expect the book out in time for Christmas.


News that Lasith Mailinga is set to return filtered through yesterday. After a year out with injury it will be good to see his strange bowling action back, when they tour  Australia later this month.

After the news at the back end of last year about players being charged due to match fixing in South Africa, it  now looks as if it could be worse than fines  and bans,as it is in the hands of the state prosecutors.
Six players are currently in the spotlight, one already hit with a 20 year ban for acting as an intermediary.

Sad state of play but high stakes in T20  cricket all over the world.

Sad that the phone is ringing already.

Oh well not long until the weekend.

Happy F(ryan)day

midweek and its raining

Well here in good old blighty it is raining and last night here in Lady Laineyville the temperature dropped to 0, come on!! it's February, the clocks go forward next month....................
.............................hold on a minute, clocks going forward next month,oh praise be, I may be able to get my mojo back!

Im actually lying in bed typing this and reading all the cricket news to try to see if anything interesting will surface.

Well the Captain debate is ongoing and England will no doubt keep it going for as long as possible to try to

1. Gain more interest

2 Look as if they haven't already made the decision

3. Try to justify the money that they pay the hangers on.

I will be very surprised if it isn't Joey Root but hey what with 'HWMNBNITB' dropping out of IPL just days before Cooks resignation can only mean one thing..........

Naaaaaa!!!!

As Stated many times I will be on the first plane home to France if that were ever to happen.

I hope that all the 'Cook wants to spend more time with his children' brigade, note that he may have stepped down as Captain but he is still in the England line up,so me thinks that he will be away just as much!

Surely there is something more interesting??????

Well I downloaded the second series of  'Fortitude' last night and scared the 'bejeezus' out of myself in the first 5 minutes so have decided not to watch it until the weekend.
I'll binge watch it on Saturday or Sunday.

I have added  Fortitude to the list of places I don't ever want to live, along with

Cabot Cove
Any of the Midsomers
St Mary Mead
Saint-Marie

who  knew that on in places with such nice names, murders occur on a weekly basis!.

And thats it, time for me to head to the coal face and see what today holds.

Happy Hump Day.

Cricket news

Well I was busy tucking into humus and falafel yesterday ( I am nearly chickpead out after chickpea tagine last night) when I saw the news that Captain Cook is no nore.

Yes finally Alistair has thrown in the towel and given up the Captaincy.
Oh what a flurry of 'we love you Alistair'  ' what a great captain', tweets were flooding Twitter. Funnily enough some by those  who only weeks ago were slating him.
As you know I have been an advocate for him to step down as I think he has lost his way slightly.
If (as many Twitterites claimed) it is because he is missing his children , then we should also be expecting a further notification that he is no longer available for England.
And we know that is not going to happen!!!

I think that he has made the right decision as, the team needs a new blood although who that might be I have no idea.

Andrew Strauss has said that no one has had a conversation with Joe Root about the job.

Woohooo he made that statement a couple of seasons ago when they chased Jason Gillespie for the England coaches job.

Not that I am 'nit picking'  you understand, I am actually shuddering at the thought, as that saying  originates from what female gorillas do when they are interested in a male, pick fleas off him!

No chuffing chance!

I am not for Joe as Captain, although looking at the team I genuinely do not think that there is anyone of 'captain quality' apart from Rooty.

Hecky thump!
We don't see him at Yorkshire now, no chance of a peek if this happens.


Well after the flurry of love and thanks to Alistair I sort of lost my way with Twitter. And I was also totally exhausted.



Today is equally busy, however by the time I get back to the Chateau tonight I think that any report writing will be out of the window and I will be ready to head to bed.



Well its going to be another long day, so I will leave you all to enjoy Tuesday.

Not Monday again

When I woke up this morning I thought does it matter where you are in the world, is Monday morning  the same feeling?
I suppose with the exception of holidays.
Then I remembered a time when I worked split shifts and weekends and Monday didn't even register. Your focus was mainly on days off ( which could be Tuesday, Thursday or Friday and  some weekends)

I think that now that I work Monday to Friday, it is only to be expected that Monday has that 'dreaded' feel.

What will the week hold? well it will be full on busy today and tomorrow morning and then hopefully calm down to normality for the remainder of the week.

I hope that your week is not starting too badly.

In Australia they will be pondering on their weekend after their match against New Zealia ( as it is known in the Chateau).
Not even cheeky Glenn Maxwell  could do his stuff and he was more the 'Big No' rather than the 'Big Show' very disappointing.
 As you can tell Australia were heartily stuffed  and sent back to the hotel with their tails between their legs.
The Chappell-Hadlee series having been won by the Kiwi's

Interesting to see that South Africa are launching a new T20 series at the end of this year.
They are currently tendering for sponsors.
I wonder where 'HWMNBNITB' fits into this whole thing.
You just know that he will be in there somewhere.

He has been rearing his head a little too much over the last week, never a good sign.

Well I am am off for fresh fruit, almonds and coffee with coconut milk......................yes the stuff out of a tin, try it, it's delicious and a great substitute when there is no soya/nut milk to hand.
Until tomorrow.


Have a great start to the week.

When will it be cricket?

The days are still no warmer

Trees are bare in the thicket

We're  living with the threat of snow

Oh when will it be cricket.

As I don 10 layers to go to work

Knowing  keeping warm is the ticket.

my thoughts turn to summer days

sitting outside watching cricket.

The calendar says its still a while

I'm considering starting a picket

I cannot be the only one

Wishing it is time for cricket

And so I have to be content

to wait and wait.................oh stick it!

I will have to put a DVD on

'Cricketing Yorkshire is the best for cricket!

what to do today?

Well it is late as I have had  a lie in, but I have washing in (hurrah!!)the dishwasher is just finishing and I am contemplating having half an hour tidy up in the garden and then setting the incinerator going.
Then a quick walk to town and back, (hardly making 500 steps I imagine) before I start on the batch cooking to fill the freezer..

Ah yes I  have so many exciting things to do today.

So in cricket news,' HWMNBNITB' once again rears his ugly head this time opting out of IPL!!!

Yes he is!!!
What is he going to do for pocket money now????
No doubt the phone lines at Surrey  and South Africa and England are ringing off the hook.

And if anyone else deems to tell me that he donates his earnings to his Foundation. Think about it, HIS foundation, he is going to get something out of that.

Right now onto more important things.
The ICC are going to meet in April to discuss 'radical changes' to Test and ODI cricket.
WTF are 'radical ' changes?
Knowing the buffoons in the ICC, who obviously called the meeting in April as the temperature in the UAE is not too high, we may soon be seeing , 3 strikes and you are out cricket.
Maybe they are goign to do away with in field umpires?
Can hardly contain myself for the report on this!

Paul Grayson was yesterday announced as Head Coach of The Yorkshire Diamonds, in a stealth like move Yorkshire apparently have taken former Diamonds coach, Rich Pyrah over to Galeys staff and slotted Paul in with the girls.
Good luck Paul no doubt we will be seeing you around the ground.

And finally I have been having a wonderful few evening having a trip down memory lane as I have dipped into the second series of Miami Vice. ( the best 80's series EVER)
Oh those pastels!
Oh men not wearing socks ( should be  'OH NO;)
Oh for an alligator as  'watchdog;!
However the one thing that tickled me was that Crockett and Tubbs with their designer clothes and flash cars were known by all the lowlife in Miami.
And then when they went undercover as Cooper and Burnett with the same clothes and cars no one recognised them!!!?????

Still love it, and will be dipping back into the 80's again this evening.

Well the sun is shining so best to put on some slap and head outdoors.

Have a great Saturday

Flipping fabulous, it's F(ryan)day

It's F(ryan)day and I am up and raring  to go..................................anywhere that is not work and preferably back to bed, but hey only 7 hours until it is all over for another week.

Well I  popped in to the  salon the other evening to  show Jacquie  owner/ hairdresser my new curls.

Lady Lainey  woohooohoooo Jacquie check it out my curls are back.

Jacquie the hairdresser  I know, I saw you walk on Tuesday when I was having lunch with the ball and chain

Lady Lainey I can't believe that they have come back and super bouncy too.

Jacquie the hairdresser  You know I told you to get a tonic to take, did you get some Methadone?

Salon goes silent, everyone turns to stare at me,

Jacquie the hairdresser  I mean 'METATONE'!

Lady Lainey  yes I did get the latter rather than the former!

I live in a relatively small town and judging by the amount of finger work on phones in the salon I am guessing that half the town will now be looking at me slightly differently!
Just to say that I did in fact buy a bottle of Metatone tonic £2.99 at Savers.


not much news on the cricket front but I did see that 'HWMNBNITB'  has been charged $5000 by Cricket Australia for criticising an umpires call in the BBL semi final  match, on air.

He said the decision was 'an absolute shocker' which is something that I say every time I see that another  T20  team have paid him to play for them!
Although the on field umpire later said that he had got the call wrong the cricket w***e was charged with breaching the code of conduct for public or media comment.
Well we all know that he has no idea what that means.
He can't keep his biltong hole closed or his phone in his pocket.

AND YES I am not a fan of his so I was bound to over egg this bit of news, but truth is he does think that he is above any cricket law.
The sooner he gets back to sweeping the floor in his barbers shop the better,



What I really think is that the idea of  putting mics on players and talking to them during a game should be stopped ( there was a prob with my beloved Strikers and an on air mic incident). We can see what is going on so leave it at that. However I would have loved to have heard Fred Trueman with a mic on !

Oh well I think that I should leave it at that.
It is Friday and it time to head to work.

Have a great day!

Closer to the weekend

Well what a day yesterday was in every way!
Firstly and quickly, I had my scans and it was decided that I have had mumps and been left with an enlarged salivary gland,
This explains why I am totally worn out and I was told that when I had pleurisy it may have masked the signs of mumps.
Well at least I now know that it is nothing more sinister.
And so an end of updates from 'Emergency ward 10'
Time to move on and get myself better!

However I sort of wished that I had stayed in the scanner when I saw the cricket.
I am not sure really where to start apart form the fact that Chahal along with Bumrah ( again ) made short work of  England.
When a team lose 8 wickets for 8 runs and lose a T20 series it is hard to find anything positive to say.
I am positive that it is time to look at the captaincy and I am positive that  some of the team should not be there,
I am positive that things need a mahoosive shake up.

The wheels have well and truly come off the wagon and anyone who says that the team are tired and need a break needs to have their bumps felt.
This is their job and they need to suck it up and make it work.
We have a big summer ahead of us International wise and at this rate we will be even more of a laughing stock than we are today.

Harsh  but fair I feel.

I have read that Joe Root is asking the ICC for T20 umpiring reviews. Seriously it is 20 overs ( or in yesterdays case 16 overs). why not run 20 overs without umpires and thrown a coin to see if they are in or out. I am despairing at the fact that umpires are now questioned on everyone of  their decision ( rightly in some cases) but hell if it was good enough for Daddy HRR and the likes!!!!!!
I fully appreciate that the technology is there, but it does lead to the fact that it is steering to the omission of the umpires from the field and everything done from a screen indoors,


OOOHHHHH breathe!!!!!!!


Today I am back to the office and all that entails. Which will be a sudden rise in blood pressure and drinking too much caffeine.

Time to go,

Half day today

Well I am bracing myself for a mad morning, before I head off at lunchtime.
I am off for my scan today which will hopefully make some sense of things for me, despite having all negative blood tests, the Quack insisted that I have a scan, to put my mind at rest........................yes and that worked...............I have now spent 2 weeks worrying about the scan!

Oh well, lets get it over and done with.

yesterday was fairly quiet until  later in the evening when I was making chilli jam for 'Uncle' Rob the wicket maker.
My phone started beeping like mad and was vibrating that much that I just caught it ( with sticky fingers) before it fell off the ( new) worktop!

I had no idea what was going on and couldn't unlock my phone ( due to said sticky fingers)
Well when I did eventually open it, I was actually crying myself with laughing,

Yorkshire media and marketing department had put together a brilliant campaign for 'Deadline day' on the early bird offers for test match tickets.
I had been watching it during the day on Twitter.
It was well thought out and had everyone both waiting for updates and laughing at the brilliant 'reporting' from around Headingley.

Well they had mentioned me! yes me! however they referred to me as 'Mrs' Robinson and as it is widely known I am a 'Lady'.

I have to say that this has to have been the best piece of marketing from the club, in fact from any club.

Very well done to the marketing and media boys.


I did also mange to get the chilli jam in to jars and make some  Lime Pickle( ready in about a month), which also is a tester for possible entry to 'Lady Lainey Xmas hampers'

 In other cricket news it looks as if Andre Russell is to be banned for a year following not notifying drugs testers of his whereabouts on 3 occasions, which amounts to a failed drugs test.
He played ;ast season here for Notts Outlaws and was great entertainment as well as a great part of the team.
It makes you wonder why a playing would not abide by the rules of drug testing?
Arrogance or just simply forgetful???

Well off I trot, my shredded wheat is waiting for me at the office.