back to 2016

  Another trawl through the many blogs brought up this one, now that was a funny old evening!

Afternoon all, I would like to say that I look as glamorous as this sleeping beauty........................sadly not.

If you think about Ronald Mcdonald ,thats' what I look like.

Well first things first,

Yesterday afternoon, I set off to Headingley closely followed by Sophie. I arrived,nipped to the shops and then waited for her arrival.

we were staying in the David Bairstow room ( which brought tears to our eyes)

You know when something odd happens and you just know that this will be the  way things are going to pan out for the rest of your stay.......well yes, it started in the Stadium car park.

I went down to meet Sophie and we were hugging and chattering  50 to the dozen, when out of the corner of my eye I spot a man with an ECB  pass wandering towards me.

We both stop talking as the man asks me

'Hi are you Janet?'

Sophie looks perplexed I have alarm bells ringing  in my head.

'No' I say

'what is the surname of  the person you are looking for?'

'Bairstow' says the ECB man

Sophie now has eyes as big as saucers and I am lost for words.

The ECB man is by this time waffling  away about hair etc

We fall about into fits of laughter!

I know Mummy Bairstow and have to say that I am at least 12 foot taller than her.

And being only 21 how on earth did he think that I had a son  of 26!

Sophie and I had to have a bottle of fizz to calm down!

And so it began, as did the rain.

Which called a halt to all things cricket  but it did mean that Sopie, Susan , Jim and his American friend and I  ( and PH and LL who were stashed in their Mummies handbags) headed from the Long Room to the pub and then eventually Soph & I got back to the lodge..........after a lot of wine, laughter and selfies ( which got fuzzier as the wine took hold)

Sophie, I have just checked my feet, yes you were right I did walk home barefoot and not a cut on them, they are black though.

Thank you all for a great evening, we must do it again in about 4 seasons when I recover!!!!

bye now, from the other Mummy Bairstow.

Lets have a trip down memory lane

Another day and another team on their way home from pre season tours.
 Sussex have made the decision to come home early from South Africa. And that is about it for crickety news so I have  decided that I will  churn out some old blogs for those of you who haven't been around since the beginning.

Hope you enjoy.

                                                       A chat with Jason ( 4/9/ 2015)

A couple of weeks ago I decided that I would beg an 'interview' from Yorkshire coach Jason Gillespie, and to my complete shock he said yes!!!

Well after I had picked myself up from the floor, I realised that I had to step up a gear if I was going to do this, I went into total panic!

So as I hinted the other day that I had gatecrashed my way into the Carnegie Pavilion, that was a little fib as I had been invited to go and have a chat with 'Gillespie the Gallant', who was a great sport agreeing to talk to me.

.
Here is the outcome of our meeting,

Firstly Jason  thank you for agreeing to have a chat with me. so lets open with some general questions.

When you were a child what did you want to be?

Its a good question and I can honestly say for  as long as I can  remember, all I ever wanted to do was play cricket for Australia.
That was my whole goal, even when I was at school ,teachers and friends would ask 'What do you want to do with your life?',
I would say 'I want to play cricket for Australia'.
They would say ' you can't have that as a career',
 I would say 'Why not'? it was my goal and my dream.
It was everything,I couldn't imagine doing anything else. cricket was from a very young age something that was very important
I played soccer from a very young age until I was a teenager, I went through fazes, with basketball, squash and tennis, but cricket was always the constant over the summer, I have been very lucky that I have been able to live my dream.

And continue doing it

Yes absolutely.


You do some commentating ,but is coaching where you want to be?

I love coaching, but I wouldn't rule out being full time in the media at some point.I'm 40 now, and who is to say how long I will be coaching. Don't get me wrong I love what I am doing, but there may be media work for me sometime in the future.
I try not to look too far ahead, I am actually not looking any further than this game at the moment
( Yorks V Somerset) to be honest I don't like to look too far into the future.


What do you do in your free time?
*whispers 'please don't say golf!*

I don't play golf very well, I do like golf, but I haven't played for so long, I suppose that's just the fact that we have such a young family.
If I have a day off it's basically a case of spending time with my family, spending time with the kids, it's what I love doing.
It's so busy with county cricket, away from home a lot.
Sometimes when you do have a day off you find that you only have time to  do washing and get ready to go again, that  can be pretty full on
Really any downtime is just  about being with family and friends.


You have travelled extensively with cricket would you say that you have a favourite place?

I really enjoyed the couple of season that we lived in Zimbabwe that was a great time and I really enjoyed living there.
 Africa is beautiful, it's different and it was challenging and  at times it was really hard.
 They have a real love for the game,but  its a very different existence it can't be as professional , there is a lot of stuff going on away from the  cricket  and it takes a lot of Zimbabweans focus away from the game.
That's real life there and you have to respect that.
The love of cricket is definitely there, there is no doubt about that.
I did really love my time out there.


How do you pass the time on team bus journeys?

Either catching up on a bit of work, or generally reading the paper or book,maybe chatting with the lads or the support staff. sometimes there may be a movie which I may watch.
If it's one that Jack Brooks has chosen then its usually pretty awful so I will avoid that.
Generally a bit of everything and if I need to, then I will sleep.

Who is the 'naughtiest' boy in the team?

Who is the 'naughtiest' boy in the team,?
That's a tough question, I don't think any of the lads are naughty, cheeky, yeah they are cheeky. I don't think that there are any naughty lads in the group.
Jack Brooks facial hair is naughty!

Can you not pin him down and shave it off ?

we have had some words about it , he looks like Zorro!!!

Where do you see yourself in 10 years time?

Good question, chances are I will be involved in cricket in  a coaching capacity somewhere, where though  I have no idea.
 I love Yorkshire and would love to be  sitting here in 10 years time still coaching them, that's a long way in the future and with the evolution of the club and the team, its very rare for someone to have 14-15 years as a First Team Coach.
Would that be best for the team?. If it is and I am still here then it means  that the club is going in the right direction and I must be doing something right!
It's a long way in the future though.


 You were a Pro at Rishton in the Lancashire League, did you ever consider working with Lancashire?
I was, that is good knowledge!
I only had half a season with Rishton, I was coming back after breaking my leg in Sri Lanka in 1999, so I missed most of the 1999-2000 season in Australia, I think that I played the last 3 Sheffield Shield games and then we had a whole winter off . I spent the early part of the  summer  playing in the Lancashire League and I took the time to get myself right,prepare for the weekend of cricket, so that I could keep up my fitness, play some games, take some wickets.
Then  I got called up to play International Cricket again, so I only got to be there for half a season.
It was a shame to leave it was a good time, I  really enjoyed it and met some great people.
Great time and some good laughs.

I was at Chester Le Street in 2006 and was  lucky enough to see you take 6-37 against Durham, I remember it vividly, what do you remember about it?

The one wicket that I remember was getting Otis Gibson LBW to a ball that bounced about ankle height from back of a length.I knew that I would get the LB decision and Otis just walked off laughing, I remember if because it was my only 5fer  for Yorkshire.
I played two seasons and it was unacceptable for an overseas fast bowler, to only get one five wicket haul in two seasons. I underachieved massively  as an overseas player, so I do remember it, taking those wickets.
I needed to take some wickets, and  Chester le Street which is one of my favourite grounds.
I always put it in my top 10 when you sit around with players and other coaches doing your top 10 grounds in the world, That ground has always been in my Top 10.
I have always enjoyed bowling there.
it's a massive ground and when you are player waiting to go out to bat or bowl, and now as a Coach sitting on the balcony looking out over to the castle in the background, its a wonderful backdrop.
There is a lovely feel about the place, it's big enough to be an international ground and is very modern but still has a 'feel' about it.



You unknowingly gave me the best birthday present in 2011 

Unknowingly? what did I do? what did I say?

It was announced on 15th November that you had taken the role of First Team Coach with Yorkshire, what made you take the job?

Well I suppose the question that you have to ask is why not?
I was at the time coaching in Zimbabwe, I hadn't had much coaching experience as such, I done bits and pieces, coached the South Australia Country team, been out in the IPL, Australia A.
Then after I had been in Zimbabwe for a couple of seasons I got contacted by Martyn Moxon. He said the club were restructuring  and that a role with the First Team might suit me. Would I apply, I spoke to my wife and decided to apply for it and I did my interview over the phone from Zimbabwe which was interesting!!!.

I remember the past interviews that I  had applied for had been in Australia, assistant coaches roles. I remember thinking that  I was telling them what I thought  they wanted to hear, I vowed I would never do that again and when I got the chance with Yorkshire I just told the interview panel how I wanted to run a team, how I thought the best way forward for Yorkshire would be, and two hours later Frog ( Martyn Moxon) rang me and offered me the position.
I didn't have to take too much time to think about it.
It is the biggest club in the world, club that I played for, and an incredible opportunity for someone like me  with  not  a lot of coaching experience,. how could I not want to be here?
They knew me  and so I accepted,  it was a great opportunity, I had a good relationship with Frog.
Another reason that I accepted it was because the  club had been relegated, hadn't been performing well in first class or in short forms either, looking at the squad  I saw a great group of players, I loved to have the opportunity to try and  help them perform well and  achieve something .
And I'm still here so it must be going OK!



When the season started Yorkshire were 8 men down Captain Gale on suspension, 6 out with England and then Ryan with calf injury, What was your plan of action at the time?

Well it was very simple, everyone could look at it negatively, we were losing all these players, I really saw it as a great chance for us to give some of the young lads a go. Will Rhodes, Alex Lees got to captain the side, we had Pujara as oversea player who did quite well. Young Matt Fisher got a couple of games, I saw it as a positive.
 We knew Jonny was away and I have all the faith in the world with Andrew Hodd I think that he is one of the  best glovemen  in the country.
So I didn't see all doom and gloom, I knew these guys needed to step up and do a job, it was just about giving them a chance to do that, letting them know that they have your support and get them out playing,  fortunately they were able to do that!
Matt Fisher is an absolutely fantastic  young bowler and he is only going to get better for that experience.
Will Rhodes who is not an opener, we saw something in him and  thought  he can do a job for us whilst Lythy is away. So we made it clear to him that this was his position rain hail  or shine, there were 4-5 games and whether he got  ducks, I was going to persevere with him, and I told him, that I was backing him in this job until Lythy's back and we would go from there. it gave him a lot of confidence.

I personally think that you have one of the strongest teams with a good  back up system.

Well it does test our resources when our players are with England and then a couple of injuries, we feel that the plans we have in place, the structure that we have in place, the 2nd XI academy is  our way forward.
We back our players to come through that, and what I say to all the young players is

'You're not here to make up numbers, you are here to perform and do your job, If you get picked for the 1st team you are expected to do the job'

They love that, they know that they will be rated on their performance, it's not work experience, the by product of it is that they are getting experience.And that's great.
They have to go out and perform, get thrown in the deep end in work life , it's  can be sink or swim, and we trust our lads to swim, It gets results

Since 2012 you have taken Yorkshire from Division 2 , to County Champions, what are your aspirations for next season?

Well....

Because we aren't going to talk about the end of this season

Good!!!!
What you have got to remember is, you said 'I ' have taken them, I haven't, its much more of a team effort, the lads have empowered themselves to go and perform, you also can't underestimate Martyn's influence.
They have responded well to their captain and we make sure that there is a lot of clarity about everything that we do, whether its their training, prep, what  we are trying to achieve out there, pretty clear plan when we are bowling, or batting, sort of keep it as simple as possible.
One thing I haven't tried, is to reinvent the wheel by any stretch, because cricket is very simple, its about hitting, catching and bowling. If you keep it as basic as that with a little help along the way, little technical things that you can work on, little tweaks to improve performance, by and large its about attitude. I'm a big one for that, you have to have a good attitude about it..
Its can be hard as cricket is a team game but there are lots of individual things and its how that individual marries that up with team goals, its intertwined, and I think that you need good team spirit.
Some guys in cricket or any sport are there for themselves, that's the nature of the beast.
You have to find the right balance and I think that we have that at Yorkshire.


It's not been a good T20 season for the club, personally I am not too keen on all the 'razzamatazz' of short form cricket, I can see that it is money maker for clubs. How do you see these matches?

They are really important.
My favourite format of the game is the long form of cricket I love Test cricket that's my favourite and First class cricket, but I do like T20. Its something that we have to work on, we just haven't quite got our combinations right, players not quite getting it right, I think  myself as well not quite getting the selections right at times. Its just a combinations of all those really.
We get it right sometimes and not others. I think T20 lends itself to that, if you can get on a roll as we did in 2012. you can go all the way.
We also want to learn from the other teams.
 I am off to coach the Adelaide Strikers in the winter and I am hoping that I can bring something back from there to help Yorkshire.
I think that it will be good we have nothing to lose and everything to gain.


Are you going to bring Glenn Maxwell back next season?

I don't know, I can honestly tell you that  we haven't had any conversations about overseas players at the moment I think we are still pretty excited about the fact that we have signed David Willey.

I was going to actually ask you about that, when I first asked to speak to you it was being rumoured and then it was announced that David was joining you  but if you could choose one other player from around the counties who has caught your eye, who would it be and why?

There are a number of players that catch your eye

*Hints* Jack Shantry 

(laughing) there are a number of players that catch your eye!!!!!, however I will be honest I would rather back our players, but when someone like David Willey comes onto the market and wants to play at Yorkshire, that's just brilliant.

Big thing for him is that he wants to play test cricket and wants to improve his long form game and its a chance for him to work with Ryan, which he wanted.
He didn't come for money there were a number of clubs  offering more financial incentive, but he wants to play Test cricket and feels that coming to Yorkshire is his best way of going someway towards that.
and it was refreshing to hear that it wasn't about money , Dave is brilliant and I am really looking forward to working with him as are all the support staff.

So I take it you didn't look at Jack Shantry?

We haven't looked at Jack Shantry, I  did however play cricket with his brother.

Adam!

Yes Adam lovely bloke, Jacks a lovely bloke, Adam is now coaching at Shrewsbury School.


Yes, he is working with a friend of mine.

Ah  OK,  but no we haven't been going down the Jack Shantry path.

I'm gutted!!!!!

I can tell, you're blushing!!!



I hate to see negative things being said about Yorkshire on social media. My philosophy is that you can't win them all and if you did it would be  very boring! I also don't hold with being abusive about the club you are suppose to support. How do you feel when you see negative things written?

Its very simple for me if there is any thing negative or abusive on social media, its very simple I just block them. There are no second chances, no ifs or buts. I think that social media is really good to get a message out there and promote the club,which is what I do as much as I can.
If there is any negativity towards the club or any of our players or myself then its a  its a block. I just have a very simple block policy.

I keep it simple, any negativity  abuse I just block them and its dealt with.
I even had a letter sent to the club saying 'Please unblock me because I like reading you'
and no I won't unblock you, you shouldn't have done it in the first place.
This is a lesson that needs to be learnt, social media is  something that everyone is still learning about.
Sometimes people have to learn a tough lesson.
Just think  before you tweet, would be my message to people.


Next weekend is the One Day Cup Semis, how  do you see this?

I am just excited for the lads, excited for the club, its a great  opportunity for us to fill the stadium, and opportunity for the players to go out and show their skills really.
For me I am just genuinely excited, I am looking forward to seeing Richards Dawson our former second team coach, who is head coach there and Ian Harvey, I have been delighted with seeing him being successful, BUT  I am hoping that they are not going to be successful come the weekend.
It will be good to see them, I am pleased as punch for them.
From our perspective I am just really excited, lets get out there, lets put on a show,lots of people come and support us, that will be my message to the lads, Lets get out there, its a Semi Final, uncharted territory,lets just go and play.

Can we do 'The Double' 

Look its a long way off lets not speculate on anything like that. we will just go out and play as good cricket as we can.


You are understandable popular on the After Dinner and Q &  A circuit, I know that there is a 'Cricket Dinner with Jason Gillespie' in London in October, do you really enjoy doing these?

I do, doing too many of them I find I get a bit bored with.
 I do Q & A's with my mate Dave Callaghan to raise some money for charity, We try to raise the profile of the club and cricket in general and I never get tired of telling my test double hundred story.

Oh I was going to ask you about that but thought 'no he will be sick of talking about it'!!

Its something that I always talk about in my after dinner speaking.


When the 'other' record  for ' last double hundred  by an Australian on foreign soil' was broken this summer, did you feel any regret?

Ah when Steve Smith did that I wasn't bothered, it was about bloody time, look I shouldn't be holding any batting records.

However the 201  by a number 10 batsman is still a world record and single greatest innings!!!

Have you ever been asked to  officially 'open' a cricket wicket?

Ehhh no!!!!!

Well next time you are passing Newton Aycliffe can you call in  and officially open the 'wicket' in my garden?

*Lots of laughter*  (nervous laughter!!!)


I am actually sitting here talking to one  of my  greatest  cricket heroes, ( and shaking like a leaf),

Thats very kind of you to say.
Relax


Who is your cricket hero?

I love Dennis Lillee I  was fortunate enough when I went to the cricket academy to meet him, I got to spend some time with him  at cricket and socially which was  a surreal time for me.
Really any former Australian cricketers  were heroes  of mine, these guys had done what I wanted to do. I looked up to all of them, I'm a bit of a cricket tragic, a badger, I used to learn every ones averages, how many tests they had played, I've forgotten a lot of it now. I do love my cricket trivia, I love the game.

I'll name a few of my heroes, Dennis Lillee, Merv Hughes, Craig McDermott, you know I got to open the bowling with one of my great heroes who became one of my great mates. Glenn McGrath, a great man and I  consider him a close mate.
From other countries I can't go past  the late, great Malcolm Marshall, who was unbelievable,  he was a wonderful cricketer, a wonderful person, I was lucky enough to meet him a couple of times, he was such a nice bloke  to me in the couple of dealings I had with him. Sadly he is gone, but never forgotten.

In your cricketing life what would you say is your greatest moment/moments.?
Oh I have been really lucky in my cricketing life, playing for Australia, playing for Yorkshire and now coaching Yorkshire.
Playing in an Ashes winning team has to have been  one of the greatest moments.
I have had many great moments.

In my cricketing life this has to have been one of my greatest moments, thank you for taking the time to talk to me and answer some very mundane questions.

*laughing*  My pleasure.

                                    **************************************************

Jason Gillespie, has figured  in my blog from day one and was the absolute perfect interviewee!

I have to say that was the best hour  I have spent in a long time!

My thanks to him for agreeing to talk to me.

Just to mention that yesterday 'My Tykes' wrapped up their match against Somerset, winning by an innings and 126 runs..............................................Little Miss Chatterbox was actually silenced!!!!!

COME ON YOU TYKES!!!!!!!!!

Roll on Sunday and the semi final!!!!


            *****************************************************


Jason was a great sport in agreeing to let me interview him back in 2015. I consider myself incredibly lucky to have been able to spend time with one of my all time heroes.

Have a great day and stay safe.

New week, and its not good

Hello, its Monday and I am back.

And its not a pretty picture that I paint this morning.
My boys are on their way home from Mumbai, cutting pre season training short..
Better to be safe and all that.

Durham cut short their jolly to Zimbabwe.

And England 'postponed' test series in Sri Lanka and are on their way back home.

Its not good out there.

I am responsible for keeping myself out of harms way,as best I can, avoiding crowded areas etc, which meant  that I didn't get to see my Farsley Celtic FC sponsored player, on Saturday.

I also couldn't help out at the Community Charity Craft Café but did make some vegan rolls for them to sell.

For me and my colleagues, we spent the back end of last week, putting together the work plan, obviously working in water, its essential that things are not affected..
We now have a drill and know what will happen when someone contracts the virus. { we are working on when and not if}.

That being said, I think that as there is not much cricket news about I will be here intermittently.


Stay safe and keep well.

Look after those who need it.

back soon

Still nothing crickety

Wednesday is here, midweek, and I am scouring the papers to see if there is any crickety type news or you could very well be bored with 'what happened at The Wickets on Tuesday evening'.

And believe me apart from an hour with my new instruments of torture from the physio and having chicken casserole for dinner, excitement was very low on the ground.

Cricket news is very low on the ground, so I have decided to take a break until next Monday to see if anything interesting happens.

Honestly you must all be sick of hearing about wall paper and paint, physio and pilates, ebay and the charity shop,chutney making, and to be fair I realise what a flipping boring old life I live.

However life is for living in whatever form you choose.

I know that over the last few years I have let things take over my life and this has been crippling for me. Time to move on and spread my wings.

Live your life to the best of your ability.

Live everyday fully, ( in my case until 8.30pm when its bedtime).

Have a great week and I will be back next week

onward we go

Tuesday has dawned quite nice, I have been on a walk to the station and back ( 1/2 mile) and  need to try to keep this up on an early morning  basis.

I've laid out my bag in the dressing room/ pilates studio, and am starting to get slightly excited about my trip to Southampton, which after  being cancelled last Thursday was back on by Friday lunchtime, I'm with Logan Air, got 15kg free hold luggage and window seat .

This is /was to be my one and only 1st team away game ( including Scarborough ) so with this being back on I am over the moon.

There will be much bag packing in Yorkshire over the next few days as the boys get ready to fly to Mumbai.

I only wish that I was going  with them.

However I am going to be busy this week as I have just agreed to produce some vegan food for a local charity open day. So I have some of my famous 'sausage'rolls to make and also some vegan samosas.

That should keep me busy, not that I need to add any thing else to the schedule.

What I need is to add more chill time.

There is not a lot of cricket news so I am signing off and hoping to get a decent day in the office.

Happy Tuesday 

And back to the grind

Here we go again, another chance to make a working week better than the one before.

I can but hope.

The weekend has gone by too quickly and was a mix of all sorts of things, including  shopping, knitting and chutney making, as well as sleeping.
Friday evening saw us head out to the cinema to see Military Wives, which I highly recommend, I have seen probably every film that Kristin Scott Thomas has ever made { including her debut film which will always be my favourite}, and she never fails to please.

Saturday afternoon saw a few hours at the spa, as we needed to chill out and unwind a little. I feel asleep mid massage!
I really need to relax more, and intend to.

In cricket there was some bad and good news on Friday as it was announced that Josh wouldn't be on the Mumbai tour with Yorkshire but that 'my' Tom would replace him, so both my lads are going.
I was obviously over the moon, but feel for Josh.

Over the weekend, South Africa made short work of Australia in the ODI series.

England are playing warm up matches in Sri Lanka.

And poor old Jofra is still broken and will not make the IPL. I am seriously thinking that anyone will be lucky to see him bowl this season.
All that fast tracking...………………………..hmmmmmm


Well time is short and I have to head off.

Again this week, blogs may be intermittent. I have a lot of things going on and quite a lot of sorting out to do.
I've a couple of appointments after work which hopefully will push me forward.

Have a great week.

End of working week

Friday already and I am ready to stay in bed and sleep, however I am up and showered and ready to walk out of the door at normal time today, I hasten to add.

Its half day and I cannot wait to finish, lots planned, as out with chums tonight and then a bit of pampering over the weekend.

Cricket news is mainly a flurry of contract signing, as Jofra has extended his contract with Sussex, who get the broken version this season .

Josh Cobb has  re signed  as white ball captain for Northants.

Zak Crawley extends for Kent.

Its all go in the run up to the season which is now just over a month away.
And a busy month that will be, Yorkshire are off to Mumbai, Sussex are off to South Africa and I might manage a trip to Seaton Carew if I am lucky, and with my recent luck the road will probably be getting dug up!

The loss of Flybe has meant that I am now trying to get alternative transport to Southampton, and believe me driving or train are not something that I fancy.
It could all get called off if I can't get a flight and after trying for most of yesterday its not looking too hopeful..


And with that I am out the door and off to finish the week.

See you at some point next week.

Its dark and I am tired

I started this at about 3.20am  having  been banging around in the dark for the last half hour, I headed  off out the door to sample the delights of the newest Transit in the fleet and also the further delights of site life.

I can honestly say that tiredness is now just something that I am living with.

As my dreams of flying to Beirut for heat and culture has been binned for 3 years ( until I get a new passport) I spent most of  the mornings drive thinking about where I can go to  for some sun, scenery and rest. ( please note that I am not driving I am a passenger).

In cricket, England arrived in Sri lanka to acclimatise in preparation for the first test on 19h March.

In the made up game, they have announced that the prize money will be the same for the Mens and the Womens game. There seems to be a lot of money floating around...……………..for how long.


Well time to get on with the important things in life...…….having coffee.

Tuesday mumblings

Things are turning really busy for me at the moment, as I now am trying to get organised to go out and talk about facial yoga and all that it entails, this will be in a couple of months, but I guess preparation is the key.

A 4 am start this morning has made the blog very late, because believe me I had no intention of getting up at 3am to type a load of old rubbish!

Cricket news is still low on the ground

England lions are still in Australia and taking on New South Wales  2nd XI

Lancashire have resigned former T20 Tyke Glenn Maxwell, my run in with him at Headingley will go down in the events that caused me huge embarrassment . ( one of many, although not quite as embarrassing as shouting out your undying love for a Yorkshire player when his Mum is sitting in front of you!!!).

And with that I am off to do stuff, its cold, I'm on a site with no kettle ( at the moment although someone has just hightailed it to Argos)
Happy days!

Marching on

Here we are at March already and the season is getting closer, most counties are planning their pre season tours.
This is usually somewhere hot, meaning that when they come back they are all in for hypothermia first day out in the field.

Yorkshire look to be going into the season in a good position, they made a profit and are paying back the massive debt that has been a bit of a millstone.

The boys all seem to be quite positive and although I won't be at that many matches, I will be cheering them on.

This is a super short one and this week due to having  lot going o in the background, the blogs may be short or non existent.

there is also a huge lack of crickety type news.

Wishing you all a good week.

Finally Friday

Here we are again, Friday, in what has been a short working week for me.
After snow on Monday, op and then recuperating and  yesterday heading out to Headingley for an afternoon with 'the boys'.

Train from Ladylaineyville to Burley Park, what could go wrong...………………..everything, delay meaning missed connections both ways resulting in £23  worth of taxis , hmmmmmm, Northern rail not doing too well.

However an afternoon with the team including Ben { who I knew would be back from Australia but was sworn to secrecy} made for a great afternoon.
A teeny bit of gin tasting, some afternoon tea, and a very 'posh magnum' as well a hearing Patto and David Willey giving their take on the season made up for the rail problems.

Had a great time with John who very kindly acted as my chauffeur, and chatting to Yvonne, Derek and Dave. Lovely to  catch up with other sponsors.

Great to catch up with Ben, Tom was sound asleep at home after having his shoulder looked at.

A great cricket day, not so great rail wise.

And now I am off to put in some work, clear my desk and then head off  for a fun filled weekend.

see you on Monday.

have a great weekend

back again

so after  a couple of days of rest I am back on my feet and about to have a little jolly today.

I have been punctured and prodded and all seems to be in order, it seems when I have lost 3 stone my swollen knee might deflate, however I am not holding my breath.

I also have to work hard to build up some strength in my ankle, my Achilles tendon is apparently very weak.

I am sure that it will all get sorted in its own time.

We are nearly hitting the 7 month mark, so fingers crossed.

In cricket,Australia won the T20  series in South Africa, and Steve Smith has been made Captain of the made up game for Puff the magic dragons.

Good news that Adam Lyth in his testimonial year has also signed a new deal keeping him at Yorkshire for a while longer.

I have a busy day today and I need to get a wriggle on.

I've a train too catch and some chums to meet up with.

So I might be back, but this is coming is a very short one this morning.

Have a great day and hopefully I will be back tomorrow.

Another week begins

and what a week it looks to be, I'm having my knee prodded some more, the big meeting with the future new company owners takes place and it is nearer the start of the season, and I am so proud to sponsor Ben and Tom for another year.

Yesterday South Africa beat Australia in the 2nd T20 and its all down to the last game.
And South Africa ladies aren't doing too badly either .

It was also busy day at The Wickets as I had a trip to the dechetterie and picked up my train tickets for my jolly on Thursday.
I also continued to get rid of things on eBay, this in light of yesterdays blog was very much enriching my life.

I really have got the spring clean bug, and think that next weekend I might even strip the wallpaper off the sitting room wall and paint it.
I have seen a new mirror that I like and also need to go out to look for some radiator covers {if anyone knows of any that need rehoming let me know please}.
Oh my dog! lets see how much of that I get done!!!

The lovely Roxanne, {my cleaner} is going to do a good old pulling out of everything for me, mainly because I am still struggling with the rotator cuff problem, its getting there, but I don't want to aggravate it at the moment.

I am looking into re-enamelling my bath myself...……………….as I am a huge fan of 'Return to the chateau DIY', I watched Angel do it last week, and if she can do it in a floating kimono thing, well I can do it in my Iron Maiden T shirt.

I am not sure how many days this week, I will be here due to things going on , so I will see you all soon.


Oh and Ladylaineyville is a winter wonderland this morning ass we have had snow over night!!!!
WTDD!!!!


Have a great week.

I will say this only once

In the wake of the suicide of Caroline Flack, I have read with interest the comments about 'Be Kind', it makes me wonder.

I would have thought that most normal folk would not need to be told this, they just are, I do accept that there are those who aren't and those that  hide behind a keyboard on social media etc.

I would have thought that at least 99.9%  of people are kind.

The campaign to get people to talk about how they feel, what is going on in their head and their life is an interesting one.

Sometimes its not that easy to just pour out what is happening in your life.

I read on Friday the awful account of Hannah Clarke, a mother of 3 in Australia , whose partner burnt her and her children to death in their car and then took his own life.

The sad thing about this was that this lady had suffered years of domestic abuse...…………..but did not talk to anyone as she did not think that she was being abused as her partner never hit her.

He did however mentally and financially abuse her, before the horrific events which led to 5 deaths.

I read this account about 3 times and cried.

I know exactly what it is like to be physically, mentally and financially abused.

I know how hard it is to try to talk to anyone about it, fear is a big  part of this, along with the feeling that no one will believe you.

I know the absolute  fear of going home from work, not knowing what to expect.

I know the feeling of being told every day that you are fat, ugly and stupid.

I know what it is like to have your bank account emptied,  when your wages have just gone in, to be given 'pocket money' , have your phone checked regularly and be accused of things that were not true.

Hannah Clarke went through this too.

I managed to run, albeit with injuries that healed, but memories that will never.

It is hard to write this down, and  I am hoping that it will be cathartic, and I can finally lay this ghost to rest, and that I can now try harder to help others suffering in a similar position.

I am very lucky, I am not a victim, I am a bounce back survivor.

Never judge a book by its cover as it may well be just that...……...a cover.

Hannah Clarke was not a celebrity, she was a Mum and as such her death and that of her children have just become old news. Her family  though have to live with the terrible loss.

Being kind and listening to people should be part of our general makeup, not something that we are instructed to do.

Always try be your best self.

I haven't written this down for sympathy of any kind. Its my personal story and I have deleted this about 10 times before I decided to actually publish it.

Weekend eve

Friday  has arrived and I am still trying to sort out water problems at work, too much of it, in the wrong place and causing havoc on the water in the right place, if you get my drift.

I cannot wait for  half day finish ( fingers crossed I am not still here at 7pm), I have things to do, and will get them done, I am on a bit of a roll at the moment.

However a conversation yesterday with one of the Richard Tators did not fill me with hope, as it appears that next week we are hosting a large company with plans to sell us {again, for the
'old' staff}. Not happy times ahead I think.

I have t try to put that on a back burner as I am forward thinking ready for getting my knee poked about next week.

Apparently I will be able to walk perfectly well afterwards...……………….which is bloody brilliant because I haven't been able to do that since last July! I don't think they took into account how bad my problem had been before making that statement.
No driving for a couple days means that I am off for a train ride on Thursday.

As the weather continues to be filthy, I feel for Worcester who without fail { due to their position} are flooded and if the weather forecast for this weekend is anything to go by there will be no chance of  lowering of water levels.

Lots of chat in cricket papers about the made up game, and who is looking forward to playing. Apparently Jonny Bairstow is really excited about playing for 'Puff the magic dragons' of what ever they are called. Shame on you Jonny. { yes I know he is expected to say things like that, and I suppose the money helps to soothe his qualms}

And with that I am off to buy the breakkfast for a much reduced workforce today, lots of holidays put in following the bouts of sickness.

Have a great weekend.

Hello to midweek

Here we go, its midweek already, where are the weeks going?

I've a lot on in the next couple of weeks so please be aware that blogs may be intermittent.

I'm trying to get prepared at the office as I am in hospital next week for an exploratory op, and then can't drive for a couple of days after that. 

Preparation is needed.

Well now crickety news, Yorkshire announced that Adil Rashid had signed a white ball contract.

Hmmm, is all I have to say on this.

Is it pay for play?

As the season gets nearer I am undecided as to whether to have a staycation and take 4 days off to watch the 2nds play close to Ladylaineyville.

I wanted to go and have a summer holiday …………………….but the pull of cricket is strong, October holiday is still very much on the cards and also a couple of city breaks.

I'll mull it over.

There is still  a lot of contract signing going on across the counties, as the we head towards the starting line.

Apologies for the blogs being quite short but  my days start very early with calls and emails as water levels around our sites rise with the amount of rain that has been lashing down all over the country.

I hope that you are all safe and dry.

Have a good day, we are getting closer to the weekend.

Moving on

There has been a lot going on behind the scenes at The Wickets, usual mucking out of stuff and putting on ebay/sending to charity shop. 

Also a bit of mind laundry, which is basically clearing up the negative thoughts and make room for clearer thinking ( very new age).

And it works, things that I have fretted about  and been deeply up set about, are being set to one side as I move on.

About time too.

Also never one to rest on my laurels I am signing up to do another course, this time to train in aromatherapy, which I personally love and thought it might be good  to get a better insight into.

In cricket it was definitely a black armband day yesterday as Faf du Plessis, announced that he was giving up the Captaincy of South Africa, after the initial shock I think that he is doing the right thing.

Next step the big R!!!!

There is news from the made up game and England players are being named here there and everywhere, and they say they they play too much cricket { not for their counties though}.

Ah far too early to get into a rant.

Well time to face the tail end of Dennis and see what today holds.

Have a great day.

Busy extended weekend

It's been a full on time over the last 4 days, I had a trip away and then back home to do a facial yoga class.
 I met up with some friends and sat watching cricket on Friday after the usual farce of Valentines Day, which isn't a holiday it is just a marketing mans dream.
That said I did get some champagne and a new washing up bowl and drainer out of it so I'm happy with that.


I feel rested and ready for the week ahead, which judging by emails is not a good one.
It seems that a disgruntled ex employee has anonymously tipped off a licensing agency .
Long story short, we are being fined and it has other repercussions.
To be honest if you have a gripe with an employer , tell them don't hide behind anonymous calls.
We do know who it is as the person was one of only 3 people who knew about the 'problem'.
The other 2 still work here, me being one and the other being one  of the Richard Tators, the issue was in hand. Its a little bit disappointing.

In cricket England won the T20 series with the Captain saying that Alex Hales will not be back in the team soon. Hales has not played for England since last summer after an 'off field incident'.
Double standards I think as some members of the team have more lives than the local Tom.
#myopiniononly.

England Lions are not doing too badly against Australia Xl

I have to head out now into the continuing storm that has been raging over the weekend, and straight into the storm raging in the office.

Its not going to be an easy drive to work.

Stay safe today.

Quickie

this is a really quickie as I am running late, and believe me I do not want to be late.

Well the T20 series started and what a cracking game {mainly because Dale The Stare was playing}. All down to the last ball.
Great win by South Africa.

Over in the USA, the American team posted 35 to equal the  lowest score after being defeated by Nepal.
I wonder if Liam is as keen now?


And that's it for today, not sure if I am here tomorrow it will depend on WiFi.

so if not have a great weekend and I will see you on Monday.

Halfway through

Wednesday is here and it is T20 day, Dale Steyn is in East London with the SA team and I am totally excited.

England have named their squad for Sri Lanka, and after having broken Jofra they are going to give one last push on Mark Wood, I don't think he's a good bet, but hey what do I know.
They have called him the Durham De Villiers on the BBC website which I find wrong, he's more like the Brian Robson of cricket.
Strange mix up on the team front for this tour. Old Bambi boy is back {Jennings to the uninitiated}.
Lets see how this goes.

My trip to Worcester for a big dinner in June is on track, and apparently I will be sitting with none other than me old mate Paul Smith, looking forward to a good old chat with him with the former Warwickshire boy, Richard Stemp and Min Patel are also apparently on the table, Min a name from the England past { Edgbaston  England v India I think I saw him back in mid 90's, sat next to his wife at lunch}.

Pilates tonight and hopefully I will be showing signs of making progress and not rolling around on the mat like a whale waiting to be refloated.

I am also hoping that work may have calmed down today, although the rumours of more rain at the weekend is not a good one.


I have got myself a new player at Farsley Celtic FC, as my original sponsored player has now left, so I am  the proud sponsor of Chris Atkinson.
I will be cheering him on at Darlo on 14th March...……………..me at footy, who would have thought it!!!

Norty Morty, office boy who is building his new house, told us yesterday that he is calling it, The Light House, to which Mickey Dripping replied {due to Mortys football preference}
' what you aren't calling it The Stadium of Light House'?

much laughter I can tell you!

Right I am off to the hamster wheel, another day in the land of water.

Happy Wednesday