Another sportsday, tinged with sadness

We lost one of the nicest England managers today, as Sir Bobby Robson passed away at the age of 76. Having suffered from many forms of cancer of the past few years, Sir Bobby appeared at a charity match just last week, hoping he could help others suffering the same as he. In 1986, there are many who believe the World cup was ours for the taking - but for some dubious divine intervention! Close again in 1990, a World Cup would have cemented his reputation, after taking Ipswich Town to European glory. A gentleman manager; he will be sadly missed.

Swimming: Gemma Spofforth takes Gold in 100m backstroke in world record, Jo Jackson and Rebecca Adlington take Silver and Bronze in 400m Freestyle. The womens 200m Freestyle Relay team took Bronze.

Darts: Phil Taylor wins 10th World Matchplay title.

Sailing: GB pair pick up Silver in World Champs.

Shooting: GB women take Gold in European Championship.

Triathlon: Brownlee claims Silver in European championship, and tops rankings following another series win.

3BT Music: Sweet and smooth, just like Galaxy

Jimmy Cobb - So Nobody Else Can Hear - heard this on Jazzfm and had to find it again. I think I’ve got a copy in the loft.

Jerry Bell – Tell Me You’ll Stay - and I’d been frantically trying to remember this just the other day – whatd’yaknow – it was in the list with Jimmy Cobb! It’s also in the loft ...

Brenda Russell – In The Thick of It - like velvety creamy chocolaty velvet stuff ... yes, there's a copy in the loft. My loft is a gold mine. Hands up who remembers the Goldmine at Canvey? Ha ha - aren't you old?

Holiday Snaps!

We previously stayed at Old Hall Farm a few years ago, before owners Lucy and John converted their barns - and I've been trying to get booked in again ever since but they were always full! Finally managed it this year, so here's a snapshot of the week.

You could live more than comfortably in the cottage, it had everthing you needed - this was where hubby treated us to a full cooked brekkie - every morning we hadn't forgotten the eggs; 90p a half dozen from Archie's (John and Lucy's son) own hens. They had home made ice cream available too!

The Hobbit chills out in our lovely cottage. Adamant that he never had his feet on the table he was ...

The Play Barn: Scene of three memorable victories over Matt, seen here practising in vain to beat his mummy.

We found the local Indian Restaurant, hurrah! I'm holding a masterpiece of creation, my speciality, although they laugh at me: Take one poppadom, sprinkle with raitha sauce, add chopped tomato and onion, then drizzle with mango chutney. What's wrong with that?

Raffia elephants at the Africa Alive! experience near Lowestoft. No real ones, but rhinos and lions and the cutest otters you ever did see. Will figure out if I can get the bit of video on here of them - but don't hold your breath, it's taken me four days to load some photos ...

The putting green on Southwold sea front - you see now why I did so badly: Windy day + no hair clip = where's the flag?

This is The Old Dairy, where we actually stayed - look closely and you can see an imp hiding behind a big rubber ring!

If you check out the link at the top, you'll find a picture of the swimming pool, the main reason we wanted to go again - we had it to ourselves every time we wanted it. Even though it is hired out privately for a couple of hours a day, I can't recommend the Old Hall Cottages highly enough as a base for a lovely family holiday.

3BT: Holiday Fun

The amazing maize maze: Before we went, Matt told The Hobbit: "It's a bit like the Harry Potter maze. But without the death stuff. And the cup. And the magic."

I taught Matt how to play a torpedo game in the amusement arcade. Me, the expert - I won 4 tickets, he won 126.

We invented a new game 'Squennis'. In the astroturf playbarn, the five a side goals were put in the middle and the tennis balls were allowed off the wall, posts, crossbar, anywhere. I'm still quite bruised, actually.

Sportsday: Watersport triumphs, motorsport tragedy

Leading with Tom Daley of course, who won the Individual 10m Diving World Championship this week! Swimmer Kerry Payne wins 10km open water Gold, in the same World Champs.

A ‘first’ for rowing Brits and anything the men can do, so can the women in a second ‘first’! GB win the coxless fours in Lucerne and the lightweight women’s double sculls as GB win the World Cup for the third successive season! Woohoo!

Paul Goodison takes his third consecutive World Cup Win in the Laser class, following the brilliant team performance in Holland – *slaps wrist for leaving it too long again*.

Regrettably, I’m ending today’s sport on a sad note. I used to work at Buckmore Park Kart Circuit, as you might know from earlier posts and it was there about ten years ago I met the legendary John Surtees, the only man to win world championships on two and four wheels (the F1 championship in 1964) and his son Henry, who came along and began his karting career with us. During an accident in an F2 race this week Henry, only eighteen years old, tragically lost his life.

As anyone in motorsport knows, it can never be made truly risk-free, even with the advances that have been made – John was and probably still will be a huge supporter of motorsport at grass roots level and I and my family extend our sympathies to him and his family at this terribly sad time.

The Medway Mile

Counting down to the start of the Olympics in 2012, the third annual fun run takes place on Monday July 27th, the final event of a weekend full of cultural and sporting celebrations.

Open to all, the free fun run starts in front of Rochester Cathedral and wends its way through the streets of the town to finish at the Castle, in a change of venue due to re-development being carried out at the Black Lion Leisure centre, where the Medway Park centre of sporting excellence is being created to serve athletes in 2012.

Events begin at 4pm, with an elite race at 7pm, organised by Medway and Maidstone Athletic Club. Visit the link here to sign up!

3BT: Holiday Fun

Playing ‘Pictionary’ – I draw a horse in the building horses live in and the Hobbit says: “Horse hut!” Horse hut, I ask you – he got the hang of it eventually and we won.

Shot a personal best 61 on an 18 hole ... putting green. Tied with Matt. Who’s embarrassed? I’m not embarrassed – he plays a lot more than I do!

Sitting in one of those huge rubber rings in the swimming pool is so relaxing – specially post swim, at the side of the pool. I think I’ll design and patent an alternative to the deck chair; I could have quite happily stayed there all day.

3BT: Dance, uneven eyebrows, suicidal pigeon

You may have seen the new picture over there, that takes you through to a new blog Dance Dance Dance, reason being, the silly season is upon us (Strictly Come Dancing season!) and I know many of you aren't that fussed. Since I wanted to cover It Takes Two as well, I thought it'd be best to give it its own dedicated blog, so the running commentaries for both that and Dancing on Ice, plus any other dance news will appear over there.

Had to revisit the beauty salon - wish I'd never started waxing my eyebrows now. They're very fair, you see, so I've never bothered to pluck or anything before. But so far, two different girls have done them and both keep missing bits. And the end of my left eyebrow is much fairer than the right, so we've had to adjust. Bloody stupid idea. And it hurts. And can't stop having it done now, can I, unless I want to look like The Incredible Hulk.

Driving back from school and a pigeon decided to jump out in front of me, I swear it had a death wish. Matt was adamant I'd run it over but we couldn't see the remains of the jay walking pigeon behind us. My Dastardly and Mutley "Catch the pigion, catch the pigeon" impression was totally lost on Matt, he just gave me one of his "Er, yeah ..." looks via the rear-view mirror.

Driving a Fiat Cinquecento to the Arctic Circle? Mad or what?

But that's exactly what a mate of mine at work is doing and all for a very good cause - Macmillan Cancer Support.

Alan and his mate Jason are painting that little Fiat in the style of an American cop car and driving it all the way from Holland to Norway and back again (hopefully!) The only thing is, they have to have the heater on all the time to stop it overheating, which is fine for when they get to the Arctic, but Holland in August I'm figuring won't be much different climate wise from here!

They'd be grateful for any support and you can show some by visiting their blog where you can follow their progress.

Dear Readers ...

... what do you think of the new look blog? Yes? No? Don't care? I fancied a bit more colour but I don't want you to all go "UGH" and recoil in horror! So if the general consensus is 'NO' then I an easily switch back to the original. Please leave a comment and let me know how you feel, ta v. much!

BIG NEWS!!! No, not Katie's exclusive interview with Piers that the nation has been waiting for because we were all so shocked at the break-up ... not ...no, Matt has finally learned to ride his bike! Only, it's four years old and far too small now, so we've had to buy a new one - bless, he still had a load of birthday money left and now he's got the bug he was determined to spend it. He brought home a smashing school report the other day though, so we've gone halves with him. He's picking it up tomorrow!

I thank his school friends - they had bike week a couple of weeks ago and since then his best friends have been cycling in. So on Thursday he dusted the old bike down and announced he was going to ride it! He'd sussed it inside of half an hour, from not going anywhere to suddenly just getting it. His little face was a picture. Looks like I'll be dusting my own one down now because I know what I'm going to get on Monday morning: "Can we cycle to school mum, can we, can we?"

Not so funny facts and figures about we Brits!

I couldn't believe these! Then I read them again and thought, well, actually, yes I can ... I've seen people do some of them.

3 die each year testing if a 9volt battery works on their tongue.

142 were injured in 1999 by not removing all the pins from their shirts.

58 are injured using knives as screwdrivers.

31 have died since 1996 by watering their Xmas tree with the fairy lights plugged in.

4 broken arms in Xmas cracker pulling incidents.

19 have died eating Xmas tree decorations, believing they were chocolate.

101 people since 1999 have had broken bits of plastic toys pulled out of the soles of their feet.

18 had serious burns in one year due to trying on a jumper with lit cigarettes in their mouths.

543 admitted to A&E in the last two years, after opening beer bottles with their teeth.

And my two personal favourites:

5 injured in accidents involving out of control Scalextric cars "...Help, help I've been run over by a small plastic toy car ..." I'm surprised they told anyone.

And finally, last year 8 people cracked their skull ... whilst throwing up in the toilet!

3BT: Sport, music, fun

We did have a finalist at Wimbledon and, just in case you missed the commentator in the men's Final mention it, her name is Lucy Shuker. Together with Australian partner Daniela Di Toro, she was runner up to a Dutch pair in the Ladies Wheelchair Doubles. STOP PRESS: Jeremy Bates won the Senior Men's Doubles!

Listening to the radio in the car and I was tapping away to this, never heard it before but found it quite infectious. So I was surprised to find it was JLS, not that I'd anything against them in X-Factor, in fact I quite liked them. I think it'll do well!

Matt spent some more of his birthday money today, on The Simpson's Board Game and the Moe's Tavern section is hilarious. At least, Matt as Bart was - he had to sing a love song about bananas, pretend to be the Road Runner and tell a joke in a Russian accent, which he didn't have a clue about, rolling up instead at my attempts. Great fun for a Sunday afternoon. Very easy to play - unlike the Simpson's Game of Life, which has only been out of the box once ...

The things they say ...

This time he really left me speechless.

I'm making our morning coffee and hot chocolate and turned up the volume on Jazz FM, since they were playing one of my favourites, New York Afternoon. Hm, I thought - the Cha Cha I learnt at the Strictly Kent do will go nicely with this and there was just enough room in the kitchen.

Matt walks in and says: "Stop it mum, before I need therapy."