SIXTY EIGHT

SUNDAY 12th DECEMBER

  Many thanks to all those who sent me birthday greetings by e-mail, on Facebook and by phone.  Yes indeed, I'm another year older but not deeper in debt - yet!  It was a quiet start to the day.  Mark gave me Richie Benaud's book Over But Not Out which built up my library to two books.  Robert came and picked us up around lunchtime and took us over to Carlingford, where I received a birthday cake and Nick helped me blow out the candles, thankfully there weren't 68 on the cake!

 And in answer to the request From Ireland for pictures of Nick, well here are a couple to start off with:

More will follow in due course.  I received a superb Elvis Presley calender from Nick, and a thriller from Jane, so now I'm up to three books.  The concensus of opinion is that Nick looks very much like me at that age, although I don't think my legs were as thin!

  Later Robert dropped Mark off in Eastwood, whilst I went with Robert round to Dougie's where members of the football team were helping Dougie construct a new swimming pool.  In fact we arrived just as Spud and Dougie were putting the finishing touches to their concreting.  Robert had picked up a six pack of Peroni enroute, so we sat down on the veranda and cracked open a couple of beers whilst the workers completed their task.  Stewie then arrived with his wife and two children, by which time Dougie and Spud had joined us in a beer.  Dougie produced a couple of bottles of Spanish beer in wine size bottles flavoured with corriander and other exotic ingredients.  He had acquired these at his neighbour's wine tasting and the beer was certainly to Spud's taste.  Robert and I also downed our glasses with relish.

  Around 7.00pm we left to pick up Mark from Eastwood and went to an Indian restaurant in Epping.  The curries were hotter than we anticipated, but just about okay.  Maureen rang whilst we were there, but it took a few attempts to finally establish contact.  Apparently Stockport was badly flooded when the storms hit South Australia and Steve has some 18 people sheltering in his house as it is on relatively high ground.  Alan is being awkward refusing to pay out $160 for a New Year's Eve meal that Maureen and the rest of the family are planning to go to, I said I would go but Alan is digging in his heels.

  Anyway after the curry we adjourned to the Epping to cool our throats down. Robert revealed that he was considering taking on Australian citizenship, something that did not meet with Mark's approval.  The bar was semi-deserted compared to the Saturday night crowd, and we stayed until closing time.  Robert suggested calling in at the Eastwood for a final drink, which we did and again stayed until closing time.  Back home there was talk of getting up for the Spurs v Chelsea game at 3.00am, but in the event we slept through the night to wake up to a 1-1 draw.