Time ticks on. Only tonight’s rehearsal and tomorrow’s dress rehearsal before we perform. Last night most of the set had been constructed so it certainly felt different. Just like last year’s play Ann has conjured up an amazing stage for us to perform on.

If anyone reading this wants to come along to watch – Friday is just about full but there are spaces for Saturday’s matinee and a few for Saturday night.

Of course I am referring to the current position of my football team. We went yesterday  hope for some champagne football. Sadly we struggled with dealing with a capricious wind and plucky opposition. However the cliché goes “good teams win when not playing well” and we managed to win! So we now we have consolidated 3rd place and we can dream. Below is a picture of the aftermath of the second goal in the derby game on the 1st. Yours truly is in the picture below celebrating (the crowd not the pitch!) Look in the top right hand corner!

It is rehearsal for the play tonight (and every night this week until the first performance on Friday night.

The last 24 hours has seen me go for a long cycle ride in the Spring sunshine to being a full on Granddad. “Come on Gramps”! We have spent all Easter Sunday being with our two grandsons (and their parents!) Owen is certainly all action and was lovely to see him on his balance bike. Robin is now six weeks old and his eyes are now looking at lights and movement.

Tomorrow we are both off to football hoping the Mighty Hatters keep up their good form. Fingers crossed!

Heard the iconic sound of a Bittern booming from my bedroom this morning!  What a privilege it is to hear! We got excited a couple of years ago that we might have Bitterns breeding in our area but it didn’t happen. maybe this time! I watched a Marsh Harrier busy with nesting material yesterday so it is all happening!

Yesterday’s football was a poor game that ended up a physical battle. Nobody was allowed to play any sort of football. Hope if we make the Play Offs we avoid Millwall. Still the play offs look likely as the Mighty Hatters are currently sitting in third place. Maybe this year will be the year we end our Play Off hoodoo!

Long pedal today in the Spring Sunshine and a Stoat ran across the road in front of me.

The title says it all. I went looking for summer migrants this morning. At Splatt Bridge not too much to see certainly no migrants but 40 + Curlew, Marsh Harrier and a couple of tumbling Ravens. I saw 40+ Sand Martins, a Chiffchaff and heard a Cetti’s Warbler up at the Sailing Lake. I then went off on my bike to Hock Cliff looking for Wheatears I go regularly at this time of the year but apart for a soaking no luck! Pictures below are Wheatears I photographed in Pembrokeshire last year.

Long tiring rehearsal last night for our Community Play. Just about got my lines right but still need to work hard at learning the songs- although not sure if my voice enhances anything. We have near enough rehearsals every night before we open next Friday. There are still tickets if anyone still needs one.

Busy weekend on the football front. Tomorrow a really tough game at Millwall just hope we can continue our good form. We are both going on Easter Monday to watch the game. Fingers crossed for both games COYH!!!

It is so depressing reading about the state of our rivers with sewerage being regularly released into them. Add to that the cocktail of run off of pesticides , farming effluent and they are in a mess. You have to say privatisation hasn’t done us much good unless you are a shareholder in a water company. The River Wye not that far away is not in a good state. We hear fairly weasel words from our government about what the money they have invested. It is scandalous what has been happening!

On the bright side it has been another super day, with blue skies and sunshine. Hope to get out looking for summer migrants in the next few days. I did see my first Swallow last week. It has been great hearing Skylarks when I have been out on rides over the last week.

What a lovely Spring Day at last. Plenty of flowers showing well in the sunshine. The lawn mower had its first outing of the year!  Managed to get out for decent ride up over the hills without a rain jacket at last! Feeling pleasantly tired now!

Of course I am talking about yesterday’s football at the Theatre of Tattered Dreams our first derby game with a crowd for seventeen years. The atmosphere was electric and hostile to our visitors despite it being a lunch time kick off. The picture above I took just before the teams came out. I would of taken one afterwards but I lost my phone in the excitement (I got it back afterwards) The Mighty Hatters were irresistible and we can dream although automatic promotion might just be out of reach. It has been a remarkable season so far.

Today I was involved in a long play rehearsal. First time we managed to get through the whole play (the performance is in just under a fortnight!) I am taking the part of Charles Dickens  as well as a dog!!! The picture below shows where we are sitting on stage! (although some people are missing) Should get some photos with costume in the next week or so!

Thought my feet are adapting to the non=stop rain this week! I have had a couple of real soakings especially on Wednesday at Wick Court taking young people bird watching. I was really impressed by the young people from St John’s and St. Clement’s from Peckham who took the non-stop soakings philosophically and didn’t complain at all. Had a lovely Story Telling with them last night, I told them the story of Merlin and the Two Dragons. It has been a while since I told I last told it.

Off to a talk at Gloucester History Festival tonight. We have some  more booked later in April.

It is football again tomorrow and apprehensive about the derby game tomorrow. Our opposition have struggled in recent weeks but they have many Premier League quality players- just hope our from continues!

I refer to my my bike ride today. It was certainly blowy and hard work. I had kept putting the ride off because of the rain but needed the chance to stretch my legs! So missed the rain but not the wind!

I have been revisiting one of my stories Dreams (I wrote it six or so years ago) so watch this space. It does probably need some revision. I also feel I need to look at my two pantomime stories (my whole school stories Pirate Pete and Harriet the Hippo) which are aimed at younger audiences.

A quiet spell on the Story Telling front now – last one for a couple of weeks is on Thursday.