Garden Report 2007 - 3

I got out for the first gardening stint of the year this afternoon. The sun was out and the wind had dropped, so it seemed like a good opportunity to tidy away the worst of the remaining autumn debris up the high bank. Unlike last year, when I didn't get around to clearing the high bank until much later in the year, I want to get the benefit of seeing most of the bulbs this year.

An hour and a half and two sacks of rubbish from the asters, crocosmias, sedum 'Autumn Joy' and general crud later and the bank is looking quite good if somewhat sparse. However, the snowdrops, which are in little clumps all over it, stand out beautifully against the bare soil. Autumn crocuses and daffodils are also pushing through, and where I cut back the stems of the sedums I can already see new buds of growth. Unfortunately I can also see signs of a few nettles and sticky willy, but nowhere near as bad as last year.

It had clouded over and the wind was back up by the time I finished. My legs are already feeling achy, but hopefully, as I was not out there too long, will recover fairly quickly.

On a different note, yesterday was the first anniversary of our adoption of Jen and Poncho. I can hardly believe that a year has gone by. They each had a large chewy treat to celebrate. Jen had only had about a third of hers by the time Poncho finished his.

Garden report 2007 - 2

There were a few snowdrops in flower in the high bank when I got back from Bangalore, but more have been coming through every day. I think they should be at their peak in another couple of weeks. I really need to get back up there to tidy up the remains of the autumn debris so that we can see them at their best, but it is far too cold at the moment.












The hellebore that I inherited is giving a good display. I brought up quite a few seedlings from my garden in Sandhurst. One of the larger ones is getting ready to flower, but the others have not matured enough yet. Hopefully next year...




The heathers I planted in the long bank are also in flower.

The few winter aconites Janet gave me have come through, but it looks as if something has been nibbling them as there is only one flower left. There are a few buds lying forlornly on the ground.

Bangalore Experiences - Post-Tournament

I had asked Radhika at the prize ceremony if she could help me organise a taxi to the airport for early Tuesday morning - my flight back home was at 06.45. She kindly said she would come over to the Bowring on Monday and get me sorted out.

I felt very deflated on the bus back to the Bowring - this is fairly normal at the end of a tourney, but even more so because of my result. I did not feel like going out to eat so just started my next book and ate some of my remaining goodies from the previous evening. There was obviously a party being held somewhere on site - probably around the pool. I could distinctly hear the strong beat of 'Day-Oh Day-ay-ay-oh...' There was no way I would get to sleep before that ended despite feeling shattered so kept reading.

I felt a lot better in the morning and ventured along to breakfast at about 9.30. They remembered my standard order. I was not sure when Radhika was coming so went back to my rooms to pack and continue my book. At midday I decided to phone her as I wanted to go shopping at some point. I had no idea how to get an outside line or even if I could, so went over to reception to inquire. I was told how to get the operator, so went back to give it a go. The number I had obviously included the code as the operator said I could only make local calls. I said it was local and then I think they realised, and I was put through. Radhika said she would be over at 2.00. I had a call from her later saying she would be late - no problem, I was ploughing through the book by now.

Radhika arrived around 3.00 and took me over to an office within the Bowring to sort out my taxi. We decided that a 2 hour check-in allowance should be fine, so I was to be picked up at 4.30 am the next morning. We then went for a coffee and chat. She couldn't stay too long - had to pick up her daughter. I had asked where was the best place to buy local craft, and on departing was given directions to a state crafts outlet. Unfortunately it was a public holiday in Bangalore and when I reached it it was closed. However, most of the other shops were still open. I decided to be adventurous and try some of the smaller shops I had seen on my earlier wanderings.

As Bangalore isn't really a tourist destination yet I wasn't sure how much bartering was expected. In the first shop I tried I was told that the prices were fixed as it was an official outlet. I bought a reasonably priced black silk scarf with some nice gold embroidery, and decided to try some of the other shops. The girl in the next shop also tried to sell me a scarf so I said I had already bought one. She asked to see it to compare the price/quality, and told me I had got a bargain! The next shop showed me pashminas. I decided to look in several shops before deciding which to buy. I went back to the first shop to buy something I had seen for my mother-in-law now I knew they were well priced. In the shop next door I looked at more pashminas, and asked the price. It was about 50% more expensive than a previous shop. I told him so, and he asked about the quality. I said seemed the same to me, but I could go back to the other shop to check. He then said he would match the price and the bargain was struck.

In the evening I decided to splash out again at Koshy's. As I was drinking my coffee at the end of my meal one of the waiters sidled up to me with a big grin to enquire whether I was the British Scrabble champion. Rather than explain that I had been I just said yes :)

I got an early a night as I could, but could not sleep. Knowing I had to get up around 4 am meant that I just tossed and turned. I was up and ready to go by 4.30 am. I could see the taxi outside but no-one had come to get my bags. I shuffled out the door with them, only to see a man knocking on a door in the next block. I don't know if he had woken the occupants up but he came and took my bags to the taxi.

The roads were pretty clear at that time in the morning and I was at the airport by about 4.50. There was already a large queue to get in - hold baggage was being scanned on the way in. The queue moved reasonably quickly, and once inside the queue to check in was quite short. I proceeded through immigration and security only to find there was no currency exchange once through. There was nothing for it but to try to spend as much as I could in the duty free and gift shops inside. I bought Paul's birthday present and with the remaining cash a nice bangle for myself.

On the plane there was an announcement regarding security for on-going passengers as issued in the leaflet you were given at check-in. What leaflet!!! No liquids in bottles over 100ml were allowed in hand baggage. I called a steward for clarification as I had been given no leaflet. He apologised and said he would see if my luggage could be unloaded at Heathrow so that I could re-pack. Unfortunately he returned saying that the request had been denied. This actually was probably a good thing - I would have been held up at Heathrow waiting at baggage reclaim. I decided I would just remove my handbag and laptop from my hand baggage once at T1 and check the rest in. This worked out fine as I had a jacket and jumper to protect the more vulnerable objects, and it is a lot quicker retrieving luggage from a half empty domestic flight than a full international flight.

Paul was waiting for me when I arrived, and we were back home by 6.30 pm - 19.5 hours travelling from door to door.

Bangalore Experiences - Tournament

I had been told the minibus would be at the main gates of the Bowring at 7.30 so that's where I was. There was one other player waiting there, Karthik, but no sign of the minibus. After a few minutes a young American chap, another player called Scott, came and told us the minibus was actually waiting inside and led us back to it. Everyone was there except Gerry and Pakorn. However, they arrived about 5 minutes later - they had been to breakfast...

By the time we were on the road the traffic had begun to build up. Pakorn had brought a set with him and we had a left-versus-right audience participation game on the bus. This made the journey seem shorter, but it was still around 9.00 when we arrived at the venue.

When we signed in we were each given a small rucksack with some scrabble goodies inside and the all important meal vouchers. There was breakfast provided, including sandwiches. I handed over my breakfast voucher and got a cheese sandwich. I then spotted some fruit juice and went to get some. There was a little confusion as the man wanted my breakfast voucher and didn't understand that I had already handed it in.

There was a brief welcoming ceremony and introductions. A part of this included a mention that India had been invited to bid for this years World Scrabble Championships.

I met a very bubbly young lady from Hong Kong, Jocelyn. It transpired that she had never played a tournament before, but had seen the tourney mentioned in one of the papers and had phoned Radhika to see if she could play. I then explained to her the process of playing with a clock. She said she knew the 2s but it transpired her OSW was version 4, the last issue before we switched to SOWPODS.

There were some problems getting the fixtures for the first round out, but eventually we all sat down to play the first game at around 10.30.

I was drawn against another woman, Hema, in round 1. The game was not going well for me, and after 8 moves I had not had a bonus and was slightly behind. However, on move 9 I bingoed for 85 and picked ANXIOU? from the bag. Hema bingoed straight back, but gave me a choice of the triple doubling the X or a double tripling the X. I chose the latter for 124 points and game over for what looked like an easy win but was not.

I drew Tony Sim (Singapore) in the second round. We have played a few times before and I knew he was a tricky player. He was ahead most of the game. Coming to the end I still had hope with one tile unseen. If Tony had had both of the unseen Us on his rack I would win. Unfortunately for me he didn't...

The next couple of games were fairly straight forward, although in one I tried MESOPON muddling it with METOPON, but I was already 100 points up.

Game 5 I played Vannitha (Malaysia I think). This was a tight game. Getting near the end on a very blocked board I played SHiVS onto a triple to ensure victory.

Game 6 was always under control, but I lost game 7 narrowly to Mohan (Ind).

Game 8 was against Suresh (Sri Lanka) who told me before the game that he was the highest unofficially rated UK player (with only 6 games). This spurred me on to record my biggest margin win of 249-555, and his lowest score for about 9 years.

So, end of day 1 with a 6-2 record and lying in 4th place. The minibus journey back to the Bowring seemed to take forever. I think we went out of our way a few times to drop people of at different locations. Gerry, Pakorn and I just went back to our rooms to dump our stuff and then met up again to eat at Koshy's. On the walk there Pakorn rescued me from walking into a large hole in the pavement...

After a reasonable nights sleep we set off again in the morning, slightly later than before as Scott had not turned up. Eventually we decided he must have made his own way there - he was not staying at the Bowring. We thought breakfast had finished when we arrived as there was no sign of it where we had eaten the day before. I was due to play Pakorn in the first game of the day, so we bought a coffee and something to eat at the canteen as there would be no premature starting of our clocks. We then found that breakfast had been moved to around the corner, but I preferred my cappucino. Jocelyn had decided to give up after losing all her games the day before. It had been a bit of a baptism by fire for her, and I hope it hasn't put her off playing for life.

I responded to Pakorn's opening play with a low scoring bonus. Two moves later and another bonus plus the rarity of a 5-point penalty from the challenge. Pakorn came back at me, and by move 8 was slightly ahead. I bonused again on move 9 to take a 57 point lead. Getting to the end Pakorn bonused back to regain a small lead and empty the bag. I played out with ELEGITS for a rare victory. I do not think I have beaten Pakorn in a tournament since the 1999 WSC.

I was then slaughtered by Sherwin in the next game -not quite a combined 1000 pointer. I won the next 5, including a narrow victory against Akshay. I lost game 16 against Lakshan (Sri Lanka) on countback. It could have been a lot worse - he missed a simple 9-timer play out. However, coming to the end game I made a mistake. With 7 in the bag and a slight lead I had a bonus that played in two places. I took the place for a 7, opening the 9-x with L in position 7. Lakshan would need an 8 to win. I had had a 20 point lead, and as Lakshan had just made the 2nd opening I knew he had bonus-like tiles. I should have just passed...

The schedule was slightly changed, and we played a ninth game. The king-of-the-hill format kicked in, and I had Sherwin again. This game started like the previous one - Sherwin was on 253 after 4 moves. I had managed one bonus myself, so was on 160. He then played OAKAGE which I held and then successfully challenged off. The game then switched to my favour and a series of good solid scoring saw me overhaul him and hold on for victory.

End of day 2 and I was 13-4 and in 2nd place. There was to be a dinner at the venue, but I had had enough of cucumber sandwiches and was feeling absolutely shattered. Gerry and I decided to hire a tuk-tuk and head back for an early night.


Although the traffic was bad we got back in just over half an hour. We raided the shop at the Bowring - Gerry needed a toothbrush as he had forgotten his and we had been too late the night before to get one. I just had cravings for chocolate. We also bought some other goodies to take home. I went back to my room and chilled out, finishing my Iain Banks's book and gorging on chocolate biscuits, a Mars bar, cashew nuts and a couple of the Indian sweets I still had. I went to bed about 10.30 and slept quite well compared to other nights. I felt a lot better in the morning, having no idea of the carnage that was ahead...

The traffic on the Sunday morning was very light compared to the other days, and we arrived back at the venue with plenty of time for breakfast. I spotted they had cornflakes - but when I got them they were soaked in warm milk :(( I also had a hard boiled egg and yet another cucumber sandwich. Scott had seen fruit juice and kindly got me a cup.

I had Pakorn for the first game of the day again. This time, however, after a bonus on move 2 I went through a series of non-bonus 1 and 2 pointer racks and was absolutely splattered.

Sherwin again. This game was unlike our others in being a lot closer all the way through, but a couple of good scores at the end by Sherwin was enough to see him win narrowly.

Akshay. I started well with two bonuses in the first two moves. Akshay bonused back on move 3 but I was still 50 up after my go and kept it at that margin until Akshay bonused again on move 8 to draw level. Another bonus on move 10 by him and it had all gone horribly wrong, and my third loss of the day. I suddenly felt very tired - this was confirmed by my lack of concentration in the remaining games. A sure tell-tale sign is that my tile-tracking went awry.

In the next game against Varisht I just had no ammunition at the start. He took a good lead with heavy scoring on a triple with the aid of an S. I made an opening and he immediately bonused on it with another S and blank. The board was very blocked by now and there was no way back.

The next game was no better and I was beginning to lose the plot. This can be a very cruel game at times. Game 23 and I was playing Tony Sim again. Luckily this went a lot better than before and I pulled out a bonus+ lead early on. Tony caught me back up with a bonus on move 6 and a good follow up score. Here we go again I thought. However, I got a bonus on move 8 to get some breathing space, and when Tony made another opening nearer the end I was able to capitalise on it.

Game24, and Lakshan again. This was a dire blocked game and I made a dreadful mistake allowing Lakshan to get away with a phony after holding for a while. I deserved to lose - there was no way I could win if I did not challenge. The only thing I can say is that I was very tired and after having had such a dreadful run I was not thinking straight.

So, I finished nowhere. I needed to be at my best for the last day - with a king-of-the-hill with repeats there were no easy games. A combination of playing off-form and very little luck saw me plummet from 2nd to 14th. I jokingly said to Gerry I would only have been a couple of places lower if I hadn't turned up for the last day.

We had all been given tee-shirts at lunch time and before the prize giving there was a group photo shoot...

I apologise for the quality of the next photos but it was beginning to get dark...


Pakorn had already won the tourney with a round to spare, which is just as well as he lost his last game. Akshay finished 2nd and Suresh 3rd. Gerry crept into the prizes with a run from behind to finish 10th.

Views of Bangalore

I was surprised to come across St. Marks Cathedral fairly close to where I was staying












Sleeping dogs - street dogs are apparently a major problem in Bangalore. The paper said that there is currently a programme to round them up and neuter them...










Like most cities in Asia that I have been to there are motorbikes and scooters everywhere you go















I loved this traffic sign

Bangalore Experiences - Pre-Tournament

So much for an early night. We went to bed at 10.30 p.m., and by 1.30 a.m. I had had enough of the replacement alarm clock that Paul had got out as I was taking my clock with me. I could not sleep with its oh-so-regular electric ticking, and stumbled round to remove it to the bathroom. We already had the radio alarm clock set on my side of the bed.

Paul got up first to take the dogs out, and I got up 10 minutes later at 5.45. We left for the airport at 6.15. It took just over an hour so I had plenty of time. The flight to Heathrow was on time, and it only took me half an hour to get to T4 from T1. I had nearly 3 hours to kill before my flight to Bangalore. I spent some of that time browsing the book shops and finally decided on Iain Banks's debut novel 'The Wasp Factory', 'Song of Kali' by Dan Simmons and a non-Dalziel and Pascoe book by Reginald Hill.

I had a window seat on the flight and the seat next to me was empty so I managed to curl up and doze on and off for a large part of the flight. We got into Bangalore slightly ahead of schedule, but that didn't help me much as my bag was one of the last to come out.

I needed to change some money in order to get a taxi to the Bowring. This was when I found that the exchange wouldn't take Scottish notes. The only English note I had was a fiver and at the exchange rate given just over 400 rupees. The pre-paid taxi was asking for 500 rupees. I said that was too much - I didn't have 500 rupees so the car place said he would exchange a Scottish note.

I eventually got to the Bowring at just gone 6 a.m. but the taxi driver had taken me to the wrong entrance. Luckily there were a couple of staff there and one of them took my bags and me to the reception. It was then that I discovered that none of my 3 cards worked in their ancient looking card swiper. You are supposed to pay in advance. I said I didn't have enough cash so in the end they let me have my key and said to sort it out later. I got into my room at 6.30 a.m. and crashed out on the bed.

I changed and wandered back to reception at around 9.30. There was a different man there, and he also tried my cards to no avail. He said not to worry - pay later. I collected my breakfast voucher. I had been told by Gerry that I could get an omelette and coffee for breakfast.

There was a small queue in front of me of people collecting a plate and then various doughs and sauces being placed on it. I got to the front of the queue. All the serving dishes were covered so I could not see what was on offer. Before I knew it I had several things on my plate. No sign of eggs/omelette. I asked whether there were eggs but was not understood. I then tried 'omelette'. The man in charge understood and said he would bring me one. I sat down at the only empty table and tentatively tried what I had. It was too spicy for me. A young woman came and asked if she could sit at my table - no problem. She spoke a little English. Gradually more people from her family arrived - they were here for a wedding. She asked one of the waiters to get me a coffee. My omelette and coffee arrived and I spotted a table with toast so went and got some. I was hungrier than I thought, but soon discovered that my omelette was filled with chillis but with the aid of the toast I ate about half. The coffee was very sweet - I don't normally take sugar. I still felt a little woozy from the travelling so decided to go back to my cottage and have a nap.

My cottage consisted of a shower room/loo/wash hand basin, good size bedroom with 2 very solid single beds, wardrobe and bedside tables, sitting room with sofa/armchair and a fridge, and a balcony with a small table and chairs. The whole of the inside was tiled which was nice and cool. The bedroom and sitting room had fans which were sufficient, and I did not need to use the air-con in the bedroom.

I had just laid down when there was a knock at the door. A man had come to clean the cottage. I indicated for him to do so around me and crashed back out on of the beds...

I slept till around 3 pm, and then got up to go in search of a bank. There was one close by and I joined the queue for the ATM which was enclosed in its own little room. Once inside I put my card in but nothing happened. I tried again and some options came up. I guessed 'savings account' and waited. Nothing happened. I took my card out and then it asked my to enter my PIN. I quickly put my card back in and continued. I was allowed to take out 15000 rupees which I did. That would cover my accommodation costs.

I then wandered inside the bank to exchange my sterling. The bank was offering a much better rate than the airport - 85.4 against 81. I was ushered to a seat and a woman gave me a form to fill in, which I duly did. I handed over my Scottish notes which were looked at suspiciously. She then handed the form and notes to the man in the next booth. He told her they were okay and I was given a token. He then took me to another woman in a booth to exchange my token for the cash.

I had a little bit of an exploration. I bought some bottled water from a booth - I thought the man said 30 rupees so handed over said amount. He looked surprised and handed me back 17 rupees. Further up the road I invested in the equivalent of a pineapple smoothie - no ice - for the princely sum of 11 rupees. I was feeling tired again so wandered back to the Bowring. I had a cup of coffee (no sugar) where I had had breakfast and the waiter asked if I would like a cheese toastie. Bliss. I then went back to my cottage, read a little, did a little studying and slept...

The next morning I was prepared. I got my breakfast voucher, and asked for 'omelette - no chillis' and 'coffee - no sugar'.

Radhika phoned just after I got back to my rooms. She had arranged for me to be interviewed later in the morning and would then take me out for lunch. At around 11 I got a call to say to go to the pool for the interview. Radhika was a little late arriving but I was made welcome by the interviewer (a young woman), two of the local female players (the state champion and the wife of the president of the Bowring) and a photographer. Radhika arrived a few minutes later. She gave me a beautiful craft bookmark - an etching on two pieces of reed.

After the interview she took me to Koshy's which was nearby. This is an old establishment which serves both Indian and western food. I asked Radhika to enquire what Indian food was not too hot/spicy. I had a very mild chicken dish with a garlic naan and a mutton naan. She had fish and chips!

In the late afternoon I went exploring again. Radhika had pointed out a place for coffee just up from the restaurant so I checked it out with an iced-mocha (ice-cream rather than ice). Then I wandered up to the main road and shops. I was waylaid by a young man who said he wanted to practice his English and discuss Western culture with me... I told him I did not know much about western culture and was just walking about. He asked if I would mind if he walked with me. I did not feel threatened or intimidated so just shrugged. He showed me the park over the road. I then said I was tired and was going back to my hotel. He said goodbye and departed.

I continued my aimless wandering, fascinated by the traffic. It was beginning to get dark so I back-tracked to the main road to get my bearings. I bought some Indian sweets in another shop Radhika had pointed out to me on my way back to the Bowring - I was not very hungry after a large lunch so they would more than tide me over until the next day.

I got up a little later on Thursday morning. When I got my breakfast voucher I went to pay for my accommodation. I asked how much and was told just to pay 5000 rupees for now... The breakfast gang now asked me when I went in 'omelette no chillis, coffee no sugar' :)

I had a lazy day. I did some studying in the morning, then wandered along to a coffee shop for lunch. Radhika phoned to say she had arranged another interview with The Hindu newspaper for around 6 pm. I decided to try out the pool in the afternoon. I changed into my swimming costume under my skirt and blouse and headed for the pool. I asked the man for a towel. He did not speak much English and pointed me to around the corner. I wandered round but there was nothing there so I wandered back. Two more men were then sitting near the pool and asked if they could help. I said I needed a towel and they translated to the man for me. I was told I needed a voucher from reception. So off I went to reception only to be told I needed the other reception. I inquired where that was, and then went and got my voucher - around 50 rupees. Back to the pool with my voucher, and I was given a towel. There was a German lady already in the pool so I asked her about the water temperature. It was not heated so I decided the best thing was to just dive straight in. I did so when the man came running back along with a swimming cap...

I had a phone call nearer 6.30 pm from the journalist from The Hindu, Rakeesh, saying he was at reception. I wandered over, left a note for Gerry and Pakorn re the morning minibus pickup (they were arriving later that night), and then we chatted for about half an hour. Afterwards I decided to treat myself and went back to Koshy's for dinner. French onion soup, pork chops, tiramisu, one small beer and coffee with a good tip rounded up to 600 rupees.

I tried to get an early night - minibus pickup was going to be around 7.30 am the next morning to take us to the tourney venue. However, my room was next to one of the parking areas so it wasn't until around midnight that it quietened down and the lights outside went out...

Off to Bangalore

I am beginning to get excited now.

My friend Radhika has booked me a cottage in the Bowring Institute. This is a 'club' located in downtown Bangalore which also offers accommodation and has a swimming pool. I am not quite sure what my cottage comprises. I am hoping it at least means that I have a sitting room as well as bedroom and bathroom, as it costs about half as much again as a single room - not that it is expensive, I calculate it at about 26 pounds a night. A few other scrabble players will also be staying there, although I don't think they arrive until nearer the tournament. Certainly Gerry and Pakorn from Thailand do not arrive until the night before.

I started packing my clothes yesterday. In the morning I got out what I wanted to take. In the afternoon I decided I had better check that what I wanted to take still fitted. I have put weight on since moving up here, and am currently about half a stone heavy than I was and just under a stone heavier than I would like. Luckily my diet before Christmas meant that I ended up lighter than I started. Anyway, I tell myself it can't be all fat as everything I got out of the cupboards is now packed in my baggage.

In the pocket at one end of my bag is the medical pack. I can be very allergic to insect bites, so two different insect repellents, anti-histamine tablets and two different creams for if I get got. Sticking plasters for any blisters. Paracetamol for any headaches and general pains. Omega-3 fish oil capsules to aid concentration during the tourney. We had nothing in the house for stomach complaints. The pocket at the other end has my scrabble necessities - tile trackers, score pad, rack and red pens.

The next step was the great 'charge up' - camera, phone, walkman and Sony Clie. I have found my electric plug adapter thingummy, so hopefully I will be able to keep them charged whilst I am away. My hand luggage is going to be a mass of wires with all the different chargers. I am also intending to take my laptop so that I can revise some lists in between sight seeing. I have also sorted through all the mini discs for my walkman, getting the right discs into the right boxes and decided which ones to take.

This afternoon I did the on-line check-in for my flights so hopefully all I need to do at the airport is the luggage drop off and security checks. I have got window seats for both the flight down to Heathrow and on to Bangalore.

Just need to get an early night tonight...

Garden report 2007 - 1

Happy New Year to all who read this blog...

I thought I might do a 'what's happening in the garden' regular spot. I hope to have something flowering every day of the year. I managed this in my old garden in Sandhurst, but it is colder and windier here...

Flowers: Mahonia (yellow), Cyclamen (white, red and pink), Pansies (purple/yellow) and Hellebores (white). Osteospermum (pink) are dying back after the severe frosts.
Berries: Berberis (orange) and Cotoneaster (red)
Bulbs: Snowdrops pushing through strongly in the high bank. First signs of the narcissi and crocuses in the long bank. Bulbs in the tubs are all coming through.

Christmas at Todheugh

The Gipson's have a tradition that the main opening of presents does not begin before lunch has been finished and the washing up done. Stockings are allowed and one present may be opened by each person, but that is it. I remember my first Christmas at Paul's parents and being mildly upset by this revelation, but I must admit that now I like it. We informed my sister of this when they arrived, and was met by general moans but we held our ground. We were told that one of the nice things about Christmas was seeing all the kids out on their new bikes etc. Well, that was not going to happen here anyway.

On Christmas eve morning we packed Daniel and the dogs into the car and drove down to the field. Daniel soon found out that he could not run as fast as Jen. Susan came with us on the afternoon walk to Edrom. In the evening Paul, Susan and Daniel played the Business Game (also known as Mine a Million) - Daniel won. I was happy watching TV and doing some Su Dokus.

We awoke to a white Christmas - the temperature had dropped to -6C overnight and there was a very thick frost. It looked beautiful. Paul and I opened our stockings, and then Paul got up to take the dogs out and start preparing the turkey. Daniel was already up and downstairs with his stocking when I came down. I decided to go out with my camera to take some photos.




Paul had asked Susan to help with the morning dog walk as he was busy in the kitchen. She didn't want to come as she wanted to watch the Robbie Williams concert on TV. She volunteered to peel the potatoes instead which meant that Paul could come on the walk, everything else being under control at this time. We decided to walk the dogs down to the field rather than defrost the car and drive. We walked halfway down the field before letting Jen off the lead. Shortly afterwards we saw two deer in the next field running from left to right in front of us. Poncho was jumping and jarred Paul's back. Jen was transfixed. The deer ran out the side of the field, across the road into the next field and then disappeared from sight. Jen ran to the bottom of the field and then was trotting back and forth looking. I got her back on the lead. We continued walking to the other end of the field and I let Jen back off the lead. She continued running on to the far corner, and then just turned round and headed back to where we had come from. She then disappeared under the fence and by the time I got there was trying to find the best way down the bank. There was a small stream at the bottom, but that did not deter Jen - she loves water. And then she was up the bank the other side and into the next field. Paul volunteered to try to follow her, but I thought that was not the best idea in the world. I headed to the gate in the field, climbed over and walked up the road to the next field. Once I was there she came slowly looping towards me, looking very pleased with herself. We decided that was enough of a walk for the morning and headed for home.


The sun had come out and the lit up white trees against the dark grey clouds looked stunning. I headed back out with my camera. For anyone who is interested Paul has put all the photos on our website.

Paul asked Daniel to lay the table, but Daniel said he would only do it if he was allowed to open a present. Paul said no, but was immediately undermined by Susan telling him he could open a present anyway...



Lunch was ready by about 1.30 p.m. and we were all stuffed by about 3 p.m. I had wanted to watch Narnia on the TV but eventually gave up the attempt as the presents were being distributed. Susan brought down an enormous bag filled to the brim for Daniel. I waited until he had opened them before I brought down what we had bought him. The rest of us opened our presents - I thought I had done quite well with Paul as he had done his normal 'I don't want anything' routine. I had raided one of the charity shops and picked up Trivial Pursuit, Super Mastermind and another game for a fraction of their new cost. Paul had also done well for me with a set of Winnie-the-Pooh paint them yourself garden label figures.

Paul and I then cleared the dishes and did the washing up, and had just got back into the lounge when enquiries were made about tea. Neither of us were particularly hungry, so after a short break just put out a few things for a help yourself buffet.

We settled down in the evening to watch Dr Who, Strictly and the Vicar of Dibley, and generally chill out.

Boxing day and Paul was back in the kitchen. He had done a ham last year that was a great success and decided to do another one this year. Susan came with Paul and me on the morning walk, and then they settled down to watch Chelsea draw with Reading. Lunch was ready at half time. In the afternoon we played Cluedo - Charlie was a bit clueless and kept showing his cards and letting us know what people had shown him. We then decided to have another go at the Business Game, and we all played. Charlie was better at this, but I was victorious. In the evening we played the Sherlock Holmes card game, and Daniel won after showing no aptitude for the game when we played a hand at the start to let them get the hang of it.

Susan and Charlie were just getting up when Paul and I took the dogs out on Wednesday morning. They still had not finished packing the car by the time we got back. They had eventually sorted themselves out by about midday and headed off for Nottingham where they were breaking the journey at a friend's house.

The dogs had been very well behaved on the whole over Christmas, other then Jen's adventure. Daniel had received a few warning growls when they wanted some peace and quiet and had backed away from him only to be followed. Poncho, however, has since blotted his copy book. There was the loud crash of a plate smashing yesterday evening. I leapt up and found him heading back to the lounge with the remains of the turkey in his jaws.

'Tis the Season to Eat Too Much

A week last Saturday our neighbour Margaret came round in the evening with fish suppers for us all. This was repayment for shortly after we moved up here when there had been a powercut and we had gone to the chippy when the power was still off in the early evening.

The following evening we went out to The Wheatsheaf in Swinton with Anne and Neil. We had a very enjoyable meal - the restaurant won the 'Best Tastes In the Borders' award and was very highly commended in the Scottish Hotel Informal Dining awards this year. We were quite late home which meant the dogs had been left longer than usual. We took them straight out when we got home, and then checked for any damage. Not too bad - there was an empty ramekin on the floor in the kitchen. It had been full of dripping mixed with birdseed, ready for my bird feeder. We know it was Poncho - the evidence appeared the next day...

On Thursday evening it was the Berwick Bridge Club Christmas Party. There was a two course dinner followed by 'fun' bridge. I had not played a hand since winning the Berwickshire Congress pairs with Paul earlier in the year. I played with Reg, who very kindly agreed to play my system. It was a very pleasant evening, and I don't think I played too badly. When we got home we found the presents under the Christmas tree had been joined by the beanbag, 2 pillows and one of the dog's rugs.

My sister and family arrived early Saturday evening. Paul did most of the cooking while they were here. He had been very organised with lists and menus. I did make soup for Saturday evening and an apple crumble for Christmas eve, but all the rest was Paul. I will cover Christmas in more detail in my next blog entry.



They departed late this morning, and peace has descended once again on our household. Daniel really likes the dogs, but I think they were somewhat disconcerted with the amount of attention they were given. They are now contentedly flaked out on their beds.

Winter Is Here

We have been 'frosted' in for the last three days. Indeed, the frost is so heavy that it does look like snow in places. The temperature has not risen high enough for long enough to clear it during the day, and has dropped as low as -5C at night.


The river is now visible from our house up to the bend in the road past Margaret's, at what we call the view point.


The wind was so strong last week that quite a few trees are down, so our washing line didn't really stand a chance...



There is still some colour in the garden. It had been so mild up until last week that I still had the odd rose flowering, and even quite a few flowers on the osteospermum. The cyclamens that I planted in the autumn are now in full flower...


and the mahonias, and several shrubs are bright with berries...

Poncho On The Mend

I took Poncho back to the vet on Friday evening for his bandage to be removed. He had been very well behaved and not attempted to chew it off himself.

There was a spaniel in the waiting room when we arrived. I allowed Poncho to say hello, and he was very good - just sniffing noses and tail wagging enthusiastically. Just after the spaniel was taken in to the treatment room a man came in with three small terriers. This was not quite so successful. A series of growls and barks ensued from all parties. The man decided that he would come back later...

The vet removed the bandage and cleaned up his foot. They had had to remove the stone from between his toes and have shaved his foot. It looks very sore. I got shown the x-rays - they showed nothing wrong other than the first stages of arthritis in his ankle and the small stone in his foot, so they hope that that was the problem. If it is muscular or a ligament it could take weeks to get better.

It does, however, appear to be what the problem was which is a relief. He is walking a lot better now, although we have not done any long walks yet. There was a slight set back yesterday when a hare suddenly ran out barely two yards in front of us, causing great excitement and leaps in the air. He may have re-opened the wound as he spent a lot of time lovingly licking his paw when we got home.

Poncho's Paw Update

Paul took Poncho back to the vet on Wednesday evening, as it had not improved and if anything was getting worse again. They could not find anything wrong, so arranged for him to go back in this morning for an x-ray.

We are assuming the first diagnosis of it being a problem with his elbow was down to the vet being over zealous and squeezing it too hard. The standard way of trying to find the problem with a greyhound is to poke and prod until they yelp, as they have a reputation of being drama queens and will quickly let you know if something hurts...



Jen was not impressed again as Paul and Poncho went out without her at about 8 a.m., but eventually stopped whining and lay back down on her bed. Paul got back about an hour later.

We had a phone call in the early afternoon saying the x-rays showed nothing wrong with his shoulder or elbow, but had shown up a sharp stone lodged in his foot. They had taken it out, and hoped that that had been the cause. He has also got the first signs of arthritis in his ankle.





I drove down later in the afternoon to collect him. The stone had been more like a flint that had splintered, and had been very difficult to get out. The vet has given him some pain-killer for the next few days. He needs to be kept in for the next 24 hours, just having pee breaks. No running for the next fortnight.

Mainly Poncho...

Poncho's leg is still giving him trouble, although this afternoon it seemed a little better. He is not helping himself. He still gets very excited when it is time to go out, leaping up from his bed and rushing out to the lobby. He then twirls and hops about with his sore paw in the air. He is using it when we are walking on soft surfaces such as the lawn and verges, but he is still hopping a lot of the time when we are walking on the road. Strangely it doesn't seem to bother him at all if there is something interesting to sniff. He also still wants to be first out the door and leading the way, and is amazingly adept at rushing onwards on three paws.

We have taken them both up to the field again a couple to times, letting Jen run around but keeping Poncho on the lead. It has helped to release some of Jen's excess energy as our walks have short to say the least.

He finished his course of tablets this morning. Luckily they are like treats, so we had no problem getting him to take them. On the contrary, Jen looked quite upset that she was not getting them as well.

We will see how he is tomorrow. If there is no more improvement I think it will be another trip to the vet.


I spoke too soon re the garden. I had been forewarned as Paul noticed J Parker had taken another payment from the credit card. The Japanese anemones turned up the next day, along with the missing cultural instructions. I read them avidly to find out what I should have done, but other than telling me the preferred location of the plants there was no clue to planting depths so I am still none the wiser.

I braved the wind and cold, and planted the anemones in one of the cleared seed beds in the long bank. Hopefully I will be able to transplant them next year into the high bank. I also covered the crowns of the paeonies with a layer of compost, as a hard frost was expected and came to pass over the weekend.


I have been keeping the bird feeders topped up now that there is less for the birds to eat in the hedgerows. I am competing with all of my neighbours - we must have some of the best fed birds in the country. The feeders are located so that I can see them from the lounge, and on most days I am rewarded by various tits and robins. On Saturday, however, I was totally stunned to see a woodpecker at the peanut feeder.


Preparations for Christmas are progressing well. My sister (Susan), her husband (Charlie) and son (Daniel) are coming for a few days. We have put our order in at the butcher shop in Chirnside. All the cards have been written and are ready to post. Most of the presents have been bought, including Paul's after a trip into Berwick today.


Scrabble revision has also been progressing. I have completed the top 6500 one solution eights. I had always stopped at 6000 in previous sessions, so have added a few new words to my repertoire. I am now going back through 4000-6500. I think I have been over-ambitious in my target of 500 in 50 minutes, but I am definitely getting better.

I have an appointment booked on Wednesday to get my typhoid jab for Bangalore...

Last Gardening of the Year plus Poncho's Paw

A package arrived at Friday lunchtime. I eagerly opened it to find the rest of my plant order, minus the Japanese anemones.

The weather wasn't too bad in the afternoon, although a little cold, so I had to take the opportunity to plant as much as I could. I climbed up to the top of the high bank and planted the tricytris - again looked like bits of root to me. I then decided to tackle the paeonies, one in the rockery bit of the long bank where I had removed the lupin, three in the new area between the climbers and the last two in the high bank. I decided that was enough for the day - my hands were covered in mud and very very cold.

I got back out after the morning dog walk on Saturday. Having looked at the weather forecast this looked like my last chance - storms and gales on the way. Firstly the tradescantia - at least these looked like plants - two under the honeysuckle and four under the buddleia in the long bank. Next the blue poppies - three fibrous blobs - at the top left hand side of the high bank. I have no idea how deep I was meant to plant them, but hopefully I at least got them the right way up. Lastly the remaining bulbs, tulips and alliums, in the high bank around the other plants. I had a few failed attempts here - kept finding more clumps of snowdrops where I was digging. I still have five lilies, but they will go into a pot.

I must say that I was not impressed that no planting instructions were included for anything other than the bulbs. It will be interesting to see what comes up and what is lost forever.

By the time I had cleared/cleaned up - myself included - it was time for the afternoon walk.

Poncho seemed to have recovered from his run last week, and had been walking very nicely until on our way home we saw Florence, an old golden Labrador, running towards us wagging her tail. Her owner, Mr Gore, and his son were luckily not far behind. The son carried on with Florence around the corner, and Mr Gore stopped for a chat. Unfortunately Poncho could still see Florence now that the hedgerows have lost most of their leaves, and was still barking and leaping intermittently. It was starting to get dark when we continued on our way home.

We noticed Poncho was hobbling a bit again, and over the next couple of days got worse. It is especially bad when he gets up after lying down for a while. The poor little soul has been hopping, holding his right paw in the air. We reduced the walks to just enough for the requirements to be met. I have taken Jen a little further on a couple of occasions, but as the weather has been very cold and windy she is not being to obstreperous when I have turned around to come home.

This evening Paul took Poncho to the vet. Jen was much more put out when they went out without her, running backwards and forwards between the lounge and the lobby, and whining. It turns out that it is actually his elbow that he has hurt, and will now be on anti-inflammatory tablets for the next six days.

Visitors and Dogs

We have had Paul's parents, Alan and Lillian, staying for just under a week. They arrived last Thursday evening - slightly later than planned after being held up by a traffic accident near Newcastle. The weather was surprisingly good for their visit, which meant we had a few trips out around the locality.

On the Friday we all walked the dogs to the church at Edrom in the morning and then headed over to Kelso after lunch.

Saturday we went to Eyemouth in the morning where Paul bought some very nice honey glazed smoked salmon for lunch. In the afternoon we wandered around Coldingham and then drove down to the bay. Despite the cold wind there were still a lot of people walking their dogs there, and a fair number of surfers. We then continued on to St. Abbs, but stayed in the car there as it was far too cold and windy to get out for what little there is to see there.

On Sunday we went to a Christmas fair at Paxton house. We had been there last year, when it had not been very busy. This year, however, it required people to organise the parking. Also it seemed far better organised, with a route to go round to see the house before getting to the fair itself. Fortuitously for me there was a stand there manned by the wife of the man who made a bespoke iron-work banister and door for our neighbour Anne. I picked up a card and left my details, and in the evening the chap phoned to briefly determine what I was wanting. I am hoping to get some gates made for our new back garden when it eventually gets redeveloped - current estimates are March at the earliest. We had invited our neighbour, Margaret, around for dinner in the evening.

On Monday Paul, Alan and Lillian went to Edinburgh to visit Pam, the mother of their other daughter-in-law. I stayed behind to look after the dogs and wrap up the Christmas presents we want taken back down south.

Tuesday I drove Alan and Lillian to Dunbar, where I had never been before. We wandered down to the harbour where we were delighted to see a seal. At first I thought it was a rock sticking up out of the water, and then its head popped up out of the water. We then meandered back to the town and browsed in the shops before heading home for a late lunch.

I think all the fresh air and walking tired them out. Lillian said she has not felt so relaxed for ages. I think a good time was had by all. They set off back home on Wednesday morning. My scrabble study and diet suffered a little whilst they were here, but I am trying to get back into both now.

Margaret has a field near us where she had said we can walk our dogs as she is not planning on ploughing it until the spring. We have walked the dogs on their leads around it a few times. I mentioned on Sunday that we were considering driving into the field and letting the dogs off the lead in there if she didn't object. She said she thought that was a good idea. We decided to go for it today.

We drove a little way into the field, so that the dogs would have a focal point to head back to if needed. We were a little fearful as we opened the back door of the car. We weren't sure what would happen.

They both jumped out and went charging to the end of the field. They do look magnificent when running flat out. Jen then came bounding back to us, but Poncho carried on around the edge of the field and disappeared out of sight. This was a little worrying. He had run all the way to the other end of the field, but when he saw us coming over the brow of the hill he came running back which was a great relief.

We then walked around the field again, and both dogs stayed close to us. I think they had tired themselves out with their initial bursts of energy - both were panting quite heavily. When we said it was time to go home Poncho ran straight to the car and jumped in the back. Jen decided she didn't want to get in, so I drove Poncho home and Paul walked back with Jen.

All in all it was a very successful outing. Poncho has been hobbling a bit since on his right paw, which we think he has broken in the past, but not so badly that we won't do it again.

Eights - part 1

I hate doing eights - they are so much harder than sevens - but a certain amount of study is an unfortunate necessity.

I have started with the single solution sets in probability order. I was not impressed with my progress after completing the top 2500, but I was pleased to get quite a few of the ones that normally trip me up or take what seems like an eternity, so it is not all doom and gloom.

I started over again. The second time through is a lot better, but this is probably short term memory. I think the key to eights for me is repetition, repetition, repetition. This can be extremely boring and the danger is that I just switch off. However, the quicker I get the less time to get bored. My target is that a set of 500 should take up to 50 minutes - this is a good time for concentration as it is the length of a game.

In a game you do not have someone tapping you on your shoulder saying 'hey - you've got an 8 with that A on the board'. Unlike sevens, when all the tiles are sitting in front of you, with eights you have to mentally anagram your rack with what tiles are 'floating' (i.e. available to play around) on the board. This makes eights even harder to find and play.

According to the book 'How To Win at Scrabble', written by my friends Andrew Fisher and David Webb, 82% of eights will be played from the top 40% probability, 89% from the top 50% probability.

I freely admit to being very lazy with eights at the board - if my tiles do not look promising (i.e. not high probability) I will often not even look to see if there is a possibility of one if I do not desperately need one. I may lose the occasional game from this strategy, but I think I may also win some by better general rack management to steer my tiles to what I have studied, and time saved in searching when there is none to be found.

Scrabble Revision Results: 7 letters 1 answer

I have just finished revising the top 8000 probability sevens with one anagram. I failed to get 194 of the answers. Embarrassingly some of what I missed a complete novice would get. It is not that I do not know the words (in many cases) but because of how I test myself - at least that is my excuse. I am trying to get to almost automatic recognition of the alphagrams and their solutions. There is no point staring at the alphagram for 5 minutes to get the answer - you will lose the game on time penalties...

One problem is I often see a non-word immediately that should then trigger the actual word. However, sometimes I do not recognise the phony as being a trigger. It does help if it is an obvious nonsense word but that is not always the case. A couple of examples where I failed to recognise the trigger for what it was:

ABDEORV - trigger OVERBAD = BRAVOED
ADEMOSY - trigger SAMOYED = SOMEDAY

And an example of a trigger that works:
CENRSTU - trigger very rude = ENCRUST

Another problem is that I can get into a mindset. If I have had a run of two or three words that follow a pattern, then frequently when the next alphagram pops up my brain just follows that pattern and comes up automatically with the wrong answer.

Example: ACEGINZ AEFGINZ AEGHINZ...
CEAZING FEAZING HEAZING WRONG! GENIZAH

Hopefully this would not happen in a game situation...

I also find words that do not fit to the standard 'scrabble players' way of anagramming incredibly hard to solve. They can be 'everyday' words that just throw you completely. Amongst those I failed dismally on were ACHIRTU and BCEHIOR... HAIRCUT and BRIOCHE. Hopefully they will come screaming at me from now on.

Sometimes the problem is a muddling of known words: PECTATE SPECTATE SPECTATOR SECTATOR therefore logically SECTATE.... missing the everyday word CASETTE.

I also find it fascinating that changing just one letter can give amazingly different word structures. Take AAISTT? This rack yields the following nine very different solutions:

aBattis astatiC satiatE saGitta astatKi tataMis attaiNs stRiata and ataVist

The English language is a truly amazing thing...

Jen and Poncho in Disgrace

The weather is generally becoming a lot wetter and colder, but it is the days when we have strong winds that are the real killers. It is very difficult to hear cars when the wind is gusting through the trees. Getting ready for walks is taking longer - hats, coats, scarves and gloves for us, and coats and muzzles for Jen and Poncho. Our schedule has now changed to 'long' walks in the morning and afternoon, but the extended walks are less frequent now as they are less enjoyable. It is also getting dark quite early now - on grey/rainy days it can be getting dark at around 4 p.m. - so the start time of the afternoon walk is gradually being pulled back.

We had started undoing the dog's leads as we came up the drive, and they would bound up to the front door and wait for us. However, on Tuesday they obviously saw or smelt something up the high bank. Poncho stopped and started sniffing, and then Jen just jumped up quickly followed by Poncho. They spent five minutes running up and down and along the back of Margaret's barn, showing none of the trepidation and care that I had when working up there. They obviously didn't give a damn about the plants...

I was worried that they would run around the side of the barn to Margaret's - having seen the nettles, brambles and hogweed there they could have done themselves a lot of damage, not to mention what would happen if they saw Margaret's cats.

As it was lunch time I went and got their bowls and clanged them. This did the trick - the promise of food got them down. They had obviously thoroughly enjoyed themselves, but a severe telling off did make them look slightly abashed.

A Day in Edinburgh

I at last got round to filling in the visa application on Sunday for my trip to Bangalore.

Today, as the weather forecast was for dry and sunny, I went to the Indian Consulate in Edinburgh to get it processed. I drove to the park and ride at Newcraighall and got the train in - much less hassle than driving into Edinburgh itself, especially as I didn't know how long I would be.

I knew roughly where I had to go - it was in Rutland Square at the opposite end of Princes Street to Waverley station. I had a quick look at a bus route map, and saw I should turn left onto Lothian street, and it should be further up there on the right. I set off and wandered down Lothian street. I remembered that I had not dated my form - was not sure which day I would actually go to Edinburgh - and a quick check revealed I had no black pen in my handbag. I dived into a newsagents to buy one. I continued walking, but did not see the square. Luckily there was a traffic warden nearby, who very kindly directed me to an underpass under a building opposite which came out in the square.

It was about 11.15 when I found the consulate. As I was about to enter a man called out if I was enquiring about a visa to go to the basement. I enquired whether there was a ticket system, but no - everyone just shuffled along the chairs everytime someone was called to the counter. Just like the DHSS in Dundee as I recall, except the chairs weren't bolted to the floor...

I joined the queue at the end of row three of three - 17 people ahead of me. Two Indians immediatley in front of me realised they were in the wrong queue, and left. 15 people ahead of me. I shuffled along. As I sat there I realised the form I had filled in was different to the one on display. Mine was a London form from the web, theirs was an Edinburgh form. I decided for safety sake to fill in an Edinburgh form as well - I had plenty of time and a new black pen. At 11.50 there were 7 people ahead of me - so, about 5 minutes per person. At this rate I should just about make the 12.30 cut-off. Didn't look good for those who had come in after me...

And then a new man took over at the counter. Suddenly we were shuffling along at break-neck speed, and it was my turn. I handed over my Edinburgh form (definitely a shrewd move as I observed people frantically filling them in when the web form had been rejected), passport and the £30.00 fee. The bottle-neck came waiting to get our receipts for our passports - man number one had taken over this task. I was out by 12.15, having to go back between 16.00 and 17.00 to collect passport and hopefully visa.

I headed back to Princes street. I had £30 of M&S vouchers that Paul had won in various bridge tourneys, and the nearest M&S to us was here. I managed to spend them and more without too much of a problem, and also managed a little more Christmas shopping. By 2 p.m. I was beginning to flag, and stopped for lunch.

I still had over an hour to fill, and continued trudging up and down and in and out of shops, but my enthusiasm for the task had long since lapsed. I decided to wander back to the consulate early and wait - and found there was already a queue. They eventually opened the doors about 5 minutes late, but the process of retrieving the passports was a lot quicker. I collected mine plus visa, and headed straight back to Waverley station.

As I waited on the platform I attracted the nutter, or maybe I am just paranoid. I was the only person there at the time, and then this youngish lad arrived and sat on the same bench as me. I thought it odd. He then asked if I had the time. I wasn't wearing a watch, but pointed out there was a clock not far from us. He then started muttering a bit and whistling. I felt slightly better as a few more people had arrived on the platform by now. Then he moved into the seat next to me. I was fastidiously ignoring him. I was very relieved when he then got up and wandered further up the platform, and I ensured I got into a different carriage to him when the train arrived.

Anyway, only 2 months until I go to Bangalore. Flights booked and visa sorted. Need to sort out typhoid jab at the start of December...