July

The month began with Teresa and Jay in the middle of a three-day break at Alton Towers. Whence they returned safely on Thursday 2.

On Saturday 4 Teresa and Jay went to Wimbledon. Their tickets were for No 1 Court, where they first saw Caroline Wozniacki progress comfortably. The main match was the five-setter featuring the Brit James Ward, in the third round for the first time, who could not quite overcome the Canadian Pospisil to progress further. They saw the start of the all French tussle between Simon and Monfils, but had to come away before it finished, thereby missing what would have been a bonus session under the lights on Centre Court.

◄ Teresa on the concourse

Jay courtside ►

They were seated just behind one of the player’s chairs, so Roger could keep an eye on them from long range! Here they are behind Pospisil, where they were spotted by an eagle-eyed Uncle Mick, who kindly provided the photo.

Roger had his annual visit to the dentist on Monday 13, and was surprised, but pleased, that no work was required, having lost some sizeable chunks of filling during the year.

Helen visited for the weekend of 18-19 and on Sunday 19 we made our first visit of the year to the Band in the Park at Malvern, where we were well entertained by the Woodley Concert Band from Reading*, a very polished outfit indeed. The weather was almost too kind, warm and sunny, so that considerable shuffling of chairs and locations was required to keep everyone in the right combination of sun and shade.

*http://www.woodleyconcertband.org.uk/

The following weekend was a complete contrast, very wet and turning quite cool for the time of year. Roger suffered a bad cold, the first for several years, missing one or two of his bowling commitments.

However, the month ended on a happy note. On Friday 31 we all met up with Helen in London on a warm and sunny day. We had booked a session at one of the currently popular room escape games: this one the ‘Time Run’ in London Fields**. On the way, we bought sandwiches for a picnic lunch in London Fields, where we ate in the park under the close supervision of a resident squirrel. Helen had already reconnoitered the area, so we knew the mysterious unmarked entrance we were looking for (left). At precisely the appointed time we rang the bell and were transported in time to the interactive game.

No spoilers here, so suffice to say that, thanks to the girls, we made rapid progress at first, but became bogged down about half-way through, and ran out of time. So no winners’ certificate on this occasion, though everyone enjoyed the experience, and we do have the photograph (right).

**http://time-run.com/#!home

Roger and Teresa at the tube station … … before lunch in the park with our little friend

On the way back to Paddington, Teresa and Jay spent half-an-hour looking round Spitalfields market, while Helen and Roger relaxed with a coffee at a nearby Costa.

In the garden, disappointingly, none of our apple trees had fruit this year, but the cherry trees Teresa planted a few years ago are now producing results.

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