State Of Play

We went to a sixtieth birthday party on Friday evening. It was a fundraiser held at the local Rugby club. As we parked up I said to Bert, "Y'know this is the first time I've ever been here sober?" I have to add that it was the first time I'd been there in teens of years and that I remained sober for the entire night. Designated driver y'see.

The same could not be said for the Wee Manny who was a very naughty boy indeed. I said to him, "I hope you're not going to behave as badly as this at my wedding?" Although I have no doubt that he will be just as full of rascality as he was on Friday. The thing was it was way past his bedtime so no wonder he was fractious. He likes to be tucked up by 7:30 usually.

I woke up at 7 the next morning feeling bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. But it was raining. Three hours later it was still raining. Twelve hours later it was still raining. Our spring, normally a little trickle, had formed a lake, there were two new rivers running through a field down our road, some of the neighbours were standing ankle deep in water, the water had brought down a tree on the Granagh Road, there were horses standing at the edge of lakes that used to be meadows. In Ballymena the Wakehurst playing fields were under water and the folk at the bottom of the Toome Road were flooded again. I heard that Ahoghill and Portglenone were closed off due to flooding.

Despite the rain I had to go into Ballymena yesterday. There are certain last minute things a bride-to-be must buy. I was in the Hospice shop buying second hand champagne flutes (£3.95 for 11) and the volunteer ladies were bemoaning the poor takings. "Sure," said one to the other, "Only a mad person would come out on a day like that," then they went sort of quiet. No doubt they were looking at the mad person who was browsing the book shelves while she was waiting for her glassware to be wrapped up.