It's never too late - In the name of Thiago - Day 106

I had a chat with an old mate this morning. Good old Smudger. Smudger was an accomplished opening batsman in his time, which is some time ago now admittedly, and someone that I spent my summer weekends with for a good 15 years spanning from the early 90s to when I called time on my own playing days in the mid 2000s, when I moved to Staffordshire just after Angelica and I had got married.

I kept ties with Smudger and his wife Jane for a few years after we moved up north and we even used to stay at theirs on visits down to Eastbourne too. For whatever reason, we drifted apart and I reckon it’s been about seven years since we were last in touch.

I told him about the big walk in the autumn and I’m hoping that I’ve done enough to get him along. I haven’t told him that the first stage is one of the longest walks at 17 miles. Let’s see how this progresses! 

Angelica and I managed to talk Elisa into coming out with us today and I’m glad to report that her no photos policy only seems to apply to me taking them. She doesn’t seem to have twigged yet that her mum will just What’sApp them to me a little later on in the day. Until then, I won’t struggle so much to fill the blog with photos!

It’s always the same with trying to get our little madam to accompany us out on a gorgeous spring day. There has to be a long convoluted will she won’t she battle. It ends up being a test of our collective willpower to get her out the door and often we just leave her at home as Angelica and I need our time as well.

We are lucky to have some beautiful woodlands right on our doorstep and the ridiculous irony of where we find ourselves today is that though we live further away from this area than our old house, we are spending so much more time there now due to the restrictions we are all living with. Now really is the time to discover what’s on your own doorstep – we’ve got no choice.

Elisa led the way today, which normally meets with some interesting results. Paths are clearly just for parents, as Elisa doesn’t much care for such formalities. There’s a beautiful dip in the woods, like a mini canyon, which through a child’s eyes creates a whole new world of possibilities. Seeing her eyes light up as she showed us her assault course, dens and general craziness really made my day. Elisa’s smile lights up a room and she’s gorgeous with it. I see many troubled times for me ahead.

On the way out the woods we decided, sorry Elisa decided, we should also build a den. Here’s our effort. As you can well imagine after an initial effort bordering on tokenism, Elisa’s role was squatting in the primitive living space while barking out orders to Angelica and I. We had fun and it was great for the three of us to get out in the fresh air as Angelica is back on shift tomorrow and I will be working from home. The frustration, sadly is never far away, though I am trying to switch my mentality from ‘stuck’ at home to ‘safe’ at home. It’s a test, that’s for sure.

I’ll end with my usual plea folks. I am nearly two thirds of my way to my £10,000 fundraising target but I still need your help to get there. Be a sport, click on the link and give what you can.