I've Been Away ...

... you may have guessed !!!  

'Twas a week's holiday with Monday and Tuesday spent doing stuff around the bombsite that is our house (you want plaster dust ?? We've got loads !!).  Painting, putting up picture rail for starters - quick "sneak out" on Tuesday night for the Stalybridge game - up till daft o'clock sorting pics for the Boston United peeps - finished them off Wednesday morning - and then it was down to Stafford to see my Mum and Dad (first time for yonks !).  Pub lunch, long natter and then off to Ashbourne for the evening (found a nice Italian - pubs not up to much unfortunately !), staying over in order to get a good early start on Thursday - an 11 mile walk up the Manifold Valley and back down Dovedale (pics to follow).

Off to Belper on Thursday afternoon/evening - where we remained until Sunday lunchtime.  Shopping, wandering, eating out, a few odd jobs around the Mother-in-Laws abode was the order of the day(s).  Saturday was Mrs Smiffy's birthday - so off I went to Belper Town to watch their reserves play Long Eaton Reserves (the Belper first team were playing Northwich Victoria - who play their home games ... at Stafford Rangers !!!).  A game of two halves - Belper 2-0 up and cruising at half-time, before it went horribly wrong.   Pictures available at

Belper Town Reserves 2 Long Eaton United Reserves 4

A Birthday meal out in Belper (another Italian !!) before flaking out in front of the telly. A bit more fiddling about this morning before heading back up the A6 to here ... an hour's tidying (cleaning up plaster dust etc etc - "plasterman" was here doing more on Saturday) another "birthday tea" on the menu tonight (cooked by large boy) ... so I'd better sign off for now - more later (hopefully) before we get back into "work mode" - an early kick-off tomorrow morning (0645 hrs) - let's hope that they've finished the railway stuff and that the first train runs ...
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