So let’s think this through again. You retire from work, you wander around in your slippers looking for things to do, sit in the garden with a beer and watch Wimbledon and The World Cup on telly.


Sounds good but that’s not how it’s worked out. We now have thirteen working days until Alex, Dave and the Grandkids Joe and Amber arrive from The Bahamas for the summer.
I have established a critical path for the remaining jobs and created a schedule showing which days we do which jobs. Unfortunately Christine has her own schedule which is more to do with finishing touches and interior design than ‘move those tiles, paint that room, put that wallpaper up’. So while I’m moving four hundred Tumbled Marble floor tiles for the third time so the carpets can be fitted, Christine can be found colour washing the arbour in the outside room in the garden. Looks very good but, I ask, is it critical? Only for Christine to reply she has done all the jobs for today on her schedule so in her own time she can do what she wants. Does that make sense or is it just me that doesn’t understand? The end result after the finishing touches is always extremely good so I shouldn’t grumble.


But we are getting there and at the moment we seem to be on target for completion and just maybe I’ll get to see some of the World Cup. We are now only waiting for two beds, a wardrobe, a kitchen to be fitted and floor tiles to be laid in two rooms, plus the decorating, so not too bad.


We will probably finish up having some sort of disagreement about TV schedules when Wimbledon starts as Christine got very partial to tennis in the days of Nastase, Connors and Borg. Mind you Dave will be here by then so that should help sway the descision.


It was not unknown to have salads every day during the tournament, with Christine going no where near the cooker or anywhere that took away from the TV. Mind you seeing as Christine cooked the same healthy foods then as she does now, Alex and I were used to getting down the pub as often as possible for a decent pie or fish & chips.


But the World Cup has become a double whammy. If you’re keeping up to date you will know that on leaving work the company confiscated my big Volvo 2.0 company car along with many other items that were of course theirs and left us with only one car. In fact as Christine pointed out she had her car, the Clio and I had none. It was not to become ours, it was hers. Well it now has two England flags flying from the back windows and Christine not only will not drive it she will not go in it. It’s mine. Even if only for the World Cup. So it’s essential that England get to the final, that way I keep it for longer.


Or until she realises that you simply need to wind the windows down to remove the flags.