When I retired I wanted some ‘I’ time. Time to do things I wanted as opposed to doing everything as ‘We’s. Well yesterday was my first full ‘I’ day in the six months since I retired. It is surprising how quickly you fall into doing things together when every one else is at work.


So yesterday was a golf day organised by Phil, an ex-colleague. Brilliant day, collected at 9.30 by Neal who I must thank for giving me a lift. It’s not that I wouldn’t have used Christine’s Clio and my own petrol but she has discovered how to take the England flags off the windows and now wants the car back for herself. If you don’t know about the England flags you need to keep up, read earlier sessions.


We are off to Hickleton Golf Club, which the map shows as being in the Doncaster area but I dispute this. By some method of the ‘Beam Me Up Scotty’ type, Hickleton and all people going there are transported to the foothills of the Himalayas. But as we arrive there we don’t know this and being quite early, Neal and I decide to get in some practice.


Now as I am sure you know all beginners at this game hate the first tee. All the following groups are watching and it’s the one shot of the day you want to get right, particularly as there is a booby prize for the worst shot off this tee. So we get to the practice nets and bang three wood after three wood right down the middle, half an hour later we comfortable that we can hit a three wood off the first tee so off we go to meet the rest.


It’s now coffee and bacon sandwiches, I explain that Christine normally produces a healthy tuna salad sandwich and a banana for lunch but I am told to shut up and eat my bacon sandwiches. Seems OK to me.
We now get a plan of the course and in conversation with some locals we discover that everyone tees off with a seven iron due to a brook halfway down the first fairway. Seven iron! We have just spent all morning practicing three woods! Have we time to get back to the nets? No! Just time for five minutes on the putting green before it’s my turn to face the first tee.


Nev’s on the putting green. Nev retired before me, but has now gone back two days a week. There are those that say that 'this is more than he did before he retired' but I’m not one of then of course. Anyway Nev gives me some putting tips, interestingly my putting certainly didn’t improve and after the round Nev tells me he could have won the tournament except that he could never putt!


Anyway it’s my turn, I hit the ball, that’s a bonus, not a good shot but I’m off the tee. Phil and Dave, my playing partners are both further down the fairway but they each put their second shots into the brook and I get over, so all in all not a bad first hole.


I peak on the fourth which I par for a net birdie but after that the foothills begin to kick in. During the rest of the round we visit Heart Attack Ridge, Blood Pressure Pass and finally Cardiac Hill. It’s June and I am sure there was still snow up there, the views were superb although I am not sure whether they were of Barnsley or Nepal.


The rain started as we approached the eighteenth green which was nice and cooling and shortly thereafter we were in the bar watching the very wet rest of the teams complete their rounds. Shame about the weather but we were dry in the bar. Prize giving followed an excellent meal and finally beamed back home with Neal.


Great ‘I’ day.



This morning I can’t walk, legs, back and feet have seized up. This goes with the arms that hadn’t really recovered from laying all the York stone and stiff neck from painting ceilings. It’s good to be retired and taking things easy. Still, seven more working days until the family arrive and then the work stops for the summer.