Blogs have been a little thin on the ground this week. It’s Tuesday night and this is my first rambling of the week. There are reasons of course or excuses which ever you wish to call them.


It could be that I have been too busy getting ready for the opening of the West Wing on Sunday. It could be that the pressure of completing the decorating is proving too much. It could be that I have been too busy going to the shops in my slippers for the morning papers. It’s not, but there are reasons.


As you know I have been a project manager for many years prior to retirement and I am sure I have said before that if things go wrong it is important to have some one else to blame. If you look hard enough there will always be some one you can pass the buck to, if not, blame the IT department, even if they were not involved in the first place every one thinks most things are their fault anyway.


So having missed a deadline, whose fault is it. Well in this case quite clearly it is the grandkids and if it feels wrong to heap the blame on Joe and Amber who are eleven and ten then obviously the blame can be shared with Alex and Dave, their mum and dad. They're all over here staying with us for the summer or at least they were. Alex and Dave have escaped to Barcelona for a few days leaving the kids wih us. “It’s work” says Dave yet when ever they ring to see how the kids are they are just having gin and tonics to help get over last nights hangover.


Meanwhile, has anyone any idea how much hard work is required looking after kids. Well I suppose quite a few parents have but I have retired, my days of work are behind me. I am now used to sitting in the garden room watching the world go by. Mind you we don’t help ourselves, some of the hard work is created by Christine,

"must give them some fresh air, lets go for a walk"

she says. They are quite happy watching Cartoon Network or contacting friends on the computer, they don’t want a walk, I don’t want a walk but Christine wants them to have fresh air, so off we go.


It’s a museum in the morning, walk in the afternoon, tea in the pub and then fall asleep watching Robots on the TV. That’s me falling asleep not the kids, they are now hyperactive from the sweets we ate on the walk. Today they have been down the library and along with some books they bring back a DVD of Narnia, which raises the next problem.


Our DVD hasn’t been used since last year and has not been connected since the builders left but of course as soon as they are home they want to watch Narnia. I stop laying York stone paving to connect the DVD player, bearing in mind I have never used this machine in my life and I don’t know which plugs go where. I move the TV to reveal more cables than the electricty board can possible need to keep the national grid going and start tinkering. I finally get a power light on the DVD player so we’re getting there.


I am now plugging all sorts of cables from the DVD to the TV when Joe, eleven remember, looks over my shoulder and says

"it’s that one grandad".

I naturally tell him to go and do something else, as I know what I am doing. After trying some others I try the one he suggested which of course proves to be correct. Obviously a lucky guess on his part.


We now have the DVD connected we just need to get a picture. I pick up the romote control.

"Can I help, grandad"

says Joe.

"It’s OK, it will be working in a minute"

says I. Twenty minutes later Joe comes back and suggests he knows what to do. I tell him the DVD player is bust and just won’t work whatever you do.

"OK grandad"

says Joe and takes the remote control. Two minutes later they are watching Narnia. Another lucky guess I suppose.


So there you have it, my reason for no blogs so far this week. I think I have managed to pass the buck onto the kids or the parents and I even got Christine’s name in there as being part of the problem. Pretty good project managing I think.