Off The Mark

It was a slow kind of day. The cold and windy weather, despite some bursts of sunshine, was not conducive to going far on the bike. I actually only got as far as the cricket club for the first team's game against Pool. This is a shot of Forrest getting off the mark with a characteristic flick off his legs for four. It's his trademark stroke and he scores a lot of runs with it. In the first four matches this season one of the openers has been dismissed for a duck so it was good to today to watch a solid start to the innings. Forrest made the major contribution to an opening partnership of 61, scoring 34 himself before sadly suffering a lack of concentration and getting run out going for a second that wasn't there. I was gutted for him and myself. Having seen off the opening bowlers he was looking well set and just starting to accelerate. I was really looking forward to watching him push on.

At drinks (the halfway stage), we were in the nineties for the loss of just one wicket, which should have been a good enough platform to overhaul Pool's total of 220. We're not short of firepower down the order. It was so cold down at the club that I went back home for a break to get warm with the aim of popping back later to see the finish. Sadly, though, Forrest kept sending texts letting me know of the fall of wickets. As the scoreboard pressure built so did the need to take risks, and it was Pool that got the reward. We lost by 43 runs and I never did make it back down.

I found a recipe for magical mushrooms tonight. It caught my eye and I had to try it out - with the inevitable slight change. They were fried in a little oil and lemon juice and then blended with feta cheese, zest and fresh coriander. Quite a taste sensation - if not actually magic!

PS You can play spot the ball with this photograph!