Bright but cold afternoon walk

The air tempuratures were relatively high but were tempered by a very keen easterly wind that made it feel very cold indeed.

Spent the morning refereeing an Under 17 rugby cup match which turned out to be an entertaining morning. I had to yellow card two players in quick succession for foul play. I'd had two high tackles and warned the skipper that the next would result in more than a penalty.

Shortly afterward a bulky 17 year old Pacific Islander was guilty dump tackling an opposing player and two minutes later an equally well built player from the same team and a similar part of the world committed another high tackle so he had to go as well. A shame really as in the second half the home team were making a much better fist of it. They were 18-0 down after 20 minutes but didn't conceed any more points for the rest of the game and score a try themselves. Having only 13 players was too much of a handicap so they lost 5-18 in the end.

Good hospitality after the game too, which completed the morning very nicely.

After a spot of lunch I hauled my weary legs over  5 mile walk across the countryside around Bearsted. It didn't get any warmer than the morning but there was more sunshine which picked out the bare branches of these trees and the daffs growing beneath.

Had a good talk to Chris in San Marcos, California. We fly out on 26th March for 17 days, spending time with them and visiting Palm Springs and a return trip to Yosemite which, as you can imagine, we are looking forward to very much. Not seen Chris or De'Shaun (except through FaceTime) since last May.

Dinner was Roast Beef of Old England, Yorkshire Pudding, roast potatoes and parsnip, carrots and broccoli with stewed blackcurrants and custart for afters.