Rugby players bums are not to be sniffed at

A good friend came to visit Bank Holiday weekend. We had tickets to the Pro 12 final at Murrayfield, so we headed up to Edinburgh and found it buzzing with 35,000 merry Connacht and Leinster fans. Jane saved the life of a man named Otto by dragging him out of the road as a car approached. From where we had parked we walked about 13 miles around the city, and 8 of those were just to use the toilets at the National Gallery (they have nice hand wash). Our seats were in the East Stand, which meant we were not facing the players as they lined up (and for the presentation). I apologised to Jane for this, but she didn't seem to mind, "rugby players bums are not to be sniffed at." It was really all Connacht on the day, all of the play, and all of the crowd support - it was something quite special to be there. 

When we got back to Eskdale, Rachel treated us all to a game of 'pâté or shell?' Which basically involved her pushing a tube of pâté or a shell through the hole in a picnic bench and us having to guess which one it would be. I can't say I was that successful at it - probably because Rachel always chose the item that I hadn't picked. We were also told how a man had come to deliver a mirror on Bank Holiday Sunday at 5.30am (he had actually arrived at 1.30am and slept on the drive). 

Tom came round and laughed his head off when my fishing net broke in the pond. He fixed it though, and a few days later I caught a baby trout in the stream. I scared Fiona half to death with my shouts of jubilation, and put the little fella straight back under her strict instructions (even if she was tempted by half a mouthful of fish with cashew nuts for tea). Mick said I deserved the success because I'd been sitting in the stream for three hours. 

My mum came to visit after the weekend, and it was lovely to get out for some walks with her. Even if she did want to replace me with Fiona as her daughter. I think it was a blessing in disguise though - it transpired that she had tried to lure Fiona to the stone circle and offer her up as a sacrifice. 

I've set up a charity Euro 2016 sweepstake, raising money for Breaks for Kids (a YHA charity support underprivileged and disadvantaged children). Mick drew out Albania, and I drew out England. At least we stand a chance of winning our money back for being the first team to have a player sent off, or for being the first team to miss a penalty. Fiona meanwhile kept asking if anyone had got Brazil yet. When we explained that Brazil weren't in the European Championships she said, "Well that's just silly. Australia are in the Eurovision Song Contest."