Barney

I was right to be nervous about the weather for my golfing expedition on Wednesday although, to start with, we were pleasantly surprised. Defying the forecast, the showers had lightened and cleared up by the time we set off. Nevertheless, I was fully kitted out in raingear and my trolley was swathed with its waterproof cover as I didn't trust the sky's perfidious face! 

It's a pain playing golf in wet weather gear - you're all swaddled in rustley gear and get too hot, your swing is restricted and you can't find your stuff (tees, balls, pencils, markers, pitch repairers etc) as whatever you need always seem to be in the wrong pocket. I was, however, wearing my new, bargain waterproofs for the first time (although I've owned them for nearly a year!) so perhaps it would be different this time?? I bought this suit in the spring sales because I needed some decent kit and it was a bargain but then didn't really play much golf over winter. The suit is an excellent make (Ping) and was reduced from £160 to £60. All good eh? 

Weeeelll, not, so much. It is a very strange shade of purple, kind of a rich, deep aubergine. I FEEL like a giant aubergine while wearing both trousers and jacket together. Although interestingly, as I walked along, I found that I also felt like Barney the Dinosaur from kids' TV and possibly even the purple Teletubby (don't know their names). Suffice to say, I felt far too PURPLE! Apparently, feeling purple does not improve my golf!!


 

Anyway, we were lightly rained on a couple of times during the early stages of our round but mostly enjoyed intermittent sunshine, blue skies and scudding clouds. Then, in the middle of an epic battle on the 17th hole, the sky turned dark, the wind picked up and the rain started. No worries we said, we only have 2 holes left, how bad can it be?? Soon it was almost dark and the rain had turned to hail; the wind had whipped up into an angry, swirling gale and the temperature plummeted. We could see groups of women swarming in for shelter from all quarters of the course, but our match had reached a crucial stage and we had only the end of the 17th and the 18th to go to finish it. We persevered although we were drenched, our faces stung by the hail and our hands, numb with cold, and had turned an angry, sore, red and white colour. (It's not easy to play golf with sore paws...striking the ball hard hurts and you have no touch for the delicate putts.)

My partner and I had battled back from 3 down with 4 to play to all square on the last - an epic achievement. We went on to lose on the last, in lashing rain/hail with an audience of women peering at us from the clubhouse windows. (To be fair, they were probably wondering what Barney the Dinosaur was doing out in such terrible weather...) Hey ho.

But, on the plus side - I've made a start to the golfing season; I'm signed up for a few more comps; my waterproofs stood up well to the deluge; and hopefully I can hit the ground running this season and take another couple of shots off my handicap this year. And, I may have a new sideline as a childrens' entertainer.....

 I'm not very happy with my approach to food yesterday though. I allowed my chimp to use feeling tired and being cold and wet and the fact that I was eating my lunch later than usual as an excuse for out of control eating. Instead of coming home and preparing something sensible (which would only have taken a little longer) I dived straight into toast (slathered with cheese and pate), still felt hungry so grabbed a bowl of cereal and then snacked through the afternoon. Not good. I reined it in once I'd warmed up and felt human again but it was not helpful. I need to remember this about timing of eating and golf and ensure that next time I have something healthy and sensible ready for my return.

Luckily I was going out for the evening to see my friend Vicky. As she has twins and her husband works away during the week, we couldn't go out so she cooked us supper and we just stayed in and had a good chinwag. Perfect. She cooked a very healthy supper of baked chicken breast with pasta in a tomato-based sauce and we only had a small glass of red wine each so the day ended well even if I did go off the rails for a while in the middle. You live and learn....

That said, I really enjoyed my night IN last night. I've been out every night since last Thursday and was feeling a bit jaded (not drinking each time of course) but sometimes you do just want your sofa don't you? Rich feels the same but he had darts and dominos so will have to wait until tonight.