Getting Decked

Apologies if my headline mislead you into hoping that someone had finally given me my just deserts - it's not easy coming up with snappy blog headings day in day out. Of course it refers to the decking alongside the caravan which, after several false dawns, finally started to take shape today. The joiners have worked at a cracking pace and I anticipate it being finished by tomorrow. This area faces south and catches the sun all day so we'll have to go and invest in a table and a couple of chairs to take full advantage next time we're here.  

I said how lucky we felt yesterday to be able to enjoy our retirement and get out and about on our bikes while we are still fit enough. Lucky wasn't exactly how we felt today after we cycled to Tentsmuir nature reserve. We somehow seemed to have a wind blowing into our faces all the way there and all the way back and, although flags were only fluttering gently, the breeze was stiff enough to make the twenty five or so miles round trip seem like cruel torture. Thank goodness for the salvation that is the Harbour Cafe in Tayport. Run by local community volunteers, this friendly little place is a haven for cyclists like us and walkers on the Fife Coastal Path and we were able to recharge our batteries with tasty fresh rolls and slabs of cake - at least we could justify the cake, that cycling into the wind must have burnt plenty of calories.

I just finished reading Build A Man by Talli Roland. It's chick lit and isn't aimed at fifty eight year old blokes but some of the people I follow on Twitter were gushing about it and I decided to give it a try. I gave it a five star review on Amazon as it's very well written, funny, original and, unlike many self published books, well edited with virtually no typos. You can read my full review HERE My own novel is a very gentle love story and I'm not the only bloke who enjoys romance - Times columnist Robert Crampton devoted his column this week to his love of romcoms; like me, he enjoyed Love Actually, About The Morgans and other slushy movies and maybe a few more of us should own up to being in touch with our softer side.

No Orange Wednesdays in St Andrews so we're going to have to pay full price this week. We're going to see The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel. With a great cast of 'mature' British actors I'm expecting something light and I hope it doesn't concentrate too much on the downside of growing old.

Marion just burst into tears. No it wasn't at the prospect of proof reading this blog. It signaled her finishing reading Just in Case by Meg Rosoff. She tells me that it's a fabulous book, very original, well written and it has a beautiful ending - the best book she's read in ages. So that's my next read sorted then.