February has arrived, hurray!! Don’t get me wrong, I’m not wishing time away. January was a long month but I got lots done, caught up with a few friends and planned out most of my year. So all is good in 2020 to date.
The one thing I love about the year ahead is all the sport we have to look forward to. The first major competition on my radar is the Six Nations championship and Ireland got off to a winning start against Scotland, albeit it was hard work. The highlight of the opening weekend was France getting the win over world cup finalists England. That was a turn up for the books. Even at this early stage you feel as if the competition has been blown wide open.
Over the Christmas and new-year period I have been playing winter league golf. The competition is team based and means you have to play every week as your score counts towards the overall total of the team made up of 10 players. Rain, hail or shine (its always cold) you have to get out there. Normally I wouldn’t see a golf course from September through to April and with all this practice, this is the year to get my handicap cut. I am laughing to myself as I type this. Embarrassingly I now play of 21. Some say I need to give up, believe me I’m not beaten yet.
This time of the year would generally be a quiet time for me, which means I have more time at home with my family. I have made it to a number of Ivanas GB competitions in recent weeks doing my bit to bring up the number of males in attendance. I have also had the chance to watch a bit of TV, which I struggle to get time to do aside from live sport. This week I have really enjoyed:
‘A League of their own – European Roadtrip’. It’s laugh out load moments, one after the other throughout.
Gary Nevilles ‘Soccerbox’. I didn’t even know this show existed. It’s available on catch up on sky and the episode with Steven Gerrard is superb.
Finally a friend recommended a movie from a few years back called ‘Moneyball’ staring Brad Pitt. It’s superb and one for you if you like sport. It tells the story of how the Oakland A’s baseball team competed with the New York Yankees even though they couldn’t afford their huge wage bill. The strategy they used changed the game forever. It’s based on a true story, really insightful and available on Netflix.
The highlight of my week was that my mate Stubbo and his wife Shelley welcomed their daughter ‘Imogen’ into the world. She is a wee gem, beautiful and with a full head of hair. My girls are getting big and grown up and you do forget how small a newborn is. Giving new life is without doubt one of life’s greatest gifts and myself, Julia and the girls are delighted for them. It’s brilliant to have a newborn in our circle of friends.
I will leave you this week with the fact that Liverpool are now 22 points clear at the top of the premier league and after a 30 year wait, this year really will be ‘our year!’
Thanks for reading,
Pete
