Sunday 5 August 2012

work and play, agony and ecstasy.......and the cough goes on

A week when three days of work from last week's trip to Guernsey bookended two days of playing away in Chichester with our friends Anne and Colin!  


On Tuesday, we spent the day with Anne at Glorious Goodwood, watching the races including the Sussex Stakes won easily by wonder horse Frankel who enjoyed a lap of honour at the end of the race, to the delight of the crowd.  For once, Steve's betting instincts let him down, and it was the ladies who chose the only placed horse we bet on, based on its appearance in the parade ring as much as anything else :-)  







We spent most of Wednesday at the Cass Sculpture Park, also on the Goodwood Estate, where we enjoyed a wide range of artwork in a beautiful outdoor setting with views over the South Downs and Chichester, to the sea and the Isle of Wight.  Anne was very patient as we hopped from one sculpture to the next, looking for a good photographic angle!  Thank you for a lovely couple of days, Anne and Colin - looking forward to seeing you here soon!







Throughout the week, we have been dipping in and out of the Olympic Games on TV and online, having been more engaged than usual following the Olympic Torch visit to Oxford and our day out at the Olympic Park.  More by luck than design, we have caught the gold medals in the cycling road race (watching Wiggins triumph on the big screen at Goodwood) as well as the shooting and canoe salom while in Chichester. Back at home, we have enjoyed the ecstasy which greeted more golds in the velodrome and on the rowing lake at Eton Dorney.  Last night, we cheered on the athletes until we were hoarse!  How wonderful to see so many happy smiling faces.  


We have witnessed the agony too, when hopes of medals have slipped away.  Why or why do commentators keep asking inane questions about how it feels in these situations?  It's bad enough to have your hopes dashed, without having to relive it in public until the tears flow...


The soundtrack to this week of work, play, agony and ecstasy has been wheezing and coughing.  My chest infection has rumbled on into its third week, leaving me feeling quite washed out when not on a social or Olympic high. Steve has now started coughing a little bit too - always a worry....Perhaps we just need to take it easy for a while, and get back up to full strength before embarking on another round of intensive activities!


In some ways, it was a relief to find out a short while ago that our hot air ballon flight re-scheduled to today from the last cancellation, has itself been cancelled for the fifth time in a row.  Much better to be able to enjoy it when we both feel good!  


Next week will be a time to recover from this infection: sit back and review plans for the next six weeks or so, until Steve's next assessment; catch up with the other people's news, especially our fellow meso bloggers; make some more progress on the house and garden front for a change......and enjoy week two of a very special London Olympics!     



2 comments:

  1. glad to hear you had a good time at Goodwood, we are due to go at the end of August - so fingers crossed for good weather. We nearly went to the Cass park last time but decided not to bother so is now back on our list.
    Make sure you do take the time to fight off this infection, it can really sap your energy. Make sure you ensure your rest and spur on the olympian efforts from the executive sofa seats.
    Amanda

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  2. I'm sure you will have great time at Goodwood, whatever the weather! Allow plenty of time for the Sculpture Park and take a picnic as there is no cafe (but a very quirky set of picnic tables and chairs you can use :-) I'm reluctant to go to the doctor, but if there is no improvement tomorrow, I will probably make an appointment. In the meantime, the Olympics are great entertainment! Enjoy yourselves too!

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