The Last Five Days

The plan for this weekend had been a trip to Oxford but as it was postponed we needed a back up and so this is what we came up with.

Yesterday was a lazy-ish morning not leaving the house until gone 10am which is unusual for us.  We headed for Solihull Nature Reserve to see what birds were around.  Still all quiet.  We had hoped there might be the odd returning bird on the lake but it was mainly Black Headed Gulls and Mallard with the odd Moorhen and Coot.

After spending a couple of hours wandering around we headed for The Robin Hood for a carvery.  We arrived after the main rush and within a few minutes of entering we were tucking into our dinner.  Obviously I didn't have meat and Clare decided to go without also.  At the end we were pleasantly surprised to find that we had been charged £8 less as we had the vegetarian option.  In all the time I have had a carvery I didn't realise that I got it cheaper by not having meat!  I just assumed I paid the same as it was my choice to abstain.

We got back from the pub in time to watch West Brom versus Man Utd.  A game West Brom were unlucky not to take a point.  Rooney's early goal was cancelled out by Long in the 38th minute.  In the second half Ashley Young's cross was deflected into the back of his own net by Reid.  The final score 2-1 to Man Utd.

All in all not a bad Sunday
Saturday, and having been to the Post Office to collect a package (photos) it was off to Morrison's for breakfast. Again another lazy morning! Afterwards and it was off to the bookies for our weekly bet.

Early afternoon and we set off for St Andrew's for Birmingham's first home match against Coventry. Having had a quick drink at the bar we took our seats. I was surprised at firstly how few Coventry had brought and secondly at the lack of our own support.  The gate was just over 19,000.  Coventry, however, despite their lack of numbers completely out sung the Blues fans who seemed to be suffering from the same lethargy as the team.

The first half wasn't much to write home about. Blues opting to play Chris Wood up front on his own.  Not many chances at either end.  A change in the second half saw Wood replaced by Adam Rooney, who headed against the post before teeing-up the rebound for Keith Fahey to hit home in the 73rd-minute. The game ended 1-0 to Blues giving us our first 3 points of the season, having lost to Derby last week. 

Friday afternoon was spent in The Field House catching up with a friend.  It was great to catch up but the location could have been better.  I'm not keen on this pub.  The staff are friendly enough but if you are not a regular then all eyes are on you when you walk through the door. 

Thursday was a fantastic day!  Weather wise it didn't bode well. Waking up to grey skies I was worried about what was in store. 

England versus India in the 3rd Test at Edgbaston.  With England 2-0 in the series a win at Edgbaston would see them ranked as the number Test side in the world.  Clare and I had tickets for Day 2. England had taken to the crease having bowled India out for 224 and at the end of play on Day One they were 84-0.

Heading into Moseley, Clare and I had breakfast at Maison Mayci.  Whilst we tucked into scrambled egg on toast (with extra toast) the rain outside seemed to be getting worse.  By the time we paid the bill it had eased off and when we arrived at Edgbaston it had stopped all together.

I was disappointed to find that there were no spirits available and instead ended up drinking pear cider.  It wasn't too bad but didn't go down quite as easy as my usual gin & tonic.

Play had been delayed by 30 minutes due to the weather but when the players took the field it was dry and warm although there was still a lot of grey cloud around.  The cloud remained throughout the day with the sun breaking through.  When it did it was actually quite hot and both Clare and I ended up with a bit of a tan!

The play itself saw Cook pile on the runs ending the day 182 not out (he went on to score 294).  Strauss managed 87 before being bowled out to, what was later found to be, a no ball.  Pieterson managed 63. Bell managed 34 before being bowled out.  I was still applauding Cook's century which he had reached from the previous ball.

The day ended with England 456-3 with Cook and Morgan at the crease. They went on to win the match by an innings and 242 runs.

Making our way home we walked the last leg of our journey with a bag of chips.  A fantastic, although tiring, day out.