Tuesday 5th July 2016....a lovely day with a bizarre ending!!!

Today was a road trip day  ....so Little Janice and I left around 10 am and drove Sheffield which is the city where I lived from 10 years of age till I left for Bermuda in 1970.
I went to look at the high school I attended but although most of the buildings are still there it is not a school any more but a small college...

 and where my life long association with soccer started!!!

I next went to the house where we used to live

From this house it is about a ten minute drive into the beautiful Derbyshire moors!!!

Margaret and Ian have been my friends for over 55 years and Ian and i were school buddies who hung around together playing football and getting into the usual antics boys of that age do...we have kept in touch and always meet for lunch when I come over and today was the day...we met at a lovely Pub on the moors and had a great meal and lots of catching up...thanks for lunch and a special visit.
Afterwards I drove about 15 miles to Castleton

where I parked and went on a lovely hike..

 I think this shot above is the shot of the day!!

I walked back through the village to the car!!

It was a great way to spend an afternoon...now this is where the story goes off the rails....as I was driving back I passed a rock formation on the side of the road that looked interesting but there was no where to park I drove about 500 yards and saw a tiny car park off the road with enough room for 4 or 5 cars and I pulled in.....there was a car in front of me and the owners were just coming back to their vehicle with their old black lab who jumped in the back of the van and they started to reverse and I was out of my car putting on my shoes...the vehicle again started to reverse onto the main road but was actually stopped when a cyclist rode right into the side and back of the van..there was a huge crash and the man on the bike hit the back window of the van smashing the glass and he fell over the vehicle...I ran to him and got him up he was really dazed and he sat on the curb I pulled his bike off the center of the road and the older couple in the car were concerned about their dog and all the broken glass over him......the cyclist was cut on his head  and hand and legs but seemed to be OK although in shock and he was cold.....I got a sweater out of the car and made him put it on..he said he was really sorry it was his fault he had his head down pedaling hard..he was concerned about the dog....I offered to drive the man home and after they exchanged numbers and made sure the dog was OK we left.....there was a lot of damage to the car!!
On the drive to his home the man told me he was so embarrassed and I asked him if he needed to go to the hospital...he smiled and told me he was a Doctor and that his hand would need some stitches....it was about 10 miles to his home and he thanked me and I got his bike out of the back of Little Janice......so I never got to go on my second walk and now I was in the big city of Sheffield at rush hour traffic time...but no worries I made it home by 6.45 pm!!!

Two pieces of good news.....there is a tennis club in town here but I have been by many times at different times but have not seen anybody...Janet knows the club secretary and called him last week..he has been away but he called tonight and I spoke to him and he invited me to the club on Friday afternoon and will give me a short term membership..so back on the courts soon.

The second piece of good news is that i emailed yesterday the man that i sold Little Blackie, my scooter in San Miguel and asked what his winter plans were and Rod e mailed me this evening telling that although they were very pleased with LB it was not powerful enough for him and his wife so it was up for sale if I wanted to buy her back...YOU BET!!!!

So now when I get back to SMA in NOvember I have a place to stay, my scooter, my teaching job and I know i can pick up where I left off at the tennis club and also the poker boys!!!
Life is good!!!
Yashi Kochi!!