I am possibly the only person in the country who has been enjoying this spell of prolonged warm weather. I actually like feeling the heat on me as I walk around London seems to make the place even more fun and relaxing to me. That said I would obviously have liked it even more if I had a swimming pool in my back garden or lived by a beach, as the chance to have a paddle at least in some water would have been refreshing. I will cling on to the feeling of sun and blue skies and imagine them as I am getting soaked next time it rains when I am on my way somewhere in the capital. That seemed to happen a lot last year.

One big advantage of the weather being nice was that it made going to an outdoor theatre very appealing. I have been to the Globe a few times over the years to see Shakespeare plays. I never studied him at school so have to admit I am not as familiar with his work as I should be. Therefore I am trying to see productions of his stuff when I get the opportunity. I really like it at the Globe. It is a replica of one of the original theatres where the Bard used to put on his shows. Like in his time you can stand and watch the performance, which is how the peasants of the day would be able to afford to go as these were much cheaper than the wooden bench seats where the well to do would sit.

I buy tickets for the standing area whenever I go as I know my place plus for five pounds a ticket you really cannot argue with that value for money. Lynda had not been before and had wanted to go for a while. She spotted they were doing the rarely performed Henry VIII so we snapped up a couple of the bargain standing tickets and went to see it a couple of Friday’s ago. I may not have read Shakespeare at school but I did like history and remember studying The Tudors so I knew the story well. I got a B in GCSE History just in case you were interested. We arrived about fifteen minutes before it was due to begin which was enough time to buy a wine each and try to find a good place to stand to see the action.

It is a little bit interactive in the pit as I like to call it and the actors often walk through and get amongst the audience as they would have at the initial venue when these shows were first performed. As it happened there were additional parts of the staging in our area to, so that did make the location selection slightly trickier. The play was excellent we both thoroughly enjoyed it. The three hours including the interval flew by. The cast were all amazing and with it being Shakespeare they all had a few very long monologues to master. There was a lot of humour in it which is always a winner for me, including some quite naughty visual jokes. It did seem the star of the show was more Elizabeth I at the end but then again Shakespeare was around when she was still the Queen.

The theatre itself and the way the production is designed does make you think and feel what it might have been like at the theatre all of those years ago but then you see or hear a plane or helicopter fly over you and it does shatter the illusion just a little bit. I do try to see at least one thing a year there if I can and it is always slightly nicer if it stays dry and is pleasant as it was for us when we went. We walked out of there at the end of the play in an upbeat and happy mood. That for me is always the sign of a good show. Henry VIII had a sling on his arm, no one was totally sure if this was part of the costume or not but I suspect it was the actor’s own!

Last weekend Lynda and I went to Dorset to see my school friend who I have known since we met on our first day of Primary school when we were both four. We have known each other for more than forty years which is both impressive and scary. Straight from work on the Friday night we jumped in the car, did battle with the holiday traffic and arrived at our destination just after ten. It is a lovely cottage that they have in a small village called Bloxworth. It has been in my mate’s wife’s family for generations. The place has a lovely big garden and the surrounding area is so quiet and peaceful.

On arrival I had to have my obligatory cup of tea, which is always my beverage of choice when I arrive at somebody’s house no matter how long the journey time was. We all just sat chatting and updating each other on our latest news. Before we knew it, it was one in the morning, so we thought we better get some sleep. It is funny how time flies when you are having a brilliant time in good company. With over four decades of material to talk about we could easily has talked until sunrise.

After the slightly impromptu late night we did have a little bit of a lie in. We got up round about the same time and as it was a glorious day we headed straight for their garden table to enjoy our morning cup of tea in the sunshine. Easing ourselves in to the day gently we also had a relaxed breakfast outside still, before we took it in turns to get showered and dressed. My mate and his wife have a seven year old daughter who is brilliant. First we played a few quick little games at the table then we decided to get the garden games out.

She had recently been given one of those air rocket launchers. It has polystyrene rockets that you put on this tube, you then stamp on the pad part and it fires the rocket into the sky. We did that for a bit then we got out the inflatable hoopla game and invented our own world championships sort of competition. The joy of getting one of those rubber rings over the cactus target was unbridled. Next it was a few games of the classic French bowling game boule. That was made very challenging by the very dry and uneven green we were using. All of the games were good fun and they took us right through the afternoon.

I then discovered that there was a football around so their daughter and I played with that for a while. I showed off with a few of the tricks that I can do with a ball. From the age of seven to sixteen all I did when I was not in lessons or asleep was kick a football around. Lastly I got a very intensive dance lesson which seemed to draw a worrying amount of laughter from everyone even though I thought I was doing pretty well. My dance teacher was not impressed at all so that ultimately brought an end to those proceeding and we all had some dinner.

In the village there is a social club basically for the locals. They were holding a quiz night so we decided to go along. After our success at the Church Quiz a few weeks ago Lynda and I were feeling confident that we could lead our team to victory. That confidence did not last very long, as we found ourselves competing in the world’s hardest quiz. It was more like a Mensa test or the entry exam to get into Oxford or Cambridge University. It was tough! There were three table rounds and nine actual rounds the whole thing took over two hours to complete. That said it was brilliant fun and we had a good laugh and did get some questions right, we finished half way down the table, so it was just not the Quizzie Rascals night!

After the quiz we went back to the cottage for another drink and some supper before heading off to bed. Sunday was pretty much a repeat of the day before we had morning drinks and breakfast outside and played some games including Guess Who and Harry Potter Top Trumps. I also had a few goes at the Silly Sausage game, if you want to know what that is look it up online, it is fine and you are perfectly safe to google it at work I promise. We then all had dinner together before Lynda and I had to head home. It was another top weekend simply enjoying time with great friends in quiet and chilled surroundings, absolute bliss.

They have announced the line-up for this year’s Strictly Come Dancing. Not only do I actually know who most of them are but I have seen a fair few of them do what they normally do live. That does mean it is difficult for me to pick a favourite before it all starts. They are a fun group to so I think it will all be very entertaining. All I will say is that former Blue Peter presenters seem to do quite well so Helen Skelton could be one to watch. Plus let us be honest we are all wondering what Matt Goss will be like at dancing. I have been to see one of the launch shows recorded at Elstree Studios once and that was a great experience. The studio audience really do help make the show what it is.

I mention this a lot as it is a major part of my life now, since being diagnosed as Coeliac I have been on a strict gluten free diet. The disease means that even the smallest amount of gluten can make me very ill so I have to be so careful. I also have to make sure I am taking on enough calories and eating well so my body gets all the nutrients it needs that in that past it had trouble absorbing. To try to improve my iron and B12 intake I have added a daily protein shake to my diet. The best thing is the one I have found is chocolate flavour so I now have an excuse to have a chocolatey drink with my breakfast which I am enjoying probably more than I should. Fingers crossed it works.

The Premier League season has started then, as a Spurs season ticket holder it was great to take my seat for our first game against Southampton. The day was made even better as I got to catch up with my mate Dez Kay in the club shop beforehand neither of us got anything but we did have a brilliant chat for forty minutes. We won the game four-one which put us top of the league. You can correctly argue that it means nothing after one match but it still looks nice to see your team’s name up there.

Last Sunday we managed to get a draw away at Chelsea with an equaliser in the ninety-six minute from the legend that is Harry Kane. Chelsea were the better side and did deserve to win but I was delighted with the point. That is big result for us. It did get a little bit ugly on the touchline particularly at the end of the game but it seems like both sides were to blame and you clearly cannot argue that our boss Antonio Conte is committed to the club and passionate about our results. It might mean he will be watching a few games from the stands, I wonder if we can swap seats and I can take his place on the bench.

A reminder that you can listen to me every Saturday afternoon between 2pm – 4pm on Radio Ninespringshttps://www.radioninesprings.co.uk/

Have fun and we will catch up again soon. Stay safe! Cheers Neil.