Simply because everybody has been talking about it this week I have to start by mentioning the weather. Summer is my favourite season of the year, I like the sunshine and I do like it to be warm. Personally I feel happier and more relaxed with the sun on by back even though that means I have to wear a hat more nowadays due to the way that I have my hair, which is virtually non-existent. However even I must say that last Monday and Tuesday were getting to the point where even I was thinking it might be a bit warm. I am a fan of the high twenties or low thirties, but mid-thirties to around forty degrees is possibly a bit too much.

Last Christmas as part of her present I got my girlfriend a voucher for dinner for two at one of the restaurants’ owned by a Michelin starred Chef who she likes. I knew she was a fan of his as she was raving about his food and wanted to see him do a live demonstration when we were at Pub in The Park in Chiswick last September. The gift was for a lunchtime three course meal for two with a cocktail included. Luckily for me she decided to take me with her to enjoy the experience.

The place we were going was in Marlow so I booked us a lovely little guest house about a ten minute walk from the High Street for us to stay at for the night. The table was booked for quarter to two but we could not check in until gone three. However I managed to arrange for us to park there before dinner. It was a lovely warm sunny day and as we arrived near to where we were dining a little bit early we stopped to enjoy a drink at a pub on the way. I had a bottle of gluten free Peroni that was the very first beer I tried when I was diagnosed as being coeliac and I was not that impressed. This time round and it may have been the sun or because I was looking forward to where we were going but it tasted much nicer.

The restaurant was called Sindhu. It is run by Atul Kochhar. He has a few restaurants in Buckinghamshire and London. This one is actually at The Compleat Angler Hotel which is right on the River Thames, so you have great views of the water through the window while you are dining. We arrived at the correct time and were shown to our table. It had a great atmosphere, vibe and smell. The menu choices were amazing, everything sounded delicious so choosing what to have was actually a bit of a mission, even for me as it turned out lots of the dishes were either already naturally gluten free or they could tweak them to make them so.

While we were still deciding what to eat they bought us the drink included in our deal which was a Kir Royale cocktail, it was very nice, made with the Chef’s personal choice of Prosecco. As it turned out and this is so rare I do not think it had ever happened before Lynda and I ordered the same options for our starter and main. We both had the prawns which were unbelievable you could taste about a million different flavours and yet still taste the prawns to. The man is clearly some sort of magician.

To accompany to meal we both ordered some wine I had a glass of the Reserva Malbec from their wine list, it was exceptional. For our mains we both had Biryani which was simply stunning, it tasted so good and went perfectly with my choice of drink. Lynda is not really much of a dessert person but as it was part of the meal I had selected she had some ice-cream, while I of course went for the chocolate mousse, well if you are drinking red wine you should finish the meal with some chocolate.

Once again you could not fault this final course. It was a wonderful dining experience, relaxing, fun and fulfilling from a food point of view. I was so pleased I bought it for her and even more pleased that she took me along to enjoy it with her. We will definitely be going back there to eat again at some point I feel.

As it was such a nice day we had a drink outside in the hotel garden on the bank of the river. It is a lovely place to stay I have been lucky enough to have had a couple of work parties there and it was always a good do. You cannot beat being near water on a warm summer’s day as far as I am concerned. It was then time to walk back and check in to our accommodation. That was simple and straightforward. It had a huge bedroom as well as a decent sized lounge area so plenty of room for the two of us for one night.

We then went for a nice walk along the river out towards Bisham and back before finding ourselves in another pub. It was perfect beer garden weather so we visited a couple more of them before we got an evening snack and called it a night retiring to the guest house for a night cap before bed. I have always liked Marlow and spent a bit of time there over the years, it had been a while since I had been but I plan not to leave it as long next time.

The next morning we strolled into town to again enjoy the park and river in the sun before grabbing a fantastic breakfast in The Ivy Garden. On the way back we stopped in to see our friends and their children. It was brilliant to see all of them and have a nice catch up over a few cups of tea in the sun. Their daughter who is six going on sixteen accidentally told us she had a new boyfriend, she was telling her mum not to say anything and in doing so she told us all about him.

They have also got a new dog who I met for the first time he seems like a fun little chap. He was very friendly and excited to see us which is a reaction I like from any animal or human for that matter, when I turn up anywhere. I had a nice chat with their son who is now on at least his third or fourth choice of football team to support, although it does seem he is sticking with this one. I only ever remember being a fan of one team and that is of course Tottenham Hotspur. I blame my parents. It was a lovely few hours chatting to each other without a care in the world, perfect.

Around a month or so ago now Lynda’s mum invited us to join her and her friend at their church’s quiz night. We figured it would be fun and it would also be nice to have a night out with her. You might think this would be a quiet laid back evening out but from the minute we decided to go along we also decided that we had to win. Now I am not saying Lynda and I are competitive but we currently have a Scrabble series going on and I honestly think it could last for years.

Anyway the quiz was designed for teams of eight and I think the plan was for all the church members and guests to turn up on the night and randomly join together as one team. Well we obviously could not risk that so we assembled a crack group of eight people including Lynda’s aunty and cousin plus their other halves. The big night was last Saturday. It was due to start at seven, so we got there in good time to grab a table. There were soft drinks only supplied that is how serious everybody was taking it.

Round one started and then half way through there was a little bit of tension on our table after I accidentally knocked my glass of water over myself and Lynda. She was not overly happy, but refrained from hitting me. Think I was lucky that it was a warm evening. There was a break for food half way though and at this point we were winning by two points, it was so far so good but we were only half way there to achieving our goal. I did not have any food preferring to remain fully focussed and not risk any gluten in the take away they had ordered. I did have some more water all of which this time I did manage to drink.

The next round after the interval was a film based music one, which we did really well in. Lynda’s cousin is like the Rain Woman of movie themes. Going into the final round we were three points in the lead, by this point we were getting some odd looks as I think our team may have been the only one that included non-church folk. We did not care we still needed to win but at the end of the last round we felt that we might have blown it.

The quiz master announced the winners and it was us we had done it, mission accomplished. The vicar handed us a voucher each as a prize, Lynda and I gave ours to her mum and her friend. We did not need any reward winning was enough for us. It was a fun event and joking aside everyone was lovely and welcoming, although I am not sure we will be invited back for the next one!

I found what I thought might be a lump on one of my testicles recently. It felt a bit odd and different so I thought I better get it checked out. I managed to get a phone appointment with the doctor at first but he decided it might be easier to assess it in person and invited me to go and see him at the surgery straight away. He took a look for me and although he did not think it was anything serious he did give me a course of tablets and booked a hospital scan for me as a precaution.

Exactly a week after seeing the GP, I was in the hospital waiting area waiting to be called for what I had now found out was an ultra sound scan. I had been given some ultra sound previously on my knee and ankle for injuries but certainly never in this particular area before. It was a very simple and straight forward procedure. The person doing it even showed me what was on the screen which let us face it will be the nearest I get to having a baby scan.

It was all fine and nothing to worry about, I just have some excess fluid in there, insert your own joke here I guess. The reason I mention this is firstly the NHS are amazing and secondly if you discover something odd on your body get it looked at, they will not mind in fact that is what they are there for.

The players are all back in pre-season training for my team Tottenham Hotspur. We have already played a few friendlies and signed by our standards quite a lot of players. There is a new fitness couch at the club nicknamed the Marine. I have been through some tough pre-season training sessions in the past but the stuff they have been doing looks brutal, however if it pays off and gives us a bit of an edge it will all be worth it.

The Premier League season kicks off in two weeks and I am looking forward to being back in my normal seat cheering the lads on. It does feel like we can be at least a bit optimistic that we could have a good year. The mid-winter break for the World Cup at the end of the year is going to be odd, hard to say if that will be a distraction or a bonus. It has been far too long since we won anything and it would be great to get our hands on some silverware for a change. I like Antonio Conte he is a proven winner but making us successful could be his greatest ever achievement.

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

We are away with friends this weekend and then straight off for our own relaxing holiday at a mystery location somewhere in England. I will tell you where we went and what it was like next time we speak. Have fun and we will catch up again soon. Stay safe! Cheers Neil.