This is my third and final post about a big family gathering over a long weekend in honour of an aunt’s 70th birthday.
THE ACTUAL PARTY
On Saturday evening it was the party itself, which was professionally catered. The food was absolutely delicious as was the drinks, and the presents went down well with the recipient. The main course was lamb tagine, and there was pavlova for pudding. There was a large quantity of champagne, and other fine liquids.
SUNDAY
After the events of Saturday the Sunday was unsurprisingly a quiet day. Many of the guests went home that day. I got out for a walk in the middle of the day, exploring beyond the church and getting a couple of glimpses of the local river, which is a very small one. On Sunday evening I took part in a game called Seven Wonders of the World, which was a bit of fun.
TODAY
I had taken advantage of people leaving on Sunday to move into a room of my own, with rather more space than I had previously had. I was awake bright and early and packed up my stuff ready for the journey back. Just before the journey back to King’s Lynn I managed to go for a very brief walk in the morning sun and got some decent photographs. The journey back to King’s Lynn was largely uneventful, and I got back to my bungalow in north Lynn just after the start of play on day four of the fourth round of the county championship.
PHOTOGRAPHS
Here are the photographs I took from Sunday morning onwards…
I photographed this hare through the window of my then bedroom very early on Sunday morning.Aelfric is the feature image for this post – town and village signs are a major thing in Norfolk, but even by Norfolk standards this one is impressive.A glimpse of the river.I walked past this thatched house as my made my way back towards the centre of Loddon from the furthest point of my walk.
Loddon Church, mainly in pictures (including the mini-museum which is partway up the church tower).
Loddon Church is a remarkable edifice, and there is much that is remarkable in the inside of the building as well. There is also a mini-museum of local history up a tricky flight of stairs (it is one floor up in the church tower). The church is also a meeting point for several footpaths. If you are in the vicinity of Loddon it is a must visit.
I am in Loddon for a big family get together for an aunt’s 70th birthday, and this post is intended to set the scene for probably two more such posts.
I am at a big family get together for an aunt’s 70th birthday. The clans have gathered in Stubbs House, just outside the village of Loddon, which is between Norwich and Beccles, close to the Norfolk Broads. Loddon is picturesque village with a splendid church (this latter, which includes a mini-museum of local history will be getting a whole post all to itself). The other way from Loddon is an alpaca farm which I may get to take a look at before the weekend is done (alpacas are related to llamas, and like the latter are sturdy and possessed of shaggy fur). I can also reveal courtesy of my visit to the village that the area is well served by buses, being on a major route between Norwich and the easternmost town left in the UK, Lowestoft in Suffolk (the Suffolk coast is massively subject to erosion, and one major casualty is Dunwich which once rated second only to London among UK commercial ports).
STUBBS HOUSE
Stubbs House is a colossal house (it clearly once used to be two separate houses, each of which would have been substantial). The Stubbs family must once have been very important round here – there is a fair amount named in their honour. It has a substantial garden as well. It is on the opposite side of the A146 from the village, and the centre of the village, with a splendid village sign which features a statue of the last Anglo-Saxon thegn of Loddon is about three-quarters of a mile distant, with the church a little further on. Here are some photos relating to the house itself…
LODDON VILLAGE
I have already covered the village in my introduction. Here are some photographs of the village, including one with the church in the background by way of a preview…
The official centre of Loddon.The village signThe war memorial with the church in the backgroundA local mapTwo pics showing the bus route……and the service frequency, which is remarkably high for a non-urban route in Norfolk.
PHOTOGRAPHS
Between Thursday before and after work, walking to and from a WNAG committee meeting on Friday morning and walking into the town centre after Friday lunch to meet my parents for the journey to Loddon I also have some of my regular photos to finish proceedings…
A look at developments in today’s Rachael Heyhoe-Flint Trophy match between Northern Diamonds and Western Storm. Also a photo gallery.
The Rachael Heyhoe-Flint Trophy, aka the RHFT, is the English women’s domestic 50 over competition. The first round took place on Saturday, and the second round is happening today. There is live radio commentary to which I am listening of Northern Diamonds v Western Storm. This post looks at developments in that game to date.
THE NORTHERN DIAMONDS INNINGS
Northern Diamonds looked deep in trouble at 89-5, and not exactly comfortably at 177-7. However Hollie Armitage was batting superbly and she now found a really good partner in Abigail Glen. Armitage completed a fine century with successive boundaries in the 47th over of the innings, but was then out two balls later, and when Lizzie Scott was bowled first ball that was 247-9. At this point Glen, who had played the support role while Armitage was batting so well changed gear. By the start of the final over she had reached 39*, 11 short of a 50, but was at the wrong end. Diamonds number 11, the experienced Katie Levick, did not let Glen down, taking a single off the first ball of the over. Glen hit 4,4,2 and 4 in the course of the final five balls of the innings to end on 53* in a final total of 275-9. There were three wickets a piece for left arm spinner Sophia Smale, medium pacer Danielle Gibson and Australian leg spinner Amanda-Jade Wellington, though Smale was trifle erratic, reflected in the fact that her 10 overs went for 63.
THE STORM RESPONSE SO FAR
Storm have started fairly impressively, being up with the required rate, but have bene checked by a couple of quick wickets for Phoebe Turner, one of two Turners currently bowling in tandem, the other being Sophia Turner. After 16 overs Storm are 85-2, needing 191 from the last 34, and the match looks very evenly poised.
PHOTOGRAPHS
The weather was poor yesterday and has been incredibly volatile today – there has been everything from bright sun to hail, but I have been able to get some decent photos…
A look at the closing stages of round three of the County Championship and a photo gallery.
Today is day four of the third round of the 2024 County Championship (except for the two matches that ended yesterday due to the pathetic weakness of Lancashire and Yorkshire respectively). The weather has consigned some games to draws, including Somerset v Nottinghamshire. However a potentially interesting finish is brewing at Hove where Sussex are taking on Gloucestershire, and there has been on major result in division one today.
SURREY MOVE INTO SECOND
Surrey started today needing five wickets to polish off Kent. When Ben Compton fell early leaving Joey Evison to shepherd the tail (and it looked a positively diplodocan tail with Matt Parkinson coming in at number eight) it looked be ending quickly. However Parkinson batted surprisingly well, and at the lunch interval he and Evison were still there. I had missed the start due to doing a few things in the town centre, and my lunch time walk, testing out a new pair of shoes caused to me to miss the start of the afternoon session as well – this time two wickets fell while I was out. I was tuned in by the time Cam Steel dismissed Jaskaran Singh to take his tally of wickets for the season to 20 (three in each innings this match). Parkinson’s resistance ended not long later for a new career best of 39, becoming Kemar Roach’s first victim of the innings, and Surrey had won by an innings and 37 runs, taking a full 24 points (16 for the win, five batting points and three bowling points) to move into second place in the table behind early pace setters Essex. Surrey, bidding for a third straight title, have demonstrated a capacity to dismiss their opponents – in such cricket as was possible in round one they had Lancashire out for 202, they took all 20 Somerset wickets in round two, and here, on a wicket that their own 543-7 declared indicated to be well suited to batting they dealt with Kent for 244 and 262. A side that has the bowling can win even if their batting is less than stellar (Yorkshire 1900s and 1930s, Surrey 1950s to give three major examples) but it is rare for sides with deep batting but little bowling to fare well, which is why I choose to emphasize Surrey’s bowling success. Last season they had seven bowlers take between 14 and 45 wickets at averages between 19 and 26 a piece. This season they are demonstrating similar bowling depth, although Steel has a commanding advantage in numbers of wickets taken.
SUSSEX V GLOUCESTERSHIRE
The first two innings in this match were both heavy scoring, but Gloucestershire had a nightmare yesterday evening, losing six wickets cheaply in their second innings. They fought back today to give themselves 144 to defend. At the moment Sussex remain heavy favourites, but they have lost four wickets, and collapses can happen.
A look at developments in the county championship, with close looks at Somerset v Nottinghamshire and Kent v Surrey.
The third round of the county championship continues to progress. Essex have already polished off Lancashire by an innings and 124 runs, and Middlesex are close to completing victory over Yorkshire. Other matches are rather closer. This post looks closely at two of the games in progress.
SOMERSET V NOTTINGHAMSHIRE
Somerset took a huge first innings lead over Nottinghamshire – when the eighth Somerset wicket fell the lead looked like being manageable, but then Craig Overton and Migael Pretorius batted very well, Pretorius making 77 from number 10, and Overton being stranded on 95 after a poor shot from Bashir to end the Somerset innings. Nottinghamshire are looking untroubled in their own second innings, but they are only just in credit even so.
KENT V SURREY
This is the game I am now following, and Surrey are in total control – a massive second wicket stand between Dominic Sibley and Dan Lawrence saw them into a first innings lead with nine wickets still standing, and some more aggressive later play, especially from Jamie Smith, Cam Steel and Jordan Clark saw them reach tea at 543-7, an advantage of 299, at which point, as predicted by me they declared to have a go at Kent’s second innings in the evening. Dan Worrall has just accounted for Crawley, the second time in the match he has dismissed that worthy, and Kent are currently 16-1, still 283 adrift.
PHOTOGRAPHS
My usual sign off…
Yesterday morning was a ‘just a cuppa’ for autistic adults at King’s Lynn library. This lego archiecture was constrained by how little lego was actually available for us.
A look at what is going on in round three of the county championship, with the main focus on Somerset v Nottinghamshire
The third round of the 2024 County Championship got underway yesterday. The Duke ball made its first appearance of the season after the Kookaburra had been in use for the first two rounds, and in the main it did lead to a sharp uptick in the rate at which wickets fell (Hampshire have embarrassingly failed to make use of it against Warwickshire – the latter are well past 400 and still batting). My attention at the moment is focussed on…
SOMERSET V NOTTINGHAMSHIRE
When it was time for play to start yesterday many matches were delayed by bad weather. Of the games that did start on time I opted for the one at Taunton. Kasey Aldridge, who had such a fine game against Surrey in round two, was missing from the Somerset line up, but otherwise they looked strong. This impression was confirmed when they dismissed Nottinghamshire for a paltry 193, with every bowler contributing (probably the least impressive was overseas signing Migael Pretorius, who was flattered by being given the wickets of two tail enders after not challenging the middle or upper order unduly). Nottinghamshire were unimpressive with the ball as well, though just before the close Aussie Matt Renshaw donated his wicket. The morning session today (most of which I missed due to a commitment at the library) was probably Nottinghamshire’s least bad out of the four, with three wickets going down, but nightwatcher Josh Davey batted right through the session (a feat also achieved by another nightwatcher this morning, Sam Cook, for Essex against Lancashire). Somerset moved into credit with six first innings wickets standing almost on the stroke of the interval. Since the resumption there has been little to suggest Nottinghamshire are getting back into this, and Somerset are currently 209-4, 16 runs ahead.
ELSEWHERE
Essex are in complete control against Lancashire, already well into the lead with nine first innings wickets standing. Warwickshire continue to pile on the runs against Hampshire although they are now nine wickets down. Surrey have had the better of such action as there has been at Canterbury, claiming six Kent wickets so far. The other match of big interest to me seems to be going well for visitors Gloucestershire – they amassed 417 at Hove and have already taken a Sussex wicket with not a huge number on the board against them.
PHOTOGRAPHS
My usual sign off…
Mama duck supervising a substantial brood.
While I have been preparing this for publication both nightwatchers referred to have been dismissed, Davey for 45 and Sam Cook just one run short of what would have been his maiden first class 50.
A look at goings on in the county championship, with the focus on Surrey v Somerset. Also a bumper photo gallery, including some interesting butterflies.
The second round of county championship matches is reaching its conclusion, and this post looks at what has been going on, with the focus principally on Surrey v Somerset.
A GREAT FIGHTBACK BY SOMERSET
Surrey led by 143 on first innings, and when Lewis Goldsworthy’s brave resistance ended yesterday the score was 162-6, a mere 19 runs ahead. However Lewis Gregory, supported first by the highly impressive youngster Kasey Aldridge and then by Craig Overton looked to have saved Somerset time ticked on (some bad weather which took the first hour out of the day’s play also helped Somerset). His dismissal for 80 was the first of three very quick wickets to end the innings, as Migael Pretorius played a truly awful shot, and Shoaib Bashir was pinned LBW. All three of these wickets went to Cam Steel, giving hjim five for the innings, nine for the match, 14 for the season and 51 in all first class cricket. That left Surrey needing 209 in 20 overs, however the start of the Surrey second innings has been delayed by more bad weather. Surrey clearly intend to have a go when the innings is allowed to start – Jamie Smith and Dan Lawrence opening the batting.
ELSEWHERE
Between the weather and the tall scoring almost every other game is either confirmed as a draw or soon will be. However Essex still have a chance of outright victory in the Thames Estuary derby (Kent will be delighted to escape with a draw if they manage it). Gloucestershire and Yorkshire are also still duking it out, with the latter just about in with a chance of winning, although four wickets is a good many to take in not much time.
PHOTOGRAPHS
My usual sign off…
This heron took wing as I was preparing to photograph it, but I did manage tio capture it.A closer crop of the flying heron.This small blue butterfly was moving too fast for me to zoom in really closely.This white butterfly with a black body has a very intricate veining pattern on its wings.An orange tipViewed close up (next pic is even clser) the tips that give it its name segue from orange to brown at the extreme edge and there is the faintest hint of blue in the head area.A large brood of ducklings.
While I was preparing this for publication Surrey scored 50 off the first five overs of their innings – the weather may stop them, but it doesn’t look like Somerset can.
A look at goings on in the second round of the 2024 County Championship with the main focus on Surrey v Somerset. Also a short section on the Kookaburra experiment, and of course a photo gallery.
We are at the halfway stage of the second round of County Championship matches for 2024. My main focus is on Surrey v Somerset, but I will also mention other games.
DAY ONE
Surrey won the toss and elected to bowl first. At 196-1 with Renshaw and especially Lammonby going very well it wasn’t looking great for the home side. However a run out accounted for Renshaw for 87, and Lammonby fell immediately after reaching three figures (a bit of an issue for him – he now has a double figure tally of FC hundreds but has yet to go on even as far as 120). That got Surrey on a roll, and Somerset soon found themselves 216-8. A bit of a revival, spearheaded by Lewis Gregory, boosted the final total to 285, which looked at least 100 below par given the flatness of the pitch and the fact of the Kookaburra ball being in use. Cam Steel, treated by his first county, Durham, as a specialist batter claimed four wickets to follow his five against Lancashire, and ended the innings with an FC bowling average of below 30 for the first time in his career. Gus Atkinson had 3-57 from 19 overs, proving that not all seamers are completely emasculated by the Kookaburra (see also Sam Cook’s cheap 6-for v Nottinghamshire in the first round of fixtures). Surrey reached the close on 42-0, with no Somerset bowler posing a threat, and both Burns and Sibley looking comfortable.
DAY TWO
Surrey batted sensibly, and never had anything approaching a collapse. Gregory looked an unthreatening medium pacer, Craig Overton was decent but not massively threatening and it was the two youngest Somerset bowlers, Bashir with his off spin and right arm fast medium bowler Kasey Aldridge who by far the most impressive. Sibley reached three figures, Burns just missed that mark, Jamie Smith played a little gem of an innings and Foakes made a solid half century. Dan Lawrence’s first innings for his new county was a failure, but Cam Steel followed his good bowling by settling in nicely with the bat, and Surrey closed day two on 358-6, 73 runs to the good with four wickets standing (and Jamie Overton is probably the best number nine batter in current county cricket while number 10 Gus Atkinson is far from being a mug with the bat).
DAY THREE SO FAR
There is no sign of any early trouble for Surrey as yet, and they have added six to their overnight total for no loss.
ELSEWHERE
Durham, after not getting on the field at home for their opening game, had a deeply chastening experience at Edgbaston, putting their hosts into bat and watching them amass 698-3 declared, with all of the top three passing 150 (skipper Alex Davies leading the rampage with 256). Middlesex also suffered horribly at Northamptonshire, the home side’s 552-6 declared meaning that the two first innings that Middlesex have bowled through so far have a combined aggregate of 1172-9. Derbyshire and Glamorgan are locked in a low scoring battle which proves that wicket taking is possible with the Kookaburra. Off spinning all rounder Alex Thomson has a 10 wicket match haul for the home side. The Thames Estuary derby between Essex and Kent looks like being a high scoring draw, but the Nottinghamshire v Worcestershire and Hampshire v Lancashire games look less batter dominated. The county of my birth, Gloucestershire, are currently having somewhat the worse of their match against Yorkshire. While I have been typing this Aldridge has claimed a thoroughly deserved third wicket of the Surrey innings, dismissing Jordan Clark. We are about to witness twin against twin – Craig Overton bowling to Jamie Overton.
THE KOOKABURRA EXPERIMENT
Many are bemoaning the absence of seriously low scoring April games which used to be a feature of the championship with the Duke ball in use. I am not among them, and nor am I rushing to judgement on the experiment. The purpose of using the Kookaburra in place of the Duke at the extremes of the season is to lessen the influence of those who have been making a living nipping the Duke around at 75mph – such bowlers will never succeed at test level, and increase the variety of bowling on show. The efforts of Sam Cook, Gus Atkinson and Kasey Aldridge shows that high quality seamers can still do it with the Kookaburra (only Atkinson of this trio is capable of touching the sort of speeds that would be considered genuinely fast, and even for him that kind of pace is the exception rather than the rule), while spinners never used to feature this early in the season, and the performances of Thomson, Steel and a few others are showing that these bowlers now get a look in early in the year. One season is not enough to form a definite judgement, so even I was unimpressed with the Kookaburra experiment I would want it to continue. As it is I see no reason to believe that it cannot work, and I hope it is persevered with.
A look at the points system in use in this year’s county championship and its main problem (the over generous reward for drawn games).
The second round of county championship matches gets underway on Friday (there is an IPL commentary today, which is just getting underway). This post looks into the rights and wrongs of the points system used in the county championship.
THE POINTS SYSTEM
The points system in use for this season is as follows: 16 Points for an outright win 8 points for a draw
In addition bonus points are awarded in the first 110 overs of each side’s first innings as follows: batting – 1 point for 250 runs, 2 for 300, 3 for 350, 4 for 400 and 5 for 450 and bowling – 1 point for three wickets, 2 points for six wickets and 3 points for nine wickets.
PROS AND CONS
I approve of the 16 points for a win, and though I accept that it adds a degree of complexity I also largely approve of the bonus point system. I have a problems with the allocation of eight points for a draw (it used to be five last season). Two matches in different ways illustrate the problems with rewarding a draw so highly. At Lord’s neither Middlesex nor Glamorgan were within a country mile of winning – the pitch won hands down, and there is no certainty that there would have been a result had that match been allocated eight days rather than the regulation four. At Hove Sussex utterly outplayed Northamptonshire but bad light forced an end with Sussex highly likely to win had it not done so, and Northamptonshire gained eight points which they had done precious little to earn. I do not go so far as legendary Somerset skipper of yesteryear Sammy Woods who was once heard to say “draws…they’re for bathing in” – I have witnessed some classic drawn matches, including the Old Trafford test match of 2005 and a match between Surrey and Hampshire, when with no chance of anything more than a draw for Surrey former South Africa test batter Hashim Amla batted the whole of the final day to shepherd his side to that draw. However I also do not particularly want to encourage sides to play safe and look to avoid defeat, and I feel that awarding as many as eight points for a draw (which if it comes with full batting and bowling points thus means 16 in total) is likely to encourage negative tactics. I think five points is ample for a draw. A further problem with eight points for a draw is exemplified by the fact that Durham and Hampshire have eight points a piece for four days of doing nothing because the outfield was always deemed too wet for cricket. Surrey meanwhile have 11 points because in just over 80 overs of cricket at Old Trafford they managed to bowl their hosts out for 202, and were 15-0 in reply.
PHOTOGRAPHS
I have a bumper photo gallery, particularly notable for the variety of butterflies featured…
A Tortiseshell butterflyA Peacock butterflyThe most exotic butterfly of the year so far – an Orange Tip Peacock butterflyPeacock butterflyA shieldbug.Tortiseshell butterfly.A peacock butterflyA comma butterfly (two edits).
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