Wee Binnians

Well there's half of September gone. This is the first month I've been able to feel retired. I love how, on Sunday evenings, there's no mental prep for what lies in the days ahead. I love how there's just more space in each day – the chance that I'll pick up a book and read, or get on a mat and do yoga, has gone up considerably.

That said, I've packed a lot in. I've read two books. Behind the Beautiful Forevers, an amazing look into the life of slum dwellers in Mumbai. And Hello Beautiful, a story of four sisters (book club selection). I've done a lot more hiking in Redburn Country Park, which has a lot of steep hills. And a lot of bracken.

I play a few rounds of golf per week. I had an important match on 12 September – the final of the McKee Cup, which is a knock-out competition (it's considered the singles trophy, as opposed to the pairs knock-out competition). I won it three years ago when I had a high handicap and my opponents were giving me shots (due to their lower handicaps). This time my handicap was lower than my opponent's, which meant I gave her four shots (she's 26.4 to my 22.9). In match play, the first person to build an unassailable lead wins. So two rounds ago I won on the 13th hole because I was six holes up – my opponent couldn't win with only five holes to play.

In the final on Friday, I was down one hole after nine holes. Not bad because I had given two shots on the front nine (e.g. if she's in the hole in 6 and I'm in in 5, we tie because she gets an extra shot). I won the next two holes and so was up one. Lost the next two so was down one. I won the 14th so we were all square. We tied 15 and 16 so remained all square with two holes remaining. I had to give a shot on the 17th, giving my opponent the advantage. It's a difficult hole and she got in trouble twice so I won the hole with a 5 to her 7-net-6. I'm up one with one hole left. If she wins 18, we go down the first again for a tie break, playing until someone wins. We tied the 18th, so I won by one hole.

This was unexpected because my opponent has had a great year. Her handicap has come down steeply, which is when you tend to win a lot of silverware. She is on several teams this year so, unlike me, she has had a relentless schedule of competitive matches, and she works – she owns her own business. So I think her play was undermined by too much competitive golf – not enough time to play for fun or practice. The nice thing is it wasn't a stressful match because we are friends. I mean you do have to focus intently on each shot b/c you are trying to win the hole. But there were no mind games, which happens with some players.

After golf I packed quickly and readied the house for a sitter then drove just over an hour to Warrenpoint. About which more in the next post. Including the reason for the title of this post. But a sneak peek:

12 Sept.