The Onrushing Express Train

I’m still alive. The blotches seem to have gone down now and no one at work notices my reddish glow.

L’s booked a chap to kill the blighters. He’s coming tomorrow. Everyone at work advises I do it myself with a £10 can of wasp killer from the garden centre, a veil for my face and a cricket bat, just in case. I’m not so keen to go back into the war zone and I’m not sure L will let me anyway.

The chap says it may also destroy the bush. What’s he going to use a flame thrower? Well suppose it’s one less thing for me to have to trim. He’s coming first thing tomorrow. Daughter intends to get up early to make sure she’s there to spectate and take photos.

I change my car insurance online to a different company. Yet a week later my old insurance has expired and I’ve had notification of that, but all is quiet on the new insurance front. No confirmation email and nothing through the post...

I ring them. It takes 22 minutes to get through to their call centre... what have I done? I’ve signed up to a company who doesn’t do email, or snail mail and doesn’t answer their phones until they’ve pushed your stamina for their awful hold music to extremes. Not a good start.

Turns out, I am insured but for some reason no email address was stored with my application, despite the fact apparently it won’t let you submit it online without one. The chap at the call centre explains this in a fake surprised voice that more than indicates that this happens all the time.

The new football season is fast approaching, just like an onrushing express train and I’m tied to the tracks. I feel that if I close my eyes and pretend the train isn’t coming I might avoid it but realistically I know this won’t be the case. As you can probably tell, I’m not filled with that much optimism.

Derby have changed their system.... again. It’s now going to be 4-2-3-1 for the new season. Last season we conceded a lot of goals down the wings which is why we reverted to a standard 4-4-2 after a failed attempt at something similar.

Our two friendlies this last week: Bournemouth 3-3 and Chesterfield 5-4.

Conclusion. We will score goals against lower league sides but concede just as many. When we play better opposition... I hate to think. We play Stoke City tonight, which could be enlightening.

I suppose with all these goals flying in... our first game up at Leeds is bound to be a 0-0 bore draw.

I get home from dog training to find that Derby have defeated Stoke 1-0. Oh. A win and a clean sheet. Blimey.

(Tuesday 27th July)