Usually, we wait all week for the weekend to arrive and hope for fine weather. As it turned out, yet another day of the endless holiday, and the forecast was worse than it was for Friday and earlier in the week. In fact, rain and maybe thunder was expected in the afternoon.
So, a day of doing other stuff. Indoors.
Apart from shopping, although the car could count as indoors, as does Tesco, but other than that. You know.
We have a list, but find other stuff to buy. It seems a weekly shop that a year ago cost sixty quid, now seems to cost over a hundred. Sweetmeats in aspic don't come cheap, apparently.
We arrive at the supermarket, park up and mask up too. Grab a trolley and scanner, and we are away. It is quiet and calm, we go round getting our weekly desires, and try to stick to the list, in that there was no ice cream or chocolate to fall into our bags.
Which we would regret later.
"I thought you's get the chocolate" . "I thought you would."
And so on.
We fnish, pay and poad the car. Rush back home to have breakfast of fruit, coffee and croissants. And before you know it, it is eleven and time for Huey to start his show on the wireless. And it is the 40th anniversary of the release of Back in Black. He plays lots of tracks from it, and interviews. Last week was the 40th anniversary of the release of both "Closer" and "Crocodiles". All classics in their own way.
Outside the sky clouds over further, and soon a steady drizzle is falling.We put the table light on.
Lunch is ham rolls and chili pickle. Yummy it almost goes without saying.
We finish watching the last three episodes of Billy in New Zealand. Truth is, it all looks great. Even the cities and towns. We add more places we need to visit to the list.
We have early dinner; party food and a triple, while watching a video of a cab ride from Chester into Liverpool. It keeps me quiet.
At six we go to WHitfield for cards. And, to be honest, we have been on a long winning run.
Let me explain the rules of the games:
1. Meld. A meld is a set of three (at least, or more) cards of the same value. And runs are at least of a run of four in the same suit.
2. Ten cards are dealt each. Due to there being four of us, we use two suits.
3. Each player in turn can turn over a card from the top of the pack or take on from the stack which are face up. Out of their turn, other players can buy the card facing up, if the previous player doesn't want it. But you also have to have one from the pack to, so you will have 11 cards in your hand.
4. first round: two melds.
5. Second round: a meld and a run.
6. Third round: two runs.
7. Fourth round: three melds.
8. Fifth round: two melds and a run.
9. Sixth round: One meld and two runs.
10. Seventh and final round: three runs.
11. So that each round, players need one more card than the previous to lay their hands down on the table. Meaning that the final two rounds, players HAVE to buy.
12. Once a player has put down their hands, additional cards can be added to other players who have laid, adding to three of a kind and adding to run.
13. Winner of each hand is the first player to use all cards.
14. Winner overall is after the seventh round, the player with the lowest number of points who could not pay down.
Hope that makes sense.
Queenie. Five four hands of ten cards and one of five are dealt, the 52nd card is placed in the centre. At the end, this will be turned over and whoever has laid the queen of that suit will win what is in the pot for that. There are two other pots: one for winning each hand: the chip, and "the run". Each player puts 5 pence in each pot per game.
The player to the left of the dealer has two hands, the normal and dummy. And if, in their opinion, there hand is crap, they can swap it with the dummy.
The player to the left of the dealer lays their lowest black card, and each player lays in sequence in each suit. If no one can go, the last player to lay, lays their lowest card in the other colour.
If they run out of a colour, the go passes to the next player to lay their lowest card in that colour.
Player wins a hand by being first to play all their cards. they win the Chip pot.
If a player has played the Queen of the suit of the card in the centre, they win that pot.
If a player plays a run of four consecutive cars, they win the run pot.
If a pot is not won, it rolls over to the next hand.
Play until all pots have been won.
Two games of Meld and a game of Queenie takes about four hours, but can be as quick at two and a half, depending on quick the run is won in Queenie.
Jools and I have been winning a lot recently. This is causing friction, not bad tempered, but everyone likes to win occasionally.
Jools wins the first game of Meld.
I win the second.
And then to Queenie.
Now I should point out that a game of Meld can take an hour, and there is a pot of 40p, ten pence each to be won. No huge stakes. And as Jools and I put half the pot in, a win means us being 20 pence up. As we won both, we won 40p for two hours card sharping.
Onto Queenie: each pot is worth 20p per hand. But the run rarely gets won so builds up quickly, as a hand takes about 5 minutes.
After half an hour I am dealt 2, 3, 4 and 5 of Spades. To win you have to lay them, and before anyone else who might have a run that hand. It has happened.
Jen pays the Ace of Spades, as aces are low. I lay mine.
We had been playing less than half an hour.
"Shall we play on?"
Yes, we shall.
Another half an hour goes by, and I was again dealt the 2, 3, 4 and 5 of Spades.
Again, Jen lays the Ace.
Bang!
Game over.
We had won pretty heavily.
Again.
Outside the rain fell heavily and wind blew.
No comet action on the way home.
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