Web Log for February 2006

Peter continues to make a slow recovery from his heart bypass surgery and understandably Clare doesn't feel like doing too much at the moment as she likes to keep in touch with home. Nevertheless we try to make the most of the cool but sunny weather to get out and about.

The end of February sees the start of the Houston Rodeo which begins with the World Championship B-B-Q Contest. This started off way back as a party for all the Rodeo contestants and the hands that helped put it together. It was a modest affair but nowadays it commands attendances of up to 60 to 70,000 people on each of the three nights it's held. Making the most of Steve's friday off we ventured out on a cold, wet (dare we say it - British like day). It was not what we expected as it was really a collection of about 400 private BBQ parties held in home made "bars" of varying complexity, ingenuity and imagination (a life size Alamo, A giant pig spit, a Wild West town, a fire station etc.) held in the grounds of the Houston Texans Football Stadium - Reliant Stadium. We paid our $6 dollars and walked around taking in the fantastic spells but were a bit disappointed by the lack of crowds (we were too early) and the inability to taste some the BBQ food going around. Eddie had a blast though as there was a fun fair. He started out quite quietly but then stretched himself with a horrific Ghost Train (not !) and then a very fast Caterpillar ride. This last we one we had to ourselves and it's a good job too because it went backwards at a terrific speed and Eddie got a bit tearful. We managed to communicate with the Mexicans running the ride to stop which they duly did. A still tearful Eddie said to Mum that it had been brilliant ?. Dad was quite pleased to that the ride stopped early. After the rides and a brief shower we had a quick walk around the site and noticed that there were more people arriving and that some of the bars were becoming a bit boisterous. By some luck we bumped into a man who had followed us into the grounds. It turned out that he had run on of the bars since the 70's and with true Texan hospitality invited us into his tent and to help oursleves to free beer and food. Eddie enjoyed the disco and had the dancefloor to himslef. Since we had Eddie we couldn't stay the evening but it did give us some idea of what it would be like in a few hours time.

This month saw Eddie begin playing for what was to become the Grounhogs Soccer Team being run as part of the local YMCA and coached by one of outr neightbours - the ultra-right wing Republican Bill Gowan. It was Eddie's first taste of organised sport and he took to it with relish. The early training sessions have been about trying to listen to the coach and follow his instructions. It works for about 5 minutes and then as 3 year olds do they go off and play amongst themselves. Generally the practices have involved some running and then kicking the ball into the net. There's not been much in the way of teamwork but that's pretty much impossible. It's an eclectic mix of kids ranging from dyed in the wool Texans, a couple of Brits, a Mexican, a French boy and it's pretty much half and half boys and girls. Eddie plays with Bill's son Ben who is a real dab hand at sports. It's quite a laugh watching them sort of co-operate and then get frustrated at each other as each one of them alternatively hogs the ball. Eddie's forte is running. He runs, runs and then runs some more. If he intercepts the ball then that's a lucky coincidence. At one recent practive they had a warm down jog then when asked if they wanted to do it again Eddie said yes. Then when coach Bill jokingly asked who wanted to jog home Eddie volunteered. He beat everyone home - he's got some stamina. To date we've played no competetive matches as it's been pretty wet.

We made the most of one fine day and went down to Galveston island to do some fishing, get some fresh air and generally get out of the house. We were remined of the strength of the sun when despite sheltering fromthe coolish wind behind the Expedition both Steve and Eddie got very, very red sunburn.