Captain's Day

Back from Porthcawl and played in Captain's Day at Buckingham. Somehow, my game has deteriorated since Wales, but I managed to pick up a prize for nearest the pin at the 4th (see picture). It was a well struck 5-iron, with slight draw and it curled up to about 3 feet. Birdie - a rare birdie!

Porthcawl

The best beach so far this summer was the one at Porthcawl in Wales, which I glimpsed from time to time in between shots at Royal Porthcawl Golf Club, where my friend Peter Evans is the pro. We took a group from Buckingham and spent three happy days at Southerndown, Rolls of Monmouth and Porthcawl. Sam and I stayed in the Dormy House and the food and the craic were superb. The golf and the weather conspired to provide a perfect setting and my most abiding memory is dinner in the clubhouse taking bets on exactly what time the sun would set! Lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer indeed!

Ethiopia

For some reason, I've been thinking more about Ethiopia, the time I spent there (and the awful Altitude Sickness), the meeting with Prime Minister Meles and the outcomes... All the OU programmes and initiatives that have followed, such as HEAT and the Unicef funding.

A friend has made some fantastic programmes about Ethiopian heritage for TV and I'm trying to think of a reason to go out there again, this time via a slow boat, so that I can acclimatise to the altitude.

When I met Meles Zenawi (pictured), he was sitting in his office in a white leather armchair. We were offered delicious coffee (of course!) and water. We spoke for about an hour and I felt the man's charisma: he has been inspirational and - whatever the criticism of his government's human rights record - Ethiopia is pulling itself out of poverty through his leadership and the Mengistu regime is just a distant memory. Viva Abyssinia!

Here is David's website and the link to Lost Kingdoms of Africa:

http://www.davidgmwilson.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/LKOH%20page.html