I had an eventful Bank Holiday Monday.

I met Simon early in the morning to make our way into town to watch Somerset against Middlesex in a one-day cricket match at The Rec.

On the way to the ground, we saw the aftermath of what looked like a heavy night’s drinking in Bath City centre…

As for the cricket, Middlesex were truly awful and were all out for 65 – way ahead of schedule. Somerset took over after an early lunch, and did what turned out to be a formality – get 66 runs. They did this within an hour at the cost of only two wickets. Job done. Well done Somerset!

On the way back into town, we noticed a crowd of people around Pulteney Bridge and the weir.

Bath MP, Don Foster, was standing on a boat, microphone in hand, addressing the crowd. It was Bath’s annual duck race. This is where a load of rubber ducks are thrown from a bridge, dragged down the River Avon to the other side of Bath. The first duck to reach the destination wins. All good fun, although Mr. Foster did come across as a bit of a fool by repeating  a series of poor jokes involving ducks, drug tests and Cheltenham races. Leave the comedy to Jimmy Car, Donald.

After the excitement of watching 1,000 rubber ducks floating down a river had ended, Simon took me to Waitrose. I don’t normally shop in this supermarket as it generally requires a mortgage to be taken out before a purchase is made. However, Simon had promised me an ample supply of rare and previously untasted ciders. Simon was right and I purchased a small selection of new varieties.

On the way home, we made a detour into JJB Sports. A few things to note. The massive price reduction on Real Madrid shirts. This, of course, follows Madrid’s total humiliation at the hands of Barcelona on Saturday – losing 6-2. A warning to Chelsea FC who play the Catalan’s on Wednesday… Lose the match and expect to see your shirts in the bargain bucket at a sport shop near you on Thursday morning!

I had to laugh at the heavily reduced Newcastle United shirt too. What a pointless item. Firstly, I was totally unaware Newcastle FC had a fanbase in the West Country. Secondly, who would want to wear the shirt of a shit football team anyway? (No Bath City or Leeds jokes please).