It's not often I'm penning my column anywhere exotic and while I'm not exactly writing this from a beach in Bali, we are celebrating my wife Lesley's birthday in a Air B'n'B by a Scottish Loch and Munro with the early morning mist rolling down.
She's out photographing it in her pyjamas already and we may even hear the actual sound of grouse shooting at some point which her date of birth is always associated with but thankfully at a considerable remove.
Cricket must go on however and after a long journey up - including a second look at Penrith centre this season as the M6 was shut in both directions - we watched the Originals get their first win in the 100 on Sky. What a curious tournament it is, I've no idea who anyone is hardly, it's like watching coverage from the indie tent at Glastonbury to my 66-year-old eyes.
If I manage to wine and dine Mrs W in good time and do a bit of walking through the day we might even get back to watch Rovers v Bradford City on the iPad tonight too.
The football season encroaching and the early end to Test cricket for the summer are always a sad indicator for me that cricketing afternoons are running out. I've already decided it's just eight months to the 2026 friendlies.
But just because I'm missing a weekend doesn't mean it's cast from my mind entirely.
We have many more miles to do as we continue our journey of discovery further north to find the birthplace of Lesley's late mum near John O'Groats and I am minded to see if I can find Britain's most northerly cricket ground.
I know there are two clubs in Inverness and I have an afternoon planned locating them but haven't heard of any further up than that.
We have a stay in Glasgow on the way back too but sadly Jurie Snyman's former club Poloc, where he learned as a young Afrikaans-speaking player that the Scots speak a language almost as unidentifiable as English, is sadly now defunct.
This will certainly not be Accrington's fate any time soon and best news of the week was the announcement that he is to stay at the iMEP for 2026 and 2027. This is wonderful for the club. I was told a couple of weeks ago and it tested my journalistic sense of confidentiality to keep it to myself.
I'm not naive enough to think he hasn't had tempting offers from elsewhere - Jurie is much in demand as a sub pro and will play for NWCL big guns Little Lever, who beat Read in last Sunday's Hamer Cup Final, on Saturdays for the rest of the season.
It must have crossed his mind to join a more currently successful club but I really admire his loyalty and his commitment to work with a crop of kids at Accrington who aren't ready for senior league cricket just yet but hopefully will be by the time he leaves.
And just from a personal and selfish point of view, I darned well love watching him bat too. I've always had a thing about left handers - Clive Lloyd, Allan Border, Gower, Fowler et al - and if I continue to be selected as scorer for the club I can't wait to see plenty more fifties and centuries peppered with his stroke play.
It was disappointing on Saturday, when I was scoring for Cherry Tree at Immanuel, to follow a promising Accrington innings fall away on PlayCricket Live.
After a 49 partnership between Graeme Sneddon and Alice Clarke for the first wicket Jurie and Jacob Clarke put on 71 to take the score to 138 for three - at the precise moment I logged on.
Half an hour later on my next check we'd lost six wickets for five more runs and only a spirited 10th wicket stand of 22 between Zahir Hanif, with 15 and Damien, 1 again (he loves that Jack Leach role) gave the total any respectability. Crushing.
I thought it might prove hard to defend and so it proved with our own Kieran Grimshaw - it had too be didn't it? - leading the chase.
I'm not sure if a league XI for us or anyone has contained a father, son and daughter before but it's lovely to see.
Blackpool Seconds actually fielded a husband and wife a few weeks ago, I'm not sure how many lads I played with or against would have been comfortable with that. Certainly not on the legendary Church CC tours of the early 1980s.
I miss the Church game (again) this weekend but hope it's a great occasion on a fine day. Stephen Lowe tells me a few Stanley ultras will be boosting the gate and Church are always well supported anywhere, particularly so in derbies. I'll really miss being there and hope it's a good tight game with points for everyone.
The boundary wall painting tradition is long dead but the game matters to both sets of fans and players and looks likely to continue next season as Church's promotion charge has faltered and they are on a sub pro for the remainder of the season.
I must admit I like the fact that all the Hyndburn clubs and nearby East Lancs are currently in the same division although we seem likely to see Enfield promoted. Congratulations to their opener Lewis Wright on his epic innings of 169* against Nelson, his third league century.
It was nice to see more old friends at Immanuel with Cherry Tree on Saturday. The two clubs have many links and get on well. Many of my old Church club mates moved to Immanuel in the 1990s so it's another 'home from home' for me and although my playing career was unofficially over by then I was coaxed out of retirement to play a couple of 3rd XI matches for them in my forties. The last wicket I ever took in a cricket match was a dodgy leg before at also now-defunct Blackburn Northern.
Min Bhada, who joined Cherry tree as pro from Oswaldtwistle this season, made 62 in Saturday's game and Owen Elwood 64, not 6 as I tweeted on Saturday night much to his chagrin.
Kurt Smithson will have enjoyed his return to New Lane with three wickets and another red-inker, 16 not out to add to his collection.
Oswy were bowled out cheaply in a 162-run defeat with ex-Church man Danny Dyson top scorer with 23.
Cherry lost to Barnoldswick on Sunday but strangely have an instant chance of revenge at the same home venue as last week's game was a re-arranged one from an early season cancellation and with only ten teams in the league, you play some sides three times. Hopefully Barlick will have a scorer this time!
It was good to see young Joe Littler, son of an old Church twos (and Blackburn Market midweek team) team mate Mark, score his first 50 of the campaign for Cherry Tree, a fine 59 not out, albeit in a losing cause. His dad Mark who played first team cricket for Enfield as well as Church took just one Lancs League wicket but as it was Nelson's Paul Garaghty who totalled 13,000 runs for just 20 it was as decent an amateur one as you could get.
Perhaps as well I miss this week's rematch too in case I get confused by the over-familiarity.
Barnoldswick coasted home but it was good to see the indefatigable "Sudders" bowl a tight spell after his shell-shocking at Walkden a week before.
I must mention a cricketer local to where I live, Penwortham's Jonny Hothersall, aged 20, who broke club records by scoring 202 not out in a first team Northern League game at St Annes last weekend. The previous club record individual innings was 155 made in 1984.
Before I was roped into scoring permanently, I would occasionally embark on a dog walk around Penwortham, Vernon Carus, BAe and Preston cricket clubs, four grounds all within a short hop of each other. With New Longton, Tarleton and Croston all not far off it's a bit like Hyndburn having seven senior league clubs.
Last week's quiz was missed from some versions but the answer was Sam Excell.
This week - seeing as we're in Scotland this week, in the 1990s Accrington had two pros with the same Caledonian-sounding surname, neither Scottish but one born in a village called St Andrew the other in Perth. Can you name them?
