Middlesex v Nottinghamshire County Championship match report

Ged writes:

Late season, I always try to take in a day of county cricket with my old friend, Charley “The Gent” Malloy.  It helps us both to prepare for the inevitable winter withdrawal symptoms to come.

By 11am we were already tucking in to sesame bagels stuffed with honey roasted salmon, washed down with a perfumed Austrian Riesling, quite similar to the German jobbie we had enjoyed at Chester-le-Street.

“I did something very metrosexual the other week; about as metrosexual as it gets”, said Charley. “Can you guess what it was?”

I looked him up and down carefully. “Nothing to do with hair gel?” I stated, more than asked. “But was it something to do with clothes?”

“Listen carefully to what I said,” instructed Charley. “I DID something. Not wore something. But that’s more than enough clues. You have until one o’clock to guess what it was.”

The puzzle felt a bit light on clues, actually, but then Charley is like a TV quiz master without quiz structure. And without prizes.

Around 12:15, Charley said to me: “Any idea yet what my uber-metrosexual deed was, then?”

“Still, pondering, Charley, still pondering,” I said. “I’ve got until one o’clock anyway, so plenty of time to mull some more and possibly even watch some cricket just now.”

“You’ve got until 12:30,” said Charley. “That’s when lunch is being taken.”

“But you said one o’clock, Charley,” I protested. “I forgot that everything is half-an-hour earlier in September,” he replied.

Just shy of 12:30, I decided to distract Charley by changing the subject. “By the way, I saw your boy on the TV the other evening, right at the end of the Women’s Ashes T20 at Chelmsford. I’m certain it was him.” Charley smiled and said: “Yup, all three of us were there; the missus too. Well done. Had you worked it out all along then?”

“Worked it out? Oh…” I winked at Charley and secretly winked at myself.

“Taking the family to women’s cricket. It doesn’t get much more metrosexual than that, does it?” effused Charley. “Shame you spotted the boy on the TV – made my puzzle too easy for you.”

“I’m sure you’ll find something more challenging for next season, Charley,” I replied.