George at School

George is not that good at having his photo taken. He either smiles so hard his eyes are shut, or just looks totally sullen. Nautrally, the photo here is of the latter variety. Despite appearances, George was very happy with his first week at pre-school (5 mornings a week) and didn't want to know mummy as soon as he had walked through the door. He's settled in well and enjoying it. He is the gregarious one, always chatting to people and having fun. I think Jennifer is going to be a bit more reserved. Nevertheless, she is such a happy and contented baby and learning new tricks every day. George remains totally involved with her and loves her dearly, which is always great to see. Otherwise, I am practising hard for my quartet concert later in the month (www.occasional-strings.co.uk) and also coming to terms with being Treasurer for the church, so have plenty of learning and sums to do as I try and get up to speed. At the same time, we've been thinking a lot about our friend Jo who lost her father this week and my friend George, whose sister was found after 6 weeks and is now at peace.

Happy New Year

My resolutions are to update this blog more often, along with lose weight, stop swearing and other fruitless tasks to numerous to mention. Christmas with my bro and his family in Swindon was great, although 75% of the family were blighted with colds and the like, so it's not been the most fun time on that front. Otherwise, we've spent the holiday period mostly at home, with a few little trips here and there. I've been off work this week, going in just tomorrow (Friday 2nd).

Jennifer's 1st Birthday

Again, apologies for the lack of updates, but the demands of life etc. Still, what better way to get back than with Jennifer's 1st birthday. We were back in King's Lynn and invited a few people over, so it was not a big do. Nevertheless, Jennifer seemed to enjoy the attention, which was sweet to see as she is definitely a bit more shy than George. She's loved her birthday cake, made by Linda and managed two portions.

Otherwise, Sharon has just about completed her Christmas shopping. I've not even started mine, but December is always a bit of a wake up call on that front. Last weekend, my quartet had a coaching session with Martin from the Maggini quartet. This is in preparation for our concert in January. It was a great session and really fired us up so hopefully we can carry it through to January.

England Match

George went to see his first football match on Saturday and went straight for the jugular by going to Wembley to see England play Kazakhstan and having full corporate hospitality thrown in. I had to keep reminding him how lucky he was.... We have debenture tickets through my work so this was the first time I had gone, along with my friend Harv and his son. We had a meal beforehand and luckily they did pizza and other bits for the kids. The first half was quite dull and the second half far more exciting. George did us proud by shouding 'Come on Engerrlund' throughout the game. He really enjoyed the day, even though it may have not been the 'real' football experience. Still, who wants to be in crowds, having beer thrown at you, swearing...

Apologies for the break in service

Well, finally an update. No excuses for the lack, apart from too much to do and too little time. I've managed to put up some photos here. If this link doesn't work, I'll correct it soon. We've been home from holiday a couple of week now and most of the pics are of that. We had 5 days here, which George really enjoyed because there were lots of other kids there, together with an indoor play centre. The weather was so-so during this time, but that didn't bother us. We just wandered around, went to see the Acquarium in Newquay and went on a steam train ride in Bodmin. We also saw the Funchal 500 Tall Ships in Falmouth ahead of the race. Ships from all around the world and crazy people climbing all the way up the masts.

We spent the next 9 nights here. It should have been seven, but we were enjoying it so much and the weather was getting better and better, so we did an extra couple of days. We had the help of Alex for this week, which meant some lie ins and not quite so much running around. George jumped into bed with here pretty much every night.... do it whilst you can get away with it my son is what I told him. We ate at Rick Steins Seafood Place in Padstow (disappointing) and then Jamie Oliver's Fifteen in Watergate Bay, which I have to say was excellent. The restaurant is right on the beach, so the views are pretty amazing out to sea and along the cost. George and I also cycled from Weybridge to Padstow and back on one of the last and very sunny days... although he just sat on the back and took in the view.

Lucy is also in the pics. She stayed with us for a night on her travels around Britain (she was over from Oz). Lucy and I also went to a Prom concert in the Albert Hall, which was the only one I managed this year. Finally, we had a nice flood of sewage upon our return from holiday, all the way down the side of the house and in the basement utility room as well. So still dealing with the aftermath of that.

Apologies for typos... to be corrected at some point...!

Less than real time updates

The picture on the left is from 8 days ago.. could have posted it out quicker, but there you go. Sharon got me a Red Letter day thingy in earlier in the year to say thank-you for being a single parent when she spent 6 weeks in hospital last year. So, did a morning rally driving experience thingy, which was on the wettest Wednesday ever known. It was a bit daunting at first as the instructor was blasting you with instructions but by the 3rd and final go I was really enjoying it. I managed not to hit any tyres. After that, I ended up in Milton Keynes of all places and caught up on some much needed shopping, which included 2 suits, 3 pairs of shoes and a nice winter coat for George, which he refused to take off the next morning. Sharon is out this evening at one of the mother's houses eating waffles or something, so all I've done is practise some Bach which I am playing at wedding on Saturday. We also played at the Henry Moore foundation last Sunday in aid of the Red Cross. Luckily the weather was kind to us and we had great fun and even got a nice email from some learned musical person the day after complimenting our playing which was very good to receive. Earlier in July, George came into London for lunch and an afternoon at the science museum, which he really enjoyed, including going on the train and seeing my office. All he was interested in there was the fish tank in the reception, despite my attempts to get him interested in global financial markets. I guess that's kids for you.

How to watch TV from your bath....

Adorable!

Family Swim!

Doesn't Jennifer look soooo cute in her cossie! These were taken on our holiday in Suffolk and it was Jennifer's first swim. I rarely seem to find the time to post blogs so I thought it was about time I added something. Have just had a wonderful weekend. Little Sis Alison came over and she and I went to the Sanctuary Spa in Covent Garden and had a great time. It was nice being able to chill out and chat without interruptions!