So long since I’ve posted. I’ve just been too busy I suppose. Chris and Nigel came to stay, Ali,Eric and kids came for a couple of nights, and then we all went south  for Alexander’s baptism.

So where do I start?

Let’s do it chronologically. I’ve known Chris since the late 60s. We were in St Matthias parish in Worcester Park, Surrey, then Chris moved to Tolworth. Lo and behold - we followed.

Chris is an incredibly kind person who has looked after various people for the last few years, and she and Nigel have only just now been able to come up and see us in Yorkshire now that her father and father-in-law are dead.

We had a great time catching up on the gossip.

We had a great meal at The Pipe and Glass in South Dalton.

http://www.pipeandglass.co.uk/about.php

We also had a great game of Scrabble. Well, it wasn’t really great, as the board didn’t open up much, but we enjoyed it anyway. Chris won and I came last.

We had a day on our own (washing sheets etc) when Ali rang to say she was coming down on the Thursday so the kids weren’t too long in the car on consecutive days.

Once again, a good time was had by all. I didn’t want to miss my Creative Writing on Friday morning, so rudely went!

There was a broken down lorry on my route, and I got there half an hour late.

However, this wasn’t the worst thing. As I was driving along I was thinking that, barring technical reasons (like not getting my work in on time) I should have a degree this year. I was idly thinking of what could go wrog when I suddenly thought, Hell (or worse) I didn’t attach my commentary to my story. This would mean I fail as both parts are necessary.

Anyway, as soon as I got home I rang my tutor, and he got back straight away - I had attached the commentary.

So. Barring technicalities I should have a degree by the end of the year. (Sounds big-headed, but I won’t fail the story.)

Anyway, on Saturday we all drove down to Oxford. We stayed in the Premier Inn in rooms opposite one another. We tried to book a meal in a nearby pub, but both ones we tried were full, so we stayed in The Beefeaters attached to the Premier Inn. Martin joined us, and we all enjoyed our meals. It was Martin’s birthday, but the next day’s celebration took precedence. (Fiona stayed at home with her parents and Alexander.)

The next day we had Alexander’s baptism. There were so many people there. 41 kids plus all the adults. But the priest commented afterwards how well everybody behaved. Well, both sides of the family are Catholics, so we all know the routine! Some of the friends were from Martin’s and Fiona’s Catholic secondary schools, but a lot of the new friends weren’t.

After the baptism we all went to the village hall at Hutton-cum-Studdley. This was an inspired choice. There is a great adventure playground and lots of grass all around, so the kids could run around. (Some adults too!)

Sarah, M and F’s neighbour, did the catering. She’s doing a meal for David Cameron and 80 friends next week, so she’s good. The food was lovely.

As an aside, I have to mention the birds. There were two red kites wheeling over the hall earlier in the afternoon, and there was a little bluetit who had laid eggs in a cigarette disposal unit outside, and the poor little thing was run ragged feeding her offspring. There only seemed to be one parent.

Time to put up some photos.

Bye.

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