Another month has nearly passed and Lucinda is a year older (on paper – she hasn’t really aged a year in the past fortnight!) and the UK has seen its summer. It has been a busy couple of weeks!
Life is settling back down to a slight slice of normality at least for a couple of weeks or so. Work is in a lull at the moment before the great upheaval that is about to happen with new channels and upgrades to HD and tapeless workflows. We are still in our recruitment drive but not at the same frenetic pace as it was. This means that I am able to leave on time and see Éowyn and Lucinda every evening (except when I am updating this website!) which is worth a fortune.
To celebrate Lucinda’s birthday we headed to Brighton for a day by the seaside. The weather was especially kind (and only got better through the week!) as we left the confines of the M25 but as we got to Brighton (and the god of traffic jams ensnared us in its metallic web on a number of occasions) we were upset to discover that the South Coast of Britain was not enjoying the same warm weather and bright sunshine that the Capital, a mere 70 miles away, was promising. Nevertheless we are hardy folk and happy strolled around in our shorts and T-shirts. Fortunately we had been blessed with enough foresight to bring a warm set of clothes for Éowyn which we duly wrapped her in. The sun-tan lotion on the other hand stayed firmly at the bottom of the bag.
Since the weather wasn’t great and the traffic had delayed our arrival, we headed straight for Harry Ramsden’s for some good ol’ Fish and Chips via a quick paddle in the sea. Then we headed to the Sea Life Centre to show Éowyn the fish. She really enjoyed herself and particularly enjoyed touching the creatures that they bring to the children. I am not sure that the starfish enjoyed itself as much though for after she gently stroked it and it didn’t do a lot she gave it a real poke in the middle. We quickly moved on.
The journey back was tedious too and we were glad to be back home. A day trip to Brighton is so much more exhausting with a toddler and next year we’ll have two!
After a lovely day with my wife and firstborn I was back at work and then the usual thing happened, that I was off at the weekend and Lucinda was working. Therefore I was primary carer. It was great fun though. The weather was fantastic (peaking at 30°C) and so we could (with hat and suntan lotion) keep popping outside. I cleaned off and re-inflated the paddling pool and we splashed in there during the relative cool of the morning, retiring to the house during the hot part of the day to play Play-Doh and drawing.
Éowyn is in a really fun stage where she is learning at a fantastic pace and is really picking up words (we have to watch what we say!) and stringing them together. So it is fun to teach her new things like the colour of her pens and names of animals. She likes to sing along to her nursery rhymes and do the actions. Her particular favourites are “The wheels on the bus”, “Wind the bobbin up” (as if kids today know what a ‘bobbin’ is) and “Twinkle, twinkle little star”. She is very good at the actions and loudly joins in with the “All day long” bit at the end of “The wheels on the bus”.
The weather has been fantastic, if a little too hot for me (mainly due to the lack of any air movement) but it has brought out bigger badder insects for the new decade. We have had a number of wasps enter the house. When I say wasps I mean more like flying rodents (with stings). They are huge and have to be despatched quickly, for I don’t want them stinging Éowyn. If the wasps are the front line, the sneaky night invaders are the mosquitoes. The intense buzzing noise just as you are about to drop off to sleep must be one of the most irritating noises in the world. A rolled up magazine quickly takes them down, hopefully before they have filled their stomachs with your blood. This is a battle that is quite common in the village, especially since we live quite close to a stream, there is a little lake on our northern boundaries and we back on to the King George VI reservoir. However the invaders for 2010 are bigger and smarter. They must be close to an inch long and have stripes like a tiger, they get short shrift from my rolled up magazine though. So be careful out there.
Before I leave you to enjoy the photos just a couple of special mentions. The first is to Nanny Fran, who is recovering after having an operation on Monday to repair a ruptured patella tendon. She was in and out quite quickly (no beds for an overnight stay!) but will take a couple of months to be back to match fitness. And the second is to our friends Kirsty and Nick who have had their second child Jessica Valentine today (26th May 2010). Congratulations from the Bagnalls!
Please enjoy the photos
Peace and love
Baggie!
