West Bromwich Albion

Amélie’s Fourth Birthday

Wednesday 8th October 2014Monday 20th October 2014Baggie

I think it catches me by surprise every year how rapidly September comes around and thus how quickly the year turns and also how quickly my children are growing up. As you can probably guess from the title of this update, my little girl Amélie turned 4 last Sunday. Due to the fact that the start of the academic year, in the UK, is the 1st September this makes her one of the oldest still at nursery. This is despite the fact that she, like Éowyn before her, is probably more than ready for reception and full time education. Nevertheless another year at Mini Tots looms for her.

Amélie’s birthday sits in the middle of a busy birthday period. Not only is it just under three weeks before Éowyn’s birthday and the day before Auntie Liz’s birthday it also sits in the middle of our N.C.T. group’s crop of birthdays. As many people in the same situation do, when we were expecting our first child Éowyn we joined an N.C.T. group and although that was six years ago we are still in touch with 5 of the other couples. We may not meet up as often as we used to as a group (individually we often see each other) but in an attempt to keep the group spirit alive we arrange a joint birthday party for the kids, somewhere in the middle of their birthdays. As a coincidence this year’s N.C.T. birthday party fell on Amélie’s birthday.

A stroke of luck in part due to a busy European week for our Premier League big boys and in part due to the Ryder Cup (go Europe!), the bulk of the Premier League games were on the Saturday and the Super Sunday game was my beloved West Bromwich Albion v Burnley. Not a game with a large interest from foreign broadcasters even I will admit, therefore I decided that my (work) team could safely handle this one by themselves and I could start to claw back the days work owes me, by being off with Amélie on her birthday and attending the N.C.T. birthday party for the first time in years!

Not only was I off work but Nanny Fran and Auntie Liz decided to come down for a few days. Again, a little bit of a coincidence with Auntie Mary buying Auntie Liz tickets to see Kylie Minogue at the 02 for (and on) her birthday. Therefore Nanny Fran and Auntie Liz had double the excuse (not that they need one) to come for a visit.

The venue for last year’s celebration was deemed a success and so Alice Holt was once again chosen as the venue for the party. Alice Holt, a few miles outside of Farnham, is a woodland managed by the Forestry Commission. In addition to the woodland, it has a Go-Ape adventure playground and this year has been home to the Gruffalo Trail. Indeed, Lucinda took the kids on the Gruffalo trail during the summer holiday, so it is somewhere we know quite well.

We parked close to the wooden chalet that would be the venue for the party and were surprised that we were the second family to arrive, especially since we had to wait for Nanny Fran and Auntie Liz to drive down from West Bromwich (an early start for them). Thankfully with the trusted S-Max we could squeeze Nanny Fran and Auntie Liz in the car save them driving any further. We unloaded the car (kids and party food) and had a look around the chalet. It appears that we had been upgraded from the chalet we had hired last year (not that I know!) and this one was much bigger, with its own toilet facility and resident fox and badger (stuffed you’ll be glad to know, taxidermied, if that is indeed, the proper term). Not the best taxidermy for the fox looked like it was quite surprised when it died, or at least when it was stuffed! The badger on the other hand seemed to be smiling, perhaps he saw what happened to the fox!

It seemed to be a shame not to take advantage of the Indian summer we were experiencing (indeed the temperature peaked at 25C, not bad for the end of September) so we decided to tackle the Gruffalo trail en masse. It was a good walk to build up an appetite for the party food. The kids were all well behaved but perhaps a little bored with looking for the Gruffalo characters in such a large group. The most fun they had was when they found a branch across a dried up creek. They it was a bridge over boiling lava and they all took it in turns to walk across it. Who says that kids today have no imagination. It is amazing the fun you can have with a fallen tree branch.

So after party food, some party game and even a birthday cake (baked by Claire) we headed back home to celebrate Amelie’s birthday. Regular readers may recall that at the beginning of September Nanny Fran and Auntie Liz flew to New York for a mid-week trip. Éowyn and Amélie were so excited about Nanny going to America because there are some toys that are available in America that are not available in the UK (a demonstration of the power of the internet that they even know that) and Éowyn had handily written a list so that Nanny Fran wouldn’t forget.

As usual Amélie was truly spoiled with the presents that she received (including the ones from America!) and as usual Daddy spent more time extracting them from the packaging than Amélie did unwrapping them. Thank you all for your presents. I think that Éowyn was as excited as Amélie about the presents that she received and we had to stop her hogging them before Amélie had got a chance to play with them. Amélie (and Éowyn when her birthday comes around) is going to have her first proper bike for her birthday from Mum and Dad. We know it is the wrong time of year but there should be some fine days over the winter, and so hopefully by Spring they will both be confident on two wheels. You will have to keep popping by to see how that goes.

I will leave you there, as if I manage to find the time there should be a veritable plethora of updates over the next month or so. Again you will have to keep popping by to see how that goes!

But before I leave you there is one thing left to say: ‘Happy Birthday Amélie, love from Mum and Dad’

Peace and Love

Baggie

PS West Bromwich Albion made it three wins in 8 days with a 4-0 defeat of Burnley. Maybe it will be a good season after all.

On the Gruffalo trail

The NCT group

Welcome to my barn

And this piece

goes

…here

Face painting by Auntie Liz

Half-way there

Finishing touches by Amélie

With Nanny Fran!

Nosy neighbours

And is madam happy?

Cake!

I’d rather have cake

Ready for the off

Birthday girl

It’s you!

Superstar and new shoes!

Wednesday 21st May 2014Monday 19th May 2014Baggie

So you hadn’t had an update for weeks and then, in the manner of buses, three come along in a short time. See, I am trying to make up for my poor showing in 2014 as well as regale the happenings of the Bagnall clan. I hope that this meets with your approval.

If you cast your mind back to before the solar panels write up to the first of this trilogy of write ups you will recall that it was Easter holidays. You also may recall that at the beginning of last term I made a promise with Éowyn. She would receive an item of her choosing from the Disney store (an Elsa dress that we are still waiting for stock in her size to return to the Disney store) if she managed to achieve superstar status five times during the term. She made that target before half term and so as a Dad of my word she will receive an Elsa dress, assuming that Disney ever manage to restock.

I was not foolish enough to make the same deal for the last term and I am glad that I didn’t! Éowyn returned to school on a Tuesday. In the four days of that first week she achieved superstar status every day and topped it all with the weekly award that she received in morning assembly before the entire school. It was confirmed with a note in the school newsletter and a certificate. I could not allow that achievement to go unrewarded and so there is yet another trip to the local Disney store planned to choose another prize. Actually it will be the same trip, she will just pick up two prizes. Not sure how long this encouragement can go on, either Éowyn will get bored and the incentive will no longer work, or I will be bankrupt. Buy Disney shares!

Éowyn’s superstar statuses this week were based on reading and writing. She moved up a level with her reading and is now where the majority of reception class children should be at the end of their first school year and her writing is coming along in leaps and bounds. She is encouraged to write and not to worry about the spelling at the moment, it is all about getting the ideas down. An approach many adults still have judging by their Facebook statuses. Éowyn’s class have recently been learning about ‘People who help us’. This has included firefighters, nurses, police officers and vets. Then they have to write about the people who had come into see them. So for the police officer she wrote a report about a thief that had been apprehended, so far so normal, but that was part one, he then absconded from gaol and was eventually recaptured. She is finally using the imagination she uses everyday to make up games in her writing.

For the subject of her nurse story she related she relied more on memory than imagination. A couple of weeks ago she decided that she would try a lift Amélie. Amélie wriggled and Éowyn lost her balance and fell backwards. Amélie landed on Éowyn’s head and there were tears. After the usual cuddles and checks to see if they were OK, Éowyn complained that her ear hurt. There was nothing obvious so we slightly dismissed it. However as the evening drew on the pain was getting more intense and she began to cry with the pain. Thinking that she may have done so serious damage I took her to the walk-in clinic in Ashford. After a short wait the on-duty nurse looked into her ear with anotoscope and said that she could see some swelling but nothing to be concerned about. She asked if Éowyn had a cold, which she had, and said that the impact had probably bruised the one side of her ear while the cold was putting pressure on the other side. She suggested that we Calpol her up and wait for the swelling to go down and to return if it wasn’t becoming less painful. Éowyn received a sticker for being brave and returned home fine. The Calpol did its job and the incident gave Éowyn inspiration for her nurse’s story.

Éowyn is not the only one who has received a sticker for being brave at the nurses. Both Amélie and Ezra have had stickers in the last week or so. Both were due booster jabs so as Lucinda and I were both off we decided to get them both done at the same time. I would hold Amélie and Lucinda would hold Ezra. As with Éowyn two years before we forewarned Amélie that the injections would feel like a scratch and may hurt a little but if she was a brave girl she could choose something from the Disney store (I did tell you to buy shares!). As an added incentive Ezra would be in the same room and she would have to be brave for him. I know what you are thinking cruel parents!

Amélie was incredibly brave, she didn’t cry, only winced when the first one went in and whimpered a little on the second one. In complete contrast to Éowyn who screamed the place down when she had hers. After receiving her stickers (one for each arm) we said that it was Ezra’s turn. Amélie then said that she didn’t want to see Ezra have his so I took her back to the waiting room, while Lucinda held Ezra. Again Ezra was brave (he must have seen how brave his sister was). He didn’t make a sound on the first, whimpered a little on the second but the third was a bit of a shock and then he cried but not for long. So the girls are now inoculation free until secondary school while Ezra will have his last set in about two years time.

So what else has been keeping me from this website?

There have been a lot of housey things. With the recent fine weather we have been able to get into the garden and use my new toy (a self propelled petrol lawnmower). We have also begun our new hobby (if you can call it that) growing our own vegetables. Three rows of potatoes are growing nicely, as is a double row of green beans (because I don’t get enough of them at work!). Unfortunately my strawberry plants have been dug up and taken by culprits unknown (although my suspicion lies squarely with the local squirrel population). We have a row of herbs starting to grow and our pumpkin plants are nearly ready to make the move outside. We also have some bunny tail grass and sunflowers for decoration and half a dozen tomato plants. Not exactly the self-sufficient lifestyle à la Tom and Barbara but it is a start with relatively low maintenance crops that even we should be able to get something. It is also nice for the girls to see where food comes from and give them more reason to eat the produce when we come to harvest. Fingers crossed that they will taste nice too.

The other addition to the garden is the wendy house from the last place. It is actually about 11 years old bought by Nanny and Granddad for Lauren (and Maddie). They have outgrown it so we inherited it and not only has it lasted pretty well for the decade or so it has been built three times (by Granddad) so it is doing well. Just needs a lick of paint and it is good to go, not that has stopped them so far. Even Ezra has been inside.

Ezra has also had an eventful time he has increased his vocabulary by one word: ‘that’. This word is used ubiquitously in conjunction with the pointed index finger. If he sees something that he wants, anything that he wants, even if he knows he is not allowed to have it, the finger straightens, he looks you in the eye and ‘that’. It is the only word he needs. We have tried to get him to say ‘ta’ when he is given something. Not interested. ‘That!’ He has also learned to wave goodbye, whether you are going or not. Probably linked to not giving him ‘that’.

We have also bought him his first pair of shoes. He was spending so much time on his feet holding against things, that we thought that if we bought him some shoes it might encourage him to walk. When standing he also tends to tiptoe. Primarily so that it gives him a little more reach to get hold of ‘that’, but it is also one of the stages that little go through before they start to walk. So we also hoping that with the shoes he would not be able to tiptoe so easily and encourage him to use the whole of his foot. We are still waiting.

Amélie also had new shoes (a trip to Clarks cost us a fortune!). Her feet had grown very quickly up over two sizes, how she had managed to squeeze her feet into those shoes for so long we will never know. It will be Éowyn’s turn next with new school shoes a must over the summer.

So another season draws to a close, West Bromwich Albion survived (just) and now the hard work of the Summer begins. Usually the off-season is quite quiet for me, last season that was not the case and neither will it be this season. The Summer will see the transfer of Premier League Productions under the bosom of Stockley Park and all the testing and installation to go with that. There is also a World Cup (of men’s football), Wimbledon and The Open Golf Championship. I have got to try and squeeze in some vacation among all that. Hopefully I will have enough time to keep you abreast of our little family unit.

Hopefully you have enjoyed this trilogy of updates and I promise not to leave it so long next time. Don’t forget to have a look at our Flickr page (link on the right hand side) there are a few hundred new photos.

Peace and Love

Baggie

Three in a row

The boy!

Centripetal force

Sibling love

Coming in close

A kiss for my sister

A little bit of blue

Easter decorations

A finishing touch

With my Nanny

A dress made out of Play-Doh

Story time

The tower of Babel err Lego

Extreme close up

I am an Alien!

Not again big sister!

I’m taking them off

Mommy’s 40th

Wednesday 29th May 2013Thursday 30th May 2013Baggie

A little later than planned but happy birthday to my darling wife and welcome to the 40 club. I was aiming for an update just after her birthday but once again life has got in the way (~~excuses~~ reasons later).

Lucinda’s birthday fell on the day before the last day of the Premier League season which was both fortunate and unfortunate in equal measures. As Head of Live Operations for IMG my major client is the Premier League and thus taking the last day of the season off as holiday is not an option and therefore the idea of taking Lucinda away for a birthday weekend (notwithstanding the fact that Ezra is only two months old) was a non-starter. However, I am fully aware of the importance of birthdays and especially ones with a zero on the end so I made sure that everything was in place for our busiest day of the season so that I could take her birthday off.

Lucinda has a number of favourite places around the world: Hawaii, South Island, New Zealand, Melbourne, St Ives, Cornwall and Hengistbury Head, Dorset to name a few and as Hengistbury Head was the closest we decided that was where we would go for a day trip to the seaside. Looking at the weather forecast leading up to the weekend our hearts dropped. Snow, month’s worth of rain and 65mph winds is not the usual Maytide offering from Ambisagrus (or other weather deity of your choice) even for Britain. Thus we were fully prepared to stay at home for the day.

So imagine our surprise when we woke to glorious sunshine on the morning of Lucinda’s birthday. We had an appointment in the morning (more of that later) so as soon as we left there we headed down the M3 to Hengistbury Head (via Mudeford). Hengistbury Head is a headland jutting into the English Channel at the mouth of Christchurch Harbour and is both an Ancient Monument and a Special Area of Conservation. It is a spit that points across the harbour towards Mudeford and is home to a few hundred beach huts which are among the most expensive in UK. However although Hengistbury Head was our destination it was to Mudeford that we headed. Mudeford is on the east side of Christchurch harbour and thus closer than heading to Hengistbury Head directly, although there is the small matter of an arm of the English Channel between them. So once parked at Mudeford Quay we headed for the short ferry ride over to Hengistbury Head.

The good weather held all day and indeed we were worried that we may get burnt as we sat on a sandy beach looking out to the Isle of Wight. The girls thoroughly enjoyed playing on the sand and in the sea (which was absolutely freezing – a reminder that it has been one of the coldest springs on record) and Ezra cast his eyes on the sea for the first time (we weren’t cruel enough to dip his toes in the sea). Before we headed back to the ferry we stopped off for the obligatory ice cream. Éowyn asked if she could order her ice cream, on her own. So I gave her the correct money and watched from a safe distance. She confidently stepped up to the ice cream kiosk and politely asked the lady behind the counter for her ice cream. I was very impressed and very proud, she is growing up fast. This was further supported a little later. We saw the ferry pulling on to the jetty and so myself and Éowyn ran across the beach and down the jetty to catch the ferry and stop it leaving Lucinda, Amélie and Ezra behind. We boarded and Éowyn walked straight up to the operator/captain/pilot (delete as applicable) and said, ‘Excuse me, please wait there are three more to come.‘ Again one very proud father.

So what was the appointment we had on the morning of Lucinda’s birthday? Well, with a growing family we are in danger of outgrowing our home. It is tight at the moment but as the kids grow older it will become a bit of a struggle and rather than waiting until Éowyn has settled into her school we have decided to dip our toes in the housing market and see if there is anything out there that we can afford. Houses have been very expensive for the last few years and, in my opinion, are still over-priced however I have been waiting for a correction in the housing market to bring the prices down to nominal levels for the last seven years and it still hasn’t happened. This is mainly due to lack of suitable properties and the availability of cheap credit both of which are still there keeping the prices high (especially in the South East of England) and so it doesn’t look like the correction is going to happen any time now (knowing the financial luck of the Bagnalls probably a month after we move in to our next home!). Now time constraints are the greater factor so we have decided to go for it.

We have been looking at property for a while but the better properties are snapped up quickly (mainly because of the lack of suitable properties) and unless you are on the market yourselves some agents will not let you even see the property. Therefore we have put our house on the market and started looking at properties in earnest. We will keep you informed as we go through the highs and lows of moving home. The house that we saw on the morning of Lucinda’s birthday wasn’t quite right but it is the start of a long process and the houses that you don’t like help you decide about the houses that you do like as much as the houses that you do like.

The day after Lucinda’s birthday was the last day of the English Premier League the culmination of this season’s work. As last days of the season go it wasn’t a particularly interested one on paper with most of the major decisions already made and my team, West Bromwich Albion nestled safely in 8th place, their highest Premier League finish. Which was good because our last game was against Manchester United and the legendary Sir Alex Ferguson’s last match in charge. After going three goals down it looked like records were going to get broken and that the Red Devils were going to give their boss a day to remember. The Albion had other ideas though and after dragging it back to 3-2 relaxed and let Man Utd restore their three goal lead: 5-2. West Brom were not about to give up though and three late goals saw the first 5-5 draw in Premier League history. Now that was a fitting way to say good-bye to the Premier League’s greatest manager.

You will forgive the above it is not often that whitter on about football but it was something special. It also marks what it traditionally a slowing down at work although this year will be different as it is not only a family move that I am planning but IMG are moving London premises too and this summer (and beyond) is going to be a busy time facilitating that move. I don’t do things by half.

Fortunately, Ezra is currently being close to the ideal baby and seems to enjoy a good night’s sleep as much as his parents. He has even managed a 7 hour sleep, but 5 hours is more usual which is still fantastic for a two month old. He becoming more alert and enjoys watching his sisters play and they, in turn, still love their brother and both hold him at least once a day. However as soon as he cries or, worse, pukes then it’s ‘Mum! Dad! I don’t want him any more!‘ Let’s hope that this sororal love continues.

To complete the busy fornight or so we paid a flying visit to Nanny Fran’s on Sunday. The S-Max makes the journey extremely comfortable so the 250 mile round trip is relatively painfree. Nanny Fran and Auntie Liz haven’t seen the kids for a month or so and therefore saw a huge change in Ezra. The girls were their usual excited selves and Éowyn (who is now beginning to reason in an more grown up manner) lamented,’Why does Nanny Fran have to live so far away. I wish she lived nearer‘. The girls had a great time (as always) at Nanny Fran’s and kept their Bagnall relatives on their toes for the entire day which included making Auntie Liz paint their nails and, if that wasn’t enough, paint their faces too!

I will leave you there and let you enjoy the photos and hopefully I won’t leave it so long next time.

Peace and Love

Baggie