Brrrr

It got down to just above zero last night. This morning, when I set off for work at 6.45am, I could do that thing we did as kids, when we were pretending to smoke, and see my breath. We've had the fire lit every night this week and Ugg boots are firmly back on feet. 

Thank goodness then for Flo's class invitation to spend an hour eating hot soup and bread made by the kids. Once I checked my immunisations were up to date, I was right in there tucking into a surprisingly good vegetable soup with a crusty white roll, all served by my favourite waitress, Flo.

After our mini harvest feast, all the parents were invited into the playground to listen to the class sing a couple of special harvest songs. As you can see from the below shot, I ignored the deputy headmistress's instruction to only photograph my own child. Good grief.

P.S. There will be a short pause to blog proceedings for a week or so, as we fly to New York on Saturday to see how they do Halloween stateside. We will be flying back on the red eye late on Halloween, still in our trick or treating costumes.

1066

This weekend, Hastings celebrated the anniversary of its famous battle. Thousands of extra visitors arrived in town to see the firecracker parade through town and for the MASSIVE bonfire that is lit on the beach and is so big we can see it from our house, even though we can't see the beach. Among those extra migrants were Liz and Charlie who arrived on Saturday night in time for a play and dinner. Once Charlie and Flo were packed off to bed - tummies full of strawberries dipped in chocolate - we settled in for another night of X Factor, interrupted at 9pm by a huge fireworks display we could see from the comfort of our living room.  This morning we hit the funfair before a great pub lunch.  Also this weekend, the All Blacks wiped their feet on the Wallabies that brought smiles to all in the Duthie household. Rob's brother was at the game in Auckland. I can only imagine the partying that went on in the city after the game.

First walk of Autumn

This afternoon, after a cracking roast chicken lunch,  Flo and I left Rob and Scarlett at home to enjoy our first walk of the season. We popped up to nearby St Helen's Woods to look for interesting leaves for a collage and for Flo to hunt for fairies. In this little glen she gave a pretty thorough examination of the tree and fungi, before declaring "there is a little fairy asleep in that leaf so we must be quiet." Other gems included "I love all the beautiful things in the world, Mummy, like trees and leaves. How do you make colours? Why it is called a tree?" We waved to the horses and ducks, picked some flowers and were home in time to catch the afternoon movie - Charlotte's Web. Wow that spider sure can spin.

12 degrees of separation

The temperature dropped a massive 12 degrees between this weekend and last, so we are now in proper Autumnal weather, for real this time. Our fire is lit in the living room and ASDA has now added bags of salt to its display of snow shovels. Seems a bit early for snow, but after last week's heatwave, who knows.

Two proud parents in the Duthie home this week as we went to the girls' parent's evenings. Scarlett is doing very well at school with her teacher, Miss Lockwood, telling us she is at the top of her mixed Year 3/4 class. Not bad considering 15 months ago, she left her school in Sydney only half way through Year 1. Flo's (Melissa-impersonating) teacher Miss Wood was also very happy with her progress so far, how well she has settled in and her keenness to grass on any naughty children.

With England crashing out of the Rugby World Cup this weekend, my loyalty now switches to Wales. We just watched the All Blacks have their way with Argentina so there will be an Australia v New Zealand semi next weekend. The girls have declared they will be backing 'our country', while Rob will no doubt be waving his giant New Zealand flag (aka the Bill Keane dance mat) in the relatively small surrounds of our living room.
Knowing the final is near reminds me of two events in our lives. Our wedding day in 1995 was also the day of the Rugby World Cup final, the famous South Africa v New Zealand match that was the subject of the Matt Damon film Invictus. As many of our guests were New Zealanders, the butler at our wedding venue was overloaded with videotapes (remember them?) given to him by guests eager to watch the game but who were unable to because of the small matter of our nuptials (Note to self: investigate whether that was the real reason the Salmons couldn't make our wedding). The kiwis lost and no-one came back for their tapes. Fast forward to 2003 and Rob's 40th birthday, which we spent walking the Milford Track in NZ. We awoke on the morning of his big day to learn that the All Blacks had been knocked out. This sad event for Rob meant a happy one for me, as in the other semi, England won. Their eventual win in the final over the Wallabies in Sydney was one to remember, not least because my next door neighbour Dave (then the editor of Australia's England-hating Daily Telegraph) was forced to hand over his 'Stop Jonny Wilkinson' t-shirt. For purposes of nostalgia, here is the moment Rob and I reached the top of the Mcakinnon Pass on the Milford Track, a 6 month baby Scarlett tucked away in my tum. Happy days.

A great Saturday spent napping on the sofa in front of the fire and then an early dinner at Janice and Roger's followed by a rousing viewing of X Factor, during which we provided loud commentary and occasional dance moves.

Hot stuff

Another hot one yesterday. We spent it over a long lunch on Maria and Lol's terrace with Dad and Alexandra and the kids, before popping next door to Tina and Dick's for an hour to use their pool. Whenever I see the girls in the water I realise how much they miss our very regular swims in Australia. Scarlett was a strong swimmer by 3., but I can see how far behind Flo is, as much as she loves jumping in. Rather than 'swimming', she just sort of 'not drowns' as she makes her way from one end to the other. Here are a few photos of the day taken by Scarlett on my camera moments before the battery packed up. One of the lunch (before and after!) and I like this one of me as for once my head doesn't look like a giant pumpkin.

Phew - what a scorcher!

While in the southern hemisphere a temperature of 29 degrees passes without note, here in Blighty it is a different story. The kind of hysteria that usually attends a Take That concert gripped broadcasters, weathermen and newspaper editors alike. Shelves in supermarkets were refilled as fast as they were emptied of soft baps and rose wine, and all roads to the sea were choked with cars filled with the overfed and overheated beach-bound.  The obsession for most was whether we would witness a new record for October. 29.4 last measured in October 1985 had to be beaten and it was - 29.9 degrees measured in Gravesend. Cue ticker tape parades, sky rocket launches and calls for a national holiday in celebration.

After sweating my way through a morning at the bakery, we assembled everything we needed for a day at the beach, got the last parking spot in our usual place and settled in for a long afternoon of barbecuing, eating, drinking and fishing with a group of friends. The watercolours I brought down were put to good use as the kids painted pebbles and wood, our barbecues smoked enough to send most of the other occupants of the beach away, fishing lines were cast and jumping mackerel were pulled in to the delight of some kids and the horror of others. Amazingly Rob swam in the sea, the English Channel. Seriously. Then home for baths and X Factor. Not bad.