Our holiday japes with the Mckendrys continued with a lot of time at the beach, thanks to the fantastic weather. We spent Tuesday at Pett Level which was brilliant when the tide was out for hunting for crabs and beasties. History was made when I even swam in the incredibly warm sea.
In the evening Moira reached into her bottomless store of dinner party games and we introduced the girls to Ibble Dibble, where a blackend cork is twisted onto the face of any player who makes a mistake.
On Wednesday, with the sun still blazing, we had a cool walk in Powdermill Woods and then met up with two other families from school for a bbq and afternoon on the beach. We hardly saw the kids, who were in the sea for most of the day on inflatables.
On Thursday, Rob had to leave us to go to Croydon to take his Life in Britain test, something he had to pass in order to be allowed to apply for a visa extension and, later, if he wants it, citizenship. He had been worrying about it for weeks, as failure would have dire consequences. While we was gone, the rest of us went up to Hastings Country Park for a walk along the cliffs and a picnic. In the afternoon, we headed to the seafront for a rousing and often hilarious round of Adventure Golf and then Pirate Golf. The girls loved it, no doubt because they are very proficient cheats.
In the evening we celebrated Rob's successful pass with fizz on the deck, before walking into the Old Town with our beautiful girls for dinner at the Thai Bookshop.
The Mckendrys then left us on Friday to drive west to Hove to stay with Fraser's sister Moira and her partner Jackie and to reunite with his mum Nancy, who is over on hols from NZ. We joined them all on Saturday for a lovely bbq, before our final farewells. Another fantastic visit with lots of laughs.
Here is a little film I made of our great time together.
Aha. I have been running 5km for about 5 years, but plodded along a bit. I decided to up the pace by signing up for an actual organised run and getting a running partner. My friend Sarah, the one in the tutu below, is, by her own admission, highly competitive and always wants to go faster, farther, longer etc. As a result I have shaved a full 6 minutes off my usual time for this distance. Last night Sarah sensibly remained pure and alcohol free, while we enjoyed a great night in with our neighbours Janice and Roger, which involved Prosecco and wine, plus ribs and roast chicken. Did it hinder my performance today? Not a jot. In fact, I might include it in all future pre-race running programmes. This morning, while I busied myself with my running outfit - wig, leg warmers, tutu etc, Flo and Scarlett made lovely banners and signs to wave along the route. Sarah arrived and we walked down the hill to the park where Race For Life was being held, a convenient 4 minutes way. There was a great atmosphere as 1,700 women, dressed in an assortment of pink hues, gathered for a warm up and minute's silence. Cue floods, as many people, myself included, wept openly, at the memory of those we have lost to cancer. All the runners had numbers on their fronts, but on their backs signs dedicated to friends or relatives, lost or battling cancer. It was hard to stay dry-eyed when I read many of them. Two ladies in their 60s in front of us, dedicated their run to their 56-year-old sister who had died only 6 weeks ago. 
The week began with Sports Day on Monday. All the parents were herded into a sort of holding pen in the middle of the field, while the kids moved around us taking part in different 'Olympic' events - shot put, javelin, hurdles and sprinting. Most amusing were the 'javelins' which were made of foam, no doubt due to health and safety concerns, which were sent flying off in random directions with every breath of wind. 
