Another week and we have all managed not to kill each other. Rather, Scarlett, Florence and I have filled our days from beginning to end with stuff that propels us out of the house, or which pleases us enough to stay indoors. On Monday, we did a massive sort out of their clothes and books, moving outdated and outgrown things between their rooms, plus another pile to give to friends and charity. Their reward was to be allowed to go through their 'special' boxes - those that contain details of their births, their first baby blankets, hospital gowns and their stash of christening gifts. I am not sure who enjoyed it more. on Tuesday, after a trip to the library, we stopped in at an art supplies shop and bought cheap paint and canvases to make these splendid Olympic-inspired pictures. For dinner we harvested and ate potatoes we had grown on the deck, served with butter and mint. Bliss.
On Wednesday, the local park hosted a huge afree activity day. As well as competing in 'Olympic' events - running, boxing, long jump etc - they got a chance to have a go at giving someone CPR, timed to the song Staying Alive.
Thursday we headed off to a farm with a shop and trail for the day with our friend Lucy and her children Scarlett and Darcie (the girls' besties) and their neighbour Amber. Scarlett described the blackcurrant scone below as 'life changing'. So I made a note to pick blackurrants once we had finished our walk and picnic. The trail takes in animal enclosures containing beast of various stink levels and we enjoyed a lovely picnic by a lake of water lilies before Darcie got electrocuted on an electric fence and Flo fell in a huge muddy puddle.
On Friday I managed to sneak in a 5km run, by masking it as an opportunity for the girls to ride their bikes along the seafront.We also fitted in a hair cut for Scarlett, a trip to the dentist and my first attempt at making blackcurrant jam. On Saturday we drove to Surrey, picked up Helen and George, William and Libby, and the 8 of us (slightly cross to be leaving the Olympic tv schedule on Super Saturday) trained and tubed it to Kensington Gardens to see The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe in the 360 theatre. We spotted Naomi Watts and actor partner Liev Schreiber in the audience, which we enjoyed almost as much as the brilliant show itself. Back at Helen and George's we carried on our Olympic obsession, watching many more gold medals hit the Team GB mat. It has been amazing to be here for it, and we noticed the same pattern as before the Sydney games in 2000 - everyone slagging it off in advance and moaning about traffic problems etc, but in fact discovering it is very easy to be swept along with the euphoria of it all. We even chatted to random strangers on the train about events people had been to etc, just like in Sydney. Doubtless, just like in Sydney though, this warm atmos will vanish as soon as the games are over.
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