Headteachers and home.

Another busy week. I worked all week again, but took time out on Tuesday morning for Rob and I to attend the senior's screening of Contagion at the cinema. Included in the (heavily subsidised for OAPs) ticket price is a raffle ticket and a cup of tea.  We both love Steven Soderbergh films and this was just as good as his usual high standard. A thrilling depiction of how a deadly disease could grip the planet. Most alarming was not being asked to prove our advanced ages to the bloke selling the tickets. The weekend started with Florence receiving a Headteacher's Award at school for all her hard work in class. It's such a great event. The names of the children who get one are read out, they have to stand at the front and then the whole school claps and cheers them.  Scarlett was also thrilled to receive a copy of the book a poem she wrote has been publsihed in. Only 19 children from the whole school were included in this book of poetry written by children across Sussex. A copy will sit in the British Library. Proud.

After school on Friday we drove north to Dad's for the night. It is always such a tonic to go home. Dad always cooks a great dinner, the kids colour and draw before bed and then we settle in for a jaw before a bit of telly. By Saturday morning it had turned very cold and it almost felt like snow was on the way - grey skies and a chilly breeze didn't stop us piling on the layers and the wellies for a walk down to the church where we were married. We love walking around the churchyard looking for the headstones of old friends and noting any new ones. Then we walked on down to Kettle Bridge for a game of Pooh sticks. Talking of poo, hilarity, not seen since the last Carry On film, ensued when Rob and the girls maturely took turns pretending to be responsible for the massive pile of horse manure in the middle of the field.

At lunchtime we drove to the gorgeous village of West Peckham, to a brilliant pub with roaring fires for a lovely lunch. I'd like to go back in the summer when the cricket pitch out the front has a game going. It's another cold but sunny one today, so we're off for a walk along the seafront to lunch at a friend's house. I love it when I don't have to do the cooking for a change.

Winter is good

New year, new you

Cheesy women's magazine coverlines aside, I forgot to blog last week due to busy, buzzy bee life. We had a rollicking lunch last Sunday, with Janice and Roger, Adrian and Laline and Maggie and Popi taking seats around our rather small dining table, for several bottles of red and a huge leg of lamb. Too much wine and too much chat prevented me from reaching for my camera.

On Monday, rather woolly headed, I got the train to London to met Chris and Nick, partners in a marketing agency, who were hoping I might like to work for them on a contract basis providing lifestyle copy for client magazines. Wowed by their creative chat and uber cool warehouse office on the canal, near where I used to live in Westbourne Park, I said I would. They asked me to come up again on Wednesday to meet their client, a huge residential property developer in their Chelsea offices. Bada bing, bada boom, the client rang to ok the project while we were at lunch on the Kings Road and so my new life begins tomorrow. I did my last 3 shifts at Judges bakery on Saturday, so while the sun sets on my baking career, it rises on my old, and preferred, career of journalism. I head back to London tomorrow for the planning meeting for the first issue of what will, at this stage at least, be a bi-annual magazine, packed full of features on food, travel, adventure and interviews. While the reasearch will take place in and around London, I'll be able to write it all from home so it should be a winner for the family too.  I expect there will be a fair bit of disruption to our lives during the next few weeks, while we all get used to my new routine and odd nights I'll have to spend in London, but hopefully normal service will resume soon after.
A STUNNING day in Hastings today - very cold, but lovely and sunny, so we aresoon heading out for a lovely beach walk, all wrapped up.

Happy new year!

Just back from four brilliant days in Scotland with the magnificent Mckendrys. As ever, the hospitality was boundless, and we enjoyed food, wine and company without match. Lousy weather but what the hoo, we still managed lots of walks, in spite of the rain and the wind and the cold, pub lunches and a day in Edinburgh at the castle. 

 The highlight was a fantastic New Year's Eve  that began with the girls practicing dance routines, a game of hide and seek in the woods with Kirsty, Gav and their kids, and then a wonderful dinner for 12 orchestrated by Moira, complete with games, gifts and a disco.

 All in bed by 3am so a bit ropey yesterday, but nothing a long walk and a pub lunch couldn't fix. 2012 was always going to be a year of decision for us, so let's see what it throws at us. Happy new year.

Our Christmas and Boxing days, told in pictures

 Christmas Eve- Turkey Wellington prepped

 Santa's been!!!

Grandchildren with Nanny and Grandad 

Boxing day lunch with Helen and George 

It's theatre, darling

Another fun week of Christmas japes. We took the girls to London on Wednesday to see the stage version of the children's book Stickman. It was a triumph. A huge amount of fun with the wonderfully uplifting ending (Rob cried like a lady). London was very festive with all the Christmas lights, shop windows and zillions of people crammed into shops making last minute purchases. After the show we walked over the bridge to the south bank for dinner and a walk through the wonderful Christmas fair. Everything was twinkly and lovely and I felt super Christmassy. Yesterday Scarlett and I went to pick up the huge turkey breast I had ordered from a butcher in a village near Hastings, which weighs the same as both the girls when they were born. Last night we met Maria, Lol and Jack at the theatre for the panto of Snow White. The 'star' was Sid Owen, best (and only) known for playing Ricky in Eastenders. He hilariously left the series several years ago to further his career, and here he was on stage in Hastings. Big whoop. Suffice to say, he was truly awful, like looking at an actual piece of wood in clothes. Another let down was the lack of dwarves. Instead children in masks paraded on and off while a recording of their voices played. The real star was the fabulous Lucy Williamson, unknown to us, but totally brilliant as the wicked witch. I've been in the kitchen since 7am prepping all the food for tomorrow's Christmas lunch at Maria and Lol's. I am particularly proud of the turkey wellington, which is all ready to go in the oven tomorrow.

6 more sleeps...

Another hive-like household this week, with much buzzing, toing and froing. I spent Monday behaving badly in London at the kind of long, boozy lunch I haven't enjoyed for years. We sat down at 1.30pm and staggered out around 6 ( or was it 7?) to a nearby pub. I won't go into the details of the naughtiness (that remains locked in the cone of silence) other than to say Champagne and wine bottles littered the table shared by Ruth, Ed, Richard Krupp, David and I. The train journey home also seemed a lot shorter than the one going there so I'm wondering if I may have become one of those drunks who nod off sitting up.  On Tuesday, I had to sprint from the hairdresser's chair to school to catch Flo's stint as narrator at her year's Christmas play. It goes without saying she was brilliant in every way and Rob and I felt embarassed for the other parents. Wednesday I went out for the school mums' Christmas drinks. A bunch of us met up beside the fire of a local pub, while hailstones battered the street outside. Fantastic fun. Another late, silly one with at least one mum (not I) failing to make it to the playground for the drop off the next day, not mentioning any names.
Thursday was Scarlett's turn on the school stage as part of the choir that accompanied the main play. It was wonderful and I cried.

On Saturday we drove to London to Giles and Lucy's house in Wimbledon. After a couple of bottles of Champagne we popped in a cab to Putney for a brilliant Christmas dinner with the old Wimbledon crowd. Suzy and Steve were there, but most of the blokes had married and had children while we were living in Sydney so it was a real treat to catch up with Jim, Joe, Michael-John and Tim and to meet their fab-u-lous wives. We stayed the night with the Iveys and limped home yesterday so Rob could go to work. While he was away the girls and I had  Sunday lunch with Maria and Lol. Not happy to just provide a gorgeous roast lamb lunch,  Maria thought she'd liven up the proceedings by slipping on a rug, whacking her head on the edge of a metal cabinet on the way down. The poor thing was left with two nasty gashes on her forehead, visible only once we had wiped away all the blood, as well as getting a horrible shock. Matron has insisted on bedrest and matron always gets what she wants.

Finally this morning the girls and I attempted our first gingerbread houses. Unfortunately one turned out  like an Australian home after bushfire season. A liberal dusting of magic dust (aka icing sugar) saved the day, elevating mood and returning Christmas cheer to our home.

Christmastime, mistletoe and dodgy martinis

More visitors from Sydney this week, when the excellent Galvins of Bundeena arrived on Monday for 24 hours as part of their Christmas holiday in England. After a bracing walk along the seafront and the usual Old Town fun, we settled in front of the fire for a lovely long catch up while the four girls played brilliantly together.  The long weekend of guests and late nights however finally took its toll, and I took to my bed for the whole of Wednesday with a shocking cold. I am NEVER ill, so it drove me nuts. I feel fine now but the cough continues to keep me up at night, as does the echo of the same hacking from Scarlett's room.

On Friday we caught up with Dad and Alexandra at Maria's to celebrate Ethan's 2nd birthday. While the little chap didn't seem to have much of a clue what was going on, we helped him set up his new train set. After present opening, we invited Dad and Alexandra back for an impromptu roast chicken dinner. On arriving home, we discovered Rob's early onset senility had struck again as for the second time in as many weeks, he had forgotten to turn on the oven before leaving the house. No problem - a curry was whipped from the freezer, rice was made and a dinner for all was on the table in 30 minutes.

 
On Saturday we headed for Tenterden for a special Christmas surprise for the girls, a ride on a Santa Special steam train. After several rides on a vintage carousel and a mini railway to visit the Snow Queen, we boarded the train for a fun, hour long trip through perfect wintry Kent countryside.

The kids were thrilled to find Santa and his elves on board distributing gifts, while the grown ups were 'treated' to a mince pie and alleged martini, made from martini mix and lemonade.  Lots of fun and laughs with our neighbours Janice, Roger and Mathilde and with Mike and Charlie Bailey. Flo hadn't seen her godfather, Mike, since she was two so hadn't a clue who he was, so a reunion and a cuddle was definitely in order. 

More Christmas mayhem this week with the girls' Christmas shows at school, a Christmas lunch in London for me, a girls' night out for me in Hastings, a quiz night for Rob and a dinner in London on Saturday night. Set doors to manual.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas

As my excitement about Christmas built this week, I couldn't hold off putting up the tree for another moment once it turned December. While Rob picked up the girls from school I had the house all ready with candles lit, fairy lights on, popcorn popping and Christmas music playing so when they walked in the door, the house had become a winter wonderland. We spent a lovely evening decorating the tree together, adding the baubles we have collected over the years from all our trips. Each one means something to us and I love seeing them again every year. We set up our nativity scene and had a brilliantly festive evening.

On Friday we had the school Christmas Fair where I ran the biscuit decorating stall. Before we left I spotted this strange man in red in my bedroom. He showed up again at the fair carrying a large sack of gifts. Rob was totally brilliant and got straight into character with his booming voice and ho hoing without a hint of a kiwi accent. I couldn't wait to see what the girls would think when they saw Santa. As soon as he arrived in the packed school hall, Scarlett ran up to me and said "Mum, Dad's gone mental! He's dressed as Santa!" When Flo saw him, she wasn't sure. "Santa looks just like Daddy," she told me, but at the same time she kept asking me where Rob was.

After the fair we raced home to get Scarlett and her friend ready for a birthday party and started on a marathon cleaning and laundry frenzy to get the house ready for special guests arriving the next day.

Our great friend from Sydney, Julia, flew in from Zambia this week, where she, Richard and their 3 girls are living for 6 months. She was on a flying visit back to the Uk and we were chuffed to get a whole 24 hours of her time. She arrived just before lunch and looked brilliant. Over a hot bowl of homemade minestrone, she filled us in on the fun the family are having on their African adventure and then we walked along the beach to the old town for a rummage through the junk shops and a large glass of red. It was so great to catch up and it felt like no time had passed at all since we saw each other, rather than the 18 months it is since we saw her last. Back home we lit the fire and started secretly getting mattresses blown up and beds made up for the next part of the evening - the surprise guests. I had told Julia my sister was coming over for a drink, so I could explain the delay in having dinner. The real reason was we had to wait for Philippa, Sue and Clare to arrive. We were all friends in Sydney years ago, but over time all 3 have moved back to the Uk, Phil and Sue to Hampshire and Clare to Dublin, via Connecticut and Toronto. Julia's face was absolutely brilliant when the girls walked in. Much screaming ensued before Rob popped a few corks and we settled into a fantastic night of laughs and reminiscing. Between us all we have 15 children and not a facial line or grey hair between us. It was an absolutely brilliant night and I'm so chuffed the girls made the effort to come to see us.