Majorca 2012

We arrived home at 5am on Sunday morning (don't ask) from another brilliant and beautiful week in Majorca. Once again we rented the holiday house of old friends David and Sarah, which is incredibly quiet and private, tucked away in a small hamlet of holiday homes. The nearest beach is a 15 min drive, the nearest town, Pollenca, 10 mins.  We arrived very late on Friday night and checked into a very hot hotel in Palma. As we couldn't get into the house until Saturday afternoon, we spent the day at the restaurant a walk away that has a massive pool and great food. It was perfect and after lunch we filled the boot with groceries and headed to the house. With the temperature climbing, we dumped the case at the door and went straight into the pool. We spent our time, reading by the pool, visiting the local market, watching Spanish dancers at a village festival, strolling the streets of Pollenca late at night as musicians performed and swimming in the three bays of nearby Cala San Vincente.

On day 3, Rick arrived from Suffolk for two nights, which was brilliant. Rob did his back in and had to visist the local, excellent hospital and a small ginger kitten arrived late one night and decided we were its new family. On our last day, with a night flight 12 hours away, we drove down the spine of mountains in the west of the island, ending up at sunset on the main beach in Palma, watching Spanish families picnicking, playing and swimming as the water turned gold. It was magical.

Week 3 School hols

Week 3 began with Rob finally submitting his visa forms to the proper authorities so that he can continue to live in the UK for another year. This involved us driving to Tunbridge Wells for a nice man to check he had filled in everything correctly and to see that I was a real person and not an import from Minsk. I resisted speaking in a Russian accent and he said all Rob's paperwork looked fine and that he saw no problems with his visa being extended. Only one problem, Rob can't leave the country until the application has finished being processed, which could take 6 months. At this point Rob had to mention the little matter of our family holiday to Majorca just 10 days away. The splendid man waved his magic wand and said he would keep Rob's papers on file until the day after we return. Hooray. On Tuesday the girls and I set off to a nearby campsite that had only opened that week, to meet our friend Lucy and her children Scarlett and Darcie. It was perfection. 10 pitches in a small wooded dingly dell, with a gorgeous litle shower and loo block complete with stainless steel fittings and proper soap. For wet weather there was a huge open-sided barn with brick fireplace, and the wood was surrounded by stunning East Sussex countryside - oast houses, rolling fields etc. We had a great bbq and campfire in the evening before a fantastic night's sleep in spite of some light rain. A highlight for me was my new set of solar-powered fairy lights that lit the trees while we slept. Who knew a natural power source could bring so much joy?

 By the time we got the fire going again for breakfast, the rain was falling in buckets, but we were not to be deterred and ate loads of pancakes, hot fresh coffee and marshmallows.

 The next day was glorious and having repitched the tent in the play room to dry it out, Scarlett, Flo and I drove to Kent for lunch with Dad and Alexandra. We are always horrible spoilt there which I love. Alexandra had set up the paddling pool for the girls, alongwith two sun loungers, complete with cushions, towels and ice creams on tap. It was with great reluctance that we drove home late in the afternoon.

 Friday, we caught the train to Eastbourne for the airshow- Airbourne (geddit?). On the way we bumped in Usain Bolt, browsing the Arndale Centre for running socks.

Saturday was equally hot and sunny and after repacking all the camping gear, we were off again, this time to Suffolk to camp in Justin's beloved Easter Wood. Lol and Ethan joined us later and Justin's sister Caroline, husband Robin and daughter Megan came at dusk for a bbq. My pop-up gazebo was christened and the fairy lights did their duty once more. Rob was delighted with his prison-esque onesy, perfect for keeping the cold and horseflies away.

Summer holidays week 2

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.

The Mckendrys, part two

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.

Madonna, last day, Mckendrys so far...

A top last week at school, which began with us driving to London to take the girls to see Madonna in concert in Hyde Park. It was great fun meeting up with Ruth and Pete, and staying up late, but the flat nature of the venue let the concert down - too hard to see the stage and the girls on our shoulders, A LOT. Also the set wasn't great, not enough dance numbers and a great deal of gun toting. We have seen her three times before, so if there's a next time, it had better be in an arena.

 The kids finished school for the summer on Friday and baked cookies for their teachers. This coincided with  a brilliant change in the weather, just in time for the McKendrys' arrival from rainy Scotland.

 We started their week-long stay by dressing up for the annual Hastings Pirate Day. The aim is to have the most pirates in one place, to get the World record, once won by Hastings, back from current holders Penzance. We were also joined by Neil, Lorna, Archie and Eve, ever swelling our crew numbers. We had a great time walking through town, where it was those who were not dressed as pirates who looked weird, having fish and chips on the beach before being herded into an enclosure for the head count. The good news is Hastings has won back the ttitle with more than 14,000 pirates turning up to be counted.

 On Monday, the sun still shining, we headed to the beach for a long stroll and for the kids, and Neil, to swim in the sea. Onwards then to Bodiam Castle for a picnic and some light recreational archery. As you do.