Well almost! We drove down to Roger, Jane and Oliver’s for the gathering of the clan. When I say clan – it was more of a clan-lite!, No, scrub that – clan-super-lite! The original plan had been to get everyone together, simply because we don’t do it that often. We’d not expected my Mum to …
Read More
Category:Family
Mum travels back
Mum travelled back home today, having been here for about a week. It felt longer! Steve PalmerI got into blogging quite late in life, not publishing my first post until 2004 – well into my 40s! My lifelong love of technology and communication (in all its forms), together with a fondness for the art of …
Read More
Lunch with Sally B (Not!)
Image by Steve Palmer (UK) via Flickr I was due to meet Sally B at Brown’s in Cambridge today for our three-monthly catch-up. But things didn’t quite work out. Lee (who’d rung to say she wasn’t feeling too well) had invited Mum down for lunch (as I was going to be out), and I agreed …
Read More
The Mystery Briefcase
Grandad and Nanny (Mum’s side), taken, we think, in 1961. It’s the only photo of them we’ve got! Mum’s with us for the week, returning home next Sunday. She brought with her, ‘the briefcase’, that apparently contains lots of important family stuff that I’d promised to help her sort out. She’s often talked about it, …
Read More
Roger, Jane and Oliver stopover
We woke late – that’s good! Oliver’s on the prowl – that’s bad! 🙂 I got up and made a drink just as the calmness and stillness of the morning was interrupted by Oliver jumping into bed with Ann and playing ‘Mr Wriggler’ where, apparently, the game is to move about as much as possible …
Read More
Family get together
It’s the big weekend! Ann’s family arrived at various times culminating in ‘afternoon tea’, errr this afternoon. Prior to that, it was mega-cleanup around the house (how can two people create so much mess?!) and then into the garden for a quick ‘once-over’ – lawns mowed, tables cleaned, patios swept, and armpits cooled – job …
Read More
Drop-in to see Mum
We left the B and B at around 8.45 On the way home, we stopped off at Mum’s for a cuppa and a chat – she was in quite good spirits. We left hers around 10.45 and had a trouble-free journey home, getting in at just after 1pm. The house alarm was going off (again!!!), …
Read More
Family get-together
We almost had everyone – Bev couldn’t make it because she was working, and Mum’s health is suffering at the moment and so she fancy the journey. Ann and Lee drove over the Waitrose to pick-up the food, whilst I finished tidying-up the house! So just Mae, Denis, Roger, Jane and Oliver arrived for lunch …
Read More
Mum’s health…
We’re starting to get concerned (again) about Mum’s health. The ‘patches’ that the Doctor gave her a while ago, to ease the pain with her other hip now don’t seem to be helping much at all. Combine that with her falling into the TV and then into the fireplace on Friday has meant she’s in …
Read More
Boxing Day 2009 – Anchors Away…
Later today, we’ll be boarding the ‘Royal Clipper’. We board at around 4pm local time and sail at 10pm. We’re not sure yet if we can get an internet connection on the ship, so this may be the last posting until we get back next Saturday! Over the coming seven days, the cruise will take …
Read More
Christmas Presents 2009
As we’re away this year, we only took a few of the pressies with us. Mum Vouchers – John Lewis Vouchers – Boots Jo and Janet Odeon Cinema Vouchers Carol Incense Burner Mae and Denis Blue-Ray DVD: ‘Snow White’ Blu-Ray DVD: ‘Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince CD – Carpenters Ultimate Collection Bev Spicy Sauce …
Read More
Cats in/Holiday Prep
Image by Steve Palmer (UK) via Flickr This is our final weekend before the holiday, so there is plenty to do – not least the packing! We had a productive morning, mostly cleaning and generally tidying-up. Additionally, we took the cats to the Vet for their final injections. We decided to get to there slightly …
Read More
The eyes have it…
Mae has been due to have the cataracts in both eyes sorted out kicking off in January 2010. She was quite surprised therefore to get a call to bring the whole thing forward to… TODAY! I spoke to her tonight and although parts of the process were quite painful for her, she was in good …
Read More
Family Weekend
Saturday We started the weekend heading off to Roger, Jane and Oliver‘s. – and popped into see Anthony, one of Ann’s ex-JS colleagues on the way – he lives in Letchworth with his wife, Sue. We got to theirs about 2.45 after a couple of trips up-and-down their road trying to find the house. What …
Read More
Mum and Morphine
Mum’s been prescribed morphine to dull the pain she’s experiencing in her leg. It’s in the form of ‘patches’ and seems to be doing the trick, but I don’t like the idea of such a strong pain killer – isn’t it addictive too? Steve PalmerI got into blogging quite late in life, not publishing my …
Read More
Lunch with Mae and Denis
We took a drive to Downtown to meet up with Denis and Mae for lunch. Ann drove and I fell asleep! We did a bit of shopping beforehand – I managed to pick up a new pair of shoes for work and although Ann couldn’t find a business suit that she liked, she did get …
Read More
Techy Session with Jane
Jane spent the morning here learning the basics of Dreamweaver together with image management courtesy of the excellent FREE utility, Irfanview. Steve PalmerI got into blogging quite late in life, not publishing my first post until 2004 – well into my 40s! My lifelong love of technology and communication (in all its forms), together with …
Read More
Lunch and Roger, Jane and Oliver’s
We drove down to theirs today for a family lunch. Mae and Denis were there but Bev couldn’t be there because she has a big meeting at work tomorrow and a lot of preparation to do. The journey was a good opportunity to try out Ann’s new hire-car that is identical almost to the one …
Read More
One for the Sunday Newspapers…
A rather less-than-flattering pic of me uploaded by Bev onto Facebook – Cheers Bev! That’s Bev’s friend Di, in the background, probably having second thoughts about the seating plan! Steve PalmerI got into blogging quite late in life, not publishing my first post until 2004 – well into my 40s! My lifelong love of technology …
Read More
80th Birthday get-together for Denis
We both slept well at L and B’s, although Ann reckons there was a party going on nearby with live singers – I was vaguely aware but it didn’t interrupt me getting off to sleep. In fact, I slept right through to 7.30 (lazy bugger!). I had a quick shower and tucked into brioche and …
Read More
Cats in… Mum out…Jo & Janet up
Biscuit and Bon-Bon went in for their six-weekly service with Patsy today. We popped into Waitrose on the way back for a few bits for the picnic tomorrow. We took Mum down to The Star at Geddington for lunch. Once again the portions were massive and none of us could manage dessert nor coffee! The …
Read More
Tolethorpe Hall – Midsummer Night’s Dream
Tonight we three drove to Tolethorpe Hall to see ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’. David and Val did to, but we needed to take separate cars because of the number of people and the amount of food! The weather was perfect so we’d planned a picnic. The secret with getting a good picnic spot at Tolethorpe …
Read More
Travel to Mum’s/OCA Summer Reunion
We set off for Mum’s this morning after Ann signed-on. Wed had a really smooth journey down – just under two hours. It had been a hot week – in the thirties – but today, thankfully, started off much cooler. Mum fed and watered us and around three-ish I set off for the School, leaving …
Read More
Downtown to meet up with Denis and Mae
Nick and Celina left after breakfast; we had a quick clear-up and then headed up the A1 to Downtown. It was another gorgeous day here – just like yesterday – and it seemed to keep the roads pretty empty, so we were there in no time. It’s Mae’s 65th today and we met there because …
Read More
Family get-together
We set off for Mum’s quite early – 7.30am! – in order to get to hers for around 9.15 (our best journey for ages). She’s got some problems with her bank account and we’ve promised to take her into Bromley to get it sorted out. The mission to the Nationwide appeared to be successful, and …
Read More
Up to Downtown
We drove over to Peterborough first to pick up Ann’s new jacket from John Lewis and also for me to get a haircut. We then headed for Downtown for a spot of shopping and to meet Denis and Mae for lunch. The lunch area was packed-out but luckily Mae managed to find a table for …
Read More
Lee and Bertie’s for the weekend
I got up at 7.45 and Ann followed shortly afterwards. We had tea/coffee in the guest suite. I ate lightly at breakfast – brioche and jams, whilst Ann showered. After breakfast, we watched ‘Shadow Run‘ -on DVD – the one we started to watch last night. Starring Sir Michael Caine it tells the story of …
Read More
Lee and Bertie’s for the weekend
We left early – at 7am – and that guaranteed we would have a good journey. It was actually a GREAT journey, hardly any traffic, no hold-ups and a beautiful morning to be behind the wheel. We filled us with juice at the local Total station and whilst doing so, a guy delivering newspapers to …
Read More
Bev’s new hair-do
Bev had her hair restyled today! Nice!!! Steve PalmerI got into blogging quite late in life, not publishing my first post until 2004 – well into my 40s! My lifelong love of technology and communication (in all its forms), together with a fondness for the art of writing seemed to be the perfect combination to …
Read More
Family Meal – Cancelled
When we got home from our meal last night there was a message on the answerphone. Mae’s cold had turned into Bronchitis and she was cancelling the family meal. We were due to drive to theirs today. Plan B is that Roger, Jane and Oliver are going to drop into us for coffee later today. …
Read More