August 2017

August 31, 2017

Perfect weather for a three-mile run round Highgate Woods — bright, with just a hint of crispness in the air. Didn’t wear my new shoes as I thought it might be super-mucky after all the rain yesterday, but could have got away with it.Did some test prep with Lyra for the HBS entry exam next Tuesday. In the afternoon, I dropped her round Alice’s and got stuck into cleaning the flat. We’ve got Owen’s parents staying with us for the weekend.

Mac and cheese for dinner, made partly by Lyra and Adam. I’m not eating today, so the plan was for Lyra to cook, but white sauce can be tricky and I ended up getting involved.

Watched a couple of episodes of the new Top of the Lake with Elizabeth Moss before my 11:15pm bedtime…

August 30, 2017

Diabolical weather this morning — it’s as if someone above flipped a switch from “sunny summer” to “autumn deluge”. On the radio, they were talking about Indian summer being cancelled — it’s still supposed to be actual summer…>:-(Nova headed off to Knole, where her friend is hosting a end-of-GCSEs party. She’s going a day early to set up, and taken a heap of her most-hated course work to burn on the bonfire. The party is fancy dress, so Nova grabbed some stuff out of my closet and is going as a punk…:-)

Had my first diabetes education session this afternoon at a medical centre in Crouch End. There were about twenty of us in the group, most of whom were older and much less healthy-looking than me.

We spent the two hours establishing group norms, talking about why we were concerned about being pre-diabetic, and the benefits of getting our blood sugar under control through lifestyle changes.

There was a weigh-in at the end, and we also had to commit to a “first step”. As I’m already eating a healthy diet, and exercising regularly, I wrote down “going to bed by 11:15”. (Lack of sleep increasing cortisol production, which promotes weight gain.) Back next week for an hour of chair-based exercise…

Lyra keen to go to Brent Cross, so I scoffed a quick lunch then we headed off. Bought her a new school bag, school trainers, a long coat and pretty dress from River Island, plus some other bits and bobs.

Hot dogs for dinner — easy to get on the table in a hurry, plus Nova hates them ever since Pasc poisoned her with one when she was little.

Watched the first episode of Channel 4’s Great British Bake-off. It’s recognisably the same show ,though less good than before. The ads are intrusive, but then we almost never watch things live, so we can speed through them…

in bed at 11:15pm, as per my promise…

August 29, 2017

Another two mile run this morning. Lyra was planning to come with me, but when I woke her up at 8:30 she was just too tired. She often struggles to fall asleep at night, especially when the weather is hot…Carried out a review of Lyra’s school uniform to see what needs replacing before the start of the school year. As always, it’s surprising to see how clothes that fit her fine in July suddenly appear ridiculously small.

Ordered a few things online from Gap. She consistently likes their clothes, they fit well, and are of decent quality. I could buy super-cheap plastic trousers from Tesco, but if they look like crap, feel uncomfortable and don’t last, what’s the point? Lyra spends most of her time in school uniform — she should feel happy in it…

Glamorgan sausages and salad for dinner, then watched “Fast Times at Ridgemont High” with the girls. It was a bit mature for “what’s a blo-jo?” Lyra, but is a good film that has stood the test of time.

Like Gilbert Grape, the quality of people involved is a big part of that — Cameron Crowe (script); Amy Heckerlling (director): Sean Penn, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Judge Reingold, Eric Stoltz (actors), Nick Cage (bit part)…

August 28, 2017

Did a easy two-mile run this morning to get myself back in the groove. Time to shower and give the house a quick going over before my meeting with a previous client who needs his website updated.Spent a good chunk of the afternoon clearing the garden path. What I hoped would be a half hour job took more like three… Broke off when Nova returned from Reading. Sounds like they had a blast…

Adam cooked spaghetti bolognese for dinner. I’m fasting today, so left them to it and read my novel downstairs. Once Lyra was in bed, we sat down to watch the Game of Thrones finale. I’d predicted the dragon development, but the Sansa/Arya/Baylish thing was a complete surprise…

August 27, 2017

Woke up earlier than I would have liked… Adam was still asleep, so I used the time to finish my current novel — The Life We Bury by Alan Eskens. Good, solid crime thriller, and makes a nice break from the classics and Booker-nominated titles I’ve been reading lately…The girls were up early as well, and sorted their own breakfast — because of Rosa’s gluten allergy, they opted for strawberry-banana smoothies. They headed over to Rosa’s around 10am, and I didn’t see them again until Niall showed up to collect at noon.

He ended up collecting Lyra as well, who headed over there to hang out with Lily for a few more hours. She’s off to her grandparent’s tomorrow for the rest of the summer, so I’m happy for them to maximise their time together.

A mini outing to the Roundhouse to check out Wayne McGregor’s +/- Human exhibition, “a mysterious flock of flying spheres that surrounds visitors” — very cool. Had a beer on the rooftop beach afterwards before heading home to make Thai chicken curry for dinner.

August 26, 2017

Lyra made blackberry pancakes this morning using the berries I’d picked last night from the hedge out front — lovely…
It’s our annual street party today. We usually do it in June, but for reasons that escape me now, we arranged it for the end of August this year.

Jemima takes the lead on organising it with Sue, another neighbour. Sue’s husband is very unwell, so we did more in terms of set up and running the bar. I brought a Mexican layered dip, which always goes down well.

Turn out was down a bit (what with it being a Bank holiday weekend), but a good forty-odd people came out, and the weather couldn’t have been better.

Lyra had Rosa and Lily back to ours to play afterwards, which somehow evolved into a triple sleepover. I didn’t really mind… she hasn’t hosted a sleepover this summer, and with Nova away, it was a good evening for it.

Once they were settled in Lyra’s room for the night, we started watching the new series of Top of the Lake with Elizabeth Moss — heavy stuff…

August 25, 2017

It’s just Lyra and me today… Did an hour’s test practice after breakfast, which went better than yesterday. She got through more questions in the time allowed, and got a higher percentage right as well…Afterwards, Lyra offered to make lunch for us both and produced a very nice Greek salad. In the afternoon, I popped to the shops for a couple of things. Becky and Edmund have just opening their new hair place in the former travel agent’s. Stopped in to say hello and stayed for a glass of prosecco.

Lyra went over to Rosa’s to help with preparations for tomorrow’s street party preparations and ended up staying for dinner. Made a salad for Adam and me — beans, bulghar wheat and roasted beets — and watched our second recorded episode of Game of Thrones. Exciting stuff…

August 24, 2017

It was so nice to sleep in my own bed after eleven nights away… I’m not fussy about mattresses, but it was luxury to have a good pillow. I know people who never leave home without their own pillow, which I’ve always found a bit silly. Would have welcomed mine on this trip…Nova headed off to school first thing to collect her GCSE results. It’s a big thing in the UK — every 16-year-old in the country finds out at the same time, and the marks they get determine whether and where they will study your chosen subjects. Nova got 5 A*s and 6 As on hers — an excellent set of results. It means she’s accepted as an A-level student at her current school to study English, History, French and Spanish.

She came home and finished packing for Reading festival, then I drove her up to Clara’s so they could travel to the coach station together. Lyra headed over to Charlotte’s, so I had the rest of the afternoon to myself.

Only Adam to feed this evening. I made a batch of lentil soup — we could all do with a few days of moderation after Brittany. Did some test practice with Lyra when she got back — the HBS entrance exam is in less than two weeks. She’s a smart little cookie, but there’s definitely room for improvement on her test technique…

Watched an episode of Game of Thrones before bed. We’ve got two to get through before the finale on Monday evening…

August 23, 2017

Set the alarm for 5:30, for once slept well and deep in a dream when it went off. Got up promptly and stripped the beds, put on laundry, packed, wiped down the kitchen, made sandwiches, loaded the car, recycled, emptied the bins and compost. The usual routine…It was spitting with rain, which meant i was unable to take down the towels I’d washed last night. We managed to squeeze the first load of bedding onto the washing line, but there was no room for the second (even if we had waited for it to finish).

Had a brief scare when Adam didn’t remember where he’d put his passport (which meant unpacking the boot), but we were still on the road before 8am. Made good time, pulling into the ferry terminal at St Malo by 9:00am.

The ferry was less busy on this sailing, and we got a nice table by the window to watch the boat pull out of Portsmouth.

Cabins were going cheap on the daytime sailing, and we’d booked a four-berth cabin for only £20. It was in the bowels of the ship, way below the waterline, and I tried not to think of that Titanic swimming scene when went down for a nap after lunch…

I find ferries a very relaxing way to travel, and found the whole experience enjoyable. Adam is right in noticing that we aren’t with our usual demographic. There were lots of families with several kids under eight years old and herds of pensioners.

Amusing how many of them were wearing those striped Breton jerseys — you could always see a few whichever direction you looked. I bet a French person wouldn’t be caught dead wearing one.

The ferry docked right on schedule. Disembarked into grey drizzle, which was pretty much what we’d left in France.

Morning in France, Evening in England

Smooth drive home to find the cat waiting on the mat. Unpacked, then sat down with a cold beer and some cheese and crackers to catch up on back episodes of Poldark. Good to be home…

August 22, 2017

I’d hoped for a good night’s sleep, but it wasn’t to be… It seemed very hot for one thing, and there was a mosquito whining around our heads. But the main problem was Adam. He tossed and turned like a maniac, snored and grunted and whimpered.”Are you all right?” I asked a few times. “Yeah,” he’d mumble then carry on. In the morning, he said that he’d had a recurring dream of being chased by an axeman.

We’d been expecting to awake to a blue blazer, but it was gray and drizzly. After a light breakfast, we hopped in the car for a trip to Pléneuf market. Got there while the things were in full swing, and weirdly ended up parking in exactly the same space as last time…

When we got to the main square, we let the girls go off on their own for an hour, with 20€ each to spend. We made our way round the whole thing, buying garlic, saucisson, yellow string beans, bread, and various other treats…

Headed back to the house for lunch. While I was getting the food ready, Lyra did a solo 2.5 mile bike ride. She’s been agitating to do one with Ali all week, but we didn’t think they were ready, in terms of route finding or cycling confidence.

I gave her my phone in case she needed to call us (not that reception is that reliable). I was just started to feel anxious when she pedalled triumphantly into the courtyard.

Made our final SuperU trip on our way to the beach — that place has become a second home to me…;-) We’d thought about going to Cap de Frehel to make a change, but opted for the closer, known quantity of Sable d’Or des Pins.

It was baking hot, and I didn’t wait long before taking a refreshing dip. Spent a few hours sunbathing, then headed into Erquy for dinner. Ate at a créperie a few doors down from the our restaurant the other night.

We were the first customers, and were given a prime window seat with a view overlooking the bay. A brochure on the table informed us that they’d made some sort of quality créperies 2017 list — they were certainly the best crepes we’ve had this holiday.

I always go for something simple — cheese and mushrooms, ham and egg — while Adam tends towards the elaborate. For the second time, he order andouille sausage — a pungent construction of smoked pigs’ intestines I can barely stomach… even on his plate.

Put in a couple of hours housework when we got back, followed by a cold beer before bed.

August 21, 2017

Adam’s knee felt stiff — but not terrible — this morning. That’s a relief… His knees give him enough trouble already. (And on a personal level, I was worried he would be unable to drive, and I’d have to belatedly come to grips with piloting our righthand-drive car on the lefthand-drive French roads…)Day trip to St Malo after breakfast. The old, walled city is surrounded by parking lots, all of which were full. Eventually found a parking spot on the road about half a mile away and hiked back.

I thought the streets would be overrun, but it seemed to have absorbed everybody. Did some shopping — Bensimons for Lyra, bomber jacket for Nova, tea towel for us — then had a wander along the ramparts.

Because the tide was out, we were able to walk to the two forts off the coast — Big Bé, and Little Bé. The girls were less keen on this plan than Adam and I — it was past 2pm and they were angling for food. “Who needs lunch when you can feast your eyes on a medieval fort in the middle of the sea?” Nova grumbled.

The walk out and back took about 45m. It was a slippery scramble up to the second fort, and the girls opted to skulk about on the shoreline. Just as well… there was a 6€ charge to go inside.

We found it interesting. The tour and signage was in French, but we were free to wander about unaccompanied. The bunks and cupboards seemed just as they must have been back in the day, and the cellar below, lit only by kerosene lanterns, was very atmospheric…

At lunch at a créperie, which completely by chance turned out to be the very one owned by the in-laws of a friend of Adam’s. “Of all the créperies in all the streets of St Malo, he walks into theirs.” Good crepes too…

On the drive back, a gorgeous blue sky was gradually revealed, like someone peeling back the grey. The weather is supposed to be beautiful tomorrow…

The girls fended for themselves at dinner, raiding the fridge for whatever caught their fancy. Later in the evening I put together a couple of plates for Adam and me. I’m trying to run down food supplies, though we can always take things home with us, or leave thing for the family arriving on Thursday.

New Bensimons

In bed before midnight, uncharacteristically sober (aside from a couple of those small French beers)…

August 20, 2017

Got up in time to see the guys off. I was feeling surprisingly rough, and not sure why until Adam reminded me that we’d sunk the bottle of Calvados last night…:-( Once they got on the road at 8:15, I back to bed with a couple of ibuprofen. Felt decidedly better for a couple more hours sleep…It was Sunday, which is still a day of rest in France. We didn’t feel up to much anyway — we’re all a bit blue about our friends’ departure — the place seems very quiet without them.

The weather has turned cool and gloomy, reflecting our mood. Made the trek to SuperU for some retail therapy. The girls bought a two-metre-long tube of washi tapes for 6€, and we got a frisbee, some dinner fixings, and food to take back to the UK.

After a famiy pingpong tourney (those girls are getting good!), we broke out the new frisbee, the oddly named “Gunther Flugspeile”. Good fun until Adam threw himself after an errant toss, fell over a large rock, and wrenched his knee.

As he lay on the ground writhing and groaning, I had visions of having to race him to some rural French cottage hospital. Eventually he sat up, said unconvincingly that it might not be too bad, and retired to the sofa with an ice pack and a cold beer.

“Boys are all the same,” Lyra told me quietly. “All the boys in my class would do that, and none of the girls would — not even the tomboy.” I’m sure that’s true…

Late afternoon, Adam felt well enough to test his knee on a family bike ride. I’m so pleased Lyra is getting good time in on a bike. Despite that cliché about people never forgetting how to ride a bike, Lyra has managed to forget twice. I hope it will stick this time, so she can tackle the seawall on our next visit.

Finished my book — The Mandibles by Lionel Shriver — then got started on dinner. Grilled sausages and the last two steak haché for dinner, along with potato and green salads. While I didn’t feel much like drinking, I treated myself with a strategic pastis (or two)…;-)

Sat down together to watch What’s Eating Gilbert Grape? this evening. No wonder it’s a great filmt has such a good cast. There were impeccable performances all round, but Leonardo DiCaprio out-performs them all. He was still a teenager and I’m pretty sure it was his first proper film. (Adam reminded me that he was nominated for an Oscar.)

We all headed straight to bed afterwards. 10:30 counts as an early night on this holiday…

August 19, 2017

Last day for the Rugina family’s stay… Debbie and Dan went to SuperU first thing to stock up on French food to take home. I was keen to go to the Erquy market. We couldn’t fit all four girls in our car, but they were happy just to hang out so we left them to it.We had to park a good distance away and walk down to the town. There were lots of clothes, toys and gadgets — the girls would have loved it. I mainly focussed on food — saucisson, fresh oysters, some cheeses, tapenade — though I did buy a burgundy-coloured wrap/poncho thing.

Debbie had the beach lunch packed by time we got back, and set off for Sable d’Or des Pins — we like that beach. It was surprisingly empty, perhaps because of the wind, and actually too windy to picnic. The paté and cheese was stippled with sand in no time.

It was great weather for the kite though — Nova flew that thing for hours. This trip has made me realise that we need more adult toys. We don’t really go there at all. With his kite, drum, and special music gadgets, Dan is like a big kid in some ways — one of the reasons he’s such fun to be with…

Adam, Debbie and I stopped in at SuperU and bought brochettes and a bag of rice to go with the usual salads. Tackled some housework before we started the cooking. Debbie determined to do their share so we weren’t left cleaning up for eight at the end of our holiday. By the time she was finished, the kitchen was twice as clean as when we arrived.

Started with oysters on the half shell. Everyone tried at least part of one. Debbie and Izzy quite liked them, Dan and Nova struggled, while Ali and Lyra managed a tiny piece each.

The plan was to have a relatively quiet night, but it didn’t happen that way. When it got dark, the girls headed inside to watch The Notebook, while the four of us demolished the rest of the wine AND a bottle of Calvados…

August 18, 2017

Opted for a quiet day round the house — yesterday’s day trip and every night’s partying are taking a toll… Spent a pleasant, leisurely day reading and playing pingpong with the girls.In the evening we changed into our best clothes and headed into Erquy for dinner. Parked up on the edge of town, and walked past the restaurants along the port road until one caught our fancy — a fish place with a range of menus fixe, including one for the kids. We all opted for that, except Nova and Izzy who went for scallop pesto pasta.

Mine started with two oysters on the half shell and some boiled prawns. This was followed by fillet of cod with herbs, mashed potato and some sort of savoury spongy thing, and a tiramisu “Breton”, which used pommeau instead of marsala to soak the biscuits.

There was a trio performing classic French songs. Not that I would have recognised them, but Debbie and Dan knew some of them from when they lived in Paris. They actually met there — she was working post high school, and he’d fled Romania at seventeen after getting caught up in the political unrest that followed Ceausescu’s execution.

Back home, we had a drink then headed to bed — a tame night for once…

August 17, 2017

Woke to a steel-grey sky. It had clearly rained a lot in the night — there were pools of water on the ping-pong table. Thursday has consistently been the worst day of the weather forecast for the week, and as such we’d earmarked it for sightseeing.Got ourselves organised and eventually set off in convoy for Mont St Michel. I would have preferred an earlier start but always a challenge to mobilize eight people and past 11am before we set off.

The roads are very slow, and it took about 90 minutes to do 40 miles. We lost D&D en route. They are using their phone as a sat nav, and we’ve noticed that we are end up following different roads.

Mont St Michel has become so developed since my last visit (which was probably twenty years ago). There are fields of paid parking with shuttle buses running back and forth, and a strip of shops and restaurants leading to the causeway.

After grabbing a sandwich, we caught a bus to the site. Climbed up through the tourist hordes, stopping to visit a couple of museums on the way. One was a recreation of a knight’s house, where the girls were baffled by the chastity belt on display. The second was more of a general history museum, with a dungeon populated by waxwork monks and prisoners.

Next, we toured the abbey itself, something I haven’t done on previous visits. It is huge — the volume of stone, the incalculable labour of construct the thing. We were all ready to murder a beer by the time we found our way through the place. Found a café with a terrasse where we enjoyed an ice-cold Heineken while the girls went in search of ice cream, before heading home.

Adam and I stopped for groceries on the outskirts of town, as I didn’t want to risk missing SuperU again. Spent 8€ on three beautiful, plump sea bream. Back home, I had to scale and gut them, which isn’t something I’m used to doing, but made a fair pass at it. Dan grilled them on the barbeque — delicious…

Watched the Life of Brian with Nova and Izzy afterwards. I dozed at the beginning, other people dozed at various stages. Apparently, only Nova managed to watch the whole thing…

August 16, 2017

Adam and I went for a run first thing this morning. We did a 2.5 mile loop from the house and round the surrounding fields. Lots of animal life about — hares and rabbits, horses, hawks, and drowsy farmyard dogs. It was still early and the air was cool and fresher than previous days. Felt much more like myself for having done it…

Coffee, nectarines, melon and fresh baguette for breakfast, after which Dan and I did the SuperU run while the others got ready. Got the dinner shopping done before the beach this time. Fresh mussels, potatoes (for the chips), and topped up the alcohol supplies…;-)

Debbie had a packed lunch and beach bags waiting by the time we got back. While unpacking the groceries, Izzy dropped a big jar of cornichons on the cement floor, requiring a massive clean up effort that included handwashing each cornichon to ensure it was free from broken glass. Gave us time to blast chill the beer…

Same beach as yesterday. It is big, very pretty, with good facilities and empty enough that Dan can fly his power kite. Although the weather was warmer, the sea seemed cold and I didn’t do much swimming. After lunch, the little girls transformed Adam into a mermaid — very funny.

Headed home about 5pm. I chopped potatoes into french fries, and made a tomato tart. Debbie manned the fryer, while Dan prepared his famous salata de vinete followed my the best moules marinière I have ever eaten.

Adam and I played a mini table tennis tournament with the little girls — six games, two in each partnership. They are getting so much better — Lyra has a wicked forehand and Ali’s drop shot is very difficult to retrieve…

August 15, 2017

Two years since dad died…. Despite the 15th being the official date, he died shortly after midnight and the 14th is the day that carries the most emotional weight…
We are settling into a routine around here… Dan heads into town for bread first thing (and tobacco, I suspect), Adam makes the coffee, and Debbie and I tidy up the last of the night before…

I wanted to visit the weekly market in Pléneuf, but it took so long to get everyone pointing in the same direction that they were packing up by the time we got finally arrived. Managed to grab a few things before it folded, and we can always come again next week…

Carried on to the beach at Sable d’Or des Pins. Vix had recommended the créperie there as a good place for lunch. It was certainly popular enough, and we had a good wait before they finally served us.

Walked down to the beach afterwards — a much nicer one than we found yesterday. I didn’t fancy going in the water today. The tide was a long way out for one thing, and it was a little breezy. Happy to read my book and doze…

Debbie and Dan were up for cooking tonight. Their plan was to make moules and frites, but they left it to late to buy mussel, so it was steak haché instead. Dan did flame grill the aubergines he bought in the market ot make salata de vinete tomorrow.

After dinner, he brought out his drum box, and we took turns drumming to the music on the stereo. Cloudy tonight, so no chance of any stray meteors. With the barbie stoked, we were able to sit outside until gone midnight…

August 14, 2017

Adam and Debbie both had work to do, and spent a couple of hours on their computers first thing while Dan and I went off in search of breakfast bread and pastries.

Eventually got ourselves organised to head to a the beach at Caroual, a few miles away. Adam and I dropped the girls off, then headed into Erquy for lunch provisions and to post a letter for Vix. Missed the post office (which in true Continental style shuts for a few hours in the middle of the afternoon), but got ham, cheese, paté, and crisps to make a picnic.

The weather had grown hot and the sea was surprisingly warm. I “encouraged” (dragged) my girls in to the water for a little splash. Adam joined the fun, submerging an unprepared Lyra. She took on a lungful of sea water, and coughed and griped for a good half hour…

Adam and I stayed at the beach until 4:30pm then headed back to Erquy to post the letter and get yet more groceries for dinner. Catering for eight people three times a day is no small undertaking…

Dinner was spaghetti al limone with prawns, and one of those toasted goats cheese salads with walnuts to start. I’d bought a kougn amann — a Breton speciality — in Erquy, which made a fine dessert.

After dinner, Adam and I went for a bike ride with Lyra and Ali. They claimed to know a good route, but they missed a turn or something and took us miles off course. Had to use Adam’s phone GPS to navigate us back in.

It is lovely riding a bike through the French countryside. I felt like one of those beret-wearing Resistance girls in a war movie…;-)

Another late night of fire and wine and music…

August 13, 2017

I slept very well, despite Adam tossing about on the bunk above, though I woke for good when he creaked down the ladder about 5am for a shower.We needed to be up at 6am anyway, so I opted for an early start and shower myself. The shower was surprisingly nice. At any rate, we were long dressed and ready to go when the announcement came over the tannoy to leave the cabin. Made our way onto an outside deck to watch the ferry dock in St Malo, so dramatic in the morning light and menacing clouds.

Connected with Dan and Debbie after disembarking, then set off in search of a café for breakfast. There’s not much open on Sunday morning in France, but found a place eventually, that served tartine, pastries and hot drinks for 7 euros a head.

Set the satnav for La Bouillie and headed off in convoy. It’s only about 30 miles, but those little country roads are slow going and the journey took well over an hour.

I wasn’t convinced when we eventually reached the spot where the house was meant to be. We’ve been here once before, but it was twenty years ago. The house was much bigger than I remembered. I’d been telling Dan and Debbie that it was nothing fancy, but it looked pretty fancy now.

Plus there’s a new extension that’s not in the shot

Once we’d confirmed it was the right place, we found the hidden key and let ourselves in. It is SO nice, and big, and much more homely than our last visit in 1997. I’m wondering now if they hadn’t had it very long at that point.

Chose our bedroom by which mattress would be kindest to Adam’s back. There are three doubles, a single for Izzy and a sweet little twin for Ali and Lyra. Spent the afternoon settling in, then made a dash for the SuperU in Erquy, arriving minutes before it closed. It was like a trolley dash, getting the essentials we needed for dinner — sausages, potatoes, salad fixings, wine, pastis and things for breakfast.

Dan fired up the barbeque and grilled the meat while Debbie and I made salads. As it grew dark, we loaded the barbeque with firewood and sat outside under the stars talking and drinking for the rest of the evening. The Milky Way was like a silver blanket across the sky, and I saw two shooting stars… tail end of the Perseids.

August 12, 2017

Happy birthday, Greg!
We’re not leaving for France until the afternoon, which meant I had time for a morning run. Doing four miles was a bit indulgent, but I organised it so that my route finished at the top of the path.Did the final packing and house jobs, while Nova made lunch. Very limited ingredients to work with… She went for a cabbage salad, and was going to make hardboiled eggs to have as well. Owing to some confusion on how to boil an egg, we discovered they were soft when we started peeling them.

The best thing to do was to toss them straight in the salad, where they produced a sort of warm dressing. It wasn’t great and the family looking pretty glum eating it (though I always think it’s a bit rich for people who haven’t done the cooking themselves to have too much to say by way of complaint…)

Set off about 4pm. Our new car (which Lyra has christened Vector, after the villian in Despicable Me) seems very spacious. Lots of leg and headroom for everyone, and no trouble getting all our stuff in the boot.

When we were about to leave the M25,I texted Dan and Debbie and they set off from their house in Surrey. We were merrily zooming down the A3 when Lyra had an accident with a box of cream-cheese-stuffed celery that required pulling over to sort out. (What I thought would be a suitable car snack, created mayhem when flung from the back seat to the front…)

The delay meant we pulled into the ferry terminal in Portsmouth at exactly the same time as the Ruginas. Alex and Lyra are very excited to be going on holiday together, and Nova and Izzy should get on well (there’s only a year and half between them). I’m very fond of Dan and Debbie, and can’t think of another family I’d rather have join us.

Turns out it’s their 17th wedding anniversary, so once we’d stowed our bags in our cabins, we repaired to the wine bar for a celebratory drink. I also discovered that Dan’s mum died two days after their wedding, similar to dad…

We took it in shifts to eat dinner. Dan, Adam and the girls went first, after which they bought the girls cinema tickets to see Despicable Me 3.

Adam’s stomach has been bothering him since lunch, but he managed to hang in there and enjoy the evening. Had our last drink in the entertainment lounge, where a young woman was gamely singing pop covers. Alex and Lyra saw fit to join her on stage to add spontaneous gymnastics to the performance. Nothing was going to top that (and it was definitely time for bed…)

We had two cabins, each with bunk bed,desk and a bathroom/shower. Very cozy…

August 11, 2017

Off to Brittany tomorrow for ten day, so lots to do — both on the getting ready end of things, but some web work as well…

Lyra’s friend Greta is visiting from Scotland for a few days. Her mum Katie came round and collected Lyra so the girls could hang out for the afternoon. Nova has lots of getting ready to do as well. She’s only home from France a few hours before she’s setting off with her friends for Reading Festival, so she needs to pack for two trips before we go.

Using up whatever I can in the fridge made for some rather unusual meals — tonight’s dinner was grilled chicken, nachos, tricolore salad, and a green salad.

I’d done a big whack of the school website editing, which Adam got round to reviewing about 11pm. I stayed up to keep him company until about 1am, when I had to call it a night…

August 10, 2017

Feeling a little muzzy this morning, thanks to a lovely bottle of Puglian red (and two shots of limoncello)… By the time I got up, there was just time to fit in a quick run round the Woods before my morning meeting.I expected it to be mucky under foot after yesterday’s relentless downpour, but it wasn’t too bad. Knocked off two miles and some wind sprints, then power-walked back home for a quick shower and change.

Three of us committee members met to discuss how to develop the website now that the plan has been approved. Five minutes’ useful discussion ended up taking two hours…

Lyra had left for Lily’s house by the time I got back — she’s spending the afternoon round theirs. I was expecting her back round 4pm, but she didn’t turn up until after 5. “Lily is going to Devon today,” she told me. “Oh, when are they leaving?” “They were slinging their suitcases in the car while I was tying my shoes.” How to maximise your playdate…;-)

Made penne amatriciana for the family, which I served in three shifts… I’m looking forward to having more regular family meals in Brittany. I fight against the modern tendency for people to eat as, where and when instead of sitting down together, but it feels like a losing battle…

August 9, 2017

It has poured with rain all day…:-( I spent the morning in my running clothes hoping it would let up a bit, but it was relentless. Changed into yoga gear eventually, but never found time for that either…

More work readying the Kenya site for launch. The last piece of the puzzle is integrating the membership management service they are buying in. Cracked it eventually… Lyra is at a loose end today, and I took occasional breaks to do stuff with her, like bake savoury palmiers, do some food photography, or play backgammon.

After all the pressure to get the website ready for launch tomorrow, my client unexpectedly decided to delay launch until the membership service is running. That freed me up to watch a film with Lyra in the afternoon.

She chose the Sound of Music, which we both really enjoyed, though it does go on and on. “Is it almost over?” she asked hopefully, moments before the Intermission screen appeared. I certainly adds a lot of time when you have to talk and sing about everything that happens…

When Nova got home from work I made the girls a simple supper of veggie soup and grilled cheese sandwiches, before braving the weather to meet Adam in Camden.

We met at the Apulia Cafe, a little Italian place I’ve been wanting to try that specialises in the food of Puglia. The word “cafe” is not a misnomer (as in the high-end River Cafe). This place really is a cafe, doing panini and friselle in the day time, and adding a couple of dinner options in the evening.

We started with a platter of cheese and charcuterie, followed by two friselle. They are hard-baked rings of bread that require a good soaking to soften them up (traditionally in sea water) before being covered in toppings. I remember our friend Mariella making them for us in Rome…

August 8, 2017

The car came back this morning, serviced and valeted and ready for our road trip to Brittany later this week.Nova and Adam set off for the office about 10am. Actually she went via the bank so she could open an account. She applied to work at Gail’s Bakery last night, and a bank account is a condition of employment.

I spent most of the day working on the Kenya and school websites, and progressing my massive to-do list that precedes all family trips. Lyra’s friend Lily came round after lunch, which kept her happily occupied for the afternoon.

Once Lily went home, I made a Vietnamese chicken salad for the two of us (Adam and Nova are at a work event this evening). I used a red chilli from my pot in the greenhouse. Turned out to be amazingly potent… It was a tiny, little guy — I know those can be the deadliest ones, but I thought you needed lots of sun to make a proper hot chilli. I’ll know for next time…

August 7, 2017

Nova is doing a week work experience with adam at our office. He’s going to have her research impact investing reporting best practice or something…They set off the same time as Lyra and I headed over to return Sophia. Lyra is shattered after a short and interrupted night’s sleep — just like a “real” sleepover. That Sophia is a lovely little creature, but it definitely underscores how much more hassle dogs are than cats.

They gave her £20 for her trouble, which was a nice surprise. Speaking of dogs and cats, I saw a funny meme on Twitter today:

Foxes are just cat software running on dog hardware.

I really need to get my skates on with the Kenya website. I’ve already spent too much time on it for the “mates’ rate” I’m charging for the work. I still have a two-page snag list to work through, and everything takes about twice as long as I hope it will.

To that end, I worked until about 10pm then sat down with Nova and Adam to watch the latest episode of Game of Thrones. It was a real cracker, and reminded me why I love that show. I wanted to be riding a fire-breathing dragon, swooping and scorching evil Lannister soldiers…

August 6, 2017

Ran a gentle four miles to Ally Pally and back this morning. Any stiffness from our hillwalking has passed and it felt good to work my muscles out…Made bacon and eggs for breakfast, then did some editing working on new copy for the school website. Belatedly made a content map to try and keep track of things, as I’m losing track. Unfortunately, the head is now on holiday so we’ll have to work things out as best we can.

Went round to John’s for afternoon tea and cake. (Not Nova… as she’s seeing her friend Clara for the afternoon.) He’s on good form, and is off to Vienna soon for spend a week, accompanying his Martin who is attending a conference.

Made tequila sunrises for cocktail hour this evenign. There’s been an abundance of tequila round the place since Adam’s party (an abundance of most types of alcohol actually). I know the tequila sunrises are dated and a bit naff, but I like them.

Dinner was fish tacos, with blackberry-apple kuchen for dessert. I picked the blackberries this morning from the hedge out front. Had an enjoyable, all-too-rare, family dinner. My favourite conversational exchange of the meal:

Nova: “…boy on my course from Bulgaria.”
Lyra: “Bulgaria? Is that a real place?”
Me: “Of course, why do you say that?”
Lyra: “I thought they made it up for Harry Potter!”

Adam worked until after midnight on the wireframes for a new website project. I stayed up with him for moral support and to talk it through once he’d done a first pass…

August 5, 2017

It was most pleasant to realise this morning that we have nothing scheduled for this weekend… After a lazy start with coffee and the crossword in bed, Adam and I headed to the supermarket for the minimum shop we can get away with for the week before we leave for France.After a salad lunch, we headed up to Finchley for a spot of family ten-pin bowling. Lyra was keen, but Nova joined in under duress. There was a delay with getting a lane, so we repaired to the bar where Adam had a beer and Nova and I split a pint of passionfruit cider (her suggestion).

Bowling was pretty good fun, though I had a terrible game. Seemed to forever be veering into the left gutter — often enough that I wondered if they camber them to the left to favour the vast majority of right-handed bowlers. I’m sure that’s the reason I finished last…;-)

Made hamburgers and sweet potato fries for dinner. Tried a burger recipe where you add guinness instead of egg to the meat mixture. They were certainly juicy and sort of malty tasting. I was surprised at how well the patties held together. Plus they didn’t have that toughness egg sometimes brings…

We really need to get on top of our TiVo before we go away. Otherwise, it will end up deleting things we want to keep, or failing to record the last Game of Thrones or something. I suggested watching a film we’d recorded, but Nova was very clear that she’d had enough family bonding for one day.

Which freed Adam and I up to start a series we’ve recorded called Fearless. It features Helen McCrory (aka, Mrs Damien Lewis or Narcissa Malfoy). Strong cast, it moved along at a ferocious clip, and was entertaining in a not-too-intellectually-taxing way…

August 4, 2017

My meeting went well, though the client is still asking for significant text and design changes — some reasonable, some not so much…Had to wrap it up by 11:30 so I could travel to my hair appointment in Kensal Rise. I was just thinking I should sort my hair out yesterday when I received a promotional text from the hairdressers where I took Lyra last time. Called them up straight away and booked myself in for a cut and some highlights…

Nova took Lyra down to the Southbank where there is always something going on. Stuck some money on their GoHenry cards so they could get something to eat and entertain themselves.

Fasting today so I can get a second day in before the weekend. Not knowing when I’d get back, I’d set out everything Adam needed to make spaghetti al limone for himself and the girls when he got in.

Except he didn’t return when he said he would, and I ended up cooking as per usual. On the plus side, things are looking a bit sunnier for his company, with bits and bobs of new business coming through the door.

When he got back, we sat down to watch Sunset Boulevard with the girls. Nova enjoyed it but Lyra found it disturbing. She felt very sorry for everybody, and could barely stand to watch Norma throw herself at the young writer. “He should just love her back,” she said, “and then she’d act nicer too!” Fair point…

It was interesting how my perceptions have changed since I last saw the film. I remember considering Norma old — now I’m struck by how young and beautiful Gloria Swanson was at 51(!)…

August 3, 2017

Last night’s telly got me thinking about Trump and the widespread belief that Russia has “kompromat” which they are using to blackmail him. If that’s the case, surely it’s the best play to come out with it himself, or at least acknowledge the situation?How could it not be better (even in Trumpland) to say something like, “On a business trip to Russia, I was taped in the privacy of my hotel room having extra-marital sex. I’m ashamed of it, but I’d rather come clean about it than allow someone to blackmail me…”

My Kenya client is coming round tomorrow to review progress, which was the kick in the butt I needed to get busy and sort some stuff out. Mid-afternoon, I realised I hadn’t been outside all day… Headed to the village with Lyra to collect a prescription and grab some produce from the grocer on North Hill.

Salad supper, which will provide lots of leftovers for the days ahead. Ate with the girls, as Adam was home late — an important meeting at the pub apparently…

Finally watched the third Game of Thrones episode we’d recorded while we were up North. Denarys and Jon Snow finally meet…

August 2, 2017

Slept in a bit this morning, which was nice… Of course, by “sleep in” I mean “wake up after 7am”… Felt a bit stiff when I first stood up, in the hips mainly. I’m not used to all that step climbing I guess, but it soon wore off…Weatherwise, it was a horrible day — the kind of relentless rain we were expecting in the Lake District. I’m much happier to encounter it here. It would have been on an inside day anyway, what with all the house and computer work to catch up on. Not being able to dry the multiple loads of laundry outside was the only inconvenience.

Took a time-out in the afternoon to do stuff with Lyra. We made brigadeiros then watched Escape to Witch Mountain. There are some dodgy aspects to that film that completely passed me by in the relatively innocent age I grew up in. Like the weird loner man with a motorhome who adopts the kids, dropping lines like: “Let’s get some sack time,” and “I know! You two can be my kids.”

Or the scene where a vigilante posse hunts the children with guns — “Can they actually do that?” Lyra asked. (Don’t recall wondering that myself on any of the many occasions I saw it.)

The special effects are pretty lame as well, though personally I find that charming. There’s something about special effects that are too good that can reduce their impact…

As it’s a fasting day, and Nova was out with Shira atthe Southbank, Lyra cooked mac and cheese for her dad. It turned out really nicely — she’s turning into a pretty competent little cook.

Finished watching Broken, which is expiring from our TV hard drive tomorrow. Three episodes of that story was pretty gruelling, but very good — full respect to Sean Bean…

August 1, 2017

I’m sleeping very well up here — whether it’s the restful quiet, the ten-mile walks, or the three pints of beer, it’s hard to say…;-)Much as I was tempted, I passed on the cooked breakfast this morning, opting for poached eggs and toast. Packed our bags and stashed them downstairs before heading out for a morning walk.

Took the low path the the foot of the Cat Bells ridge, which brought us through Skelgill farm. It also features in the Mrs Tiggy-Winkle story, and was where Lucy actually lived.

The ground was wet underfoot from last night’s downpour, but the sun was out, which made a pleasant change. It was a steep climb to the first summit on the ridge, but the views were rewarding.

Stopped to eat our packed lunch, before tackling Cat Bells itself — from the steep side this time. It was a real scramble in places — you definitely needed to use your hands to get up there.

What a difference to Sunday… There were a dozen walkers, no gale force wind, and a team of workmen contructing a cairn from great sacks of rocks that had been heli-dropped that morning.

Back at the B&B, we ordered tea and scones, and hung out in their cafe for an hour before our taxi arrived to take us to Penrith. (I think we’ve done the local economy a service with all this taxi-ing, but I doubt it’s worked out cheaper than hiring a car.)

We were just outside Keswick, when Lyra realised she’d left her iPod behind. There wasn’t time to go back for it, but Adam called and they’ve agreed to post it on. There was time for a Happy Meal at the McDonalds next the station, which put a smile on her face.

A bottle of red wine on the train put a smile on Adam’s and my faces as well… Passed the time with games and puzzles. Arrived at Euston just before 9pm. “I didn’t realise how ugly London is,” Nova said. “After the Lake District, t’s like being in prison.” All the same, it’s good to be home…