March 2009

March 31, 2009

Worked from home today. It was chilly, and I found myself coveting (and soon wearing) Adam’s birthday slippers. I should buy myself a pair when we start the new budget tomorrow.Our first full year of budgeting, and we’re coming in on target, about a £1000 under. It’s not that big an achievement, given how much the mortgage has come down, though I like to think we would have economised in other areas if necessary.

I really like the feeling of control having a budget gives. These are such financially uncertain times, and with Adam freelancing, me working part time, prices rising, interest rates crashing, it could have been really alarming. Thanks to the budget, we know what we earn, what we spend, how much we can afford to save. The car may be careering down the hill, but at least we have our hands on the steering wheel now…

March 30, 2009

The Institute where I work is ten years old today. Not bad going for the public sector, where new bodies are constantly being dreamed up, have a few years to try and achieve the dubious/vague/futile purpose they were established for, before being renamed/merged/shutdown.There was a little reception in the board room, with a sheet cake, half glass of champagne and a few sandwiches. You’ve got to be so careful with public money these days, and fair enough…

Did the body pump/spinning combo at the gym. When I used to do these classes before Lyra was born, the spinning came first, now it’s the other way round. Personally, I’d rather get the cardio out of the way and then do the weight lifting. This way, my arms are very tired when it comes to riding the bike, and shake and tremble when I lead forward on the handlebars…

March 29, 2009

Went for a short run this morning. I suspect my ankle injury might be chronic, and that I may not be able to do long runs anymore, but my usual two mile route didn’t give me any grief.Pete and Pasc’s cat had kittens on Monday, one of which has died. Fay organised a little funeral, which we were invited to attend. Nova took the dress code seriously and wreathed herself in funereal black. There were ten attendees in total — our two families, plus her friend Natasha and father.

Fay and Pasc said a few words, the tissue box holding Mini Man Pebs was lowered into a hole in their herbaceous border, and the kids each scattered a handful of dirt on the “coffin”. Pasc finished the interrment, planted the cross and we headed back into the house for coffee.

I always thought the funerals were half the fun of having pets — we had a veritable pet cemetery in our back yard. A bit morbid perhaps, but less so than mum’s weird phase of storing dead animals in the freezer. I think the idea was she might have them taxidermied (she’d had a success in this direction with a small owl) but never got round to it. Instead, sad, frozen little parcels wrapped in paper towel and plastic bags accumulated, until the thought of fetching (not to mention eating) anything from the freezer gave me the willies.

March 28, 2009

I left Adam with Lyra and did the weekly grocery shop. Instead of going straight to Waitrose, I parked up in Long Lane and picked up some of the groceries in the Iranian/Polish grocers. Seems an unlikely combination, but there are a number of them in Finchley for some reason. Bought most of the produce for half the money I would have spent at the supermarket, then did the rest of the shop at Waitrose.Bought Harvey a new cage while I was out — a double decker one this time, with a little ladder he can climb up to a platform. I set it all up when I got home, then made to transfer Harvey. It was still mid afternoon, and a couple of hours before he generally gets up.

I could see him shifting about in his hide, but when I drew closer, he rounded on me, chattering his teeth like castanets. It was quite unnerving, and I wondered if he might be ill. A quick search on the web informed that hamsters chatter their teeth when they are annoyed, and the best thing to do in that situation is offer them a food treat to reestablish friendly contact. I offered him a little floret of broccoli, which he lunged at like a striking rattlesnake. Left him alone for a bit after that…

March 27, 2009

Went to the park with Jemima and the little girls to feed the ducks. As always, Lyra and Rosa stood there cramming stale bread into their mouths while Jemima and I did the bird feeding.In spite of all the morning exercise and fresh air, Lyra declined her nap. I thought she might be too tired and grumpy to go swimming, but she soldiered through. I think the days of afternoon napping may be drawing to a close. Made me realise it’s only 17 months until she starts attending the nursery class at the local school… crikey!

March 26, 2009

Did back to back classes at the gym this morning — spinning followed by body pump (weight lifting to music basically). I kept the weights light, but will do more next time.We’ve arranged for Eva to do a few hours on Thursday morning to give me a bit of childcare other than for work, and today was the first week of it. I feel a bit guilty about it actually, but it is lovely to have a bit of time that’s officially my own again.

Nova went to the Easter disco at the school this evening. She’d put a lot of thought into her outfit, and looked very cool. When I went to pick her up at 7pm, the windows of the junior hall were steamed with condensation — 240 kids tearing about for two hours will do that…

Finished off her Beatrix Potter biography after we got home, which was the last thing she felt like doing…

Beatrix Potter — author and illustrator

Loving animals
Beatrix Potter was born on 28th July 1866 in a big house in South Kensington, London. Beatrix amused herself by drawing pictures of animals, birds and plants. She had many pets, such as dormice, rabbits, hedgehogs, fish, frogs, dogs, bats and snails. When they died she would boil them in a pot and take out the skeletons to see how they worked.

The Lake District
Beatrix had many holidays in the Lake District. She loved the country and drew lots of animals. In fact, she loved it so much she went on holidays there for 21 years.

Author and illustrator
Beatrix then wrote a letter to an ill boy called Noel Moore. She wrote to other children and they all liked their letters, so she made the stories she told them in their letters into books and showed them to some publishers. They said no. They wanted it big and expensive, but Beatrix wanted it small and cheap. She printed a few copies herself and showed them to the publishers. This time they said yes. Peter Rabbit was a great success, and she wrote other stories that got published well and liked well too.

Buying land
When Beatrix Potter earned money from her books, she started buying land, such as a farm called Hill Top and much more land around it. Every time she wanted to buy something, a man called William Heelis helped her. They liked each other; in fact they married when Beatrix was 47.

Breeding sheep
When Beatrix decided she had bought enough, she started farming Herdwick sheep. She won many prizes for it, but didn’t like fame. But as she could’ve done, she didn’t shut herself away. Instead, she took part in life in the village. Beatrix Potter died on 22nd December 1943. When she died, her will said to leave her land to the National Trust.

March 25, 2009

After mum died, I took a few small things to remind me of her — a blue jumper she wore, a blouse I sewed for her, a bottle of Chanel No 5, a three pack of handsoaps she bought on their visit to Scotland… I’ve kept them as a remembrance, but recently I realised that in not using them I was perpetuating her behaviour. In their bathroom cupboard was a box of beautiful soaps that she’d bought or been given and never used, though what she was saving them for I don’t know. Sorting through her belongings I came across a number of things like that, and it was an additional sadness to think that she’d never had the pleasure of using them.So now instead of looking at her Scottish heather soap when I open the bathroom cupboard I am washing with it… and thinking of her every time I do, which is nicer somehow…

March 24, 2009

Seems like ages since I’ve been to the office. I still have a sinus headache, and need to take nurofen part way through the day…Left a bit early to go to Nova’s ballet watch week. I got there fifteen minutes late, and the girls surprised and pleased to see me. It certainly put an extra spring in Nova’s step, who started pliéing and arabesquing with great enthusiasm. She certainly would have got a A for effort, if nothing else.

Lyra talked in a loud voice throughout the performance, conducting a running commentary on everything: “BEADS! SHOES! PIANO! WHAT’S DAT? A MUMMY!!” “Sssh, Lyra,” I whispered, “let’s watch Sis dancing now.” “NIPPLES!” Lyra hollered even more loudly, prodding me in the chest, “SPOT! MUMMY SPOT!!” pointing to the first pimple I’ve had in years…

March 23, 2009

I’d booked today as annual leave, which felt a bit odd after having two days off sick, but I’m entitled to it… In fact, I needed to take the day to avoid losing it at the end of the year.Spent the morning getting the groceries in and catching up on the laundry. In the afternoon I went into town to see the Kuniyoshi exhibition at the Royal Academy. It was wonderful — with the amazing detail, colour and perspective, it’s hard to believe that they are prints. I’d love to come again with Nova.

Did a spinning class at the gym — my first exercise since I got ill…

March 22, 2009

Mother’s Day, though to say no fuss was made would be an understatement…
The day started cloudy, but it had burned off by the time we finished breakfast. We packed up, checked out and headed back to the beach. Drove this time and parked up near the cafe. 

Spent the morning playing frisbee (“crispy” to Lyra), and making sandcastles. Adam and Nova worked on one, while Lyra and I did one of our own. Unfortunately a dog did a big wee on ours when we were off gathering shells. From that point it was a irresistable draw for every dog and the beach and we had to abandon it.

Ate lunch in the same cafe, then headed for home at 2pm when it was time for Lyra’s nap. Once again the traffic gods smiled on us, and we were home by four, Lyra sleeping quietly the whole way…

March 21, 2009

Headed off early for our weekend at Camber Sands. I’d done much of the packing the evening before, and we were on the road by 7:30am. These dawn wakeups come in handy sometimes… ;-)Drove straight across London, encountering minimal traffic. What took us 45 minutes might have taken two hours in the middle of the day. Zipped down the M20 and were at Camber Sands by 9:30.

The weather was glorious — bright blue sky, no wind — and we felt rewarded for our industriousness. It was far too early to check in to the hotel, so we left our car at the hotel and walked over the dunes to the beach.

The girls were keen to paddle in the freezing sea, which involved a good old hike as the tide was miles out. We didn’t have a towel with us to dry off after, but were sure glad that Adam insisted on lugging a big bag of coats and hats with us.

Ate lunch in a beachside cafe. It didn’t look like much, but it was extraordinarily clean, which I took as a good sign, and the food turned out to be quite nice. Climbed up into the dunes (or “boons” as Lyra would have it) afterwards, and spread our blanket in a sheltered hollow. “What’s that smell?” I asked Adam a couple of minutes later. I assumed it was coming from Lyra, but it turned out to be wafting from an enormous jobbie not two feet from our blanket. The previous owner had covered it with toilet paper, and made a half-assed effort at burying it. We moved along shortly afterwards…

Hung out in our room for a couple of hours, until it was time for the kids’ dinner. The hotel restaurant does an early sitting for children. Once they were fed and in bed, we set up the baby monitor, locked the door, and headed across the courtyard for our dinner. Nice enough meal, though the chef (or perhaps the owners) have delusions of grandeur that the food just doesn’t deliver…

March 20, 2009

Happy birthday, Adam!
We started the day in what’s become our family tradition — opening presents without delay. Lyra came in handy with this task — she’s an old hand at present opening now. Made blueberry muffins for breakfast — one good thing about our absurdly early starts, is that you can pack a lot in before 9am.Once we’d got Nova off to school, we headed into town. Caught the tube to London Bridge and walked along the Thames to the Tate Modern. Went to one of the current exhibitions by an artist called Roni Horn, which consisted largely of photographs of Iceland. It got us thinking about a family holiday there… Lyra was a complete tearaway, but fortunately much of the art was mounted quite high on the wall (to give a sense of horizon apparently) so she couldn’t get up to too much mischief.

Ate lunch in the seventh floor restaurant. We were given a great table next to teh window, smack in front of St Pauls. As long as we ate a two course meal (no problem there!) Lyra ate for free. She has remarkably good table manners for a two year old, and worked her way through a little dish of macaroni and cheese, and a chocolate sundae with a minimum of mess or fuss.

Had a bit of whizz round Borough Market (volos olives, comté, juniper sausage, preserved lemons, coffee beans) then headed home. While Adam took the girls swimming as usual, I did the party prep. This mostly involved cleaning the house, but I also decorated the cake, ordered pizza, and set up the crisp challenge.

The Franklyns came round, the family came back, and the party got underway. Walkers have recently introduced six new crisp flavours — onion bhaji, builder’s breakfast, cajun squirrel, chocolate and chilli, fish and chips and crispy duck hoisin. I’d arranged a sample of each in numbered bowls, and prepared a little form to fill in. I wasn’t planning to participate, but having completely forgotten what I’d put where I gave it a go. It was harder than I’d expected, and I only scored four out of six. Only Adam managed to guess them all.

The cake when cut was as dense as marzipan. The kids insisted that the “green stuff” as they referred to what should have been light, fluffy crumb tasted nice. Threw the leftovers away all the same…

March 19, 2009

Still not up to much… Mooched around the house much of the day, though I did manage a trip to the supermarket to get a few bits and pieces for Adam’s birthday.I baked his birthday cake in the evening to keep the time free tomorrow. I opted for a butterscotch layer cake from Nigella’s Domestic Goddess cookbook. The butterscotch was fun and easy to make. One of those alchemical moments when you see sugar and water transform itself into a thick, dark brown syrup.

I followed her tip to mix the batter up in the food processor. We’ve recently come into possession of a (free) Magimix, and this was the first time I’ve used it. I dumped all my cake ingredients into the bowl, clicked the lid into place and pushed the button. The motor roared like an airplane taking off. I gave it ten seconds and turned the machine off. The cake batter was smooth as satin, glossy and emulsified as oil paint. “Wow!” I thought to myself, “This is the dawn of a new era of cake making around here — no more lopsided, half-risen cakes for this domestic goddess!”

I divided the batter into two sandwich tins and popped them into the oven. When they were golden and gloriously risen, I left them to cool on a wire rack, and went off to do bedtimes. I returned to find two sullen little pancakes — they’d actually managed to fall below the level of the uncooked batter in the pan. I didn’t have the energy (or the ingredients) to have another go. I’ll just tart them up tomorrow and hope for the best…

March 18, 2009

Got out of bed (and my pyjamas) today, though I’m still feeling pretty congested and shaky. Tottered down to the library in the late afternoon to return some books that were due.Spring seems to have arrived since I took to my bed. It was a warm sunny afternoon, and everything seems to be in blossom: the forsythia hedge is a blaze of yellow, daffodils line the footpath, and the apple and cherry trees along the main road are a frothy cloud of white. Put me in mind of Houseman, though I’ve got only twenty-six of my “three score years and ten” left to “look at things in bloom”. “Little room” indeed!

March 17, 2009

St Patrick’s Day… not that the British seem to take any notice of it…
I did call in sick today. My cold is pretty firmly entrenched — swollen eyes, stuffy nose, sneezing, hacking cough… I look like one of those “before” people in a Benylin ad.

In between dozing and listening to Radio 4 I finally finished Lyra’s Totoro hat. Photo of her modelling it to follow I hope, though I suspect she’ll object to the under the chin ties…

March 16, 2009

I’m feeling pretty rough this morning… (You’d think I was the one who’d been living it up at the rugby yesterday…) I have a massive head cold, sore throat, laryngitis…I’d already arranged to work at home today, otherwise I would have called in sick. As it was I knocked off about 3:30pm, just feeling too wooly headed to continue…

March 15, 2009

Adam and Pat set off for Twickenham straight after breakfast. It was a beautiful day, and although I’m feeling a bit iffy (I think I’m coming down with something) I wanted to get outside with the girls.We headed to the playground on Hampstead Heath, where they had a good runaround. Met up with Rob and Jemima and their girls. They shared their picnic lunch with us, and I bought a round of ice creams.

When I brought Lyra home for a late nap, Nova opted to stay and play with Ruby. I hadn’t been home fifteen minutes when the bell rang. Nova and Jemima were standing there looking sheepish. “What happened?” I asked. Without saying a word, Nova turned around to reveal a slick of mud from head to toe. Apparently, she’d wiped out racing Ruby down a slope and slid into a mud puddle. It was pretty funny…

When I was tucking Nova in, she said, “As a special treat could you play the piano before I fall asleep? Say, two Bourées and two Gigues?” I was pretty keen to collapse on the couch but it was impossible to resist such a sweet request…

The guys staggered in about 10pm, completely ratassed. They’d taken full advantage of the corporate hospitality — champagne, four-course lunch with wine, free bar throughout, beer and chilli afterward. “It wazh an efficienshy drive!” Pat slurred, explaining why they couldn’t leave until the free beer tap was turned off.

March 14, 2009

Lyra takes a rather dim view of my underarm stubble, which she refers to as “bits”. After my shower this morning I showed her the result of my efforts with the razor. “No bits! That’s better!” she pronounced.My ankle’s a mess today — I’m hobbling around with it in strapping… Tackled the housework nevertheless — hoovering, dusting, cleaning the bedrooms, bathrooms and flat, which took almost four hours.

Our friend Pat arrived at dinner time. He’s taking some clients for a corporate jolly to the England-France rugby match tomorrow, and managed to find an extra ticket for Adam. Once the kids were in bed we ordered a curry from Kiplings and sat up until midnight drinking and talking.

March 13, 2009

My ankle problem from last autumn cropped up again on my run this morning…:-(
I was about two and a half miles in, halfway up the grind of North Hill, when I felt a shaft of pain horizontally through the joint. It’s like when your jaw or ankle gets that “stuck” feeling and it has to crack out of it. Except there’s nothing to crack… I persisted for thirty seconds or so to see if it would pass, and when it didn’t, tried to walk it out. 

By the time I got home it was feeling alright again, but it tweaked and twinged the rest of the day. I think it’s running the steep downhills that causes it. Hills are pretty hard to avoid in this area, but I’m going to avoid Fitzroy Park in future, at least in the downhill direction.

Took Lyra to the playground this mornig. She brought along her dolly, which limited her ability to climb and play, but she refused to be parted from it. She’s stubborn as a mule, and there’s no point in trying to reason with her…

Watched “Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone” for movie night. Nova was very excited about seeing “how they really look”. I thought it might be a bit scary for her, but she’s really matured in that respect lately.

March 12, 2009

Lyra and I had a ‘venture to the library this morning. It’s a good idea to get her out in the fresh air every morning — and makes it easier to get her down for her afternoon nap.I was looking for a book on Beatrix Potter, who Nova is doing a book report on, but they didn’t have anything. Lyra walked all the way down, and didn’t do too badly on the way home either. I learned the first time that it’s pointless to try to hurry toddlers.

Lyra poodled along closely investigating rocks and sticks and bits of chewing gum, and hugging trees and poles. I did carry her for short stretches just so we’d get home this side of sunset…

March 11, 2009

“That’s better!” Lyra said brightly after wiping her nose down the front of my work shirt. She makes me laugh…One thing about Lyra is she’s pretty good about goodbyes. She would prefer it if I just stayed at home all the time, but as long as I explain to her what I’m doing and give her a proper cuddle, she accepts it. What outrages her (and fair enough) is when I’ve tried to sneak off quietly. I’ve learned that lesson…

March 10, 2009

Worked from home for the first time in a while…
The days are long gone when “working from home” was another way of saying “effing the dog”. The technology is in place for homeworkers to access their work PCs and shared drives, seamlessly redirect their phones, and easily conference into meetings. It’s not the same as being there, but it does save the hassle of commuting, and definitely less time wasted on teamaking and chitchat.No commute meant I was able to go for a run first (with Adam going after me) and still start my working day on time…

March 9, 2009

Happy birthday, Liam! Did another spinning class this evening. This one was led by a huge dreadlocked black guy in a leopard print leotard who goes by the name of Sphinx. He’s very high energy and enthusiastic, and kept yelling things like, “Own the burn!” and “Over the top!” as we pedalled furiously. A bit ridiculous, but you do get a good workout…

March 8, 2009

Found the energy for a morning run somehow… I’d like to start building up a long run on Sundays, the four miles I did today was a first effort in that direction.Just before I set out, Cathy phoned to say they were coming down to Camden Market and wondered if we could meet them. It’s the only weekend we’re going to have free for ages so we went for it.

It was a beautiful sunny morning, and the market was rammed. Nova had a lovely time buringd through her pocket money. There are so many eye catching things for young people. She bought a pair of super-long stripey socks, an interesting bracelet, and a little telephone box model. Lyra was very interested in sampling the merchandise too, particularly the hats on the lower tiers of the display stands. Both our girls are mad for shopping — maybe all kids are…

March 7, 2009

Spent the day in the kitchens at Claridge’s taking part in a fish cooking master class. It was my Christmas present from Adam, and I’ve been looking forward to it for months.There were seven students, and as we sat drinking coffee and waiting to get started, the others swapped notes on the previous courses they’d done. I was starting to feel a bit intimidated, but it was fine. It was fascinating being downstairs in a professional hotel kitchen, amid all the bustle.

The class wasn’t particularly hands on, although I did volunteer to skin a large fillet of salmon. The executive chef gave us a lecture on buying, storing and handling fish and shellfish, then talked us through the preparation of a number of dishes, which we then shared between us.

This was followed by a taster-plate style lunch, and several glasses of wine. We were all pretty merry by the time it wound up two hours later than scheduled. Inspired, I headed straight for Pages in Shaftsbury Avenue to buy a couple of pieces of kitchen equipment I’ll need to reproduce some of the dishes at home.

Caught a bus to the Angel, and met Adam, Lawrence and Madonna at the Almeida Theatre to see Juliet Stevenson in Duet for One. A violinist with MS and her psychiatrist in a series of sessions spread over several months. It’s pretty much the Jacqueline du Pre story. Gripping, moving, occasionally funny — we all thought it was excellent.

Headed across the street to the Mercury for a bite to eat afterwards. It had gone 10:00, and we opted for salads, a couple of orders of chips, and a bottle of wine. Juliet joined us and we shared a taxi home afterwards.

March 6, 2009

Took Lyra swimming this morning, as Adam’s not taking them this afternoon. Lyra’s well aware of when it’s Friday, and that Friday is “pool” and I didn’t want to disappoint her. She’s a surprisingly good little swimmer, and happily kicks around on her own (with water wings).I didn’t do much swimming with Nova when she was this age. The two times I took her to the pool she came down with pneumonia afterwards, which was a real deterrent…

It’s Antonia’s 40th birthday today, and the family met at High Tea in the high street after school. Nova and Lyra both dressed to the nines. They looked lovely, and were turning heads as walked down there.

It was a generous spread of sandwiches, scones and cake, and there was no need for dinner. Both girls are feeling under the weather, and we didn’t bother with movie night — Nova opted for an early night instead…

March 5, 2009

Went to a spinning class first thing this morning. It’s been a few years since I’ve done anything like that. I held back at first — I didn’t know what to expect — but really went for it in the last ten minutes. I’m sure I’ll be saddle sore tomorrow…Tonight was international night at Nova’s school. Her class was performing an Indian dance, and she wore her beautiful Indian outfit her grandparents brought for her on their last trip to India.

It was a really nice evening. People had brought in food from different countries — I noticed Bahraini pastries, South African bobotie, Andalusian pepper dip, Jamaican sugar cane — there was a honour bar where you could pour yourself a glass of wine, while the classes took it in turn to perform various dances and songs. Besides the Indian dance, there was a Yoruba song, African drumming and Masai dancing, jiving — an absolute smorgasbord of food and entertainment…

March 4, 2009

Happy birthday, Ceinwen — my number one niece!
The migraine storm seems to have passed… a bit of residual prickling round my eyes still, but my head feels clear again. My work was in a state — stacks of emails to sort through, personnel issues to resolve, major projects to get back on track, the usual state of affairs…

March 3, 2009

Actually feeling worse than I did yesterday, but wanted to go in. As always, it was a mistake… My headache had intensified by the time I got to the office — it felt like someone was trying to take a core sample through the top of my skull — and the pins and needles were still prickling round my eyes and cheeks.Managed a couple of hours then headed home again. It felt better to be out in the “fresh” air, so I opted to walk to Tottenham Court Road before getting on the tube. Felt quite a bit better by the time I got home, so let’s hope that I’ll see the back of this soon…

March 2, 2009

I felt really off today. I could kind of tell it was coming on last night but didn’t know what it was. Then this morning I recognised it as the migraine symptoms I get sometimes. A sort of pins and needles in random locations in my face… really unpleasant. I think the whole run-up to Lyra’s birthday has been stressing me out, although I really enjoyed the day itself.Adam was working from home and so we had lunch together – I unpacked my packed lunch, and shared my cut carrots with him, while he prepared his own mackerel salad in polar bread to match mine.

It was so cold with the heating off that I resorted to lying under the duvet working on my laptop. Our gas bill is so high, what with the cold winter and the inefficient house insulation (although Adam swears the cavity wall insulation has made a difference I am not so sure). And of course the utility companies continue to gouge consumers even though oil prices dropped months ago… it took them about two days to increase prices and it has taken them six months to begin to think about lowering them again. Bastards!

It was Pete’s birthday today so Adam bought him and Pete tickets to see some comedy show at the Soho Theatre. Nice present for Pete who is trying to write his own sitcom at the moment, but I can’t help thinking it is just another way for Adam to enjoy himself too!

Adam went off to babysit for Pete and Pasc so they could go to the cinema for his birthday outing (sitcom writing is not yet paying the big bucks!) and after Nova went down I played piano for about an hour. It was lovely just trying out some new songs and letting my fingers remember how to play. We bought the piano for Nova but I think I am going to enjoy it more than she will.

March 1, 2009

Happy birthday, beautiful little Lyra — two today!
The girls were in by 6:30am, and we started the day with presents. Lyra ripped through her parcels — she’s an old hand at present opening now. She seemed pretty pleased with what she got: two little dolls, an art easel and some playdough from us; a teddy jumper from Margo and Aaron; an embroidered teddy from Wade and Gale; and a drawing pad from Nova. She seemed quite taken with her birthday card as well:

Adam cooked pancakes for breakfast, then took the girls to church. I whipped up a batch of birthday cupcakes, following the recipe I found on the internet. It was a bit of a weird one – they turned out too heavy, more like cupcake-sized mini puddings. They were tasty but something’s not right in the proportions in the recipe. One to try again perhaps but would need to go off piste and trust my own judgement more about the proportions. Not sure why I didn’t do that this time really, I could tell there was something not right about the mixture…

Adam called from church to say they were out and I had our packed lunch all ready and drove them over to pick them up. We carried on down West Hill and were parking up for the zoo shortly after 12. We went into gorilla kingdom, as we always do, and read the sign about Bobby, the silverback, who died in December. It was in the news – Adam and I both remembered hearing about it. Anyway, making up for that, was a great new addition, in the shape of a tunnel walkway for the gorillas above where the visitors pass.

So there we are going along, looking to our right across the ‘plain’ they have made for the gorillas, trying to see if that black lump off in the corner is one or not. When all of a sudden, we look up and there above us a few feet, is a gorilla watching us! She is in this rectangular glass walkway, just sitting there. Everyone just stared. It wsa pretty amazing to be so close to a gorilla. It changed the dynamic, her being superior to us. I think she liked it. And being able to see how they blink, and look at you, just like a human being, was really cool.

When we got home, we got Lyra down for a nap, and I peeled potatoes for roasting and prepared the chicken. Adam thinks that roast potatoes are the only way to go with roast chicken. I can see what he means, but I love mash and the oven is pretty small for a big bird and potatoes. But anyway, roast it was. The chicken came out really nicely, but it just would not slice properly. I still feel like a bit of a novice when it comes to carving, even though I shouldn’t really – we have had quite a few now in the six or so years we have been eating meat regularly. Anyway it all tasted really good. Then we moved on to the fairy cakes and Lyra even managed to blow out her own candles, the little darling!

Freddy and Beulah were over and they were in good form. They got Lyra some lovely skirts, tights and tops, which is just what she needs now she is in her “peerty” (pretty) phase.

Pete and Pasc came round with their kids to have some cake with us, and brought Lyra one of those simple wooden presents which is just coloured wooden shapes that all fit round a little pole with a base. Nothing to it and Lyra could have easily ignored it, but she loved it. She put the shapes on one by one and when she got to the last one, we would all cheer and she would laugh and clap her hands, thinking she was so clever. She loved all the attention – it was fabulous to see her enjoy her own party so much!

All in all it was a really good day, but of course one tinged with sadness for me as I always think of mom on birthdays. She would have loved to see all her grandchildren grow up more than anything …