Drowning in paperwork!

I had always thought that by now we would be a paperless society. With all the electronic wizardry about, I was hoping that a few trees would be spared, but no. Some time back I signed up with Mikey's school to receive all school letters by email but this week we've had letters sent home every day. Added to this, we've also had letters from Sophie's school about events on in October, school photographs, a note about a forthcoming ski trip to Andorra (no way!) and an invite to an Open Evening for Year 6 students.

Inevitably some of this paperwork languishes in school bags and then there is a panic when either Sophie or Mikey suddenly realise that they should have given us an important letter and it's now past the deadline date. Sophie dug three letters out of her bag on the way home this afternoon, all of which I should have read but were forgotten about. Mikey "lost" a letter about school lunches last term so I had to contact the school to ask for another copy and then we found the original note hiding amongst a load of schoolwork that was sent home. And that's another thing...the school sends home all the books and homework that has accumulated over the year for us to deal with. What do you do with it? It seems terrible to just chuck it all out (or recycle it) but I know for a fact the children will not want to read it when they're older...who would? So we leave it in a cupboard for a certain amount of time and then just throw it out anyway!

Then there's the junk that comes through the letterbox. I signed up to the Mail Preference Service ages ago but we still get numerous letters every week addressed to "The Occupier". These go straight into the recycling box, unopened. At work we have a small mountain of paper and brochures delivered every day and I dread to think how many trees have been cut down to make all this waste.

Anyway...rant over! Today the weather has been truly dreadful. I've lit lots of candles to chase away the grey but I have a feeling it's here to stay. No walking for us tonight as it was pouring with rain when I arrived home and after I've written this I think there's a drink and a crossword waiting for me in the conservatory!

Relaxing

When I got home from work Keith and I went for a walk. He was a bit reluctant at first as he'd already been for a walk in the morning, but I suppose my crestfallen face persuaded him. The weather was still grey and damp and the cloud cover so low it felt like we were walking under a layer of cotton wool. It was milder, though and we enjoyed the fresh air and the exercise and seeing the fields all neatly ploughed.

Back home we had a relaxing time in the conservatory with a drink and a game of cards, content in the knowledge we'd earned a wee tipple!

Computer problems...

Last night, halfway through writing my blog, my computer suddenly switched itself off (OK...I was playing Bejewelled Blitz at the time as well) but as it was past 10pm I just didn't have the heart to wait for it to recover from its little strop and write it all again, so I went to bed.

I really didn't have much to say anyway...Monday was just Monday. We interviewed four people for various jobs we have going at the moment. Two were very good, two were very bad but at least they turned up which is rare these days. We have lots of people ring up for a job, we ask them to come in and see us and then they just don't bother turning up which is annoying to say the least.

The weather has turned horrible - the very worst of Autumn weather. Grey, dampy and gloomy. But at least it's perfect for putting the fire on, curling up on the sofa and dreaming of sunny days to come!

Some interesting discoveries...

It's been a busy 24 hours! The Wine Evening last night was extremely enjoyable and we drank some beautiful wines. Mum and Dad hosted it so we all walked up in a group as their house is only half a mile away. We enjoyed wines from Greece, New Zealand, Spain, Australia and France and only one was a bit dodgy! Paul and Sue won again with their Australian red, the Snapper Cove Shiraz while one of mine, a New Zealand Oyster Bay Sauvignon Blanc, came in second. We had lovely food and there was a lot of laughter and chatter around the table but not much wine talk! Walking home at midnight was wonderful - the stars were all out and competing for brilliance with the almost full moon and I'm happy to report that not one of us fell over!

This morning (a little too early) mum and I drove down to Kent to see Nan. We had a quick lunch, did some shopping with Nan and then went to Stone to find the church of St Mary the Virgin. I was really hoping to see a tombstone with my ancestor's name on, but the graves were all very old, crumbling and hard to read. I should imagine it's a very spooky place at night! The church dates from the 13th century and we were lucky enough to be able to go inside where a couple of ladies were preparing for the Harvest Festival service. They chatted to us for a while and one of them remembered the Frenches living in Stone and knew of the Lamb Inn pub nearby which has since gone. It was great to chat to them and build up a little picture of my Great Great Grandfather's pub.

Back at Nan's we found all her photographs and had a great time looking at pictures of the family from years ago. We were also amazed to find a photo of my Great Grandfather, William, and his wife so I borrowed it to scan it onto the computer and keep it safe.

The journey home was not so enjoyable. It rained the whole way and we crawled along the M25 as per usual. We had one very sticky moment on the M1 when I took the single lane through the roadworks and everything ground to a halt. We were completely stuck and I feared we'd never get home in time for the table we'd booked at the pub for dinner to celebrate Keith's birthday. Luckily after about fifteen minutes we moved and I arrived at the pub just in time for a drink before our meal. Phew!

Update!

Just after I wrote today's blog, I found the Irish connection! The problem was the spelling of the name - the person who wrote the census details down spelt Roche, Roach which is where the confusion was! Therefore my Great Great Grandmother, although not technically Irish as she was born in Kent, had Irish parents who I think (but I'm no way 100% sure) came from Co.Cork. This will obviously be a lot harder to find out, especially as I can't find any marriage records for them. I'm not sure whether they married in Ireland and came over or whether they came over independently, met and married here. And why Dartford? I hopefully will have fun finding out!

And...oops! I'd better say a big SORRY to my Grandmother, God bless her soul...she was right!

Brrr!

It's been really cold today and although we haven't put the heating on at home, it won't be long before we have to switch it on. We went out this morning to look for cars. My Passat is really past its sell by date now, having done almost 150,000 miles. Originally we were going to sell Keith's car but the sensible thing is to keep his car (also a Passat) as it's only done around 56,000 miles and things are going to start going seriously wrong with mine soon.

It's a process I really hate. We went to the VW dealership in Northampton and I immediately saw a black Passat estate that I liked the look of. On closer inspection, though, it didn't pass muster so after a quick browse (and trying to ignore Sophie's pleas for me to buy a green Beetle) we drove over to Kettering. There wasn't a great deal of choice there, either, but I did see another beautiful black Passat which aroused my interest. That was until I saw all the scratches on the boot and as it was only a year old, it obviously hadn't had one careful owner!

We had a quick chat with one of the salesmen who didn't put any pressure on at all and I asked whether it was a simple process to transfer my number plate to the new car. This is one thing I'm adamant on - my number plate will go onto the new car!

So, not a lot of luck this morning but I know it will be a long and drawn out process with much negotiation along the way. Keith will try and drive a hard bargain and I will get embarrassed and walk away! Hopefully, before long I'll have a new(er) car unless Keith wins the Lottery tonight when I'll be winging my way to the Aston Martin dealership!

Family tree

Today has been a much better day and a good end to a stressful week. This morning the marriage certificate of my great-great Grandfather and mother arrived in the post. I needed to know my Great Great Grandmother's maiden name in an attempt to discover the Irish connection, but as yet I haven't been able to find it. Her maiden name was Roche and although there were several Roches born in Ireland, I don't think she was one of them. It's quite disappointing in a way as I always told people that I had Irish blood but unless there is a connection further back, it's looking less and less likely. I have no idea where my Grandmother got this idea from (she always said it was my Great Grandmother but it wasn't) and the sad thing is that she died 3 years ago so I can't talk to her and get any more details.

We're going to go down to Kent on Sunday and will have a look in the village of Stone to see if we can find anything else but time will be limited. The amazing thing is I've been able to look at Parish records on the internet and have found out lots of information this way, including baptism records and wedding certificates. The internet is truly a wonderful resource and has helped tremendously!

I'm very glad the weekend is here and it's been heaven to come home and relax tonight. It's been a real Autumnal day today with a cold wind and the odd spot of rain so it's time to wrap up and get all cosy! Keith celebrated his Birthday today but went to the pub as usual. He was pleased with his presents and cards and we will celebrate properly on Sunday by going to the pub for a meal. It's hard to believe that a couple of years ago on his birthday we were sitting on the beach at St Ives in Cornwall and the weather was gorgeous, warm and sunny...it just shows how fickle our climate can be!

Stress!

Yesterday and today I went into work with Keith, rather than leaving home at 7.30am and getting into work nice and early. It was a big mistake! Getting in early gives me a chance to do everything that needs to be done at a leisurely pace rather than rushing around like a headless chicken which is what I've been doing the last two days! As is always the way when I'm in on my own I had customers coming at me from all directions...on the phone to book a party, in person at Reception and then waiting in the restaurant for me to serve them bloomin' coffee when I could have done with one myself (with a large slug of whisky added!).

Added to all that I had two staff from the Nursery moaning and wailing at me about how much work they have and what could I do about it? It's a good thing I was brung up properly or I would have said something very rude! Because of that I spent most of the morning on the phone to Recruitment agencies trying to get some more staff. We have three fully qualified Nursery nurses on maternity leave at the moment and we just can't cope. Hopefully, after my phone calls we can get something arranged and soon!

The rest of the day calmed down considerably until the evening when the rushing about started again. I really have myself to blame as I had to go back to Tesco's and buy Keith Birthday cards for tomorrow when I had already been in the shop in the morning, but had forgotten... Sophie and I went and spent a silly ten minutes reading all the terrible cards for sale, most of which were just plain horrible and not suitable for Keith! He had said he wanted slippers from me (groan) but the ones on offer in Tesco were cheap and nasty so I made a hurried phone call to mum who was in Milton Keynes to ask her to buy some for me...

We then rushed home, I wrapped his presents from the children (trilogies from Len Deighton) and then Sophie and I made a trip to the hairdressers. The ends of my hair were becoming very ratty so it was long overdue. Sophie had a fair bit cut off and I had an overwhelming urge to tell the man cutting my hair to lop the lot off...luckily I restrained myself and now I'm glad I did. Ending the day as a shorn sheep would really have added to the stress!

Form filling

All I seem to do lately is fill in forms, which I hate. They fill me with dread, especially as some of them have been very confusing! It makes me wonder who thinks these forms up and whether they actually give them to real human beings to practice on first! There's never enough room to write so everything ends up being cramped and messy and then you worry in case a computer is actually going to be reading it rather than a person and what will happen if it just gets spewed out by the machine for not being correct! Phew!

It was lovely to finally get home tonight and join Keith for a drink and a glass of Pinot Gris in the conservatory, something we haven't had time to do for a good few days! Roll on the weekend!

Cafe Rouge, Milton Keynes

It was good to go out for the evening after a stressful day at work. I'd spent all day grappling with forms for the Free Entitlement (Nursery care) for children aged 3 and 4 and it was a bit complicated!

Sue and I went to Cafe Rouge, another restaurant in the Hub in Milton Keynes. Cafe Rouge, as the name suggests, specialises in French cuisine and the restaurant is designed to resemble a Parisian bistro. It was busy, as were all the restaurants in the area so there was a great atmosphere. My only gripe about the restaurant was that the waiters weren't French. The menu is in French (with English subtitles) and the ambience was let down slightly by the fact that the waiters didn't really have the Gallic flair or accent to match the food! It was a bit like going to a Chinese or Indian restaurant and having tall, blond Swedes serve you!

That aside, we did have a lovely meal. We decided to push the boat out as Sue had a wonderful little card that gave us 50% off the food bill so we had all three courses and then waddled off home at the end of the evening! Sue chose pate to start while I enjoyed mussels in a gorgeous mariniere sauce, followed by the classic Boeuf Bourgignon (Sue) and Toulouse sausage (me). For dessert we had an utterly gorgeous pot au chocolat served with a shot glass of Sauternes wine...scrumptious!

I think today I will stick to lettuce leaves!

Pattern of my days

I'm a lover of routine, if I'm really honest with myself. I sometimes think I'd like to have big changes in my life, but secretly, I love the pattern my life makes most days. There are times when I wonder what my life would have been like if I'd married someone different, lived somewhere different or just changed a few details of my life. I drive past houses in the town and wonder what the children would be like if we lived in a big city rather than the country. I toy with the idea of moving abroad (France) but when I look at houses for sale and imagine the children starting a new school and the huge upheaval that would bring, I turn tail and run back to the comfort of my own home.

I think it's nice to fantasise about suddenly living a totally different life and sometimes if I write a story I'll live out that fantasy through my character which is safe! That's one of the lovely things about writing. I can be who I want to be through my characters safe in the knowledge that it's them and not me living life differently!

It's the same with the property programmes I like to watch. A couple of them are devoted to people moving abroad or having a big change of scenery and I look at the houses and try to imagine myself in them...sometimes it's a very strange feeling!

So today has been like most other Mondays. And really, that suits me just fine!

Going cycling

We had a big argument with Mikey this morning. While Sophie stayed at home, Keith, Mikey and me went to get the Sunday papers and Mikey took £1 from his piggy bank and bought himself a disgusting sweet in the shop. I didn't go in, but when he got back in the car and I saw what he bought, I confiscated it which resulted in him shouting at me and saying he hated us. The sweet was virtually hardened sugar, pumped full of colourings and chemicals and I threw it in the bin when we got home. I tried to explain why he didn't need it and when he calmed down I suggested we go for a bike ride around Pitsford (7 miles) and then we'd go back to the shop and he could choose something else as a treat. I was trying to explain that to eat something like he'd chosen, he'd need to at least run a marathon to use up all the energy!

So in the afternoon, Mikey and I packed the bikes in the car and off we went. It's been a while since I cycled around Pitsford but I was pretty pleased with our performance even though the wind was against us for half the way and there were several ups and downs!

We went back to the shop and he chose a bag of Chicken bites and then we called in to see mum and dad for a cup of tea. Mikey thoroughly enjoyed all the attention and the argument of the morning was long forgotten!

Out and about.

At the weekend I try and resist making too many plans, but I failed miserably today. I had a Chiropodist's appointment for Sophie at the ridiculously early time of 10.30am which meant we had to be up and out by 9.30am, something I will not do again! At the weekend it's a must to get up slowly, have several cups of coffee and ease myself into the day, something that doesn't happen during the week when it's up, in the shower and out.

Sophie, poor thing, has several verruccas on her feet which we just can't get rid of, so this was a last attempt to do something. The Chiropodist used liquid nitrogen at -130 degrees and laughed when I said I'd bought the Bazuka stuff. Apparently that only goes down to -20! I nearly had a heart attack when she told me the price of the treatment, though...£64 for treating just three and Sophie has a few more than that! We have to go back in two weeks when she will have another look at them and maybe tackle another three on her feet.

After the appointment it was back home, breakfast in the sunny conservatory and then back out to take Sophie to the cinema where she met Susie. On the way home we called into the village, to a new countryside centre that has just opened and was hosting a "Countryside Awareness" Day. There were some demonstrations of sheep dogs, men making wooden implements, Indian dream-catchers, sheep, pigs and calves and some gorgeous horses which I couldn't resist stroking. A few of the villagers were milling about but Keith quickly became bored and after treating Mikey to a delicious sausage in a bap, we left for home.

I resumed research on my family tree this afternoon, trying to find the Irish connection I'd been told about. I have this romantic idea that my father's side came from Ireland and were gypsies, but I have a feeling this is not true. I ordered a book from Amazon which promises to help me with researching the Family Tree so only time will tell. It would go some way to explaining my wanderlust though!

Tempers fray...

It's been a tempestuous two days. I suppose when you have two women in the house, things can get a bit fraught at times!!

Yesterday it was my turn to yell at everyone which of course leaves me with a feeling of guilt and of saying things that might have been better left unsaid. Working with family is never easy and most times we get on, but occasionally there are flashpoints, which can sometimes clear the air a bit.

Now things have calmed down so the week has ended on a good note and I can look forward to the weekend. I've put the car boot off for a while as mum wants to join me but hasn't sorted her cast-offs out yet. Keith has started muttering about the books in the bedroom and apparently he fell over them last night on the way to bed. I was asleep (he thinks I was awake and pretending to be asleep) so top of my priority list for the weekend is to put them into the boxes that I've saved from work and which are filling the boot of my car...

Where I'll put them after that is anyone's guess!!

Work!

It's been a long (ish) day for me today as I'm still at work and waiting for Sophie to finish her duties as party organiser. She has started to work for us regularly now and we have had to get a permit to enable her to work for us. She loves having her own money but I think I will need to impress upon her the importance of saving some of it and not spending it all on clothes and handbags!

It's been noticeably cooler today and Keith wore shorts into work today! He thought it was going to be warm like yesterday but instead of the 17-20c we had yesterday we had temperatures of about 12-15c so he was glad to get home and put something warmer on! I heard this morning that we're in for a cold, hard winter and that snow is forecast for next week in Scotland. Last year was bad enough, I'm not sure we could cope with prolonged snow and ice here at work as this affects us very badly. People do not venture out, especially young mums with small children. I wouldn't mind a cold winter at all, but I know certain members of my family will take it as a personal insult! Just as long as it doesn't snow on the 1st of November...please!

A Feast of TV viewing...

Not exciting, I know, but I love to curl up on the sofa with something good on TV as the nights get darker. I manged to get absolute control of the remote this evening and enjoyed Celebrity Come Dine with Me on Channel 4. Even Sophie took an interest and we were laughing hysterically at the antics of the "celebrities"! Very entertaining and that's what it's all about...after a hard day at work I just want to relax in the evening and not think about anything. Most of today at work has been taken up with filling in forms and trying to decipher rules and regulations so it was lovely to get home, have a delicious dinner (steak and garlicky potatoes) and then just chill out in front of the box.

Bring it on!

Monday again!

So it's back to Monday again and no doubt another week will fly by. We were busy at work today with scrubbing floors and shampooing carpets...what fun! I'm hoping this week will be slightly calmer than last week but who knows what each day will bring?

The nights are certainly drawing in and it was dark when I drove Keith home from the pub at 8pm. I used to feel a bit sad when this happened but now I realise there's nothing I can do about it (except follow the sun around the world but that needs deep pockets) so I've come to accept it and look forward to cosying up at home. The lyrics of The Byrds song springs to mind at times like this:

"To everything - turn, turn, turn
There is a season - turn, turn, turn
And a time for every purpose under heaven"

Treasure every day, is what I say!

Hunting high and low...

Well, we still haven't found the Family Tree so for now we've given up. Sometimes, when you stop thinking about a problem, the solution will appear. Keith went up into the loft this morning which was a mistake as I asked him to bring me down some old diaries and photo albums - stuff I've been trying to throw out! The diaries (from 1984-1987) were hilarious and the frightening thing is that I haven't really changed much since my late teens! Sophie read them as well and thought they were really funny but she was amazed at my blase attitude to school work. Oh, how I wished I'd worked harder at school!

The female trio went out in the afternoon. Mikey had gone flying with my Dad and had a go with one of the training aeroplanes at the club so he was happy. Us females (leaving Keith to watch the cricket and football) went off to Weedon and I bought a box to store the aforementioned diaries and a cookery book, 200 Easy Suppers! I had a good browse in the cook shop and almost bought a French bean cutter but thought better of it in the end. I also learned I could buy replacement handles for my Le Creuset saucepans which must be almost 20 years old. A couple of them have burnt handles but the shop supplies new handles so I just need to make sure they will fit! I also have all my Christmas presents sorted now...in one of the shops was a range of the tackiest tat I've ever seen...little grey pebbles with inscriptions saying "I Love You" or "We are Family" and featuring plastic silver hedgehogs or rabbits. At £3.99 they were an absolute bargain for giving to someone you loathe...

On the way home I mused to mum over the habit we have of keeping things, like Birthday and Christmas cards, useless ornaments and general clutter. Our house looks like we're moving at the moment, even though we're not! There are piles of books stacked up in the bedroom and storage boxes in the living room. I'm just really hoping that the car boot sale is on next week otherwise I think I'll have a few words flung at me from Keith who is not very good with clutter. I have a feeling if I don't do something soon, I'll come home to find everything gone!

De-cluttering!

It wasn't my intention to have a huge de-clutter today, but it just happened! I was originally trying to find the family tree that Keith's brother had given to us and it went from there. In the process, I did find my eternity ring which I thought I'd lost, the luggage scale that we'd definitely lost and lots of other things that were dear to my heart. A lot of stuff will go to a car boot sale that I'm hoping will still be on next week - old handbags, shoes I've never worn, jewellery and a HUGE amount of books that I've just finished sorting. I have books everywhere. Double stacked on a bookshelf, in the bathroom on top of a cabinet, in my bedside tables, in a little ottoman, downstairs on bookshelves...everywhere!

I even sorted out our airing cupboard and chucked out a load of threadbare towels - why do I keep things like that? It felt really good to see empty space in the wardrobes and drawers and everything clean and tidy. We have a big chest of drawers in our bedroom and they were all full to bursting with stuff we never wear but they are all sorted now and I feel very chuffed!

By the way...we still haven't found the family tree!!!

The week ends with a bang!

Today has been horrible. The day started off really well so I should have been suspicious but in the afternoon we had a large group of people descend on us at work and they caused utter and complete chaos. It would have been fine if we'd known they intended to visit so we could have put on extra staff and been prepared, but when they started to arrive (and they just kept on coming) we knew we were in for a bad few hours. The only good thing was that we were closing early for a private hire so at least we were able to contain the chaos to about three hours.

I'd been hoping to pick Sophie up from school and then slope off home but there was no way on earth I could have done that! I've realised in the last few months that this job is perhaps the worst I could do as someone who relishes peace and quiet! The screaming children, crying babies, shouting, bouncing of balls and huge mess everywhere was unbelieveable! Don't get me wrong, we welcome business, but we'd rather know about it in advance so we're not caught unawares and with just two staff apart from us to deal with it!

I eventually left at just past 5.30pm and went home. After driving Keith to the pub (!) I had a long hot bath with the bathroom door firmly closed!

Thank goodness it's the weekend!

Thursday 9 September and a visit to Nan

Things were back to normal at work on Thursday so mum and I were able to travel down to Kent to see Nan. We had a great chat about old times and then drove to Stone to see if we could find where the Lamb Inn used to be and the village of Farningham which was very pretty. The heavens opened as we were driving and we couldn't find the address of the pub so we drove to Farningham which we all loved. It's a gorgeous village with typical Kent cottages and a pretty river running through the middle. It's definitely somewhere we'll head back to soon.

Nan loved talking about her family and I discovered that two of her aunts moved to Australia (mum still writes to a cousin there) and one of them married an Aborigine! That will definitely need more looking into!

A day of highs and lows...

I was up very early this morning (just after 5am) as I had a headache and Keith was sending out some gentle snores. Thinking I'd take a couple of painkillers, have five minutes watching a mindless TV programme and then go back to bed, I was still sitting there at 7am, dazed by the new Daybreak programme which has replaced the old GMTV. Adrian and Christine's dazzling white smiles were too much for me so early so I made breakfast and had a shower and went in with Keith after we saw Mikey off at the bus-stop.

It was a really good thing that I didn't venture into work at the crack of dawn as I was still there at 6.30pm - Polly (who is rarely off sick) phoned in just after I arrived at work to say that she was not well (bug, I think) and just couldn't come into work. A half hour panic followed and in the end Mum and Dad had to forego their day off and come in to help. Dad manned Reception and I asked Sophie to help in the afternoon as we had a party. Keith called in on his way home from collecting a parcel from the main post office in Northampton and stayed until the bitter end when the party people just did not want to go home! I almost felt like a sheepdog shepherding them out of the door and I heaved a huge sigh of relief when I finally got into the car to go home!

Over dinner I happened to mention to Keith that I kept thinking about Berlin - every now and then a memory would flash into my mind and I wanted to go back... Luckily, Keith felt exactly the same so we had a quick look at flights and the price of the hotel we stay at in the city. The prices were amazing for the two of us so after a phonecall to mum, who agreed to look after the wee ones for two nights for us, we booked! We go on the 1st November for two nights, flying from Luton with...EasyJet!!! I know I said never again, but they seemed a better choice than my absolute nightmare, Ryanair, and the price was extremely good with not many hidden extras.

To say I can't wait to go back to my most favourite city is the understatement of the year!

Forest photo

"Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness"

Keith and I went for a walk this evening, after I got home from work. The rain we had earlier had passed and the sky was full of towering white clouds and lots of planes flying low and probably heading for either East Midlands or Birmingham airports.

We walked down to the village and I was amazed to see how many edible fruits were growing in the hedgerows - sloes, elderberries, blackcurrants, crab apples and rosehips. I'm going to make Sloe Gin again this year and will wait another month before I go out and pick my sloes. It was definitely the perfect Autumn late afternoon/early evening and it was lovely to be out in the fresh air, walking over the fields and enjoying the gorgeous scenery.

When we arrived home we sat in the conservatory to make the most of the evening sun and enjoyed a well-earned bottle of Theakston's Old Peculiar!

Who needs the gym?

Certainly not me, on a Monday, anyway!

Today we had the unenviable task of disposing of one of our huge inflatable bouncy castles (more like a bouncy slide really) and replacing it with our Gladiator Duel which we roll out when customers hire our place for the evening. It's very hard work getting it all out and then putting it away again, so we made the decision to get rid of the old and tired bouncy slide and have the Gladiator Duel in a permanent place to make it easier for everyone. We rolled the old inflatable up into a fairly neat sausage shape and then asked our friendly neighbour if we could borrow him and his forklift truck to take it into one of our outside units, where no doubt it will languish for the next couple of years! It's not really the sort of thing you can put in the back of the car and take to the local skip!

When we had finished (and it was a lot of hard work!) it all looked so much better - neater and cleaner and without the mess that it used to be. I'm sure the staff who supervise the Private Hires will be a lot happier as well!

The spell of fine weather came to an end this afternoon and we had heavy rain and high winds on the way home from work - very Autumnal weather which I have to say I enjoyed!

Where has the weekend gone?

This weekend, as usual, has passed in a flash. Mikey was much better on Saturday morning and ate some toast for breakfast, so I'm convinced it was one of the 24 hour bugs that does the rounds. We had a very quiet day at home but that all changed in the evening when a music festival started up in the village. We didn't go, but we could hear the music, word for word, up until 11pm last night. It was a bit like being in the middle of Glastonbury and I heard that a good time was had by all.

I continued to research the family tree and I'm finding it utterly fascinating. All my relatives seem to come alive when I add them to the tree and then find out what they were doing years ago, but I don't think I'm going to find any huge surprises - most of them were ordinary farm labourers although one was a Blacksmith and the other a "Horsekeeper" which I took at first to be a tinker, but then realised it was a groom!

This afternoon mum and I went to the garden centre (Sophie didn't come with us - too boring) but I'm going to try and hang onto the summer bedding plants for another couple of weeks before I put in the winter flowering pansies. I have a suspicion the garden centre was gearing up for Christmas as there were lots of empty spaces, no doubt destined to be colour-coded displays!

Back at Mum's I borrowed a few birth certificates from her which should help me a little further in my quest!

Friday 3 September

The lovely weather continued on Friday and the forecast for the weekend is good as well, so we may be able to sit out in the garden!

Mum was fascinated about my findings on the family tree - she's looking forward to going down to Kent and finding out even more and hopefully what I've found will jog Nan's memory as well. I added some more family to the tree, including Keith's side which has made it rather large! Keith's brother has also made a family tree and has managed to go a long way back. We have a copy of it at home so I may spend a few hours trying to find it - I know it's about somewhere!

Sue came around for a glass of wine and a chat but our gossip was interrupted by Mikey being sick, poor thing. He kept saying he felt unwell, but as he's cried wolf before I normally humour him until something happens, which it did...all over the cream living room carpet! We kept him wrapped up on the sofa all night and then he slept on a put up bed in our room as he was backwards and forwards to the loo several times in the night. I suspect it's a bug picked up from someone at school who had been ill but was let back to school earlier than they should have been. But I can hardly blame a parent if that's the case, after the children have been off for five and a half weeks!

Back to school!

It's been a bit busy here over the last couple of days. The children went back to school today and I had to take my car in to the mechanics yet again, this time because of brake pads. It's so ironic as I mentioned to Keith in France that the car felt really good and I'd feel comfortable about taking her right down to the south of France again! Ho hum!

Mum and Dad had a well deserved day off today so Keith came into work with me which was great. Things are back to normal! I had another sneaky look at Genes Reunited and found out some more about my ancestors. It turns out that my Great Great Grandfather was a "Licensed Victualler" who ran The Lamb Inn in Stone, near Dartford. The pub is no more which is a shame, but it's still worth a look the next time we go to see Nan. She was able to give me the information that helped me piece it all together but what is really confusing is the names! It appears that children were given the name of the father and grandfather (and mother) so I have lots of Williams and Fredericks to contend with and I keep getting confused! The censuses are brilliant, though, and have helped enormously. I now need to find out who was my Great great great grandfather, probably born in the late 1700s. It's been a lot of fun but I don't recommend looking at it all just before bed...it took me ages to get to sleep last night as my brain was whirring through all the information I'd found out!

I still need to do something with the header photo...I want a lovely forest scene I took a couple of years ago, so I'll have another try, this time when I'm not so tired!

Arrrrggghhh!!

As you can see, I've been having a little trouble designing the blog header for September...it's all gone a bit pear shaped and now I am  very tired. All evening I've been researching my family tree which has been fascinating but it's left very little time to write this, so I'm going to be quick tonight and write more tomorrow when I have both the time and the energy!