The Year 2000 - a diary. July

July 2000

July started with heavy rain and on the 1st we went to MFI to look at units for the preparation room of the Nursery. I also bought Sophie three pairs of shoes at Gordon Scott and took out a mortgage to pay for them...

Keith cooked again on Saturday night and we had a feast - roast Quail served on a slice of fried bread with a large mushroom, Hungarian Goulash and a dessert of chocolate pie. It was wonderful. We also drank a Chenin Blanc/Colombard from South Africa. (Why doesn't he cook dishes like this now??!)

On Sunday, Mum and I spent the whole day cleaning the Nursery and printing off the end of year reports for the business. I arrived home at 5.30pm absolutely exhausted.

Life was very busy in July and I felt like I really needed a holiday but we had to sell the house first. We had two buyers who were interested but they also needed to sell their own houses before they could make an offer on ours. Keith and I were hoping that we'd be able to buy a house at a new development called Knight's Grange but we didn't have any information on prices yet.

We had one more week of being open before we closed down for the refurbishment and it was very busy with groups visiting and Birthday parties. Our cook took two weeks off for a holiday and things finally settled down with SPI. Nevertheless, the lease still hadn't been signed...

On Friday 7th July Mum and I took the day off to do housework as we were going to be working all weekend. On the way to Tesco's I called into Knight's Grange as the show office was open but the sales woman told me to come back on Saturday as she had no idea of the prices of the new houses yet.

Over the weekend we started dismantling the old framework but half an hour into the work, Polly cut her finger very badly and had to go to hospital for stitches. Mum went with her, taking Sophie and Michael as well and they were there for hours. The rest of us slowly took down the frame around the obstacle course and the tots area. It was dirty, hard work and there was dust everywhere. It was obvious that we were long overdue a revamp!

We put up a large banner informing customers that we were closed and after spotting a suspect van in the car park, we hurriedly shut the gates!

On Sunday morning we were all back in again and Polly returned, raring to go despite two stitches in her thumb.

Sophie mucking about. Polly's in the background

We took down more of the frame and dismantled the old Reception area. We planned to pull up the old carpet on Monday as SPI were due in on Tuesday 11th July.

Everybody was in on Monday - builders, plumbers, carpenters and electricians. The telephone rang non-stop and I had to cook lunch for the Nursery. The carpet was firmly stuck to the floor and in desperation we hired a pneumatic drill-like contraption that made lifting it slightly easier.

On Tuesday I stayed at home to wait for the Sky engineer to come and look at our jumpy picture while Keith took my place on the scaffolding. Everybody managed to get a lot of work done and SPI arrived, only to leave again to go in search of accommodation.

Work started early on Wednesday morning and SPI put down the underlay and the new carpet first. We decided to move our office today and chaos reigned! The wall dividing up the large play area was half-built and the builders started work on knocking through the old female toilets. As well as moving furniture down to the new office I had to cook the Nursery lunch again...arrggh!

While all this was going on our estate agent phoned to say that the couple who looked at the house a few weeks ago had made an offer at the full asking price!

In the evening, while Mum and Dad were at our house enjoying a glass of wine, the phone rang and it was one of the friends who'd cancelled the meal at the Huntshouse in Kilsby. He demanded to know why £51 had been taken out of his account by the restaurant. I tried my best to explain (probably because they'd cancelled at the last minute) but he was very rude and angry and my Dad was furious that he spoke to me like that.

On Thursday we finally managed to get the office straight and I went out to buy paint for the new sleep room in the Nursery, which had once been our office. Jill and Rachael, our two Nursery nurses choose lime and lemon.

Friday was spent painting the room and it was hard work! We finished at 6pm and I looked forward to having the Saturday off. Most of the dirty work had been done with the refurbishment now, with all the walls knocked through and the new stud wall almost built. SPI had erected a load of scaffolding and the toilets were being painted.

The two Michaels

Mum and Mike

Polly

On Saturday 15th July, after shopping, I drove to Knights Grange to find out the cost of a three-bedroom house. To my amazement, the price was just within our budget so I drove home, collected Keith and we returned to discuss the situation with the sales woman. Keith really wanted to wait until next year but I was frightened that we would miss out as only six were being built. After a brief, but heated, argument I went back yet again to put a reserve on Plot 39 for the sum of £250.00. We now just prayed that everything would go through with the sale of the cottage.

That same day Mum and Dad went to stay at The Feathers Hotel in Woodstock to celebrate their wedding anniversary. They phoned later to say that the place was shabby and expensive...

Work started up again on Monday 17th July and Mum and I tried to finish some decorating work in the Nursery but we were constantly interrupted by phone calls and whiny children. The weather turned hot  and Brenda, our cook, returned from her holiday. All the days seemed to blend into a blur of work and heat.

Polly and Brenda started painting the walls of the main area and choose a bright orange to complement the yellow above the border and the carpet. Mum and I seemed to be constantly shopping for paint and borders and we also started buying all the Nursery equipment from Toys R Us.

Our friend Pat came around on the Tuesday evening to discuss the forthcoming barbecue on the 29th July. We spent most of the time talking about the enraged phone call I had from our erstwhile friend and the monstrosity of a house being built on the patch of land behind us at home.

On Wednesday I went out for a meal with my friends Lynda, Claire and Paula to The Rice Bowl. We chose the Banquet option but changed virtually all the dishes to suit our tastes! We had a good laugh and it was wonderful to get out and relax for a while.

The weather turned really hot towards the end of the week and on Thursday we had to make preparations for the advertising stand we were having at the Northampton Show. Our stand was within the Herald and Post marquee and we had leaflets printed to give out on the day. We really didn't have time to do this as we had so much work to do but we wanted to promote both the play centre and the Nursery, especially as the business had now been closed for a couple of weeks.

On Saturday I met Mum at work before going down to the show at Abington Park. The tube slides had arrived and the men were making a start on them over the weekend. The weather was cold and dismal with a thin rain in the air making it really miserable. On the way to Abington Park we called into Ventolite, who sell blinds, to see if they have anything suitable for the Nursery windows. We weren't happy with the designs or the cost! We then drove over to Mamas and Papas and chose the nappy changing stations and a border for the sleep room.

Driving into the showground was great as we had car-park passes but it was very busy and we eventually arrived at the marquee at 1.30pm. There was a lot going on, with bingo to the right of us and face-painting to the left. We ate lunch and Sophie had her face painted like a cat. We were able to walk around the show and Sophie went on lots of rides and a bouncy castle. We were charged £1.00 for five minutes! The weather hadn't improved at all and it stayed cold and horrible.

On Sunday we all went into work - Dad, Mum, Polly, Brenda and me. I spent all day painting and Michael was very whiny. We had just four days to go before we re-opened but the place still resembled a building site. The slides weren't in and Mum was worried that we wouldn't be finished in time.

On Monday Polly and Brenda put up the border and I painted the remaining doors. Most of the decorating had now been done and on Tuesday Mum and I swept and tidied the car park which was one big mess. We worked really hard to get it all done and the skips were full of rubbish.

The men from SPI had trouble fitting the slides and there was still loads to be done. The inflatable obstacle course returned from its service and was inflated to show the men how much they had to net...and it was a lot!

On Wednesday one of the Nursery Nurses came to help with Michael so Mum and I could get some work done. He slept all morning and I managed to get the wages done and write to people who saw our stand at the show and requested more information. We spent the afternoon getting the party rooms straight and washed all the chairs.

We spent Thursday hoovering and cleaning and at 4pm Mum and I, along with Michael, drove down to Kent to pick up the Nans. The journey was horrible. There was a wide load on the M1 and then on the M25 there was a chemical spillage and an accident at Junction 27. We crawled along for hours and got to Nan French's house at 7.15pm. After having a quick supper of sandwiches and salad we went to pick up the other Nan and headed for home. Thankfully the journey was very fast and stress-free.

On the day of the opening we were still frantically cleaning and Mum and I went off to get more lengths of the wallpaper border. At 1.30, half an hour before re-opening, Brenda managed to get the rest of it stuck to the wall and at 2pm we opened the doors to the first invited customers. I have to say we were reluctant to let them in in case they dirtied the new carpets!

Some of my friends arrived and it was a hectic time setting out drinks and saying hello to friends and customers. At the end of the day I was absolutely exhausted. Sophie was also tired after playing on the new framework with her friends from Nursery and after I delivered the meat for the barbecue to Pat it was heaven to get home and collapse on the sofa!

Finally, the 29th July arrived and I was able to take the day off. Mum and Dad went into work to sort out the staff and Keith and I went shopping. I bought all the wine, mostly reds from Chile and South Africa. The weather was gorgeously warm and sunny.

As the afternoon wore on, it rained, but it was only a shower. However, by 7.30pm it had started raining again and after running along to Pat and David's house we had a glass of Pimm's in the kitchen. Poor David finished off cooking the steaks on the barbecue and John and Sarah arrived with the salads followed by Mum and Dad who had brought Bruce and a sour-faced Ann. Luckily, after half an hour the rain stopped and we could begin our barbecue properly.

The food was wonderful. We enjoyed Gazpacho soup with garlic bread followed by Cumberland sausages, pork ribs, steak and chicken stuffed with spinach and garlic. There were lots of salads and some really delicious potatoes. Pat and David's garden was truly magical with lots of little lights, candles and hanging lanterns everywhere leading down to the stream. The wines went down very well and complemented the barbecued food beautifully.

We had a very enjoyable evening, spoilt only slightly by the miserable look on Ann's face throughout the night. The next day was spent doing very little and relaxing after the hectic few week's we'd had.

The month ended with the start of the summer school holidays and Mum and I drove the Nans back home. It was a much better journey than the previous trip down to Kent!

The Year 2000 - a diary. April - June

April 2000


My diary entry for this month started with a confession that I'd almost abandoned keeping up to date with what was happening in my life so soon after starting and that I couldn't remember much of what happened at all! Michael seemed to have suffered with health during April: his rash hadn't disappeared and he developed a cough that had to be treated with antibiotics and an inhaler.

Sophie's birthday was celebrated on the 5th, and also on the Sunday before with the Big Nans. On her birthday I decorated a table in the party area with Barbie napkins, plates and cups and tied balloons to the chair. She had a lot of presents (a pushchair for her dolls from us) and loads of cards.

On the 12th April, Mum, Dad, Polly and I went to Wrexham to see a company called SPI who had designed a new playframe for work. The lease had been agreed at long last and we were able to go ahead with our plans. The trip to Wrexham was very good, despite an unsettling telephone call to Keith when I could hear Michael screaming in the background.

Our little cottage was put on the market on the 16th April with Jackson Grundy and we hoped that it would sell quickly!

Easter was late that year, at the end of April, and we were very busy at work. It was our busiest Easter yet as the weather was horrible.

After Easter we had a spate of viewings on the house, but no offers. The house had never been so clean!

The month ended on a good note at a friend's house where we drank Italian wines and we also took possession of  a new company car - a Peugeot 406 Rapier - which was lovely.

May 2000

Our plans continued with the refurbishment at work and we decided to close from the 7th to the 28th July to install the new play area.

In the middle of May relations from Canada arrived to stay with Mum and Dad. They spent two nights with my parents and we all went to the Huntshouse restaurant in Kilsby on the 12th May. We had a delicious meal with lots of gossip and laughter. Kathryn, a Nursery Nurse from our Nursery, came to baby-sit and Michael looked at her like she was a vampire!

On the 19th May I had to go a friend's Hen Night in town, despite not wanting to go at all. Hen Nights were never my thing! During the day Mum and I drove down to Kent to pick up the Nans as she and Dad were off to a villa in Mallorca on the 20th May.

My Hen Night experience was not a pleasant one so at 9.30pm I disappeared to the loos and asked Keith to call me to say I had to go home. What a naughty thing to do! Lynda and I went to the Rice Bowl for a Chinese meal instead!

I started Michael on solid food in May. He enjoyed some yoghurt and baby rice with fruit. At first he screwed up his face but then started to kick his legs madly whenever he saw the pot of food!

I made a note of his achievements so far:

He could - smile, laugh, coo, kick his legs like a footballer, roll onto his side, hold his head up completely. hold onto his toes ("If all else fails, at least I've got my toes"), follow you with his eyes around the room, hold tightly onto a rattle or his dummy, sleep all night until about 6am, bite his bib, say "hello" and "Mummy".

He loved to - kick his covers off, have his nappy changed, kick you, headbutt you, play with his musical piano and his toys, play "Rockets!" with Grandad, watch television, kick his legs in the bath and grab Mummy's hair.

He absolutely adored Sophie, but that was no surprise!

He hated - being dressed, having his nose wiped, being put in his car-seat and waiting for a bottle to be warmed up even though he refused to drink it cold.


My parents were away so I had a busy week. Keith helped out and the Nans were a great support team. My parents returned on the 27th May and we had a busy Bank Holiday weekend with two potential buyers looking at the house. One woman was very interested and made an offer of the full asking price. We accepted!

Later that week Keith and I went to see Gwen and John (his sister and brother-in-law) in the North-East. Gwen wasn't very well and her children, Neville and Janet, also come around to see us. We stopped at a hotel in Piercebridge on the way home and were entertained by the owners who were very much like the couple from Fawlty Towers!


June 2000

I started the month by viewing a bungalow in Hannington with my mum but it was horrible. It was small and dark and the woman selling it obviously hadn't ever watched "The House Doctor" (my source of inspiration at the time). The estate agent never showed up either, which made things worse.

Michael was now adept at putting his toes in his mouth (I bet he wishes he could do that now!).

On Sunday 4th June we were burgled at work. I had to go and sort it out on my own (I don't say why here, perhaps Mum and Dad were away again?). Thankfully, Polly came in and sat with  me while I waited for the door to be boarded up otherwise I would have been terrified.

The week of the 5th-9th June was not a good one. We had problems with not only customers at work, but financial woes as well and the sale of our house fell through.

On the Tuesday we were forced to call the police at work as a woman was threatening to come and smash the premises up...

With the rest of the Wine Club members, we'd booked a table at The Huntshouse restaurant but one couple called and cancelled, saying that one of them was ill after a disastrous holiday in Italy.

At work, we had meetings with both our Bank Manager and our Accountant and the figures looked good with a profit expected the following year. We kept our fingers crossed that we would get the loan for the refurbishment.

On the 13 June we drove to Birmingham to see Santana in concert at the NEC. We left home early as we'd booked a table in the Hospitality suite and were delighted to find we had a special parking place reserved as well!

We had a wonderful meal with wine and enjoyed seeing everyone arrive for the concert. I decided to call Keith to make sure everyone was fine at home and he told me that another couple phoned and cancelled for the meal at the restaurant as one of them had the flu...

This bad news made us very angry and worried that we'd done something to upset them. Dad recalled an incident with one of the couples' grandsons but it was such a minor disagreement that we refused to believe that was the cause of the cancellations.

We tried to forget about the problems with the meal and we thoroughly enjoyed the concert. They played a lot of songs from their new album but they did include Black Magic Woman and Oye Como Va. The NEC was full and the atmosphere was great.

During this month Sophie became naughtier and naughtier - crying at the slightest thing and giving me lots of cheek. It reached a point on a Friday morning when I felt I was going mad with her so Mum took me to Milton Keynes for some shopping and I was able to relax for a bit.

Our neighbours in Walgrave, Pat and David, were mystified by the other couples' cancellations as much as us but we were all still looking forward to going out and enjoying a meal. Keith took delivery of our transport for the evening - an ancient minibus - and we discovered that it needed a good clean and smelled a bit...

On the night of the meal, Kathryn arrived to take care of the children, but Michael howled when she held him, which caused me to have a major stress about leaving my little baby, even though she was a great baby-sitter and a qualified Nursery Nurse.

We had a great night at The Huntshouse restaurant. We arrived a little late but they'd reserved a table for us by the window for our pre-dinner drinks and didn't mind our reduced numbers. It was a beautiful summer's evening and there were lots of other people eating and drinking. We chose the wine and Dad talked about his theory of why the two other couples had cancelled.

The meal was delicious. I enjoyed Parmesan Choux rings with chicken livers followed by broccoli soup and then a pork tenderloin stuffed with pancetta and spinach. We had a Semillon Chardonnay from Australia to start followed by a Beaune Villages and an Australian Merlot. The wines complemented the food beautifully.

The conversation never flagged but Ian (the owner) didn't go through the menu like he normally used to...maybe he was a bit overwhelmed by us all (there were eight of us!).

Dessert was gorgeous - a Tiramisu tart followed by coffee and mints at the table. We were the last party to leave and John and Sarah and Pat and David came back to our house for more coffee, which woke the children who did their own bit of entertaining!

On Sunday morning I awoke with a hangover, we had a viewing scheduled for 11am and the mini-bus had to be returned...

The viewing turned out to be a waste of time and in the afternoon it grew very hot, reaching 34c. Mum and I went to the garden centre but Sophie fell asleep in the car so we returned home. She ended up staying with my mum in the afternoon while I had a relaxing time watching television with Michael.

In the evening we went to the pub for a drink and then I cooked steak for dinner as it was Father's Day. Sophie stayed the night at Mum's house.

On Monday 19th June the builders started at work and our new office began to take shape. The bank had agreed our loan but this only made us worry more! During the course of the morning someone managed to steal a whole freezer-full of ice-creams. We still don't know how it happened. It was very hot at work and we started contacting air-conditioning firms for quotes.

On Tuesday work began on the male toilets as they were going to be split into two, with one half being converted into the ladies' loos.

On Wednesday we had yet another viewing so I had to go home and clean the house again. 

We had a small crisis at the end of the week when the bank refused to release the funds for the loan until we'd signed the new lease. This should have been done months ago and our Solicitor had been sitting on the paperwork since the 29th March. Understandably my Dad was not happy as this meant that SPI wouldn't start actual manufacture of the play equipment until the bank had guaranteed the money. Angry letters were sent back and forth until we received an assurance that everything would be completed.

As well as the building works to the interior, we also had a team of gardeners rip out all the bushes in front of the Nursery to make way for a small outdoor play area. The intense heat dissipated by the end of the week and it turned cooler and showery.

On Saturday 24th June Mum and I took the kiddies strawberry picking near Geddington. It was cold and windy but we had a great time and picked three punnets full of fruit. We then drove over to Podington garden centre where I bought some geraniums for my window boxes. It was much cooler today - 14c - and we had a lovely relaxing afternoon with no stress or hassle.

In the evening Mum and Dad came around for dinner and Keith insisted on cooking. He made celery and Stilton soup, Normandy pork with vegetables and rhubarb and ginger Fool. It was all delicious and much appreciated by all of us. I served a South African Semillon and a Pinot Noir from Chile (Cono Sur). We enjoyed a lovely evening and both children behaved impeccably!

Sunday was perfect for barbecuing and I finished off the Pinot Noir.

Back at work, the tension increased with more financial problems and SPI demanding payment by the 3rd July. More angry letters were sent between us and them but thankfully all was resolved and a sensible schedule of payment was arranged. The lease still hadn't been signed though...

Work continued slowly with new party rooms being built and the refurbished toilets finished. We're pleased with the progress but the problem with the lease still hung over us like a grey cloud.

The Year 2000 - a diary. January - March

January 2000

After a very enjoyable Millennium Eve spent at friend's houses (Mum and Dad, Sarah and John and Pat and David, finishing with Champagne at our house while Keith nursed his flu bug) I awaited the arrival of baby Michael, due on the 18th January, with increasing anticipation.

However, as expected, the day came and went with no sign of labour pains. A helpful lady sales representative from the Yellow Pages recommended Clary Sage, an aromatherapy oil, which I duly added to my bath water on the 25th. Mum and I were going to London on the 26th January to buy some tablets from a homeopathic shop as I did not want to be induced like I was last time, with Sophie!

I had some pains in the early hours of the 26th but this didn't put me off going to London. However, after buying the tablets and walking around the capital for a while we decided to return home as the pains were getting worse and coming every thirty minutes.

To cut a long story short, I phoned the hospital at 9.30pm and they told me to come in, just in case. When I arrived and was examined I was told that I was not in labour so Keith was sent home and I was taken up to the Maternity ward where the pains just kept on coming and growing increasingly worse.

The midwife wouldn't give me anything and the TENS machine I'd hired was barely effective. When my waters broke (and what a feeling that was!) I felt an enormous urge to push and they finally realised I might just be in labour after all! With a sudden panic, they wheeled me up to the delivery room and Michael was born just thirty minutes later, weighing 9lbs, 2oz! His shoulders had become stuck but after a short spell in a special cot with a supply of oxygen he was fine. Keith had come rushing back and arrived just as they were putting our son into his special trolley.

I was out of hospital the next day and in the pub the day after!

Luckily, despite a few tears in the evening following the birth I was not as depressed as I was after Sophie and Mum and Keith helped out enormously.

February 2000

Keith and I registered Michael's birth on the 1st February and I went back to work soon afterwards.

Michael met the "Big Nans" for the first time on Sunday 6th February when we took him down for Nan Lamb's birthday. We had a lovely day and Michael was adored by all, of course!

The following Saturday, February 12th, we went to a Children's Activity Centre in Epping. The place was brand new and built by Hope Adventure who we are looking to take on to re-build our own indoor play area. The owner was an ex-builder who spoke his mind and told us we weren't using the space we have effectively enough. He dismissed our idea of putting in a gym and told us instead to rent out 8,000 square feet of space. This would then give us instant income (if we found a tenant). We had a great day in Essex and Michael was an angel.

Half-term started on Friday 18 February and it was a very busy week. Dad and I helped out in the kitchen and we did great business every day. This gave us the confidence to go ahead with our plans as the play frame hasn't altered that much over the last couple of years. We hope to see increased business with a new, improved play area.

All our hopes and plans are centred on the new lease which is going ahead with all the speed of a drunken snail. Our Solicitor is doing a great job dealing with the Landlords in London and we are gradually inching our way to an agreement.

Friday 25th February was the first Wine Evening of the new Millennium and we sampled wines from North America. They turned out to be delicious and we all had a great evening. Sophie stayed at home with Keith and Michael came with me to Mum and Dad's house where he slept the evening away.

March 2000

Mum and I took Michael and Sophie to see the Big Nans again on Friday 3 March and we went to Bluewater in the afternoon. Michael loved all the colours and noises and fell asleep in his pushchair. He's only 5 weeks old and he's been all over the country!

Monday 6th March was mine and Keith's 12 year "First Date" anniversary. The time has gone so quickly! We celebrated with a bottle of sparkling Vouvray and went to the pub while Mum looked after the children.

Michael had his six week review on the 9th March and all was well. He smiled on cue at the lady doctor and held his head up well. The rash on his face is still there and she told me to make an appointment with my GP to get some cream.

The next day we duly went to the doctor's surgery and I had to park what seemed like miles away! Michael now weighs 12lbs 8oz so he's rather heavy to carry! We were given some cream for his face but I've found that E45 ointment works just as well.

Early on Saturday the 11th March Sophie was very hot and when I checked her for the dreaded meningitis I found a small spot on her tummy. A few hours later she had more and I realised that she had chickenpox, which is doing the rounds of the Nursery.

The next day we went into work to open up and then headed down to London as planned. Sophie was still spotty but they weren't too bad so we decided to risk it! We drove in a new Honda Accord that we had on loan until April, parked in Hyde Park and strolled along the Serpentine feeding the ducks and, literally, watching the world go by.

There were people on roller-skates, skateboards, joggers, cyclists and horse-riders, all out and enjoying the Spring sunshine. Michael had a feed overlooking the water and it was wonderful to be out in the fresh air.

From Hyde Park we strolled down Exhibition Road to the Victoria and Albert Musuem where we soon learned that the building wasn't suitable for pushchairs! We heaved both of them up and down stairs and paid a small fortune (£13.45 for two rolls, two coffees and an orange juice) for lunch! Sophie enjoyed the dresses, especially Sophie Rhys Jones's wedding dress that was part of an exhibition. I love the V&A and could quite happily spend the entire day there, just wandering around the magnificent rooms and admiring all the exhibits. The top floors are full of china and glass and always seem to be empty. On a rainy Sunday afternoon, you can't beat it.

Unfortunately, when I took Sophie to the loo I found she was covered in spots. We decided to call it a day and headed for home, accompanied by screams from the back as Michael needed feeding and wouldn't accept lukewarm milk!

Because of Sophie's chickenpox I stayed home for a week and at the beginning I quite enjoyed spending time with both children. Keith came home in the afternoons on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday so relieved the boredom a bit. The Cheltenham Festival was on which gave us a bit of interest but by the end of the week I was climbing the walls with both of them under my feet and couldn't wait to get back to work!

Javea, Costa Blanca September 2-18 1999 The journey home

We set off bright and early on Thursday morning in beautiful sunny weather. The road was quiet and we stopped briefly for a drink and Keith treated Sophie to a Barbie doll. It soon grew very hot and we wished fervently that we had air-conditioning in the car! By the afternoon we'd reached Barcelona and Mum phoned me on my mobile to ask a question about sending emails! As we were in the middle of negotiating a tricky bit of the road I told her I'd call her back!

We left the motorway at Barcelona and headed towards the mountains that we could see in the distance. The road was almost empty and we stopped at a service station overlooking the monastery of Montserrat. This looked very impressive perched as it was high up in the mountains. We grabbed a quick sandwich and Keith drank the very last bottle of the beer he'd carried all the way to Spain! It was a fitting time to drink it, surrounded by gorgeous mountains and the imposing monastery!

I took over the driving and the road continued to wind up into the mountains, passing through several grim industrial towns. Soon we saw signs for Andorra and we drove through a long tunnel at the top of a pass. We had briefly flirted with the idea of going into the mountainous Principality but we were glad we didn't when we came to the border and we were asked a lot of questions about whether we'd been there. We guessed it was because of the Duty Free laws in Andorra but as we hadn't set foot in the tiny country we were waved over into France.

As it now getting later in the afternoon we started looking for a hotel for the night and hoped that we'd come across a clean and friendly auberge. One of the first villages we came to had a sign that looked promising so we pulled up outside the hotel and went in to see if they had anything available. The man at Reception wasn't particularly welcoming but he showed us to a clean, if spartan, room which had tremendous views over the Pyrenees.

After lugging the cases up to our room I dived into the tiny bathroom and had a bath. We were all soon clean and dressed so decided to take a walk around the beautiful village which had gorgeous houses and masses of flowers everywhere. Sophie loved exploring and found an old fountain that must have been used to wash clothes in days gone by.

Dinner that night was delicious. We had an aperitif in the small bar first while we studied the menu and Sophie played with her new Barbie dolls. There wasn't many of us eating but there was a nice atmosphere and the waiter was very friendly and helpful. By 9.30pm we were all more than ready for bed!

The next day dawned bright and sunny and after a quick breakfast (how I hate continental breakfasts!) we set off through the mountains. After just half an hour's driving we were suddenly stopped by the French police who demanded that we open the boot of the car and then started asking us questions about Andorra and whether we'd visited the country. The policeman noticed my two bottles of Martini and wanted to know where we'd bought the Lladro. All the questions made us feel guilty even though we had nothing to worry about but we were just glad we'd decided not to go to Andorra after all!

As we drove further into the mountains the weather grew worse and it began to rain. Grey dismal villages appeared out of the gloom and we were glad we'd stopped where we did. Very soon we'd left the mountains behind and were heading for Toulouse on a busy road. The weather hadn't improved at all and we all felt disappointed as we'd imagined driving through spectacular scenery.

We drove on and on, reaching the Dordogne area where we'd had a previous, disastrous holiday two years before. It had rained every day and we'd eventually decided to leave early because of the terrible weather. Things hadn't changed as it was still raining and grey!

After leaving the Dordogne we eventually reached a motorway and stopped near Limoges for a lunch of sandwiches eaten in the car. The services were spotlessly clean and had a wonderful array of gifts to buy from the local area.

We followed the motorway to Tours and then turned off to drive to the wine village of Vouvray where we were hoping to stay the night at a hotel we'd visited six years before. The road was only a single carriageway and inevitably we became stuck behind every slow vehicle on the road. I'm always nervous about overtaking on the "wrong" side of the road (in a right hand drive car you just cannot see very well!) so a slow journey ensued, made even worse by Sophie suddenly saying she needed the loo!

We reached the town of Tours at the height of the rush hour but successfully negotiated our way through and arrived in Vouvray in the early evening. Unfortunately the hotel was fully booked so we were very disappointed. We carried on towards Amboise and saw an Auberge that looked promising. The lady in charge spoke very good English and showed us to a room overlooking the road. Again, it was very bare but spotlessly clean. We wondered why the French never think to provide a television or even tea and coffee making facilities that seem to be standard in British B&Bs.

There was no restaurant in the hotel so after a quick shower we headed into Amboise to look for somewhere to eat. We arrived in the town in the middle of a storm and as it was pouring with rain and the streets were full of cars, we drove around for a while until it stopped.

Amboise was lovely. It's extremely picturesque with cobbled streets and some beautiful old buildings. There were lots of tourists wandering around the streets and after a wander we found a lovely restaurant called Le Parvis tucked away down a side street. We were the first customers to arrive so we took a table in the corner and studied the menu.

The restaurant was very popular and was soon full. The main feature is a huge grill where the chef cooks the meat dishes and we loved the ambiance of the place with the wonderful smells of woodsmoke and grilled food. Our dinner was delicious and was accompanied by a local Rose wine. Sophie ate most of her meal but she didn't seem quite as adventurous as I was at her age!

Walking back to the car we enjoyed seeing all the beautiful old buildings lit up and promised ourselves we would return.

After breakfast the next morning we drove into Vouvray to buy some wine from a favourite shop. We bought six bottles of wine, including a 1970 vintage and four from the 1980s.

Reluctantly we left and began the last leg of the journey, heading towards Paris which we negotiated via the peripherique. We stopped in Cite Europe to do some more shopping and then we made it onto the next available train. It was very busy at the terminal but we were soon on our way back to the UK and Sophie made friends with a little girl who had been camping in the Dordogne. Her family were very impressed when we told them we'd been all the way to Javea in Spain.

Arriving back in England on a dull Saturday afternoon we were home quickly and back to reality. Our trusty Volvo had completed almost 3000 miles and we had enjoyed the experience of taking it to Spain and back rather than flying. Would we do it again? Yes, we would!

Javea, Costa Blanca September 2-18 1999 Part 4

The next day we took my parents to Moraira and showed them the sights of the town. We also drove into Javea and they were of the same opinion as us so we didn't repeat the experience. My Dad especially loved the wine shop in Moraira and we chose two different wines from the barrel to try with our lunch of salad and ham.

Mum and Dad enjoyed their stay with us and we found some lovely restaurants near the villa. One day we drove into the mountains, to the town of Guadalest and Keith and I bought some Lladro to take home. This beautiful moutain village is cool and full of shops selling local produce. We all spent a very happy hour wandering around and taking in the breathtaking scenery. We took lunch at a nearby restaurant where the food was barbecued and served on wooden platters with salad, but the flies everywhere were a bit off-putting!

For Mum and Dad's last night with us we went to a great restaurant out in the countryside. The eating area was partially outside and we had a delicious meal with particularly good desserts! It was a popular place with a lot of loud English voices about!

The next day we took my parents back to Alicante airprt and said goodbye. It would take them just two hours to fly back home. We didn't want to think about our return journey which we had decided to change. A trip home via the Pyrenees sounded a good idea and we had even thought of leaving a day earlier and re-visiting some wine areas in France.

After waving goodbye we drove to Benidorm to spend a couple of hours on the beach. We turned off the motorway at the junction before Benidorm and became embroiled in an horrendous traffic jam. We slowly crawled towards the resort and parked the car in what used to be a quiet area next to the hotel we'd stayed at in April. Then, the beach was almost deserted but now, although not over-crowded, it was definitely busier. After a drink at a promenade bar we went onto the beach and Sophie and Keith went for a swim. The sea was lovely and warm, but salty! We could see our hotel in the distance but I was really glad we'd decided to rent a villa this time.

After a couple of hours we'd had enough and so dressed back into our crumpled clothes in the car. All three of us were sweaty and salty...not a very nice feeling at all! As soon as we got back into the car Sophie fell asleep and we negotiated our way out of the very busy resort. The coast road was packed with cars as well and we literally crawled all the way to Calpe where thankfully the roads became a bit quieter.

That night we decided to "slob out"  and have fish and chips from an English takeaway on the road to Moraira. It was very windy as we drove to the small arcade of shops and bars and the clouds were increasing. Almost every night, sitting on our balcony, we had seen lightening over the mountains and tonight was no exception. As we were eating our supper back at the villa the wind grew even stronger and tore down the awning that sheltered the terrace. We were dismayed and worried about this as the awning was vital for giving us welcome shade from the fierce sun.

The next day we called in to see the agents to explain what had happened but their response was very laid back and they never did send anyone out to repair it!

We decided that we were going to leave on Thursday, a day earlier than planned, and take our time getting home. We spent Wednesday packing and washing clothes and at night we drove to a restaurant called Bacchus which we'd been trying to find. The restaurant was French-run and specialised in fondue dishes. We sat outside in the warm evening air and commented that my parents would have loved it there as it was just their sort of place, despite the fact that Keith wore a bib when he was eating his main course!

Javea, Costa Blanca September 2-18 1999 Part 3

Over the next few days we explored Javea, which sadly we did not grow fond of, and Moraira which we liked very much. We had originally been based in Moraira before our villa was changed and it was a very pretty little fishing village with several restaurants overlooking the yacht marina. There was a small beach at one end and lots of shops selling clothes, gifts and souvenirs. One wonderful shop sold local wines straight from the barrel and this was a favourite with us! We had stocked up at a supermarket in Javea on Sunday morning but we always needed something every day, normally fresh bread and ham for lunch, along with the delicious tomatoes that were grown locally. It was wonderful to stop at a small cafe and sip a cold beer while watching the world go by.

The days took on a regular pattern of exploring in the morning followed by lunch at the villa with the afternoon spent around the pool. We tried with Javea again but felt there was something about the town that we just didn't like. We really couldn't say what. Perhaps it was the empty pebbly beach we visited one morning but we didn't have any urge to return.

We much preferred Moraira and went there regularly, always parking on a very muddy expanse of land at the back of the town. One morning we took the pretty, winding road to Calpe, passing villas and lots of little shops on the way. The road hugged the coastline and we could see the huge outcrop of rock which stands at one end of Calpe's bay as you approach the town.

Calpe was a miniature Benidorm with a long sweeping promenade lined with hotels, restaurants and bars. We walked the length of the beach and then stopped for a welcome drink. The weather was beautiful and sunny with plenty of people enjoying the beach and the sea.

Mum and Dad were due to arrive on Thursday and after a lazy day around the pool we drove to Alicante airport in the early evening. The sun was just setting as we drove south along the motorway and we were able to admire the magnificent scenery with the mountains on our right and the sea on our left. As we passed the huge resort of Benidorm we could still make out the Bali 3 hotel that was still not finished and we wondered whether it ever would be! (We'd visited Benidorm earlier in the year on a short break and marvelled at the amount of building going on. The Bali 3 was an imposing hotel that was surrounded by cranes when we were there!).

We arrived at almost the same time as Mum and Dad and we were soon loaded up and on our way back to the villa. They were extremely happy to be on holiday even if it was just for a short time. As we headed back darkness fell so Mum and Dad couldn't see the stunning views.

Back at the villa we toasted their arrival with beer and champagne and showed them to their lovely private quarters! They thought the villa was wonderful and loved the pool and terraces!

Javea, Costa Blanca September 2-18 1999 Part2

After a wonderful buffet breakfast the next morning  when Sophie tried everything on offer and left most of it, we loaded up the car again and set off. The first toll we came to put us into a blind panic as we hadn't got a card and so assumed we had lost it (well, the blame was put on me!). However we soon realised that it was just a normal toll, like Dartford Tunnel, where you pay to enter a certain stretch of motorway. The road was not at all busy but we were entertained by the sight of two Mercedes who were weighed down like nothing we'd ever seen before. The amount of stuff piled on the roof was unbelievable and must have posed a hazard! How they weren't stopped by the police I'll never know! They looked like they were headed towards the southern Spanish ports that serve Morocco and Algiers and I do wonder if they made it without mishap!

As we headed further south the weather worsened and the rain started again. The surrounding countryside was hidden by low cloud and we hoped that this wasn't going to be the pattern for the next two weeks! The motorway, a well-maintained dual carriageway was very quiet and we saw the odd British registered car so we knew we weren't the only mad ones!

We by-passed Valencia mid-morning and our next goal was Javea itself. As we left the suburbs of Valencia the sun came out and the temperature rose. The sea was always on our left and soon we came to hills dotted with white villas and signs advertising holiday resorts. I took out the directions to the James Villas office and we turned off the motorway for the last time.

The directions we'd been given were easy to follow and we soon came to the town of Moraira. The weather was beautiful and hot and we suddenly felt like we were now bona fide members of the holiday maker set! The office was set back from the road and up a steep hill and we arrived to find another British family waiting with their hire car. They looked at our poor dusty Volvo in amazement and we felt quite smug that we'd driven all the way from England. Their flight had taken just over two hours while our journey had taken two days!

We waited in the office while all the paperwork was being sorted out and hired two fans to keep us cool at night. After a considerable while we were asked to follow another Brit who would take us to our villa which was being cleaned ready for our arrival. The family in the hire car followed us as well and we took a road out of Moraira towards Javea.

There were villas everywhere! Dotted in the hills above the road and stretching down towards the sea, whole colonies of them, all whitewashed and looking identical. The journey took about fifteen minutes and our villa was in a residential area just outside Javea, on the slopes of a mountain. Luckily the cleaners had just finished so we could get in immediately.

The agent showed us around and then came out with something a bit worrying. "As you were originally booked into a two bedroom villa, we really should lock the donwstairs bedrooms (two of them) but I don't have the key with me." This referred to our original booking for a smaller villa. James Villas had made a mistake with the booking a few weeks before our holiday and had re-located us to a much bigger four bedroom house and taking advantage of this, we'd invited Mum and Dad out to stay with us!

Despite the cock-up we were delighted with the villa as it was wonderful. Upstairs there were two bedrooms, a bathroom, shower room, kitchen and large lounge/diner with a big terrace overlooking the pool. Down a narrow flight of stairs were two further bedrooms, another large bathroom and a utility room with washing machine and sink. A door led out to the terrace and swimming pool and further on was a shaded area with a table and chairs and a barbecue.

The villa had satellite television and big comfortable sofas. It was perfect. We also found a much smaller terrace off the kitchen with a table and chairs but we never used this, preferring the lovely terrace overlooking the pool and mountains.

While I unpacked our colossal amount of luggage, Keith took Sophie down to the pool where the water was wonderful and warm. She was very happy indeed, delighted with the villa and the fact that she could get the
Cartoon Network!

The first evening we decided to eat out in Javea. The weather had turned overcast again as we drove into the busy town and we made sure that we kept an eye out for landmarks as we didn't want to lose our way back to the villa! We parked the car on the front by the beach and wandered down a long promenade that reminded me of the far end of Levante Beach in Benidorm. There were several restaurants on the front so we picked one that served children's meals and settled down with an aperitif to watch Javea wander by. There were lots of children passing by dressed in costumes and in the distance we could hear a band practising so we assumed there was a special event taking place later in the evening.

As our starters arrived it began to rain and people passing by dived for cover underneath the awning of our restaurant. We were sitting in the front row and so had a wonderful view of the ensuing storm over the sea and the tremendous flashes of lightening. The rain poured down in torrents but we felt very cosy watching this spectacular display from under the awning. Our meal was nothing very special but we felt that the entertainment more than made up for it!

After our meal we wandered further along the promenade. We could hear the band playing and so headed in that direction. It turned out to be a carnival in progress and Sophie was delighted when the participants threw sweets into the crowd who themselves then threw back confetti. It was all very festive and colourful with lots of people mingling about in the warm evening. As the carnival finished we wandered back to the car amongst the crowds and felt that we had had a wonderful start to our holiday.