Sun in the Summer
Went back to UK to pick up the family at the end of July and we stayed for a couple of weeks with my parents. For the first time since moving to HK, the weather on my return was surprisingly good particularly since the UK was having one of its wettest Summers on record. Apart from a couple of days at the end, we were treated to sunshine and fairly high temperatures which allowed a number of trips to the seaside (Whitstable, Hastings and a scorching day at Broadstairs) as well as visits to the park, Leeds Castle and Downe House (home of Charles Darwin where we had a very pleasant afternoon with P. and V. and their two children).
By the time I arrived the kids (who had been at their Grandparents in Bristol) had acclimatised to BST so we were able to enjoy a reasonable amount of sleep and see plenty of my Sister and her family including her two children. A. and his Cousin N are the same age (4) but somehow always end up fighting! I suppose that this is not too surprising given that my Sister and I did much the same (and it continued for a good few years after the age of 4!). However, their capacity to fall out with each other (and then two minutes later to be off playing nicely with each other as if nothing had happened) was pretty amazing. Fortunately V. and J (who is a couple of months younger) seem to rub along fairly well although this could be that they are more interested in experimenting with putting food (or indeed anything that might come to hand) in their mouths than actually playing.
It was also V.'s first birthday while we were in UK. She had learned to crawl while at her Grandparents in Bristol and from (literally) a standing (or sitting) start she has suddenly developed a surprising turn of pace - one minute she is idly munching on the carpet/grass/spoons etc. the next she is making rapid progress towards an untended glass of beer/knife/{insert other implement or object posing a hazard to babies}. She is also very vocal if anything does not meet her complete satisfaction. In particular her scream is so piercing particularly if it is anywhere near your ear that it seems to distort like feedback from an amplifier at a rock concert (although obviously much louder....). I don't remember her brother being quite so adept at gaining instant attention and we are hoping that it is just a phase. She is also starting to say words (Da, Ma etc.) and pointing and was particularly fascinated by my Sister's cat (the poor moggy sensibly kept a very low profile during our visit). Hard to believe that it is over a year ago that she was born (and that I started this blog)
In addition to the trips to the park etc. I managed a visit to the bowling green for a sound thrashing from Dad and a couple of rounds of quiz questions from Mum and Dad in the evenings. All in all an action packed visit to Blighty and I will be doing it all over again (third time this Summer) due to a business trip next week (which happens to coincide with my Sister's 40th birthday - l am looking for a suitable event in London to mark the occasion if anyone has any ideas - one plan may be the Last Night of the Proms which is on the 8 September although I imagine that tickets may be scarce).
By the time I arrived the kids (who had been at their Grandparents in Bristol) had acclimatised to BST so we were able to enjoy a reasonable amount of sleep and see plenty of my Sister and her family including her two children. A. and his Cousin N are the same age (4) but somehow always end up fighting! I suppose that this is not too surprising given that my Sister and I did much the same (and it continued for a good few years after the age of 4!). However, their capacity to fall out with each other (and then two minutes later to be off playing nicely with each other as if nothing had happened) was pretty amazing. Fortunately V. and J (who is a couple of months younger) seem to rub along fairly well although this could be that they are more interested in experimenting with putting food (or indeed anything that might come to hand) in their mouths than actually playing.
It was also V.'s first birthday while we were in UK. She had learned to crawl while at her Grandparents in Bristol and from (literally) a standing (or sitting) start she has suddenly developed a surprising turn of pace - one minute she is idly munching on the carpet/grass/spoons etc. the next she is making rapid progress towards an untended glass of beer/knife/{insert other implement or object posing a hazard to babies}. She is also very vocal if anything does not meet her complete satisfaction. In particular her scream is so piercing particularly if it is anywhere near your ear that it seems to distort like feedback from an amplifier at a rock concert (although obviously much louder....). I don't remember her brother being quite so adept at gaining instant attention and we are hoping that it is just a phase. She is also starting to say words (Da, Ma etc.) and pointing and was particularly fascinated by my Sister's cat (the poor moggy sensibly kept a very low profile during our visit). Hard to believe that it is over a year ago that she was born (and that I started this blog)
In addition to the trips to the park etc. I managed a visit to the bowling green for a sound thrashing from Dad and a couple of rounds of quiz questions from Mum and Dad in the evenings. All in all an action packed visit to Blighty and I will be doing it all over again (third time this Summer) due to a business trip next week (which happens to coincide with my Sister's 40th birthday - l am looking for a suitable event in London to mark the occasion if anyone has any ideas - one plan may be the Last Night of the Proms which is on the 8 September although I imagine that tickets may be scarce).
posted by Taitamtales at 8:57 pm
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