29 April 2011

I'd had no intention of watching the royal wedding, but in the end we all sat and watched various guests arrive, and continued until they began the vows, at which point we went out to Lyme Park. It was OK apart from the awful obsequious commentary. I was impressed with 'the' dress, and am generally glad that he has gone for a brunette as there are far too many bottle blondes in the world. I even found myself vaguely looking forward to Emily's big day though I know full well that may never happen for one reason or another. After all, I had no intention of getting married until I was 39!

At the park, Emily went on most of the adventure equipment and Goki and his cousin climbed a monkey puzzle tree. We strolled in the lovely mixed deciduous woodland and then had lunch in the courtyard cafe. Emily managed to walk all the way up to the 'wizard's castle' and back, though she was flagging badly by the end. It was sunny but cool and windy.

At the Adlington village hall a community tea party was being held in honour of the wedding. Emily and I went along with Pam and Graham, but it quickly became clear that Emily was on her last legs so I took her home. After an early tea, I realised that she had a bit of a temperature so I wasted no time in getting her off to bed. She was asleep within two minutes. An hour later she woke upset, and I had to give her Calpol as she was running a temperature. After we'd had dinner she cried out again and I had to settle her.

28 April 2011

Emily and I took the train to Cheshire. I had been worried that we wouldn't get a seat on the 'Noddy' train but in the end there were plenty and she and I had a pair of seats for the whole journey. Pam and Graham collected us from Wilmslow station and we spent the afternoon in the garden at their house. Emily was happy as she got to do another egg hunt, and we had lots of fun with bubbles, balls and hula hoop.

27 April 2011

Mum, Emily and I went to Hereford yet again. This time it was for my eye test and contact lens assessment. While I was at the opticians for an hour or more, Mum stayed with Emily at Play Planet. This was the first visit to a wonderful play centre near the city centre. It has a large soft play area, plus a well-stocked outdoor yard and a great cafe, which has actually thought its menu out really well, having a good adults' menu and a wide selection of healthy and not-so-healthy choices for the children. We shall be going there again, definitely. End of gushing advert! Hope we can find some similar places in London.


The weather is holding up sunny, though the air temperature has dropped a fair bit. We are still eating our meals outside, anyway.

Nick is still keen on the job with CM and sent an email to the guy who interviewed him, asking bluntly what sort of salary they could offer, and also how quickly they wanted to fill the post. The amount they mentioned was not bad, though about 15% less than his CS salary, and they are also willing to wait some time for the right candidate. He is very concerned about the stability of the whole Japan operation and wondering if he will be made redundant, or that he won't find his level in the new role and be unhappy. I just want him to work sensible hours and to be interested and comfortable with what he is doing to earn a crust. We are hardly going to be paupers!

24 April 2011

The children were up very early, probably excited about the expected visit from the Easter bunny (after staying up late to watch a film, I could have done with a bit more time in bed). The night before they had left carrots up by the gate for him, and had discovered the chewed stumps of them outside, so were now champing at the bit to go on an egg hunt. We made them wait until we had all breakfasted before we let them loose. They needed a fair few heavy hints to track down the various locations the eggs were stashed in round the garden. Good fun was had by all.

After a roast dinner eaten outside, we all went for a tramp up Y Gaer. Emily did really well and walked/ran all the way up and back down.

After tea the others all left for home, and I put a worn out Emily to bed. It seemed deathly quiet after 48 hours of crazy kids.

23 April 2011

We spent another sunny day mainly hanging out around the house. In the morning, Mum and Tim took the two children to the river down in Pandy, while Sarah and I went into town for a coffee and shop in Waitrose. Fi and Dan arrived after lunch, so with Fern around as well the terrible trio were unstoppable. Getting the paddling pool out was a brainwave and amused them for some time. I worry about Fern sometimes - yet again she wanted to strip off (and Emily naturally wanted to copy her)!

Tim and I went ahead with a planned run, despite the unseasonable heat. We drove to Llanfoist and parked, then ran along the old railway track path. Neither of us had a good run, in the main due to the conditions, but surely not all attributable to that? I turned around after 20 minutes of slog - though in my defence the route was a steady uphill gradient, albeit very shallow. The return was comfortable and quicker and I was able to get some enjoyment out of it, finally.

Back at Mum's, the lighting of the BBQ was accompanied by thunderous rumblings from an ominous cloud front coming from the west. However, we managed to eat all of our meal before having to retire indoors, and it didn't really come to much in the end.

I made the big mistake of staying up to watch a late film, simply because it had a sort of Japanese theme. It was 20 years old and felt very dated, though enjoyable enough, but by the time it finished it was past 1.30am. The latest I have stayed up in many a month.

22 April 2011

After a slow day hanging out at home, Sarah, Tim and Tom finally arrived around 3.30. I had been struggling to think of ways to entertain Emily, but once Tom was on the scene I barely saw her for hours. After a hot interval in the middle of the day, cloud built up, and it began spotting with rain just as the family arrived. It didn't come to anything though, and we were able to eat outside.

I am missing Nick more every day, so am glad that we only have a fortnight to get through before we are reunited and begin our new life (though I still have trouble envisioning myself as a home owner in London). I confess that I am less homesick for Tokyo now and have stopped referring to it as home, but I am acutely aware that we are in limbo and need to move on, while enjoying daily life in the countryside. Emily is not learning much but can now distinguish between a blackbird and a wren, and a bluebell and a violet.

21 April 2011

The thermometer hit an incredible 24C today. We went out with Mum and Dad to Hereford, first stopping at the art cinema come playhouse for coffee. I had to forgo my dose of caffeine, however, as we spied a good playground next door as we drove into the car park. Next was Kentchester Water Gardens, a fish and ponds outlet that also has beautiful grounds (with various water features, naturally). It also had a cafe, so we stayed for lunch. Emily was being tiresome and barely ate anything, so had to go without the icecream she wanted.


Back in the city, Mum dropped me and Dad off and I went to sort out my new i-phone (secondhand from Dad!); so good to know I will be connected again. While Emily played at the busy playground near the river for an hour, with Mum in attendance, I treated myself to a hurried coffee and then a speedy visit to M&S to stock up on some cheap shorts, though no doubt the current heat wave will end before I get much use out of them. It was so hot that we all needed an icecream to cool off before we headed for Pandy.


Emily was very keen for her Grandma to sit next to her at tea (which we had outside for a third day running). I am very glad that they have bonded so well. We received postcards each from Nick, an Easter card from Pam, and also a call from Pam, who is still in France.

Before turning in I couldn't resist another star-gazing stint, though it was fruitless. A quick speculative 10 minutes just before twelve the night before had reaped the most wonderful shooting star I have ever seen. The Lyrids are not a particularly rich shower but I struck lucky. This one was like a magnesium flare, with a long tail of greeenish hue, passing to the south-west. Dad says it may have been a returning satellite but I don't think so. Too much of a coincidence.