We invited Bethany to spend a couple of days with us. Happily she (and her parents) agreed. 
We started with a visit to the Gloucestershire and Warwickshire Railway (Bethany is mad about trains). We had a great trip although Bethany was quite frightened by the sudden loud noises and whistles from the engine. However, it didn’t spoil the day and the children’s playground was a hit too.
Bethany seemed to have a brilliant time and certainly enjoyed doing her jobs. Filling the bird bath and watering some flowers using water she got from the water feature! She also made some cakes and enjoyed playing with some of Grandpa’s trains. Bethany had a firm grasp of how to stop and start the train and control the speed. The only problem was that she wanted more and more coaches, trucks and engines to make as long a train as possible! 
We also had great fun with our tame female blackbird that appears as soon as one of us goes outside the backdoor. She will then wait sitting on the back of one of the garden benches until some bread appears. The bird will then take it from the table as we sit there watching. Bethany was enthralled by this and sat quietly watching this happen many times. We also fed the ducks and saw 7 cygnets at the Mill pond.
All in all we had a great two days and hope that Bethany will come and stay again.
We have just returned 
from three weeks in Ireland. We were invited to Cathy and Mark Bottomley’s wedding at Glendalough and decided that we would use the opportunity to travel around Eire and Northern Ireland. Three weeks under canvas did not put us off the idea of camping despite having weather ranging from storms where we could not see to drive, hailstones and glorious sunshine. The amazing thing was that the weather never stopped us doing anything and was always good when it really mattered!
We spent the first few days at 
The Hidden Valley Campsite in a small town called Rathdrum. This was only a 15 minute drive from Glendalough and gave us the opportunity to explore the Wicklow Mountains. 
At the end of the week we attended Cathy and Mark’s wedding – what a joyful day. Happiness, enjoyment and sense of fun pervaded the whole day.
From Wicklow we headed north to Antrim managing visits to Argory House and Ardress House both of which were National Trust properties. The next day we travelled up the coast visiting the Carrick-a-Rede rope bridge and the Giant’s Causeway which were quite incredible.
Then followed a rather disappointing trip around Strangford Lough possibly because of the sea fret and fog! However, we did manage a visit to Mountstuart House a beautiful National Trust property.
From Antrim we moved to the banks of Lough Erne and visits to 2 more National Trust Properties, Florence Court and Castle Coole and some very beautiful scenery.
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From there we headed to Galway and trips to Connemara,
The Burren and the Aran Island of Inishmore. Annie and I throughly enjoyed the contrasts between the beautiful coastline and mountains of Connemara and the ruggedness of The Burren and Inishmore. 
Our 40 minute ferry trip back from Inishmore was made quite exciting when an Irish Coastguard Helicopter decided to do a winching exercise onto our ferry.
We reluctantly headed south to Killarney and were then amazed to find even more really beautiful scenery. Trips around the Dingle Peninsula and the Ring of Kerry provided many opportunities to ’stand and stare’. We were blessed with fantastic weather which made the colours of sea and mountain jump out at us!
By now we had driven nearly 1800 miles and Gerry decided that he needed a break from driving. So, we headed back to Hidden Valley and the final couple of days doing some short walks.
All in all we had a really good time in Ireland. The people in the South were friendly and gave a real sense of welcome – A great holiday!
Martin and Louise kindly invited Jenny and family and Annie and I to spend the day with them. The weather was brilliant and we were able to spend the whole time in the garden. We enjoyed a BBQ lunch cooked by Martin, 
before playing in the garden sprinklers (well some of us did).
It was good to catch up with the children and enjoy the grandchildren in such lovely surroundings. We all seemed to expend quite a lot of energy and, despite the large lunch, were able to tuck into a glorious spread at tea time. Unfortunately, the time passed all too quickly and it was soon time to leave. We had had a great time!
We have just returned from another fantastic visit to Palm Springs. As usual we had a great time catching up with friends and of course wasted no time before we visited Jo, Todd and the children in San Diego.
The children had certainly grown in the four and a half months since we had seen them. The Boys had both learned to cycle without stabilizers although scooting remained the transport of choice. Sienna had not started to crawl properly but managed to propel herself around the floor by pulling herself along on her tummy – but that soon changed.
On Good Friday, we spent the night with Jo and Todd and after enjoying an Easter Egg Hunt with the Boys on Saturday morning brought them back to Palm Springs for a few days at Ocotillo. The four of us had a great time especially in the pool. Alexander and Oliver’s swimming has improved so much with both doing 20 metre swims. Their confidence above and below the water was amazing but more of that later.
Having returned the boys to San Diego on Wednesday we were back in San Diego for the weekend to take part in Sharon’s Walk in aid of Epilepsy Research. 
We were part of Alexander’s A team and whilst Todd ran, the rest of us walked the 5KM in glorious sunshine and then enjoyed BBQ food before returning home. The Photo shows Alexander, Jo and Annie crossing the finishing line.
We also visited San Diego to spend a day at Sea World with Jo and the Children. We had a lovely if not exhausting day enjoying the exhibits, and a couple of the shows but the most memorable part was the fact that Alexander
was now tall enough to ride on the rollercoaster-water splash. His first trip with Jo and Grandpa saw us sitting in the second and third rows of the boat so we did not get too wet. He enjoyed it so much that Grandpa and Alexander went on again. This time we sat in the front row and got thoroughly wet. Alexander thought it was a hoot but Grandpa was not so sure!!!!
Family P also managed to spend a week with us in Palm Springs. The boys slept in our unit and Jo, Todd and Sienna had another unit. We had a wonderful time in the swimming pool with the boys showing their prowess as underwater salvage experts.
During the week, Sienna took her first steps and then there was no stopping her she also loved the water as much as her brothers but has some way to go before she starts swimming on her own!!!! Despite spending most of the time in the pool at Ocotillo. Jo and Todd took the boys for a day at a local water park and Grandpa, Alexander and Oliver also went off on an expedition up Bug Mountain (not as many bugs as in previous visits but they enjoyed exploring and finding some different sorts of beetle). The week passed by very quickly and we certainly missed their company when they returned to San Diego.
Our 7 weeks passed all too quickly and although sad to leave, we have some great memories especially of how quickly children develop and grow. Click here for more photos.
We have just had a really pleasant 3 day break in France. Our destination was Montreuil a fortified hill-top town about 75 minutes south west of Calais. We stayed at a little hotel with a restaurant that we have used many times before for its Moulle and Frites. Sacre Bleu they had sold out but managed to tell us where we could satisfy our culinary pangs! And of course we did. The weather was kind and we managed a couple of lovely walks around the ramparts and out into the surrounding countryside as well as a day exploring by car and foot. 
We filled the car with wine at the Wine Society’s showroom in Montreuil before heading back for the Ferry and an uneventful drive home. – A really good few days.
Callum was christened today at Fairford Church. 
We were unable to have the baptism as part of the Morning Service because of the extensive work being undertaken in the Church. Instead a special service was held afterwards and followed by wine and cheese in the Fairford Community Centre. Many of Jenny and Mark’s friends and family were present and we certainly enjoyed seeing them all again.
Our neighbours in The Green got together on Valentine’s Day for a wonderful Safari Supper. We started with drinks and nibbles at 6 30pm and finished after midnight with, for those who wanted it, 65 year old Armagnac. I think we all had a fantastic evening of great food, great wines but more importantly great company.
The picture was taken in The Nook just before we sat down to the first course.
Well the weatherman forecast even more snow and he was correct!
It was a lovely scene that greeted us this morning but I felt sorry for anyone who had to travel to work. The main roads were generally OK but the side roads were a problem until it started to thaw in mid morning.
We were promised snow!
and it has started falling!
Apparently there is still more to come.
But not a lot – we have fared so much better than many parts of the country.
Thought you might like this . Annie photographed it from our garden as the sun was rising. The saying goes Red Sky in the Morning shepherd’s Warning – well we know that arctic conditions and snow are forecast for the next couple of days but we shall see!
