There has been quite a bit of news since my last entry in November. Sue has been very busy working at the local Catholic school, only missing one day in the last two weeks and that was to travel to Newark to celebrate Lucas’s 3rd birthday. Though looking very tired, she insisted that she was enjoying herself and that the money she was earning would help pay for Christmas. She made her annual trip to Worcester to swap presents and have a good natter with her sister Philippa who had driven from Buckfastleigh. They spent about four hours together, had lunch, and managed some window shopping before heading back home.

Jamie optimistically put his car on eBay but failed to get a single bid on it. Disappointed, he bought himself another car from somewhere in Derbyshire, it is a Peugeot 106 Gti. Again, he put his car back on eBay and this time it attracted a bid of £500 which he accepted. It was picked up by the buyer the following Saturday. Unfortunately, his  Gti soon developed a worrying squeak so I took it around to a friend who is a mechanic and he fixed the problem. It looks like a nice car, and I hope the engine is as good as his previous one, they both had the same mileage, even though his new one is a year older. At present he hasn’t insurance on the Gti,  so is unable to drive it, frustratingly he does seem to have the knack of making life very complicated.

On the day Sue was meeting her sister in Worcester, Jamie made Sunday lunch for Sarah and me. He made turkey steaks, mashed potato, roast potato, carrots, peas and brussel sprouts. Both Sarah and I were surprised at his cooking, he has never done this before and it tasted very good! We were left wondering when he will volunteer again.

Sarah had a good report from her teachers on Parent’s Evening and is now busy revising for exams after Christmas. I can’t help thinking about how things have changed since I was a student, I took my ‘A’ levels and only sat one set of exams and that was at the end of a two-year course. Today, they seem to be constantly being examined. She broke from revising on one day and went to visit Lee in Nottingham, I think together they managed to acquire all their presents for Christmas. The following day she accompanied Jamie and me to buy a Christmas tree for the lounge from the local garden centre.

Recently I have been busy painting one of the bedrooms and thankfully, this most boring of tasks are done. During the week I was invited by the school to see the nativity play at Farndon Fields, I found the experience quite sweet and amusing and for once I wasn’t required to make a speech to the parents at the end of the performance. At the weekend I officiated at Harborough RUFC, it is the first time I have been allocated a match at my home club in the two years I have been a society referee, and unfortunately, Harborough lost!

Last Thursday, Sue, Jamie and I travelled to Newark and then to Lincoln to celebrate Lucas’s 3rd birthday. Sarah couldn’t miss school, so unfortunately didn’t accompany us. We went to a play barn at Lincoln City Football Club. It was a brilliant day for all concerned, as well as being designed for children, there was an adult section and we all managed to throw ourselves down vertical slopes, squeeze through impossible crevices and had a magnificent battle firing sponge balls at each other from air-canons. Satisfyingly, Lucas had no fear or difficulty with any of the adult activities and was completely disinterested in the children’s section. We stayed for over four hours and had a great time. We stopped in Newark on the way back to Harborough to cut the birthday cake and sing happy birthday to the three-year-old.

David and Genya flew to Bulgaria on Tuesday. I just hope Genya likes what we have done to her house! They are coming back to the UK on the 21st, just in time for Christmas. I emailed them earlier this week but ominously I have yet to have a reply.

As we get nearer to the ‘big day’ I shall go and fetch Nan from Thurcroft to spend Christmas and New Year with us.