25th April 2011

Monday began with a bleary-eyed 4 am run to East Midlands Airport to drop Jamie and Harley at Departures. I returned to Willow Bank for some desperately needed sleep, only to be woken later by Jamie’s call announcing they’d arrived safely. Miraculously, Ryanair had overlooked Harley’s 7 kg of excess baggage, possibly the first recorded instance of leniency in budget airline history. Predictably, their first act on reaching the hotel was to lie on the sunbeds, and, equally predictably, they returned from this first venture glowing lobster-red. I did the same at their age, and I’d wager most people have too.

With no rain and scorching sunshine, I’ve been watering both allotment plots every two days. Potatoes, onions, and beetroot are poking through, and the greenhouse is fit to burst, particularly with melons. I may need to give some away before they stage a coup.

After their week in the Med, Jamie and Harley returned at a much more civilised hour, meaning I didn’t have to part with any more precious sleep. Jamie reclaimed his gerbils but was visibly unimpressed that they didn’t appear to have missed him. Meanwhile, Sarah headed to Nottingham to meet Lee and collect his parents, who’d spent a sunny week in Skegness. With only Sue and me at home, the place was unnervingly quiet.

In light of Charlotte’s recent burglary, I installed a new alarm system at Willow Bank. It’s wireless, GSM-enabled, and controllable from my mobile phone, complete with a smoke alarm to thwart any arson-minded burglars (or give them a cricket-bat-related surprise). I fitted a similar system for the Rothwells, leaving Suraj to do the programming, tricky business when you have to accommodate cats. Homes with large dogs, of course, skip all this and just trust the teeth.

Sarah has been splitting her time between revising in the garden and keeping Charlotte company in Rothwell. On Friday, the family descended for a dip in the pool to cool off, followed by the season’s first BBQ and a traditional exchange of water balloons. Jamie and Harley joined us, looking nicely tanned, although Harley’s burnt legs and Jamie’s sunglass-shaped tan lines suggest they’ve still got some sunbathing lessons to learn.

Midweek, I watched Harborough 2nd team edge out Kettering in the 2nd Team Cup on a warm evening, with the victory celebrated in appropriate ale-fuelled fashion. The following Saturday saw the 3rd team beat Loughborough in dusty conditions. Next weekend is the Club’s Sevens competition and the Beer Festival, which I’m helping to organise. Naturally, I fully expect it to rain.

On Saturday evening, Sue, Charlotte, Sarah, and I went to see The Social Network at the local Cinema Club. I found it as gripping as watching paint dry and nearly nodded off, though some family members insist I did. The real stars of the evening were the chocolate éclairs and bonbons we brought along.

After lunch and an Easter Egg hunt in the garden, Jamie disappeared to go “pit biking” (which I still haven’t deciphered). The rest of us headed to Dingley Woods to see the bluebells. Rope swings were tried, ice creams consumed at the lake in Corby, and ducks inspected, before moving on to East Carlton Park, where we stumbled upon an energetic African Evangelical rock concert. This was all very entertaining until a well-meaning lady attempted to recruit me to the cause, prompting a swift and polite retreat.

Roger made his first visit since October, had a cuppa, and, predictably, borrowed my scarifier. By sheer luck, the neighbour had given me theirs a few days earlier, having replaced their lawn with a patio. I’m still wondering how Roger knew… Last time he borrowed it, he returned it broken, five years later.

David set off for Bulgaria on Friday, apparently driving alone as Genya wasn’t mentioned in his brief email. My guess is she’ll fly out later. Nan remains in Wales, enjoying mountain life at Aunt Josie’s with no plans to return just yet.