16th December 2012 For once, Friday night was a quiet one. Nan, Jamie, and Sarah were all at home or University, while the Rothwells had decamped to Kettering for Lucas’s birthday, celebrating with a ten-pin bowling party for his school friends and some old neighbours from Newark. That left just Sue and me. I rustled… Continue Reading

7th December 2012 I’ve been out with the chainsaw again, this time with a dual purpose: clearing trees and bushes along the riverbank to keep the floodwater moving downstream rather than letting it sulk in a dam of debris, and, of course, turning the lot into neat little logs. Waste not, want not. While hacking… Continue Reading

28th November 2012 Since getting back from Bulgaria, it feels as though the rain hasn’t let up once. The ground is so saturated it couldn’t swallow a thimbleful of water, let alone cope with another day’s deluge. Now any rain sits on the surface, sulking in great puddles the size of small lakes. My daily… Continue Reading

13th November 2012 Thanks to a welcome spell of fine weather, work on the pool marched along briskly with dawn-to-dusk shifts. Progress stalled briefly when a shortage of tiles loomed, breakages during the renovation proving far more frequent than anticipated. Salvation arrived when David and Milen unearthed a builder’s merchant, an hour’s drive away, that… Continue Reading

5th November 2012 Family News: Sarah came home for half-term, then dutifully returned to university on Monday. Sue, ever the stand-in, had her company to Kate Crawford’s 60th birthday bash at The Angel. With over 70 guests in attendance, it was the sort of event where one wonders whether the champagne was cheaper by the barrel.… Continue Reading

29th October 2012 Like clockwork, one of the British homeowners arrived in the village on Saturday and, true to David’s prediction, the weather collapsed. It’s become something of a tradition: the moment they show up, the skies darken. Before their arrival, we had enjoyed golden sunsets, hot sunny days, and balmy starry nights. No sooner… Continue Reading

21st October 2012 Visiting David usually means diving headfirst into a series of projects he’s dreamed up over the summer. This time, the top priority is sorting out the collapsed walkways around the pool, followed by finishing the barn roof, which was originally erected by a couple of Bulgarians, and then replacing the section of… Continue Reading

17th October 2012 Family Curry Night on Friday the 5th was a cause for celebration, with Sarah absent, back at university, and Ellis managing to keep his dinner firmly where it belonged, unlike last week, when he spectacularly redecorated Charlotte just as we were about to leave. Jamie, on the other hand, gave the welcome… Continue Reading

2nd October 2012 Things have settled down a little in the family, and a degree of normality has crept back in, though whether it’s here to stay is another matter. Jobs are getting ticked off around the house in readiness for winter: the balcony has been stripped and repainted, the hedges and trees trimmed and… Continue Reading

18th September 2012 On 8th September, everyone except Jamie trotted off to Lubenham to inspect their scarecrows. It turned out to be an absolute scorcher, and having been lulled into a false sense of security by the cooler weather in the days before, we all dressed as though autumn had already arrived. I, in particular,… Continue Reading