the adlards

We celebrated the arrival of 2009 …

Yes, indeed, 2008 – the Year of the Owl. Here are some I stuffed earlier …

… suddenly, inexplicably (?), people start calling you “baba” (“father” in Zulu for those of you not local). “Hello baba, what can I do for you?” at reception; “Bye baba!” at the parking exits at Cavendish; “OK baba” when I don’t-want-to-buy-one-thank-you. Oh dear. I saw a very nice vintage replica Vespa that I think I […]

that fall about us in a shower leaving a scent on the evening air that’s reminiscent of others. Tens of hundreds of thousands of others that were beautiful too. And each one we rush through and we wish gone and we wade through neck deep in delicate petals that we don’t see and rush through […]

The two “big” girls and I have colds of such significant stinkiness that I’ve had to go and find the strongest French Roast I can just to be able to taste my coffee. Oh the shame.

We thought we’d celebrate two weeks of Emily’s life with a little fly-by. Boeings in formation over the swimming pool. Supersonic jet and tasteful foliage.

The girls love Duplo. Did I say love? I meant adore. They build castles and houses and boats and cars and trains and keep themselves busy for hours. A castle might create a week of imaginative play – if MGW and I don’t destroy it at night to ensure more construction play tomorrow. So, as […]

There was the biggest hermit crab I have ever seen at the touch pool. Far more like Sebastian-the-crab than the little hermits I remember scurrying around rockpools in the days of my distant yoof. When the girls were done feeling the different seaweeds and playing with anemones and shells they wanted to see the crab […]

I have a boys room for the first time in a long time …

On Tuesday afternoon at 16.20 we decided not to return to England next week …