West Wittering

 

The annual Mums Camp took place two days before the girls were to fly to Japan. This year we were newly added to the throng and were thrilled to be going. (Me more than the girls...all that fresh air, camping, beaches etc sounded fantastic.) There were 6 mums, 12 girls 4 boys and 2 dogs....The weather was hot, but windy and on day one, we all braved the water. Food was cooked on disposable bbqs and then the mums had a few relaxing glasses of wine while the kids ran around/listened to music in their tents and behaved like children. Bliss. The inflatable bed John bought me lurched around under me all night, it was like wrestling with a walrus and being in a sleeping bag meant no balance, so it was touch and go that I did not land on the girls who were asleep either side of me.
Day two was equally sunny and the plan was to swim most of the day, play rounders and have fish and chips for tea. At about 2pm John rang as he had just collected the girls' tickets from the travel agent to discover their flight was at 2pm the next day...Ihas planned to collect them on the morning of the departure...just as well he did it for me....As we still had packing and last minute things to take care of, we decided to go home. It was a bit sad, but we had fish and chips at the restaurent in town as compensation and an amazingly stress free evening getting ready.

The girls left for their long flight on time and are in the last days of over three weeks with their Dad and grandparents in Yokohama.

Summer holiday for two - Northern Cyprus

 

John and I went on holiday together to Northern Cyprus where it was hot. A heat wave in fact, the hottest temperature it has been there on record. It was 46.6 in the shade! It was, despite the heat, an idyllic island where the pace of life makes you feel as though you are really living. The heat means that things move more slowly, but the people had a lovely serene approach to life. It was wonderful to see the men sit under trees, play backgammon, talk and smoke. Women too, in the doorways of their homes, in their shops, sitting and waiting for life and customers to come to them. It was nice not to be harassed to buy all the time. It happened in the harbour where restaurants compete for custom, but a simple no thanks usually got the response of 'OK mate, maybe another time'.
Nicosia is the capital, the only divided capital city in the world. There is a 'green zone', a UN buffer zone between the two halves. Since the war in 1974, the Turks have owned the north and the Greeks the south.

We stayed near Bellapais where Lawrence Durrell lived and wrote his book 'Bitter Lemons'. His house is there on Bitter Lemon Street, painted a pale yellow; and the restaurant where he wrote much of the book, is there still. It is 'The Tree of Idleness' and is opposite the old Abbey, now used for music concerts for artists from around the world. We had two meals in the restaurant and Turkish coffee and baklava there on our last afternoon.

Click on the collage to see closer images of the visit. More later.

May Bank Holiday - 2

We visited East Grinstead and over a coffee planned the week. Hannah's friend Hugh wants to get together in London, so there was a bit of arranging to do. I then left them to potter and got on with some errands.

Adam played with his band at a street festival in Haywards Heath and John went to see them. John called me on his mobile so that I could hear them. It was mowtown and very good.

In the evening they all went roller skating and it was a huge hit. They started off creeping around the wall, but by the end of the session, were out on the floor, wobbly, but skating. After dinner they had a parfait making session which was noisy, but they are all getting on well and that is what it is all about.

One of the pictures here is of my lovely hostas, favourite of slugs, so they really suffer at times. I spend a few minutes each day picking the beasts off them, but will not use slug pellets. A trip to Starbucks the other day was lucky as we were able to nab a bag of coffee grounds and apparently slugs hate them. Time will tell.

May Bank Holiday - installment 1

Holiday, such a great word. We collected Mika and Shizuka from the school yesterday afternoon and had a reasonably quiet journey home as shyness reigned. However, we then raced off to the shopping mall and I think that helped with some girlie bonding. They are both 17, but there does not seem to be too huge a difference between what they like and what our two like.
There is of course a lot of Japanese and we have all agreed that mealtimes will be for English. It is however, brilliant to be using it so much!!

On the work front. The job is very interesting but the volume of work is huge. I have yet to take on two of the major parts of the job, scheduling the operations waiting list and monitoring the outpatients clinics and am aware that there is not enough time in one week to do all aspects. Since joining, everyone, including management and my consultant have said it is a two person job. Having said that, the previous secretary came for a visit this week. She had a break down and is off on sick leave on medication. She did say though, that she wants to come back in about two weeks. I had mixed feelings as I am keen on part time work, but she indicated that she would only need an assistant and that it was her decision about what parts of the job she would keep and what she would hand over. Odd.
It turned out though that both my team leader and my consultant want to keep me. Good for the ego and the bank balance, but I have been thinking long and hard and will be honest with them both.

I would be more than happy to be part of a two man team as I can see how one could be overwhelmed by the sheer volume of work. I really want a small amount of breathing space in my life at present. Full time work like this is a buzz, but it takes a while to settle when I get home and I need my energy for the family and for myself so that I can enjoy life, not live to work.

All of this seems pretty obvious, but like many people, I have a tendency to take on too much and end up feeling wretched. This is the perfect chance to start the way I want to continue and maybe we can all be happy?

Things going on recently

 

Adam in concert, the girls in Yo! Sushi, Camden angel, gardens at Penhurst, Zoe and Francoise, iris in the garden, things on Bosley...Hannah's birthday cake...a few months late. Em and Emma, naughty cake in Lewes, Hannah's big shoe bag and with hair extensions.

Bleary eyed

Writing a blog entry at 3 am! I miss the blogging, have loads of photos to put up and plan to do something about it over the weekend!
John is in Whitley Bay with his parents this weekend and Adam is away most of most weekends, so in theory, with fewer in the house there is more time to blog!
The weather has been hot and sunny, so the garden will need attention, we have two Japanese students arriving next Saturday, so the house definately needs attention, but watch this space for some pictures.

gardening...?

Not having to work on Saturdays is great! John and I had a little potter in Godstone, then lunch in a pub and a trip to a garden centre where we went a bit mad...He was in London today catching up with a friend from Singapore, so Em and I went to a boot fair, where I got a big planter for the cucumbers and a tea towel..I am a sucker for linen! We then did a grocery shop and I finally got to plant some things out. I made a 'hot house' for the tomatoes, planted lettuce, iceberg and various other leaves, peppers and some flowers. I also put a spirea in a pot at the front door. The Japanese name is Snow Willow, (yuki yanagi) very pretty and apt, with its drooping branches full of white flowers. There is still so much to do, but at least it was a start today.