Category: Family life
Serving strawberries and cream..
Dressed up to the nines and on a bike, heading to somewhere in South West London..
Where everything is very English and rather civilised..
Including the lunch..
A little clue..
Getting warmer…(in fact it was a scorcher..)
Yay! No.1 Court at Wimbledon to watch athletic Federer gracefully ease his way to victory..
Wimbledon has always had a special place in my heart and it has been particularly thrilling as an ‘adult’ to watch from the best courts….every year, with my best friends, we used to bunk a day off school to go and queue at the crack of dawn for tickets. The cheaper Court 2 tickets were our favourites: you got a guaranteed seat plus in the first week when the timetable was chocca you were guaranteed to see one of our idols fighting their early gladiatorial battles: Boris Becker, Stefan Edberg, Jimmy Connors, Martina Navratilova, John McEnroe, Martina Navratilova, Chris Evert..we were in seventh heaven..
Happy memories.
A StarWars like camera man..
The finish of the day was probably my highlight..a game of veterans doubles: Patrick McEnroe and Peter Fleming against the effervescent Mansour Brahimi and the unforgettable Henri Leconte..my youth re-lived, they had us crying with laughter..crawling on their knees to the line judges, nicking all the balls, taunting the opposition – and the ball boys and girls, spinning around before hitting shots, catching tennis balls in their pockets…it was pure class and showmanship..and for all their tricks..they still won!
The perfect way to end a perfect day..before we cycled off into the sunset..
Laters, Kate x
The Runs..and an update x
I’m running the GSK Orange United Run 5k today at Dorney Lake where the Olympic rowing events were held. They don’t know it yet but the Husband, Bella and Charlie are running the 2.5k..hehe. This is the acknowledgement of keeping the fitness training up since January…except I’m not on my best form..had a migraine yesterday, all much better today but the halos of the remains are sill hovering around the edges and it’s a hot day with mucho sunshine…lots of water and dark glasses me thinks. To top it off we have a big party tonight I’ve been so looking forward too..no rest for the wicked hey so fingers crossed..and thank God this run’s sponsored by a drugs company…
Update
The beautiful setting at Dorney Lake where Eton have their rowing club..the view from the club house. The clouds were starting to roll in..
Pre-start nerves..
Slightly disconcerting to see this on the floor of the portaloos….I suppose it could’ve been worse…
Are we ready?
Go! The husband being beaten by a sleeping child..
Damn! Pipped to the post by a Dame! Although I got the style points for running in a denim jacket (didn’t have time to take it off..but don’t tell anyone) (and the truth is I even got beaten by a labrador) But despite the heavens opening on us about halfway round, it was a fab family day for which Fairy (in photo above) get full points for organising… it’s not often you can say you ran in a Race with a double olympic gold medalist!
Now where’s the Doctor before I hobble to my party??
Laters, Kate x
Sweet Life..
(Ear cuff by Ryan Storer, now sold out – Boo!)
Walked into the utility room this morning and found the sock box all over the floor. Again. How many times have I said to the kids if you go for a rummage – leave the room as you find it – if you disturb anything PUT IT BACK? I start moaning to the Husband who’s trying to get dressed. ‘It’s not a big thing, but it’s representative of a larger issue,’ I say. No response. I tell myself don’t linger on the negatives but everyone needs a rant at some point..in the evenings he gets to offload work on me so a voice says, why can’t I moan about my work? I’m the first to say mines not the job that brings in the money, but sometimes it’s the hidden work that holds a family together: It’s the monotonous, grunge, brain numbing stuff that’s like groundhog day every day except it largely remains invisible as if fairies have been at work. So I say, ‘it’s the invisible work I do that needs a bit of respect’. Still no response. I can feel the emotional plates shift like a red rag to a bull…’That’s just perfect, I’m so invisible (read taken for granted) no-one even hears me..I don’t want practical solutions, I don’t want a conference call or a European Summit but just an acknowledgement or a grunt will do’…nadah…I continue, climbing upon my very high horse..’I consider the work of a mother one of the most vital on the planet. It’s the foundations stone that builds future lives, holding them together, keeping them moving forward in a (generally) clean and (hopefully) happy manner..it’s seven days a week, 365 days a year and for all this I get..nothing..zip..zilch..I live off your income and get not one iota of recognition from the government, not a tax break, not nothing..and as for society…well if this is indicative of society’s attitude..'(voice rising in crescendo..)
He pulls out his headphones..’Did you say something, Darling’?
Men. I really just give up.
And from now on I’ll be charging the kids 10p off their pocket money every time they mess up my utility room. A girls gotta earn her money somehow….
Laters, Kate x
Roses and Cupcakes x
Creative Coffee Mornings are still a regular Wednesday occurrence and a highlight of the week. These pics are from our ‘Sugar Art’ session..
Which included a variety of projects including making elderflower cordial..even the word ‘cordial’ makes me smile…
We also crystallised edible flowers..so simple and so effective..
You thoroughly coat each petal – back and front – with egg white, then cover everything in sugar. A sprinkle of very fine glitter helps with the final fairy effect. Then they dry out and can be kept for months in an air tight container, ready for a dramatic flourish when required.
And we made cupcakes to practise our icing skills on..
With a whole box of toys to play with!
The joy, the pride, the ability to allow yourself the time to be creative and the companionship of sharing the experience with others all feed in to make this time so very special. You literally zone away from real life – I’m sure it’s a similar endorphin rush to a serious gym workout. Just without the pain…
Next week is ‘homemade sausages’…..guaranteed a giggle…
Laters, Kate x
Happy Father’s Day..
If you’ve never seen this video – make sure you have the tissues handy. If you’ve seen it already..you’ll still need them.
Laters, Kate x
Geo-caching..
Ever heard of Geo-caching? Nor had I until a friend mentioned it..it’s an app that basically uses GPS to find treasures hidden by others all across the world (over 2 million and counting). We used it for the first time on our little holiday..First you see a map that marks where the booty lies, then a compass points you in the right direction and counts down the metres to your prize.
The pleasure is it leads you to unexpected places..the journey is half the fun..
Our trail led us to this memorial dedicated to Airmen from World War 1.
You get within 10 feet of the treasure..then you have to start looking..
Success!
Inside was a log book to mark your discovery.
And then you can choose a prize – as long as you’ve got something to put inside as well..we left some dice! Then it’s time to return it to it’s little hidey hole for another explorer to find..
It’s a fabulous way to add an extra spin to a day…any day!
Laters, Kate x
The Tooth Fairy x
Up there with Father Christmas is the parental joy of being a tooth fairy: There can’t be many times in your life you’re allowed to flutter about a room to offload and collect your special cargo. Except it’s never as simple as that..particularly when the tooth is accompanied by a secret letter..
Job one: Wait till child is asleep, creep in, sneak letter out from under pillow..
2. Compose response on bits of tissue paper with fancy writing, chuckling at your own cunning and ingenuity..
3. Decide to take it a step further – find leaf from the garden to wrap letter and money in. Seventh heaven! (Husband shakes his head in despair..)
4. Head to bedroom. Move stealthily towards bed.
5. Disaster! Drop tiny letter from leaf somewhere on dark floor near bed.
6. Flee out. Find torch app on mobile phone. Enter bedroom again.
7. On hands and knees eventually find letter under bed, but knock the Furbie next to the bed in excitement of success…it springs to life, dancing and singing.
8. Run to the door with errant Furbie clutched in hands.
9. Wait 30 minutes before returning to complete task.
10. Stupidly leave effing Furbie on own bedside table. Effing Furbie proceeds to wake through the night. Effing Furbie gets thrown down the stairs…
Then a few days later I found this in the garden, under a bush:
It reads..Dear Pretty One, Please may I have a magic necklace so that I can turn myself into a mermaid with a turquoise tail…
Rod, own back…
Laters, Kate x
Early Summer Flowers x
One of the hardest things I’ve found as a parent is the relentlessness of it – it’s 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. With young children even on a ‘holiday’, unless you have the luxury of child care, there’s no time off – the scenery may change but the demands don’t..in fact they’re exacerbated if you’re by water and they can’t swim..or applying sun tan lotion to a moving target..or cursing the lack of toys as the rain comes down..or wondering where the nearest pharmacy/doctor is..or suffering a hangover with a child bouncing on your head at five in the morning..no matter how beautiful the place there’s still meals to sort, cleaning to do, shoes to find..teeth to brush.
But now that Charlie is five, we seem to be turning that parenting-at-the-rock-face corner. And this holiday sort of proved it.
We wanted to know if we could find a back to basics, out on your bikes type of nostalgic freedom where we could let the kids roam free without a care in the world.
We based ourselves in a little holiday park where cars were banned, where there was an indoor swimming pool (although they still had to be accompanied to swim) a tennis court and a small playground and told them they could come and go as they wanted, even (this was the big one) out of sight…they wandered, made friends, played football, played tennis….and we sat outside in peace and quiet and read!! Unheard of…I finished a whole book!
The truth is modern day parenting has made the world smaller, more tense, less happy till it’s almost no better than pretending to sleep. Really..we don’t need the blister. Which doesn’t mean it’s easy to let go – we’ve all read or seen the horror stories. I just believe we need to do it and we need to do it more – freedom, boredom, security, love and benign neglect is a potent combination.
Which didn’t mean we didn’t do things as a family….we did. We just weren’t permanently chained together….there was room to breathe.
It helped that it was such a comely spot. I’ve rarely seen so many abundant, rampant wild flowers..
With lots to see and do.
Frog spotting..
A true holiday for ALL the family….We’ll be going back for more of the same.
Laters, Kate x
Eulogy x
It’s been a sad time for the children’s school this week as they suddenly lost a much loved, much devoted member of staff. For many of the children (mine included) it was their first real experience of the finality of death and there was a real sense of loss and grief. So we were incredibly touched when we saw this beautiful tribute attached anonymously to one of the trees on the Common that we pass on our way to school every day. It was there all week, through all the rain and storms till it was hanging by it’s cellotaped thread. I couldn’t bear to see it destroyed any more so yesterday I left a note in it’s place to say how much it had meant to all of us who’d seen it and that I was taking it into school to go in a special place in the book of condolence.
Walking back afterwards I saw a lady looking at my note and removing it – I just had a gut feeling. I asked her if it was her daughter who’d drawn the picture..and it was..she wanted to give the note to her daughter to show her how much joy her picture had given.
I had hated taking it down but meeting her felt like a little bit of fate, a little bit of magic..and a circle complete in the best way possible: A treasure is always a treasure.
Laters, Kate x
Why do you Write?
An apology and a confession: I find it hard to respond to Blog Awards, not because I don’t believe in them or feel the honour but because the choosing and linking to 15 plus Blogs is such a long process. But I was tagged by the talented Laura at Buckle Button Zip for a Blog hop that focus’s on the process of writing. I loved the post she wrote and I was intrigued to write my own answers. It helps it’s a two-man handover..
The Hop has a series of questions:
1. What am I working on? I write for my Blog, another Blog and provide the media content for a shoe company. My days already start pretty early (5.50 am on a heavy day) and finish pretty late (11?) with work and life squeezed between being a full time mum so I find it hard to add any more. Could I write anything more? It’s a question I’ve asked myself..I wrote, a long time ago now, 17 chapters based of stories from my Grandmother and have 3 volumes of poetry (!)..there are always ideas bubbling. Maybe one day – but for now I value the discipline of writing at least one post every day.
How does my writing differ? There’s a little (read big) spark in my heart that wants to prove that you can have intelligent writing about fashion. I have a horror of superficiality, hate dumbing down and believe in the beauty of language. I can’t spell for toffee, my grammar is non-existent but I love the rhythm of words and the pictures they make.
Why do I write what I do? I’m in a lucky position where I can be a stay at home mum, but that doesn’t mean I don’t need my own identity – something to claim as just me and writing does that. I don’t think I could do it every day if I didn’t love it – the freedom, the escapism, the ability to skip over water and broken glass. it’s both an indulgence and a drug. I’m a butterfly choosing the bits I love and avoiding what I don’t want to tread in..but always underlined with discipline.
How does my writing process work? I read a lot and try to digest it. My notebooks are everything – they tip me into another world and stop creative fatigue. I write ideas, thoughts, groups of words in longhand. Sometimes they don’t even relate to what I’m writing about but they’re all stored away. Often I’ll wonder and wander and read something wrong, my own handwriting or the written word..’I began to lose myself in consecutive nights out’..except I see it as ‘constructive nights out’ but I like it – it’s the balance to losing oneself, so I write it down. And with a mistake, I walk back to reality.
I want to thank Laura, it was an absolute pleasure to have the baton passed on from a true wordsmith. And now I have to hand the honour over and with only two spots, this wasn’t easy. I’ve chosen two long-term favourite people/writers that hold a special place in my heart:
Laura Lynn: Because writing for her is as natural as breathing.
Jackie Mallon: Because she knows exactly how to get to the beating heart of the matter and take you along for the ever-changing ride.
Laters, Kate x
Maison Bentley Style 