Everyone who was at Mark’s birthday party will surely be thrilled to have another opportunity to hear Tra play.  With a new CD about to released and two more to follow, here’s a sample of what’s to come.

Gorgeous!

Well, we do.  But who said that stops us from enjoying “real” books?  Have a guess whose pile is whose…

Pile # 1

Pile #2

Pile #3

Incidentally, the person with the fewest books is the one who also had his membership to the London Library renewed ;-)

Our Christmas dinner was around the kitchen table this year, due to our building work.  We had fun with the Incredibooth App, too and collected enough evidence to embarrass the whole family for several years to come!

Hope your Christmas was as enjoyable as ours!

The One Show last night?

Gill tells the full story on her blog as always.

Where will we put the Christmas Tree this year?

With the builders finally resolving the issue of the leaking roof in the garden room by extending the boxroom above and turning it into a walk-in closet for our bedroom, the whole house feels upside down.  We are soldiering on in good humour and trying our best to rise above it but if anyone utters those words “it’ll be nice when it’s finished”, they risk a slap!

Sad news today when we heard that Mark’s Uncle Tobe, at 98, the oldest member of our family, had died over the weekend in Cheltenham General hospital.  He was taken ill recently and though his death didn’t come as a surprise, it’s nevertheless hard to receive such news.

He wasn’t really called Tobe at all, but Herbert, and when I first met Mark, he was very much in the shadow of his wife, Mark’s jolly Auntie Joan.  Since her death some years ago, he had lived alone, managing quite nicely with the support of family and friends and soldiering on through all kinds of situations.  When we saw him recently, he didn’t seem quite as spirited as he had always been and for the first time, ever so slightly out of it.  Edward in particular, used to enjoy his company, especially when Tobe had enjoyed a rather larger glass of port than he perhaps ought to have done.  This used to result in “interesting” conversations, free and frank (and rather un-PC)opinions on all kinds of issues, many of them requiring a little explanation for Edward from us later!  Of course, having realised the fun that could be had, Edward was pleased to take care of his Great Uncle’s glass and to introduce him to whatever fine bottle of Madeira or Port he could find!

We’ll miss him and feel sorry that, unlike his father in law – Mark’s Grandfather - he didn’t quite make his century. 

We’ve been with a group of friends this weekend, tackling the Three Peaks Challenge in aid of the National Ankylosing Spondylitis Society.    We provided the support – driving, cooking, taking care of their well being – doing whatever we could to help them achieve their goal to climb the highest peaks in Scotland, England and Wales.  We set off from home first thing Friday morning, driving to Fort William where we stayed overnight before the stopwatch was started at 4pm Saturday.

The full story is on Gill’s blog but suffice to say, they did it!  Three summits in 24 hours – what an achievement!

Gill’s been in New York all week, having fun with Jordi, taking a class at the Photography Institute with Mary Taylor.  Read all about the great things they’ve been doing on Gill’s blog, as usual.  Start here for the full story.

We have spent a wonderful weekend celebrating Mark’s birthday.  The full story will be told soon, once we have caught our breath.

Someone here is celebrating his birthday

I wonder who that might be?

Last night I wore my Mumbai blue kurta and white churidar to an evening with friends.  We had a great time, enjoying delicious food and wine and a fair bit of lively conversation.  Best of all?

I hardly turned blue at all.