The New Doctor

Christmas 2008

Detour to Nottingham on the way to Cambridge to have coffee with Jean, Mike and Vix.

Anna and Fi singing Christmas carols (first and foremost) and cooking chilli.

Nico on Christmas morning: "Can I have this for breakfast?".

Ben and Anna opening their presents.

Yummy Christmas lunch at Fi's folks, the Ramsays.

Granchester barrel race - one of those delightfully eccentric English village traditions.

Nativity Concerts

As a parent, you know Christmas has well and truly arrived when you find yourself wrapping a tea towel/tinsel around your kid's head. Here are Benanna in action during their respective school nativity concerts this week: Angel Anna and Narrator Ben...

Climbing with Bob

Ben had his school bear, Bob, over for the weekend and they went climbing at the school's climbing wall. Well done to Ben who rescued Bob from a tricky spot on the ledge. He then (some may say cruelly) chucked him down onto the crash mat. Not sure if Bob will be wanting to visit the Schonkens again.

Just another Sunday

Although we aren't doing anything special today, Ben announced this morning that he will be wearing a tie today. He says he is doing this because he is a "Professional". Oh dear, should we be nervous?

East Sussex

We spent a few days during half term in Hartfield with Cathy (ex-Rhodes friend), Mike, Abi and Greg Burbridge in their idyllic country cottage. The kids had a ball feeding the sheep and Philip and I spent a morning designing a scrummy website for Cathy's cake-baking business. Check out: http://www.sliceofhartfield.co.uk/ Anyone for cake?
The kids dressed up for Halloween: Ben chose to be a Blue Man (??) while Anna was a Princess (what else?). Cathy's kind neighbours went to a lot of trouble dressing up and supplying loads of lovely sweeties.

And we popped down to Eastbourne to see my cousin, Jean, and Dick and catch up on all the Aussie relatives' news.

London: 24-28 October 2008

Our Bloxham friends, Oleg and Fran, very kindly let us use their Canary Wharf flat for a long weekend in London. The weather was good to us and we "did" St Pauls, the "Great Fire" Monument, lots of rides on the underground, red buses and Docklands Light Railway and had such a great time that we ended up staying an extra night. Lots of photos follow...

View from our Canary Wharf flat.

Two boring but absolutely necessary touristy London shots: Picadilly Circus and yay, we got a seat on the underground train!

Jake the Peg trying on his new shoes at Decathlon.

London: Arty Farty/Educational Stuff

Learning the difference between "Cubism" and "Surrealism" at Tate Modern.

Mum trying to come across all clever and arty and explaining the significance of the apple core.

Giant Spider at Tate Modern.

Photography exhibit (on the South Bank) of everyday life in the Congo : Benanna were movingly enthralled.

Entrance foyer of the Natural History Museum.

Anna checking out the Blue Whale.

And what would a trip to London be without a run-in with some flying rats/pigeons?

London: Shopping

Well, "looking" is probably more accurate (poor daddy was gripping his wallet very tightly).

Checking out where the Queen buys her sweeties: Fortnum and Mason.

Still at Fortnum and Mason. Ben reckons that this is what her Madge buys the people she doesn't like: Scorpian Vodka and Giant Toasted Ants.

Ben not looking too happy that he has to trawl through the 4th floor of Hamleys ("Girls") while Anna is clearly delighted to find herself surrounded by so much pink.

On Hamley's fifth floor ("Boys"): now that's more like it!

Daddy is very concerned that Annie is going to turn into a "horsey chick" (not that that's a bad thing - just look at her lovely Auntie Fi!). It's the cost that has Philip gagging for air...

Ben testing out the specs on a new MacBook at the Apple Shop in Regent Street.

Anna doing a creative drawing on her Apple.

London: Eating

Ben is now a sushi convert: he says he likes it because you don't have to hang around and wait for the food, you just grab what you want!

Lunch in Chinatown.

Breakfast on Sunday with the Fields.

Amber and Anna hard at work.

Benjy's Covent Garden Debut

We visited Covent Garden and Ben was selected by the street performer as a "cute kid" volunteer. He took to the stage with applomb, clearly said his name into the microphone and proceeded to breakdance and have the 200-something crowd in stitches. Great, like we need another drama queen in the family...

Shots

Anna just had her two pre-school booster shots (one in each juicy arm) and justly deserves her "No. 1 for bravery" hippo sticker. The nurse says that not only did Anna not flinch, but it's the first time that she's seen a kid actually stare at the injection needle as it goes in. I sense the beginnings of a medical career...

Yup, he's on holiday again...

37 Years Young

Thanks to our lovely friends and family for helping us celebrate Philip's birthday this weekend: Gill and Dave, Dean, Lou, Amber and Tristan and Nico and Fi.

"Happy Birthday to you!"

Fi reading Amber and Anna a story.

Just too cute not to publish: Anna wearing her "new" top from Amber.