I'm a Great Aunt!

How exciting, a new generation is born!  I'm sure my sister can't wait to get her hands on the adorable little chap and have a cuddle.  When I get my turn to hold the new arrival, will I remember how to cradle a baby?  I am looking forward to that lovely scent of new baby, it tops the charts along with newly cut grass and the smell of fresh tar!

It certainly is a thought provoking occasion, seems like no time since I held my adorable little nephew in my arms and now he is a proud Daddy.

Is this my chance to start behaving like an eccentric old Great Aunt with a big floppy hat covered in flowers and bright red lipstick?  On second thoughts, I'll stick with just the lipstick, I don't think suburbia is ready for the batty old lady yet and neither am I.

Sharing Clothes

The Duchess of Cambridge was recently featured at an engagement wearing a dress which her mother wore to Ascot last year.  This started the whole debate about whether your children would be seen dead in your clothes and more to the point would you allow then to borrow them?

I was a bit precious about wardrobe raids when my little Darlings were a bit younger and not so likely to take care of expensive or treasured items.  However now it is a regular event and I don't mind as long as everything is treated with care and respect, they ask before it is taken and it is returned in good condition.  I take it as a complement that I am keeping up to date with the latest trends. Paisley is currently 'on trend' and this little number has been very much in demand since I finished it.

I see it as getting a lot more mileage out of outfits, justifying buying to excess! We are also very lucky that all  3 of us take the same size of shoe, so when I saw those Calvin Klein classics in the sale, there was no sense in holding back!

My hoarding instincts have paid back well with the clothes I packed away at end of the 70s. The vintage items, including some wonderful Biba creations, are now being proudly worn and much admired by Major Darling's friends in the fashion world.  It is even more of a buzz for me to see an outfit which I designed and made myself, being regularly worn by one of my little Darlings.

I'm not so keen when it comes to sharing tights which  have a habit of being spirited out of my room, never to be seen again.  I've tried insisting that everyone sews a piece of coloured ribbon in the top when they buy a new pair, but that idea didn't have much mileage.  I just have to keep finding new places to hide a stock for myself, although I have noticed they are not so keen on the support tights I have recently bought. Maybe that is the answer!

A taste of student life

Enforced bed rest with a dose of flu, cuddled up with Ibuprofen and a cat,  I have discovered just how addictive day time TV can be.  Houses under the Hammer, Deal or No Deal, Loose Women and a cooking programme have all had my full attention, but only because I am feeling brain dead.

I think that one day of that is enough, good reason to make sure that I'm better by tomorrow!

Volcano Refugees

Two years ago at this time, in scorching sunshine, we were crammed into a compound at Bilbao docks waiting to be loaded on to an unprepared P & O ship which had arrived to rescue us from Spain! 

Perched on our suitcases we were besieged by TV crews and reporters, all after an interview with the ‘volcano refugees’.  We all saw the funny side of our desperate situation when the foreign office vans turned up and distributed enormous juicy Spanish oranges, by hurling them across the crowd!

At least the trains were VERY comfortable

The previous day, Mini Darling’s 18^th birthday, we had spent 12 hours travelling across Spain by train and, having finally reached Bilbao, dined in the only place still open - Burger King!   She said it made her day seeing me tuck into the standard burger and bun, but my goodness we were starving and it tasted good!  Poor girl, she had finally reached the age when she could legally have a drink but not a drop of alcohol touched our lips during that day.

The only hotel space we could book was a room for 4 people in a budget hotel.  It was dire and dirty!  The bunk bed was unstable, so us three girls got a few hours sleep by sleeping crossways on two single beds pushed together and we let The Chief have the bottom bunk. We all giggled the night away! 

Once on the boat, it was a relief to be on our way back to Portsmouth and we didn’t care that the four of us had to share the tiniest cabin, surviving the three day journey with a lot of humour and plenty of wine!  We were lucky to have been able to reserve the very last one available, only with the help of our brother-in-law booking through the UK website.

On our arrival at Portsmouth we were greeted with people waving from various points along the beach and quayside, including members of the crew of HMS Ark Royal giving us warm welcoming waves.

We spoilt our holiday with hours of anguish trying all manner of ways to return home, then trying to co-ordinate the plans, followed by the months taken squeezing any sort of compensation out of Iberia Airines. Our extended holiday in Seville and the 'adventure' of a journey home was not the way we had planned to celebrate her 18^th birthday, but at least she will never forget it!

The best we could do for a birthday cake - a chocolate doughnut with a  cigarette lighter!

Goodbye to teenage years

My little baby Darling will soon be saying goodbye to her teenage years. 

I remember the thrill of the thirteenth birthday party, all the giggling girls turned up at the village hall for a disco party with the theme of 'glamorous'. How great they all looked in their Mother's old party frocks, having spent hours experimenting with make up and hair crimpers, curlers and straighteners.  We had the perfect spring weather for them to spill out onto the village green. The cricket team were relaxing after their afternoon game and thought the dancing girls were great entertainment.

This year the celebration will be a sophisticated family evening in a Japanese restaurant after we have spent a cultural afternoon together seeking out some of the latest art exhibitions.  What a contrast!


I'm glad we have moved on from the hard work of coming up with a new idea for a party and organising a very special day, but it is so lovely to have the photos and memories of such fun times and all the great friends who still talk about those events.

The Easter Bunny remembered!

The Easter Bunny still visits all the big kids in the house!

Where would we be without the basket of delights to offer a naughty nibble for the next few weeks!
These sugar coated mini eggs are just such a perfect size for a wicked chocolate fix when no-one is looking!

A trip to the cinema

I rarely visit the cinema so a trip to see The Very Best Exotic Marigold Hotel with 'The Gals' was a great treat, especially when I looked around the audience to see that we appeared to be the youngest group in the cinema.

This is what I want from light entertainment, simply a real feel good movie with a tremendous cast list of well known characters.  There is no show stopping complicated plot, it is simply a charming story, often very poignant, showing the colourful vibrant city life in Jaipur and stunning temple on the lake at Udaipur.

The all-star line up delivered some brilliant one liners and it was quite politically incorrect in places. I did find Maggie Smith's racism at the beginning rather toe curling, however as the story developed it was warming to see how she had completely changed her views.

The  audience were ready to join in with the adventures of the retired characters who had chosen to settle in this shabby, but beautiful hotel, to try and stretch their retirement savings.  We all roared with laughter at the innuendoes and jokes.

There was one moment when a bit of a commotion started down the line of my friends and for one awful moment I thought maybe 'Fruitcake' had dropped her contact lenses or worse still fallen asleep!  Not to worry, she had just realised the film was set in the stunning area of India that she had visited a couple of months ago on her yoga holiday, a bit of whispering down the row and we were all settled again!

Wonderful to see such a number of our much loved actors in one film giving us a taste of the exotic charms of India.

Photos: 20th Century Fox