September

Working at the new college

My journey to work now involves a bus ride, replacing the 20 minute walk to the old college with a 15 minute bus ride and 10 minutes walking. I read at the bus stop and on the bus when I'm not talking to someone, which has happened on about half the journeys. The college promised a deal of 10% discount on the buses for all staff as an incentive not to drive (the other incentive is limited parking and the prospect of a long walk once you have found a parking space!) but it hasn't yet been forthcoming. Discount or not, the journey to and from work is rather pleasant and I am quite happy with the arrangement (although it hasn't rained yet). I am reading a book (fiction) about the experiences of two Jamaican immigrants to south London in the late 40s and early 50s. It is quite shocking to consider how they were treated and a shame that there are some parallels now although, I think, that these are less racially motivated and more nationalistic.

Sixth form

Ben has started his A levels. He is still sure of his choices and is looking forward to studying but now realises that he should have taken GCSE Chemistry if he wants a career in some area of biology. He is now looking into how he can get this GCSE and will probably need to go to evening classes. When he chose his GCSEs he couldn't decide between music and chemistry but decided to go for music as he really enjoyed it. Hopefully, he will be able to get the GCSE before he applies for university. He is doing two sciences at A level and so the chemistry should be achievable.

We had a major discussion about the fact that some of his friends are getting EMA, which is only paid to students whose parents earn less than £30k. As the money goes straight to the student, Ben considered this to be unfair. He has always had a small allowance and earns plenty of money helping with the coaching at the tennis club but he seems to be trying to save to fund himself through university (I assume this as he is very reluctant to spend any of his money). In the end we agreed that I would stop his allowance completely and he would have the child benefit money each week on condition that he pays for most things himself. On the basis that if he wasn't at school I wouldn't be getting the child benefit, I thought this was a reasonable arrangement.

Babysitting

Beccy has been looking after the two children next door. It started when she and Antoine played with them out in the garden and has built up from there. She has been out with Katy, Austin and Rory and has kept the boys entertained all day. She has now done a couple of little spells of babysitting for some pocket money and seems both to enjoy it and to do it well.

Kent and Aylesford football

Beccy has started her training for Kent. She travelled on the bus to meet Brian at work and get a lift to the training ground, which was nearby. She is getting more and more independent but is doing it slowly, which is by far the best way.

In her first league match of the season, Beccy was awarded parents' player of the match and scored a hat trick. She has set herself a target of scoring more goals this season than last. As she scored 6 goals last season, she is well on the way to reaching this target. She scored a goal in the second match despite being in defence (she ran forward for a corner) and then in goal.

Tennis

Ben reached the final of the Gravesham Spring Open Tournament but lost in three sets. He is getting better at matches and is showing more consistency between his playing ability and ability to win matches which, before, were totally opposite to each other.

Ben also reached the final of the consolation draw for the Gravesham Autumn Tournament, which he won 6-0, 6-4. He got another trophy to add to his growing collection.

Running

Ben ran in the Demelza House 5k run at Mote Park and came second with a time of 21 mins and 24 second.

His friend Amreek came first with a personal best time of around 18 minutes. Ben got a nice glass trophy and a certificate.

Heavy Horse Show

Brian helped out at the scouts tea tent to raise money for the group. He spent most of the day , as he has done each year, manning the urns for the tea and coffee. I'm sure he really enjoys it! I helped toward the end of the day first selling cakes and then washing up. I took the explorers there (Ben, Ben and Ross) in the morning then went home to collect Beccy from football before returning later in the afternoon. I filled the car with fuel on the way to Shoreham but when I went to leave to pick Beccy up it wouldn't start. Brian managed to start it but we thought it best if I drove his car back. At the end of the show, I drove my car back to the scout hut dropping the explorers at home on the way. We packed everything away at the hut and got ready to go home. My car wouldn't start again. After several tries at bump starting it, with all the leaders and helpers pushing, we couldn't get it to start so we borrowed a tow rope and towed it home. It was now so late that we decided to have fish and chips for dinner. Brian wondered if I had let it run out of fuel and I told him that I had put some in that morning and realised only then that I had filled it with petrol! £250 pounds later it had been recovered to a diesel centre, drained and flushed and, luckily, no damage had been done. I hope I will be more with it in the future!

London Aquarium

On the 7th, Beccy and I took Alexander to the London Aquarium. We thought it would be better than the zoo as there would always be something to see. He loved it. He followed the fish with his hands and chattered away, eventually wearing himself out and falling asleep in his buggy.

We met Dan and Helen at Liverpool St Station to pick him up and drop him off and they had a day at the Westfield Shopping Centre and had lunch. We had a look at the statue commemorating the Kindertransport, the trains which brought Jewish children from Germany and Nazi occupied countries to be look after by families in England and other countries. It made me consider how desperate those parents must be to consider sending their children on those trains to foreign countries, imagine having to make that choice and how awful the situation must have been for them.

Bedgbury Forest Run

Ben, Dan and Joe ran the 10k on the 12th September. Ben and Dan both ran personal best times: Ben 47 minutes, Dan 56 minutes. Helen, Beccy and I ran the 2k fun run. Beccy managed 6 minutes, Helen 9 and me 10 minutes (which was my target). Natalie, Josh, Izzy and Mum also ran completing it well before us as we arrived at the start line 10 minutes late. Even so, Beccy managed to overtake Mum before the end!

After a picnic for Nat's birthday, Brian, Ben, Beccy, Natalie, Paul, Jodie, Josh, Izzy and Joe did the Go Ape course. Most of them were quite keen on leaning out on the harnesses so that they were lying on air. They all completed the course but it took 4 hours.

I took Alexander into the children's play area and put him on the little rocking horses on springs. He soon worked out how to rock himself and I crouched in front just he case he wobbled off. After quite a while he was still going but I was struggling to crouch down. I decided to get on the rocking horse and sit behind him. Unfortunately, as soon as I got on it tipped backwards and Alexander and I fell to the floor. He landed on top of me and cried a little but soon forget about it when I put him back on and crouched at the front again. He chattered away making all sorts of sounds.

Leeds Castle 10k run

On the 27th, Ben, Dan and Joe ran 10k at Leeds Castle in aid of Cancer Research. Joe ran a little faster than at Bedgebury but Ben and Dan both ran a little slower. The course was a little more difficult.

Age of Stupid

We went to a screening of this film at the Hazlitt Theatre. The publicity material said that it would be thought provoking and it did give us quite a bit to talk about. Beccy said that she enjoyed it and asked about getting other people to see it. She might try to persuade her school to show it at their film club and I will try to do the same at the college. The frightening thing about the message in the film was that if we don't tackle the problem of climate change, which is a real possibility, the effects could start early enough that Ben and Beccy will be only around the age that Brian and I are now and their children would feel the full effects. I don't want to leave a world that my children and grandchildren will find it difficult to live in and, like a growing number of people, I want to do something about it. We have been trying to live more sustainably for many years, we have reduced what we buy, we buy locally, only Brian drives to work, we heat our water by solar energy and our house with wood fuel. We do all the things that we are told will help but we need to do more. It's all very well being told to recycle but recycling vast amounts of unnecessary waste is not the answer, we have to not buy the stuff in the first place, that way we are not using precious resources and not generating the tons of carbon emissions associated with the production of all these needless items. We need to fight to get our economy based on a totally different basis. Consumerism really does cost the earth and unless it stops there is little hope. It really makes me cross when I hear people talking proudly about how they got a brilliant bargain in the clothes shops or the supermarket. There is no thought about why that item was so cheap. It will have been produced in a non-sustainable way and is almost certain to have been produced in such a way that it will have caused poverty for someone somewhere, so that someone here can have yet another pair of trousers to add to their crowded wardrobe or another pack of food that will go past its use by date because it wasn't needed. If companies only sold what was actually needed then they wouldn't need to advertise, the market would be knocking on its door.

Other events

I joined the community gospel choir organised by the Salvation Army in Chatham. I really enjoyed the first practice session although I found it very difficult to hit my notes. The sopranos and tenors were quite loud and I couldn't hear or place the alto notes. Hopefully, it will get easier.

Beccy went to a cricket day organised by the army. She really enjoyed it but, hopefully, the careers talk was something she didn't take too much notice of. They did team building games and quite a bit of cricket leaving her wanting to join a cricket club if she has any time.

Ben has been organising days out with his explorer friends and with his friends from school. He has actually started to use his mobile phone and seems to send and receive continuous text messages at times. He is obviously enjoying it.

Brian's company is hanging on. It is a struggle to keep the cash flowing and he seems to get a little bit down every now and then but it is still going. Talks of a takeover by another company haven't yet resulted in a deal and it is difficult to tell whether it will be beneficial or not. Taking one day at a time seems to be the best option for now.

August

Legoland

I took Beccy and Antoine to Legoland. Beccy, especially was very interested in Miniland (lego models of world landmarks). She decided that she wants to work there as a summer job when she is old enough so that she can be involved in making lego models like that. The two children went prepared for lots of water wearing their swimwear under their clothes and taking towels and a change of clothes.

They did just about every water ride there and went on the rapids a number of times in order to get the best photograph. Beccy also went on all the roller coasters. She has never been brave enough to do this before but she tried it and she loved it. She and Antoine rode the Dragon and the Jungle Coaster a number of times.

Explorers Summer Camp

Ben went to camp with the Explorers at Frylands Wood in Croydon from 31st July to 8th August. He had the best of times and really didn't want to come home. His group get on together so well that the whole experience was great for him. They built bivouacs and camped out in the woods, did the usual activities (swimming, orienteering, wide games, etc) and had a day out in London visiting Camden Town, Regents Park and seeing the show Wicked in the West End.

He came back determined to spend more time with friends and by Sunday had arranged a trip to London and, later in the week, to Thorpe Park with schoolfriends. In between he would be playing in the Gravesham Tennis Tournament.

Returning Antoine to France

I flew with Beccy and Antoine to Marseille on Ryanair. The flights with Ryanair were so much cheaper than British Airways, where they could have flown on their own, that it was cheaper for me to fly with them and then back the next day with Ryanair, on which they were not allowed to fly on their own. We called in to see Helen and Alexander on the way to the airport and Beccy and Antoine played with all his toys and then the Playstation. We arrived at the airport with just enough time to check the children's bags, go through security where they thought I had an aerosol can in my bag and made us wait while it was searched and re-scanned to prove that there wasn't, then go straight to the gate to board the plane.

Jean-Francois picked us up from the airport and drove us back to their house where I stayed over, in Marion's room. The following day, Jean-Francois and Marion took Beccy, Antoine and me to Les Baux de Provence, a village and chateaux built into a mountainside in the Alpilles. We had lunch, which we had to eat quite quickly as the Mistral was blowing fairly strongly and our salad flying off the plate.

We watched a demonstration of trebuchet firing, found the stocks, and explored the remains of the chateau while listening to the audio-guides we were given as part of the entrance fee. I bought a big bag of Herbes de Provence to bring home.

During conversations with Marion and Jean-Francois I found out quite a lot about the competitiveness of the university system in France and the taxation and social security payment system. I don't know why there are so many complaints in this country about these issues. Maybe English people can't understand the link between social security payments, taxation and public services (or maybe we all just want everything for nothing). As wage levels are always going to be dictated to a certain extent by the amount of NI and tax we pay, I can't see any reason at all to need to reduce taxation or indeed keep it at a low level. Perhaps we need the popular press to explain this to the general population!

After a dinner at the house with Anne, who had been at work during the day (she's an optician), Jean-Francois drove me back to the airport for my flight home. As I had booked in online and had no baggage to check it took 10 minutes from arriving at the airport to arriving at the gate for departure.

The garden

We have done a little work on the garden this year, widening the flower border and re-arranging the vegetable plots. At the moment we have a good crop of courgettes, potatoes, carrots and garlic. The raspberries, strawberries, blueberries and blackcurrants fruited less than last year as we had planted new raspberry canes, had moved the strawberries and blueberries, and had cut the blackcurrant bush right back. Nevertheless we had a reasonable crop from all.

We can now look forward to picking the apples (of which there are many), grapes and tomatoes (if they ripen). We have planted some broccoli and what we think is sweetcorn (it appeared in a pot) and wait to see what they do.

At the front, we have cut down the cordyline, which had grown to over 10 feet, and the camphor tree in order to allow us to get to the front of the house to do some much needed maintenance. When the maintenance is done we will widen the flower bed in front of the house and completely replant it.

Beccy's trip to France

We picked Beccy up from Gatwick on Monday 10th August. She was very keen to tell us all about her trip and all the things she had done. She had a great time. The Olivari family took her to Aqualand, a nearby zoo (she thinks it was Marseille Zoo), to a treetops adventure park and to the Alps for a couple of days.

On the day we picked Beccy up I had an operation (laparoscopy) to find out what was causing the pain in my abdomen. The doctors thought it was adhesions as a result of an operation I had around 19 years ago. It was a large adhesion which they couldn't treat then but at least I know that the cause is not anything sinister and it can be dealt with. As I was not very mobile (or with it after the anaesthetic) we went for a meal at a pub near Gatwick airport after meeting Beccy from the plane. The pub, The Olde Six Bells, served very good food and was reasonably priced - a good choice.

Ben's tennis - 14th August 2009 and 24th August 2009

Ben had some fairly difficult first matches in the Gravesham tournament and suffered from not having played for a little while. He was entered in the consolation draws for the Boys Under 16 singles, Under 18 singles and Mixed Doubles. He won the Under 16 singles and, with Megan, won the Mixed Doubles.

His final win also gave him enough wins and a sufficient win ratio to move from 9.2 to 9.1 so it was a great week for him.

Prior to the tournament we did some practice and took some video so that Ben could see what he might improve. Unfortunately he had to rely on my feeding the ball, which wasn't always useful but gave him practice in chasing wild balls!

At the Kent County Closed tournament, Ben lost his first round match against a boy who was a number of ratings higher than him. In the consolation draw he played really well and won all his matches up to the quarter finals where he lost to a boy of similar ability having had 4 set points in the first set. His playing continues to improve but his ability to fight for those final points needs some work.

UK Schools Biathlon - 16th August 2009

Beccy has been training at the swimming pool and at the running track in preparation for this event. She competed well. She ran the 1000m in 3 mins 45 seconds (better than in the qualifier) and swam in 42.7 seconds (also better).

We had a great day accompanied by Dan, Helen, Alexander, Mum, Sue, Joe, Marion and Alan. In between Beccy's run and swim we had a picnic and my birthday cake on the grass just outside the stadium. It was a very long day, we left at 8am and arrived home at 8pm having stopped for some fast food on the way home.

Beccy's points total in the biathlon was enough to gain 16th place and she was awarded a trophy for gaining the highest number of points of any Medway or Bromley athlete.

Camping with Claire

Ben, Beccy and I went away camping with Claire, Nathan, Alli, Nadia and her friend Steph (and the dog, Cosby). Having booked the campsite in Pevensey, near Eastbourne, we decided that we wanted a day on a sandy beach and so started by going to Camber. We set up our stuff in the dunes, out of the wind and all went in the sea, sunbathed or played games. Late afternoon we packed up and drove to Pevensey (about an hour). Having booked into the campsite and found our pitch, we discovered that we had a tent with no pegs (the second time we have done this so far this year)! It was late and most local shops, even the large ones, closed at 8pm so I drove quickly to the nearest Halfords, who up until very recently (apparently) were selling tents and pegs but had nothing now. I then tried B&Q, who also didn't sell tent pegs but had a selection of hardware. After a bit of deliberation I decided on 4 inch nails with large heads and some bent metal pins.

Back at the campsite we found that the heads of the nails were just slightly bigger than the holes in the tent and the nails were long enough to get a hold. Luckily it wasn't windy at all and our tent secured with 4 inch nails did us proud for the two nights we were there. We got the tent set up, inflated the airbeds and loaded everything into the tent. Claire discovered that she hadn't packed Nadia's bedding and the older two girls had to share one sleeping bag.

It was late and we needed to eat so we went to Pevensey Bay, just down the road, bought fish and chips and sat on the pebble beach while we ate them and it got dark. On returning to the campsite we found that our gas light had no gas and so by the light of as many candles as we could fit on the table, we all got ready for bed. Everyone was in bed by just after 10pm! Cosby was so tired after a whole day on the beach that he slept soundly all night. Claire got up very early to take him out for a wee but otherwise we didn't hear a thing from him. He slept just as well the second night.

On Tuesday (the second day) Claire made me a belated birthday cake out of an upturned bowl decorated with chocolate hoops. They all sang 'Happy Birthday' and I opened my card and presents. Nathan cooked bacon and eggs for breakfast and we all got ready for the day out. Ben had a tennis tournament and so I drove him to Tunbridge Wells for his morning match, then took him for lunch and drove back to Pevensey, leaving him there for his afternoon match. Everyone else had walked to the beach, bought lunch in a bakery and were sitting in the same spot when I got there. Beccy and Alli were swimming in the sea and everyone else was sunbathing. We walked from there along the beach and back towards the supermarket where we would get our dinner for the evening. After a while, Beccy and I walked back to the beach to get the car and then I ferried people and the dog and shopping from the supermarket back to the campsite. Poor Cosby seemed to be suffering a bit from walking on pebbles all day, his feet looked sore and he was quite exhausted.

Brian watched Ben's afternoon match and brought him back to the campsite. He stayed for dinner, which was quickly cooked, and then took the two boys back to the beach to do some fishing. They didn't catch anything and returned around 10.15pm so that Brian could get the car off the campsite before they closed the gates. It was lovely to see him and both the children really appreciated him being there. They obviously missed him, even for just one day!

Wednesday morning was our last and we needed to pack everything up. Nathan cooked another breakfast and we packed everything away so leisurely that we only just finished by the 12 noon deadline for vacating the campsite. The boys wanted to go fishing again and so Claire drove them back to the beach and picked them up around an hour and a half later. All packed, we left the campsite and spent the day on the beach nearer to Eastbourne where there were rides and places to eat. We left around 4pm and, after getting lost in Tunbridge Wells, arrived home around 6.30pm (Brian did the same journey in 1 hour the night before).

GCSE Results day - 27th August 2009

Ben went to a pre-results party the night before and walked to school with Rob (who stayed over) when school opened. He got a good set of results - A grades in Maths, Biology, Physics, PE, History and Latin, B grades in English, Art and Statistics and a C grade in Music. He was a little disappointed as he had been predicted higher but he got into sixth form easily and got As in all his chosen A level subjects. We are really proud of him.

Opening of new college

I went into work to open up a classroom and set up some small demonstrations of work. The new building was opened to the public and many, many young people turned up (mostly to see the bands that were playing rather than the educational facilities). I had a small number of people interested in looking around but not too many.

Joe's birthday at Camber

We had a barbecue on the beach at Camber for Joe's birthday. It was quite windy and we hid ourselves in the dunes to shelter from it. The children went in the sea but didn't swim as the red flags were flying. We had burgers, sausages and cakes and after we had eaten we had a game of rounders. Dan had Alexander in the rucksack carrier and wanted to let him join in.

When Dan hit the ball and started running he realised that he could get all the way round. He ran as fast as he could with Alexander bouncing around on his back. As he passed fourth base we all cheered and Alexander burst into tears - he had scored his first rounder!

Explorers' barbecue

Family of the explorers were invited to a barbecue at the scout hut. We all went and sat and talked with the other parents. The leaders cooked the food and the explorers (with a little encouragement) packed away. They used the time together to plan a day at the beach.

Stansted Windmill Fete and Dan's birthday

Bank holiday Monday 31st August, we visited Dan, Helen and Alexander, had a lovely lunch (Dan's homemade bread, salad, meats and cheeses) then walked along to the windmill to have a look around the fete held to raise funds for its restoration. We had a go at bowling balls through holes for points, dipped Alexander in the lucky dip to get a little notebook and some tattoos for Beccy, bought some plants for the garden and a book for me to read on the bus on the way to and from work.

Helen had made a gorgeous chocolate and guiness birthday cake and Dan opened his presents a day early while we were there. Dan seemed pleased with the splitting maul and slegehammer we got him for chopping firewood. Helen's mum, Joy, her brother, Simon, and two of her sisters, Fiona and Julia, were visiting as well. Beccy and the triplets played together with Alexander. Brian had Alexander on his lap at one point and dressed him up in plastic bangles, on his wrists, ankles and ears. While he was being bejewelled, Alexander took advantage of the fact that Brian was distracted and pinched some of his chocolate cake!

While we were at Dan's, Ben went to Westgate with his Explorer friends for a day at the beach. It was a long day, ending in a night swim, and he got home around 11pm having had a really good time.

July

Family

Dan, Helen and Alexander came over on the 6th. We all took Alexander swimming. He wasn't phased at all by the waves in the wave pool, which splashed in his face. He just giggled his way through it. He also wasn't phased by the six large people who followed him around everywhere in the water, threw balls to him, balanced him on floats, floated him around and popped up from under the water to surprise him.

At home, Ben showed him how to play the piano and then Helen balanced him on the piano stool to let him try on his own. As soon as he realised that hitting the keys with his hands resulted in a noise, he banged away. Then Ben sat him again on his lap and played a tune. Alexander then seemed to realise that he only needed to use his fingers and he played much more genteely after that. We will make sure that he gets many opportunities to play the piano and maybe he will decide later that he wants to have a go at playing.

Football

Beccy played in an under 13s tournament and her team reached the final only to lose 1-0. It was a baking hot day, I got sunburnt and I'm sure that Beccy got a bit of heatstroke as she complained of a nasty headache all afternoon.

She had her second trial for the Kent team and...she was selected. We now need to wait to find out what happens next.

At her school presentation evening she was awarded Girls Football Player of the Year. At the presentation we watched Alli perform a fantastic dance and saw her given an award for Outstanding Achievement in recognition of her achievements in dance at local, regional, national and international levels.

Tennis

Ben has been increasing the number of sessions he works as an assistant coach and seems to be enjoying it. He has booked up his tournaments for the summer and has spent a lot of time working at the club (almost every day since the start of the summer holidays).

Sundridge Park Tournament - Ben won his first round games in both the Under 16s and 18s and progressed to the next round where he knew he would be playing boys with a much higher rating. He played well in the games he won.

Athletics

Ben competed in the 3000m, the 1500m and the 4x400m relay at school sports day (he did the 3000m a couple of days before, probably wouldn't have managed it otherwise as, again, it was an incredibly hot day). He also did some work helping out at a local primary school sports day. A group of AS level PE students were asked to run the day and he seemed to enjoy it.

Beccy competed in the school sports day winning the 1500m, the long jump (4m) and being part of the winning 4x100m relay team.

Trips and events

Ben went to Gilwell 24, a 24 hour scouting event which starts at 8am on Saturday and finishes at 8am on Sunday. He went with Explorers and they took part in various activities throughout the 24 hours. Unfortunately, it started raining heavily at 5pm on Saturday and didn't stop until the event ended, meaning that many activities were not possible. As a result, he didn't enjoy it as much as last year. He arrived home absolutely exhausted and was fast asleep on the sofa when we got home at 2.30pm.

Brian, Beccy, her friend Shannon and I went to a festival/private party called Tonefest 2, in a field in Dorset. We had to miss Friday night as Beccy had her Kent football trial and so we travelled on Saturday morning. We were invited by Fiona and Colin and camped with them and some of their friends at the festival site. After we had put up our tents we grabbed a burger and headed into the acoustic tent. They had a large number of sofas in the large marquee where the acoustic sets were being played. We first listened to Jake Morley who did a very good set, then we moved to the main stage where we watched Bird Jaguar, a rock band. During the day we also saw Randall Stevens, The Rebs, Lou Brown, The Colour of Sound and Ortopilot. The final act of the festival was 'The Great Pretender' a Queen tribute act. Although it seemed a shame that the headline act should be a tribute band when there had been so much good, original music during the day, they got the crowd going and were quite enjoyable to watch. The girls positioned themselves just in front of the stage and danced all the way through. The night ended with a silent disco (you hire headphones and all dance to the same music but heard through the headphones - surprisingly effective). The girls wanted a go so we paid the deposit (returned at the end) for the headphones and they lasted about 20 minutes before they were bored and ready to go to bed. Overall, it was a really good day despite the rain.

The rain started before we arrived. We put the tents up in the rain, got soaked again and again and wore wellies the whole time. The girls managed to leave the front of their tent open and the rain got in, then they left a pillow against the side of the tent and it got soaked. Our tent developed a heavy drip onto the end of our airbed, which we moved so that it dripped onto the floor instead. A puddle formed. In the night the rain became very heavy and, when it stopped, a very strong wind followed. Some tents, including Fiona and Colin's, collapsed resulting in even more things getting wet.

When we woke up, our tents were still up and it wasn't raining any more. Just so we didn't get too comfortable, the toilets, which were quite nice for this type of event, were all blocked, none would flush and there was no water. Once we had organised ourselves to wash and clean at the tent, things were fine. Colin cooked us all a fried breakfast and we all packed up to go home.

After returning from the festival and drying ourselves out, Beccy and Shannon went camping with the school (at Treejumpers) on Tuesday, returning Thursday. It was an adventure camp and they did orienteering, caving, high ropes and many other activities. Luckily, it rained mostly at night and so they didn't get too wet. The caves they explored (man-made) were full of smelly mud and Beccy's clothes came home very wet, muddy and smelly!

Then, after returning from school camp on Thursday, Beccy went camping again, this time with the scouts in Ashdown Forest, on Friday night. A friend's party meant that I had to take her late and she didn't arrive until 11.30pm. She returned Sunday quite exhausted and we finally got to pack everything away.

Bikeathon

Ben and Brian both entered the London Bikeathon and decided to cycle the 52 mile challenge route around London. They started at Thames Barrier Park and cycled across London through Richmond Park and back to the start point. They completed the course in around 5 hours, having stopped for a total of 55 minutes for food and toilet breaks. They raised just over £525 between them for Leukemia Research and returned keen to do another long distance ride (Ben has his sights on London to Paris).

Medway Mile

Beccy, Antoine and I ran the Medway Mile, a free event where you run one mile around Rochester. There was an elite race then a fun run (the one we did). Once we had run from the castle and past the cathedral we ran into the high street where people were eating in restaurants and drinking in the pubs while watching a large mob of people, all wearing t-shirts of blue, black, red or green, just running down the street. It felt like the bull run without the danger. Beccy was around the 5th female to finish and I managed it in under 10 minutes which was good for me.

Antoine's visit

I picked Antoine up from Gatwick. where he flew in from Marseille, on the 23rd for his fourth stay with us. Beccy and Antoine have the same sense of humour and like to do similar things. They got on really well during the 10 days he spent with us. On his first Saturday we were invited next door for a barbecue with a number of other people with small children. Beccy and Antoine played with Austin and Rory and their friends and cousins. They sited themselves in our garden and, using the fence as a net, set up a game of volleyball bringing selected small children to join their team for a while. On the Wednesday, Katy invited them to go to Mote Park with her, the children and her sister's family. Beccy and Antoine played with the younger children all day and Katy was really pleased with them.

June

Ben's GCSEs

Ben is taking his final GCSE exams. By the 4th June he has finished PE, Music, Art, Biology, Maths and English. He has final exams in Latin, Physics, Statistics and History over the next two weeks. His verdict at the moment is that he thinks he may have hit the grades he was expecting in most subjects but there were one or two exams that were harder than he had expected. We have to wait for the results in August to see.

Coincidentally, Beccy started her GCSE courses in English, Maths and Science this week, just as Ben is finishing his!

Alexander (6 months old this month)

Helen and I took Alexander swimming in Saffron Walden. He seemed to love the water. We were in the pool for 50 minutes and he laid on his back and kicked his legs and turned on his front and kicked his legs again. He was happy all the time he was in the water and happy to be under the shower when we got out. I think he drank some water but, hopefully, this won't have done him any harm. He spotted a colourful ball and got very excited when Helen pushed it towards him. He managed to get his hands on it and to propel it back to her. We started by trying to get him to play with a white ball but it seemed to be the colours on the other ball that he was more interested. I can't wait to take him again.

Beccy and I had our first experience of babysitting Alexander on the 14th. We fed him, changed him, played with him and he was great. Dan and Helen had a trip to the cinema. The following week they came to visit us and we got some good pictures in the garden.

Beccy's Kent School trial

Beccy had a trial for the Kent Schools football team. We're not sure how she did but need to ring a premium line number on Monday to find out. At 60p a minute, let's hope the message isn't too long!

22/6/09 - we rang and she got through. The next trial, unfortunately, is on an evening when we had arranged to go to a music festival and means that we will arrive too late to put the tent up. We will either need to go separately so that one of us can put up the tent or all travel the next morning and miss the bands on Friday night - nothing ever goes quite to plan!

Walks

We have been walking quite regularly on the Hoo pensinsular. There are a good number of birds to be seen, although we are rubbish at identifying them. We think we saw a cuckoo in flight and we saw a large bird of prey that we couldn't identify. These walks are quite noisy, especially in the evening when the birds make a huge amount of noise between them.

Ben's tennis

Ben has had a few men's doubles matches with a few wins. He has also now clocked up two singles wins in tournaments and club matches with one counting loss.

We went to Ben's school to see the display of GCSE artwork. Ben had one painting on exhibit (most boys just had one) so we didn't see much but he will be able to bring it home later in the year.

Other events

Beccy took part in a samba workshop with her school. They went to a primary school and taught the younger children how to play this style of music. She had a trip to the London Dungeon and Madame Tussauds and has a day at the University of Kent taking part in French language workshops. She won the 1500m in the Medway District Sports competition for the second year running with a personal best time of 5 minutes 35 seconds. Her team came 2nd in the 100m relay

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We had a good lightning show on the 27th June. Beccy decided it was a good idea to shelter under the parasol. She soon found out that it wasn't at all waterproof and rushed inside to get a waterproof cape so that she could lie on the table and watch the storm.

May

I have been trying out my little PocketPC, which I won at the Hi5 awards. This is my first test video for the webcam which I want my students to use to record their progress diaries. Once I have figured out the best format and way to go about it, I will let it loose on the students.

The first weekend in May was a bank holiday and we spent it mostly watching the children play sport. On the Saturday afternoon we went to Sarah's to celebrate Amelie's first birthday with a family barbecue. We got some great pictures of Amelie and Alexander together - the first time they have met. Sarah is very near to giving birth to her second baby and clearly wants the birth over so that she can start figuring out how she will manage with a newborn and a one-year old. At least the new baby wasn't born on Amelie's birthday!

Ben had two good tennis wins on May Day. Hope it continues this way.

On the 9th we went to Dan and Helen's to celebrate Helen's birthday. I fed Alexander for the first time (mashed apple and pear - not sure if he liked it or not). Dan and Helen had made bread, pizzas and cake. I'm sure their oven must never be off!

Thursday 14th - Ben's study leave started for his GCSEs. The boys weren't told when their study leave would start until they were leaving on their last day so no end of school celebrations, these will have to wait until later. At the start of his study leave, Ben had already completed 3 of his GCSE courses: Art, Music and PE. This was his final art piece on the theme of change. The circles are, in fact, hemispheres made of paper mache. With the creative and sport courses finished he now has to concentrate on the academic stuff. In the first week of study leave he has maths, Latin and biology exams.

16th - Beccy had her football presentation event. There were matches for the players, a presentation (Beccy got parents' player of the year) and a penalty shoot out for both girls and parents. Brian's penalty was saved and mine missed the goal! Beccy's was saved as well so none of us did very well at all.

17th - Race for Life - I ran it with Helen, Mum, Nat and Izzy. Beccy had a cup final match and so had to miss it, Jodie decided that she didn't want to run. I managed to run most of it and did it in 37 minutes. It rained heavily while we were running and we were soaked by the end of it. We went home to change and then met up at the pub for lunch. Ben, meanwhile, played his first match for the men's doubles team. He played with Alex and they won both their matches.

19th - Beccy had her first capsize incident at sailing and came home with a bag of wet clothes. The water was apparently very cold but it was 'fun'.

Brian made a bird feeding station which has attracted sparrows, blue tits, starlings, collared doves and wood pigeons so far. Unfortunately, the wood pigeons were dominating the fat ball feeder owing to the lovely standing area provided by the hangers. We needed to change the design to deter the pigeons. Our current method of clapping loudly or running down the garden to scare them wasn't particularly effective. A move of the fat feeder onto a hanging arm meant that it was quite difficult for the pigeons to get to it.

They were replaced by flocks of starlings that bullied other birds off. In between we saw sparrow with fledglings and at least one blue tit. The greenfinches took at least 10 days to find it but a group of 4 landed on the woodshed one morning, hopped in a neat line towards the front and then over to the feeder, only to be bullied off by a large group of starlings with at least 5 fat fledglings. Hopefully, the greenfinches will try again later.

Saturday 23rd May - Beccy, her friend, Abby, and Brian went to Wembley to see Gillingham play in the League division 2 playoff final. Gillingham won 1-0, scoring in the final minutes of the game. Beccy said the atmosphere in the stadium, in the streets around Wembley and on the train home, was brilliant.

Sunday 24th May - Brian, Ben and Dan went to see the new Star Trek movie, which they enjoyed. Helen and Alexander stayed at the house with me and Beccy and we prepared the food for a barbecue in the evening with Mum, Marion and Alan as well.

Our second barbecue of the year was a bit more 'home-made' than the last one which was a bit of a rush. Dan and Helen brough two loaves of home made bread and a cake. I made burgers, marinades, risotto and fresh fruit salad.

Brian was keen for Alexander to model the Gills hat he had bought for Beccy. Alexander's dad may not be the number one fan of the Medway Towns but his grandparents still think they are a great place to live.

25th - Beccy competed in a Kent League athletics meeting. She ran the 800m and came sixth with an impressive sprint finish and a time of 2.45.

Ben started his Parklangley tennis tournament run. He played his under 16 singles match but was, unfortunately, up against the 4th seed. In the under 18 singles he lost his first match 4-2, 4-1 despite looking like he could win a number of times. He just needed to be able to win those important points like when he was 40-15 up to go 3-3 in the first set but managed to let it slip.

Ben won his first match of the Under 16s consolation draw and in the quarter final he played the best I've seen him play, giving his opponent a very good game. Unfortunately, he lost in the end 6-7, 3-6 but he can be proud of the way he played.

Beccy was so supportive, watching Ben's matches and amusing herself while we were waiting around, that I treated her to a new outfit.