Sharon & Michaels Place

Beckonscot Model Village–27 March 2011

2011-12-10T22:32:00.001Z

I’m looking at covering where we’ve been since my last pictorial entry prior to my detachment. There have been so many places we’ve been so I’ve limited it to Beckonscot in Beckonsfield in March 2011 in one blog entry, and everywhere else in a second. I’m just glad to be back home now and start blogging again about Sharon and the kids…so without further ado….

We went there on a fantastic sunny spring day. Perfect…couldn’t have asked for a better day before I left so we took advantage of it and had a ball.

Beckonscot is a model village which is quite famous around the south east of England. It has certainly expanded over the last few years and is a roomy and fun day out for the family, regardless of age.

Still here!

2011-08-13T22:28:00.001Z

I know I've been a bit quiet recently, but I'm out of the country at the moment. I'll be back in a couple of weeks for a fortnights leave then back properly in November. It's been a long time away looking back on it. I got here in April, but the 6 month training was a bit of a pain. I hardly saw them. And I have only had a few weeks with little Lucy so a big bonding session is called for when I get back. Sharon's back at home with the kids and they're are all fine but we've lost Gypsy, our cat. She went downhill quite fast so hopefully she didn't suffer.

Sharon's due to go away in February 2012 for 4 months so we'll have to make the most of our 3 months together. Expect lots of stories of where we take the kids..

....as usual, my work blog will be updated with pics soon.

Co Donegal, March 2011

2011-03-27T20:14:00.002Z

We slipped over the border to Co Donegal a couple of times. Rossnowlagh has a lovely beach and its only about 20 minutes drive from Kesh where we’ll be retiring to.

Fermanagh March 2011

2011-03-26T22:45:00.001Z

A typical day over in Fermanagh…sunny, lots to do and nice people..(only joking – it’s not normally that sunny)…there is so much to do and I genuinely believe it is the most wonderful county in the United Kingdom…

We started out taking the kids to see the new lambs at a family friends farm…

Then we went to Castle Archdale, a country park by Loch Erne. Its staggeringly beautiful with lots to do. First off, we fed the ducks at the moor side

Then to the visitors centre..that has so much history behind it. During WW2, it housed crews of seaplanes that patrolled the North Atlantic to protect the convoys from America. Prior to that it was a stately home of the Archdale family…the grounds and buildings are magnificent. Although the main house fell into disrepair and was demolished in 1973, the rest of the complex remains and has been restored..

We had a lovely picnic there…and all that good country air completely trashed the kids that night

St Patricks Day, Enniskillen

2011-03-26T21:42:00.002Z

We took a weeks leave to go back to Ireland and see our family and our new house. Again Sharon’s sister Denise looked after us like royalty, and nieces Laura and Elaine pampered us and really made us feel at home. Thanks to the Armstrong's for that xxx.

We were lucky enough to be over for Paddys Day this year…especially so because Enniskillen had reintroduced the Paddys Day parade through the town.
The kids loved it…we went with Laura together with her son Matthew, Denise and their brother Stephens kids Alex and Dillon, and Elaine….so all in all, a nice little group of going down to see Paddy arriving at Enniskillen on the boat and walking through the town.

Now the parade was a bit random…there were trucks going down there that got me wondering….like one with concrete pipes on, a fleet of unmarked white vans, a completely unusual gathering of a trike, followed by a knight galloping on an imaginary horse then an old VW Beetle…I got to thinking what Paddy would actually make of it…..

Anyhow, have a look at the pictures……

Trip to Whipsnade Zoo

2011-03-26T20:40:00.002Z

We went to Whipsnade Zoo on 8 March 2011 which was an inspired choice as the weather was fantastic…and all the kids were actually on their best behaviour.
Emily really had one thing she wanted to see at the zoo; the penguins. She has a lovely song she learnt at nursery about them…
…Hannah’s favourite animals were the giraffes and gorillas, while Lucy really slept through it all……bless

Update on Lucy

2011-02-09T22:26:00.002Z

Hi there. I thought it’s about time I put a little update down about Lucy Jane. She’s doing well and fit and healthy. She’s 10 lb 4oz and sleeping quite well. Here are a few pictures of Lucy……

Christmas 2010

2011-01-08T21:55:00.003Z

Happy New Year to one and all. Well, we had a fantastic festive period. I was off work over Christmas and New Year so we made it extra special. All the festive period was great so I thought I’d share a few moments with you…

Emily loves the snow…..this is her on the way back from the shops last month

Emily and Hannah love their snowman..just as long as daddy makes it! The snowman is always called IC 1..(icy one)

Emily and Hannah both enjoyed meeting Santa in Naphill. Where else would he be?! And then, on Christmas morning, I managed to get up earlier than the kids and get the house sorted out. Emily and Hannah even saw Santa walking away from the house through the snow! The lucky girls!

It was such a magical day and the kids loved it. Their little faces lit up when they saw Santa, then came to the stairs lit up with fairies and down to all their presents. Just a lovely memory to keep.
On Boxing Day, we had a chilled time and just lazed the day away….We took a walk out to feed the birds and ducks at the local pond, and a quick snowball fight on the way back home.

And the rest of the holiday period was just as chilled…

And I know that I’ve already shown this picture above, but here’s a close up of Hannah…..

And here’s Lucy with her grandad…just chilling…

Merry Christmas from the Longworths

2010-12-24T22:36:00.001Z

Here we are, ten o clock on Christmas Eve, the children all fast asleep after a day of fun & excitement, the house is quiet and organised ready for the morning……this is a moment of bliss I shall long remember. Christmas really started for us at church service tonight and the walk home through the snow.

Now with the contented little dotes all snuggled down, it’s nice to reflect on a very emotional year. I lost my mum in September, and gained a daughter in November. Some people say that it was nice to have Lucy born so soon after my mum passed away. I don’t think so. Mum loved kids….I am gutted she never met Lucy..she would have adored her. Anyway, that’s a blog for another night..

I wanted to share a couple of pictures of the girls with you anyway because they are really close to each other. We really are blessed.

Well, Merry Christmas to one and all and have a stress free festive holiday.

Update about Lucy and the rest of the clan

2010-12-11T21:44:00.003Z

I thought I’d add a few more pictures of Lucy. She’s doing really well and a picture of health. She weighed 8lb 3 oz at last weigh in so she’s progressing at a good rate.

Emily doted on her from the first moment. Hannah took a couple of days, understandably, to come to terms with the new addition. Now, they both love her so much, it breaks your heart to see them together.

What else has happened? Oh yes, Hannah danced in her first ballet lesson today. She has gone down every week with Emily since we moved here, but until today, she sat with her mummy or daddy and watched…

Emily looked after her so well – forever the doting sister. Things are definitely going well for the Longworth clan in High Wycombe.

The kids

2010-11-23T22:22:00.002Z

You know, as the days go by, the more I look at Lucy, the more I think she looks like Emily at that age. Take a look…
Here’s Emily in 2006 at one day old…

and here’s Lucy in 2010 at one day old…….

Apart from Lucy having more hair, they are so identical in my eyes.
One thing that binds all the kids though, is that Emily Hannah and Lucy are so loving and cuddly.

& our beloved Hannah. She is going to be such a heartbreaker with her blonde hair and big blue eyes.

The new addition to the Longworth’s

2010-11-16T21:51:00.002Z

Hi everyone. Sharon and I are proud to tell you all that Lucy Jane Longworth arrived in the world yesterday, 15 November 2010. She weighed 7lb 8oz. Sharon and Lucy are both healthy and back home with us.

Emily’s Ballet Debut

2010-09-11T21:32:00.003Z

Emily had her debut ballet performance at a packed out Wycombe Swan Theatre tonight and made me and Sharon very proud. She wasn’t nervous and danced her little ballet shoes off…
…now wasn’t allowed to take pictures, but I took this one of her before the show…

Off to France (part 2)

2010-09-06T20:53:00.002Z

Well, we didn’t really do as much travelling as we usually get up to whilst on holiday. That was mainly due to Sharon being 31 weeks pregnant, but also partly because the area around St Jean De Mont was stunning, made moreso by the fantastic weather.

All the beaches down the Vendee region are fantastic. They were sandy and clean, with the occasional rockpools to keep the girls occupied with their favourite ‘Peppa Pig’ moment

I thought I’d add this picture of the front of the Siblu parc….can’t think why, but it seemed a good idea…..

Sharon, the big kid, having a cuddle on Pirate Night Emily had such a late night on her birthday… We went to a castle in Noirmoutier. Its on an island that you can reach by either a road accessible during low tide, or an impressive bridge akin to the one at Dartford.

Emily and Hannah both enjoy their dancing and showing off..

…and the swimming.. And so back to Blighty…the weather may not be up to much, but it’s my home..bless.

Off to France

2010-08-31T19:56:00.002Z

Hi all!

Well we finally made it over to France. We’re staying at another Siblu resort, but a bit further south than our normal Brittany haunts around Pont Avon and Quimper. We opted for Le Bois Dormant in the Vendee area because we thought the further south you go, the hotter it’ll be. And I got to say, it was the right option! The weather is wonderfully sunny and warm/hot, beautiful long empty sandy beaches, and the resort is, well, typically Siblu………clean, organised and no bling in sight.

Anyway, the girls are all loving it………here they are………

Ruislip Lido July 2010

2010-07-17T21:06:00.001Z

We went to Ruislip Lido on 11 July. It surprised me because its only about 40 minutes away at a nice steady drive. We love it there because its got everything; free parking, a beautiful picnic area, steam train, lovely lake, sanded beach, ducks, play park…ice cream stall…just a great day out…

Aldenham park

2010-07-14T21:16:00.004Z

On 4 July 2010, we decided to revisit Aldenham Park near Elstree, London. It was nice to revisit and let the kids see the farm animals. Emily and Hannah loved it. We started with a picnic, fed the ducks, went to see the animals then a play in the park…..

Ireland June 2010

2010-07-11T21:44:00.002Z

We went back to Ireland in June for a week to see Sharon's family and look for a house for when we retire. We were lucky enough to have a great bit of weather while we were over there and, as always, we were so well looked after by the Armstrong's and the Griffith’s.

We went down to Muckross, a lovely little patch by loch Erne in Fermanagh for launching boats, having picnics and whatnot….its a lovely area

Another place that I love is Bundoran in Co Donegal. Have a look at these…

We had a wonderful day out with Denise and Matty at the American Folk Museum. I really recommend a visit if you’re around the Omagh area…

Gulliver's Land

2010-06-10T21:16:00.001Z

We went to Gulliver's Land on Sharon's Birthday. The girls loved it so much. It was their second visit, but the first that Hannah had a chance to enjoy herself

More to follow shortly………….

The new addition to the Longworths

2010-06-10T20:38:00.001Z

So ok I was a bit out when I said that I’d write a blog at least once a month, but I’ll try and make amends!

Anyway, we have news. That means that I will most probably be back behind the keyboard typing updates to our happy announcement that our new bambino will be with us on 6th November.

Who would have thought that when I started this blog 3 years ago that I’d be talking of baby Version #3? I was still trying to get my head around having our first!

Here’s Emily & Hannah nowadays. They grow up so fast don't they?

February 2010

2010-02-27T22:10:00.004Z

Hello all.

Well not too much to talk about from the Longworth clan this month. We've been busy getting ourselves sorted for my move back to Wycombe. I can't wait! This will be the first time Sharon and I have served at the same unit since 2004.

Well, as you're all aware, Sharon & I have got our plots for working abroad for the next year and we've not got anywhere too concerning so I guess that makes family & friends happy.

Emily & Hannah both had their H1N1 jabs, Hannah has taken to being a happy slapper - which we're addressing, and Emily is just Emily. Both are just too cute for their own good.

We're hoping to start getting round the family in England, Ireland & Wales soon so hopefully theres some photographs to share about that. I had a quick review of the blog & there's not a lot of our families on so tht will be rectified this year for sure.
We have some photographs of the kids for February which I'll add in the next few days.

Peace & Love

Happy New Year

2010-01-02T20:59:00.004Z

Happy New Year to one & all.

It's been a while!!!.........

Well, I reckon it was about time that I took a bit more time on the blog. 2010 will be a better year for us, especially so because I'll be working at the same unit as Sharon; the first time since 2004!

Sharon's doing fine. As are Emily & Hannah. They both loved Christmas day. We didn't take them to midnight mass; they're far too young for that yet.

We've been over to Fermanagh a couple of times in 2009 looking at houses. I reckon we'll find that dream house this year and then that'll be us ready for settling down there in 2012.

Anyways, here are a few pictures of the clan from 2009.......

I'll be back each month to update the blog.....it's a New Years resolution!

France August 2009

2009-09-18T23:11:00.002Z

Our summer holidays for 2009 were at a holiday resort at Domaine De Kerlann in Brittany. We had been before in 2007 when Emily was just coming up to her first birthday. This time around, Hannah was just over her first birthday and Emily had her 3rd birthday. It was nice going back to the place where Emily had her first foreign holiday

Here’s a selection of pictures from the holiday…

These were in Lorient, a beautiful seaport town where we found a park for the kids to play in after looking round…

Followed by Emilys favourite snack of chocolate croissant...

We went for a great day out at a small town called Chateauneuf and had a lovely walk down a riverbank after lunching at a beautiful little cafe..

Like I said, it was Emily’s 3rd birthday and she loved her party and trip into Quimper

I couldn’t resist putting this picture of Emily giving her Ma a gig cuddle..

Our favourite place on both our visits has been Pont Avon, a really picturesque little town……

There were loads of nice beaches around Brittany…

& here's a picture of our accommodation…….

It was a great holiday. The kids both loved it; as did Sharon and I. Even the entertainment put on by the site, something we normally avoid like the plague, was ok. We took Emily & Hannah up to the dance every other night…

Would we go back again? I think so. The people are friendly, the countryside is beautiful, and its reasonably priced. Yes, it’s worth further visits.

Ireland June 2009

2009-09-12T00:28:00.004Z

Hi again folks. Well, I've been a bit poor on the old blog front and despite all my promises to do retro entries, I've left it so long that it seems a bit of an impossible task to update. To that end, I'll just put in an entry from a holiday in Ireland and a holiday in France.

So here's the blog from Ireland:

We went over in late June 2009 to see Sharon's family and also to look for a house (I've about two & a half years left before I return to Ireland to set up home).

We stayed with Sharon's sister, Denise, who always looks after us when we go home. Emily & Hannah love Auntie Denise's. Emily moreso bu thats to be expected; she's Emily's godmother.

Anyway, here's a picture of Denise & Sharon on a quay on the Loch Erne....

As always, Sharons family looks after us when we come home. Shirelle, Sharon's sis in law, always makes sure we're included in the family and she's an absolute star. This visit, she'd organised a bar-b-que for the Griffith clan.................

We went across the border to Bundoran in Donegal

Well, this is a short looksee at Ireland....

...France is next.......

Last outing to London

2009-07-03T21:45:00.003Z

On 21 March 2009, we headed out of Stanmore - once again bound for London. This was to be our last outing to the capital while living in Stanmore. Seems a shame as we loved catching the London Underground to Westminster and then strike out from there. This time however, the line was closed from Green Park. Now - for those of you who don't have kids and not used the tube, I'll have to explain that Green Park is not the most family friendly station for facilities in London...although their staff are wonderful........

Emily had declared that she wanted to see the Queens house.........so off we went! We walked through Marble Arch.....

After Emily had seen Buckingham Palace, after all that travel through the underground - the mile walk - the crowds, she took one look and said 'I don't like it, daddy'. After an inward scream & an outward smile, we had a bit of a pla around & a spot of lunch in St James Park.

A kerfuffle

2009-05-20T20:32:00.004Z

Hi folks. We're back online now & all settled in the new jobs & new home!! We had an absolute nightmare getting broadband sorted in the new address. BT threw a hissy because there was still an active MAC on the address.....then found out they were the culprits, then seriously arsed us around with cancellations & broken promises.

For a full month of arsing around - being on the phone daily for at least an hour, this was the routine hastle I went through.....whats your order number? your name? your address? no sorry sir, that order has been cancelled. why? I don't know..can I put you on hold while I find out? I'd either wait until the phone went dead (about an hour) or after 1/2 an hour or so, someone would say...can I have your order number? your name etc...then say the order had been cancelled and they would promise to ring me back within the hour or within 24 hours. They never did.

So I told them to shove it, went back to Tiscali cap in hand, and was connected within a week. I wish I'd never looked at BT. I'd even changed my line rental from TalkTalk to BT which I'm seriously regretting. I'm chained to them for 12 months, but as soon as that time has expired, I'll be moving away from them.

Well, we've a small backlog of entries to get through and I've sung BT's praises long enough now.

It's good to be back
:-)

Off Air Again!

2009-04-14T07:52:00.003Z

Hi to all!

Well, we've moved house, but we're having massive problems getting broadband installed. To spare you the details, it would suffice to say that the Longworths and Tiscali have parted company now. A shame because we've used them for years...way back when it was lineone as a matter of fact. All down to one very stroppy and nasty employee of theirs and a particularly unhelpful and abrasive attitude.

All's well otherwise. Sharon and the kids are fine and we're all settled. We're hoping to be back online properly in a couple of weeks.

Peace & love

Aldenham Park revisited

2009-03-16T20:59:00.014Z

It was a wonderfully sunny day on Saturday, so it was time to get out and run the kids ragged! As tempting as it was to head into London again, we wanted to get them out into the countryside. Aldenham Park is a great day out. We've been there twice before with Emily and she loved it. Now it was Hannah's turn.

We started off with a lunchtime picnic by the lakeside. This picture doesn't really reflect how much the kids loved it; Hannah look asleep but she just wanted to get out!

It didn't take long before Emily got bored and started running round like a crazy horse!

Then off to feed the ducks.....

After that, we went to see the farm animals.....

We finished up at the play park to finish them off so we could get a decent nights sleep!!

As I said earlier, we'd been there a couple of times before. It's really good value and a fantastic day out. £4 for the car park and that's it! For a full day out in the fresh air, lovely picnic area, a place to feed the ducks, a myriad of farm animals to go and see, a well tended area of childrens activities for all ages....

........no, I'm not on commission from Aldenham Park; it's just one of those little gems that we need to share with you :-)

You may have noticed blurring on some of the pictures........thanks to Emily's first attempts at taking pictures and her insistance on holding it by the lens!!

I'll keep you posted on this weekends visit (where is yet undecided)

A day out in London for a trip down the Thames

2009-02-28T22:51:00.013Z

We thought we'd get back into London and treat the kids to a special day. We took the Jubilee line to Green Park then got a cab to Hamleys toy shop for our first stop of the day.

Six floors of toys!! Emily and Hannah both loved it......Emily ran around loudly proclaiming 'Daddy, I want that.....Daddy, I want that'. Hannah was pretty laid back and was happy taking all the sights in.

There were rickshaws, or Pedicabs, outside the store. Sharon and Emily took one to Trafalgar Square. They both loved it, though Sharon was a little concerned about their safety in busy streets.

Hannah & I walked down to Trafalgar Square and met up with Sharon & Emily. The square was bustling with tourists and performers. I really love it there. It has a great atmosphere.

We walked down Whitehall to Horseguards, looked at the horses..err...guarding! Well, the soldier on the horse was guardng..but you know what I mean :-)

We walked past MoD Main Building and then through Victoria Embankment Park. It's only a small park but great for finding a quiet place to sit and relax in the middle of London.

From there, we crossed over to the Thames river bus and took a round trip up to the O2 arena (Old Millenium Dome) and back to Embankment. Both Emily and Hannah loved it. You cn either sit inside or outside. To be honest the kids loved it outside more. The boat moves along at a fair speed and the wake off the back of the boat transfixed them.

The kids had a great time although it's not a cheap day out. Still days like this get their little inquiring minds racing.

(Sharon & Hannah on the Jubilee line tube)

Holiday In The Peak District

2009-02-24T22:18:00.014Z

Well, I'm back again properly now folks. I'd love to share some memories of a fantastic holiday we had last week in the Peak District. We hired a cottage in Whaley Bridge, a beautiful little town with a very friendy amosphere. From the cottage, we explored a fair amount of the Peak District an started Emily & Hannah off on my 'grand plan' of introducing them to the wonders of the outdoors proper - hill walking, scrambling & rock climbing.

Anyways, to start at the beginning....we revealed the 'nice things to see' to Emily on a freezing cold day. We made her walk a short distance to look at a beautiful waterfall off Snake Pass. There was a little bit of snow on the ground and lots of puddles to splash in!!!!

Another walk was in a park that, for the life of us, we can't remember the name of. It was in the Derwent Vally. It had a beautiful and well tended paths and some beautiful scenery All that aside, Emily just wanted to play football....and Hannah, as usual, just loved taking in everything around her.

Another park we went to was Lyme Park just outside the Stockport area. Both Emily & Hannah loved it, despite the fact that it was absolutely freezing (again!!). A worrying trend for me is that Emily has found a natural love for football!! Sharon & I really don't like football, and I can see that I'll have to learn about that sport in the future to encourage her....sigh.....
There was a beautiful house in the grounds at Lyme Park. It was closed to the public until March, but you could walk around the outside of the buildings. Sharon decided that Emily should not be deprived of a quick look inside and lifted her up to have a glance inside the house. 'What can you see?' asked Sharon. Emily ducked down and giggled. The window she had been lifted up to just happened to be where a big conference was being held. As Emily had peered in, scores of conference goers saw her pretty little smiling face for a split second....hope they didn't think the place was haunted!!!

In Whaley Bridge, there was a beautiful canal with barges that both Emily & Hannah absolutely loved. And of course, where there's water, there's ducks......
Another park we went to introduced Emily to the 'real' sport of hillwalking and a spot of climbing.. :-)

Emily & Hannah both loved the cottage when we eventually got back from our walks......
The cottage was called Cloud Cottage. A beautiful, old house in Whaley Bridge with a really lovely owner called Linda. I'd seriously recommend using her cottage as it's in a great location and she's a really nice person.

We'd have taken more pictures, but to be honest, we were more interestd in having a great holiday. Sorry. Still there will be so many more memories to share with you soon.

We're moving back to the Chilterns soon, so over the next few months, I'll keep you posted on how we're moving back to hills & vales...and when we move back to Ireland.....back into mountains.................can't wait!!!

Back In The UK

2009-02-21T22:23:00.002Z

Well, folks, I'm back in Blighty. Normal service will resume in a few days lol.
I've been back a week now & we've take the girls to the Peak District for a bit of a break. They absolutely loved it. I'll be posting pictures of them shortly.

Anyways, it's great to be back and blogging again.

It's still been a while........

2008-12-18T19:46:00.003Z

A quick update for you all. Sharon, Emily & Hannah are all ok....colds, sniffles and Hannah's little chest problem aside.

I've never looked forward to getting home as much as I do now....halfway there now and broken the back outof this detachment.

If I don't get the chance to get online again before Christmas, have a good one and stop worrying about if you have everything ready for it; remember that it's a certain baby's birthday - a time of joy - not worry.

It's been a while...

2008-11-27T20:42:00.002Z

Hi folks. I know I've not been blogging a lot lately & goingaround my favourite bloggers. Sorry!
Normal services will resume soon (hopefully!)

Just a quick update on what's going on....Sharon's doing fine raising Emily & Hannah whilst I'm stuck in sunnier climes. Hannah gave us a bit of a scare with a respiratory infection, but she's slowly on the mend now. Emily is very much into her ballet now. I'm missing all three of them like crazy but I'm almost halfway through my tour now.

Looking forward to gettng back to blogging again. Catch you all soon

London Zoo

2008-09-26T21:27:00.007Z

Following on our tour of London days out for families, we went to London Zoo which is located in Regents Park. Regents Park itself is a great place and the zoo is like a Brucie Bonus.

Another bonus (considering we're talking about London) is that it has a fair sized car park. We were actually able to drive in! A first for us, and a blessed relief from that cursed Jubilee Underground line (It's closed more for maintenance than it's open for business)

So here we were in this beautiful zoo with all manner of weird & wonderful animals. What did Emily want to do??

....Yep..on the fairground rides!

She soon got into the swing when she started exploring all these whacky animals....

.....& use dad & mum as the duty kid carrier!

In all honesty, Sharon & I enjoyed it as much as the kids.

It obviously tired them both out.....especially Hannah!!!

F1 Highs & Lows

2008-09-15T20:07:00.004Z

Over the past fortnight, the best and worst of F1 has to offer. After the debacle of the Belgian GP, I was ready to think that, perhaps, my love of the sport was slightly misplaced. The race itself was great, and if the stewards hadn't been so blatently Ferrari biased, it would have stood up as a damned fine race.

Then Monza. What a race! What a weekend! Vettel did well and deservedly won a tough race. He's going to be one to watch in the future.

What was the greatest thing about Monza though, was the actual racing that was taking place all along the grid. There were some very brave drives in arduous conditions.......

......perhaps all is well with F1....perhaps if they can drive out the corrupt and professionally inept and let the teams and drivers do their job

Odds Farm Park

2008-09-07T20:08:00.005Z

We took the kids to Odds Farm Park in Wooburn, Bucks for a day out. Luckily, the weather was with us as it's wholly an outside adventure where you can see & feed a myriad of farm animals.
This was a keep that held rabbits. The idea is that you can get in and stroke them. They didn't count on the squeals of Emily....hence..the swift exit of all bunnies!!

......I did manage to show her one that was in a cage!!!

We got some animal feed thinking that Emily would like to feed the goats & sheep. Unfortunately, she was a little scared & decided to run about like a crazy girl!

......saying that, Sharon enjoyed feeding the animals!!!

The farm park also has loads of actvities for kids.

All in all, it's not a bad day out. It cost a total of about £16 for a two adults (children under 2 go free) and a small bag of animal feed. I think it was good value for money considering it's a full day out in the fresh air in a child friendly environment.

It certainly tired out Emily....guess who ended up carrying her back to the car?!

A great poem

2008-09-03T22:26:00.001Z

On my wanders around blog, I came across a really beautiful poem about a soldiers lot in life. Please go & visit at anndi's blog.

I'll not reintroduce it here. Visit her blog. It's really worth it.

A day out in Battersea Park

2008-08-17T21:02:00.008Z

We'd been to Battersea park before; when Sharon was pregnant with Emily in 2006, but that was a seriously cold day and we just strolled around chatting and not taking a lot in.

We always wanted to revisit it because it looked a lovely place. I love Battersea as well. I lived there for few years and the people are friendly and it's a place of contrast.

So off we went on a considerably warmer day than our last visit. Emily loved the trip down on the tube which was made doubly special as the Jubilee line was close from Green Park. This meant she had to hop onto another tube to South Kensington then bus it to Battersea bridge. Yep, our firstborn is a public transport junkie!! Hannah was a bit more laid back about it and slept through the whole excursion.

We decided to go to Battersea Park Children's Zoo

There were quite a few small animals there; enough to keep Emily interested:........

...........otters.........

.........& meercats to show just a few. There were also monkeys, ostriches, birds, farm animals......the list goes on....

& Emily frighteningly getting into the panto mood without prompting!!!!

Of course, Emily had to check out the activities as well!!!

After leaving the zoo we had a walk around the park. The Japanese Buddist padoga in the park is a thing of beauty and gives you the feeling of peace.

Here's a picture of Sharon in front of the pagoda....

............& a nice one of Sharon & Emily walking around it.

I had to include this one of Emily. I just love it.

Now, you may be wondering where all the pictures are of Hannah. Well, she was asleep with whoever was taking the photographs. There will be plenty of pictures of her to follow in later entries, I promise!

Oh, if you're going to Battersea Park & decide to have some dinner there, visit the Prince Albert pub across the road. The staff were really friendly and the food was great.

The problems with updates after installing XP SP3

2008-08-10T21:29:00.004Z

If any of you are using Micosoft XP as an operating system and install Service Pack 3 (SP 3), you may find that you will not be able to download further updates from Microsoft products.

It doesn't happen to everyone, but it is an issue. The problem is that when SP3 is installs, it forgets to register it.

Fear not, a work around is available. Follow the instructions below:

Log on as an administrator, and run cmd.exe, and issue the following commands:
> net stop wuauserv
> cd\windows\system32
> regsvr32 wups2.dll
> net start wuauserv
and try again.

This work around was kindly supplied by the Ziggy at kioskea computing community.

Airline announcements

2008-08-04T21:00:00.002Z

Someone sent me through some announcements that have been uttered by Australian and New Zealand cabin staff. I had to share them with you all:

On an Air NZ Flight with a very 'senior' flight attendant crew, the Pilot said, 'Ladies and gentlemen, we've reached cruising altitude and will be turning down the cabin lights. This is for your comfort and to enhance the appearance of your flight attendants.'

On landing the hostess said, 'Please be sure to take all your belongings. If you're going to leave anything, please make sure it's something we'd like to have.'

'There may be 50 ways to leave your lover, but there are only 4 ways to leave the aircraft.'

As the plane landed and was coming to a stop at Auckland , a lone Voice came over the loudspeaker: 'Whoa, big fella. WHOA!'

After a particularly rough landing during thunderstorms in Adelaide, a flight attendant on a Qantas flight announced, 'Please take care when opening the overhead compartments because, after a landing like that, sure as f*** everything has shifted.'

From a Qantas employee: 'Welcome aboard Qantas Flight X to Y to operate your seat belt, insert the metal tab into the buckle, and pull tight. It works just like every other seat belt; and, if you don't know how to operate one, you probably shouldn't be out in public un-supervised.'

'In the event of a sudden loss of cabin pressure, masks will descend from the ceiling. Stop screaming, grab the mask, and pull it over your face. If you have a small child travelling with you, secure your mask before assisting with theirs. If you are travelling with more than one small child, pick your favourite.

'Weather at our destination is 32 degrees with some broken clouds, but we'll try to have them fixed before we arrive. Thank you, and remember, nobody loves you, or your money, more than Qantas Airlines.'

'Your seat cushions can be used for flotation; and in the event of an emergency water landing, please paddle to shore and take them with our compliments.'

Heard on Qantas Airlines just after a very hard landing in Hobart . The flight attendant came on the intercom and said, 'That was quite bump and I know what you are all thinking. I'm here to tell you it wasn't the airline's fault, it wasn't the pilot's fault, it wasn't the flight attendant's fault... it was the asphalt!'

Another flight attendant's comment on a less than perfect landing: 'We ask you to please remain seated as Captain Kangaroo bounces us to the terminal.'

An airline pilot wrote that on this particular flight he had hammered his ship into the runway really hard. The airline had a policy which required the first officer to stand at the door while the passengers exited, smile, and give them a 'Thanks for flying United. 'He said that, in light of his bad landing, he had a hard time looking the passengers in the eye, thinking that someone would have a smart comment. Finally everyone had got off except for an old lady walking with a cane. She said, 'Sonny, mind if I ask you a question?' 'Why no Ma'am,' said the pilot. 'What is it?'
The little old lady said, 'Did we land or were we shot down?'

After a real crusher of a landing in Sydney , the Flight Attendant came on with, 'Ladies and Gentlemen, please remain in your seats until Captain Crash and the Crew have brought the aircraft to a screeching halt against the gate. And, once the tire smoke has cleared and the warning bells are silenced, we'll open the door and you can pick your way through the wreckage to the terminal.'

Part of a flight attendant's arrival announcement: 'We'd like to thank you folks for flying with us today. And, the next time you get the insane urge to go blasting through the skies in a pressurised metal tube, we hope you'll think of Qantas.'

A plane was taking off from Mascot Airport . After it reached a comfortable cruising altitude, the captain made an announcement over the intercom, 'Ladies and gentlemen, this is your captain speaking. Welcome to Flight Number XYZ, non-stop from Sydney to Auckland . The weather ahead is good and, therefore, we should have smooth and uneventful flight. Now sit back and relax - ARGHHH! OH, MY GOD!' Silence followed and after a few minutes, the captain came back on the intercom and said, 'Ladies and Gentlemen, I am so sorry if I scared you earlier, but, while I was talking, the flight attendant brought me a cup of coffee and spilled the hot coffee in my lap. You should see the front of my pants!'
A passenger in Economy said, 'That's nothing. He should see the back of mine!'

At it again!

2008-08-01T22:21:00.004Z

For those of you who have followed my blog for the last 2 years will know that I like my conspiracy theories about cloning and doubles.....

.....well, look at these two and tell me there's no similaraties.

(for those of you not familiar with Father Ted, it was a 1990's comedy show from Ireland that I think was one of the funniest programs ever aired on television)

Too hot to trot today

2008-07-27T22:13:00.004Z

We were going to have a great day out today.......see if it was feasible to go to church (definitely a no-no with Hannah at the moment) then go for a picnic. The heat today around Stanmore was hovering around 29 degrees and the girls wouldn't have been too happy with a drive to a park that would inevitably have been packed. So we decided to have a picnic in the garden. Inspirational!! They both loved it, and it was relaxing for me and Sharon as well!

Anyway, I thought I'd leave this picture of Emily. It has to be my favourite photograph of her.

I'd taken both Emily & Hannah on a 5 mile walk in their pushchair and both sparked out after the first mile. This is a picture of them both together...

Emily looks like she's strapped in like a Riverdance dancer, but she wriggles around so much that they fell down around her arms!

Here's Hannah's first attempt with a dodo...and the last for a while! She looks so weird with it!

We'll no doubt go somewhere this week. We'll start posting on where's good to go with two bambinoes.

Update on Emily & Hannah

2008-07-26T21:42:00.006Z

I've been a bit preoccupied recently with my daughters. Gosh - so strange saying that! I never really thought I'd see the day when I would have a family of my own.

It was so nice when Emily was born - Sharon and I were so proud when she was born. Proud parents of an undeniably beautiful baby girl. We'd have been so happy with our lot and didn't hold up much hope to be blessed again. When Hannah came along, we felt that our little imprint on the world has now been fulfilled.

Five years ago, we'd given up hope of ever having children; let this be a message of hope to those who have despaired!

So, here's a couple of pictures of Hannah.....

look at the size of her little hands!

....Hannah with a very tired dad........

........I still think it's weird that she's blond and (still) blue eyed with pale skin while Emily is Brown haired, chocolate eyes and olive skin. What a difference! The reason I think Hannah's eyes won't change much is that Emily's changed to brown within a week. Hannah will probably be blue or grey.

Emily has taken to Hannah really well, much to our relief! She's always giving her cuddles and kisses!

Emily is still a happy little soul & loves her garden....

......she's one chilled out dude.......

..........with a sense of humor!!

We're going to continue our travelling around with the kids now, so I'll be posting another entry soon.

The new addition to the Longworths

2008-07-14T12:55:00.006Z

Hi!

Sharon & I are extremely proud to announce the birth of our second daughter, Hannah Louise Longworth!! Both Sharon and Hanna are doing well, but they have to stay in hospital for a few days. The staff want to do tests on Hannah as we have different blood types. She's absolutely beautiful, isn't she?

A very tired but proud daddy.....

.....Sharon introduces Emily to her sister. She has really taken to her, thank God......

.....& here's our happy clan.......

I'll put a better blog entry on in a few days; just had to share these with you all now though

I love this Cartoon

2008-07-05T23:22:00.003Z

I just find it really funny, it appeals to my warped sense of humor.

A day out in Ruislip

2008-07-05T20:57:00.012Z

Last weekend, we went to another great park in London. It's called Ruislip Lido and it's located in...errr..Ruislip, North London. It's completely free and has loads of walks through woodland, around a pretty large reservoir that has a sandy bank on one side for a beachy type of thing.

There's a pub there, but there's also a beautiful area near the water that's great for picnics

As you can probably see, Emily absolutely loves picnics. That's hardly surprising when you think that she went on her first picnic when she was only 10 days old!

There's also a little train (£2 per adult return) that takes you on a 1 - 1.5 mile ride from the free car park, around the reservior, to the 'beach'.

Emily loves all sorts of transport. She's been on planes, trains, boats, buses, cars...daddy's shoulders...

She loved this little train because it's so open and noisy, and there is lots to see.

Once around to the beach part of the park, there are loads of things to do. There's all the things you'd normally find in a good play park - plus rope bridges, play houses and a myriad of other activities are spotted around the place.

The sand is clean, but I didn't have enough trust in it to let Emily take her shoes off. She loved running about and trying all the different activities. In fact, she cried her wee eyes out at home time, even though her eyes were closing and there was the promise of another train ride to get back to the car.

The facilities around the beach area are pretty good & there is a cafe and an ice cream shop.

Be warned that the toilets are pretty basic. That's all I'll say on that!! The staff around the park are all friendly.

All in all, it is a fantastic day out for the family..and it's such a bonus that it's a free day out in London!! It seems strange that the next outing to a park in London will have Emily sharing the experience with our new addition to the family! As this blog started out with her birth, I'm pretty excited to continue it with the next new Longworth and the adventures we get up to!

A quick note

2008-07-02T22:09:00.003Z

You know when you're just looking around the net and you find something that bizarre..so bizarre that you just have to watch?

I was looking at what Google found on Stanmore, and discovered that someone had actually filmed a London tube train arriving at Stanmore station at night.

I don't want to take the micky out of someones hobby, but is it just me, or is filming a train arriving at our little outpost of a station at night a bit freaky??

I'll be looking over my shoulder a bit more often now I think!!

Another trip to Aldenham Park

2008-06-22T21:56:00.006Z

Last weekend, we went back to Aldenham Farm Park. We wet there back in the beginning of April and it was freezing!! This time it was perfect; nice and warm....and dry!

Aldenham is a great place to take the kids. It has farm animals, a great selection of play park activities, nice walks, a lake nearby with boats, and great areas for picnics. The toilet are clean and there is a little refreshments cabin as well. All the staff are friendly and the place just gives off the right kind of relaxed atmosphere. And the cost for all this? A £5 parking fee. That it; no hidden costs!

All the animals are in enclosures so it's safe to let Emily run about. She loves running between the enclosures of goats, geese, chickens etc

...and although she was scared of the pigs, she was fascinated by them.....

...but of all the things we did, she loved the play park most. It took us all our persuasive powers to lure her away for a picnic bythe lakeside!!!

Unfortunately, I forgot to take anymore photos; I was too busy chasing a certain giggling little madam around the place but, trust me, this is a fantastic day out.
You can find out mor at http://www.dayoutwiththekids.co.uk/event.php?id=820

F1 in France

2008-06-22T21:27:00.004Z

It's a little sad that the French Grand Prix may not be held at Magny-Cours next year. I know it's not a spectators circuit but, by heck, it's a fantastic race to watch on television. And the drivers love it too.

So - to the race. I think I must be a curse on F1. For years I was a Jordan fan, only for them to slide out of he sport. The only racing drivers I ever really got behind was Heinz Harald Frentzen, and Jenson Button! I should never have started suppoting Lewis Hamilton and Mclaren. I feel almost guilty because, if there is a fairness in the world, he should be way out ahead in the drivers standings. He did deserve the drive through but it broke my heart to admit it. I cannot understand why someone at Mclaren didn't get on the radio and tell hm to back off. They mus have known that the stewards would have looked into it; they had to do in the interests of fairness. I can't blame lewis; just can't find it in my heart to do it. The red mist must have settled over him as he had to try and make up a substantial amount of places.

Silverstones next, on 6th July. This is his home circuit. I'll be keeping my fingers crossed for both him and the team. Kovalainen did a pretty good job in France (4th) and I hope he can ride shotgun for Lewis at Silverstone. What a joy that would be; a 1 -2 for Mclaren!!

Sigh! I may have to support Ferrari for this to happen, knowing my luck!!

Big wow factors of the race - Jarno Trulli in a Toyota tank taking on & holding off some pretty big heavyweights. He proved he's not just a qualification king.

Big low points of the race - Jenson retiring again. BMW not converting a solid result from last race. Williams struggling at the rear of the field again.

Naomi Campbell

2008-06-21T21:59:00.009Z

This is about the 17th revision to this entry. I was so appalled by Naomi Campbell's terrible attitude that I felt I had to write about it. But. on reflection, I thought it wasn't worth me getting angry about.

I'm keeping this thread because people have visited it & I didn't want to just delete it outright. I'm keeping the picture because I think it was really funny.

The British Airways Captain talks to a smiling celebrity

A great short walk about London

2008-06-15T20:38:00.008Z

At last, I've got off my fat ass and downloaded the pics from our camera. So, we went to London again in MAY...yes..last month and Emily had a great time

We started her off with the routine trip down to her play park, stopping off to make some daisy chains....

Then catch the Jubilee line to Westminster...

Through the front of Horseguards to see the horses......

Then round to the back where the Parades take place......a brilliant place for Emily to run around.....

After a runabout, it's across the road to our favourite park; St James'..........

The really great thing about this park is, apart from it being really well maintained, is that it's very family friendly. The waters have rails around and there's enough runabout areas for children to run freely. There's also loads of birds, ducks, swans, squirrels etc around for an animal lover like Emily.

Then there's the magnificant view of Lizzies house.......

Then a little walk down Victoria Embankment.........

....over to a little used, but beautiful park called the Victoria Towers Gardens. This is just to the side of the Queens entrance to the Houses of Parliament The great thing about getting to the par is strolling by the Thames & looking over to the London Eye, then past the magnficant Beg Ben and the Houses of Parliament. If you're not in London very much, it's worth noting that there's a fantastic statue of Queen Boudicca racing towards Parliament from the Big Ben side, and a magnificant statue of King Richard III on the Queens Entrance side. Then just thrown is the middle is some weird bloke called Oliver Cromwell. Best that way as far as I'm concerned!!!....

So that was our little day out. If you have kds and you're coming to London, I really recommend you take a few hours out to take this route. It's relaxing, you get to see loads, and you will tire the little ones out!!!!

Well done Manchester United - let's move onto a real sport

2008-05-22T22:12:00.004Z

With the risk of incurring my dads wrath, I have to say that Manchester United actually deserved to win last night - so a big 'well done'.

Now I'm not a big footie fan, but that was a damned good game and both United and Chelsea put 100% effort into it. It was a shame for Chelsea that it came down to penalties but, gosh, bet you were all on the edge of your sofa's as each player stepped up to the penalty spot!

Anyhow, that's all over now...the real sports on this weekend....the Monaco Grand Prix.
I'm hoping Lewis Hamilton has a bit of luck. And he may need it! While he's driving with Mclaren, he has my backing & I'll be cheering him on.

The one I'll really be cheering for is David Coulthard. It's his home turf, and the guy is a genius. I hope he gets in the points. Jenson Button needs to give Honda a massive kick up the arse. I think he should stay with them; they will develop into a great team (look at what Michael Schumacher did for Ferrari).

Where's May gone??!!

2008-05-18T21:05:00.003Z

Hi folks

Sorry we've been a bit quiet on here. I had a few issues with rejigging my spam filters and the botched job that is XP SP3. That was the first time I've had an issue with a service pack. Now if I was being cynical, I'd have said that Microsoft were doing their damndest to put people off XP and upgrade to Vista. But I'm not cynical - there's a heck of a lot they packed into it so I shouldn't be too surprised that there were some wibbly things going on.
Anyways, email is back to normal now folks.

OK, I've added a little poetry corner. Anybody got a request, let me know the poet or the poem & I'll add it on a daily, weekly or monthly basis, dependant on how you like the idea.
I've put one of my poems on for the time being.

I've more pictures to add from last weekend. We went down to St James Park because it's our favourite park in London and it was such a lovely day. I'll add them later this week.

Chat soon

Emily's Christening Photo's

2008-05-02T23:02:00.006Z

As promised, here are Emily's Christening photo's. (Due credit to Cathie for being the 'official' & pretty damned pro photographer). First off, we'd like to thanks to Mina, the reverend at St Johns in Stanmore for all the support and advice she gave us. And to top dog Reverend Alison Christian, thanks so much for another excellent service. I know some of you may not be Christians, but believe me, these girls really made Emily's introdution to God such a loving and caring experience. The congregaton at St Johns are a wonderful lot as well. I say this because if you'd have been there when Emily was being dunked, you would understand it if I said that Emily exercised her full volume of lung capacity! Yep, she raise the roof!!

As you can see, she was as happy as larry before the service. She's used to getting dressed up on Sunday mornings so she wasn't too perturbed about the imminent soak!!

OK then, the God Parents, Denise & Tim are in church as well...there's something there that looks suspiciously like a bath....where's the yellow duck???

Yep, Emily had a holler, but with huggy and a dummy, she's quite at ease with the phantom dunker!!

Food time with parents & God parents. The food was great and the craic was, as ever fantastic.

We had two Lauras there as well; one from my side of the family, and one from Sharons. Sharon's Laura brought her beautiful son Matthew which was fantastic because he's such a joy. Both Laura's gave the day that youthful and loving feel.

Being serious (for once in my life!!) Thanks to Alison & Mina (the Reverends) for a wonderful service and baptism. Thank you also to Denise and Tim for being the God parents. Cathie, thanks very much for the beautiful memories you captured for us.

Brighton beckoned

2008-04-27T20:32:00.011Z

Before any of you ask 'Where's the pics of Emily's Christening', I'll be putting an entry on within the next week. Promise. I'll not labour on about it either until I write the thread - sufficeto say, we all had a brilliant day...err...except Emily when she got dunked. But she was fine after that.

So this weekend, Sharon and I decided to take Emily somewhere different so we went to Brighton.

We walked along the pier and Emily went absolutely wild with all the different sights and sounds..and smells (ah..the great unwashed masses at a British seaside resort). Emily wanted to go on all the 'big' rides but happily settled for the more timid ones...

Then we went for a walk down the beach. Emily loved the boats and watching the kites.....

...before heading off for some fish & chips on the sea front.

All in all, a brilliant day out. The weather was wonderful and Emily loved a view different from the usual London sights.

Sharon's well, as you can see in the pic above. Bumps getting bigger and we can't wait until July so see Emily's new bestest friend!

I'll be posting again this week, so catch you all then.

Peace & love to all

xxx

I'm ready for my close up

2008-04-15T21:51:00.004Z

I couldn't resist putting these pictures of Emily on the blog. She had her picture taken professionally and, well, she was not in best form. The poor dote was not in the mood for posing at first. Still, she warmed to it at the end of the session and we managed to get about 40 photo's. Here are a handful we wanted to share...

April 2008

2008-04-06T20:26:00.011Z

Is it just me or is this year just flying by? It's really scary! April already - a third of the way through the year!!! And this is what we woke up to....

We've been hanging around the north of London recently. Over the last cople of weekends we've been going to Aldenham Farm Park in Hertfordshire. Emily loves it. She knows loads of farmyard animal names and it was nice for her to see real pigs, sheep, horses, cows etc.

We also had Denise, Sharons sister, over. She's going to be Emily's Godmother. We all went to feed the deer at Bentley Priory and the ducks in Stanmore. Err..you get the feeling that Emily loves animals??

March 2008

2008-03-15T21:58:00.005Z

Finally, I managed to get the pictures loaded up! So where've we been? Well, we went to London Aquarium and London Eye (as mentioned in my last blog). London Aquarium was fantastic for Emily. I'd seriously recommend it if you have kids and visit London. Once you're inside, there's so many places she could run around and so much to see. That was definitely one of her best weekend treats! The queues are not too bad to get in either. Sadly we forgot our camera so I've only got some phone pictures that I'll post on at a later date.

Emily loved the London Eye. Again, she could run around, safe within the capsule and she absolutely loved seeing the red buses and the trains on the bridges.

After we went on the eye, we went to Covent Garden. She loves it round there with all the street performers, the crowds, the shops and stalls...she just loves new sounds, sights and smells. Sharon and I like there too...it's pretty chilled; there's a 'Fat Face' shop there for Sharon and the music there for me. In the market area, there's usually a quartet playing outside the cafe's and I find it a nice little touch. There's also a geezer who plays guitar there who sells cd's of his own music and you know, he's very good. Another must place to see (& hear) if you're in London.

This weekend, we were going to go to the St Patricks day celebrations in Trafalgar Square, but with the poor weather forecast, it looks like we'll look for a drier activity.

Another option we had this weekend was for Battersea park childrens zoo. I loved my time living in Battersea and the park is beautiful; I just find it wierd that I never even knew the zoo existed until recently! We're going to go to London zoo soon as well sometime in the near furure. The last time we went there was in the 1990's with Sharons nieces, Laura & Elaine. I loved that day out. In fact, whenever those two came over, we always loved taking them out - I think it was an excuse for me and Sharon to be able to plausibly act like big kids as well!!!

As friends & family are now aware, Emily will be christened (Further details will be sent to you all soon), the god parents have been warned off, and we're looking forward to a really great day to come.

That good news was followed shortly after by some more good news about the change of venue for my next job...I'll be expecting people to come across...I'll get cheap hotel rates sorted out!!

March blog delayed

2008-03-09T23:20:00.003Z

Hi folks.
Apologies, but March's first blog is delayed as it's not been possible to upload images tonight. I'll be looking at putting up a proper entry over the next few days. All's well with the clan - apart from the imminent date of departure for oth of us; Sharons new place of work (delayed until Feb 09 we think) and my world tour (still not confirmed but looking increasingly likely to be Oct 08). Emily continues to be a little angel. Her latest fad is smacking her forehead and shouting 'Doh!'. Wonder where she got that from??

We've done taking Emily around the parks in London now, and will probably leave them now until the weather gets a bit better. She absolutely loves running her wee legs off in them.
We've moved on to other attractions; last week was London Aquarium and this weekend we went on the London Eye (I'll chat about them in a later blog - great days out). Hopefully, by following our treks, you'll get to know the best places to see around London. Any suggestions gratefully received.

Peace & love

Mikey
xxx

Hyde Park

2008-02-23T23:31:00.005Z

We went to Hyde Park today. Cold? No - absolutely freezing!!! I was expecting to see polar bears running around the place!

Still, it was a great day out again and little Emily loved running around!

...and when she got cold and went for a rest..she stole her mummys gloves!!!!

It was a nice walk even though it was cold. We went from the top corner by Marble Arch to the Serpentine, then around to Princess Di's memorial and Kensington Palace. I think Hyde park is one of my favourite parks; and it's definitely one of Emilys! She had great fun with the ducks and squirrels, and absolutely loved all the horses and dogs.

Moderating comments

2008-02-20T21:00:00.002Z

Hi folks

Due to some people putting suspicious links on the blog, I'll have to moderate the comments. This is the second such instance and I don't want people visiting our happy little place getting directed to some dodgy or pervy site.

All it means when I'm moderating is that your comments will be sent to my email address and I'll stick them on the entry you want. That will hopefully deter the dodgy guys from here!

peace & love to you all
:-)

A few more pictures of Emily

2008-02-16T23:07:00.004Z

We're doing the touristy things around London....and the parks are a big must. Here's Emily & Sharon when we were walking through Horseguards on our way to St James's Park.....

...& in St James's Park...

.....& over to Regents Park.....

I know we've few more to do (but you gotta start somewhere!) so any suggestions gratefully received. We've done Battersea Park and our next one will be Hyde Park. We were going to do Primrose Hill today while we were at Regents Park, but (a) we thought it'd be nicer wihout the Baltic weather and (b) it would be nicer with a picnic!

Emily loves the parks and especially all the birds. She's a real animal lover. We take her up to feed the deer at Bentley regularly and then there's the ducks in Stanmore, and our cats!! She insists in helping to feed the cats at meal times - even though they are not too impressed with the over enthusiastic bundle of fun chasing them around the house with their food bowls!!! Still...it's good exercise for them all!!

We went to the RAF museum a couple of weeks ago in our bid to kick start the museum trails around London and found out that Emily really didn't like the mannequins in the displays. Bless, she went running into the Battle of Britain part of the museum where they have displays of wartime England at the beginning. She took one look at the dummies, froze, said 'no', shook her head, ran back to daddy and buried her head in my jacket until we took her out. The things that freak people out.......

Err....February then.....

2008-02-10T22:18:00.001Z

we all have mad moments......
.........Februarys post will be forthcoming...
until then.....have a nice day!!!

2008-01-20T15:39:00.000Z

Hi
this is all very new to me! good fun and hope to join the bloggin space

Could not resist this one

2008-01-19T21:49:00.001Z

He he....am I bad?

2008-01-18T23:00:00.001Z

Here are some pictures of Emily....

Sharon, Emily, Denise and Elaine in Donegal

Me & Emily in Donegal

Christmas morning

Cheeky rascal!!!

Back to blog city again.

2008-01-18T21:01:00.001Z

Goodness me. Last post was in April last year. now that's bad. As those who know me, 6 months of that was either training or away from blighty. But here's my new years resolution...to follow in dad's footsteps around the world pretending to work...only joking......put a blog on at least once a month.

So have a look at this and see if you agree......

2007-04-08T07:42:00.001Z

I've been a bit busy of late as you've probably noticed by my lack of blogs (!) but that's the way of things nowadays. What's been happening since my last entry? Well, Sharon's settled into her new job and loves it, Emily continues to grow into a beautiful little dote, and I shall be away for a while from 15 April. Want to see how Emily's progressing? Here's some new pictures of her:

2007-01-06T00:03:00.001Z

For all you petrol heads out there.....we are going to the British Grand Prix again this year and will be meeting up with Pat & Patrick again. Anyone else whos thinking of going should let us know so we can organise a space for camping together. It's going to be a blast this year so pleeeassseeee try & make it!!! (ps sharon & I will be getting a camper van this year for Emily - usually we'd tent but we have to look out for bambino - no snide comments about us being soft!!)

2007-01-05T22:51:00.001Z

So here's the story......my dad is a Man City supporter & my big sis & sis-in law are die hard Man United fans. Sharon & I are neither - we only watch footie in the world cup to support England. Sooo.......these pics will please 1/2 our footie hard nuts.......

2006-12-26T23:39:00.001Z

Caption competition time folks :-)
Here's a picture of Emily over Christmas. It's just asking for a caption..........

ps. greetz to cathie. wb

k4t

2006-12-08T20:56:00.001Z

I know it's been a while since my last entry, but....errrrr.....a certain miss madam has been keeping us somewhat busy. Anyhow, without further ado, here's some more pictures of our little angel....

Here's Emily at 3 months

2006-09-24T22:21:00.001Z

Here are some pictures of me playing music live...

Getting the audience up to sing backing vocals was always a laugh....loved that........

Sometimes, you just have to let go :-)............

This is what happens when you split your finger on the first song...and you know you have a 2 hour set to get through.......

The pose...

My beloved tanglewood 12 string...playing 'Pink Floyds' 'Wish you here'

Mike Thorn & I actually singing together.......Usually I forgot to add backing vocals..sorry Mike

Gosh, a blast from the past...That was me back in 1984. Look at the hair....

Pete Hall & me doing a Pink Floyd set (Last few tracks from DSOTM if I remember)

2006-09-12T22:15:00.001Z

I went for a single seater ride at silverstone in October 2005. What a laugh! It was in a Formula First 80bhp car/kart(!) but it was so funny. If you have a spare £150 you can go tearing round a circuit at the beautiful stowe part of the track for 33 laps. I managed not to spin & came a respectable 3rd out of 12 - not bad considering I started at the back of a pack of 12. Everyone went out to enjoythemselves - the ones who spun off were definitely the fastest (I was 6th overall fastest) and I dont think anyone really cared too much of the results. The briefing was great before you went on track. Then you went a few laps behind a pac car before putting your foot down for some very enjoyable (sometimes hilarious as you took corners sidewards!) fun. it's safe as well - your to speed is about 56mph -and theres lots of run off areas. The marshalls really do look after you. Go on - give it a try. Its called the Silverstone experience.

2006-09-12T21:23:00.001Z

I'm going to recover some of my posts from other blogs to share on this site. If you're stuck for something to do, you'd do far worse than visiting the Wildlife Heritage Foundation. What a brilliant day out. This is where they care for a number of different big cats.

Find their site at:
http://www.wildaboutkent.co.uk/Locations/Wildlife%20Heritage%20Foundation.htm.

We had a one-to-one tour around the cats & had the opportunity to feed some of them (through cage wire - naturally!!)

The guide, Mark, was an absolute star; full of stories about the cats.

I really recommend a visit here if you like big cats!!! Just to get a flavour of the place, I've included these photos.

2006-09-07T21:34:00.001Z

Here are some of the first pictures of baby Emily:

This is bambino, born at 0135 on 2 September 2006 weighing in at 6lb 15oz.

...& here's her first close-up.......

................................here's her proud daddy...

......................................& her proud mummy.

2006-09-07T21:15:00.000Z

Hello & thanks for visiting our little blog. I usually don't like the idea of putting personal stuff down in blogs as I've nothing much to report on. For those of you that know me, you'll have seen my other blogs on IT & guitar However.....
........the arrival of our little bambino changed all that!!

I'd love to share our little bundle of happiness so this is a good place to start our very first personal blog.