Gifford and Calton Hill

Fridays are a busy day for Sharon, especially when she has Angus and Finlay for mini-kickers in the morning, then feeding them and dropping them off to pre-school in time to pick up the skiers and feed them before taking them up to Hillend. To top that off this Friday she had a show in the evening. There's not much time for sitting about Chez Wallace.

This weekend we had Nina Butler up for a visit as special guest at Sharon's grand-a-month dinner. I took the big three out to Gifford in the afternoon to let Sharon get on with chatting and cooking. Angus was at Finlay's 4th birthday party at Bonnyrigg. Me and the lads had fun down by the river in Gifford, clambering over a rake of recently fallen trees and throwing stones. Finn learned how to skim a stone properly and was pleased with his efforts. After some see-saw fun and "base-jumping" off the big wall that bounds the playing field, we picked up Angus but the boys wanted to play more at Bonnyrigg, spending a further ninety minutes at the playpark there. So by the time we arrived home for a chilly patio picnic they were decently tired out for once.

On Sunday morning I tidied up the aftermath of the big dinner and prepared brunch then we drive into town with the boys giving Nina the guided tour. "There's the doctor's", "There's the shopping village (Buckstone)", "There's the dentist"... We parked up at Regent's Road and made our way up Calton Hill which Sharon had never been up in her twenty years of living in Edinburgh. Despite the indifferent weather the views over Edinburgh and down the Firth of Forth were still quite special and there seemed to be a Beltane Fire festival rehearsal going on, with plenty of drummers and strange types hanging around in cloaks. Local colour for the tourists!

We popped in to Stockbridge Market to spend far too much money on chocolates, fudge, pies and venison. Sharon acceded to demands from the boys to retun to Bonnyrigg while I cooked dinner - at least it's good to see them wanting to play outdoors for a change. Finn twisted his ankle quite badly on the boulders on Calton Hill, however, so he's hobbling with a swollen joint today. Angus and Rowan have been very whingey and grumpy of late. Angus was barking with a cough during the night, so he may be coming down with something, but Rowan seems to be in over-reaction mode, wailing every time something goes against him, which can be very tiresome.

You'll never beat the Irish

Well, sometimes you will. Especially if I'm accompanying my wife to the rugby. As a Valentine Day's treat, as well as her new favourite, fleecy black with white spots Guinness pyjamas, I got tickets to the Six Nations match between Scotland and Ireland at Murrayfield. Sharon has missed the atmosphere of going to the rugby, supporting her country and celebrating (or commiserating) in the pub afterwards. So, while we couldn't recreate the youthful days of yore, when Sharon was the honorary girl amongst Pete and the rest of the rugby-going UCD lads, we could at least escape from the boys for a few hours to enjoy the match and a child-free pint in the Kilted Pig afterwards.

The match itself was far from a classic. Ireland dominated the first half but only had a penalty to show for it. When they landed a try early in the second half, the 8-0 scoerline was more reflective of the territorial and possession advantage they held. However, Scotland started to play a bit and, while rarely threatening the Irish line, the penalties began to rack up until it was 12-8 in Scotland's favour. Ireland then missed a couple of penalty chances to reduce the deficit. With Sharon bellowing her support for the lads in green, Ireland mounted one last grandstand effort at our end, driving for the try that would have won them the game, but a couple of knock-ons, typical of their rather error-strewn performance, handed the victory to Scotland and its relieved support.

Back at the house, Lesley and Stuart had been minding the boys, half of whom went out to play in the surprise snow while the other half (Sean and Rowan) got stuck into their Harry Potter books: Sean for the fourth time and Rowan on his first attempt. They were delighted to get a Chip Inn treat of fish and chips for tea, as neither Sharon nor I could be bothered doing any more cooking.

On Saturday, Sharon had an afternoon of baking and cooking while I took the boys into Marchmont to collect the plates Finn and Sean had decorated last weekend. We also took in the Meadows play park, despite the cold, and briefly visited the library. In the evening the Strangs and the Browns came round for dinner, which culminated in an 80s intro quiz. So, a busy and tiring weekend all round, but better than lazy and boring!

Grub's up

For the first time in almost ten years of having a family we sat down to a dinner that was (mostly) cooked by one of our offspring. Inspired by the Great British Bake-Off amongst other things, Sean and Finn have been poring over the cookbooks with the intent of cooking up a storm in the kitchen. The challenge with Sean is getting him to do any cooking that doesn't involve sugar but this weekend the pair of them picked out breakfast, lunch and dinner recipes. Finn managed to do cinnamon pancakes for breakfast yesterday but didn't quite follow through on his plans for the rest of the day.

Today, Sean started the day making porridge for his brothers then followed that with a tasty lunchtime chicken pasta dish and garlic bread, despite having just come in from a two-hour gymnastic class. But to top it off, he made an excellent chilli con carne with tortilla chips for Sunday dinner. I chipped in with the rice and kept him straight on the chilli but he did very well working with the food chopper, browning the meat, opening the cans and adding the spices. He even added a special, secret ingredient - cocoa powder. Everyone enjoyed it.

It was the climax to a good weekend of eating for Sharon and me as we were through at Betty and Ian's last night for one of their splendid dinners while Lesley and Stuart minded the boys. The venison carpaccio with beetroot and horseradish cream was definitely the highlight. A few glasses of carefully chosen wine helped wash things down, but didn't help when Angus appeared in the night, several times. Sharon eventually gave up and left him in the bed with me.

Finn had a go at the Penicuik gymnastics class today and I took the boys for a walk in Colinton Dell this afternoon as we hadn't been along that way by the Water of Leith in a while. I was at Spylaw Park yesterday with Angus and Rowan and noted a few changes to the fixtures. It shows how long we've been going to these playparks when we've outlasted some of the fittings. The tractor climbing frame (with the unbelievably squeaky steering wheel) was gone, as was the small house and slide ("Sean's house" we used to call it was Sean was barely big enough to walk) and the wooden climbing frame with the big slide and fireman's pole. There are different installations now but gradually I get a sense, as Angus grows up, that we're leaving behind a phase of family life and passing the baton on to the next generation. Angus has had plenty dry night-time nappies of late and knows it. If we could crack the nappy hurdle that would be another major milestone passed in the Wallace family.

Final blow-out

With the start of a new week the pool area got a little busier, which prompted us to find the "big" pool further down the twisting roads of the urbanizacion. This was next to a small bar and sales office for the estate and also a tennis court, but the thought of running about in the heat did nothing for me. The sunbeds were a little less pristine and the bigger grass area a little more rough than the surroundings of the "small" pool but it was a nice enough spot to while away the afternoon. The boys certainly enjoyed the change of scenery and when the Threlfalls arrived there was great whooping and hollering, no doubt much to the disdain of the other residents and holidaymakers who who have preferred a quiet afternoon in the sun. All the children were lining up to be thrown hither and thither in the water by me, Axel and Sharon in her "Witchy Woo" persona. Noisy, it was!

Even Angus was up for being thrown in the water. He's been very confident in the water this holiday, admittedly with his armbands on and using the tube floats to great effect, but it's good to see him enjoying the water. Rowan too has been good, up to a point where he either gets cold or bored and has had enough. His swimming still isn't improving noticeably. Leaving his custom-built prescription goggles at home didn't help as he undoubtedly isn't happy when he can't see properly.

We headed back up to the villa and pulled together a quick dinner party for the Threlfalls to come over later in the evening. Axel's Mum has had one of the terraced properties across the way for twenty years but it was the first time he had been across in Villa Cantarranas and he certainly enjoyed the view and the novelty of looking down on his Mum's property that he's been visiting all this time. The kids ate and watched a DVD while the adults sat out on the balcony and chatted till the sun went down. It's been good meeting a new couple and getting to know them a little and I'd like to think we'll keep in touch with them. Jane is a writer for Sky News and Axel is the anchor for Reuters Business Insider internet TV channel so they are an interesting couple, working in the media and living in Shepherds Bush in London. It makes a change meeting people who exist in a completely different sphere.

As night fell the boys were keen to repeat their skinny dipping exploits of the night before. This started with Finn jumping into the pool with his T-shirt and shorts on and carried on in a similar vein although Angus and Oskar were a little too tired to join in. We finally called a halt after more diving and synchronised jumping in and each retired to their own house.

Tuesday was our last full day and involved plenty of steady packing up of stuff and using up of the last of the food in the house. Once again we sought out the big pool whre the boys were having fun on Edie's inflatable crocodile and playing with the dive sticks although it took me an age to locate and retrieve one from the middle of the deepest part of the pool.

We saw out the final evening by our "own pool" with a final chance to catch the glorious late afternoon and evening sunshine filtering through the palm trees as we read and had a last, leisurely swim. We headed into Mijas, parking down the side street and walking up into town and on up to Calle San Sebastien, an asthetically pleasing upwards curving street lined with restaurants and shops and whitewashed houses. The Secret Garden caught our eye and we headed inside and through the back to...the not so secret garden, judging by how busy it was. Sharon and I shared the Argentinian barbecue while Sean and Finn tackled the aptly named Mega-hamburguesas. You'd have needed to unhinge your jaw to get your mouth round one of those. I'm increasingly ambivalent about barbecued meat. Generally I find it tough going with food inevitably getting stuck between my teeth. A sign of age I suppose. This one was nice but a bit too meaty and could have done with some vegetarian balance.

We staggered out stuffed, but still had room for a stop at the nearby gelateria where the boys feasted on yet more ice-creams before waddling back to the car. A full and fitting last night out to end a fine family holiday in the sun of Spain.

Lazy days in the sun

The remaining days followed a similar pattern to the first. The boys would get up en masse, the DVD player would go on, always slightly too loudly for me to be able to sleep through and Sharon would sleep on, having been disturbed by Angus falling out of the bed in the night, or Rowan thumping his way through the house in search of the toilet or Finn sleepwalking. Angus would typically refuse his cereal while the others mucked about and laughed and ate their toast and jam and fruit and pestered us to go to the pool. The advantage of not having a pool as part of the property is that we aren't worried about Rowan or Angus walking out the door and falling in: the downside is that one of the adults must be with the children to take them over to the top pool. The trips to the pool were generally late morning, up until lunchtime and then again late in the afternoon, before dinner.

The boys enjoyed jumping in with Edie and Sharon bought them more pool toys: noodles (long floats that allowed Rowan and Angus to ride them like horses into the deep end), water pistols (they didn't play with these much) and goggles and masks. Finn's flippers mysteriously disappeared on day one, to our annoyance. Edie and Oscar shared their inflatable crocodile and rubber ring too, so their was plenty to occupy the boys in the pool as well as sunbeds on which they could rest and dry off in the sun. Sharon and I read and joined the boys in the pool and took it in turns to prepare lunch and dinner, passing the time and not worrying about being a slave to the clock. Things have turned a corner with Angus now being old enough that we don't need to worry about naps, nappies and strict routine, although he is still in night-time pull-ups and has chosen to go "for a wee lie-down" most days after his morning stint in the pool. The heat and the late nights have disrupted all the boys to some extent, so it's important to relax when we can.

On Tuesaday afternoon we had a fruitless search for Carol and Mark Johnston's holiday villa in the neighbouring Urbanizacion Voltacado, trawling past numerous sprawling, gated houses in the baking heat. Giving up, we returned to Mijas Pueblo for a wander around and a stop for ice-cream, eventually, after a fruitless search amidst the stairs and terraces of the Alcazabar area. We visited the playpark with possibly the best view of any we've been to, up by the oval bull-ring. Sharon decided to re-attempt to locate Carol's villa with Angus and got lucky. Seeing a curtain twitch she buzzed a gate and found them. Angus spent the rest of the afternoon throwing dive sticks for Cameron and Tom (Gary and Nicola, friends of the Johnstons, were sharing the villa) and having a great time.

For Wednesday lunch we drove down to Cala de Mijas, some 30 minutes' drive from the house down to the A-7 and along towards Marbella. The heat by the beach was only slightly attenuated by the onshore breeze blowing through the beach umbrellas and sunbeds. There was far more people about than we had been used to up in the mountains and my feeling, which the others agreed with, was that we preferred the quieter environs of our villa (quieter that is, when Rowan isn't clamouring endlessly in excited squeals by the pool) to the business of the beach.

That said, the boys had a fine lunch of pizza and pasta bolognese and burgers; all very tasty, according to the recipients. My salade grande was less so. By and large, the food we bought and prepared ourselves was far tastier, in my opinion, than the food in the resturants. Maybe our choice of establishment was the cause or maybe the economic woes of Spain have dictated that cheap food now tastes like cheap food whereas once you could be assured of tasty fare at reasonable prices. Now, if you want decent food you have to pay for it.

Rowan and Angus had a play on the ship climbing frame, we had another of many ice-lollies (hours have been spent selecting ice-creams and poring over lolly boards) then Rowan and I visited a supermarket while the rest headed home. In the evening Sharon escaped into Mijas for a stroll about without children and to sit down for a much-needed coffee. She reported the town had a great vibe in the evening, with people sitting out, enjoying their food and chatting as the evening wore on. We had a fine dinner on the balcony ourselves, seared tuna, octopus with chorizo and egg, ratatouille and potatoes, washed down with wine and the quiet sussurations of the trees around us.

Audi sold

Another must-do for this summer is to go camping with the boys. I dug out my old two-man tent to see if that was still serviceable. It is, but memory serves me that it had a leak somewhere, which could do with being fixed given the long range forecast for this summer. I bought a two-ring cooker and some cookware and a windbreak, so I've gradually compiled most of the gear. I now need to bite the bullet and get out there! I did manage to leave my credit card in Go Outdoors after this purchase,and it was several days before I realised and then was able to track it down. Minor panic with the trip to London and Dubai looming.

Sharon has been back doing some running, testing out the repaired foot. She managed to get round Arthur's Seat this week but the "good" foot is now giving her some pain. As the surgeon said, he doesn't have the experience of his patients asking about running after their operations, with them generally being about twenty years older than Sharon.

We've put on a couple of dinners recently, with the St.Johns round and then Ruth and Norman Martin, Anne-Marie and Hannah on another occasion. May often seems to be our time for entertaining, especially in the run-up to the Pampered Chef incentive trip. Sharon's excitement is mounting as the days go by and the outfits are considered and discussed (not, generally, with me).

I had some rare time alone with Rowan while his bigger brothers were at their golf and Angus was with Sharon. We went down to Ocean Terminal, where unfortunately the soft play has closed and the juggling ball has gone! This was a ball stuck on a pillar outside the windows - someone must have removed it. Rowan and I had lunch at the handmade burger co., overlooking a submarine in the dock. It was nice just to get him on his own for once and interact with him. Too often his head is buried in his Nintendo DS or he is distracted by his brothers for him to talk any sense to you.

I sold my Audi Avant on e-bay for its reserve price of £500 to a chap from North Edinburgh. Subsequent to making the purchase he mumped and moaned about me not having truthfully represented the car's condition but he had the opportunity to look the car over before handing over the cash, so, galling as it is to be traduced somewhat, it was sold as seen. And if it hadn't developed the oil leak I'd have preferred to keep it as it was a better drive than the Mazda 6, albeit with a more thirsty engine.

I had a quick repeat visit to the Michelin-starred Castle Terrace restaurant for a "Big Data" dinner hosted by Oracle, with some of my peers from Edinburgh organisations. It was quite an interesting evening with good food to boot!

Festive whirl

We had a very busy festive period. With Christmas Day over, Olivia was due to fly back to Ireland but was struck down with a serious migraine and had to take to her bed. Never easy getting peace and quiet in our house when Rowan is thumping about, wailing and yelling at frequent intervals.

We headed down to the Fishers on Boxing day for a very busy open house. I walked down with the boys then Michael came down later with Sharon who had to find a corner where her foot was not in danger of being trod on. Having loaded up on a fine spread of food we headed home before it got too late. Olivia was fortunately better the next day and so was able to travel home with Marie and Michael who were returning home after three weeks for a well earned rest.

No peace in our house however, as Ali and Gordon arrived with Megan, Freya and Innes for dinner and a sleepover. There was much high jinks but we kept the boys and the visitors on separate levels and so were able to enjoy our venison in some peace. It was good to get some time with the Barnes without the children milling around.

Next up, on the 28th, the Cairns came round for tea, with Alan and Jenny, Hannah's parents, also invited. Another day of cooking and eating! Rowan and Finn were pleased with themselves as we sent them next door to Betty in search of a fish kettle. They got a glass of juice and a biscuit in Betty's as she searched for the pan then they returned after a successful errand. I had bought a whole salmon which did seven children and six adults!

There was no chance of peace and quiet the next day either! Sean and I popped to the library then we went to Bonnyrigg for a swim (Sean, Finn and I) and a soft play (Sharon overseeing Rowan and Angus). Once home we were invaded by the Shaws - Iain, Alana, Billy, David and Jamie, Iain's sister Fiona, husband Richard and daughter Heather, and Katherine Grainger. The noise levels were deafening! The boys reprised their Christmas Show, with additions from the Shaw boys, but Angus was overcome with shyness in front of the massed ranks. His little face fell just a few steps into his dance and he rushed into his Mammy's arms. The wee sausage!

The week ended with a filthy wet and windy day (the weather has been poor all week - it's been a struggle to get the boys out the door, with little incentive to venture out). Sharon decided to get a bus in to her physio at Haymarket then I brought the boys in to pick her up after lunch. From there we drove over to the Mackrells in Duddingston for a cake fest. We hadn't seen Brian, Susan, Stuart and Kirsty in quite a while, nor the Kirkland. Andy and Kate were there too with Eve, Alice and the twins, Isobel and May. So, another full house with lots of kids running around filled with cake and sugar! Angus was having a great dance with the twins. To round it all off, I made a fine GF fish and chips once home. Shame the children were so caked up they didn't appreciate it as much as Sharon and me!

Social whirl

On Saturday afternoon we went round to see Mark and Christina Francis. Rowan befriended Toby at swimming lessons and has been desperate to go to Toby's house ever since. Toby has a brother, Bradley, who is younger than Sean. All the boys had a great, if noisy time, while we had a chat. Mark works for Standard Life too and has played a couple of games of cricket for us. As a tall Jamaican I'd hoped he'd be a demon fast bowler but he wasn't quite Courtney Walsh material!

Our sociable weekend continued with dinner next door at Betty and Ian's. As ever the fare was better than you would get in most restaurants. Crab with a salsa and lime mayonnaise to start with then a rack of lamb with potato dauphinoise and celeriac and finally a trio of desserts. All served with fine wine. We had an excellent time. It's rare enough for us to be invited out to dinner and Betty and Ian set the standard. After dining there we can appreciate why others feel they can't live up to our standard after being at ours for dinner. To be honest we don't think we're any great shakes: it's not a competition, all we enjoy is company and decent grub!

Sunday was a relatively lazy day after all the eating and drinking of the weekend, but we still had room for one more meal as Philip, Margaret and Miriam came over for a long overdue visit, seeing Angus for the first time.

Full days for Rowan

Rowan can be a bundle of energy at the best of times but when he gets excited then it's a bit like releasing a spinning top in a chicken coop. And boy, was he excited this week. After the Monday holiday, he was going to school for the full day and that meant staying for lunches. He was certainly a giddy kipper heading off with his lunchbox in his bag and, so far, hasn't forgotten to bring any tubs or spoons home. It's a lot of work now in the evenings, especially on a Wednesday night when I'm usually making my lunch, Angus's lunch and dinner for nursery and three lunches for the schoolboys. It takes a while!

Rowan was also excited at the prospect of going to after school club with his big brothers on Thursday, although that seems to have been less of an event than he hoped it might be. By Friday, he was very tired and, on returning from school at lunchtime, dozed off on his bed while Sharon was making the lunch. "I can't believe you woke me from my sleep!" was the wail, accompanied by the usual battery of Rowan sobs and big tears.

Lesley and Stuart minded the boys on Friday night while Sharon took me out to Thai Lemongrass. We were accompanied by Hannah and Gav. The meal was a thankyou from the ladies to the husbands for putting up with their Great North Run training demands.The food, as ever, was very tasty. I tried to steer clear of anything too spicy as I'm really trying to keep an eye on what I'm eating just now to see if there is anything upsetting my gastric balance.

Having not been able to run in Newcastle, Sharon had a run of eating out instead. She was up in Perth to meet Sally for tapas then the next night finally caught up with (world champ once more) Katherine Grainger and Rachael Woolf in their old stomping ground of Gordon's Trattoria. On the Saturday it was me doing the cooking, for the Patersons, as we had them round for dinner. As cook, I didn't feel the fayre matched up with the amount of time taken to prepare it. Plus Sharon and I had a day where we seemed to be continually at the odds with the boys, as is often the case when the weather outside is poor and the boys keep asking if they can do this, that and the other and we say no. On Sunday we let them do what they wanted for most of the time, which comprised playing Harry Potter on the Wii.

We did venture out in the afternoon for a runabout in Kings Park, Dalkeith. I was the one who did myself a mischief, slipping on the greasy astroturf as I kicked the football and slamming to the ground. I lay for a good 30 seconds, hardly able to move, having clattered my back and neck before limping stiffly back to join the others who hadn't seem my demise. Too old for football!

Dunbar sun

Sharon was preparing for her "Grand a Month" dinner yesterday so I elected to take the boys out to Dunbar for the day. For once this summer the sun was shining so we took the beach stuff and parked by the beach next to Back Road. The tide was coming in so the bridge in the middle of the channel, and some people on the far side, quickly became isolated, much to the boys' amusement. We dug and paddled and had our snack and only Angus was a casualty, toppling the deckchair as he climbed on it, ending up with a faceful of snotty sand.

Getting everyone cleaned up wasn't as arduous as usual and, cones in hand, we wandered a little along the John Muir Way, the boys in their perpetual game of "Harry Potter" with spells being issued and repelled through their magic wands (any sticks they could find).

We wandered in to the Belhaven Bay campsite to see how it looked. There were some tents and it all seemed very pleasant in the afternoon sun. I still haven't taken the boys camping as I vowed to do this year and time is running out. Next weekend is the plan. As it was such a nice evening I decided to prolong the trip and sought the Tesco in Haddington to buy us a picnic tea. A long time and several circuits of Haddington later, I finally found the Tesco. Angus was by now in a terrible mood, having fallen asleep. However, we got some nosh (no hot chicken though!) and drove on to Gifford where the boys had a great run about in the playpark after their tea. It was a glorious evening, despite Rowan's wails as we finally headed for home.

Sharon did a fine leg of lamb for the dinner, with Jill, Rachael, Hannah and Alex all present, the latter giving us all a good laugh with some of his stories. Sharon and Hannah went for a run in the morning while I cleared up. They're going to be running in the Great North Run in September so time for more training for Sharon!

Second part of Easter hols

Sharon was away for a few days on our return from Largs but Michael and Marie stepped in for some cover. We had a pleasant day on Saturday, driving out into East Lothian for lunch at Whitekirk Golf Club. Angus had a great time running about on the dance floor while Finn and Rowan climbed atop the bar stools to help in ordering the food at the bar. The boys had a table to themselves and did very well.

Next we drive down into North Berwick for a clamber on the rocks while Nana and Papa took Angus for a walk in the buggy. We met up again in town for the obligatory ice-creams and a stroll along to the anchor on the front.

I spent a fair bit of time on Friday successfully sorting out the wiring for the wireless router (isn't that an oxymoron?). The one place that has been a dead zone ever since we bought the wireless modem is the living room which has been most frustrating. Sharon hasn't been able to use the TV screen for informal training in the living room and I can't surf the net while watching TV. Hopefully that is no longer the case as I've re-sited the router and the coverage throughout the house seems more consistent.

Sharon pulled out all the stops with a fine roast lamb dinner on Monday night for Betty and Ian. Betty has taken early retirement. If only I could do the same, on full pay! The Barnes were welcome visitors this week. Sean and Finn were immediately up to high doh on the appearance of Megan and Freya who attempted a sleepover. It would have been their first as Megan doesn't have a good track record of going to bed easily. And so it proved, with Ali having to return later to take the girls home. Shame. We'll see them shortly however, though Sean and Finn don't know that yet!

We had a major irritation at the end of this week. Delisle were enlisted to uproot the remaining shrubs and trees from the front and side beds bordering the front lawn. They managed to cut through the cable that supplies our TV, phone and broadband services! Virgin Media say they can make a temporary fix but it will require an reinstallation of the cable (£99) from pavement to house to fix it properly. If only they had laid it properly the first time rather than run it round the edge of the lawn!

St.Mirren debut

It's almost two seasons since the doors closed on Love Street, St.Mirren's home for a major part of its 134 year existence. I've seen little on either the playing side or, from televised games, the new stadium, to entice me to a match since, but Lesley has been getting increasingly keen. St.Mirren have spent yet another season at the wrong end of the SPL so I took Lesley through to the "relegation six-pointer" against bottom club Hamilton.

We almost didn;t make it. The traffic jam that is the M8, especially with roadworks and Rangers at home, was tedious. I parked in Albion Road next to the rather forlorn, derelict Love St. The turnstiles are still there but beyond there are just mounds of overgrown rubble on which the terraces and, later, stands used to surround one of the bext playing surfaces in Scotland. We had to belt along to the new ground, Lesley having to jog alongside me to keep up. We picked up our tickets and got in with a minute to spare.

New St.Mirren Park is very much a kit stadium with concrete terraces on to which are bolted plastic chairs. At least there was a decent crowd in (still less than 5,000) to watch the game. Lesley and I were at the front, near the dug-outs (and actually appeared once or twice on the match highlights). Hamilton were the better team and scored a great opener before half time. In the second half St.Mirren rallied briefly to score an equalising header then got a fairly soft penalty, with Hamilton having a man sent off as a result. When Michael Higdon drilled in his hat-trick with a great finish, it was all over. The Buddies dominated for ten minutes and won 3-1 to go 9 points clear of Hamilton.

Lesley was delighted to see a victory in her first live match and joined me, 5-1 v Brechin in August 1972, and Sharon, 8-0 v Clyebank in March 2000, still the biggest win I've seen, in that regard. We had a wee tour of the old haunts around Glenburn before taking the circuitous route around the south of Glasgow rather than put up with the M8 nonsense again.

My day wasn't over, however, as Sharon had been hard at work preparing the Pampered Chef Trip Achievers' dinner which we were hosting in the evening. Around 20 people were there for drinks and a spread laid on by my talented wife. We had a busy but enjoyable evening with quite a few empty bottles of wine ending up in the recycling bin. I sometimes wonder what the boys make of it all. There was never the level of socialising in the Wallace house when I was little that the boys must consider as the norm today, even though they, remarkably, sleep through it all ince they've seen and heard everyone come in and made an occasional appearance. It's easier for us to entertain at home, due to a lack of babysitters, although we don't mind getting invitations!

Jump start January

A New Year and a fresh start at work. I've survived the latest round of redundancies, the enterprise architecture team being viewed as providing a key function in the company's quest to realise strategic goals. But the Group Technology Direction department of which EA was a part has been disbanded and the manager made redundant. We're anticipating a new Chief Architect to lead us in March so we have another period of uncertainty to cover until then. It's increasingly apparent I work for a plc rather than an old-fasioned mutual insurer.

The Lasts popped in last Sunday. It was good to see them and prompted Finn, as ever, into much silliness with Morven, sticking coloured spotty stickers all over his face as "chickenpox." Needless to say I was picking them off carpets, slippers and clothes for the following few days.

Sharon has been getting back into running and Paul was trying to persuade her to target the Grangemouth 10k early in the year. In an effort to join Sharon in her quest for fitness (she had a good 2010 with her personal trainer and is keen to maintain and improve on that in 2011), I have embarked on the KettleWorx course of Core, Cardio and Resistance training using a KettleBell weight. I have reached the point where my appreciation of the need to get fitter has overcome my loathing of doing organised exercise. I doubt you'll see me in a gym (ever!) but I'm prepared to do the three times a week, 25 minute KettleWorx workouts as they seem to target the areas I really need to improve on, especially to offset the detrimental effects of coeliac disease and asthma.

The boys seem to have had an extra long Christmas break. I took Finn and Rowan for a swim on Tuesday, my last day off, and Sean has had a couple of days round at friends' houses, but the Christmas present pile has been well worked down. Sean has had fun with his electronics set which is much more plug and play than the one I had as a boy. That one required wires to connect spring terminals with a much more physical view of the resistors, capacitors and transistors. Bad memories of my second year Uni Electrionics module!

Angus is off the bottle. He was perfectly content with it before bedtime, much longer than the others it seems, but that was probably due to us not breaking the habit. So we're breaking it now. His bottom two molars have erupted so we expect him to be ploughing into raw steak soon.

Sharon hosted a reward dinner on Saturday night which went on into the small hours of Sunday morning. Fortunately I had the ear plugs in! The snow returned this weekend with a hard frost but it didn't prevent Hannah and I having a brisk Sunday morning walk up to Swanston village which looked very picturesque in the wintry landscape. Sharon and I then enjoyed a rare lazy afternoon, the boys playing amongst themselves (which they do very well when the mood takes them) while we watched a couple of films on the telly and cuddled up on the couch.

Feed the bear

Feed the bear! So went a 1980s' Celtic chant to pass the ball to leader Roy Aitken. Our own little Angy Bear is now in the hot seat, parked in the corner of the kitchen in the faithful high-chair, which was extricated from the attic at the weekend and is ready to serve the fourth and final Wallace boy. It has seen some service and needed a rigorous rub-down following Rowan's roughhouse approach to the finer skills of eating. Now Angus is ensconced in it, tipped back and starting to get used to this implement coated in stuff that is being proferred by his mother.

He had his first baby rice last Sunday and seemed to get the hang of it quite quickly but was less keen on the pear he sampled towards the end of the week. Mixing it with rice has proved more successful. Soon we'll be back on the batches of parsnip, pear, carrot and sweet potato, spoon-feeding a little chubby-cheeked baby and watching him grow to be a strapping, boisterous bundle of boyhood while his brothers utter nonsense round about him at the dinner table. Sharon felt it was quite a special moment last night as all six of us sat down at the table (Angus annexed a little in the corner) for our dinner. It reminded her of her own childhood with everyone seated around the family table.

The move to solid food doesn't seem to have improved Angus's sleeping though the night. He managed a 6.20am for me but he still isn't settling into a longer routine. We gave him one night on his own, with the monitor for company, but wakening at 2.50am and 6.40am didn't convince us that was worthwhile. Meanwhile, the skin on his cheeks has been very florid and rough (this originated before he started on solids) and he seemed to have a bit of a rash on his torso the other day. he's been a bit grumpier than normal recently, crying for a feed well before it's due. He's still the biggest of them all (over 18lbs now, and at 68cm at 4 months, only Finn was longer) and looks like he's going to need the most feeding. He has a beautiful smile though!

Wobbly tooth

One of Sean's front teeth has finally advanced from being a little bit wobbly to bleeding a little and being a lot more wobbly. Another milestone is nigh: the loss of a first tooth by the Wallace children! Although Rowan pushed it close with his trolley-biting incident some time ago. It remains to be seen if Sean's tooth hangs on until after he has his weekend away with Ross, caravanning in St. Andrews, or if he returns home sporting a gap-toothed smile!

We had a very pleasant family dinner last night, which is rare enough to be noteworthy. Instead of becoming weary at the boys spouting nonsense and messing with their food (Sean excepted: he is by and large good at eating up) we all tucked into tasty meatballs in pitta breads with everybody chatting and in a good mood. We can only hope such mealtimes become more frequent, until we descend into a morass of moody long-haired teenagers mumbling and picking at their food while listening to their iPods.

Sharon hasn't been quite so sore over the last few days but is a long way short of dashing about the place. She is on the verge of promoting to Senior Director though and is delighted at her team's year-on-year performance so well done to my heavily pregnant wife. Here's hoping our children inherit your drive rather than my lassitude!

Welcome to the naughty step

Rowan is becoming familiar with the naughty step, mainly due to his refusals to apologise to Finn. Poor Finn has been subjected to a barrage of shouts of "NO FINN!" whenever he goes into see Rowan first thing in the morning, or when they are sitting at the kitchen table or when he tries to play with Rowan. It isn't one-way antagonism as Finn is still prone to winding Rowan up and taking things off him, but Finn has been trying really hard to be good to Rowan whereas Rowan has just been a wee tyke in return. They do have moments of fun together, like yesterday when they were carrying on around me on the couch, but until Rowan learns to be a bit more compliant (he will often refuse point blank to do what he is asked in a very loud and definite attitude), he could find himself on the naughty step quite frequently.

Sharon and I had a quiet anniversary meal last Tuesday, tucking into steak and chips once the boys were in bed. It hardly seems like eight years since the grey day in Roslin was lit up by Sharon's smile but then you look at the photos of us as each child has exacted its toll and you start to feel like it's been twenty years!

I had an AC/DC dance night with the boys on Wednesday as Sharon had bought me the new Black Ice CD and gone to do a show down past Castle Douglas so we had free rein to crank up the volume and have a good expulsion of energy session. Left me out of puff! At the weekend we took the boys into town for their tea at Bar Italia, having failed to find a swimming pool that was open. For once they behaved and ate up well, bolgnese and calamari and garlic bread consumed with gusto. I'd taken them out to Lesley and Stuart's in the morning, to wish Lesley a happy birthday for yesterday. They had a picnic lunch on the kitchen floor as they were eating croissants and it seemed like the best option to contain the crumbs.

Yesterday we did manage to go swimming at Loanhead, with Sean still getting frustrated at his lack of breaststroke progress and Finn continuing to impress. Even Rowan seemed quite at ease in the big pool with his armbands on. It was a cold day but the snow held off, much to Sean's disappointment. He's desperate to see some. I took Sean and Finn to the library in the afternoon, a pleasantly peaceful spot compared to the house, then future in-law Paul O'Sullivan came round for a fine lamb shank dinner cooked by Sharon. She was on good cooking form over the weekend, with a tasty jerk chicken and parmesan-polenta-parsnips served up in front of Strictly Come Dancing (her essential viewing) on Saturday night. These are definitely some of the reasons I married the girl!

Sunshine in July

The sun came out this week. It's been a slightly better summer than last year but nothing special. We've not really been constrained by the weather but it's nice to have a bit of heat on your back. Sharon brought Sean and Finn into town on Friday and we had a picnic in the park at Eyre Place. It was another new playpark for the boys to sample. Sean was writing out a list of the playparks he's been to in Edinburgh and the Lothians. It was quite a long list!

We had a tidying weekend, partly driven by having Scott and his heavily pregnant fiancee Zoe for dinner on Saturday evening. Sharon thoroughly enjoyed making an effort with the food and we had a good evening with me dragging out some old photos from St. Andrews days and our "groomsmen" trip to Canada to support Steve in 1995. Changes in personnel since then! With us currently 3-0 in the lead on the children front the chat inevitably wound round to babies. As Sharon said, I never thought I'd be having a conversation with Scott on the merits of real nappies!

Despite the more favourable cricket weather, the season has refused to ignite. Our last chance at silverware melted away with defeat by the Widows, with my rather expensive bowling analysis no help in us defending a rather paltry total of 81. Bowling off a long run-up all season, unlike the last few years where I've mainly sent down my meagre 3 or 4 overs off a couple of strides, I've been feeling the effects more on my back and knees. Year by year, what little fitness I had gradually ebbs away...

The Shaws have gone

We've shed a few tears as Iain and Alana depart from Edinburgh to take up a new life in Harrogate. Ee, it won't be t'same without 'em. Congratulations to them on a quick sale of the house and the best of luck with the new start.

No more Sunday night teas at theirs and ours (Alana always demanding three courses, expecting an effort to be made) with Iain falling asleep after Alana and Ian have done battle with the Scrabble. Mind you, that six-bottles-of-wine night was a bit much ahead of work on the Monday morning!