Last shout for AB/CD

Part of my Christmas present from Sharon was two tickets to see the old tribute band stalwarts, AB/CD, through in Glasgow on Sunday. To make a day of it I went through to Glasgow early and picked up Paul Last from Cambuslang en route to Paisley to see the St. Mirren v Hearts game, my first league match in almost two years. Things started well with a goal in the third minute and a first half onslaught but the Buddies failed to capitalise and the match ended up 1-1 after a Hearts equaliser at the start of the second half. At least it was dry and not too cold.

I took Paul on the scenic route back through Paisley and Glenburn, up to Barrhead and then via Hurlet and Clarkston before he took over the directions to get us back to his house. The rest of the Lasts went through to Edinburgh to stay over at our house - I think Paul and I got the best of the deal! We got the train into Glasgow Central as the rain started to come on and eventually got into La Tasca for a quick (far quicker than Christmas Eve) tapas tea before heading down Union St to the Cathouse. I saw AB/CD a couple of times around 1999 and 2000 and, it transpired, this was their swansong, with the Monday night show in Glasgow the last they would be performing as singer Alan Moore has decided, at the age of 64 and with unspecified "health problems", to call it a day. All credit to him, he still managed to belt out a good 18-20 songs. It was deafening though! I'm not sure what Paul, as someone who had never heard any AC/DC stuff before, made of it, but it was a good blast from the past for me. We had to leg it before the end to catch the last train back to Cambuslang. It revived memories of running down Renfield St. from the Apollo and all the way up Glasgow Central station (it was always platform 13!) to get the last train back to Paisley after a gig!

Monday was absolutely miserable in Glasgow, wet and grey, so after a lazy morning and bacon sandwich with Paul, I headed back east and met up with Sharon in B&Q for some serious light, sink, tiles and taps shopping as we try to finalise the purchases required for the interior work which will recommence next week. Robert Lind babysat for the boys who were delighted as it meant they had an extended run of TV, Skylanders, Minecraft and so on. It's been electronic heaven over Christmas as we've been rising late (the boys haven't), the weather has been miserable and it's been dark by half three, so they've been indulged in inside play most of the time.

Sun, golf and cricket

With Sharon away at conference and the boys nearing the end of their extended holiday in Ireland, I had a great weekend of cricket and golf. With the hot, dry spell showing little sign of breaking, I took Friday afternoon off to play golf with Richie Brown, who'd driven up from Warrington in the morning. Richie is fairly new to the game but persevered around Broomieknowe in the blazing sun. I had an up and down round, 50 out and 40 back, with a couple of birdies on the back nine, finishing with three consecutive drives that were almost 300 yards through the hot air and along the baking fairways.

Then it was home for the "biathlon" - the second Ashes Test on the telly with the Open golf playing on the laptop alongside it! The kind of set-up you can only get away with when your wife's not home! Paul Last and Ian arrived later to stay over. We were up early on Saturday, breakfasted and then headed in the car to Drem to park for the Open. There was an efficient shuttle bus service to take us to Muirfield which was coming alive as the morning haar rolled away and the sun came out once more. £75 was a bit steep for the entry but we had a great day. We sat at the first green for a while then followed Garcia and Harrington for three holes. Next we sat in the stand at the 12th green, which some players were able to reach, down hill and down breeze. Jason Dufner had a torrid time in the bunker, taking three to get out. We moved up to the stands facing the 5th and 11th greens which afforded some shelter from the cool easterly breeze and a great view of the action.

Ian was finding it a bit hot so we moved on after a while, meandering back towards the first tee where the leaders were starting to head out. The circus arrived as Tiger Woods and Lee Westwood, the penultimate pairing, took to the first tee. We saw them hit and saw Tiger birdie the second, but the crowd was too deep for Ian or us to see much of the action so we headed back towards the 11th. Unable to get across, as there was no break in play, we settled by the 13th green, with a great view of the bunker and hole, and watched all the leaders come through. Schwartzel was unlucky not to hole a bunker shot that stopped on the lip. Finally we headed towards the big stands by the 18th until the close of play, Westwood finishing the round with a two shot lead over the field.

The return to the car park was predictably more arduous than our outbound journey, with a massive queue awaiting the buses. We waited about 40 minutes. It still was a far better, quicker and cheaper option than the train: people had to queue for a bus to Drem and then queue all round Drem, waiting a further hour for the train. After a 12-hour day, we'd earned our fish and chips (me) and kebab (Richie). Paul headed home with a very tired Ian.

On Sunday morning, Richie and I headed down to Innerleithen to play the nine-hole course there. It was delightful, with the sun breaking through and shining down on a scene that was like a mini-Rockies, the course snaking alongside a river, bisected by a B-road and dotted with pine trees. Richie almost took out a car with his first drive, the look of horror on the driver's face as the ball skipped off the tarmac and whizzed past the windscreen all too vivid. There were some great driving holes and only one quirky par three. I holed a 35-yard chip for a birdie in my six-over par 41. It was a thoroughly enjoyable nine holes.

We drove north, past a number of wild campers, to eventually join the A7, then headed for lunch at Kingsacre, resplendent in the sunshine. The leaders were teeing off at the Open, so, as Richie headed on to Paisley, I headed home to watch the golf. Unfortunately Lee Westwood didn't play well enough to break his major duck as Phil Mickelson surged home to win the Open for the first time.

On the cricket side, England pulverized a very weak Australia team by 347 runs to take a 2-0 lead in the Ashes for the first time since 1986/7. So, the Westwood disappointment aside, it was a perfect weekend of weather, sport and company. Now it's time for the family to re-unite!

Building up

December can be a very long month, as the boys get increasingly excited about Christmas. I suppose it's hard for us to remember that mounting festive excitement as the month turns from November, the advent calendars are bought, the Christmas lists mulled over and the toy shops browsed, the late afternoon and evening darkness gradually brightened by lights and decorations both public and private and the promise of presents growing day by day.

We do have to be patient though, realise the excitement leads to wayward behaviour, late nights through not being able to get to sleep, which in turn leads to tiredness and more fractious behaviour. Patience and a little indulgence too, as we'd like to enjoy Christmas with the boys when they're still young enough to appreciate the magic of it all.

I took the big three into town on Saturday afternoon, for want of anything better to do and to get them outdoors. We parked in the Sheraton car park and took a short cut through the hotel which was very festive inside with a spectacular gingerbread village display. There was no sign of the reindeer in Princes St Gardens so we made our way along Rose St instead, stopping in at Jenners to see the tree then nipping round to the Dome in all its festive gllory. It must be about fifteen years since it opened but it has since become a centrepiece of Christmas decoration in Edinburgh.

The boys were fortified by pancakes and juice from Greggs ("I love Greggs" - Sean) and delighted to get a run at the American Candy store. To give them their due, they know not to pester to get their purchases all at once and are quite happy for their bounty to be rationed over a period of days or longer, often forgetting they have sweets (except for Sweet Tooth Sean, of course). I picked up Angus from Sharon on the way home. She brought him in on the bus on her way to a "bag party" for her team at Ocean Jewellry in Lothian Road and then a meal at the Edinburgh Larder in Alva St.

On Sunday we had the St. Johns over for tea, Sharon cooking a splendid pot roast. Alex and Louie had a great time with Sean and Finn with Rowan doing his best to get involved too, although Rowan's attempts at involvement generally mean he is diving or jumping on people. Such is the lot of the wee brother trying to get attention. He's been a wee bit sensitive of late, short on confidence. His reading is fantastic however, and I bought him a bedside spotlight so he can read in the evenings and mornings without disturbing Angus. He's currently getting stuck into the Enid Blyton "Mystery" series, discovering the delights of Fatty and the Five Find-Outers. Sean re-read the whole series that I bought for Rowan's birthday. It's nice to hear them discuss books they've read.

Blooming March

The boys finished up school for the Easter holidays on Friday just as the run of fantastic March weather is set to run out. They were able to enjoy a post-school picnic with their pals in Fairmile Park, disappearing off to their gang-den in the woods, after a last morning of doing not much. Rowan missed out on golden time though, held over from last week. He had hit someone and pushed someone else over in two separate incidents which didn't leave Mrs. Cooke much option but to deprive him of golden time. That's more than his two bigger brothers have lost in all their time at school. he seems to be going through a testosterone burst or something at the moment because he gets very wild and finds it difficult to calm down or do what he's asked. Not that Finn helps matters as he usually is the source of provocation - and Rowan always rises to the bait.

Aside from his behaviour, Mrs. Cooke reported that Rowan's reading is excellent and he is doing very well with his numbers and his drawing has come on a long way too. She has to keep an eye on him in case he finds a book that he hasn't read as he starts reading that instead of doing what he is supposed to do. But his report was very good overall.

It was a bit colder and damper on Saturday after more than a week of eating out on the patio and watching the garden come to life in the unseasonable warmth. Sean and Finn went to golf while I took Angus for a swim at Loanhead. He was in fine form in his blue suit with the built-in floats, far better than armbands, as he took to going down the elephant slide into the big pool and then kicking and paddling his own way back to the side before heaving himself out the water. "My do it myself!" He was tired afterwards though. Sharon took Rowan round the food shops as she was spending the rest of the day cooking for the Dubai dinner for the trip achievers. I went with Sean to the Scottish Golf Show at in Ingliston in the afternoon. As with Angus, it was nice to spend time with just one of the boys. Sean was moderately interested in the stalls and events, but still not showing any real signs of enthusiasm for the sport. I had a go at a putting competition and bought some vouchers for golf and driving range time. We had our photo taken with the Ryder Cup! Sean was reluctant because he was nervous but I convinced him that he'd look back in many years' time and, just like Finn with the Olympic Torch, would realise that it was an opportunity that you just don't get to be that near to such an iconic trophy.

Sharon cooked a fine spread of "Terrific Pacific" (our favourite cookbook) salads and main courses for the ten of us sitting down to dinner. It was very much enjoyed and appreciated by all. It was a late finish, especially for Sharon, who was up early on Sunday to drive to the airport with a selection of pyjama-clad boys to greet Olivia and her boyfriend Jesus. Palm Sunday and Jesus was riding into our house. At least it was in a car and not on a donkey. He's from a village near Pamplona in northern Spain and the boys were very excited about him coming over. Adrian is in Glasgow at the moment so he drove over too. After a lazy lunch we headed to Vogrie Park. The sun had returned and it was very busy with families. We had a gentle stroll down to the playpark, some ice lollies and then a stroll back again. I made a quick tea for the boys then played football with them while Sharon went for a run before cooking hake for us and Olivia and Jesus. A long, tiring, but very rewarding family weekend!

One down

As Sharon's recovery continues, the International Babysitters are down to one. Marie returned home early this morning, leaving Michael to do a bit more driving. The four of us went out to the Sun Inn for a final thank-you meal. Sharon has previously arranged for Marie and Michael to spend an afternoon and overnight at Stobo Castle, partly for their birthdays and partly as a thank you for helping us out. They both seemed to have really enjoyed that and lunch at Osso in Peebles.

The boys have been getting a bit cheeky with their Nana and Papa though. Familiarity breeds contempt. Finn reportedly called his Nana "smelly pants". Maries's cries of "Easy!" were going largely unheeded as the boys ran rings round her at bedtime, especially Angus and Rowan. Angus is a noisy tyke at the moment, never content with saying something once when five times will do. He's tending to the early starts again too, so it's time to cut down and phase out the afternoon nap.

I took the boys and Marie for a walk in the Botanics on Sunday. They estimate 60 trees blew down and 400 panes of glass were smashed in the recent high winds. They've been pretty quick at tidying up although some areas were still roped off. Finn enjoyed seeing the squirrels. He has a liking for birds and wildlife, that boy.

Into 2012

It's the last day of my festive holiday, although the boys still have another week to go before returning to school. Today was yet another day of high winds although this time the damage was more apparent. Nothing to report from Swanston apart from a few upended bins and a load of rubbish dancing around the garden, but on driving into town with the big three we came across more severe upheaval. Another of the trees from the Meadows was down across Melville Drive. The Western Approach Rd was closed as power lines had come down. And we found our way along Newbattle Terrace blocked by another mighty tree felled by the wind, right across the road and on top of a car.

In between, we battled our way from shop to shop and had lunch in Debenhams. Edel was due to fly over with Barry but her flight was inevitably delayed by the wind and it was after 5pm before Finn and I, fresh from haircuts in Morningside, were able to pick them up from the airport. Needless to say the boys were delighted to see their little cousin, Angus especially happy to have his wee playmate back. And Barry is walking now too.

Yesterday was a lazy day for most of us in that we had no visitors or people to see. I took down the Christmas decorations since, being up quite early, the tree was beginning to pong a bit and I wanted everything tidied away before I went back to work and before the forecast bad weather arrived. Given the gales overnight and today I'm glad I took the tree back to Klondyke for recycling yesterday.

On New Years' Day we headed over to the Patersons' late in the afternoon as part of a general get together and to partake of some nosh. The boys were happy to play in the den with Ross while Angus wandered about looking for food and having a chat. The boys were a little tired after a run of late nights, not least of which was Hogmanay itself. The big two got to stay up late, watching telly with Mum and Dad for the first time. Just as we were watching the bells and fireworks from the centre of Edinburgh on TV, there was a barrage of bangs outside. Whether the TV signal was slightly delayed or whether there was some local fireworks going off slightly ahead of the main event, it was enough to waken Rowan who appeared at the living room door with a screwed up, grumpy face. So we got to wish him a Happy New Year too, although he looked far from happy about it. Neither Sean nor Finn would try the ginger wine but I found it potable enough after all those years of trying it when Lesley and I were growing up and finding it too rough on the throat.

Earlier in the day we drove out to West Linton so that Sharon could go to see Michael, her trainer, and get back on track with some exercise. She's feeling frustrated at not being able to do much, hampered by the foot. I drove around with the boys then, on picking Sharon up, we drove to Whitmuir Organics and had a lazy lunch there. The food took a bit longer than expected to arrive and Angus was served red wine gravy with his sausages but we were in no hurry and the boys were on good form. It was a pleasant way to end 2011.

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.

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!

Keep on running

Well done to my running wife! Sharon has been really getting into her running recently and today took on the Edinburgh half-marathon on an unseasonably warm April Sunday. The race began at Meadowbank and made its way eastwards to finish at Musselburgh racecourse. Fortunately she didn't have to go over the jumps! I made my way out to Musselburgh with her four wee supporters. Parking was tricky due tot he closed roads and we had to walk a fair bit to get in position. Eventually Sharon made it down the final straight, a big grin on her face when she saw her boys 200 yards from the finish.

Turned out she should have already finished as a steward had moved a cone at the 12 mile mark which effectively extended the race. Still, she made it and was rightly very pleased with herself as she had been a bit concerned in the morning before the race. We walked back to the car and took her home for a well-earned rest.

Yesterday we had a visit from the Shaws. It was great to see Alana and Iain and the boys though their three and our four meant there was little chance of a quiet sit down and chat. Sharon did some baking which went down well. I erected the new tent, mostly to prove all the bits were there and I could do it with minimal assistance from Sean and Finn who are not renowned at focusing on the task at hand. The good weather continued, perhaps giving a false sense that camping would be a doddle!

Lasts visit

It's been a challenge to keep the house in order this week as Linda has been away on holiday so we don't have her to keep the place looking tidy! Angus has developed a distinctly Scottish "oh no!" which we can probably attribute to Linda. He likes to use it whenever something is spilled or just isn't as it should be according to Angus's fairly well-ordered world. It's usually accompanied by an open-palmed gesture as if to say "how could that have possibly happened?"

The Lasts stopped over last night which is always good fun. The boys get on well with Ian and Morven despite the gaps between seeing them and we have a good laugh with Lynne and Paul. We had dinner and then ended up with the obligatory "intro quiz", now made easier by having all sorts of music on the laptop.

The kids were up early enough and noisy enough for us to regret staying up quite so late. Sean had a golf lesson and it was the last of Sean and Finn's trampolining class. They've decided they've had enough of the bouncing which is a shame in one regard, as Finn doesn't do anything particularly strenuous apart from his swimming lessons, but it does simplify the Saturday morning logistics a little. Quite often, if Sharon is working, Angus and Rowan are being shuttled about as part of the Wallace taxi service between golf at Swanston and trampolining at Gracemount, with a rushed shop in between.

Upcycling

With Adrian over, Rowan has been hanging off him and not giving him a moment's peace. Mind you, Sean and Finn aren't much better. Sharon arranged for Adrian to go into Finn's P2 class on Monday morning to give them a talk on his "upcycling" and salvage projects. This is where Adrian looks to give old furniture parts or waste material a new life as part of a new piece of furniture. (See Adrian's furniture site for more details.)

The children really enjoyed the talk and surprised Adrian with some of their questions like "where do you get your ideas?" I think Finn was really proud to have his uncle doing a talk in class. Both Finn and Sean have had fun with Adrian's 3-D modelling program on his laptop. After the talk the children wrote letters to Adrian with pictures of what they would make out of recycled material, which Finn brought home.

Having really enjoyed doing his River Forth presentation as festive homework, Sean is desperate to put together a presentation on his new topic, the Romans. He wants on the laptop at every opportunity to play with OpenOffice, but he needs to learn that Roman fanfares (ad nauseum) on each slide transition, lots of pictures and different fonts are novel, but not necessarily the best looking. Still, think back to what we had in P4. Pritt sticks, Blu-tak and double-sided tape were technological breakthroughs back then, never mind creating your own slide deck on a small computer that doesn't need to plug in anywhere yet can access information all over the world. Remarkable.

Dog trouble

The Kavanaghs arrived on Friday evening to great excitement from the big lads. Even Angus seemed please to have Michelle there and has followed her lead in clapping his hands. He's fierce pleased with himself when he does it too. He may have managed an "all done" sign in the last week but given that Angus being "all done" when eating is a rare thing, I suspect it's not a sign he'll favour. "More" will be a preference.

Rowan and Helen shared Sean and Finn's room, Angus moved upstairs and Sean and Finn shared with Jamie in the playroom. Getting them down was surprisingly hassle-free but the mornings were predictably early. A quiet and restful two days was not an option.

We headed out to Almond Valley Farm Park on the Saturday. Sharon prepared a fine picnic (in fact, she seemed to spend much of the weekend in the kitchen putting together many dishes for adults and children alike) and the children had a good play on the trampolines, the indoor play, where I was obliged to chase them with balls as ever, and the soft play. Once home, Sean delighted in showing off his Wii skills. After the children were in bed, even the adults had a bit of Wii time, which made a change from sitting around chewing the fat.

At Spylaw Park on Sunday morning, Sean, and the rest of us, got a fright when a huge dog (looked like a cross between a dalmatian and an irish wolfhound) bounded after him when he started running towards me. Whether Sean tripped just as the dog reached him or whether it knocked him to the ground was hard to say but Sean ended up with a graze on his knee and a bump on his head, possibly from the dog's muzzle. Needless to say the owner was very apologetic but a dog that size (it was the height of Sean) should never have been off a lead where children were present. I said nothing as I would likely have lost the plot if I had started remonstrating with her. Pete insisted she get the dog on a chain as Jamie and Helen and Rowan were clinging to him as I comforted Sean. Fortunately Finn was in the playpark area. It took Sean a while to come round from nursing his woes and start to play. I expect he'll be rather reticent about big dogs coming near him from now on.

Stop noying me

Rowan is a bit poorly at the moment. He had a good week last week, attending Duncan's birthday party but he hasn't been eating well the last few days and has lacked his usual boundless energy. He has been quick to tears and was sick at the breakfast table this morning. I got the bowl in front of him just in time. He perked up after that to remonstrate with Sean: "Stop noying me. I am sick."

An indicator of Rowan's lack of energy was his preference to mostly walk with his scooter around the park at Newtongrange yesterday afternoon. Sean continued to improve on his bike, even managing to start himself and keep going, although his steering and braking need work. He managed to ride into a chain link fence and nick his wrist which prompted squeals audible 80 yards away. Finn was impressing too on his balance bike and looks close to being able to try the real thing soon. We need to get Sean a bigger bike for his birthday.

Angus is still a delight with lots of smiles and plenty of yowling chat when he gets your attention. Unfortunately he hasn't cracked the night sleeps despite taking 7-8oz of milk at midnight. More often than not he wakes between 5 and 6am with the occasional bonus of a post-6am wake-up. He now shimmies on his back, emerging from his baby-gym on to the carpet if left for a few minutes.

The garden has been mostly overlooked this summer and is very overgrown. I tackled the front hedge and trees yesterday so that at least looks a bit neater. I could have done with the practical advice of a house guest we had last week. Joachim, a German living in Canada and a friend of a brother of one of Sharon's team, was staying with us prior to an interview with the Forestry Commission. We could do with a policy for controlling our woodland as the "dwarf conifers" we inherited when we moved in eight years ago have grown up to be large, unwelcome surly teenagers. As in the garden, so in the house...

The plums are hanging off the tree so it looks as though we need to start up the compote and jam-making assembly lines.

Two down, eighteen to go

Sean's front tooth finally fell out in the early hours of Friday morning. He felt the need to come down and share this momentous event with us, which was nice, although I would probably have preferred to sleep at that point. The tooth fairy generously swapped the tooth for £2 on the Friday night but, given that Sean's second front tooth came out on Sunday (it was looking the worse for wear after Sean had been giving it a good tug at Phoebe's bowling party and had migrated to the centre of his upper gum), requiring another £2 "investment" from the tooth fairy, I think said fairy may need to revise its lending strategy in these uncertain economic times. A quick calculation suggests 4 children x 20 teeth @ £2 equals a dental outlay of £160. Quite probably a sliding scale will need to be put into operation.

Meanwhile, Sean is lishping a little and generally looking a bit odd. Just another sign that our biggest boy is growing up before our eyes.

The boys were made up over the weekend as they had a constant companion in Clodagh who was over here with Bernie on a mission to look after Sharon in her hours of need. Sharon and Bernie looked out the remaining baby clothes and car seat as we count down towards the arrival. On the Sunday I took Clodagh and the boys for a hike around Bonaly "Crunchy" Park. It was harder work than I anticipated as Rowan was in one of his post-nap strops that would not let up and had to be hauled, cajoled and carried up steep inclines and through forests. Sean was grumpy to start with too but soon got into the climbing and him and Finn had their usual great time playing in forests.

Stag-grr

It's not often the groom-to-be is the only one who doesn't have a drop to drink on his stag night but I've always been a contrary so-and-so!

The famed Paisley crowd met up for the first time in two years on the evening of Friday 13th October (as black a portent as one could expect; coincidentally, some claim the origins of Friday 13th as a reputed day of doom tie in with events of 693 years previously when Philip "The Fair" of France moved against the Knights Templar causing them to flee the country. What their vast riches were and where they ended up has been the subject of much recent popular conjecture, with a strong belief that Rosslyn Chapel has subsequently played an important part in housing the spiritual, if not material, riches of the scattered order. But I digress...)

Suffering from the latest in a long line of head colds, I decided that a beer or two would maybe set me right. We all joined up in the Malt Shovel in Cockburn Street, with Jim and Richie carrying on from their warm-up on the train up from Peterborough (Richie brought a small rucksack for the weekend which was by now half-empty having contained his carry-out), Eggie and Niggy scaring the passers-by at the window, Hunter proving that his hair still has more body than Jabba The Hut while his body just has, well, more body, and Greenie looking like he'd misplaced his deerstalker.

The arrival of Sharon and Pete prompted Richie to ask, on at least four occasions, if she had change for her bus fare home, and wasn't this the stag?

An early night beckoned and despite frightening the taxi queue with renditions of popular Scottish country dance numbers, ex-pat Brown was forced into a taxi and packed on his way. Never one to be quelled, he displayed his culinary skills back at my flat making a stir-fry out of dear knows what he could find. Fresh food wasn't on the list but tinned mussels and oyster sauce were. The end result was Hunter having an out-of-body experience the next day.

Saturday did not start well. My quest for a cure under the guidance of McEwans 70 bob had been sadly awry and as I retched and stretched the morning away I had to accept that the trip to Kelso would be minus the stag himself. Pete, Eggie and Niggy fried anything that didn't move and went on their way over to my flat where, judging by the phone calls I'd been getting, a more debauched version of the same scene was being enacted. A sample of calls: Richie - "There's nae butter! Ah'm out the house now turning right. Where dae ah get butter?" Jim - "Where's yer forks?" Hunter - "Bloooaarrrgghhh!" Jim also expressed dismay at Richie's first movement of the day, taken whilst the former was enjoying a cleansing shower.

The bus to Kelso was awaiting the staggees at the end of my road, as was Richie wearing my poncho, swearing loudly and draining his nth can of lager for the day. Just as I was settling down to watch Football Focus, trying to get my body back together, the doorbell rang and the lynch mob arrived, Richie at its head. No escape, I was going to Kelso. Five minutes later I too was on the bus to travel the undulating 40 miles to the races.

It got progressively quieter as the journey wore on and the road got more uppity-downity but we got there intact. Bladder Brown leapt from the bus in relief and we wandered about aimlessly in the glorious sunshine amidst the curious mix of Newcastle betting boys with their short-sleeved shirts and tabs and the tweed, soft-hat and sideburns brigade (and that's just the women!) of Borders farmers and landowners. A few close finishes and six favourites winning meant a bad day's business for the bookies and a good atmosphere amongst the punters, but the fifteen of us didn't return to the pay-out window too often. High Roller Dave Ainslie had a big win but still finished down at the end of the day, whilst Gordon Digger Barnes was the only one who reportedly turned a profit. Had he turned a prophet and let us in on his selections then we might have fared better!

Having extricated Richie from the bar and a variety of white stretch limos (his quest for Slavic ladies of the night knows no bounds) we dozed our way back to Edinburgh in decent time, despite guess-who's repeated requests for a detour to drink in the Borders.

Letting the SLAC lads find their own nosh in town, the rest of us sampled the delights of the Lee On Chinese restaurant, with Richie nearing his nadir over his chicken chow mein and spare ribs. There are only so many restaurants where you can get away with choice expletives that can be heard in every corner. Fortunately the Lee On is one.

Walking along to the Cowgate we somehow got past the temptations of Tollcross and the West Port. The Three Sisters was too noisy so we reformed as a larger party once more in Bannermans then moved round to The Tron where a table for 15 was secured and the serious business of imbibing was undertaken. Aided by a man in a gorilla suit, Greenie doing Baldy Man impersonations using a banana skin, a vamp who could have eaten us all for breakfast and a succession of young ladies who took to the dance floor undaunted by the proximity of schweaty males almost twice their age strutting their stuff to Baggy Trousers, the evening fairly took off.

Having moved on to vodka and orange Reefs, Richie had got his fourth wind and exhorted us all to greater efforts as the evening moved to a close. A few stragglers made it across to Whistlebinkies (and if that doorman wasn't just pocketing the £2 then I'm an 18 year-old blonde with pigtails) but as Greenie fell asleep with a monkey-nut shell balanced on his head we knew it was time to go.

Everyone made it home eventually and this time there were no stir-frys. And I had a great time despite (or maybe because of) drinking only water all day and not eating.

Sunday dawned equally bright and balmy though Richie could only share his time between lying on the living room floor moaning and kneeling on the bathroom floor groaning. A tribute to his mentality though was him asking if he could be taken to the pub because "he couldn't feel much worse than this
and maybe a drink would set him right". When I did phone him he was in Deacon Brodie's, partaking of a tomato juice.

With all the dehydrated bodies departing the scene of the crime and my neighbours claiming they never heard a peep, life has returned to normal.

And yes, I am feeling better, thanks for asking.