h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Hi again

So you know Brighton too - was it intentional to say it was the gay capital of Britain and then claim to be the BUTT of jokes? Actually it is the gay community that have made Brighton a good place to live, much like Key West in Florida - a rundown seaside town inhabited by hippies and ramshackle buildings renewed into somewhere excellent. We were in Key West a couple of years ago, and I have to say, if we were looking to emigrate, the Florida Keys would be one of our favourite places to go as far as the scenery, weather in winter and snorkelling are concerned. The hurricanes in summer and the rednecks on the mainland make it less desireable however!

It's good to hear that you have had good experiences with Toyota, the more people we talk to, the better their reputation seems to get

Grace's sleeping bag is an excellent idea. We got one for Charlotte and it definitely helped as she used to kick her covers off. She is now old enough for a duvet and pulls it up herself when she has kicked it off. The sleeping bag is redundant now as a bedtime thing, but she likes us to keep it downstairs as she snuggles under it (when opened out obviously) when she is feeling tired downstairs. In fact that is my hint to get her up to bed for her nap if she is tired earlier than our scheduled time.

We have had a hell of a job settling her tonight though, still another tooth has appeared at the front (that's ten in total now) so hopefully the angry buds in her top gums I mentioned before will give her a bit of respite before the next onslaught.

I'm glad to see you take the responsibility of punishment as well as Clare.Tony always backs me up when Charlotte misbehaves or admonishes her himself as I feel like a stuck record saying "no don't..." all the time and she doesn't listen. Kids can be so manipulative at such an early age can't they?

Well, thursday today - week over for you I take it with your big adventure coming up. Well have fun and I'll speak with you upon your return.



A.K.A. Kippy, Peanut or Slapper (the first two involve my initials, the second an affectionate term used by a chum I call trollop!)

Good morning Slapper (Found a nickname I like )

You are very right about Brighton, it is the open minded community that make it such a nice place. Never been to florida, but will take a trip there once the kids are old enough to enjoy disney land et al.

Ohh poor Charlotte with her teeth. Grace's don't look like putting in a showing anytime soon, but the constant red cheeks and crying show how much pain they are giving her. Bad night for us again last night too Glad for this holiday so I can give Clare a bit of a break.

I did used to be far too soft on Charlie, I missed him so much during the day that it was hard to come home and be tough, when you haven't seen them you have so much more patience. He soon picked up that dad was a soft touch and started playing Clare and I off against each other. Glad we found a middle ground pretty early on, some parents never manage that.

Gee I feel drained today, a teething baby, a cold filled tired boy and a pre menstral wife, feels like I'm jugglig ten balls at once with my eyes closed. This holiday couldn;t come at a better time

Catch you when I get back (Tuesday) Take good care of you and yours

Si

Hi Si, Slapper here

How was your break? I hope you all had a good time, that Clare and Charlie's colds were better and that Grace's teeth were less troublesome. You did sound a little up against it last week, hopefully you are now feeling refreshed, invigorated and generally rather good about life

Well I'm in a very good mood This is probably going to be very boring to you, but I'm very excited and want to celebrate a bit! Following my snotty letters to the hospital, I saw the consultant again today. We have (potentially) good news. It appears that my brain scan was totally normal and my brain is extremely healthy so whatever has affected my spinal cord, hasn't travelled to my brain. All the other tests to date on blood etc have also shown negative results. This is also very good.

They are doing more tests next week (involving electrodes and pain ) and I have got to have more blood tests (I'd swear there were s buying lunch at the hospital) as historically I have had low levels of vitamin B12, the vital vitamin for a healthy nervous system. The consutant feels that this may be the cause of my problems which means that although the scar tissue will always be there and therefore so will my current symptoms, they can stop it getting worse The other good thing is that the lesions are only on the sensory part of the spinal cord as opposed to the bits involved with motor function. If I get no more lesions this means I won't be stuck in a wheelchair

Well, that was probably very dull to read so I won't go into it anymore, I just had to share my (hopefully) good news.

Well, I won't bore you any further, you have probably got a desk stacked to the roof with work after your all too brief break, so I will fill you in on Charlotte's latest antics next time... ooh, she has been a terror!

Have a good day (oh god! I'm turning into an american )

Morning Slapper,

Our short break was fantastic. We have all fallen in love with the little farm we stayed on. I could get used to the country life so easily, it's so simple yet satisfying. We all feel totally relaxed and refreshed, batteries have been well and truely recharged. We all got up every morning at dawn to feed all the animals (pigs, horses, cows, turkeys, ducks and chickens) Charlie was in his element, total fascination and glee on his face.

Got the farmer to spare us one of his turkeys for xmas, was fascinating to see it killed, plucked and hung (whoops sorry just remembered you are a veggie aren't you) Actually being that close to the process of killing animals to eat does bring it home to you, and I hope you don't hate me for saying it, but it will make me appreciate my food even more now. Buying meat from a supermarket you often forget exactly where it came from, seeing it done gives you a bit more reverence for it.

Excellent news about the hospital results! I am made up for you Karen. That must be such a relief. Does it put sprog number two back on the cards now?
How could that story be boring? You are a womble! I love the daily chats we have, why would I be bored to hear about you?

You haven't mentioned the scar tissue or legions before, can i ask you to tell me more about that? What caused them?
What a relief it isn'tmobility threatening, as a parent I can share the concern you must have had.
Dull! You are a funny girl. That's probably the most intriging post you've sent so far.

Sorry to hear Charlotte has been a terror, Charlie has been very out of sorts too, had a number of tantrums on holiday, but Clare and I handled them well and he seems to have reverted back to the little angel we know. We were getting quite worried trying to find a reason for him acting like this, but I guess all kids do it, just testing thier boundaries.

Write soon, unless you do turn american! Enough of them on h2g2 already
Si

Hello again Si,

I'm really glad you had such a good break, it must have done you and Clare a world of good! When you go somewhere like that and really enjoy the pace of life, it does make you wonder why we are all chasing our tails try to maintain a reasonably good standard of living here in grubby old London! Like you, we are rather stuck with remaining close to London for work purposes, now my medical outlook is nowhere as bleak as it was, I suppose I'd better get my bum in gear and start trying to get work in again. I have to admit, I have rather let all that slip for a while, I couldn't cope with that as well as the medical stuff... no excuses now I hope!

I am impressed you actually met your Christmas lunch and witnessed it's dispatch. I think that if you can do that, and still enjoy the meal, you have every right to eat meat. It's when people don't care about how the animals are cared for, as long as what they get is cheap, that I feel anti-carnivore. With the advent of organic farming and free range as opposed to factory farming methods, I feel much more able to go back to eating meat if I ever do. I don't think I could watch anything being slaughtered though, I am far too squeemish, I have to say though I had really bad cravings for meat when I was pregnant.. especially spare ribs!

You asked about the medical stuff, so just to explain: The myelin sheath covers the spinal cord and without it all the messages sent through the cord and brain are confused. I have areas of demylination (areas where the myelin sheath is destroyed) on my spinal cord around the upper back and neck. The term the medics use for each area of demylination is a lesion.. which is scar tissue. For me this means altered sensation in my legs and right hand (hot feels cold, cold feels hot) and various sites of numbness. It is not the most comfortable thing to live with, but it can be lived with. The reasons for this happening are still to be confirmed, but (and fingers crossed here) a vitamin deficiency can be the cause which is (obviously what we hope for).

Well, the holy terror that is Charlotte... I'd swear that she was the reincarnation of the french bloke that climbs tall buildings without any safety ropes - except that he isn't dead! She reallywill be the death of me, she'll climb anything and the resulting kerrplonk that she lands with doesn't seem to put her off

I'm sorry to hear Charlie is so out of sorts, do you think it is the 'terrible two's' (which seems to be the reason for all tantrums between 15 months old to 3 and a 1/2 apparently). Everything I've read says that they are just testing the boundaries, so don't worry too much. Charlotte is testing us at the moment as she has suddenly started not going to sleep when Tony put's her in her cot, instead she seems to be waiting for me to tell her a story and sing my little lullaby. I did it once when she was upset as her teeth were obviously playing up and she seems to want it all the time now - ho hum, no mummy time for me then!

Anyway, I hope that your first day back wasn't too daunting, and at least you have a short week to look forward to, then lots of time with the family

Speak soon,

Slapper (there isn't a slapper smiley )

Awww no slapper smiley How bad is that? Oh well I'll go back to calling you Mrs or then.

I don't blame you for putting work on the back burner for a while, having to look after Charlotte is a full time job in itself, coupled with your health worries I don't know how you've held it together.
It must be a giant weight off your mind to know it' just a vitimin deficience, or at least have the more concerning fears allayed.
Thanks for explaining it to me in better detail, amazing that a simple lack of vitamin can have such an effect. *runs out to buy some sonatagen*

I'm glad to hear my turkey murdering hasn't turned you against me. I actually share your contempt for people who don't respect the fact that a life has been given for them to eat. But humanity just seems to have removed itself from talking about death completely.

It's like on holiday at the farm, the last time we went they had ginnea pigs there, but a weasel broke in and ate them. I got told off for telling Charlie, they all thought I should make up something nice like they were staying with friends while the weather was bad.
Pah! Me and Charlie had bags of fun 'woosel' spotting all weekend, kids take that kind of thing completely in thier stride.

Don't worry too much about Charlotte's climbing antics, seriously a child who is that confident is something to be proud of, it shows she is happy and outgoing. Means you two are doing a good job. Just remove as many fatal objects as you can, and buy her a crash helmet for xmas.

Charlie seems to have gone back to his good old self as soon as we got home. I think it might have just been the change to his usual routine, coupled with a cold and icky tummy that put him out of character.
Grace slept though without interruption the night before last, although last night she was crying out in pain so much we had to bring her in with us. Her left cheek was redder than santas suit, so I think she might get her wish for two front teeth by xmas.

Bedtime routines are a funny thing, you only have to do something once and it creeps into the daily checklist. We have upto 5 stories, depending on daytime behavior, then baa baa blacksheep and twinkle twinkle sung by mum, or both mum and dad if he's been exceptionally good, and recently a rendition of this old man that he has to sing to us before we go. Has us in both in fits of giggles, so we don't mind it taking longer. Last night we had "this old man he played three, he played nick nack on my gate"
Kids say the cutest things.

Hi again, well, I've just got Charlotte off to sleep, it's now midnight and my singing and story telling have FINALLY worked their magic. I have to admit, if I have to tell her the story of daisy duck who couldn't get to sleep one more time I think I'll need a lobotomy. It is the only story she wants to hear, if I try any others she starts leaping around the cot like a demented monkey . Oh well, at least it is effective even if I am quitely going mad! One the plus side however, when I curl up next to her to tell her the story, she cuddles me and gives me lots of kisses which charm me every time.

We had a good day today all things considered. Charlotte had a terrible night last night, not actually awake and screaming, but crying and moaning in her sleep. I had to keep soothing her back again so we were both pretty knackered today. Nevertheless, she still scaled all the furniture and managed to pull the fireguard (screwed into the wall) away from the fireplace - not bad going for a 17 month old! We are planning a big adventure for tomorrow (thursday) I'm going for my blood tests at the hospital and on the way back we will have a wander around the town centre to see the Christmas lights and the animatronic teddy bear chrismas scene in our one mall, so that should be nice (not the bit though, eugh!).

I was teling Tony about your 'woosel' spotting with Charlie - Tony and I am with you 100% on being straight with little 'uns on the explanation of death etc. I remember vividly (at about age 6) being told that my dog had gone to live on a farm where he could chase rabbits all day and would have a wonderful time. I always felt that there was something fishy about the story, especially when I wasn't allowed to visit him. Tony lost his mother when he was 11, the 'gone to the farm' story wouldn't have worked with that one, it's just so much better to be honest about death from an early age - kids cope much better when they are told the truth and it prepares them for inevitable occurences in the future.

Onto a lighter note, I hope you, Clare, Charlie and Grace are all well for the weekend. Hopefully Grace will have cut those two teeth sooner rather than later and she can start enjoying life again. I dread seeing those little red cheeks... you just know that you are all in for a sleepless night.

Have you any plans for the little ones this weekend? I suppose Charlie will be visiting Santa this year somewhere ot other. Charlotte is going to the children's christmas party at the boat club my mum is a member of on Sunday, her first experience of other kids en masse (and of Santa). I'll let you know how it goes.

Well I'm off to now (I only seem to get on H2G2 nocturnally at the moment).

Speak soon



BTW, please call me Slapper if you like, it is my name after all

'Please call me slapper', now there's a request i don't get everyday.
Morning Slapper!

Hope you had a better night with Charlotte, she was probably having nightmares about not being able to climb up anything the previous night
I had a great night with the kids last night, Clare was out getting drunk with one of her mate, and boy did she stagger in drunk lol.

I don't know if my laid back attitude has a calming affect on the kids, but everytime I get them on my own, they both sleep like logs. Grace didn't stir once all night, and Charlie was just amazing, he did so many things on his own that he normally point blankly refuses to do

Good luck with the blood tests today, I don't envy you, I hate hospitals and doctors.
Shopping Mall? MALL? You are turning american! we call them centers deary!
Charlie has been a few times to visit our local santas grotta at Bluewater, very impressed he was too. Haven't seen any of the lights yet, but we will be putting ours up this weekend.
We are having his birthday party in a couple of weeks, about 15 kids comming and Clare wants me to put on the santa suit and surprise them all. Not sure if I can face that humiliation! I mean, in the pravacy of your own house fine, but infront of other people? Hmmm going to need some convincing and coersion first.

That will be fun for Charlotte to mix with other nippers, I think from the age of about two it very important they have kids to interract with. Our nephew never really played with any kids till he started school, and while he is a fantastic kid, he really finds it hard to make friends or relate to his peers.

Having a terribly stressfull day so far hope it improves. Everything I touch this morning seems to break or just annoy me. And I'm normally such a calm chappy too, I haven't sworn under my breath so much in ages.
Got an xmas do tonight, so don't expect much sense out of me tomorrow.
See ya
Si

Hello Mr Hungover

Well, was the town painted red last night (actually, as I am typing this you are probably weaving your way home in a happy stupor wearing an ill fitting santa hat or reindeer antlers)

Hmm, typical kids, being everso good for daddy, just to show what little angels they are and how mummy MUST be exaggerating when she says that they have been the proverbial little s all day! Seriously though, it's nice that you had such a good evening with them, Tony loves spending time one on one with Charlotte as he gets so little time with her comparitively.

OK, I admit to an americanism as far as the mall bit went, I should have just called a spade a shovel and given the damn place it's rightful name, but if I said I was taking her to the Bentalls Centre would you have known what it was? BTW, surely a mall is the road to the queen's house?

Well (if my opinion counts for anything) I think Clare is quite right in saying you ought to wear the Santa suit. Humilliation be damned, it is your duty as a father to make a complete ass of yourself as often as possible while your children are of an age to be unembarrassed. After all, once they get old enough to dread you meeting their friends because of your hankie, dad pants, and dodgy dance routine it is your duty to embarrass them even more. Get a grip man!

I'm looking forward to Charlotte meeting other kids - I only hope that they a friendly, some kids are so vile in the park, she goes up to see them with a big smile and they either push her away or run away and hide behind their mums. She is very sociable so it isn't her problem. We will be putting her name down on the waiting list for a nursery place a couple of mornings a week from July onwards (when she is 2). That'll be after her measels jab, which I will organise for after Christmas, she'll look forward to that.

Well, I hope that friday is less stressful than thursday was and that your potty mouth is kept under control

Have a good weekend.

Slapper ()

Hello Slappy ,

No hangovers here! Seem to have a nasty cold brewing though.
Last night was very dull, was at home tucked up soundly by 10 PM.
No traffic cones or silly hats were worn, no drunken antics to report. Oh dear, I really am getting old! lol.
It was a lord of the rings themed xmas party, so everyone was expecting lots of fun and magic etc. Boy did they go to town on the theme, one old codger dressed as gandalf to greet you, and errr that was it . Still it's nice to wake up with a clear head on a Friday.

Clare had a good night with the kids while I was out galavanting, they both slept soundly too, so it's not just daddy with the magic touch. But I'm still taking credit for doing the groundwork lol.
Nice to hear Tony enjoys special time with his little lady, it is tough for us working dads you know.

I'd have known exactly what you'd meant if you said Bentalls centre, and you are right about the Mall, those yanks mess up the meanings of so many of our words. Only yesterday one told me they were going to decorate thier lounge in beige and blues, with lots of spunk! scarey thought!

Oi, don't you go taking Clare's side in the santa suit argument! It's your fault I got the suit in the first place, beginning to regret talking to you :P Ok OK I'll wear the suit for his party, it would look better on Clare's dad as he's already santa shape, but he's working that day I'll protest for just a little longer to keep Clare begging and offering rewards to do it. No fun giving in too easily is it

Aww Charlotte sounds like she's gonna mix well, you do get some horros in the parks don't you. Nursery will be great for her, Charlie starts three mornings a week from January. My little boy is going to school, they grow up too quick *sob*.

No swearing for me today, fixed the shower with an elastic band, and am having a rather good day. Fridays are always fun
Have a cool weekend

Si

Hello Si

Sorry to hear you are coming down with plague and that the rave I was expecting to hear about was actually a bit of a damp squib! Still at least I'm not trying to think up hangover cures for you (but you probably know them all already)

Glad the kids are sleeping better, hopefully Grace will get a bit of respite poor little thing.

Well, I'm glad I took Clares side on the santa suit - if it is a bit flat on the tummy side (I am assuming that you are still relatively svelte as you are under 30 - just) stick a pillow up your jumper - or get a beer gut in only a week or two probably better to stick with the pillow

I'm glad you are having a better day, yesterday sounded like a bit of a bummer. Mega short posting as my mum is with Charlotte and wants to go home now so I'd better dash!

Well, have a good weekend and I'll speak to you next week

Slapper

Morning Slapper,
How was your weekend? I had a simply positively spanking good one.

Put the xmas tree up on Friday night, which put us all in the festive spirit.
A day in doors on Saturday, getting over my cold, wrapping xmas presents, and generally being christmassy.
And Sunday we had Grace's godparents over for a meal, and got nicely drunk. Charlie got to open one of his presents early (When xmas and your birthday fall within 48 hours, it's a bit too much getting them all at once)
He got this excellent wooden toy from Hamleys. Jungle marble run or somesuch. You stack all the wooden animals to make a pathway for marbles to roll down. I'm addicted, don't think Charlie has had a look in yet! lol.

Thanks for the santa advice about the pillow, yep I'm still quite skinny, so I'll need some padding. But with the amount of beer I am expected to drink this week, it could be achieved without a pillow!

Hope you and yours are well.
All the best xmas cheer

Simon

G'day Simon

How are you? I hope you are fully recovered now and that Clare, Charlie and Grace are all well too. Charlie's pressie sounds a corker, we are looking forward to Charlotte's pressies being a little more parent friendly in the not too distant future. Tony is bound to get her a Scalextric (?sp... it's a boy thing) at some point as he wants one so badly himself

Well we had a corker of a weekend too. Tony's little brother is joining their parents in New Zealand (for the forseeable future) so Tony and bro no. 4 had a bonding session watching Wimbledon AFC in a -4 windchill. I couldn't get childcare cover so I couldn't go with them... aw shame . Instead Charlotte and I had a lovely day, watching Cbeebies, playing games and having naps - it's a tough life sometimes. Anyway the boys came back, we had a jolly good curry (to warm them up) and a very pleasant evening was had by all.

Sunday was excellent too - we went to the kids christmas party at the boat club (as I mentioned before I think) and it was excellent. Charlotte raced around like a mad thing, then we all settled down to an excellent kids entertainer - he kept the children (aged from about 18 months up to seven or eight entertained, as well as keeping the parents and gradparent amused - no mean feat). The only bummer was the high tea, Charlotte does not usually get chocolate spread sandwiches, jam sandwiches and crisps as part of her diet, especially not all on one plate! Still once in a while can't do too much harm I suppose.

She got a lovely rag doll from santa and wasn't at all phased by going up to a stranger with a big white beard and fur trimmed hood. She got her pressie (with daddy holding her hand) and happily came back to us waving the card attached and abandoning the pressie to daddy... kids.

Well, I had a bit of good news myself today, a chum of mine that I used to work with has a fairly big project that she is tendering for and wants me in as part of the team so that has cheered me up a bit. It's all a bit quiet on the work front, especially so close to Christmas.

Oh well, I'm glad you had such a good weekend, hopefully the week will fly by and the next one will be with us again.

Speak soon

Slapper

Oh dear, I forgot to post yesterday,
Sorry about that, bit of a mental day at work.
And today I've got a proper hangover so my brain just isnt working yet.

I'll try and recover a bit then post later.
Awww I was really looking forward to your daily post to help me through the morning too Oh well, my own silly fault for not replying yesterday.

Where's the paracetemol?????

Aw, bless. I'ts just as well that Christmas comes but once a year isn't it? Don't worry about missing me yesterday, I just assumed you had more interesting places to be

Well we have had an appalling night with Charlotte, she seems to have a bit of a chesty cough, and is a bit congested. Last night, she cried virtually all night in her sleep - not little whimpers but real wails! She came in with us and Tony cuddled her to sleep eventually. Then, I gave her her morning bottle (she usually snuggles down and dozes off again) but she drank it, coughed and spluttered and then thew up all over our bed She seemed to have a temperature and was very listless and disinterested in everything - most unlike her

Anyway, I had an appointment this morning (which I cancelled) and took her downstairs to curl up on the sofa. She fell asleep lying next to me for an hour and a half and woke up much more like herself thankfully, still, I shall check her temperature again and see if I think I need to trouble the quack.

I know we both always say this, but you really would swap places with them wouldn't you? Tony is all anxious at work today poor thing. At least I am here with her knowing how she is doing.

We are supposed to go to the airport tomorrow to wave off Bro No. 4 on his NZ voyage, but I'm not sure Charlotte will be up to it. If not, Tony will have to go on his own and send our love

Anyway, how are things at your end... is the hangover still raging or have you started to join the land of the living? I always found a full fat, full sugar coke was a good start, followed by crunchy nut cornflakes (why crunchy nut I'm not sure, but there could be no substitute!).

I hope that the family are all OK and that the lurgeys are in obeyance for a while

Speak soon, take care

Slapper

(Nooooooooooo, I just typed all this post out, went to send it, and h2g2 packed up on me, just as i noticed you'd sent me a post. Typical! If it doesnt start working in the next ten minutes you wont get this until tomorrow )


Right, only half hour left in the day, and I still feel groggy.
Clare out tonight too (on the sauce again, naughty girl!) So I hope the kiddles are good for me.


Charlie had me cracking up yesterday, I phoned Clare for a chat, and heard him say in the background "can I say hello too mummy" So we had a long chat, he told me all about his day and what he had planned. then I told him I wuddnt be home tonight cos I had to go to the pub. Then the cheeky monkey said "Oh, are you my daddy?" lmao, how many other blokes does Clare have calling her I wonder!

He saw santa today at our local shopping 'mall' Clare sister decided the queue was too long so her son didnt get to see santa, that's mean
Charlie bowled straight upto him and said. "I've been a good boy, I want a castle and a choo choo" Thank heavens for that, we got him a train set, and Clare's parents a castle!

They all went to TGI fridays for lunch, and Charlie saw a picture of a winged horse on the wall and said, look mum there's pegasus. The waitress and Clares family were speechless, not many 2 year olds know mythological creatures by sight! That's my boy

Be good, speak soon

Si

Aww sorry to hear about Charlotte, there's so much of it going around at the moment.
You take good care of her.

You would swap places in an instant to stop them being ill.

Hi Simon

Just a quick line tonight. We were up all night last night with Charlotte, she had a temperature of 38.9c and seemed to be drowning in cold so we have been very anxious

She seems a little better tonight. I've just settled her down sniffing a carvol capsule and with a slug of tyxylix (sp?) and some calpol - poor little tyke'll be a walking pharmacy! We called the doctor who said that we should take her in tomorrow if she keeps pulling at her ears as she's got really swollen glands in her neck too. Trouble is, she'd teething as well

Well, I hope all is well at your end. I'm glad to hear that Charlie is still knocking everyone dead with his knowedge of mythology and that his meeting with Santa was such a success.

I'd better go now, I don't want her stirring without me there to soothe her back down. Poor Tony is in the spare room to get some sleep, but he seems to be snuffling too. Looks like I'll be donning a uniform for the weekend

Have a good weekend, speak next week.

Slapper

Oh you poor things, I was hoping your little girl would be all better by now.
Try not to worry too much, it just sounds like a nasty cold, just keep a very close eye on her and give her lots of love.

Thankfully my brood all seem well right now, Grace even slept through the other night (when Clare was out on the sauce again) Daddys magic touch really is becomming more than a coincidence lol.

You take care of yourself while you are busy playing nursey, you need your rest too. I'll be thinking of you this weekend and hopeing you all recover.
Please think of me making an arse of myself in the santa suit to keep you amused!

All the best
Si

Rings bell... unclean! unclean!

Hello Simon

Well, I'm back, writing from the plague house. Sorry I've not been around, I usually catch up on my 'correspondence' once Charlotte is tucked up in bed, but she has been too poorly to leave recently. We are all still bunged up, coughing and wheezing but my mother is over today, hence a little baby free time for me to get online again.

As you can imagine, we have done very little of late. At the weekend we decided a little fresh air might make us feel less like the living dead, so had an adventure in Sainsbury's on Saturday (oh, the horror... the horror...) stocking up on cold remedies, tissues and alcohol (purely for medicinal purposes) and on Sunday we actually got some fresh air when we went to the garden centre to choose our tree. They are delivering it on saturday thankfully as lugging a soggy tree home in a Ford Fiesta would not have been a great deal of fun! Still, at least we have chosen the flippin thing and it looks lovely

I was at the hospital for more tests yesterday, electrodes on the head and first looking at black and white patterns on a screen, then having electric shocks in my hand, so that was fun. I was told that the latter test was quite painful by the consultant (male) and very unpleasant. Stoically, I went in to endure what was to come, only to find that it wasn't much at all. The woman doing the tests said it was only men that made a big fuss as their pain threshold is so low we did scoff at you as a gender I must say!

Well, how is everything at your end? are you and the family well and has Charlie been up to anything cute (or naughty) this week and is Grace having tooth trouble?

Speak soon, if I'm not online for a day or so, I will return, but little 'un is still having very disturbed nights on the drowning in cold front.

Slapper