Chickens in a box

After two years pretty much without a break, Eddie treated me to a weekend away in Alfriston in the South Downs while Sue and Jim had the boys. It was the first time we've ever left James but did our best not to fret and had a lovely time drinking and eating as much as possible with an 8 mile yomp along the coast in between. It's amazing how much easier it is to cope with a hangover if you manage to get a decent lie-in. I'd forgotten! Alas our time away didn't come without its price - a sulking James wouldn't let me near him for ages when we first got back, utterly outraged I'd abandoned him. Interestingly Will was the opposite, hugging my knees like a monkey. It's a treat to go away, but wonderful to be back home all together :)

It's Mark and Saffi's last week here before they move up to Lincolnshire, they've become so much part of our lives since we started playing polo this time last year. We had our last proper lesson on Tuesday on a beautiful day - a far cry from the freezing, waterlogged chukkas we used to play only a few short months ago. Life will certainly lose a little bit of its sparkle without them around. Having said that we're also now without a polo teacher so time to take a break from it and see how the land lies in a few weeks time....good for the budget I suppose. Guess I'll have to hit the gym instead :(

Spring is definitely in the air, the evenings are getting lighter, flowers are beginning to bloom and I feel excited and happy about simple things...like not being cold. James is walking everywhere now which makes such a difference to us all. He's a real outdoor man too, so with the weather getting warmer I can bung the boys in the garden to grub about while I pootle around doing whatever I need to do. Fantastic. Last night we went round to some friends to watch the rugby. Unsure of the form, I expected a short visit, heading home in time to put the boys to bed. Not so! Champagne and nibbly bits followed by the most fabulous stew with dumplings, lots of red wine and brownies for pudding. The boys were angels with James snoozing in his buggy until Stout (or Stamp as Will calls him) their Jack Russell woke him up and he spent the remainder of the evening feeding the dog cheese and biscuits under the table, while Will fell asleep on the sofa upstairs surrounded by fairy lights. We eve...