Dancing Shoes

Lola as a flower girl

This week Lola took part in a production of The Marriage of Figaro at our local theatre.

She and her ballet friends Emily, Ashley and Francis played the role of 'flower girls', invited to perform a special dance for the Count.

The production itself was performed with more enthusiasm than polish and there were some genuine comedy moments - not all of them intentional!

But the girls' ballet sequences lifted the whole show. They were effortlessly graceful and charming.

This is the first 'proper' production Lola has appeared in and she enjoyed the whole process hugely, even though it meant a lot of hard work and juggling rehearsals with homework.

Seeing her so at home on stage made me realise she is a 'natural'.

Needless to say, I'm very proud of her.

New Shoes?

My beautiful new shoes

Like most (normal) women, I absolutely adore shoes.

As far as I am concerned, it's a universal truth that you can never have too many pairs!

Like most women, I also love a bargain.

So imagine how thrilled I was when I spotted this gorgeous pair of Red or Dead shoes in a local charity shop for a mere £5 - ebay eat your heart out!

It didn't matter that they were second hand - they were beautiful. And now they're mine.

Last Friday, I wore them for the first time and got lots of compliments.

Now, all I need is a new handbag ...

That Nice 'Mr' Sternberg

Well, actually he's no less than a professor, but somehow 'Mr' seems more 'man of the people' which is exactly how he came across when I saw him at a conference in Cambridge last week.

The conference was entitled 'Assessing Students' Potential for Success' and Robert Sternberg was the keynote speaker.

Now Professor Robert J Sternberg is a very clever, very important man, no less than the Dean of the School of Arts and Sciences At Tufts University (http://provost.tufts.edu/academic/deans/sternberg/).

In the conference brochure he was billed as follows:

Professor Sternberg’s work on multiple intelligences is well-respected in the industry and his talk will address these issues, in particular highlighting his recent work; The Rainbow Project.

So when I sent him an email saying how fascinating I found his lecture, I didn't really expect a reply. But that nice man 'Bob' (as he signed his email) sent me one anyway and very friendly it was, too.

Thank you 'Bob' - you made my day!

London Calling

Calum and yet another birthday cake!

Indian art made out of paper

The outside of the British Library Reading Room and the new atrium

An Egyption sarcophagus

Franco, Calum and Chris

A Cool Time at Franco's
To celebrate his birthday, Calum chose a trip London so we spent an action packed-day with his best friend, Chris, exploring the sights sounds of this amazing city and catching up with friends and family.

First on our list was a visit to our good friend Franco. Franco is more like family than a friend and, in Calum's eyes, is the epitome of 'cool'. He spends much of his time travelling, so it was great to be able to catch him at home inbetween trips. He has a stunning penthouse flat and Calum wants one just like it when he's older!

We had tea and birthday cake and caught up on each other's news and the time just flew by. We could happily have stayed there all day, but we had a lot to fit in.

Temples and Tombs at the British Museum
Our next stop was the British Museum where we had lunch and more cake (it was too good to resist).

The museum was a revelation. There was so much to see and do, it was impossible to do it all justice in a few hours. So we let Calum choose what he wanted to see and ended up spending most of our time in the Egyptian section, taking in some Greek temples and statues along the way.
We also visited an exhibition on Indian art.

Nothing prepares you for the sheer scale and size of the Eqyptian statues, made even more awe-inspiring by the fact that they were made thousands of years ago. We saw mummifed bodies (both grisly and fascinating in equal measure) and elaborately decorated sarcophagi, plus beautiful gold jewellery that wouldn't look out of place today.

I loved the famous reading room surrounded by the stunning new atrium designed by sir Norman Foster. The light simply flooded in.

The only disappointment of the day was that the Japanese section, which Calum had particularly wanted to see, was closed. However, that gives us a very good excuse to go back!

Comics and More Cake

From the British Museum we went to a wonderful comic shop called Gosh, where Calum, Chris and Lola all bought books and comics. We then visited Calum's favourite shop, Forbiden Planet, where Calum bought a further 22 comics! The choice of comics in Forbidden Planet is mind-boggling and Chris and Calum were like little children is a sweet shop. In the end, we had to drag them away.

Our final visit was to Joe's Mum. She gave us tea and yet more cake, but Calum wasn't complaining! She was pleased to see Calum and Lola as she doesn't get to see them that often.

We were having such a nice time with her, we almost missed our train home, but thanks to an excellent taxi driver who knew all the back routes, we made it to the station with a couple of minutes to spare.

We were all shattered as we flopped into our seats on the train. We'd literally walked miles during the day because there were problems with the tubes, but everyone agreed it had been a brilliant day, especially Calum and that made me very happy.

Happy Birthday Calum

Calum with his Iron Man birthday card

Calum turns 16
On Monday 2 October, Calum became an 'official' grown up when he turned 16.

Although he can't vote until he's 18, he can now choose to leave school, get married and get a job. He also has the 'privilege' of having to pay full fare for just about everything. Thank goodness for student rail cards!

Being 16 is a strange combination of looking and sounding like an adult, yet still feeling inwardly like a child in lots of ways. During the last year Calum has shot up and his voice has got considerably deeper. He's also grown out of nearly all his clothes and shoes!

All I can say is, 'so far, so good'. Calum is approaching adulthood with quiet confidence and is a polite, hard-working and very likeable young man. I get lots of positive comments about him which is a good sign.

Of course, he's not perfect and I wouldn't want him to be, but he is a real pleasure to be around and, as teenage boys go, I know I'm very lucky.

He's at the age when having money to spend is very important, so he was delighted when he received gifts of cash for his birthday, most of which he spent on comics and graphic novels. However, his favourite present was an NBA basketball as he's baksetball mad and plays several times a week.

He was also delighted with the Iron Man birthday card his dad made for him. As always, it took Joe a lot of time and effort, but it was definitely worth it for the smile on Calum's face.

Bonnes Vacances - Part 5

Me, Lola and Calum in Pujols

Pujols village

The Lou Calel restaurant

Lola by her favourite stall

Picturesque Pujols
Of all the places we visited, Pujols was undoubedtly one of the prettiest.

As well as the wonderfully preserved medieval architecture, around every corner there was something to delight the eye.

We went to Pujols several times, including on market day, when we bought handmade beaded jewellery (Lola's favourite stall) and deliciously scented soaps in an amazing variety of colours. The stall holder patiently gift-wrapped each one as she knew they were presents.

We enjoyed the best meal of the holiday at the Lou Calel restaurant, the sister restaurant of La Toque Blanche which boasts a Michelin Star. The food was wonderful, the staff endlessly attentive and helpful and the view over the valley, lit with twinkling lights, nothing short of magical.

Bonnes Vacances - Part 4

Stunning Sunsets
We saw some amazing sunsets in France - so beautiful they took your breath away.

Bonnes Vacances - Part 3

Lola and a 'Bridget Jones' book

Calum with his PS2

Just Chillin'
One of the best things about being on holiday is chilling out.

As a family, we all chose different ways in which to relax.

For Joe and me, apart from stuffing our faces with delicious French food (including croissants the size of saucers!), our favourite way to unwind was with a glass of red wine. With so many wonderful local vintages to choose from, we did our best to sample as many as possible!

Lola had her head constantly buried in a book. We read the same novels on holiday, including Bridget Jones' Diary and The Edge of Reason, both by Helen Fielding (and much funnier than the films) plus Espresso Tales and Friends, Lovers, Chocolate by Alexander McCall Smith - both hilarious. We spent the whole holiday quoting our favourite lines from each book and laughing our heads off, much to the annoyance of Joe and Calum.

When Calum wasn't in the pool, he enjoyed lounging on the sofa playing games on the PS2. He loved the sofa because not only was it incredibly comfortable, it was also huge and allowed him to stretch out his long legs out in full.