A Day in Cambridge with Calum

King's College

Graduates in Cambridge

Almond Croissants, Cherry Cake and Toffee Fudge
On Saturday Calum and I spent a hugely enjoyable day in Cambridge, shopping, sightseeing and eating!

We started with a visit to our favourite cafe, Gros Franck in Hills Road. It's only a few minutes' walk from the station so it's the perfect stopping place en route to the city centre.

We had the best almond croissants I've eaten outside France, washed down with strong black coffee for me and hot chocolate with whipped cream for Calum - divine!

As always, the place was packed, with an eclectic mix of families, couples, singletons and foreign students, all enjoying the fabulous French food and relaxed, continental atmosphere.

Lunch saw us at Truckle, Ullman and Freunde, an unusual German-owned student cafe where we indulged in cherry cake for Calum and chocolate and nut cake for me - to hell with the calories!

Finally we made a trip the Fudge Kitchen (www.fudgekitchen.co.uk) where we sampled the creamiest, smoothest toffee fudge I've ever tasted. We bought a slice as a present for Joe as fudge is one of his all-time favourite things (he has a Scottish sweet tooth). He later declared it the best he'd ever eaten.

With so much indulging, it's just as well that during the day we literally walked miles, burning off quite a few calories in the process.

Cambridge is a city which lends itself to being viewed on foot, with its beautiful architecture and quaint side streets, each one yielding a different treasure. There is always something interesting to see.

King's College
Even though I've seen it many times, King's College always fills me with awe. It's a stunningly beautiful building and, of course, King's College Chapel is legendary.

In the morning it looked solemnly majestic set against an overcast sky but as the sun came out it literally lit up and seemed to shine. It's amazing that it's right in the middle of the city, so you stumble across it on your way into town.

Graduation Day
As Cambridge is dominated by its world-famous unversity, it's not unusual to see graduates in their gowns parading through the streets. Saturday must have been a graduation day because we saw hoards of students smartly attired in their graduation gear, each with an entourage of proud relatives and friends.

Finding the Fitz
Calum will be doing his work experience next week at The Fitzwillian Museum, or 'Fitz' as it's known by the locals. An important part of our trip, therefore, was to find out exactly where he needs to report on Monday morning.

We'd never been round the back of the museum before but found it without any trouble, after turning down a little lane. With his love of art, Calum is hugely excited about the prospect of working there and I can understand why. It's a fabulous opportunity and I'm sure he'll make the most of it. Not sure he'll like getting up at crack of dawn to commute to Cambridge, though!

Forbidden Planet
For Calum, a trip to Cambridge wouldn't be complete without a trip to the Forbidden Planet shop (http://www.forbiddenplanet.com), so we spent an hour in there while Calum sussed out the latest comics and graphic novels for his ever-growing collection. Luckily he found most of the ones he wanted so he was very pleased.

We visited lots of other shops, too numerous to mention, and by the end of the day both of us had sore feet from so much walking. However, we agreed it had all been great fun.

Best Bargain

My bargain of the day? A grey zip-up top for Calum from French Connection reduced from £60 to £15!

We both enjoyed the train journey home which allowed us time to relax, Calum plugged into his PSP and me into my i-Pod. I read a book, he read a basketball magazine.

We were very grateful when Joe picked us up from the station as neither of us had any energy left to walk home!

The Kindness of Strangers

Stranded
On Thursday I was among the thousands of hapless commuters stranded because of the storms.

I managed to catch the very last train from Cambridge to Ely, only to discover when I got there that there were no onward buses, contrary to what I'd been told.

A Trip to Casualty
I'd already rung Joe to see if he could come and collect me but he had to take Lola to Casualty as she'd torn the muscles in her neck and her arm was horribly swollen.

Tara to the Rescue
I was wondering what on earth to do when a fellow commuter, whose name I now know to be Tara, offered me a lift home.

Tara and I see each other every day but don't really know each other. So when she offered to give me a lift home with her partner, Steve, I was both surprised and delighted, especially as it meant going several miles out of their way.

It just goes to show that in spite of all the bad things you hear, there are some very kind people out there, and Tara is definitely one of them.

Painkillers and a Sling
After two hours in Casualty, Lola was sent home with her arm in a sling and an instruction to take painkillers - I was relieved it wasn't more serious.

Home at Last
Walking through my own front door never felt so good. Joe and the children were relieved to see me home and I felt exhausted but extremely happy to be home. In the end I was only 45 minutes later than usual which wasn't bad at all. I could have been stranded for hours.

So thank you Tara and Steve.

It was a very kind thing you did and I won't forget it.

Lola's Manga Art

'Alexa' with Photoshop background

Original drawing of 'Alexa'

Lola is mad about art and especially mad about Manga.

She's never happier than when she's working on a drawing and inventing new characters.

They say 'practice makes perfect' and Lola practises a great deal so her technique is constantly improving.

She's also taught herself Photoshop to help her create more sophisticated art.

Her latest creation is 'Alexa' and I think she's pretty impressive, especially as Lola's only 13!

Keep drawing Lola - you have real talent.

Red Roses for Dad

The Book of Remembrance

Red roses for Dad

The crematorium

On 6 January 1988 my father died. I still miss him everyday.

So Saturday saw me visiting the crematorium as usual.

This year Calum and Joe came with me which definitely helped.

Some years I'm in floods of tears. Some years I feel my eyes sting but the tears won't come. The sadness, though, is always the same.

This year I didn't cry, I simply felt a huge sense of loss.

It's the sight of his name in the Book of Remembrance. It always makes me catch my breath. I've been looking at it for nearly 20 years and it's still a shock. It means he's really gone.

Of course in my head I know he's not here anymore but in my heart he's still with me.

The fact that he died at such a bleak time of year means it's always cold and grey on the day I visit the crematorium.

Somehow that seems fitting.

The sombre setting reflects my mood.

This year I took red roses. At the funeral his wreath had red roses because roses were his favourite flower and red his favourite colour.

I wrote on the card: '19 years' gone, but loved and remembered every day.'

That says it all.

Happy New Year!

Lola and me on New Year's Eve

Calum and me

Joe and me

Goodbye 2006
It's hard to believe that the first week of 2007 has already gone, but so far, so good!

We spent a low key but enjoyable New Year's Eve. We had dinner at home and then went round to our neighbours', Ken and Shirley's, to see in the New Year.

Poor Shirley had already gone to bed, but managed to rouse herself in time to drink a glass of champagne as Big Ben struck midnight.

Once the New Year had officially arrived, I had a real feeling of excitement.

It felt good to think that another year of opportunity lay ahead - anything can happen!

Looking to the Future
So what will 2007 hold for us as a family?

Well, there are already some significant events in the diary:

• Calum will take his GCSEs in the summer and become a sixth former in September.
• Lola will take her Year 9 SATs which, although less significant than GCSEs are still important.
• Joe and I will celebrate our 20th wedding anniversary.

Life is Good

As 2007 gets underway, I have much to be thankful for.

I have excellent health, a wonderful family, a fantastic network of friends and a brilliant job.

Life doesn't get much better than that!

So, Happy New Year.

I hope 2007 is good to you, too.

A Visit from 'Uncle Paul'

Calum and 'Uncle Paul'

One of the great things about Christmas is that you get to see friends you haven't seen for a long time. So it was a real treat when 'Uncle Paul', Calum's godfather came to visit with his partner Shelly who is absolutely lovely.

Paul leads a very busy life and, like a lot of people, is not terribly good at keeping in touch. We hadn't seen him for over six months but he made a special effort to drive over from Milton Keynes.

We caught up on all his news and he told us one of his New Year's resolutions was to see more of Calum.

Let's hope he manages to keep it!