The truth, the whole truth and nothing but...

Today we had to appear in Camberwell magistrates court as witnesses to an act of vandalism last October! The trial had already been delayed once (we went to court in November last year, but were never called into the court) and it is very difficult to remember events from 5 months ago! What impressed me most was the standard of the witness area - comfortable sofas, kitchen, magazines, toys for Jude etc. - which we were very grateful for as we had to wait 5 hours before being called!! Eventually it was decided that only one of Annie and I had to give evidence in court as our statements were very similar. I decided to do it and was glad I did (I think Annie was too!) - it was really interesting to be cross examined; I was amazed at how the solicitor tried to manipulate what I said. We don't know the outcome yet, but I expect that the defendent will be convicted given the looks on the magistrates' faces. Turns out he's also up for GBH or something similar - the vandalism (smashing a car window) was just what happened afterwards...

Happy Mothers Day Mum!

Its Mothers Day here in the UK and this post is to send our love to 3 very special mums: Annie, Nanna, and Grandma. Happy Mothers Day to all of you - you really are great Mums!!

Post match report

The knees held up ok in the match - I played the full 90 mins, I must have been under the influence of adrenaline as they didn't hurt much at the time, but have started to ache since getting home. Following a request from James to report the score as well, we lost 3-1. On the upside I scored our goal...!

Judes Auntie Marianne comes to visit!

Jude had a lovely time playing with and being read to by his (honourary) auntie Marianne (Annies cousin) last sunday. It will be lovely to see you again Marianne, and you too Manish!

DIY Jude

Jude loves to help mum & dad with whatever they're doing - here he is helping dad put together a cabinet yesterday!:

Good news on Ant's patella tendon injury - played 5-a-side last night and it doesn't feel too bad. The big test will be 11-a-side competative league match on Saturday...watch this space...

A satisfying Saturday

Yesterday was a good day. We started by having a full English breakfast with friends at a greasy spoon on Peckham High Street; I'm thinking about sending in a review to Russell Davies. That set us up for the day, so we went straight on to 'Pets at Home' to buy some new fish for the severly depleted tank.
We ended up going for some Black Neon Tetra and some new plants; we'll wait to see how these guys get on before getting any more! In the afternoon, the boys went to soft play at Peckham Pulse and Annie got the chance for a civilised coffee out with a friend. We watched the rugby (and cursed the luck of the Irish!), but things improved later in the evening when a whole bunch of friends turned up to watch Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind - a really great film!

Arctic Monkeys in Peckham?

A friend told me that the Arctic Monkeys were recording a video here in Peckham outside her house on Ledbury Street. Sure enough, when I went round there this evening, there were lights, cameras, and best of all a drumkit set up in the Ledbury Estate. No confirmation that it was definitely the AM's, but fun to see nonetheless!

South Africa or bust?

It may well be a case of South Africa and bust the way things are shaping up at the moment. For a while now we've been aiming to get to South Africa in early 2007 - Cape Town to be specific. The plan has been for me to get a secondment with work, the easiest (or so we thought) way to get to, and work in, SA for a while. The London office have been great, really helpful in trying to arrange the secondment, but it just seems as though the Cape Town office has no capacity for new staff. So, the debate: try harder, wait a while or resign and look for other work in Cape Town?? As yet no answer to that question (so I guess its an implied wait then!), but we can't wait indefinitely; we still all feel that SA is the right direction to go in.

NASA landsat image of Cape Town.

Tonsilitis

Well, this weekend has gone past very quickly. Annie has tonsilitis, which has knocked her out completely. Jude and I helped friends move house on Saturday, then Uncle Andy, Aunty Nicky and her boyfriend Dave came over in the afternoon. Andy brought back presents from Australia, including a t-shirt for Jude which reads 'If you think I'm cute you should see my uncle' - I'll leave you to draw your own conclusions on that; here's the last photo I have of them together...

Ladies, no requests for telephone numbers please

(Jude hasn't learnt how to dial them yet).

The truth about the cardigan

Well, it looks like you shouldn't believe everything you read on the internet. I have been reliably informed by none other than Nana herself, that the jacket worn by Jude (see post below 28 February) was not only worn by his dad (and uncle and aunt) but was originally his nana's and is about 53 years old!! It was bought for her by grandnan & bomber when they went to Norway. So, the trendsetters are revealed - here they are:
thanks Nan & Bomber!

Catch up on SA photos - CapeTown

So, when we were in South Africa we went to Capetown - all three of us are hopeful that we will be living there next year! While we were there we saw Marcelle and Gordon - Judes Godparents. We also spent a lot of time by the sea! We usually went to FishHoek or Camps bay beach. FishHoek is on the warm (Indian Ocean) side of South Africa, so at times the water is air temperature. Jude also seemed to enjoy the beach, especially eating sand!

Gone astray

I've spent some time today trying to find 'decent' websites; since getting connected I've quickly confirmed for myself that 99.9% of what's on the web is rubbish! Fortunately, given the size of the web, that still leaves millions of great sites - its just a case of finding them! So, if I come across any decent links I'll try to post them.
Whilst checking out the Bible gateway site today (I like the 'listen to the Bible' option!) I came across a link to Reverendfun.com where I found this cartoon

He may have gone astray - but I think it would be quite hard for that sheep to get lost...

Ant

Trip to Brighton

Today we went to Brighton for Catie's 30th birthday - I told her that 30 was a good age as its the product of two consecutive numbers (5 x 6)!? Note to self: never try to find parking in central Brighton in the middle of a Saturday ever again [it took over an hour to park]. It was a beautiful day - clear blue skys but very cold. We had time to browse the shops in the 'Lanes'. Here's a link to some pics.