I’m exhausted

I am exhausted. Henry is a bundle of energy and, rightly, whilst he’s with us that has been inflicted on us. It’s common knowledge that C’s not great when she’s had an interrupted night’s sleep (she makes up for it with faultless admin) and so, like when Henry was born, I’m number two on the midnight nappy and bottle shift. Along with that, our serene balanced and ordered days have been shattered by two additional people, one of whom requires constant attention. And it’s been fab. Henry is easily the best thing that’s happened to the pair of us since, I guess, we left the school and drove off into the sunset. Not only is he our grandchild, which makes him special, but he is also a beautiful and contented baby. If you look at him, he smiles. if you put him on the kitchen floor he will entertain himself for ages playing with anything that’s lying about (we try not to leave sharpened cutlery lying about). Sure he grizzles (who doesn’t?) but he never seeks attention. In our eyes he’s as perfect as he can be.

[image error] As perfect as they can be

Thankfully, however, they’re not with us for long otherwise we might need post-visit medical intervention. He’s a big lad for 6 months and weighs in at 11 bags of sugar. That’s quite a lot to pick out of a travel cot when your back’s as abused as mine. And he’s strong. He’ll fight you if he wants to get out of a hold, and you need all of your strength to stop him falling to the floor.

All in all … it is a pleasure. And we have a few more weeks of this. Yippee

Other stuff, but not much, has gone on. Bex continues to isolate (10 days is the charter), but having had one post-it-somewhere test come back negative, she went for a voluntary early release test in Clifton yesterday (yes, she’s allowed to travel for that – I’m not quite sure how that works. I drove her into Bristol …). And should that come back negative tomorrow, she can venture out. She still has to take a day 8 test (by post), before the government give her the all clear. Bear in mind she paid for a test before she left Korea, the total cost of testing is close to £700. And those costs will apply to any one thinking of holidaying in a orange flagged country. A family of four – around £2000 in tests.

We had Annie and Alasdair around for a lovely alfresco lunch yesterday (Bex stayed inside) and C’s sister is coming tomorrow, and Jen and James tomorrow night. We’re hoping to use our pals’ Peter and Karen’s pool on Saturday and take Henry for his first swimming lesson. I wasn’t a bad swimmer as did our Jen (we both competed). So we might have a budding Michael Phelps on our hands. Then it’s off north on a round-robin relies trip with Bex from Tuesday. We’ll have a chance to have a new satellite dish fitted (£2350 … yikes) and spend a couple of days with mum whilst Bex is doing her round-robin. And then we collect and her head off (with Jen) to Cornwall. That last bit looks a little bit like a family holiday. I look forward to reporting on that.

As perfect as they can be

I’ve had some minor work/coaching telephone calls. And I bit the bullet and bought a new internet extender for Doris. The old one was 8 years old and one part was irrecoverably broken. In the UK you can buy one of two systems: a Motorhome Wifi package which costs close to £200; or an Alfanet package (like our old one) … and that’s close to £150. Ebay has a dribble of second hand ones, but I lost a Motorhome Wifi bid at £92. By then I thought I might as well buy a new one for peace of mind. Anyhow, you can buy the two major parts separately for the Alfanet package for £85 … which I did. I was concerned because the system is not specifically set up for mobile use and requires some digital know how. I needn’t have worried I connected it and it worked first time. Fab. So broken loo and internet fixed. Tick. (Any questions about any of this, just DM me; I’m more than happy to help.)

And we have the gasman coming on Friday. I don’t do full annual habitation services on Doris (£150) as most of the stuff you can check yourself. Except the gas. I last had her done three years ago, so it’s probably about time we did it again. A man with a van is coming … £75. As you can see, it can be an expensive business.

I think that’s enough. There’s probably a nappy to change, or some toys to pick up before one of us ends up on our backside.

Oh, hang on. I think I’m v close to getting a new narrator. She’s very, very good. And as she’ll have some ownership, she might do wonders for the whole marketing shebang.

Wish me luck on nappy duty … and stay safe.