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I'm now a mother-in-law!
3 Weeks Ago

So, we've been to Japan again, this time for the big event.
Had a fantastic time, meeting the bride's family, getting togged up in a kimono & participating in the wedding. Only shame was that it poured with rain all day, with violent winds late afternoon courtesy of a typhoon off the nearby coast.
Subsequent programme a little challenging for my Mum, so various compromises made. All in all a terrific trip, managed to speak quite a bit of Japanese.

Ugh, back to grubby UK, jet lagged, unpacking, washing, cooking etc. Looking forward to the next trip!

(3 replies, Latest reply: 2 Weeks Ago)

Eye of the storm
Sep 25, 2009

is where I feel I'm at ...

Just had elder son & fiancee over from Japan staying for a week. What with sister-in-law also visiting, expeditions to sights & shops as well as practicing speaking Japanese, it's been a little tiring!

Ahead of us are final arrangements for our trip out to Japan for the wedding. Having to convince my Mum she'll be fine wearing a kimono, organising excursions & transport details. While we're there, at least some of the days we'll be looked after - then we're on our own!

(When we get back it'll be time to get ready for Christmas )

(2 replies, Latest reply: Sep 26, 2009)

Duck in difficulties
Aug 20, 2009

Earlier this Summer we re-stocked our duck compound with five young Indian Runners, all different colours <cute smiley>

Within a couple of days they'd mastered going up a run into their house at night & soon found their pond. What's more important, mastered getting out of it... Now they're nearly fully feathered & don't rush away quite so quickly when anyone approaches.

This is just as well as one of them has developed a limp. So this afternoon we managed to separate the patient & transport her to the vet. (We think it's female - one of them is a male but we can't remember which & won't be able to tell until he gets his curly tail feathers & starts molesting the females.)

Home again, minus £20 and faced with dosing one unwilling patient with painkillers & antibiotics. Could be a messy week ahead!

(5 replies, Latest reply: Sep 13, 2009)

Where are the night trains?
May 3, 2009

Network Rail apparently doesn't believe in people having an evening out & getting home by train...

Went to Hampton Court yesterday to see Rick Wakeman's Six Wives of Henry VIII
The concert did end a lot later than originally scheduled, so my timetable immediately went haywire. Managed to catch the last train from Hampton Court (23.24 pm), across London by tube (not helped that the Victoria line was closed all weekend for engineering works ) to arrive at Kings Cross (00.38 am) to find that the 1.00 am train we expected to catch no longer exists. One train about to depart going about half way home; the uninterested staff informing us that the station would then close until morning
Ah well, half way home seemed better than nothing...
Met up with a fellow concert goer & shared a taxi the remainder of the way ( ) to finally arrive home about 2.30 am .

That doesn't seem excessively late to be travelling home after a night out. What's happened to rail as a public service?

(3 replies, Latest reply: May 3, 2009)

Something exciting ahead
Feb 9, 2009

After a rather grim start to the year, some exciting news today. Elder son has just got engaged !
Makes me feel rather old somehow The wedding is planned for the Autumn, in Japan, so I'm already thinking about travel plans, outfits etc. I expect we'll be feeling rather poor by the end of the year...

(5 replies, Latest reply: Feb 12, 2009)