Family knighthood

At the weekend I had a welcome visit from my sister, brother-in-law and two nephews.  They turned up with cake in hand, which was devoured within minutes of their arrival, washed down with tea.  My 7yr old nephew Dan was most excited as he hadn't met little Oscar before, and the last time we had a visit from the family, he was unable to come due to a cold.  He decided to throw a tantrum as he was missing out last time.

Oscar was passed quite happily from one family member to another, each enjoying a cuddle until my other nephew, Josh, announced he could smell something horrid and has a warm feeling on his leg.  I think he was still holding Oscar at the time.  The red "pop a vein in the forehead" expression on his face was an instant give away on my son's face.

Dan was telling me about the occasion recently when he was accidentally knighted at school to become sports captain.  A strange ritual that I'm sure I didn't go through in the 80's, but then I was never a very "sporty" child.  I was always stuck in goal, as I was useless on the pitch.  Those cold winter days, I'd wait  for what would seem like an eternity for the ball to come in my direction, and then with my arms outstretched and shivering, I'd try in vain to catch the ball.  Then I was cursed by my team for being useless.  I was always better at softy sports like tennis and running.

Anyway I digress, back to Dan's knighthood.....

He told us all at the weekend, much to our amusement, he was recently given a "knighthood by accident" at school.  The question by the headmaster was posed "Who would like to volunteer to become sports captain, and in recognition of this, receive a knighthood?"  At the timely moment, Dan had an itch and scratched his head, and all of a sudden...he was knighted!

Here's Josh and Dan enjoying a moment with their sleepy cousin.

Babies, boys and their toys and bills

As a proud new parent to little Oscar, the bags under my now dark eyes are quite well developed.  Bags large enough to cater for the England Cricket team.  My wife and I are enjoying being new parents....on the whole!  

Whenever we have a conversation with anyone and everyone about babies, and tell them about our new born, the common question is "Is he sleeping through the night yet?".....and the common answer we give is "No, but I'm sure we'll get there"....What we need, when someone asks that age-old predictable question, is a button or a lever on our body which we just press for the appropriate response.

On the subject of sleep deprivation, Oscar still hasn't grasped the notion of being more awake during the day and sleeping at night.  Although we have to constantly remind ourselves that we can't expect too much from Oscar as he did arrive seven weeks early and is still new-born.  No new-born sleeps all through the night...unless they've been sedated!  

My radio shows over the last few weeks have been aided by plenty of coffee and food to keep me alert and awake.  I make a concerted effort to talk more in between the songs, otherwise, I'll nod off.  

Cars....

Now that our family circumstances have changed, for an absolute age, I have been promising my wife, I'll invest in a new car.  It's time to say goodbye to my "motorised shopping trolley" that has taken me the equivalent distance of halfway to the moon!  It's served me well but after thumbing through countless glossy car mags I decided to "go hunting"......I drove to Oxford to test drive a new car, the one that back in the 80s was much ridiculed and mocked for being an appalling car and an embarrassment!  It's now got a fine reputation and after a must-have VAT free deal plus a couple of extras, I signed on the dotted line.   My wallet opened for the first time in a while. Moths appeared and am still feeling shaky and light-headed from the whole ordeal.

I'm sure I'll keep it until I've clocked up another equivalent trip to the moon.

Bills.....

As if the pain of parting with cash for a new car hasn't hurt enough, I've now been reminded of an outstanding tax bill due now.  Time for a lie down.  

One of my favourite photos at the moment.....