Hasn't She Grown!

Here's Nat's baby Olivia who popped in to see us this morning.We haven't seen her for a short while and she has really grown. Nat left us recently to spend more time with her baby and we can certainly understand why as she is a lovely little girl and full of fun and energy.

And speaking of lovely girls, we are missing Rebekah already. She left us a card with some very kind sentiments and we know that she has a brilliant future ahead of her. We're missing Lauren too and poor Marion and Jenny now have to cope with an office full of men. I just read that Labour has imposed women only shortlists on over half the seats of retiring MPS at the next election. Maybe we will have to do the same when we next recruit.



The decision on the new car has finally been made and we have gone for the Toyota Prius. We test drove it and its performance is not a patch on the Mercedes 320CDI but hey we are supposed to be going green and at over double the mpg it will have to be a price worth paying. It's good to see that Toyota must be doing OK as the waiting time for the new car is over 20 weeks. It seems that leather and the solar sun roof options are the cause of the hold up but we've always had a sun roof and don't want to do without one.



Did you see David Mitchell on "Who do you think you are" last night? I don't usually watch this programme but as a big fan of David M I gave it a try. It was fascinating to see the history of his great and great great Scottish grandparents but, after dwelling on the wonderful deeds of one of these ( A Reverend Forbes) who had saved factory girls and managed to educate young islanders sufficiently for them to go to university, with comic timing a distant cousin turned up with this paragon's will which included this amazing bequest

"To my beloved wife personally I cannot entrust anything. Prudence and my sense of duty forbid it. I do it with grief and pain, because she has, during the last 18 years, proved herself utterly unworthy of trust or confidence, being unfortunately addicted to the vice of intemperance. Contracting debts without my knowledge or permission. Imprudent and without any proper regard to necessary economy. Generally disobedient to the admonitions, advices and directions which were kindly given to her for her own best interest, both by myself and by her relatives and friends. Constantly trying to avoid the vigilance that has been used to prevent her from going wrong ... I earnestly request that there be very little drinking at my funeral." As Nancy Banks Smith said in this morning's Guardian "His wake was, one conjectures, a singularly sober affair apart, of course, from Mrs Forbes' highland fling."

Daughter Sarah arrived home last night for a few days. We'll have to organise a few days out. Knowsley Safari Park is just down the road. Perhaps we should give it a try. Or there again maybe not.