Another winter, another heavy fall. Cue much frollicking in the garden, some tasteful (if a little dark; I should have aimed the camera at something else) shots of an immaculately white garden - oh, and a snow dog. It didn't win Matt's 'best snow sculpture' award but I do think it's a worthy entrant.
Butlins is afflicted with a somewhat chavish (chavesque?) reputation, but this was a fun week. We visited the Minehead complex, and spent the week meeting Pingu and Bob the Builder, lapping up the rides at the children's funfair, enjoying numerous visits to the soft play area and consuming vast quantities of hospital canteen food. And A Good Time Was Had By All.
Daniel, our third son, was born in mid-April. He is the only one of our children who couldn't wait to get started. His brothers adored him, and so did we. Elsewhere: lambs, pirate cakes, treasure boxes and outfits, Scooby Doo beds, Muppet t-shirts, Lego sculptures, an assertive Rosina and a lot of mud. Oh, and a bicycle.
A tour-de-force through the first few months of randomness: our sixties-themed Murder Mystery right at the beginning of January; a wintry excursion to the Cotswold Wildlife Park to mark Emily's birthday; a romantic Valentine's weekend in Barmouth, Wales, WITHOUT THE CHILDREN; and fun at the Abingdon Air Show in May. We conclude with a stop off at Hatton Farm Village, which saw Joshua playing with various animals who were quite pleased to see him, and another who wasn't sure at all.
August: another Greenbelt, with headlining performances from Athlete, Cornershop and Duke Special. Contributors' Hospitality was as busy as ever but the rain stayed away. In October we headed up to Shropshire and made the most of some beautiful autumn weather by heading round a few National Trust venues, and in December we caught up with Miriam and Dave in Stockport, visiting the Quarry Bank Mill, and taking the Folk Train to Hathersage, and the burial site of Little John. Goodness, that's an excessive use of Title Case.
In early December we enjoyed a couple of excursions - the first to London on an eventful day that would see us dropping in at the local A&E the next morning. Christmas itself was a jolly, unhurried affair with walks, cakes and enormous stockings in day-glo luminous colour schemes. At the end of the month we trekked up to Shropshire for the year's closing murder mystery party, this one about the assassination of a wealthy chocolatier. Emily wore her pink pyjamas. To dinner.