Easter 2008 was about as early as it's possible for Easter to get. We packed up the Subaru and headed west on Good Friday to spend the weekend in Shropshire, amidst family, dogs and comparatively sunny weather. Featured: bun-making sessions in the chapel; lambing with Rose; Autny Miriam’s birthday cake, and the first appearance of Dotty the collie. Cute puppy eyes. Awww.
It was a little strange, having such a heavy fall of snow as late as April, but we made the most of it before the inevitable thaw (which came only a day later). My parents were visiting that Sunday, so Joshua went into the garden with Gramps, and the resulting session forms the basis for this gallery. The photos speak, I think, for themselves, so I have left them caption free. Many thanks to my father, who took many of the best of these.
In May 2008, our company had a strategy meeting in Philadelphia, where our U.S. office is based. These photos show what I got up to once we'd finished eating pastries and talking about directions and policies. Included: a sunrise over the Delaware, a tour of the art gallery, where we succumbed to peer pressure and did the Rocky steps thing, and an excursion to Atlantic City, which was full of towering hotels, swanky casinos, and miles and miles of beach – as well as the tallest lighthouse in New Jersey.
This year: Thomas learns to love his bath, Josh creates a couple of culinary masterpieces, Miriam and Dave do a little dance (make a little love, get down tonight), we are formally introduced to cousin Isaac, Joshua has a little accident with a bean bag, a hedgehog turns up, and there are assorted birthday parties. And lots of cake. Mmm. Cake. And now I'm hungry.
Another of our annual excursions to the Welsh coast, with the usual mixture of digging, swimming and eating. After we were done in Wales we headed back to Shropshire for the Bishop's Castle Holiday Club, run once more by the inimitable Mrs Knight, and this year carrying an oceanic theme to tie in with the subject matter, which happened to be Jonah. For those of you who don't know, Jonah was a whinging coward. He happened to be played by yours truly. I swear I was being typecast.
We've visited the south coast twice in October, both times to celebrate an anniversary, and on both occasions it's been one of those anomalous weekends where the nation at large has experienced bright sunshine and abnormally high temperatures - the last vestiges of an Indian summer before the autumn kicks in good and proper. There was a lot of sand and sun, a dearth of ice cream and an English channel that was perishing cold, but a good time was had by all (and at least the pool was warm).
One of the things about the festive season is that if you're anything like us you spend a lot of time running around seeing everyone. Thus, Christmas Day was spent in the company of Miriam and Dave, and my parents. Boxing Day we went to High Wycombe. New Year was spent in Shropshire with the Knights, where we went on some glorious wintry walks that form the second half of this gallery. But still. After all that travelling it's kind of nice to get back to work for a rest....