(Shame you never requested one!)
Yes, we are up at the “crack of sparrows”, to borrow a Kath & Kim malapropism. For the last couple nights, we have needed the fan on full blast to sleep as temps have been around 20 degrees at night-time. It’s also the first time the boys haven’t slept with us – I think it is too hot for them with the four of us in the bed. This has set back weeks of training on our part to get them to go to bed when we do and get up when we do. Usually, we can calm them down again when their dawn madness kicks in, but today we had no chance – so here we are, up and dressed at an ungodly hour, while the boys wage war on each other all around us. In fairness, Matt is highly engrossed in his prototype he is building at the moment, so as soon as he is woken up/wakes up he is eager to get stuck in again in any case.
More cat news: we have finally allowed the boys outside. After the successful experiment I described in the last entry, we decided to let them explore all of the back garden, under close supervision – and they LOVED it. The supervision is definitely needed though: both of them seem intent on climbing the highest tree they can find; a bit of a problem when neither of them has worked out how to climb down yet. I have already had to climb up myself to get them both down from one of the more accessible trees. I fear having to call out les pompiers one of these days as we have several trees that are all trunk and no branch for around 30 feet that they are most eager to get stuck in. Not the brightest creatures…
After several blazingly hot days, we had our first proper summer storm yesterday – a belter in terms of rainfall and thunder. Hasn’t cleared the air though: we are due more of the same today, but then we go right back to 30+ degrees and clear skies. This is good timing as Dave & Rosie should be pitching up this afternoon, so we should get in some good pool action over the next few days. I am not sure what yesterday’s rain will have done to the pool’s temperature, but when I checked it on Sunday, it had hit an optimum 26 – yummy! Back to Dave & Rosie, they left the UK on Monday by car, taking the Dover – Calais crossing, and planned to stop over for the night in Le Mans (about 4 hours from here) to break up the drive. We are expecting them some time this afternoon and all is in readiness: house cleaned, bed made, food and wine supplies topped up.
We have a BBQ planned for this evening (could be a bit of a wash-out!), and Sharon will be joining us before returning to the UK for a week. We shall be adopting Oscar while she is away. Apart from that, we are largely planless so we will see what the guests feel like. Right, think that is it for now- think I will head off to shower.
Oh, one last thing: football. We were back round Ridgit’s on Sunday for the England-Germany game, and had a lovely afternoon. We enjoyed home-made pizzas cooked in a proper pizza oven, and an extremely feisty cocktail Richard created. It basically contained everything he could lay his hands on – vodka, wine, pimms, rum, fruit juices, mint and cucumber. It was an organgish-green in colour and so was christened a Green Island Ice Tea (as in an English version of the Long Island Ice Tea). So anyway, I don’t care that England lost – sport never moves me – but nonethess, I was so galled by what I witnessed. The ball crossed the line and we all saw it! Within seconds, video footage was available to everyone on Earth, confirming beyond doubt that the ball was about a foot over goal line. Everyone on Earth, that is, except the sodding referee. Why invest in state-of-the-art equipment if you won’t bloody well use it?! I refuse to watch a game ever again (no great sacrifice to be honest!) until they sort this out. Yes, England lost, but they lost 4-2, not 4-1. That is all.