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Happy birthday Glenn!

It's been a weekend of celebrations which have spilled into this week and carry on for another little while yet, all to mark Glenn's big 50. It's fair to say none of us feel like he should be 50 - surely that's the age old people were when we were young, but if it's true then let's make the most of it. The party started on Saturday afternoon when friends started to arrive for his birthday bash at the local pub. We had 30 friends from all over come and join us for a lovely evening of food, wine and music from the last 5 decades, all courtesy of Glenn's play list. This meant quite a lot of reminiscing. Not just from him but everyone else. We rolled home just before 2am having had an amazing evening. Given the abstention on my part of late on the alcohol front I decided to drive in the end, proving to myself I definitely don't need to have a drink to have fun. It also meant I was hangover free on Sunday morning, a good job as someone had to walk the dogs and amuse the girls. Glenn on the other hand might have polished off quite a lot of Prosecco, white wine and then at least half a bottle of port (the other half enjoyed by George) and had a slightly fuzzy head in the morning. He went to bed as chatty as anything stating 'I don't think I'll even have a headache in the morning...', only to wake in the morning with the statement 'I think there's an elephant on my head, I don't remember going to bed...!' A full English and a lie down in front of moto GP finally addressed that.

Yesterday afternoon Glenn headed into London, leaving the girls in the safe hands of Nanny Di and
we had another amazing evening, this time a room on the 50th floor of The Shard and dinner at a
Michelin starred restaurant, Hakkasan. The Shard was just incredible - views all the way across London, the highest bar in the city and prices to match. You only celebrate being 50 once though so all worth it. We had a lie in this morning, a rare event indeed, and then wandered over to Covent Garden for brunch and more cake (I might have mentioned it was his birthday), before catching the train home.

Being home on a Tuesday meant that I could go and cheer from the sidelines of a school match - almost unheard of for me. Izzy was playing Hockey away and Abi at home. In St Gabriels match seemed a bit uncoordinated but this was a bit different. The girls came out playing well and once they hit into the swing of things it actually looked like a proper game of hockey. Abi was a bit hesitant at first but then scored the first goal for her team (cue huge shouts from us) and was away. She played really well and was awarded Man of the Match - very proud Mum and Dad! Izzy's afternoon was more coaching in nature but she loved the trip out in the mini bus, a chance to visit another school
and learn some new skills. Oh and of course, the match tea!


Both girls have taken to Thorngrove brilliantly. Today watching Abi on the field being congratulated with hugs from her team mates was just lovely, and watching Izzy coming out of her class, laughing and chatting with her new friend Effie as though they've known each other for years - it feels like we made the right decision. They are full of positive comments about the school, teachers and their class mates. Abi has already been off to see new friends last weekend, Izzy is doing the same next - I think it's all going to be just fine.

With all this coming and going we've been trying to find somewhere where Bertie can go when we are away. This hasn't proved easy as we started looking for someone to have both of them which limits the options. In the end we decided Scooby is best with Di, so it's just Bertie. We mentioned it toa friend who lives in the village and she recommended a family who live in a neighbouring village.
We went to have a look and immediately knew it was right - what a relief! So off went Bertie for his
first sleep over and he loved it - another problem sorted locally. I love living here.

So, a few days respite and then this weekend we have tickets for Madness at Newbury Races with George and Deb, life clearly starts at 50!


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