What a weekend!

The weekend was certainly full-on and it ended with great excitement on the football field, didn’t it?

We watched the football round at Michael and Danielle’s. Danielle’s Mum and Dad are visiting from Jersey so it was an opportunity to invite their Coventry rellies round for a festive meal and an afternoon of telly goggling. Opinions were divided as to who would win the World Cup Final – who we wanted to win; whether it would be sealed in the 90 minutes; or would Extra Time be required? Or…. horror of horrors….penalties? A little bit of betting went on with a pound here for a 3-2 victory to Argentina; or a pound there for a 2-1 victory to France; or maybe another pound for Messi to score first, and so on.

Mid-way through the second half, I was bored and I said so. I think the French heard me because from that moment on, they picked up their game and scored two goals in quick succession. How thrilling it was when it went to penalties, and we were all thanking goodness that it wasn’t England in that situation – none of us can bear to watch that!

Anyway, an Argentina win, in the end, with tears all round on the French team.

However, for me, the highlight of the day wasn’t the football. Oh, no. The highlight was seeing Santa in two different guises today…….. Here he is as a baby….. little Oliver all dressed up in his Santa suit, that Grannie Morrin had brought over from Jersey. Ace!

And here he is as a grown-up with his sleigh to take the children’s orders from their Christmas lists. The children were too shy to talk though, of course, so he gave them a sweetie and told them to be good instead.

Meanwhile, leading up to today’s excitement, we had had the thrill of hosting Freddie for a sleepover on Friday night. It was lovely. He was a delight and such good company.

When he arrived, I wondered whether he was up to decorating the Christmas tree which had been waiting for him to arrive. “Not just yet,” he said thoughtfully, “maybe after tea.” I wasn’t convinced he’d remember or really want to do it after tea, but yes, he did. So we set on and hung all kinds of baubles – those made of glass or plastic or…. chocolate, of course! “Oh, look! This one doesn’t have a bit of string on it, Grandma. What shall we do with it?” Well, eat it, of course!!!

Here is Freddie, pleased as punch with his handiwork……

On Saturday, we were up and at ’em early because Freddie had a swimming lesson. “Will you come and watch, Grandma?” he pleaded. “And get in? They have floats to play with afterwards!!” I promised to go and watch. We were going out for lunch over to Dave and Chris’s in the afternoon, so I didn’t think I had time for a swim beforehand.

But, boy, was I impressed with Freddie’s swimming. He listened attentively to the swimming teacher and tried to do exactly as she said. “Can he swim?” I had asked Paul when we arrived, and the reply had been ‘sort of’. Well, Freddie could certainly swim yesterday. For the first time, he swam a whole length on his back – without a float. Absolutely brilliant.

Paul discussed Freddie’s progress with the teacher at the end of the session, and she explained (and demonstrated) to Freddie he just needed to include the action of his arms. The lesson over, Freddie jumped straight in and promptly executed the best backstroke I’ve seen in a long time. I was a very proud Grandma.

John and I hopped in the car at mid-day and drove over to Dave and Chris’s. What a wonderful afternoon we had. Chris cooked the most delicious roast chicken dinner, with all the trimmings and, most important of all, lots of veg and gravy, and then an apple crumble and custard for pudding. We were in heaven.

It is just so good to be among friends and to share food together before an afternoon of chat. We are very blessed.

Just after five o’clock we said our goodbyes so that we could be across to babysit for Freddie again. Paul and Harriet were booked to see the Peter Kay show in Birmingham. John was weary and thought he’d be better off at home, so Paul and Harriet dropped him off on their way and left me to another pleasant evening in Freddie’s company.

We watched TV for a while and then I suggested we switch it off and play a game. “What shall we play?” I wondered. “Let’s play Poo Bingo!” Freddie replied, his eyes shining. Made me laugh. I’d not heard of that one before. But it was a really good game and we had some fun. Freddie won. Ha! I shall be back for my revenge…….

After I’d put Freddie to bed and seen Lily off out to her friend’s house, I spent the evening filling up party bags with sweets and toys ready for Freddie’s birthday party today. Apparently, the party was loud (20 screaming 6-7 year olds) and William said he’d had to put his hands over his ears, but it was very enjoyable, with a scientist showing them all sorts of experiments. Sounds cool. Lucky, lucky boy.

And, like a whirlwind, the weekend is over. It’s been full-on fun. Lucky, lucky us – we have such a lot to be thankful for, even among the struggles of all the health issues we face.

Take care everyone. Stay safe – there’s a lot of sniffles about. God bless.