The Cats are 5 today!

It's official, Biscuit IS a lap-cat!!! ..but only under specific conditions:
1. Only if one of us is sitting on the settee, not on a chair, not in the kitchen....just the settee and the front-room 
2. Only if it's on the right hand side.
3. Only if she feels like it

Cats huh!

Bon-Bon meanwhile continues to avoid laps at all costs, and still fights a bit when we pick her up - and runs a mile if we place her on our lap!

Patsy, continues to provide a first-class grooming service and although the cats both put-up a hell-of-a-fight when we put them in the cat-carriers, they soon quieten down. It's a six-weekly ritual now and we think we've got the interval about right.

The cats continue to love the garden and are out there whenever they have an opportunity to whinge at a nearby human!. The weather doesn't seem to be a deterrent and they've even got used to playing in the snow. Biscuit seems to have lost her wanderlust and although she sits on the fence a lot, she goes no further! Bon-Bon doesn't 'do fences', she's got a lot more body-mass to launch - she prefers stay firmly on the ground - definitely a cat with no-aLtitude - arff arff!

They're both still eating both wet and dry food - we're now buying the dry stuff from Zooplus in bulk. A great service and about half the price of the shops. I wish we could do the same for the wet variety. They both still drink the green pond-water in preference to the fresh stuff inside, although since I also put an extra bowl of water outside they tend to make that their first stop whenever we let them out.

Their morning routine continues. As soon as I'm up, Bon-Bon is ahead of me, waiting for me to open the patio-doors. Biscuit still prefers to lie-in, but occasionally joins Bon-Bon but then returns to her corner of our bed as soon as she can. We think Biscuit has swallowed a magnet because when she's inside, she seems to be attached to radiators...as long as they're warm!

The still occasional have a 'mega-chase' round the house - but it's a bit of a rarity now, as they prefer to sleep during their down-time.

They're getting better at responding to their names, but because they're cats, when they want to ignore the humans they will.

The Cat-Tower is where they spend most of their day-time (when they're not sleeping on our bed, or in Biscuit's case, by a radiator!) At night, they still both follow us up to bed. Biscuit is normally there first, and straight up onto the bed. She now regularly expects a bit of a comb-out before settling down on the corner of my side of the bed. Bon-Bon tends to take the other corner, and I'm beginning to think we should have bought a bigger bed..wider anyway!

Bon-Bon still has this habit of tapping plants with her paw - weird!!! - a sort of 'handshake' - and she's still offering her paw when we hold out our hand  - very dog-like.

We tried them in a cattery over Christmas whilst we were away, and although the place did all the right things - I think they both missed the constant human company (and running around on the lawn). On reflection, I think we're going to avoid catteries for that reason in the future.

The cat from opposite, who had a spate of terrorising Bon-Bon, in previous years, doesn't seem to be around anymore - so that's good news for ours!

They've not grown very much in a year, but Bon-Bon's fur (especially during the months of November and December) seems to get thicker and thicker - the result is that during that period, she looks twice the size of Biscuit and needs extra grooming.

So, there we are - another year on, we're all a bit older and maybe a bit wiser too! The cats are great company and are becoming even more affectionate - especially with strangers.

Happy 5th Birthday Biscuit and Bon-Bon!!

BayField House - Day One

We had a horrendous night's sleep on the ship (as we thought we would) because of the sea conditions. It seemed to be that we woke every few minutes or so, to coincide with every violent twist and turn of the Ship.

However, we were still up-and-about by 7.30 finishing off our last minute packing and getting ready to disembark. Ralph and I queued to settle our bills and caused some confusion because Ralph wanted to settle our bill with his credit card!!

We filled in the guest questionnaire and then met up with Ralph and Karen (Birthday girl today!) for our final breakfast on-board. 

We then got our last bits and pieces together and left the Ship. On leaving, we quickly spotted the Stoutes car-hire office and sorted just outside the Terminal and proceeded to fill out the paperwork required to get our transport for the next five-days. We had been worried that the Corolla we ordered wouldn't be big enough to take us four and all our luggage, but fortunately, they upgraded us to larger four-wheel SUV vehicle (A Daihatsu) and it all fitted in without too much trouble. Not sure about the bright red colour though - makes us a bit of a target!! :)

Ralph was first to drive, and we were son heading for our next accommodation - BayField House, run by Trevor (a Brit) and Pam (An American, we think).

We were too early to check-in, so we dumped our bags and we took Trevor up on his recommendation to visit The Round House in Bathsheba on the east-side of the Island. After a slightly scenic tour there, we arrived. Wow! what a view!!!

See the location map HERE


After a great lunch, we headed back to Trevor and Pam's and checked into our rooms. They seem very well appointed and after a local rum-punch created by Trevor, we went to bed for a couple of hours!

18.00. We had a shower and got ready for a visit to the local hostelry - Mullins Restaurant at Mullin's Bay, literally a five-minute walk away.

 
The food, service and atmosphere was fantastic, but I guess at 115 pounds per couple, it should have been!!! Hey, it's only money! - Eeeeekk!!!

22.15. We were almost the last to leave the restaurant (they seem to eat quite early here) and took a slow walk back in the warm evening air and retired at about 10.45.

Out exploring by car tomorrow...

Paul's '50th Birthday' get-together

The party weekend continues!

We popped round to Paul and Karen's just after 3pm where Karen had prepared lashings of great food including some very tasty meatballs - my favourite - and a rather potent sherry and brandy trifle - probably the best trifle I've tasted in years!

I guess there must have been around 50 people there - a mix of us regulars :) - including Tom, Julie, David, Rosi, Stefan, Debbie, Bobby and Stella plus a lot of P and K's family.

It was a great atmosphere and conversation, food and drink flowed smoothly and in large quantities!

Jeff, Paul's Dad made a touching speech after Paul had blown out his candles that was really touching and Paul responded in kind.

Before we knew it, it was 8.30 and time for us to leave and get ready for work tomorrow.

It's been a great day and a pretty full-on weekend - drinking, eating, drinking, eating, drinking, eating, but one of those repetitive tasks that's always enjoyable! Happy Birthday Paul!!

The Party Season Begins...

We drove over the Leicester to pick-up Ann's 25th Anniversary present - jewellery!! However on impulse, we decided not to go back to Goldsmith's where we'd seen some nice stuff last week - instead we dropped into George Tarratt just down the road from Ann's office as they had a much better range (with some eye-watering prices to match!!!) Job done, the item is on order and should be ready for collection next Thursday.

We got back about noon and planned to spend the rest of the afternoon relaxing and getting into the party spirit! It wasn't to be!!! Ann contacted the Vet's to arrange a date to get the cats in for their annual injections, but apparently they come in two parts..and the deadline for 'part 1' was today..this afternoon...right now...in fact they close in 45 minutes!

So, we quickly assembled the cats and placed them in their cat-carriers (more like a battle actually) and drove to the Vet's. Wow! was it busy, full mostly of dogs and one particularly 'yappy' type whose loud 'yap' cut through the air with the ferocity of a loud yappy dog - pass the Anadin purleazze! Unluckily for our eardrums, we must have waited a good 45 minutes, but at least 'yappy' went in before us.

On being seen, the Vet got off to a brisk and well practised routine. Biscuit eventually swallowed the worming tablet after a bit of a struggle, and a bit of foaming at the mouth, but Bob-Bon was having none of it. The Vet decided (in the interest of personal safety) to give her the liquid-on-the-back-of-the-neck version. All done, phew!!! but they're back in two weeks for 'part 2'. I can't wait..!

Onto more pleasant things then. Tonight, it's Julie T's surprise 50th birthday party at the Thornhill Arms. We've only been there once before - back in May 2007 with David and Val, for a meal, so we weren't sure what the function room would be like. We picked up Rosi, David and Rhiannon and took the short drive to the pub arriving around 7pm as planned. (I realised then, that I'd for gotten the camera! Doh!!!) It was raining quite heavily and parking was pretty challenging! Jo and Eileen (Tom's parents) were already there and we all soon settled down in the room that would hold about 80 or so people. Friends gradually arrived and it soon filled up. At around 7.40 Julie and Tom arrived, and although I couldn't actually see Julie's face - I'm told she looked shocked and speechless - and the latter, was apparently, very a very unusual situation!!!!

All-in-all it was a good very good great do. There a was a brilliant party atmosphere and the band that Nick plays bass for - The Felt Tip Thieves did a good gig. Their sound has matured since we saw them last in Kettering in October 2008 at Sopranos. The food was good too!

Tom had done a great job of keeping it all quiet for this long - well done mate!

We left after the Band had finished, dropped off Rhiannon and collapsed into bed around 11.45.

Continuing in the party spirit, tomorrow, we're round to Paul R's for an afternoon of drinking and gossiping as part of the celebration for his 50th birthday!

Angela's 60th Birthday Party

We travelled down to Isleworth today for Angela's 60th birthday party - yes, I know, her birthday was in February!

It's quite a long drive from home, so we arranged to pick-up Denise and Steve in Bedford who'd also been invited � it would have been daft them doing the journey too as they're so close to us. We got to theirs around 1.45 and headed onwards more-or-less immediately towards the M1. That was the easy bit as it turned out that the M25 was the problem area � I'd forgotten to make allowances for the long-term roadworks and consequently, we crawled through them for 30 minutes or so arriving at Angela's just after 3.30.

There was already quite a few people there � the only two we recognised was Rick A and then June P. All-in-all, I guess around 50 people were there in total.

It was a great atmosphere and the food was nothing short of brilliant! A great variety, and not a sausage roll in sight. Angela was a great host and got us mingling! The weather held (just) and we only suffered one downpour. Thoughtfully, Angela had erected a small gazebo adjoining the end of her patio doors, and that gave us all somewhere to shelter from the rain.

After a quick nibble of desserts (also excellent � check-out the mini-cheesecakes!), we said our good-byes and left around 6.45pm and had a good journey back preferring to go via Hangar Lane and M1 north rather than suffer the M25 again. We arrived at Denise and Steve's around 8.15pm and stayed for a coffee and chocolates � Denise had bought me a whole box for doing the driving � yummy!

We left theirs around 9.15 and not long into the journey, there was a torrential down-pour of rain which slowed us down quite a bit. We got in about 9.45 � Ann had a bath and I caught up with a bit of TV.

Gill's 50th

We drove over to Gill's for her 50th lunch buffet and got there about 12.45. About 40-50 people came in total, but we only really knew Steve and Denise. It was a good lunch spread with plenty of variety. We met Gill's Mum, Joan, who I'd met many years ago- but couldn't remember where or when!

Gill had created a short quiz with questions about everyone there and in theory, it was a good way to get everybody talking to each other. In practice, people just traded their answers! But it was still good fun!!!

Nice one Gill � thanks for the invite!!

We left at around 3.30.

Rosi's Get-Together for Ann's Birthday

It was really great of Rosi to offer to host a get-together to celebrate Ann's Birthday. We don't need much of an excuse to meet-up with the neighbours - so this was just perfect!!

We took Karen and Paul with us for the short drive and we arrived there about 7.45.

All the gang was present - Rosi, David, Debbie, Stefan, Karen and Paul. Julie and Tom arrived a little later. Rhiannon and Alex were also there showing their expertise on the Wii. From what I could see, it was a good job I wasn't invited to play as their scores were a lot better than mine - embarrassingly so!

Once we all got chatting, it was clear that most of us were affected directly or indirectly by this current recession. The food lifted our spirits big-time, though; it was, as always, superb! - especially the meat, that was tenderer that a tenderised thing that's fallen into a tenderiser!

I managed to avoid the temptation (just) of any of the desserts with chocolate in them - but it was close! In the end, I settled for Karen's brilliantly smooooooth cheesecake.

The time flew, as it always does when we get together - before we knew it, it was almost 1am - and given that the clocks go forward tonight, I knew we would be trashed in the morning!!

Update: Sunday - yes, we're both completely trashed!!!

Ann's Birthday

I can't remember the last time I WASN'T around for Ann's Birthday - in fact, it's never happened before. I'm not sure how I ended up scheduling myself to work today!

Still, Nicki has been with us for the past two days and they've had great fun doing 'girly-stuff' in my absence.

Pressy-wise, I bought Ann, 'The Duchess' on Blu-ray DVD and 'The Devil's Whore' on DVD (which we only caught one episode of on Channel 4 recently, but it looked good)

The Cats are four years old today

Bon-Bon and Biscuit are four today! 
Compared to their previous Birthday, both are now equally affectionate to us - Bon-Bon had always been a little 'stand-offish', but she's now much more chilled. Biscuit has even strayed onto my lap VERY occasionally! No chance with Bon-Bon though!!!

Since discovering Patsy the cat-groomer over in Rushden, their coats are now looking a lot better. Patsy clearly loves cats and it shows!!
The cats are in the garden at every possible opportunity. The only time when they wouldn't go out was when it snowed recently. Having said that, once I'd cleared the snow out of the way and created a path for them, they were out like a shot.
Food-wise, they're very similar in their tastes. They're both still eating both wet and dry food although experimenting with other wet-types as a replacement for the Purina Gourmet Pearl Mini Fillets brand has resulted in upset stomachs and exploding bottoms - nice! especially with a white cat. Why can't poo match the cat's coat colour?
Their morning routine is the same as last year. As soon as I'm up, Bon-Bon is ahead of me, waiting for me to open the patio-doors. Biscuit still prefers to lie-in, but occasionally joins Bon-Bon but then returns to her corner of our bed as soon as she can.
Bon-Bon will happily stay out there whatever the weather. In fact, she seems to like all weathers - even when it's pissing-down. They both still drink the green pond-water although since I put an extra bowl of water outside they tend to make that their first stop when we let them out.
They are still very comfortable in each other's company. They don't sleep together anymore - I think that was part of the kitten-phase, but at least they get on and don't scrap (apart from the odd 'playful chase').
As last year, it's become a lot easier to get them in from the garden at night. In fact, crouching down and calling them, tends to have them come running. Failing that, turning on the outside light or shaking a sachet of cat-food normally does the trick.
In fact, they're starting to become quite obedient. On a few occasions (note 'few'), call them and they come running!
Biscuit is no longer sitting on the fence (wouldn't make a good HR person then!) that separates us from the neighbours opposite - she now prefers the corner between us, Karen's and where Tom used to live. The interesting thing is that she never strays into the other gardens.
The Cat-Tower is still a fave place for them to sleep during the day.They seem to take it in turns as to who has the top bunk. At night, they still both follow us up to bed. Biscuit is normally there first, and up onto the bed. She now regularly expects a bit of a comb-out before settling down. Bon-Bon still hates being groomed - I never realised cats could growl!!!.
Bon-Bon still has this habit of tapping plants with her paw - weird!!! - a sort of 'handshake' - and she's still offering her paw when we hold out our hand  - very dog-like.
We're not sure what's happened the cat from opposite, but we don't see it as often and it's not terrorising Biscuit and Bon-Bon - apart from one solitary incident earlier this year.
Size-wise, they don't seem to have grown much -they're still similar in size. Fortunately their coats don't seem to get as knotty now - the regular grooming does the trick.

We lurve cats! - especially our two!!
The photo on the left was taken by Nigel when they were kittens. Ahhh!

Roy and Susan's for the weekend

We drove over to Roy and Susan's Saturday afternoon. It was Roy's birthday yesterday and we'd been invited to theirs to help him celebrate!

We stopped of in Huntingdon on the way through and picked up a new cat-carrier. We were a little too early for Roy and Susan's so we remained in the car-park and had a sausage and bacon roll from a greasy-spoon-wagon! Yummy!!!!

We got theirs about 2.20pm Roy was on the drive and he helped us in with our overnight things! It was good to see everyone again. The dogs - Frayer and Casper were as boisterous as ever. Poor Casper though is slowly going blind.

We didn't do much in the afternoon - just chatted about this-and-that, and showed off our Dubai holiday photos. Ann and Roy discussed the retail-trade whilst I faffed around on the NetBook. The girls thought it was good and Susan thought she might get one. Susan and Lauren popped out to tend to Jessie, their horse and before we knew it, it was time to get ready for the restaurant.

Janine's boyfriend John arrived. It was good to see him again. He's even taller now than when we saw him last year - and he was close to 20ft tall then! :)

Roy had chosen The Crown in Broughton - about 30 minutes drive from theirs. We decided to go in two cars. Roy and Susan with us, whilst Lauren took Janine and John.

When we arrived, we could see it was a popular place. The smallish car-park already had about 12 cars in it, so we tucked ourselves in the corner. Not long after, Lauren arrived and parked next to us. Once we got inside, we could see the place was busy (but fortunately, not heaving). We started off with drinks all round. Ann saw they had her favourite - Aspall Cider on draught, whilst I settled for a Guinness.

The service was very efficient and within 10 minutes or so they'd taken our orders. The restaurant was located off to the one-side of the Bar and already about half-full. Once we were all seated, the service was efficient and soon after we were all tucking into our starters. I opted for the chicken pate whilst Ann had the mozzarella. Mains? I had the venison sausages on a bed of spinach and mash whilst Ann had the lamb. We shared the dessert of sponge pudding!

Ann drove back (as I'd had a couple of pints) and as soon as we got back, we all went to bed except Lauren who had already left for a party.

11.15pm - night-night!

SUNDAY
We had a light breakfast of cereal with Roy and Susan - the girls were lying in for a bit, although Janine popped down to say 'hello'. We said our good-byes and left around 9.30. It was a trouble-free journey home and were indoors and unpacking by 10.15.

It's always good to catch-up with them all - it's been a great weekend and hope they have a great holiday in Egypt.

Angela's 60th

Although it was a few week ago, some of 'the old team' met up in London today to celebrate Angela's Birthday.

We all planned to meet at the Thistle Hotel, Lancaster Gate for a few drinks before heading off for Halepi's, the Greek restaurant opposite. We used to frequent this restaurant quite often when we were working on the BA project together, way back in 1999.

I set off  from home just after 11.30, caught the 12 noon train and arrived at St Pancras on time at just before 1pm. It was a warmer day in London and that was very welcome after all the recent snow. In fact, journey down Marylebone Road was very pleasant indeed - it could have been a Summer's day (an English one though!)

Angela and I agreed to meet-up at 3pm, have a few drinks and then wait for everyone else to arrive. I grabbed a taxi from St Pancras at around 1.30 and headed for the hotel - only to learn that it had closed down in 2006 and was now a building site! (but destined to become luxury apartments). I headed instead to the sister hotel just round the corner Thistle Hotel Hyde Park and waited for Angela.

It's just coming up to 3pm - Ann will be having her second official 'one-to-one' with her about now. This is when she'll be officially told that she's being made redundant. The three-month countdown clock therefore starts from today....

As soon as Angela arrived, we sampled the Bar! We chatted for ages and before we knew it, it was 5 o'clock. We had a quick walk along Marylebone Road up to Queensway tube and then back again. Not long after we arrived back Philip arrived and then Rick called to say he was nearby and was heading for the Restaurant.

We headed for the restaurant ourselves, arriving there by about 6.45pm which was slightly earlier than planned, but we were hungry!! Antoinette and June, who had driven from work at BA, arrived not long after.

We had a great meal and the service was spot-on even though they were packed (they were turning them away at the door!)

Once again, the time flew and after starters, mains and just coffee and tea it was 9pm. Rick offered to drop me at St Pancras and I narrowly missed the 9.30 train for Kettering by a whisker! I jumped on the 10pm and was indoors by 11.15pm.

It's been a great day catching-up with everyone. Can it be almost 10 years since we all began work on the BA project and first sampled the delights of Halepi's?

Birthday Meal with Jo and Janet

 
It's Jo's birthday today! We went to The Old Bakehouse in Rothwell for our table at 7.15pm. I think this is the third or fourth time we've been there. Service was excellent (as normal) - and so was the food!

We got through two bottles of red wine plus a bottle of sparkling water - and I had a beer.

I had the meatballs for starters and chicken souvlaki for the main course. No-one else could manage a dessert, except me, I had the warm apple and toffee tart with ice-cream

We got back about 9.30pm

Rosi's for Dinner

We were invited round to Rosi's tonight for a meal. An early start - 4pm, mainly to make best use of the sunshine! Most of the gang were there, although Karen was away sailing; Tom and Julie and Georgina; Debbie and Stefan. And, as it turned out, it looked like everyone had heard about Rosi's excellent cooking skills and most of the street turned up!

The event kicked off with a BBQ outside with nibbles. It was a gorgeous day, but it did get cold in the evening. Fortunately, David lit the Chimineas and that warmed us all up. It was good to catch up with everyone - it's been a while! I got a birthday card from Debbie and a card and a tie from Tom, Julie and Georgina.

We stayed until around 9pm and we then went round to David and Val's to drop off the cake that Ann had made for him.

Happy Birthday to me!

Here we are at 52 years young. Just like last year, I'm celebrating my Birthday at home, as I've scheduled not to work today.

We're out this evening to Han, our favourite Chinese restaurant in Market Harborough. An excellent meal and superb service - and they were very busy too!

I received a GREAT range of cards - mostly the humorous type from:

• Mum
• Neil, Debbie, Alfie and Frankie
• Denis and Mae
• Bev
• Bertie and Lee
• Alan and Mags
• Angela
• Antoinette
• Carol 
• David, Amanda and Ellie
• David, Rosi and Rhiannon
• David and Val
• Ian and Ann
• Ian and Sharon
• Jo and Janet 
• Margaret
• Nick and Celina
• Nicki
• Paul, Karen, Mark and Chris
• Philip 
• Ralph and Karen
• Rick, Sam, Rebecca and Hannah
• Roger Jane and Oliver
• Sally
• Stefan and Debbie 
• Stuart
• Tom, Julie and the family

Roger, Jane, Oliver and Bev actually got me my pressy before the idea of a joint-one was suggested - a rather excellent Black and Decker vacuum cleaner for the car!

• Karen and Paul bought me a bottle of port - a large one!
• David and Val bought me the 'Book of General Ignorance'
• Carol, Jo and Janet bought me 25 quid's worth of iTunes vouchers
• Lee and Bertie bought me some nice cuff-links
• Mum bought me 25 quid's worth of John Lewis vouchers
• Ann got me 'The Encyclopedia of Symbols'; William Shatner's Autobiography, 'Up Till Now'; a boomerang and a  'gorillapod'
• Mae and Denis got me 35 pound's worth of HMV vouchers
• Tom and Julie and kids bought me a tie and a nice bottle of Rioja

Family Meal

Mae, Denis, Roger, Jane and Oliver came round for afternoon tea. Bev couldn't make it because she was at a Wedding. The reason for the celebration was that it was Mae's Birthday yesterday

The weather looked a little grey, and we had planned to all go the Wicksteed Park. However, Roger rang to say that Oliver wasn't feeling too good and they'd come straight to us.

As things turned out, it was probably a better day all round as we got to chat a lot more and everyone seemed very chilled out. Roger asked to see the car and seemed very impressed!

All-in-all, a great day!

Easter Holiday - Day 3

Ann's birthday today!

..when we woke up around 7am, it was snowing.

I co-ordinated the family and we all clubbed together to her the top-of-the-range Tom Tom portable sat-nav.

Separately, I bought her a leather case and a docking station, so it can be charged outsde the car.

Nicki C bought her a beatiful necklace. So did Jane, plus a bracelet.

After brekky we headed for Caernarvon. Boy, it was cold!! The snow turned to rain and we arrived about 10.30. We took a flying visit round the castle and then headed for the nearest tea shoppe Ann did the postcards and we then headed for the centre of town.

12.00 Then, a shortish drive across the Britannia Bridge to Beaumaris Castle (English Heritage). It's still cold but the Sun is trying to break through.

12.55 We arrived at Plas Newyyd (means 'new place'). It was a great place - lived in 'til the 70s - It had long mural in the main room by Whistler. Fantastic! A view of the water outside showing loads of detail.

A great tea-shoppe too that doubled as a second-hand book-shop too.

14.30 On our way back now via the Menai Bridge. We stopped of in Betws-y-coed

..and then back to the to the Pub for a read and final meal there.

We travel back home tomorrow.

Birthday Blog - The Cats Three Years Old

Biscuit and Bon-Bon celebrated their third Birthday today.

Whereas this time last year, we were saying that Biscuit is the more sociable-one, Bon-Bon is turning into a real 'cutie' and is becoming almost the same..

They still hate being bathed and now when we take them to the local beauty parlour for their six-weekly 'service', we tend to opt for just a serious brush and trim. To be honest, being cats, they keep themselves very clean anyway, so maybe they don't miss being bathed. All-in-all we'd say that their coats don't seem to get knotted quite as much now, and at least they're both a bit better at letting US brush them out. It's still challenge though!!

They're a little more tolerant when being picked up, but they still won't settle in our arms for long periods of time - I guess some cats are like that...and they're definitely NOT lap-cats. Having said that, they both love human company - any visitors seem to get the 'hello, I'm going roll on my back for you' treatment. They'll happily investigate anyone who visits the house and they're both pretty sociable with strangers.

Biscuit still tends to eat anything and everything, whilst Bon-Bon is a little more cautious. In terms of adventuring into the garden, the roles are reversed. The routine is that when I get up, I open the patio doors - Bon-Bon is always first out - sometimes followed by Biscuit, but sometimes not. She prefers to 'lie-in'. If the weather isn't warm, Biscuit is normally back in within a few minutes whilst Bon-Bon will happily stay out there whatever the weather. In fact, she seems to like the rain! - there has been a few occasions where she has been wet through just sitting out there, literally, soaking up the atmosphere. They both LOVE the pond water and it's normally their first stop, happily avoiding the bowl of fresh stuff in the kitchen and the bowl just outside the patio doors! What is it about pond water?

They are still very comfortable in each other's company. They don't sleep together anymore - I think that was part of the kitten-phase, but at least they get on and don't scrap (apart from the odd 'chase').

Playing and exploring in the garden is still a regular feature and in the last year, it's become a lot easier to get them in. In fact, crouching down and calling Biscuit's name is often all it takes for her to come running towards us. Bon-Bon still tends to treat it as a bit of a game, to see if she can hide and out-wit the humans!

They expect to be let out as soon as one of us is up in the morning. They will happily stay out there all day - even if it's raining - and in most cases it's a challenge to get them back in-doors. I think they both see it as a game when one of us attempts to herd them back indoors. They run for cover and hide. Having said that, both of them will (if the mood takes them) answer to their names and come running when they're called. We think that's pretty good considering they are CATS not dogs!

Biscuit is still occasionally jumping up on the fence - although she generally doesn't go much further - she just sits on the fence sussing the scenery. There was just one occasion last year, where (we think) she got over the fence and out into the outside world. It was pouring with rain and I found her wandering about next door's garden.

They are both still using the Tower for sleeping and as 'home'. Our good friend Lee's idea of putting it in the dining room, so they could see out into the garden was a master-stroke. Bon-Bon tends to use it most, taking over the top 'bunk'. Biscuit is relegated to the second tier, but doesn't seem to mind. At night, they both follow us up to bed. Biscuit is normally there first, up onto the bed and expecting a bit of a comb-out before settling down. Bon-Bon normally arrives later and settles down on the corner of the bed or on a chair. Having said earlier, that they�re not lap-cats, Biscuit does occasionally jump onto mine and snuggle down (for all of 30 seconds!)
Both still have this ritual of greeting us with meows and rolling on their back when we get in from work. Bon-Bon is now, I'd say, just as vocal as Biscuit, especially when they want to go into the garden. It�s a sort of l-o-n-g-e-r meow and very different from the normal 'hello'.

Bon-Bon still has this habit of tapping plants with her paw - a sort of 'handshake' - and she's now well-versed in offering her paw when we hold out our hand - we should have called her 'Fido'!
Food-wise, it's still one plate each of wet plus a bowl each of dry. They seem to like the variety although they're pretty fussy with the wet stuff - it just has to be Gourmet Pearl Mini Fillets.

In this last year they've both become more sociable, more vocal and more confident.

Birthday Meal

We went to Rosi's, David and Rhiannon's tonight for my Birthday meal.


Karen, Paul, Julie and Tom were also invited and we all travelled there together by cab.

As always, Rosi's food was excellent! Moussaka followed by white chocolate and raspberry cheesecake - I was forced to bring some back with me... :)

It was great to all get together - it feels like we haven't done it for ages!!!

We got home, stuffed, at around midnight

Happy Birthday to me..

Wow! Where has this year gone? I blinked and I must have missed it!!! One moment I was celebrating my 50th in Sicily - the next, I'm at home celebrating my 51st!

A busy day work-wise, developing materials for one of my clients in Sweden.

Ann ran late so we had a belated card and pressy opening session when she got home around 8pm. I received a great range of cards again this year from...

Amanda, David and Ellie
Angela
Ann and Ian
Antoinette
Bev
Carey
Debbie and Stefan
Jo and Janet
Karen, Paul, Chris and Mark
Lee and Bertie
Mae and Denis
Mags and Alan
Margaret (Spencer)
Mum
Nicki
Paul and Sue
Philip Palmer
Roger, Jane and Oliver
Rosi, David and Rhiannon
Tom and Julie

Good pressies too!

'Bond Tunes' CD and Series 1 and 2 of 'Life on Mars' on DVD
Gift Voucher for �25 from Mum
M and S voucher fro �20 from Bev
Facial Voucher from Jo and Janet
Indian Cookery book from Karen, Paul, Chris and Mark
3 pairs of socks from Nicki
Book - 'I can Make you Rich' by Paul McKenna from Tome and Julie
A humorous oven-glove from Rosi, David and Rhiannon

Stafan's Birthday Meal

We met at Debbie and Stefan's together with Karen (Paul was away, golfing), Rosi and David and Bobby and Stella (S and D's neighbours-but-one). Fiona arrived to baby-sit.

Weather was horrible! We needed an umbrella to get from S and D's to the taxi - 2 yards away!!! Ahhh, the British Summer. :)

A few drinks and nibbles at theirs and the off by taxi to the Italian restaurant 'Bella Sicilia' in the town. We'd not been there before - it was rather small, 30 covers - but it more than made up for it with its atmosphere. I even got to 'play' the tamborine!!! (scary huh?)

I enjoyed my food, but Ann was a bit disappointed with hers.

Taxi was late in arriving and picking us up - what is it with taxis round here? They only have to do one thing, take people from A to B at the time agreed..and they fail every time!!!

We didn't get to bed until after midnight and we were both shattered. We declined going back to theirs afterwards otherwise we would have been even later - old fuddy-duddies or what?

..well, our excuse is that we've got a Wedding to go to the following day where we're looking after the photography. Lots to think about and a good night's sleep will help!!!

Birthday Blog - The Cats, Two years old

Biscuit and Bon-Bon celebrated their second Birthday today. Although unlike us humans at the equivalent age (24), they aren't living in their own place, 'going steady', thinking of getting married nor pressurising their parents for money! They are however, still using Mum and Dad as a taxi service!!

Biscuit tends to be the more sociable one. She'll happily mooch around the front-room when it's full of people. Bon-Bon tends to prefer her own company. Brushing and bathing them is still a dangerous occupation for us. We've now fully delegated this opportunity! The local cat parlour has got used to severed limbs and the sight and smell of blood (theirs!) during these six-weekly events. Biscuit�s coat is the easier to manage by far. Bon-Bon's still gets tangled very easily.

Neither of them enjoy being picked up and cuddled but they're prepared to tolerate it much more now than say, a year ago Food-wise, they still eat a combination of wet and dry food. We think they are eating a lot more of the dry stuff than they used to. Biscuit is the more adventurous one and will happily eat yoghurt, curry and baked bean sauce off our fingers. Bon-Bon tends to me much more selective and prefers water from the pond! Yuk!

They hardly sleep together anymore which was feature this time last year but they are very comfortable in each others' company. We've heard stories of sibling cats hating the site of each other - not these two!

Playing and exploring in the garden is now a regular feature and they expect to be let out as soon as one of us is up in the morning. They will happily stay out there all day - even if it's raining - and in most cases it's a challenge to get them back in-doors. I think they both see it as a game when one of us attempts to herd them back indoors. They run for cover and hide. Having said that, both of them will (if the mood takes them) answer to their names and come running when they're called. We think that's pretty good considering they are CATS not dogs!

We haven't seen them play-fight for ages now and we think they are getting rid of their energy chasing each other around the garden (and hiding from their owners). Biscuit has managed to get up onto the top of the fence causing complete panic at our end. However, she didn't stray too far. We discovered that she was leaping onto an empty plant pot and then from there, jumping up onto the fence. Bon-Bon prefers to watch.

Early one morning whilst it was still dark, I could see Biscuit balanced on the top of the fence. I had a feeling she would leap over the other side - straight into the territory of our neighbour's cat - the one that ambushed them when they were kittens. So, I whispered at the top of my voice - "Biscuit! Biscuit...! Biscuit! Biscuit..." to encourage her to get down. She stood up, looked at me - and then calmly disappeared over the fence across enemy lines! Panic! - well not quite actually! I felt something at my feet. It was Biscuit at my feet wondering what all the fuss was about. The cat on the fence was in fact the neighbour's cat - and not Biscuit! Well, it was dark and I do need to get to Specsavers!!!

The cats have their favourite positions in the house for sleeping. Biscuit now sleeps at the bottom of the bed on Ann's side, whilst Bon-Bon has discovered that one of the new office chairs is the place to dream... Neither of them are lap cats (yet) although Biscuit has occasionally jumped up onto my lap and snuggled down. Both are always pleased to see us when we get home.

They both seem to have found their own voices. At first, we thought they were whining, but now we realise it�s their way of talking to us. Biscuit tends to be the noisier of the two and doesn�t waste any time in �talking to us�. The trick is to work out what she means/wants.

They seem to have a sixth sense that seems to detect when one of us is due and immediately leap onto the window sill so they can see the car pull up on the drive Both are happily rolling on their back with their paws in the air when we greet them - we've read that's a good sign!

Bon-Bon has developed this habit of tapping plants with her paw - a sort of 'handshake' - it looks pretty weird, so we thought we would try and teach her to do the 'dog trick' - Give me Your Paw. Success, more or less. Now, if Bon-Bon is sitting and we approach her and offer our hand, she puts hers out to shake � and she can do it with either paw. An ambidextrous Chinchilla, that must me a first!

Temperament-wise, they�re great, very friendly towards us and visitors and not an aggressive bone in their body. They're very much part of the family, and we wouldn't be without them.

Surprise belated 50th Birthday pressy!

Ralph and Karen surprised me with a belated 50th Birthday pressy. They weren't able to make the original party due to other commitments.

They bought me a pair of Bluetooth wireless headphones for my iPOD - Brilliant!!!

Cat Bath/Out with the Neighbours

Biscuit and Bon-Bon
We took Biscuit and Bon-Bon for their routine 'bath-dry-groom' and 'maim-the-handlers' today. Apparently, Bon-Bon is the aggressive one whilst Biscuit takes in all in her stride!

Meal with Karen, Paul, Julie and Tom
We went out for a meal for our great neighbours to celebrate Julie and Paul's birthday (both next week). We popped in to 'The Bar' which strangely is a bar. A very weird place - half finished, very loud music (grumpy ol' man!) and too small (just five or six tables). We then took a short (cold) walk to the 'Old Victoria' pub - it's very nice there and a massive contrast to 'The Bar'.

So, time to eat. We tried out 'Shaad' - the new Indian & Bangladeshi restaurant that's replaced the Coach House restaurant in Burton Latimer.

The food was great, prices very reasonable and staff very friendly

They also gave us a free bottle of champagne!

Then it was back to ours for a night-cap or three and a chance to try out Ann's freshly made banana cake - delicious!!!!

Got to bed around 1am...

50th Birthday Celebrations

Well, today is a day of mega-activity!

We have my 'afternoon tea' down at the Corn Exchange, 2.30 until 5.30. There's around 35 people coming to that.

Then it's back to the house for our themed 'TV from the 1950s' Party - About 35 people for that too! Looks like a load of people are going to be dressing up!

WOW! What a day! I've been so overwhelmed with cards (more than 60) and pressies and people saying nice things about me!

They even upgraded our party room to the bigger room next door due to a cancellation - Perfect!

List of who came to my Afternoon Tea is HERE .

List of who came to my Party is HERE

HERE is a list of all the pressies! - lucky me!!!

Photographs HERE

Here is the 'keepsake' I created about TV from the 1950s that I gave everyone who came to the Party.

..and my Birthday Cards are HERE

Day 4 - Planned: Naxos (Sicily) Actual: Messina

My 50th Birthday - thanks for all the pressy and cards!

We docked at around 8am. We thought it was going to be Naxos in Sicily, home of Mount Etna, but the Captain decided that it wasn't safe to anchor and announced that we're going to Messina instead! Weather looks good - it's going to be a hot day!

11am - Good news! They've found all our luggage and all the contents are intact too!!

So, it's off by coach to Taormina for a quick mooch around the town. In spite of the rather hairy coach journey to the town (narrow roads, loads of tunnels, Italian driving style etc), we arrived in one piece.

We were dropped off at 'floor 1' of the multi-storey and told to get out at 'floor 7'. To our surprise, it was a really pretty town, lots of nice shops and a really old open-air theatre 'teatro greco'.

We had a good look-round as there were some stunning views.

On the way back we stopped off for the obligatory ice-cream and coffee.

Back on the coach by 3 and in our cabins by 4, just in time for afternoon tea.

We returned to the room to find a cake and two glasses of champagne to go with the cake that Ann had smuggled out in the case

..that was all followed by the grand pressy opening event!

The whole family clubbed together for a white 60gB iPOD and Ann bought me a classy black Rado watch - superb!

Caught 'Something Gotta Give' starring Jack Nicholson from the DVD library - excellent!

Sorrento tomorrow...

Day 2 - Hvar (Croatia)

Had a lie-in until 7ish this morning!

We heard from Guest Relations that our luggage WASN'T found and put on the next plane to Milan. Bugger! This means we set sail without any luggage at all.

The Ship's 'Plan B' is to continue to search for the luggage at Milan and then have it sent to our next Port. They've already said that they won't send it to Croatia (even if they do find it), so the next opportunity will be Tuesday as we're out at sea on Monday.

We've realised that in addition to the massive inconvenience of no luggage, one of the suitcases contains all my big birthday pressys!

..so, if the bags DO turn up on Tuesday, it'll be timely, as it's my Birthday!

So, today we're off to 'Hvar' the 'sunniest island in the Adriatic' and hopefully it's the island that has some serious shops so we can begin to restock our toiletries.

Hvar was very pretty. Venetian-style architecture, narrow streets and a supermarket - Perfect, as it allowed us to stock-up on some of the missing toiletries. No 60Gb iPODs though!

Returned to the ship for a quick lunch and then off to the ship's cinema to see 'Syriana' starring George Clooney.

Then it was a snooze in the sun, afternoon tea and getting ready for the evening meal.

..a tough life!

All at sea tomorrow, so it's likely that they'll be no blog.

Preparations for 50th Birthday Party

We put the finishing touches to the invitations for my 5oth. We're going to have an 'afternoon tea' for those have to travel a long way and a Themed Party (TV characters from the 50s) in the evening with the neighbours

A Significant Birthday Blog

Off to Paul and Sue's this afternoon to celebrate a slightly premature 50th birthday for Sue. What an excellent event...a band...a close-up magician...and lashings of food and drink

..Perfect!

Short Break - Day Three

Cor, what a scorcher! Very, very hot today. We started off by visiting Norfolk Lavender and then went onto Holkham. Finally onto Welles and a postcard-perfect seaside town. Bright blue sky, a sea breeze and lots of 'sea-sidey' type shops - Fifty eight different types of bucket and spade sets plus an even greater selection of Pensioners in electric wheel-chairs!

Back to the caravan by 12.30 to take Mum out for her birthday lunch. We decided to take her to the 'The Gin Trap' winner of the AA's Rosette for 'Culinary Excellence' 2004/5 and 2005/6

As planned, off to Jo and Janet's caravan for an excellent BBQ. A perfect end to a perfect day!

We travel home tomorrow.

Short Break - Day Two

As planned, we took a drive to Holt today, where we bought some bits for the kitchen, some cool cat cards and some shorts, socks and tops for me. We also treated Mum to some toiletries and a toilet bag for her forthcoming Birthday.

Popped into Lee and Bertie's for a cracking lunch of home-made chicken pie and mash!

Back to the caravan to see Henman on TV crash out of Wimbledon. Oh dear!

The last full day of the holiday tomorrow. We plan to do nothing much in the morning and take Mum out for her Birthday lunch somewhere local.

We're round to Jo and Janet's for a BBQ tomorrow night.

Karen's 50th

We all got together at Lui's in Montagu Street to celebrate Karen's 50th birthday. Food was out of this world - Probably the BEST steak I've ever tasted!

Rosi, David, Julie, Tom, Debbie and Stefan, Paul and Karen were there.

We all went back to Karen and Paul's afterwards for a few drinks.

Good to see everyone again - seems we haven't done the 'socialising thing' for ages!

Vienna - Travel and Day 1

A good flight over, although it felt quite long! We arrived around 3pm.

The SAS hotel is great. Very modern (Widescreen TV and DVD player in the room) and very nice furniture and fittings.

We took a quick walk around the immediate area to get our bearings.

Had a great meal in a local restaurant in the evening. I had mixed pasta with turkey strips. Good food all round!

Ralph's birthday tomorrow...

Birthday Blog

Off to Newcastle today by train to celebrate Ann's Birthday. An early train - 7.06am from Peterborough!!!

.and round to Rosi and David's tonight for a meal with Paul and Karen. Rosi did a superb Indian meal - all prepared from scratch. We had such a good time!! Didn't get home until 2am!!!!

Birthday Blog - The Cats; 1 year old today

The cats celebrated their first birthday today. In human years, we've read that makes them 16 years old - adolescent teenagers! In the months we've owned them, we have seen their behaviour change quite considerably. Whether this is due to them being spayed or a part of their natural growing up process, we don't know - it's probably a combination of both.

They both seem to enjoy both dry and wet cat food, and their appetite appears to be increasing. Biscuit is the more adventurous one, food-wise and will happily eat yoghurt, curry and baked bean sauce off our fingers. Bon-Bon however is more fussy although she has a natural ability for devouring plants with lightning speed.

They both sleep snuggled up together on the bed at night but during the day they tend to stay apart. They both like looking out of the patio window in the dining room and they'll happily do this for hours.

Although they still occasionally play fight, this is getting rare. Interestingly, they had their first serious disagreement recently - lots of hissing and flying paws. It was a short event, but startling for us to see. Hope it's a one-off!

Biscuit is the first to venture onto our laps. She'll quite happily snuggle down and go to sleep. Bon-Bon has yet to try this, but she has taken to leaping onto the office chair whilst we're working. She also has a habit of jumping up onto the back of the long settee whilst we're watching TV.

Both are a lot more relaxed when we pick them up. They tend not to whinge quite so quickly, although it's clearly not their favourite past-time.

Both are always pleased to see us when we get home. Bon-Bon immediately rolls onto her back with her paws in the air. Out of the two, she does this pretty often, whenever she wants attention.

Grooming them is still a challenge, although finding a groomer locally has been a great help!
All-in-all they're becoming very affectionate and settling in very well...

Jo's Birthday...

A surprise invite to Jo's birthday meal at our favourite Indian restaurant - 'Mazza'

Great food, great company, and unusually, a fairly quiet restaurant - which made it somehow even better!

Birthday Blog

A load of great pressies again this year!

Mum - remote control holder
Mae and Denis - 'Might Boosh DVD' and 'Supernature' by 'Goldfrapp' CD
Ann - 'Now 61' CD, 'The Prisoner - The Original Scripts' (Vol 1), 'Car Badges' book and 'PHP and My SQL' book
Roger, Jane and Oliver - High quality white and blue shirts
Jo and Janet - Cat Book

Pre Birthday Blog

Off to London today for a mooch round. Went to the 'Stubbs' exhibition in the Sainsbury Wing of the National Gallery.

Stubbs ((1724-1806) who developed the knack of painting really realistic horses by using his anatomical knowledge as a vet. Impressive stuff.

A quick trot down Tottenham Court Rd plus lunch at 'Wagamamas', the new trendy chain of Japanese style restaurants in Covent Garden. Lightning fast service and excellent food too!

Then a short rest :) and then off to our favourite Chinese restaurant 'Han' in Market Harborough.

...finishing off at Karen and Paul's and the neighbours for a celebratory drink or ten...!

French Holiday: Day 6

Visited the 1 star hotel next to Bevedere de Belves last night called 'Le Home'. A four course meal with aperitif and wine for around 55 Euros - 36 quid. Fantastic value..and the food wasn't bad either!

Off to Domme this morning in the pouring rain - yuk! However, it brightened up very quickly and by the time we picked up Steve and Helen (for Steve's birthday lunch), the temperature had reached 27 degrees. Another great Restaurant - 'Le Vieux Logis' around a 30 minute drive from Peyrecaty to Tremolat - A fantastic meal, in beautiful surroundings.

We're round to Steve and Helen's tonight for champagne and cake...a perfect end to our short stay at Domaine de Peyrecaty

We leave tomorrow...

More holiday photographs HERE

Pheasant and party on!

Had lunch with our good friends Jane and Mick at 'The Pheasant' at Keystone. Then, in the evening off to Jo and Janet's to celebrate Janet's Birthday

Double Celebration Blog

Off to Denis and Mae's for the weekend to celebrate their Silver Wedding and Denis' Birthday. A great party Saturday night, an overnight stay and a visit to the 'Billingborough Arms' for some top nosh for lunch on Sunday.

(First use of the EOS20D. A little restricted without the higher power flash and the zoom lens, plus I think I need to return the camera settings to 'parameter 2', so that the shots aren't so over-sharp/over staurated/over contrast-ey)

Ann's birthday

Off to the Lake District today to co-incide with Ann's birthday. A shame Ann's major pressy didn't arrive in time.

We're staying at 'High Wray' Farm in Ambleside for a few days...

Off to an unplanned Italian meal at 'PGs', 21a Stramongate in Kendal

The Silver Pussy returned 33.2 mpg on the journey here

Turkish Blog

Met up with Angela and the gang to celebrate her Birthday

Ozers serves up a super Turkish meal

Savoy Blog

Met up with the rest of the 5ive - that's Angela, Carey, Antoinette and Phil to celebrate Phil's birthday at The Savoy - very posh!



Then, off to the Strand Theatre to see 'The Rat Pack' - They were AMAZING!

Phew...a long day! left home at 3.30am to get to London...got home at 1.15 am Saturday morning

Birthday Blog (for real!)

I had a great day! I'm surrounded by pressies!

- An indoor boomerang (yes, really!)
- Book: 'What Just Happened' by James Gleick
- Book: 'The Art of Deception' by Steve Wozniak
- Book: 'Accomodating Brocolli in the Cemetary' by Vivian Cook
- Book: 'POSH and other Language Myths' by Michael Quinion
- Red Letter Day 'Off Road' experience
- CD/DVD Vouchers
- Wooden pen and pencil set

Loads of cards too! But who sent this one? It was unsigned and homemade. Nice!

Birthday Blog! (Almost!)

Ann took me to the 'Montagu Arms' near Oundle in celebration of my Birthday, tomorrow!

A bucket of nachos between us to start, followed by Greek Steak, Mushrooms and aubergines for Ann. Turkey and Mustard pie for me with veggies

Not surprisingly, there was no room for dessert

Boy! were we porkered!

48 years young tomorrow...

Curry Night at Rosi and David's

Round to Rosi and David's tonight with Debbie and Stefan to celebrate Debbie's birthday. What a great evening! Superb food and superb company - and, they've got a cat too, called 'Blueboy'

Perfect!