Afternoon tea at Simpson's garden centre

Amandine "reading" Mr Men earlier

This afternoon our son Tim and daughter Amandine came up to see us. Tim cut the grass and afterwards we all went out to our local garden centre for afternoon tea.  My wife bought some plants afterwards.  Amandine loved her trifle and fruits. Here she is tucking into her fruit bowl.

Amandine and our son Tim

Branson's visit

Peter Branson

Today we had the pleasure of our old friends, Peter and Chris Branson who were in Burwell for the day. Chris went out with my wife Lis for lunch and Peter had lunch with me at home. A long time ago I worked with Peter and Lis has been friends with Chris since our boys were babies.

Chris Branson (nearest camera) with my wife Lis

Like all real friends, it is very easy to pick up where we last left off, almost like we'd seen them just yesterday, even though they now live 100 miles away in the Cotswolds and we've not seen them for many weeks.

Quiet again here

Grandchildren with their mum

Our "London" grandchildren,and their mum and dad have returned home, so we are quiet again here. We love having them come to stay.

Time to jam

Tomorrow we have some good old friends coming across from the Cotswolds for the day. It will be good to see them. They'd be welcome to stay the night but have to get back for a meeting Wednesday morning.

Cambridge United FC

Cambridge United ( the "U's") are off to Wembley for the Conference play-off finals. I sincerely hope they make it back into the Football League. They deserve it.

The play-off final kicks off at 4pm Sunday May 18th.

Vote Green?

See http://www.greenparty.org.uk/ .

Reading their values on their website (see below)  they are very close to my own. Maybe I should vote green in the EU elections in a few weeks' time?

"We live in unsettling times.
Many of the securities that our parents and grandparents fought for – a functioning National Health Service, free education, and an affordable home – now look out of reach for most of us.
Coupled with this, climate change is bringing unpredictable and threatening weather patterns.
People feel let down by politicians, and yet there has been an explosion in political activism. People want to do things differently and aren’t afraid to be bold and challenging.
We believe that public services should be for the benefit of the public, not sold off in bits; we believe that education is worth investing in and not something that should mean a lifetime of debt; we believe in leaving behind a better world for our children and grandchildren.
This is the only world we have and its welfare, above all things, should be the highest priority for us all.
Politics should work for the benefit of all, not just those who shout the loudest or have the deepest pockets.
We believe in “The Common Good”.
A vote for the Green Party is a vote for The Common Good."

Dead quiet!

My son is watching snooker on TV in the bedroom, grandchildren are both asleep in beds and in the lounge my wife and daughter-in-law are reading books.  The TV is off.

All is very quiet - lovely.

Family day

This afternoon our son Tim, his wife and their 2 delightful young children came to stay for the night. They go back to London after lunch tomorrow. We love their company and especially enjoy the little grandchildren. The youngest  of this pair is not quite 3 and her elder brother is 6.5 years old. They have cousins in Kent who are a little younger.