Time and time and time

Like many parents, I can’t believe how fast my children are growing up. Remember how, when they were babies, everyone said: ‘Enjoy it while you can – they grow up so quickly!’ You don’t believe it at the time, of course, when you simply can’t see beyond the feeding and the nappies and the nights…

But, I can testify that it really does go fast. And this was brought home to me with a bang this week when I attended my eldest’s GCSE information evening. She makes her GCSE choices in just a few weeks’ time – how on earth did that happen?! I then did a quick calculation and realised that she would be leaving home in just over four years, which is simply stunning.

In another two years, both my children will have left home and my husband and I will have to find new (or rediscover old) ways of filling our time. By then, we will both be in our fifties – something else which I find very hard to believe…

Shopping in Newbury

We took advantage of the good weather last weekend by visiting Newbury for a family shopping trip. We had been there years ago but couldn't really remember it at all. We were pleasantly surprised.

There is a new, open air shopping area in the centre of town, which is very pleasant. We visited John Lewis (very useful), New Look (for the kids), Marks and Spencer (useful again) and Waterstones (looking to spend our Christmas book tokens). All of these are staple shops, of course, but they weren't too busy or crowded, which made the shopping experience much less stressful than usual. The modern, ‘industrial look’ architecture was also easy on the eye, making the shops seem unusually spacious and clutter free.

We had lunch in the Waterstone’s Café, which was a good experience. Very friendly staff and locally sourced food, which is always a bonus. Again, there were just a few tables and it wasn’t too crowded, which meant that we were able to enjoy a relaxed lunch. There was also a very nice-looking Paul up the road (with café prices that weren't too steep), but that unfortunately was full, so we couldn't give it a try.

On the way back to the car, we had a quick wander round the older parts of the town. The town hall looked interesting, as did the church and riverside walk. We didn't have time to explore these places, but I think we might plan another trip to Newbury in the near future, this time focussing on its history and culture.

Back to life, back to reality

My family and I had a lovely Christmas break -- almost two weeks with no work and lots of time just to enjoy ourselves. But that seems plenty and, in some ways, almost too much. There's a danger with having a block of time off work -- that you find you don't want to go back. If you're in non-holiday mode, accustomed to the rhythm of work, then you don't really think about what you're doing, you just carry on as usual. But if you fall out of the habit, then it's hard to get back in to it. And the more you think about returning to it, the less appealing it becomes.

So, perversely, I feel rather relieved to be returning to work (even though I'm not looking forward to it much at all). After all, I know that it'll be much more enjoyable when I'm actually doing it!

There's something strangely surreal about holiday time. And there's something to be said for the routine and banality of  everyday working life.

'Life after Life' and second hand books

I recently finished reading 'Life after Life' by Kate Atkinson, which I really enjoyed and highly recommend. It centres on a character called Ursula, who is born in England in 1910. The key premise is really that there are different courses that our lives might take, dependent on what happens at particular points in time. This might sound like a truism, but in Ursula's case, we see her life pan out in multiple ways, multiple times. In one version of her life, she dies at birth, the umbilical cord strangling her with the midwife stuck in snow and so unable to attend. In another, she survives infancy, only to die falling from a window in pursuit of a doll that her brother has thrown out. In another she she meets and marries an abusive man, who eventually kills her. In yet another she doesn't meet this man, but works as an air raid warden during the second world war and is killed by a falling bomb. And so on.

The story is intricate, remarkably clever and makes you think. What happens in one's life really is, to a large extent, a matter of fate, no matter how much control we may feel we have over events. In addition, the story paints a vivid and fascinating picture of what it was like to live through the second world war.

'Life after Life' was published in 2013, so I have come to read it a bit late. But this is because I picked the book up second hand in Oxfam. I have recently discovered the joy of books on sale in charity shops. I love reading and I like to own my own copies, but with most books priced at around £8 now, this can sometimes be hard to justify. I was in Oxfam buying Christmas wrapping paper the other day and by chance went across to browse the books. I came away with three for less that £6, all of which were good reads. So, I'm now a second hand book convert!

Agatha Christie overload

We have been doing a lot of Agatha Christie recently.

We suddenly realised that we have a whole load of Agatha Christie TV adaptations recorded (over 30 in total!) which we haven't yet watched, so we have started ploughing through those. We watched both 'A Pocketful of Rye' and 'Murder is Easy' this weekend.

And then on Saturday we went to see 'The Mousetrap' at the St. Martin's Theatre. My husband and I saw this production a couple of years ago (albeit with a different cast) but the grandparents had been looking for a family show to take us and the children to and thought that this would be a good one. And it was -- rather overacted, but all good fun. A clever twist at the end, a beautiful set and everyone enjoyed themselves. What more could you want?

We're planning to watch the new TV adaptation of 'And Then There Were None' over the Christmas period. I gather that this may be rather different -- an altogether scarier adaptation than usual.

Perhaps I'll start re-reading all the books, as well. I read most of them as a teenager, but haven't picked one up in the last thirty years or so. Not terribly sophisticated, but highly entertaining -- and even more widely read than the Bible, I hear!

Christmas Extravaganza -- a bit of a damp squib

Late yesterday afternoon, we went out en famille to see the Abingdon Christmas Extravaganza -- specifically, the fire show followed by the Christmas light switch on and fireworks.

We were particularly looking forward to the fire show.This was a new attraction last year and had been brilliant -- a very skilled guy who performed all sorts of acrobatics and antics with batons of fire.

We arrived early and managed to find a reasonable place standing up behind the few rows of benches that were set out for those who preferred to be seated. However, once the performance started, we found that we couldn't see a thing. People had pushed in front of us and stood blocking our view, while those people at the front who had benches, and so should have been sitting down, chose to stand up, thereby blocking everyone's view, In a desperate attempt to see something, we and the kids walked round to a point behind the stage and stood on the edge of the pavement so that we could peer through the gaps in the backdrop and at least get vague glimpses of fire. However, even here, an adult pushed in front of my oldest daughter, entirely blocking her view.

At this point, feeling very disappointed, we gave up and went in search of a warming hot chocolate from one of the nearby cafes, but unfortunately, the queues were so long there, that we simply decided to go home. We caught a glimpse of the fireworks on the way (which were good), but we didn't see the actual light switch on.

It's funny how sometimes the things that you are most looking forward to turn out to be the most disappointing, while something totally unexpected can be amazing. It's also sad that people can be so selfish. If people had behaved a little bit better, it would have been possible for everyone to have a good time and enjoy the fire show. As it was, those of us who weren't prepared to push and think only of ourselves lost out.

Greenwich

We had a great day out in Greenwich a couple of weeks ago. I worked out that this was one of the few areas of London that I hadn't visited and so we decided to make a day of it.

We travelled there by the Docklands Light Railway, and this in itself was quite an experience. The Docklands area is very dense and we found ourselves travelling along very close to many skyscrapers (largely owned by financial companies), interspersed with small modern housing developments and lots of restaurants and eateries. This looked like a good place for a young professional to live -- if you could afford to buy a property here!

We started off by visiting the Old Naval College. This was beautiful -- both the Painted Hall and the chapel are open to the public and they are covered in stunning eighteenth century frescoes. Furthermore, this is free. So well worth a visit. There was also some filming going on outside the collage when we visited, which the kids found fascinating.

We went on to the maritime museum -- again free and full of interesting exhibits to do with the ocean. We particularly enjoyed the environmental exhibition, the exhibit showing artefacts of sea travel throughout the ages, and the hugely ornate Prince Frederick's Barge (built in 1732 and used for royal occasions).

Last but not least, food. We ate lunch and tea at the Waterstones Cafe in Greenwich. This was a pleasant place -- not as busy as the other local cafes and with very friendly and welcoming staff. We ate supper at Cantina Laredo on Upper Saint Martin's Lane. This serves delicious Mexican food and is one of our favourite restaurants in town.

We didn't manage to visit everything that there is to see in Greenwich, so we plan to go back at some point to see the observatory, the Queen's House and to have a wander in the royal park.