The camera never lies....

unfortunately. A spin off from doing a big high-profile gig like Armistice Day is that you get your photo taken and then some kind soul sends you the photos. There's a reason why I don't sing in front of a mirror very often and this is it:

Not a pretty sight.

Coming up for air!

It's been a while! Loads happening over the last month so the blog hasn't been as active as it would normally.
Singing has been pretty busy, as has the day job, which is my excuse for no blog entries for nearly two months.
I did a recital last Saturday. First time I've ever held a whole concert down on my own (with the astonishingly good accompaniment of Chris Howard, of course). It went really well and I loved every second. Even managed to make a bit of money and get a spread in the local paper. All very exciting.
I've also made my debut in front of royalty, on Armistice Day at the National Memorial Arboretum in Alrewas. Earl of Wessex was a lot better looking in real life that he is on the telly and was extremely nice to wait in the bitter cold until I finished singing to say thank you. Clearly very well brought up....
Only one more big concert before Christmas and only a couple of other much more low key gigs and then I can kick back and enjoy the yuletide festivities....

Avoiding the chopping block

As Mike was out and about today on a history trip to Tutbury Castle, the boys and I decided that we were not to be outdone. So we flexed our English Heritage membership and went to Boscobel House, a little bit north of Wolverhampton.

A good time was had by all and even the little one eventually caught on and then told everyone that Charles II had hidden there to avoid having his head "chocked" off. The oldest tried sitting in one of the two priest holes. Not comfy and pretty dark, as the photo shows.

Only one 3 year old vs chicken-related incident threatened the general harmony and enjoyment of a lovely afternoon.

It was Harvest festival celebration at church today, complete with Harvest Bonnet Parade for the under 6s.

Loving that tractor look on number 2 son. The wobbly yellow bits certainly made him easy to spot in a crowd.
And then there was tea. We didn't quite plough the fields but we certainly scattered .... crumbs, that is.

After this, a treasure hunt and a photo of everyone baptised at Holy Trinity (or as many as could make it!), we had a little concert and all retired, feeling as though we should be chewing ears of corn and revving up our tractors! Not bad for inner-city Coventry....

Stoopid is as stoopid does.....

I think that silly evenings in with the boys are seriously underrated. We decided to dress up and do a bit of disco-divaing yesterday. Here are the results...

In a year's time.....

....we'll be merrily dancing the night away at my sister-in-law's wedding.

How excting!

Procrastination

I've been painting the hall stairs and landing recently. The hall I did pretty quickly so as not to cause too much disruption but the landing has lingered. Mainly because, having done all the walls, I only had the woodwork left to do. I think the moment I started to lose interest was when I looked at the landing and counted 15 uprights on the bannister, as well as the rail itself, 2 loft hatches and 6 doors and door frames to gloss. Yes, I think that I can pinpoint it to then.

It's safe to say that I like the effect of nicely finished gloss but hate with a passion the process of getting there. Give me wallpaper or painting walls any day. Gloss takes too long and I always end up with something stuck in it (often carpet or my own shirt) and it has to be rubbed down all over again.

However, I'll persist and I will finish the job. It's just a shame that, as we've used the same colours as before and are just freshening it up, nobody will notice any difference.....

When only daddy will do....

At least he got his coat to match. Not sure about the cap and water bottle....

Down to earth

We've been back in Blighty for a few days now and I've just about come around the fact that I do have to go back to work and earn a living again! I've had a very relaxed couple of weeks and it feels like it's just too much to ask to make me go back to work just yet... However I dutifully made my way to the office this morning and was greeted with 200 emails and a slightly scary to-do list.

I'm actually considering doing away with my signature lists of stuff to do. As good a tradition as they might be, sometimes it's time for a change. Trouble is, I can't think of the non-traditional way of making sure I don't forget anything...

Good stuff has happened in the time we've been off work, though. My sister-in-law and fiance have set the date for their wedding (September next year - not long in wedding planning terms!!!). They also held a great party yesterday to celebrate being engaged and having their house, if not their new kitchen (long story and a sore point, I think it's fair to say). Three new babies have been born in our group of friends at church and another is imminent. And the building work started on my folks' house in France just as soon as we left it in peace - a new bedroom and bathroom will await us next time we're over there.

The other big news is that my parents have finally organised their joint 60th birthday party, which has been a while coming. I need to get some bowling practice in on the Wii as they're planning a skittles evening and I can feel the competitive juices flowing already.....

Things you learn whilst on holiday....

1. maps are better than sat nav. Any day of the week.
2. children have astonishing stamina, even when it's 10pm, if provided with enough stimulation.
3. it's amazing how much cheese and wine can be consumed before the onset of illness.
4. feet can burn. Particularly if they're the one bit that you forget to put suncream on.
5. sand gets everywhere...

Au revoir

So it's au revoir to John and Shirley-Anne, who moved on to the next stage of their holiday today. We've had a lovely, if scarily quick, week with them and have promised not to leave it another year before we see them again.

Holiday update

We are having a great time en France. The boys are loving the outdoors life, despite mixed weather and are particularly enjoying having the undivided attention of Uncle John and Auntie Shirley-Anne, who however infrequently we see them, remain firm and steadfast favourites and always will.

We've not thrown ourselves around the Normandy countryside, unless there's been something particular that we've wanted to see. The beauty of coming to Mum and Dad's in St Germain is that we know we'll be here again and there's no pressure to see everything in one week. Makes for a relaxing and very chilled holiday.

The other relaxing bit is the copious good food and drink we've been consuming. John and S-A have always been good and discerning eating and drinking partners but I think that we have surpassed ourselves this week, with cheese and wine alone....

All in all, a great time being had and a rest that has been much needed. Keep checking the boys' blog as Christopher is being a much more faithful correspondant than I have ever achieved.....

Not to be outdone

Clearly the boys' blog has awoken the competitive spirit in their grandparents. Mum and Dad have now set one up about their experiences of being two-home owners. Content has mainly focussed around refurbishing chairs so far but I'm sure that it will vary as the time goes on (and when I've taught them how to put pictures on....).
cross-channelarnolds.blogspot.com/

Next generation blogging

We're on our holidays at the moment and we've moved on from scrapbooks (like, soooo last year) to scrap blogs. Go to http://rhodesboys.blogspot.com for more from our youngest correspondents.....

You take the children to church...

...and come back with a lion and tiger!

Hooray for youth workers with brilliant talents, even with the wriggliest of 3 year olds....

Living up to my not-name?

I've been practising hard for singing at Mike's cousin's wedding next Saturday. One of the things Lindsay and Ben have chosen is the Mascagni Sancta Maria from the Intermezzo to the Cavaleria Rusticana. This is lovely and very well-known, which is immediate incentive to make sure that I do it justice. However, it also happens to be a piece that my not-namesake, Katherine Jenkins, performs regularly.

I've found myself feeling vaguely competitive about this, which is quite stupid, as I'll never be in a position to be seriously compared with her on anything, let along one of her signature tunes. However, this hasn't stopped me having to resist the urge to check how she does it and make sure I do it better!

This competitive streak in me seems to get wider as I get older. I used to be a lot more sanguine about how I compared to others but no longer. I have to be doing as well as, if not better. I realised that I was taking this to extremes, when I found myself completely determined to better my own score on a Wii game the other day. To be competitive with others is one thing. To be competitive with yourself is something completely different, not to say a little bit odd......

Coming up for air

July has been a funny month. I've been busy but not ridiculously so, work has had its fair share of trials but nothing out of the ordinary and singing has just ticked away, as normal.

However, I haven't really been posting on anything in my usual way.

So - sorry for the radio silence. I'm back now and breathing, not gasping, and will hopefully be posting much more frequently.

Love and Marriage (Part 2)

Having been to almost no weddings in the last few years, we went to the second in less than a month last weekend.

What was even more bizarre was that it was another couple of friends from band who were getting married. Clearly if you want to find your soulmate, a military band, operatic society or other such activity is the thing to do!

David and Helen decided that they wanted to involve as much of their (extremely busy) musical lives in the service and the reception, which meant that I got to sing, both solo and as part of an amalgamated choir which is something I haven't done for a long time. It was absolutely great. However, the biggest part went, fittingly I suppose, to the band. They marched the bride, groom and all their guests from the church to the village hall and then played during the reception.

Not to be left out, though, David and Helen played along with the band at every possible opportunity - including the march down from the church. Not sure what the villagers made of the clarinet-playing bride who had to stand at the back of the band formation, so that her train wouldn't get stood on!

A stage debut triumph!

Number 1 son trod the boards for the first time a couple of weeks ago. He took part in a show, organised by the teacher who runs the jazz dance club he goes to after school every week.

Clearly a thespian in the making, he absolutely loved it and, considering that his lot were the youngest by a very long way, they did brilliantly. Even a trip over an unsuspecting curtain didn't dampen his enthusiasm. We all took a sharp breath in as his nose met the stage at high speed, but he was a consummate professional and just got up and kept going. At which point, we all released the sharp intake of breath and carried on enjoying the performance!

Interestingly, he did precisely what I do around a big performance. Cool as a cucumber before hand and then completely buzzing afterwards! It was funny to see my style matched so exactly...

Here he is, doing the Under the Sea dance - he's one of the tallest, so fairly easy to spot. All the little one was interested in was the bubbles which appeared halfway through!

Fish!

It's not often that a directorate meeting at work inspires me but we were shown a film this week which really got me to thinking. In our cynical, been-in-this-job-too-long kind of way, we all sat back to watch a film that appeared, on the face of it, to be about a mad set of fishmongers in Seattle who throw fish about the market and shout stupid things to each other.

It actually turns out that it's inspired a whole training philosophy about having fun at work and how that can improve your customer service as well as productivity. All very training-speak, as Mike would say, but I really enjoyed it!

It made me think - if I choose to be fed up and grumpy, whatever I'm doing, I'll only ever be fed up and grumpy and so will everyone else around me. If I make a conscious decision to be a bit more positive (not something I do amazingly often) then, chances are, I'll have a pretty good day and so will 0thers.

Not rocket science, I agree, but something I'm going to try a bit more often....

I couldn't find the whole film but there's a trailer for the "Philosophy" which includes some bits from the fish market but also (and don't say I didn't warn you) a scary looking bloke who obviously wrote the training stuff. Ignore him and enjoy the fish madness!!

Love and Marriage

Very exciting news this week, as my sister-in-law's boyfriend proposed at the top of the London Eye. I'm relieved to say that she said yes and so we are all completely delighted! Another fab and even more special wedding to look forward to....

It ain't over til the....

...much-less-fat-than-she-used-to-be lady sings! Or at least, that's what I'm currently telling myself.

Having toyed quietly with the idea of trying to turn the singing "career" up a notch for quite a while now, I'm beginning to get the sense that it might all be a bit late. I watched the Cardiff Singer of the World last weekend and was really pleased to see a great Russian soprano win. Interestingly, she sang much of the repertoire that I had done for a Fellowship diploma a couple of years ago. This got me to thinking.... Am I good enough to do this full-time? Or would I only ever be a pale imitation of someone like that?

I think that I could stand a chance (as much as the next soprano, anyway) but age appears to be working against me. The Cardiff Singer of the World website gives the rules on age that I would have been 6 months too old to enter this competition and therefore will be 2 and a half years too old next time around. Other competitions and opportunities remain open to me and I'll go for these but it's all starting to feel like it might be now or never.

The irony is that, had I gone for it a few years ago, I genuinely don't think that I'd have been good enough. My voice is constantly changing and developing but is in the best shape it has been ever at the moment. But as the voice matures, so do I and that might be enough to stick a spanner in the works....

Triple Trouble

Two posers and a poser-in-training. Thursday nights with the family are about to get even more raucous!

Momentous occasions

Lots more momentous occasions happening recently. Ian and Jill, good friends from band, got married last Saturday. Even the torrential rain couldn't dampen spirits and we all (and especially them) had a fantastic time. Even the boys scrubbed up pretty well, I reckon!

Then the newest member of the extended Rhodes clan was born late last night. A little boy - weighing in at a mighty 10lb 15oz. I always thought that my youngest was heavy at birth (around 9lb 5oz) but seems as nothing compared to this Goliath!

Now we can all hardly wait to meet him! More photos to follow, I'm sure....

Catching up - again

I've been wholeheartedly rubbish at keeping this up to date recently. Everything's been a bit busy. However, great excitement last weekend as Number 2 Son turned three. Can't quite believe that he isn't even classed as a toddler any more! Needless to say, great celebration was had by all, including great friends who came to stay for the weekend.

By the way, please note the two - count 'em! - birthday cakes produced over the weekend. Was asked for a "D9 cake" by small person and to the uninitiated amongst you, this is a bus. Don't know how it differs from others but knew enough to make it red, because that's the colour of the one that my boys are aware of. Don't think any other aspect was correct, apart from it being a double decker, but when asked, my little 3-year-old creep said that it was definitely a D9. That counts as a success in my book.....

Cut price swimming lessons

I reckon this is the way forward - very shallow water in an open air pool, close to home and no annoying changing rooms at the end - just a Bob tent for shelter when you want it.
Not entirely sure it's any good when it comes to diving practice, however.....

A Wii bit energetic

We've invested in a Nintendo Wii, having really liked the idea of them for ages. It was a very good deal that persuaded us in the end, however, and once home, it was thankfully very easy to sort out. Number One Son has even given it a name - Doris Wii. Needless to say, it's a big hit! In more ways than one - here's Mike "boxing"....

Gallant losers

WBA's season 08/09 - RIP

The Rhodes household went very quiet on Sunday afternoon, once we discovered that the mighty West Bromwich Albion had lost to Liverpool and thus been relegated back to the Championship. Now, in fairness, this is a biannual occurrence to which we're well used at the moment. The Baggies regularly bounce up and down from the Premiership so it's not altogether surprising.

However, what has made me proud to be a second-hand West Brom fan is how sporting the crowd were during the match and the team and manager have been afterwards. The crowd knew that they were likely to go down this weekend, what with playing against some of the best players in the world an' all, but they sang their hearts out for the whole 90 minutes and clapped the manager as he and the players did a lap of (dis)honour. No calls for Mowbray's head. No vast scenes of huge grief. Just, according to various reports, including Midlands Today (so it must be true), a plan for every WBA fan at the Blackburn match this weekend to wear a Tony Mowbray mask, to show their support.

I think a few other football clubs could learn from the sporting attitude of the Albion fans, even if they've nothing to learn from the fairly rubbish performance of the team! A few MPs could learn something, too, I reckon. You know - fair play and no witch hunt, etc etc...

Making music

It's all about the music here at the moment.

Number one son has successfully charmed the brass teacher at school and is going to start his much longed-for trombone lessons this week. Doesn't sound much but this is at least 2 years earlier than the school normally puts children forward to learn an instrument. Credit to them for supporting what could have been misinterpreted as pushy parents and letting him try!

Number 2 son did some charming of his own on Saturday afternoon as he donned a miniature band uniform and joined Mike on stage for the first half of a band concert at the Central Hall. he did amazingly well and was quiet and still while the band played. He only conducted once! Once we arrived back from the party the oldest had been to, he joined us, but not before many an old lady had winked at him and told him that he was a "bobby dazzler".

I sang in a concert on Saturday night, in memory of a lovely man's late wife. The lovely man in question is Harold Rich who is a musician of real experience and skill. He worked at the BBC for many, many years and was musical director for Pebble Mill at One (for those of you too young to remember, this was a kind of forerunner to Richard and Judy, just at lunchtime and on BBC for a very long time).

He's the kind of person that is so unassuming that you forget the kind of life he's led. I sat deep in conversation with him one day and (being the wrong side of extremely old) he couldn't remember the name of the person he'd accompanied on a particular song. He kept going over and over, trying to remember, and kept saying that he was a "Spanish chap". I could only think of one and, jokingly, asked if he meant Jose Carreras. He did. I shut up.

The concert on Saturday was in memory of Joyce who died a little while ago. She was also a very lovely person. My one abiding memory was the first time I ever met either of them. I turned up at their house to rehearse for a concert and, not having been able to find a babysitter, had a very small boy in tow. Joyce played and played with my little chap while I sang and was so charming and generous about it. A lovely lady. The concert was a great tribute and as there was literally standing room only left, a good deal of money was raised for charity too. That's a good way to spend an evening.....

Rules are made to be broken

I have this very important golden rule: Never go to more than one vehicle rally in one 12 month period. This is important because I wouldn't want Mike to start thinking that I've been sucked in to vehicles like I got drawn into football and I certainly wouldn't want him to get the impression that this is a normal occupation for a Sunday afternoon.

However, I now have to confess that I have attended 2 rallies in 8 days. The first was in Brighton (see last post) and yesterday's was the Sandwell Rally. This is usually my one annual foray in to the dark world of vintage vehicles and I am happy to admit that I enjoy it. This is mainly because we get to go in my father-in-law's old Austin A40 Somerset and I can go to sleep in the back if I get too bored through the afternoon. There are other draws, however - not least of which is watching the boys trying to con their way behind as many steering wheels as possible. One way or another, the Sandwell Rally has found itself marked on my diary as well as the family calendar every year.

What I hadn't thought about was all these exotic rallies that we are now planning for - Brighton looks like it will happen again next year (although, strictly speaking, I probably won't look at the vehicles - I intend to sample Brighton's retail and seaside possibilities instead) and Fleetwood's coming up in July. If it weren't for the seaside, then I wouldn't dream of going but I can feel myself wavering....

Frankly, I'm worried about myself but I will be strong. I will stand up for the rights of those of us who think that a vehicle is just a handy box to get from A to B a bit quicker and don't care who made what, when and why. I will maintain my long-held and often-voiced opinion that a grown man probably shouldn't be playing with a steering wheel, saying "brrmmm brrmmm". And I will forever continue the battle cry that they're not models - they're toy cars.

Whilst I do that, however, I will be acknowledging that I'm swimming against the tide in my household. My 2 year old can name nearly every lorry make as we go past them on the motorway. We bred petrolheads. Here's a small selection of the modes of transport they conned their way onto yesterday.....

And in the famous Grandad's Jalopy:

Catching up on the celebrations

It's been an all-action kind of a week this week and so I'm catching up on what I haven't posted!

My mother-in-law turned 60 last week and so we celebrated in style - from me and my sister-in-law taking her for a spa day on her actual birthday (and supported Further Education at the same time - would highly recommend it), to organising a surprise gathering of closest family and friends for a meal on Saturday night. All lovely and she seemed to have a great time.

Number one son then went off for a long-promised stay at Graham and Helen's for a couple of nights and was spoilt rotten! An amazing amount of chocolate has found its way in to our house, after they went to Cadbury World and a (seemingly inept) juggler managed to catch number one on the nose. Clearly my boy has heard that "where there's blame, there's a claim" but, true to form, he chose to claim the extra chocolate they offered him by way of an apology, rather than contacting his solicitor!

We, on the other hand, went down to Brighton on Sunday for the end of the Historic Commercial Vehicle Society's London to Brighton run. Now, I'm not a huge vehicle fan, but just very occasionally a rally like this comes along that sounds more interesting than others. Usually because it's somewhere nice.... It was a good day and many, many pictures of old lorries were taken by Mike and his dad. Number 2 son had a great time - a large collection of lorries and buses being his idea of heaven - and even managed to blag his way in to the driving seat of a bus, using his tried and tested unfeasibly cute routine.

I have to say that I often (and, may I say, justifiably) accuse my husband of being very, very sad to chase old lorries and buses and models of old lorries and buses all over the country. However, this kind of event restores my faith in my choice of mate. After all, he could end up looking like the several blokes we saw wearing bus uniforms, with the remains of several weeks of dinner down them, or the young chap who'd spent all day keeping a steam engine going and who was going to need several baths to scrape the goo off. I like to think that I rescued him from these fates but I think that, despite his obsession, he's actually a fairly mild case compared to some of the seriously odd people in that world. I left Brighton that evening, counting my blessings.....

Back to work

All good things come to an end, or so they say, and my lovely, sunny week off has done just that. Back in to work with a bump this morning and an hour long meeting 10 minutes after arriving! And not only that, the first school run for 2 and a half weeks was conducted in the pouring rain - no more glorious sunshine for us! As if we needed anything to make us gloomier about the return to normal life....

Missing out!

The sun is shining, I'm having a well-earned week off, the boys are having a great time running round the garden all day but I'm sulking inside. There, I've admitted it!

The reason for this unattractive state is that Mike is off to Scotland for the weekend to play with a massed band. Before I'm hastily labelled a control freak/bunny boiler/etc, I should get in quickly that I have no problem with Mike being away. His job generally means anti-social hours and passing like ships in the night for most of the time anyway!

No, my big beef is that I can't go with him. I'm booked for a concert on Saturday night and the date has been in my diary for months and months. Definitely not something I can (or should) just duck out of. I'm sure that it's going to be a good evening and that I'll enjoy what I'm singing but I'm also absolutely certain of the fact that it's going to be a fantastic weekend in Scotland, with loads of friends, some great music and brilliant laughs to be had. We've done this sort of weekend before and it's always amazing in all kinds of ways. I also hate being the one to miss out - I've already told Mike that he has to instruct me in all the in j0kes that will inevitably come back.

I don't know where this desperation not to miss out on anything comes from but I have always had it in me. I have never been able to bear not being at something or not understanding a joke.
Realistically, I've got to get over myself and just cope with the fact that I can't go but it's not an easy task to stifle the urge to run after the coach, shouting "take me with you, take me!".

Mike's only gripe about the whole situation is that, as he's not going as a couple this time, he won't get "married quarters" and will have to sleep in the smelly boys' dormitory where there will, no doubt, be snoring and nasty whiffs. It's a hard life.....

Happy Easter!

Promised a picture of my very own Easter bunny in his bonnet and here he is....

There were some brilliant hats but equally some less than willing models..... Fortunately, my little one only gave his up once it was all done and dusted. This was a minor miracle as he'd expressed a strong preference for his big brother's spiderman hat earlier in the day. Even I would have struggled to get an Easter message out of the old web slinging one.

10 years ago...

... we were just in the middle of our wedding rehearsal! We got married on 10 April 1999 at the Crossing at St Paul's in Walsall. Embarrassing picture of how young we looked below.....

I've been remembering the week leading up to the wedding really vividly over the last few days. I'm not usually this schamlzy about our anniversary but 10 years feels like the first milestone and one worth celebrating and it's got me thinking.

Key things I remember include:
1. being told by an older, married friend on the Sunday before to remember to concentrate and take all the detail in on the day. She was so right and I'm very glad she gave us that advice. I pass it on now.

2. spending the Thursday in wellies with one of my three lovely bridesmaids, peeling ivy off my Grandma's fence, pegging it to the washing line and hosing it down, ready to be wound round the hand rails on the stairs at the church (we got married two floors up - a long story of church reordering).

3. practising our vows at the rehearsal with all our families there and thinking that this was the most special bit.

4. being proved right about 3. on the day.

5. having a really, really lovely time with many laughs at the pub with both families and close friends after the rehearsal.

6. our french friends arriving on the Friday with a very large, white peace lily that Agnes had held for the whole drive from Albert, in the Somme, to Walsall!

7. spending the evening before the wedding with the girls, trying to get my chief bridesmaid's hair to curl and one of the other bridesmaids burning her head with the curling tongs in the effort. Was quite sore the next day, bless her.

8. my dad coming in to the lounge full of women at about 9.30am (we got married at 11am) and suggesting, in a slightly tense voice, that someone might like to take the initiative and get showered and dressed. I hasten to add, we made it with time to spare and were all clean and beautifully scrubbed up!

Then there are so many memories of the day itself, the only sad bit of which is how many very special people were there then who aren't here now.

If I get this dreamy at 10 years, what am I going to be like at 25?

I'll stop. And yes, I'll gladly pass you the bucket now......

New spring/summer plumage

...on this blog. Fancied a change. I'm seeing it as a moving of furniture, just on the internet. All very satisfying.

Some might say that I have too much time on my hands. I say that I'm a master of task-avoidance....

The first weekend of spring

This weekend has seen beautiful, spring weather and it really does begin to feel like we've finally seen the winter off.

We made the most of the lovely day yesterday by going out with the boys to the "Poohstick Park", which is a great big expanse of common land at the back of our street, with a (very small) river running through it. It got its name from it being the first place that number one son ever played poohsticks!

Please note - shorts seen out for the first time this year!

The park is a very useful place at the moment as he's learning to ride his bike without stabilisers and the walk to it and the space available when you get there is ideal for practising! Once there, we introduced the boys to the finer art of rugby passing. Number one got it fairly quickly but number two didn't quite get the hang of passing the ball on. His preferred method of play was to pick up the ball and make a run for it in the opposite direction. This is not as silly as it sounds, given that his older brother was bearing down on him and had already delivered some serious, not to mention illegally high, tackles on their dad!

Meanwhile I maintained my gift for girlyness in the face of all the testosterone in my family and proved myself absolutely rubbish at passing and catching. Always said that rugby was a game for watching and not playing....

Amazing music

Have just been to a lovely concert at Holy Trinity tonight. It was Bach's cello suites by candlelight, given by Orlando Jopling, as part of his cello pilgrimage.

This is quite an amazing effort on his part to help churches all over the country raise money towards the restoration or maintenance of their buildings. He plays and the church organises everything and then keeps the proceeds.

But this was not only worth doing to help keep the church roof above our heads for a bit longer. Orlando performed beautifully. I'm no great cello or Bach connossieur but, as a musician, I know that the technique, musicianship and dedication needed to be able to play music like that is breathtaking. At one point his solo cello sounded like a string quartet, playing 3 or 4 notes at the same time.

It was such a treat, not only to be in the audience (don't do that nearly as often as I should or as I'd like) but to hear such a good performance. If he's coming to a church near you, I'd heartily recommend him.

Things they don't tell you when you become a parent

I spent yesterday evening creating an Easter bonnet for the 2 year old's Easter Parade next Thursday. Photographic evidence will follow next week. However, this got me thinking - when I signed on the dotted line for parenthood, at no point did anyone say that I'd have to become a master craftsman as well. A bit like the dodgily-shaped Easter eggs I was sticking on to the hastily constructed hat at 11.30 last night - I'm simply not cut out for this part of the job.

It made me wonder - what else did nobody say would be an integral part of the day job as a parent? Here are a few I have come up with. I'm sure there are more.

1. You will always need to know the answer to "why?"
2. You will never be able to find pen and paper, as the children will always be using them for the latest project (currently school registers in this house).
3. Little boys are like most big boys: no aim.
4. Children will often forget their manners. They never forget the once they heard you swear.
5. The equipment needed and the mess generated is in inverse proportion to the size of the child (see picture below for details).
6. You can take a child to water but you can't make him drink. Pop, on the other hand.....
7. If they're awake and it goes quiet: be afraid, be very afraid.
8. Even the least competitive parent will find themself stifling the urge to ask how all the other children in the class are doing. (I have successfully stifled so far but it's come close a few times).
9. Just because the school trousers say they are teflon-coated doesn't mean that a 6 year old can't put his knee through them in less than 2 hours of wear.
10. You are now the world's expert on all subjects and all you say will be taken in, digested and generally repeated, whether you've made it up or not.

Family, friends and a whole lot of cake!

I've had a lovely week toing and froing, celebrating various momentous occasions. First off was last Friday when we went to a surprise party for Mike's cousin, who's turning 40. He had a great time, we had a great time and got to know some of the friends that we've heard Graham talk about but never met. The birthday boy managed to get up close and personal with a chocolate fountain whilst trying to cut his cake and I'm not sure if his Tshirt will recover! He should look at it as a lasting momento of a good night....

Then we had the family meal for the same 40th birthday. It was a really lovely evening and the boys, as usual, kept all entertained. Graham bravely suggested that they sit either side of him to eat and so it took him a while to eat his own dinner, in between cutting up meat and catching drinks. All good practice for when he becomes a daddy in a couple of months.

Then today we've been down to Hertford to celebrate the baptism of the little boy of some of our closest and oldest friends. Catching up is such a good thing to do and it's always so easy to slot straight back in to how it used to be when we all shared a house at college. Plus 6 kids and one bump, obviously. My 6 year old explained it best when he was talking about them - he reckoned that "they're kind of our cousins, aren't they?" and that's how it feels. Not family in fact but definitely family in feeling.

Bring me sunshine!

Today feels like the first real day of spring! It's absolutely glorious outside and even a bit warmer than it has been. It's one of those days when you feel completely glad to be alive. Gorgeous.

I love this time of year - when all the leaves are starting to bud on the trees and everything feels like it's waking up again. The boys are pretty hardy and play in the garden whatever the weather but, by this time of year, they start to simply use the garden as an extension of the house as they don't have to wrap up too warm so it's not a big deal to go out. I love watching them and this weekend has been lovely as it's marked this year's beginning of the use of the garden as another room.

The oldest has set up a police station in the new workshop (a use we hadn't thought of originally) and has been doing house to house enquiries most of the weekend. This has mostly consisted of him knocking on the back door, shed door and workshop door and telling the baddies to come out!

Spring has definitely sprung and I can't wait for a few more days like this!

The 2 year (old) itch

It was bound to happen. We only narrowly escaped it last year. Number 2 has chicken pox. And, as it happens, one of about 6 off from his room in nursery!

He's being very stoic, generally, although he's obviously seriously itchy, mainly because he's one big spot. He can't stand still at the best of times and he's even worse at the moment. So much so that he wriggled and fell into the corner of the doctor's desk on Thursday when we went to the GPs to get it confirmed. Think she was more shocked and perturbed than he was!

He is nothing if not a trouper and we feel very proud of him - I don't know if I could smile like this if I was in the pickle he's found himself.

And his face isn't as bad as the rest of him......

From here to Utility - The End!

Tom finished on Saturday afternoon and we now have moved most things in to the new utility/workshop that are going to live there. There's still a few bits left to do but only minor things like putting blinds up etc.

It's very exciting to have such an amazing space, where once there was only breeze blocks and old toilets, and I think that it's going to take some getting used to. Don't mind getting used to it, though!

The "after" pictures (for before you need to look back a few weeks!):

The extra window at the end makes all the difference.


The utility end

The workshop end. As you can see, this is already in use....

So I reckon we're all done in terms of renovations (well, for the moment, anyway). Thanks to Tom, it's all been a lot less hassle than we thought it might but I think we're good to go for a while now. Time to spend some thought and effort on the garden, as the weather gets better!

Town Hall debut

Been meaning to post about this for the last week but events have overtaken somewhat.

One of the great treats I get in my musician guise is to be able to appear in the same performances as Mike. I guess that it shouldn't be a surprise, as we met through musical things, but it is a lovely thing to be able to do. It's made even more special these days as it's such a rare occurrence, because one of us is generally babysitting.

However, last Saturday was one such occasion and a great experience to share. WMP Brass Band played in a Coppers for Kids concert at the recently re-opened Birmingham Town Hall and I was asked to sing a "number" with them. The Town Hall is absolutely amazing and one of the more intimidating places I've sung in as the balcony seats just feel like they rise up right in front of you and keep going up.

The Hall has been very beautifully finished. The ceiling is glorious but, to improve the acoustics, they have had to put sound "buffers" (not sure of their real name) in. However, they haven't lost the beauty of the ceiling as the buffers are simply made out of clear stuff (technical term is quite beyond me, sorry) so you can see straight through them to the intricate work underneath.

This isn't the ceiling - obviously it's the organ....

All in all a great treat. The band played well, I got to sing in an amazing venue, the choirs we joined were very good and the good folk of Birmingham were treated to the sight of the drum corps, bagpipes and fanfare team practising outside the stage door in Chamberlain Square. Let's just say that they've had more private rehearsals.....