2008 is passing me by

Sorry guys; I have not beed very active with this. I need to get into the habit of keeping you up to date of what is happening. So we have a little catching up to do.

Lets start off with the girls. Eilidh is settled into school and learning a great deal. Bringing the playground banter home makes life more entertaining. She has now been in the local paper since she started school than I ever was and its very difficult to keep pace and retain all the clippings. Most of the pictures show her either dressed up or dancing round the classroom but nevertheless having a great time.

Cairenn is growing up to have her father's humor. We saying goodnight, it comes a little unexpected in the middle of February: "Merry Christmas!" See understands and giggles underneath the duvet. Like her elder sister running round the classroom having other children follow her is a source of fun. At the moment she has a great liking for horses. Something, if you know me well enough, I will extinguish gently. Unfortunately her mother whilst in Scotland has taken her riding, something that is not helping my cause.

Sorcha is very cheeky. Following her elder siblings to be able to charm her way through her younger years....yes, butter wouldn't melt in her mouth. Thankfully her Godparents are able to keep her in check. She had her first birthday before Christmas and yes, we are still struggling to find storage space of all her belongings.

Mhairi and I are just trying to keep the pace set by the girls which can be exhausting which is very evident with Mhairi not being often able to view the prime time tv slots!

Who played Sittingbourne....?

Holy Trinity Sittingbourne played host to Cathy Burton and Dan Wheeler on a Sunday night gig. After the stress of selling enough tickets we started the evening in an.....amusing fashion: Phil took the stage to introduce the band with everyone waiting to hear the first song. The usual words to explain where the fire escapes were but then the cruncher. He had to explain at the front of the church to everyone watching that the toilet was out of action and there was a bucket flush for emergencies.

Can you imagine that the precursor to the first song was to explain that the flush had broken, then to add the cherry to the cake Dan explained the first song to be "You can walk on water"! It broke the ice and its something that you will always remember whether your the band or a paying member of the audience.

Eilidh's Birthday Performance

Well it came and past....Eilidh has turned 5, yes 5. I cant quite believe it. Its was only 5 years ago that I was propping up a bar trying to forget the screaming that was occurring across the road.

Eilidh had a whale of a time over her birthday weekend. Coupled with the fact that starting school has really been exciting; its been a lot to take in for a 5 year old.

But hey, what more can you ask for than Rusty Russ aka Uncle Russell to provide the entertainment.




As you can well imaging the gags that are provided by an inflatable balloon are endless. Eilidh had invited14 of her friends to join in the fun and I have to say its was not as loud as first thought.

A big thank you to everyone that contributed to the slide, its being put to good use. All the girls are using it now and I am a little happier that its in the garden instead of being propped up by the sofa in the front room! Also thanks to all the other gifts from family and friends; trust me its taking time but Eilidh is working her way through them.

Facebook

Is it me or is everyone addicted to Facebook....I have to admit that I have a urge to get 100 friends listed on my profile and to make sure keep checking regularly that those not already fallen foul of the temptation since I previously searched have created a profile.

But I will commend the idea that it has given us the opportunity to reacquainted us with past friends once forgotten.

Lemmings 2007

Lemmings was another success this year. 2 weeks of fun filled excitement and depending on which of the weeks your attended, full of rain or sunshine. For me, gladly, the second week consisted of a generous portion of warm British sunshine. Rather fortunate considering the climatic changes we have witnessed recently.

So I did the second week and survived with no injuries to report. All the games and activities went down a treat, especially allowing young people to spend a complete Sunday afternoon getting extremely wet fully clothed, shooting down water slides.

I missed the girls during the week, but was able to catch up with them on our days excursion to Chessington. Where again I am completely surpassed by there willingness to ride the tall, fast and slightly scary (for a 5 and 3 year old) rides....but really should I be know they have a father like me?

The week came and went with a blink of an eye. It was great to share with some of the guys from Holy Trinity, who had the opportunity to see me in a new light: occasionally organised, persistently sarcastic and known for bad morning hair. The early morning meetings will never agree with me!

So, this was the last year the I was SPORTS. Not sure what 2008 will bring but have started preparing already. So if you haven't signed up yet...why not

Sorcha's Day

Well the day has now come and gone. And to say that I was a little relieved is accurate. The thought of inviting a couple of friends around for a bite to eat is one thing, but next time you attempt to cook sausages and beef burgers for many please think again.

My family as normal arrived in the nick of time. But I am not sure what my Dad is going to do once they have activated the average speed cameras along the M25......"leave earlier!" My Gran did hit the nail on the head: I asked how the mood was in the house in the morning to which she replied "Your father is running around doing everything as normal but its all wrong according to your mother." She was on form.

The Thanksgiving service went down a storm. For me it was a little strange playing a passive part of the service but Mhairi did mention that she appreciated the time she spent with her husband during a church service as this is highly unusual. Big thanks to Uncle Phil, a man who can make "Over all the earth" sound very much like "You can call me Al!" has to be commended. Phil just remember those trumpets.....cheers.

The guys from Stevenage arrived at Holy Trinity and it was a good sight to see the church swell to accommodate you all.

We had the bright idea of a BBQ. Obviously under the misapprehension that this was an easy solution to feed a hundred friends and family. Lessons learnt: ensure that you have enough coals on the fire, employ some guys with trays to ensure that the maximum temperature is constantly maintained, and if you think of it again....rethink.

However, all were feed and watered eventually. Its was a good gathering to celebrate Sorcha's arrival to the Brown household and commission her Sponsors/God Parents Phil and Lucy, Colin and Lisa, thanks guys.

Girls have fun on set of CBeebies

For an island with not much for a 4 and 3 year old to do, the Isle of Mull does have a saving grace - Balermory. Its heaven for the girls. Its was a real insight into how they will cope with seeing their favourite pop star in year to come and I am not sure that I am going to be able to cope!

So here's the tour.....starting with Miss Hooleys house. And for all you fans out there yes the colour of the house has changed.

And Josie Jumps house....

Its just the right place to be if you are knee high to a grasshopper!

Who'd of thought Scotland had a sun?

Well, this report has been a long time coming; mainly because I have had to pluck up the courage to say out loud that Scotland had some good whether. This was confirmed with the many sightings of photographers taking pictures of sunny Scotland commissioned by the local tourist boards throughout our holiday!

As you can see it was quite a picture, this was the local beach...in Scotland, well actually the Isle of Mull. We stayed in a Mhairi's cousins cottage on the island and this is the beach that was a few hundred metres down the road. Absolutely spectacular. I got sun burnt up north.

We were in the middle of nowhere. The main road was a single lane with occasional passing places. Once you had confidence that the likelihood of passing another vehicle was pretty minimal you were able to cross the island in a reasonable time. Otherwise the 20 mile trip takes over an hour. As you can imagine the roads are a bit windy.

The beach was the place to be. It was surrounded by hills which sheltered us from the breeze. The sand was so good there was a sign as you pulled up to remind everyone that excavation of the sand broke the local bye-laws. There were only 5 people in visible range other than us. The only issue I had was that was no warning sign that told you that you entered the sea at your own peril, I can not tell you how cold it was. Mhairi will persist that she remained in there the longest and managed to swim a couple of strokes but I have the medal for full immersion.

The scenery on this island was amazing. I had never spent any time in the western part of Scotland (by choice - as an Englishman - its not my first port of call). But I can reluctantly recommend a visit.

This is echoed by Russell and Helen who joined us for the week. And without their company how parents would have remained sane is beyond me on an island that has no supermarket, swimming pool or any form of release. So thanks guys.

Lemmings 2007

Lemmings is comming up this summer and we are looking for some more young people (9-13) who want to go to Surrey for a fantastic week of fun and games set in a Christian community.

We are running 2 weeks:
1) 21 July to 28 July
2) 28 July to 4 August

If you or you know anyone that wants to know more please use the link on this page or get in contact with me. This is a great week and we want to get as many young people as we can cater for.