Family counts

On Tuesday my sister, who I haven't seen for a year, arrived from Greece and went to our mum's in London (1+1=2).

Which is why I headed there after work (2+1=3).

On Wednesday the forecast promised us two hours of precious sun before solid cloud until Sunday morning. Out we went with our mum to make the most of it and were delighted that it never disappeared. On Wednesday evening my partner arrived (3+1=4).

On Thursday the cloud that was forecast didn't show up at all. Nor did any more family members.

Yesterday the forecast had capitulated and promised sun all day. I hired a car, drove us to Oxford to collect my daughter (4+1=5) then on to my brother's for a weekend celebrating his 60th birthday (5+4=9).

Today a contingent arrived from Bristol by car (9+2=11) and one arrived from London (11+1=12) in time for a sunny walk round Avebury's stones and vibrant rape fields. We were then supposed to collect my son, due to arrive in Swindon from Plymouth but he'd got on a train to Southampton by mistake. (Hmph. But at least the cloud he was temporarily under was the only one of the day.) Two hours later we went out to collect him again, at the same time as putting our daughter onto her train back to Oxford (12+1-1=12).

My mum and I had put together a book of 60 years of photos of my brother and the family, and his offspring marked the fact that he is the most multi-talented, practical person any of us knows by presenting him with some work overalls they'd had embroidered with 'Fixing things since 1957'.

Apart from that, much food, much drink and much laughter.