And for my next trick ...

And we're home again. Home to the chilly starry night with the moon looking picturesque beside Venus and just a hint of the Aurora to the north (see extra). We had thought it might be possible to see a boy - or two - playing football before we left, but were persuaded of the folly of trying because of such factors as the weather (raining), the longer games as they grow older, the pre-match tactics study and warm-ups that would have left us hanging about ... We got the message and took ourselves off in the late morning.

Before that we had two separate breakfasts, one with each boy. They were sweetly amenable to allowing Grandma to take photos of them, sitting at breakfast in their Spartans strips and smiling pleasantly - it's so much easier when your subjects don't have fits of the vapours at having their photo taken. (You listening, Anna?) I'm not embarrassing them by putting them here, but they're handsome chaps. They're also growing like mad - both taller than me now, so that the little Alan who used to bury his face in my middle when we hugged goodbye now hugs my head while I'm somewhere in his chest...

We had a speedy drive home, arriving just before that interesting major incident alarm sounded on our phones. Apparently half the population never received it, so presumably they'll be left to fry or drown or stranded when whatever it is happens for real. We abandoned everything and went for a leg-stretch down at Ardyne, thus meeting the newly-arrived swifts as they darted around us along the shore road and hearing a woodpecker rattling away in the forest. I had the luxury once more of a complete dinner sent home with us by my daughter-in-law: enchiladas in a dish ready to heat, along with accompaniments and nibbles. As we'd already had a picnic lunch which she'd also supplied I felt suitably spoiled and was able to collapse over a new serial, Malpractice, on ITV.

Blipping another grand - Po the collie - lying helpfully on the stairs as I tried to bring my bags down to load in the car. Neil says he sits there to keep an eye on the front door, but I did wonder if he was trying to prevent us from going ...