Second cousins (and Sandy)

It’s been all go today. #2 daughter messaged to say she had the boys in Alnwick for rugby so could they come over after it for lunch. It worked out well as her cousin was arriving with her boys around 1 en route home to Yorkshire after her Dad’s 80th. Luckily I had a big pot of broth on the go.

It was really good to catch up with them. Last time was a few years ago when her boys were monosyllabic but now they chatted nicely and told us about where they were up to. Robbie (from the photo needs no lessons in man-spreading) is 18 and on a plumbing apprenticeship but he’s not sure if he can imagine doing that forever. Callum, 5 years younger, has chosen his GCSEs. They are both Middlesbrough supporters but play no sport themselves and Jen is taking Callum to Milan so that he can see a match in the stadium there. Jen is Mr C’s late sister’s daughter. She’s a single parent now and I’m very fond of her.

Then we walked over to the other side of the valley for a couple of drinks with Carol and Phil. It was a jolly catch up and I just made it back in time for FaceTime with Jo who was interested in the Colombia trip as she’s going in March. She’s still waiting for North Korea to open up.