Friday, December 24, 2010

The Queens' speech, 2010

At this time of year, many of you will be thinking of family. We do our best not to, but the sounds and smells coming from the bathroom when Daddy is in there make it impossible not to, so we're stuck with it.

2010 began with very cold weather and even a touch of snow, which scuppered our attempt to go to a playground on Hampstead Heath. 200,000 other middle-class families were similarly caught out by the unexpected closure, which meant that the only cafe in the area open to serve soy flat whites on New Year's Day made enough money to retire.

On the second the older one of us went to a panto with Daddy and cousin Hector. This was a first for Elizabeth and clearly a trying experience for Daddy, but a jolly good time was had with much joining in. And we got a magic wand that we were genuinely confused to see could not make Daddy just vanish on command. Even Mummy tried it but he still stayed.

This was followed by more snow, but then Mummy was selected as a candidate for the Council elections. This was good news for her, but did give Daddy delusions that he is some sort of political genius .His slogan “Vote Angela, and she'll spare your life when she conquers the world” was rejected for being too long.

The electioneering process mainly seems to involve going out after our bedtime, so as far as we're concerned it was very easy. When May arrived Mummy did well for Labour in a safely Lib-Dem ward, but overall Labour regained control of Brent. Subsequent events have seen many people come up to Mummy in the street and express regrets about how they voted.

In March we went to Centre Parcs for the first time since Daddy came off his crutches, which made it easier for him to chase us around the villa. Elizabeth and Daddy also took their bikes this time, which was fun. We went with our friend Freya and had a lot of fun. Shortly after this Daddy was knocked off his bike by a rude car, which did at least make Daddy easier to sit on.

Later in March Daddy was on the Aled Jones programme on Radio 2, which flushed out a lot of closet Radio 2 fans from amongst Mummy and Daddy's friends, and made both them feel old.

In April Aunty Kate came to stay and we went to Kew and to a fab hands-on science centre in Bracknell.

In April we all went to Llandudno where Daddy was working for a week, and had a lot of fun on the beach, the Orme and at some castles. Given that the average of the other people staying at our hotel was about 78, people fussed over us a lot. All restaurants in Llandudno sell only chips and ice cream, so we had a fine time.

May time saw us making a visit to Norfolk and then a day trip to ride on Thomas at the Nene Valley railway. Imagine our surprise when we realised that watching a programme made with model engines did not prepare us for the sound of a real steam engine literally letting off steam at close quarters. Imagine the screams, the tears, the pleading to go home, the running away. Imagine the looks on Mummy's and Daddy's faces. Imagine the quantity of ice cream necessary to bribe us to actually get on the train. Such a fun day.

In June we went to Portsmouth for Daddy's work, and Grandma and Grandpa came to visit as well, and we saw lots of old ships. In July we had a lovely visit to cousins Jamie and Isabelle and their super bouncy trampoline.

We had a super summer holiday with Granny and Grandad, and then on the other side of France with our friends Ted and Jacob and Rowan. We celebrated Bastille Day with some very funny tasting fruit juice, and found some super playgrounds. Then we travelled by Royal Train to Grandma and Grandpa’s, followed by a further ride on the Royal Miniature Train.

September saw a big change as Elizabeth started school. It was so much fun that I decided to go back the next day. We also began swimming lessons, leading Mummy and Daddy to mutter that it was less worrying when we were afraid of the water.

In October we made a royal visit to Blackpool, where we rode on roller coasters, slides, things that threw u high up into the air, and everything else we could find that Daddy or Mummy were reluctant to go on. We also saw the illuminations, the zoo and went swimming. It was very ace.

In November Daddy grew a moustache for charity. Whereof one cannot speak kindly, one must pass over in silence.

Wishing you all a wonderful Christmas




Elizabeth and Alexandra