Latitude. What words would describe Latitude 2023 as a review? Fabulous. Wet. Expensive. Muddy. Joyous. Family orientated. Big! To make the most of going to Latitude… – Make sure you have comfortable walking boots. Not shoes. Boots. Why? Because when it’s wet and muddy you’ll appreciate them having more grip than wellies. And coming higher up your leg will prevent wet sockage which then results in trench foot. – Have a great breakfast each morning. It look us an hour to do bacon butties for 7 people with a brew but it was so worth it. Filled us up, started us off and was proper camping ..read more

We are so proud of our boys today. I mean we’re proud of them everyday But today we’re particularly proud of them. They entered into the Duxford Soap Box Derby! Well, I say entered. It was more a case of one teen coming home from Cadets all fired up about it – and Lovely Bloke deciding it would be their summer project to make one! The other teen was dragged into it somewhat reluctantly. Here’s a photo of them the day before, after we’d walked the course and gone up the road near our house to practise. This is after a wheel had fallen off before we even got out to the road, so we weren’t fille ..read more

It only took me four years. But I wrote a new “About Me” page tonight. I’m quite pleased with myself ..read more

So, here’s the old “About me” page. I’m now going to write a new one. I have no idea what the new one will look like though. But it’s a good starting point if I’m going to start over with this blog… So let’s see where it takes me to.   ..read more

The dust returns. Our floor bloke came and started on the craters in the floor this week and put down a sealant to help us with the dust. For 48 hours we could breathe easily. And then today, Le Husband has started with a project – making us a dining table and benches. And I’ve never seen dust like it. Sheesh. I’m keeping quiet about this though. If the dust and 200 of wood and 200 of steels can give us the big table that we want to have, then we’re up for it. The ones we like are at least 2.5K. The banquette seating we like is 2.7K. Would you like to see snapshots of the work so far? I’ve put ..read more

I wrote this in February 2021 I don’t mind telling you. I am not impressed with this lockdown. In 1.0 I was unemployed and therefore whilst I was anxious about employment, I could at least support the boys with their schooling. In lockdown 2.0 the boys went to school. In lockdown 3.0 I am home, the boys are home, the dog is at home and we even have builders across the back of the house with us. I am so grateful that it’s happening for us in this house though, rather than the old one. We’d have really struggled with it there! I feel like there’s so much to say about the lockdown experience and ..read more

Ooooh, this is interesting. I just published a post with an update on my relatively new job. And then I found this one. It’s interesting how we all tell ourselves different stories about the same situations, isn’t it? How we all see things so differently, at different times. At the time of drafting this, I was wrestling with whether to ‘put it out there’ that I wasn’t working – and needed to be! Having never been in this position before, I was so frustrated and embarrassed – and scared people would judge me. Anyway, here’s the other post… I received the nicest message today on LinkedIn. Someon ..read more

Yes. Yes. And Yes. I have news. I return to full time employment on Monday 7th September. Mum’s all inclusive, five star, bespoke meals on wheels and snacks on demand home school / holiday resort is closing. And for the most part, I’m ruddy delighted about it. This is a long ish post, with a full life update, so get a brew and settle in. Background: I left Belbin (my choice, love the product) in February to return to Airport Lynx / Lynx Autocare / M&M Motorcycles. Ten days in, COVID-19 changed the trajectory of their businesses for the foreseeable and whilst they’ve been entirely supporti ..read more

As we are now in the zone of teenagers, I have instigated a new set of rules for the males of the household. This is hereafter referred to as our ‘Scratch and Sniff’ policy. Each Monday to Friday, you get up, clean your teeth, put deodorant and ‘smelly’ (aftershave) on and get dressed. You are also required to wear a fresh pair of pants every day. Once this is achieved, you have to present yourself to Dad for checking over before he leaves for work. On a Saturday and Sunday you present yourself to The Mothership. This was implemented last Saturday afternoon at a Weston Family Meeting after the ..read more

We’re really missing the fun of having our EF Students here with us in Cambridge. So I thought it would be good to make a hall of fame for the students who’ve lived with us over the last year. They’re not going to be in order of arrival / leaving – I’m going to find them and embed them here from my instagram account… View this post on Instagram And now @staceycc7 is safely home in Peru! We will miss her smile, her energy and her enthusiasm for trying out new English words. We hope everyone at home enjoys all things she’s bought whilst with us – she’s definitely contributed to the UK economy ..read more