Family time

Family time.   Always special.   

Last weekend we had two lovely family occasions.   The first one was Isabel's birthday on Friday evening.   After dinner at a restaurant we came back for coffee and birthday cake.   And what a magnificent birthday cake, made and decorated by Jackson.   A plain sponge inside, and covered with chocolate pebbles and sticks on the outside.   A chocolate lover's dream.   And Isabel certainly loves chocolate, as we all do.

 And the final touch.   The most amazing candle.    Or I should say a number of little candles attached to the petals of the flowers.   Once lit they opened up, and swirled around, to the tune of Happy Birthday.   What a surprise!   We all loved it, and Isabel most of all, of course.

 On Sunday we travelled to Tring to spend the day with Donna, Patrick, Lucy and Poppy the dog.   During the sunny part of the day we went for a walk in Aston Clinton Park, otherwise known as The Hub, Aston Clinton.

Around the edge of the park there was a fitness trail and some members of the family could not resist trying out the equipment. Well done, Donna, walking along the wall, which wobbled considerably.   Luckily it did not fall over.

 Striding out towards the woods.

 Patrick impressing us with his work on the bars.   Poppy is impressed too, or worried, maybe.  Will he fall?

 More swinging, very good,

 legs straight out, impressive,

 and swing the legs over one bar.   I feel very envious.   Not enough strength in my arms, nor the flexibility.

One needs extra strong arms for the ladder walk.  Patrick had already swung to the other end, but had to come back again, because I did not have my camera ready.  That really tested him.  I don't think Poppy realised that Patrick nearly dropped down on top of her. .  But no, he made it to the end, just.   Well done, Patrick.

 A game of lawn bowls on a Sunday.   A match we think.   No bright uniform colours here.  Everyone in their white uniforms.   No shorts either.

 The tennis courts.   Four people playing a lazy Sunday game.

 After coffee and cake, sitting in the sunshine, we drove back to Tring, and went for a short walk to the Memorial Gardens.   No dogs off the lead, no children under 10 (without adults), no picking flowers, no ball games, no paddling in the pond, no, no, no to anything really.   But obviously a token effort regarding rules, as the small sign was discretely tucked against the post, viewed as people walked out of the park.

Beautiful flowers, but not for picking apparently.

 A lovely little park though, very pleasant and quiet, on a sunny day.

We then spent a lovely afternoon, sitting in Donna and Patrick's new apartment, in the centre of Tring.   Plenty to see and shops just around the corner, and an upmarket pub next door.

A truly lovely family weekend.