The Kids, The God Kids and The Big Kids!

The Mount, innit!

The Easter holiday appears to have developed into a tradition where we descend upon the God Children in Cornwall and have around 5 days of nothing but fun, fun, fun, laughter, good food, wine and jollity! This year was no exception, we had the most brilliant time with Jemima, Ferdi, Heather, Lawrence and their dog Daisy in Marazion....

Da Boyz!

Imagine waking up to this view of The Mount everyday....such lucky, lucky people. Due to how life has been the past 7-8 months, we didn't get to see the God Children around Christmas time so this Easter we got to give them some more presents that we couldn't send through the post.

Ferdi enjoying his Scalextric

Now, as pointed out to me by Heather, I really do need to think through the gifts we buy the Kids as it normally involves some sort of building/construction and I, by my own admission, am not a builder/constructer-type person and have a relatively short attention span on such things.....so why, oh WHY I decided that a Scalextric set with lots of fiddly bits and bobs would be a good idea is beyond me (it is of course a God Father's duty to build said gifts for the children!!!), however Jemima and Ferdi loved it which is by far the main thing. Bringing a smile to my God Children's' faces fills my heart with sunshine.

Jemima - beautiful, just like her Mum

Being Easter, there was lots of Chocolate, Eggs and treats involved, most of which I am glad to report, did not end up in my tummy.....a first methinks! On Good Friday we spent the day on the beach in Marazion, playing with Jemima and Ferdi and of course Max and Millie. Max, as you know has been to Cornwall before, but this was the first time for Millie and she behaved admirably, getting on very well with everyone including Daisy, the God Kids dog who she wasn't too impressed with when they visited London last year. 

Millie, Ferdi and my handsome Hubby.....

After a brief discussion, we even decided that, as the 'dog beach' was quite secure, we would try Millie off the lead and see how she went. The first time was a little hit and miss with Millie looking for a way out, however John and I tried again and stood about 100 yards apart and called her to each of us, which went very well indeed...as you can see!!!

What a marvellous girl Millie is!

The majority of the weekend was spent on the beach with the children and the dogs, however we also visited a lovely working farm with attached shop - http://www.trevaskisfarm.co.uk/ This place was full of fabulous food and some delicious Cornish 'Beef' which my Hubby was very impressed with! We also dragged Jemima and Ferdi around a Garden Centre or two....just find a trolley, grab a child and off you go.....has to be done......

Jemima and 'Uncle Dahlia' having FUN!

Easter Sunday was brilliant.....Jemima and Ferdi took us to Trevaylor Woods which they know very well and we set up an Easter Egg Hunt as we walked through the forest....it was idyllic! Eggs were hidden in trees, behind rocks, by the stream, everywhere.....it was marvellous and the looks on the children's faces when they found an egg was simply fantastic to watch along with much gasping and "I can see one, I can see one!". 

Look how many eggs we have!

As well as fun for the children, there were also a few ropes hanging from trees which were really meant for passing kids to swing from, however, yours truly cannot resist a rope hanging from a tree and decided that it was worth a go. I have to say, it was fun for the first 30 seconds and then absolute agony......a grown man shouldn't put himself through such pain in the name of fun and games.....he really shouldn't...

I can't get off!

M & M also had a wonderful time playing in the woods. Max and Daisy ran off here, there and everywhere or chased sticks that were thrown for them. Millie had to stay on the lead but still had lots of fun sniffing about, paddling in the stream and trying to take out any other dogs she saw! Jemima fell completely in love with Max, taking his lead whenever it was safe for her to do so....she (and I suspect he) loved it!

Maximillian and Jemima

We had the BEST time in Cornwall with Jemima, Ferdi, Heather and Lawrence, we always do and we look forward to doing it all again. On Easter Monday we departed Cornwall and headed to Grandma Celia's....

Us and the God Children

Grandma Celia lives in South Somerset and is conveniently situated about 10 minutes from the A303, approximately half way between Marazion and London and so, after just a couple of hours, we arrived for an overnight stay with Millie and Max. Again, Max has been here before but Millie never has, she had quite the Easter holiday!

Throw the stick Grandma!

Mum lives a short stroll from the gorgeous River Yeo, a slow-flowing river full of reeds, moorhens, waterlilies and surrounded by fields and fields of sheep. It was really nice to return and walk where my young feet once ran and played and where I used to go coarse fishing, I believe I developed a small crush on the place after so many years of just 'driving through'. Max and Millie loved it too and had a run around on their leads due to the sheep that surrounded us....the gorgeous weather also helped of course, the entire Easter break being filled with glorious sun. We returned to London on Tuesday afternoon after an absolutely superb Easter break. We're all looking forward to returning to Cornwall and Somerset in the near future.......

The River Yeo....blissfully quiet

This weekend (Sunday) sees us being visited by Bella and Muffin with their dogs Finley and Archie. Max has met both of them before, but again Millie has not. It could well be complete and utter carnage however I am hoping that, like Max, Millie will get on with them very well and they will all have tons of fun running around in the garden terrorising the hens!

Archie, Finley & Maximillian

Photos of the 'carnage' will appear in the next update.........fingers crossed *eek!* Now I'm off to the allotment to join my Man who is planting runner bean seedlings and digging over a bed as I type.....Millie is giving me the look that says "Come on Dad, I want to go NOW!"

Are we going to the allotment now Dad???

A Right Royal Knees Up!

Maximillian Sydney Bruiser and Millicent Hermione Oprah would like to thank HRH William Windsor and 'commoner' Catherine Middleton for giving their Dads the day off tomorrow thus giving them 4 days off in which to play, play, play!

Oh yes she does!

May Kate and 'big' Willy have a long and happy marriage filled with much joy, happiness and love.....just like M & M's Dads!

Spring is Springing

Hasn't this recent sunny weather been absolutely glorious?! It's truly lovely to step out into the garden, particularly when getting home from work, to check out all the growth that is shooting up day by day, watch the hens scratching about for morsels of tastiness while the puppies leap and bounce about the place like ferocious, beastly, spring lambs. I do like a bit of Spring and Spring 2011 is just gorgeous....

Ferocious, beastly, Spring lambs!

The weather has been so good that we decided to take The Girls' winter housing down so that they are out all day while we are at work and they have their portion of the garden and deck in which to potter, scratch, bathe and generally have quite a fabulous life really....oh to be a chicken in Devonshire Road!!!

We appear to be missing a house!!!

The entire process of dismantling the chicken run from start to finish was an hour or so with the Hubby faffing here, faffing there, faffing everywhere. The Girls knew what was going on, Harriet and Ruby definitely know the score and are more than used to this annual ritual, showing little interest in the Hubby until he had finished. Tallulah and Nigella seemed to keep out of harms way until it was all done and they could enjoy the rest of their day uninterrupted.

The Girls are out!

While all of this was going on, Maximillian and Millie were in the garden, sunning themselves or, in Maximillian's case, running around like a bloody lunatic! If he wasn't killing Space Hopper he was flinging himself about trying to catch his Frisbee (not that he's very good at it and most of the time it was hanging around his neck!)...

Space Hopper and Space Cadet!

Millie is most definitely a sun dog, she absolutely, positively loves it. She finds the sunniest spot in the garden, normally in front of the Tree Ferns, she flops down on her bed, gets nice and comfortable and slowly, gently cooks.....and she does it looking absolutely beautiful....because she is!

Millie at Gas Mark 6 ! !

Weekends mean that, as well as pottering in the garden, up the allotment or in the home doing chores, the dogs get to come down to the bedroom first thing in the morning for cuddles and love while us 'Dads' wake up. The dining room door opens and the clatter of 8 little legs gets louder and louder as they near the bedroom before launching themselves on to the bed and then promptly, quickly getting comfy and having a nap with us....Millie with Himself and Maximillian with me... *bliss*

A 'gentle' wake up from M&M ! ! !

Alas, the weather has turned cooler and with it my Fella has got himself a throat infection and a cold and is not well, bless him. He's supping Honey & Lemon Cold/Flu, isn't sleeping particularly well and doesn't look his best to be honest. Send him lots of 'get well' love and hugs.....he's a poorly chap.

Enjoying a Mango Margarita before illness struck!

This weekend we take Millie back to the vet for her ongoing Puppy Passport requirements....only 5 months to go and it's all done. At Easter we're taking the Puppies to Cornwall to visit the God Kids, then to Somerset to visit Grandma Celia. The 'Royal Wedding Weekend' sees us in Cheshire visiting Nana Joyce's house....it's all go, go, go! ! !

Spring has sprung!

Bonjour Mon Petit Chou-Fleurs!

Spring has finally sprung, the allotment is now, at last, being tended to, seeds are being sown, tubers are being planted, beds are being dug and the puppies are, as always, being naughty little scamps of the naughty little scamp sort! As I write, Mr. McEllis Snr is dans le jardin, moving plants he shouldn't be moving, pruning plants he shouldn't be pruning and generally being just as much of a naughty scamp as his naughty little scamp puppies! However, to say that I am completely and utterly in love with all three naughty scamps would be an understatement, they bring me so much joy, happiness and love (apart from when the Husband is being a bolshy git!) that sometimes I could just burst - and not just from eating too many Liquorice Allsorts but that's another story.....Ooh, I want sweeties now!

Daddy, I taught I taw a Putty-tat!

A year ago last New Year's Eve we lit lanterns in the depths of France, south-west of Paris with our dear friends Sharon and Nick and on said lanterns we wrote ourselves a promise each. The promises were that within 5 years of that lantern launching into the crisp, French wintery sky we would have our own piece of France, "La Maison de McEllis". Of course, these promises were made before Max & Millie were in our lives, but coincidentally they were made a couple of months after their births - we were definitely meant to have these two little'uns. We are looking at finding a little place in or near Le Dorat, almost directly south of Paris, outside Limoges and very close to McEllis Snr's sister, the barking mad but lovely Pol (Sybil) and her loverrrrrrr, Col (Basil), where they have their own little B&B business (Fawlty Towers!). Click here to have a butcher's http://www.maisonlapeyriere.com/

Un petit chien is going to France!

So, to enable both Max & Millie to join us on holidays in the French countryside, we needed to organise their 'puppy passports'. Max's passport process was started almost as soon as we got him, however they're not cheap to say the least and so Millie's application has only just begun, hence her visit to the vet last week for her first jab and rabies blood test. Millie returns in a couple of weeks for further jabs/tests - the entire process takes approximately 6 months. While we were at the vet Max had his annual booster jab and both were extremely well behaved for a change!

I want this one!

Previously I've mentioned the issue with the local park/Rec and the ongoing discussions about it being turned into yet more cemetery. Well, those discussions are still ongoing, however now that the clocks have gone forward it doesn't shut until 7pm ish which means that the 'Kids' now get a good run around the cemetery and park, something they (and us) really enjoy. Let's hope the Council listen to reason and we don't lose a very valuable piece of green space in South East London. Petition signatures are being collected here http://www.petitionbuzz.com/petitions/savehonoroakparkrec and we would welcome any contributions from you lovely people... :-)

The 'Kids' enjoying the park

Thanks to our friend, Neil, the puppies have now entered the 21st Century and have their own 'QR Code'. For those of you that don't know what it is (I didn't have a clue quite honestly!!!), a QR Code is a matrix bar code and is readable by dedicated QR bar code and camera phone bar code apps.....yes, I thought it a bit of a mouthful and a tad gobbledy-gook too! If you have a bar code app on your phone, just zap the image below and it will take you to THIS blog.....how fantastically cool and fab is that?!?!?! Please pass it around to anyone you think may be interested and most importantly, THANKS Neil!

M&M's QR Code - scan it and be amazed!

This afternoon we took Max & Millie to meet the gorgeous Kirsty aka Minje (Princess Minjeeta).....so-called because of a rather fun but messy Bollywood Party we once held at our previous residence in Marmora Road almost 8 years ago. Mr McEllis Snr was Smarmy Swarmi and I was Delhi Belly....it was a night to be remembered and I wish I could remember it but I can't because I got so absolutely, dreadfully, awfully, embarrassingly drunk that I passed out and was 'hungover' for 3 days! The last words I uttered were a stumbling, mumbling, "I can't feel my legs"....the smell of Pimms is a permanent reminder of the evening to this day!

Millie, Minje & Max...

The extraordinarily talented Kirsty is putting on two plays at this year's Edinburgh Fringe Festival, both of which will be previewed in London in late July. One is a story about Strippers, called (I think) "Dances for Wolves" (forgive me Kirsty if I got that wrong!) and the other is called "On The Bench" about the world of the Premier Football League but with a twist. We all had a super afternoon at Kirsty's gaff, chatting, eating cucumber sarnies and chocolate cake and having a right good natter......we all agreed that we really don't see enough of each other! We walked to Kirsty's and back again with the Muttlies, which is about an hour each way. As I type, they're both flaked out on the sofa, cuddled up together, gently snoring.

McKenna does hardcore....seen on the way to Lewisham!

Today is also Mother's Day - as we walked to Lewisham this afternoon the streets were festooned with bouquet upon bouquet of pink arrangements outside Flower Shops, all waiting to be snapped up by eager, excited children and forgetful boyfriends, Husbands, Fathers and the like. I called my lovely Mum this morning and thankfully she had received the flowers I sent her, I just wish we could have spent the day with her, however we'll see her next month for a day or two after having seen the God Kids.

To Our Mums

As you know, we lost the gorgeous Mrs. Joyce Ellis earlier this year and so today had an odd feel to it almost as if we needed to avoid it but at the same time confront it head on if that makes any sense at all. I felt almost guilty calling my Mum and didn't really want John to hear me in case I upset him. Bizarre I know, but I didn't want to appear insensitive to the day and it's implication. And so, tonight we cracked open a bottle of Champers in honour of Mums here, there and everywhere, whether with us or dearly departed - Mums, we love you.