Trip to Bournemouth

One weekend during the summer we took the train - well, two trains - down to Bournemouth to see Uncle Matthew and Auntie Marion, and their four - count 'em, FOUR! - kids: Chloe, Gregory, Barnaby and new arrival Timothy. They had come up to us in 2007, and we had been down to their last place in Winchester, but we had never down to their south coast.

The gang: (back row) Gregory, Matt, Liam and Graham; (front row) Chloe, Barnaby.

We had a great couple of days, despite the inevitable ego-clashes and territorial squabbles. Best of all was the trips down to the seaside, in the blazing sunshine. Best of all were the action shots of the kids: I just asked them on the count of three to jump, pushed the button and here are the ones that worked, especially the one of Gregory horizontal!

Matt and Marion have a whirlpool in their garden, which Liam loved...

Trip to Winchester to see Uncle Matthew, Auntie Marion and the cousins

L to R: Valeria, Liam, Gregory (foreground), Marion (background), Barnaby, Chloe (foreground), Matthew.

We ventured down to Winchester in May to see my brother and his family, and had a great time.

It was, again, especially good for Liam to play with kids all day in a house. Here is a great one of all the cousins doing a The Incredibles/ Charlie's Angels pose (with one notable, if predictable, exception - either he is a radical non-conformist by nature, or he won't possibly be able to keep this up and he'll become an accountant...)

Liam seemed particularly to find a soulmate/ worthy playfight adversary in Barnaby (a year younger, but just as, er, tenaciously spirited!)