A Loosening Of The Ties

We've been living mainly in Kent for 10 months now- and every time we come "home" it feels more and more as if we're just visiting and our real life is elsewhere. Things change on the street. Families come and go. The latest bunch of kids to be playing football in the road (every generation does it) are new to me. I think they're Romanian.

Ivy At 20 Months

Ivy wanted me to draw a picture of Ailz. Then she wanted a picture of Ailz's dog (which doesn't exist). Then she wanted pictures of all her other grannies- that's my ex-wife and her partner and James's mother Bev. What a lot of grannies. Then she wanted balloons. We decided all the grannies were having a party to celebrate the dog's birthday;  so then we sang "Happy birthday, grannie's dog".

We were messing about with my topi- the little Middle-eastern pillbox hat I wear- and she called it a "goat-keeper's hat". Or just possibly a  "goal-keeper's hat". Now where on earth did that come from?