Friday February 17th 2023

12:00 Lois and I greet our visitors: our daughter Alison with 2 of hers and Ed's children: Rosalind (14) and Isaac (12). Since we moved into this new-build home in Malvern at the end of October, this is the second time Alison and Rosalind have visited us from their home in Headley, Hampshire, but it's the first time we have put guests up here in the house - and it's needed a lot of re-jigging to accommodate them: but well worth the work to spend so much more time with them, just to make that clear! Last time, Alison and Rosalind had to stay at a nearby AirBnB.

We're still waiting for delivery of the drop-leaf table Lois and I ordered off the internet, so for lunch, four of us have to squeeze round our existing tiny kitchen table, while the so-called "Fifth Man", i.e. me, has to sit at a three-layered stack of white plastic shelves, i.e. the so-called "naughty chair", banging my knees against it as I ease the food into my mouth - what a madness it is, isn't it!!!!

For lunch, Lois (left), Alison (right) and our 2 grandchildren

squeeze round our tiny kitchen table...

... while I sit on the so-called "naughty chair" on my own (see background), but I am allowed to talk to the others, thanks to a surprise concession haha!

Another thing Lois and I aren't used to is to have a quantity of washing-up to do after the lunch is over. Usually it's just the two of us, so we have never bothered to get a dishwasher. Today the pile of washing-up is several degrees higher, so I volunteer to take care of the washing-up  while everybody else goes for a walk on the local common.

Lois takes our visitors for a walk on the common:

(left to right) Rosalind (14), Isaac (12) and Alison

17:30 Time for Lois's weekly chair yoga class on zoom with her great-niece Molly who lives and works in Leeds with her partner Sam. And Alison and Rosalind want to join in.

on the screen, top left Molly with her mother, Sharon, Lois's niece;

top right Rosalind, Lois and Alison; bottom: Margaret, another of Molly's students

the class, now in full swing!

Molly, who is Lois's late brother Andrew's granddaughter, works with local disadvantaged residents for Leeds social services, and this is quite a stressful job. Luckily Molly is able to supplement her income and at the same time find much-needed calm from her part-time work as a yoga teacher. 

19:00 Dinner-time rolls around, and it's pretty much the same story as regards the seating. 

We're having fun anyway, that's the main thing! I go through my usual cycle of adjustment to having a lot of fun company in the house: because it's mostly just Lois and me in the house talking to each other from time to time, today, as expected, is a bit of a shock again, because suddenly we're in the middle of a continuous barrage of friendly chat. To start with, I find that this puts my head in a not unpleasant whirl, just from not being used to it. What a madness it is !!!!

Phase 2 is when I begin to get used to it, and Phase 3 when I'm laughing and joking with everybody else, which is nice. On this the first day of the visit, lunch is in Phase 1 and dinner is in Phase 3, with Phase 2 in between, so I'm definitely making progress!

21:00 By nine pm I'm totally adjusted to being in company again, so it's time to doze off on the sofa in front of the TV, and I see that Isaac feels the same, poor guy!!! 

who's that poor little old man dozing on the left there haha!

And later, before 10 pm, even Lois joins in - my goodness!!!

Not that we're getting old or anything haha !!!!!

22:00 We go to bed - zzzzzzzzz!!!!!