Thursday May 4th 2023

Our daughter Sarah and husband Francis and their 9-year-old twins Lily and Jessica are going to be staying at our house today for a few days, so there won't be much time for me to do much blogging other than to put a few pictures up - this little house will be very densely populated with 6 of us here, and it won't be easy even to get near a computer. I'll have to just put something in the blog as and when I can.

What madness!

We spend the morning hurrying to get their rooms ready, and inflating the shiny-new air-bed...

we hurry to get their rooms ready -

here Lois can be seen making up the shiny-new air-bed in the twins' room.

Still, it's lovely to have them - we haven't seen them in person since Lois and I spent a couple of months in Perth, Australia, with them in 2018.

After landing at Heathrow they've been staying a few days with Francis's sister Shirley in Hythe, Kent. They were supposed to be renting a car today to drive here to Malvern, but the rental company refused to take their credit card number without the actual cards, which we have kept here for them in our filing-cabinet - the decision was based simply on the fact that they aren't yet on a UK electoral register, which is total madness! If they'd been foreigners it would have been all right, which is a complete nonsense! 

So instead they have had to pay for a taxi - heaven knows how much that cost: I didn't dare ask.

14:00 I drive to Evesham to see them and hopefully bring some of them home with me. Sarah's having a chat with her future boss Phil this afternoon, and he's going to be lending her an electric Austin Mini, which is nice. As expected, the twins are a bit shy with me - it has been 5 years after all - but they give me a hug, which is nice.

Our daughter Sarah, with the twins, in part of the car-park

belonging to the accountancy firm where Sarah will be working

As it turns out, however, I have to just bring their luggage home with me,. Francis and the twins wait in the  firm's carpark, while Sarah talks to Phil.

It's almost all in bags. about 20 of them - and no suitcases at all. What madness (again) - it fills the whole of our car apart from the driving seat. I guess doing it that way is cheaper, but you'd think the airline wouldn't be too pleased. Well, I think I should be told !!!!!

I arrive back at our house in Malvern with a car full of bags

- no suitcases at all. What madness !!!!!!

18:00 They're here at last, the actual people, at the house! But will they fit into it? Just about - we "shoe-horn" them in haha!

seen  here  with their black electric Austin Mini, on loan from "the firm"

Yes! All 6 of us can all get round our little table in our little kitchen-diner! And to think they said it  couldn't be done!

22:00 After a bit of  telly, we go to bed - zzzzz!!!!!!