Clap Clap

Our next door neighbours are selling their house, and my partner J has been fantasising about buying it – not to knock both houses into one, but actually having two houses, one for each of us. Possibly with a child-sized tunnel between them as a concession to ‘family-life’. Which need not imply any problems in our relationship, just a deep-seated need not to have to have to deal with Someone Else’s stuff and Someone Else’s décor, not to mention Someone Else’s piles of bloody books. The idea does have appeal. Anyway, on a far more practical note, we are planning to build a wood-fired sauna in our back shed (which used the be the outside loo). No, really. I can’t wait.

I’ve been feeling a little snowed-under lately; my to-do list has to-do lists, and I can’t make any headway because every time I try, a child seems to need feeding or cleaning or I fall asleep. What better solution, then, that going away (to France) and then going away again (to a festival) and then – guess what?! – going away again, camping. Foolish? Perhaps. But fun. The festival in question was Playgroup festival, aka known as everyone-you-know-from-Brighton-and-beyond-in-a-field-wearing-antlers. The bands were all locally-sourced, the setting was beautiful, and there was lots to do. It was basically a big party with all your mates’ mates. I was running games of manhunt and sardines (for grown-ups, obviously – the kids were busy watching Mr Pineapple Head). Jem’s favourite thing was the tent showing continuous re-runs of Felix the Cat. My least favourite things were the toilets, which were disgraceful, the lack of bins, and the complete failure of ‘Family Camping’ provision which meant exhausted parents and grumpy kids on day two and three. Still I trust these are teething problems for an otherwise very enjoyable event.

Larkin will be a year old soon, and this week said his first words – a sort of mangled ‘clap-clap’ (or perhaps, J suggests, ‘crap crap'), and ‘um um’ for food. So if this proves portentous, he’s either going to be a chef, or a performing seal.