Back from London. All went well.
Late on Saturday afternoon, there was a little house party for Zachary when members of Sarah's family dropped by after the separately important engagement meal in an Italian restaurant in nearby Chelsea.
There was her mum and dad and two of her five brothers plus their partners and Zachary's only male cousin and the lovely girlfriend of another of Sarah's brothers. He is an officer in the British army and co-incidentally was at a stag do up here in Yorkshire.
I found myself talking to one of the girlfriends. She was about twenty five and very pleasant, asking questions that showed interest in who I was and the life I lead. It was only afterwards that I discovered she is a genuine "Lady" and a bona fide member of the British aristocracy. Her father is a duke and her family home is a sprawling stately home in Sussex. I have racked my brain but I do not believe that I have ever met a "Lady" before.
Zach's birthday cake was a work of art, decorated with animal figures from a BBC TV animated children's show called "Raa-Raa The Noisy Lion". We gathered round as the single candle was lit before singing the little fellow his first "happy birthday" song.
Shirley and I babysat for all of Saturday night as Ian and Sarah returned to a certain pub in Chelsea where the evening session of the engagement party was now in full swing. They got home just after midnight and this morning they both had raging hangovers.
Zach is coming along nicely and is much loved. It was great to spend more time with him. He is pretty mobile and has a happy, uncomplaining nature. He laughs readily and has everything that he needs though that list was supplemented with numerous generous birthday gifts.
At 3pm we were at King's Cross Station to catch our return train home. Because of Sunday engineering works, we had to come back via Doncaster on the main east coast line. Good heavens! What an impressive journey that was - speeding along in a sleek, new train at 200mph. We reached Doncaster railway station in just 1hr and 33mins. Fantastic!
200 mph on land is a little scary. These little guys can surprise us every day by what they know and can do.
ReplyDeleteI am pleased you had a good time. You received bonus time on a train for the same fare. I don't like the sound of Raa-Raa The Noisy Lion. It sounds loud.
ReplyDeleteI think the difference between "Ladies" and us (me, not you) common people is that they are taught (trained?) to show an interest and ask leading questions to keep a conversation going. Ditto upper classes that have upper class educations.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad Zachary's birthday was a success, but sorry about the raging hangovers from the engagement party goers.
That's really quick, 1 1/2 h from King's Cross to Donny!
ReplyDeleteEveryone had a great weekend, by the sounds of it. And you obviously managed to get up from the futon bed.
What an interesting weekend including a chat with a Lady. Maybe in time you will get invited to her country pile. As I hate driving on motorways, I use the train a lot to travel long distances. I thoroughly enjoy looking out of the window and seeing all the different scenery.
ReplyDeleteHappy Birthday Zach. Glad you had a good time with Grumps and Grandma.
ReplyDeleteTime does fly by so quickly, they grow up too fast.
ReplyDeleteBeware 'Lady's' who live in Sussex.
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