Meeting up

We had a disturbed night. For the first time in ages, Ellie woke after a bad dream and came into our room for comfort. I was going to take her back to her room but Nana told her to get into bed with us. She cuddled up to Nana and then fidgeted for the next hour. By that time she should be well comforted and we were wide awake. I took her back to bed and she drifted straight off to sleep. 

We had to be up and out before 090:00. Our flu jabs were scheduled at the local surgery. We were in and out in a few minutes and headed back home for breakfast. Ellie strayed from her usual breakfast selection and had scrambled eggs in a sandwich. This was a good choice as we would be having lunch late.

We set off for the wilds of Berkshire. We had lunch planned with Denise and Dom, Emma and Louis, and Rebecca. The last time we met up at "The Craven Arms" we had been seriously delayed by the seemingly interminable road works at the bottom of the M3. I deliberately allowed some extra time and aimed to get there early enough to allow Ellie to run about before we sat down to eat. We were delighted to find no hold-ups or delays anywhere along the route, and the roadworks are now complete.

Ellie headed straight for the swings. Our table was reserved in their "Tipi Tent" which you can see in the background. We have eaten there before in high summer, a year or so back. Today, the end of September despite a favourable weather forecast, this was a little cool we wished we had worn warmer clothes.

The others soon arrived and on assessing the situation, Rebecca returned to her car to bring some spare coats and jackets, while Diane and Denise raided the pile of blankets and fleeces provided by the venue.

All we have heard from Ellie during the last week was how she would be seeing her cousin, Louis. Finally, they met up and went off to play until lunch was served. There was clearly some hero worship going on. They played well together (at least until Louis had the chance to play some football with some other youngsters).

We sat and chatted, catching up on everyone's news. Lunch was served. The kids and most of the adults went for the burgers (which were huge). Rebecca chose the beef rendang (which she really enjoyed). Diane selected the ham, egg, and chips (one of her favourites). I had half a chicken in piri piri sauce. The food was excellent and the portions were large. After lunch, with the cousins still playing (though Ellie had grazed her knees falling from the swing), the chat continued along with an examination of the photos from our cruise.

It was after 17:00 before we packed up and went our separate ways. We again had a quick and trouble-free journey home and dropped Ellie off at Zoe's before settling down for a quiet night with the TV.