A little trip to the Alps

 France - it's all about the food, isn't it?  Where else can you stop briefly in a local market and buy such good cheese, ham and fruit?  Where else does every local bakery bake twice a day, and offer such a mouth watering array of cakes, pizzas, tarts and bread?  France is all about the food, and as eating is one of my most favourite pastimes, I am just in Heaven!

My personal Boar!

After a few days in the searing heat at Granddad's house, we decided to visit the mountains, which were cool and pleasant, but still basking in summer sunshine.  There are excellent things to eat there too.  I scored my first personal icecream cone in the elegant city of Grenoble, and quickly established icecream as a regular part of my daily diet.  Daddy tried to protest on several occasions, but he was over-ruled by my mother, who pointed out we were on holiday!  I also discovered a wonderful toyshop in Grenoble, and acquired a plastic French pig.  They are apparently very common in the region, but they are also very shy, and only come down and wreck Granddad's garden in the middle of the night.  It is important to know what they look like, so I can shoo it away if I ever see one. 

Briancon

Alpine Pass

After visiting Grenoble, we mostly spent our time high in the mountains.  I pretty much slept through the medieval town of Briancon, but did manage to rouse myself sufficiently to join in the excitement of topping out this Alpine pass.  Most of the excited people had cycled up, but when you're only just one, and can't even walk yet, getting to the top any which way is something of an achievement.

Back down in the Var valley at Granddad's house, there was still time for plenty of new experiences.  One morning we headed to the beach at 7am before it got too hot for me.  We were the first people there!  I am pleased to report that sand is starting to make more sense.  I have figured out you can pat it and fill buckets with it.  This has proved considerably more successful than my earlier attempts to eat it.   I also went for a swim in the sea with Mummy for the first time.  It was very swishy.

We met this dog in Les Arcs.  I thought it was the funniest thing I had EVER SEEN!  Dogs and cats are my favourite thing at the moment.  I tried to stop and talk to everyone that I met, even if they didn't want to talk to me.  Mummy taught me to feed titbits to the dog at the hotel in Mont Dauphin, and that seems an effective strategy.  


I have also been practising my swimming in Granddad's pool.  I was initially a little perturbed by the huge inflatable giraffe, but by the end of the fortnight, I was sailing my boat, and riding Giraffe like an old hand.  I also had a go in the jacuzzi, and that was fun too.


And don't forget the eating... that was the best bit of all!

Lunch on Market Day at the Hotel du Park, Lorgues

My First Birthday Party

 If you go down to the woods today, you're sure to get a surprise....  for every bear that ever there was, will gather there for certain because, Today's the day the teddy bears have their picnic. 


Everyone knows that teddy bears throw the best parties, so given my impending first birthday, I got together with a few of my bears to make plans....

to throw a party with lots of marvellous things to eat...


and wonderful games to play....  Fairy Godmother Gill came with Emma and Fiona, and played hundreds of exciting games with all the children...  and everyone had their face painted, or little delicate flowers drawn on their hands... we all looked amazing...

 Imogen distinguished herself by managing to lean over in her highchair and pinch a few cupcakes....


Daddy blew up the balloons.  Mummy made all the cakes.  The house was brimming with people.  I ate too much birthday tea.  There were zillions of presents...  the biggest was a huge pink car, but I especially love my Team GB Olympic duck.

Miss Madeleine can....

As she approaches her first birthday, Miss Madeleine...

• can say Mama, Dadda, duck, cat, Catherine and dog.
• loves any sort of animal, especially ducks, monkeys, cats, dogs and any thing else that moves, flaps, squawks or squeals.
• complains if expected to travel in a car without her DVD player and the Teletubbies.
• sings along to the la, la, la chorus in the cbeebies show Mr Bloom.
• is pulling herself up and cruising around the furniture.
• will eat just about anything, but her favourites are blueberries, meat, chocolate, tomatoes and cheese.  Miss M is a cheese-monster!
• can sign milk and duck.
• loves balloons, eating books, shredding paper, foraging in dustbins and rubber ducks.
• loves swimming, softplay and communal singing.

Animal Magic

Ginger and I in the Garden, March 2012

 I have been trying to convey how much I love animals for quite some time, but some how - my efforts have always been misconstrued.  Why - oh why does Ginger Cat not want to play with me?

The Museum of Scotland, April 2012

 Fortunately, I was soon presented with another opportunity to express my animal interests.  Strolling through the Museum of Scotland, trying to appease my mother's efforts to interest me in a video of a volcano and a digitised fish game (yawn), I suddenly spied something really fabulous!  Yes - here he is - Ratty!  Isn't he great? Flapping my hands wildly and shrieking with delight, I had to resort to outraged sobs when Mummy tried to take me away from the cabinet too quickly for my liking.  He is good - but I have to say - a little impassive maybe?

I need not have worried.  Things were only just beginning.  Yes, Mummy had finally got it.  Slow as she is - it has finally sunk in that YES, I am interested in animals.  So she took me to the zoo.  She hadn't been going to bother because apparently my big sister had never been that into it.  Hello!  I am.  Got it?  Well Darlings, I loved it.  My eyes were on stalks from the moment I arrived.  I wouldn't even turn round to have this picture taken of us in front of the penguins.  Penguins - bloody funny, aren't they?


This is me getting down and dirty with the Meerkats.  Chortling with delight, I whooped and wailed.  I could have sat here for hours.

My favourite animals are probably the monkeys - though I have tried waving at a sleeping Rhino - so I am really not fussy.  Laughing, jumping, frantic waving - breaking into giggles - they are just SO amazing.  They never wave back though.


We went again this week, and queued up to see the pandas.  The significant investment of Edinburgh Zoo was kind of wasted on me, and Mummy couldn't get a decent photo as they won't let you use a flash.  I have to say I probably had more fun watching the Sun Bears, who are allowed to play together (poor Pandas have separate cages) and who were actually awake.  Yes - that's definitely my recommendation - go see the Sun Bears!  But it is all good.  I will definitely be back soon, and in the meantime, here is a picture of me with a Panda!

The Zoo shop sells every possible Panda merchanise you can imagine!

Edinburgh Zoo is open 365 days a year.  Under 3s are free!

My Christening

My Mummy and Me

 To be perfectly honest, I have no idea what it was all about.  I had this fabulous vintage silk dress, Daddy dressed for work, Mummy wasn't wearing jeans - most disconcerting! - Auntie Allison turned up almost before breakfast (she hasn't done that since my birthday) and off we all went to Old St Pauls.  Everyone who was anyone was there.  Gran Kat and Granddad John made the longest journey - 1,188 miles each way.  Nanna (accompanied by Granddad) made the most heroic, as Nanna has recently broken her elbow and it stills hurts a lot.  Cousins Cath and Darrell did the longest drive, 502 miles round trip.  Auntie Dawn and Phil did the quickest flit - only touching down in Scotland for 21 hours..  Plenty long enough to wet my head, whatever that means, but it's not that bad here y'know!  Godmother Gill paid hookey from her course.  Lots of people who don't usually go to church made an honourable exception, and Nathan and his mummy came, even though his big sister had broken her arm.  All in all, one can conclude my Christening must be terribly important.  My carbon footprint just got bigger!

Father Ian christening me!

No one is allowed to take pictures in the service, but nobody told Alistair that. So here it is: me being christened by Father Ian, watched my Mummy, Daddy and my two Godmothers.  They are Auntie Allison, who caught me when I was born (very helpful) and Auntie Gill, who is the Sunday School teacher at Catherine's church.  My Mummy chose them because they are kind, wise, clever and both immensely talented, and they are going to help me grow up to be like them.  I am so lucky.  


This was confirmed to Mummy by Catherine's friend Sophie (aged 6), who towards the end of the service, whispered; "Is that really Mrs Hales?" (Auntie Gill's alter ego for going to work at the school).  On being told it was indeed, she grew excited.  "I love Mrs Hales" Sophie declared, and wanted to go speak to her, before asking if she could have her as a Godmother too.  Unfortunately not - she is MY Godmother.  I got in there first!  And you can't have Auntie Allison either!


So anyway, I digress.. my Christening...  Father Ian took me off my mum.  I wasn't especially keen on this, and I was about to yell blue murder, when without warning he tipped a pale of water from the font onto my head.  This was so surprising I forgot to scream.  By the time I had collected myself, I was already being handed back.  Then we got to walk up to the altar, where Godmother Allison accepted a candle.  Mummy was stifling a tear at this point.  Before we knew it, we were coming down the aisle greeting everyone whilst they welcomed me to the church - even though I've been lots of times before.  


Afterwards we took hundreds of pictures.  Daddy even looked quite cheerful for a change.  I think it was relief actually.  I didn't mention that I was the only one without a speaking part, so I can understand the pressure.

Afterwards, everyone in the world came back to our house - well that's what it felt like!  It is also (incidentally) where I was born, so very appropriate for my Christening Party.  Mummy had to make a tower of cakes, so that everyone could have one.  I had two.  Well, it was *my* party!


I also got zillions of presents.  Godmother Gill got the award for the most beautiful wrapped gift, but all of Mummy and Daddy's friends are incredibly tasteful and generous, so I now have a fine collection of books, Bibles, bracelets and other fine things.  


I really can't imagine why we don't do this every weekend?  Such lovely company; such a nice selection of things to eat on my highchair tray and such enormously good fun!  I do love to be the centre of attention!

Though Mummy did kick off her shoes at the end of the day and say: "phew that was more stressful than the birth!".

With lots of love and kisses to everyone who made 

my special day so very joyful.  

This (Baby) Life

"Delight is the name of the game in this gentle and beautiful performance" said the blurb.  Part of the Bank of Scotland's Imaginate Festival, this performance of dance, movement and sound by Sally Chance Dance, is specifically aimed at babies aged between 4 and 18 months.  We'd never tried the venue before - indeed, Madeleine had never experienced any performance art at all.  As you know, we like to get out and about. Why  not, we thought.  The £8 was burning a hole in our pocket.  We phoned the ticket hotline and off we went.


Lets get the easy bit out of the way first.  The performance space at North Edinburgh Arts Centre  is great - bright, modern and airy - the Cafe looked swell too - passable coffee, clean floors and lots of toys.  The performance itself was just plain weird.  

Weird, in itself, is not necessarily bad.  Three performers - one of whom om-ed and played a child's xylophone, a shaker and a couple of big brass pots.  The other two were silent and moved a lot - think backward rolls and bottom shuffling.  Sometimes the adult audience laughed.  The babies stared.  I think they were thinking: "what are these wierdos up to".  The only props were some egg rattles and some knitted blankets, which they sometimes nursed like a newborn, or threw up in the air, or climbed into bed with.  It was weird.

Madeleine stared a lot.  And, as the other-mummy pointed out, none of the babies cried or had to leave.  Were they having fun?  Not discernibly, it has to be said.  Certainly Miss M has seemed more excited by The Singing Kettle or Blitzy Boy.  Actually, to be totally fair, she appeared a lot better entertained by my neighbour's preschoolers pretending to be lions the other day: RRROOOARRRR.

I'm going to sit on the fence.  I could be persuaded that whilst it raised no laughs, perhaps it is important to have your cultural boundaries pushed (even if you are only 9 months old).  Certainly, it was an experience.  Possibly not a delightful one - but an experience never-the-less.  And to be fair, if the brief was to produce a performance of gentle movement and sound for young babies - which it was - I'm not sure you could come up with anything much better than this.

So we've been.  We're glad we saw it.  It wasn't awful.  Just don't make us go again!

This (Baby) Life is showing until Saturday at the North Edinburgh Arts Centre.  

Craigie's Fruit Farm

 Daddy jumped out of bed on Saturday morning, and suggested going out for breakfast.  Craigies Fruit Farm had been advertising a "nature weekend", and some how this is where we ended up.


Daddy certainly seemed more miserable than usual (you remember how he feels about farms anyway!).  "It's just a cafe, except it is in the middle of nowhere" he moaned.  He certainly had a point.  Why would anyone want to visit a fruit farm outwith the bypass in the middle of winter?   Certainly not for the "Nature Weekend" - 2 miserable looking tents with a handful of leaflets each, and a spot the paper egg decoration competition (which was free to enter, but not terribly clear about what the prize would be).


The cafe is passable- even pleasant - with an open aspect out onto the Firth of Forth and the odd comfy sofa.  There's a tractor to clamber over, if that takes your fancy - and although the car park is heaving, the new extension has ensured sufficient capacity, so you don't actually have to queue for a seat any more.  But it's pricey.  Quaint, I give you - as this cheerful chicken pecks around your feet at the garden tables, but a portion of scrambled egg for me (and I'm only 9 months old mind!) was £3!


The adjacent deli is good for a wander, and has a new butchery - but the purpose is almost entitely defeated by the extraordinary pricing.  £2.95 for the tiniest tub of rice pudding!  75 pence each for a frozen scone!  That would make half a dozen £4.50, for a plate that wouldn't cost more than 40 pence in ingredients.   "Surely everyone can make a scone and bake a rice pudding" Mummy mumbled under her breath.  If only she had noticed that the breakfast pancakes were 50 pence each, when she often makes twenty or so in the morning, then she probably would have had a coronary.  Yet, entrepreneurial types take note - you might not think their Nature Weekend is up to much, but their business acumen is spot on - the place was heaving.


After buying absolutely nothing, we headed outside to say hello to the pigs.  There were tractor rides, but we didn't bother.  It was blinking parky up there on the hillside I can tell you.  All in all, if you want to cuddle a chicken and see a pig, and a lot more beside, and you don't fancy using a gallon of petrol, the community cafe at Gorgie Farm is a better bet, and they won't charge you 75p for a frozen scone either.


Come the strawberry season, we will be back at Craigies though!


Craigies Fruit Farm is amazingly open every day, whether there is fruit to pick or not!