Caribbean Festival

Yeah! We had a great day yesterday (Saturday), at the Coventry Caribbean Festival in the park. Stephen & Lauren came down to spend the weekend with us from Manchester and we were babysitting Vincent for the weekend as Anne-marie & Pete and Verity left on Friday to a weekend wedding in Burnley. (No kids allowed, but Verity was as she was considered a baby!) No problems as there were lots of potential babysitters in me, Andrew, Daddy, Stephen & Lauren!

It was an amazingly beautiful day with the sun shining down on all of us as we drank beer and cider and ate Jerk Chicken, rice and peas!! There were some ace bands on as well and there were the usual fun fair rides that the kids had a ball on. (Very pricey though - it was far too easy to spend money there!) We bought Vincent a huge ball and he happily spent his day kicking it and dribbling with Stephen & Grandad!

Vincent, unfortunately though, started getting a really high fever that night and I was up most of the night with him as he was so grotchety and feverish and then started throwing up. I kept shoving calpol down him but his fever wouldn't go down and so I started the ibruprofen in the early hours and he finally passed out at 5.30am alongside me in Andrew and I's bed. The girls were very good and didn't try to crawl in with me as per usual!

Anne-marie & Pete & Verity came back about 2pm on Sunday to a very poorly boy, poor things. I think he was very, very pleased to see them however!!

Vincent remained pretty ill for the next week, poor little lamb. The Dr.s prescribed him Tamiflu, in case he had the dreaded (!) swine flu, oink, oink, but to make things worse, poor Anne-marie came down with tonsillitis! I am still amazed that none of us came down with any illnesses!!

Vincent and AM were better by the time of AM and Pete's 10th wedding anniversary party on Saturday 1st.

Sharon & Wayne & Freya, Jasmine & Jonty came up for it., all the way from Kent, which was just FANTASTIC! I couldn't believe they came, and even after a nightmare trip, they arrived Friday afternoon full of beans and spent the evening at ours (Anne-marie and Pete's!) for a catch up. It was so good to see them and the girls were in their element!

There were loads of wonderful people from all over who came for AM & Pete's party, including Denis & Wendy from our childhood days in Dubai, (Wendy is almost 7 months pregnant with her first child - a boy - so exciting!). Loads of people from the theatre came, and some friends Jo & Mark came up from near Oxford with their two little girls, Thea and Isla who are the same ages as our girls and so they all got on as best of friends from the word go!

My cousin Alison and her nearly 7 year old daughter Emma came up - so nice to catch up with them and then friends from Anne-marie and Pete's university days that I knew came up - it was like a reunion!!

The party started at 2pm in the afternoon and I think I rolled into bed at 3.30am - over 12 hours of solid drinking!! Hah! A great party! The evening finished with friends Sim,on and Denis serenading us on the guitar with songs we all cats chorused to.

Many of the guests from afar stayed the night, either in the house or in the garden in tents! The next day was a beautiful sunny day so AM and I cooked a huge brunch breakfast for everyone and we spent the day sunbaking and catching up even more!

Michael Deelman, another friend from school came up Sunday evening for dinner and chat which was nice and then on Monday, my cousin David came up from Kent to see us, which was wonderful. We spent Monday having a lazy lunch at the pub and then in the evening, playing a game called 'Guesstures' - a but like charades, but with a twist. So much fun!

Tuesday morning, Denis & Wendy and bump left and at lunchtime we went into Coventry city to buy last minute things from the shops for flying and then David went home on the train.

Tuesday evening we all went to a Middle Eastern restaurant 'Habibi's' where they have this outdoor heated Bedouin tent and you sit on poofs and cushions and can smoke sheeshas. A wonderful night.