Notes From Retirement......................Where did the years go?: Together For The Very First Time

With our son and daughter living at the opposite ends of the country. opportunities to get together are few and far between. The last attempt at a family meet up was thwarted when granddaughter Melody caught chicken pox when she last visited us. Consequently our grandson Teddy reached thirteen months old without meeting his aunty and Scottish cousins.

All that was set to change last Saturday. Sarah and family were stopping over in Framlingham en route to a holiday at Disneyland Paris and Paul and family planned to drive to Suffolk to join us at the Framlingham Sausage Festival. What could go wrong? We couldn't be thwarted again, could we? Oh yes we could. Our poor daughter-in-law had an encounter with a dodgy grating and damaged her foot leaving her unable to drive. We didn't want Sarah and family to go another year without meeting the latest addition so at five o'clock on Saturday morning I was on the road to Rochester to pick up non-driver Paul along with his two children. Four hours later we were back in Fram and ready for the Sausage fest.

The weather didn't smile on the event but the kids enjoyed the display of animals put on by Easton Farm park.

After a walk around the castle area and tasting a couple of sausages the kids had a great time at a magic show at The Crown by Steff and Nonsense who performed a perfect act for small children.

After the magic, it was time to look around Market Hill. It seems that Teddy is extremely musical. He was fascinated by the folk group and caught the eyes of many passers by with his impromptu dancing.

At this stage the festival got a bit much for Melody so we headed back home for some playtime and the opportunity for the four cousins to get to know each other.

The sun finally shone and the girls had a lovely time running around the garden. Sadly for us, it was all over too quickly and at six o'clock it was time for me to hit the road again and drive back to Kent. We're glad that they had the chance to meet up. They got on with each other like a house on fire. Hopefully it won't be another thirteen months before we get the chance to all be together again.

After the marathon four hundred mile drive on Saturday, thanks to Abelio Greater Anglia's lack of Sunday train service to London, I drove Sarah, Duncan and the two girls to London on Sunday afternoon. That journey was even longer than the trip to Kent as the final five miles to King's Cross seemed to last forever.

The house was very quiet on Monday but we've had another busy week. We managed eight exercise classes at Fram Leisure and a great night at Fram Soc book club where we discussed the unusual and darkly comic The Portable Veblem. It was a lively discussion and the book was a popular choice. We've got the family coming back from Disneyland tonight so we've killed the fatted calf (bought a big rib of beef from Hall Farm butchers) and are looking forward to a slightly less hectic weekend in Framlingham before they leave for Scotland on Monday.

While we were at the sausage festival, Marion's iPhone suddenly went on the blink and the screen looked like this. By coincidence the weekly About Fram newsletter carried an ad for mobile phone repairs so we contacted Louie of Rapid Repairs on Saturday. He ordered a new screen immediately and by Wednesday the phone was back up and running. Louie came to the house to do the repair and charged a very modest £35. Highly recommended.

No week would be complete without a few hours out with the metal detector. You can stop reading now if it's not of interest but here's what turned up this week.