Visiting Family And Family Visiting

When I last blogged we were about to leave Scotland for the long trek back to Suffolk. This time the journey was even longer than usual as we detoured to Southport to collect my mum for a few days stay with us.

Our last few trips to Scotland have been blighted with bad luck carwise and we were hoping that this journey might be uneventful after two punctures in January.  

Our hopes were not to be and we returned to Framlingham with a huge windscreen chip from a stone that flew up at us on the A14.

We're missing these two who we joined at the Dundee Ice Rink before heading home. (I've never been to an ice rink before and had no idea how cold it would be - duh!).

We also had two visitors to see us off from the caravan site as we left at the crack of dawn.

The political situation is impossible at the moment. I thought I'd got a good score on Words With Friends with "BREXIT"

But, as WWF clearly (and rightly) tells me. BREXIT is not a valid word.

I spotted this amongst Sarah and the girls' huge collection of children's books. What happened to The Gruffallo?

Mum has been enjoying her ten days with us. She's heading back to Southport on the train tomorrow but we've tried to keep her entertained.

She has certainly kept us entertained.

The PPP on the CLS Shooting Brake ran out and it has gone back to Mercedes. I was sad to see this go as it's probably the nicest car we've owned. Sadly the model has been discontinued and we've got to try something new. The new car is scheduled for April (Brexit permitting that is).

We bought Mum a jigsaw puzzle to keep her occupied on rainy days. It was a daunting task for her but eventually, with a bit of team effort, we made it.

We took Mum to a couple of films while she was with us. 

Instant Family was pretty lightweight and a bit corny but its heart is in the right place and it is indeed, as the poster says, a feel-good movie for everyone.

Coincidentally, the other film we saw also has "Family" in the title. Fighting with My Family, the true story of a wrestling family from Norwich, is a lot of fun and a fascinating story too. Stephen Merchant's directorial debut is very well done and, judging by the old home videos in the end credits, it seems to be very close to the real story. It was also good to see Norwich take a leading role in the film.

I mentioned in a recent blog that I'd been doing a bit more antiquing. This pearlware jug in perfect condition c1840 is my favourite buy. I found it in a Dundee antiques centre. It's a shape that I've never seen before and in perfect condition. It's up for sale on eBay and I'm hopeful of it realising a decent price.

This rare Spode cup and saucer c1815 is also in perfect condition. It turned up on eBay and is a very collectable item.

Another eBay buy was not such a success when the seller of this ornate cup and saucer thought it was a good idea to post it without using a box. I must confess though that a recent parcel I sent out turned up in Japan in pieces. That's only my third delivery failure in twenty years on eBay. I packed it well but had to keep to weight limit so not well enough.

Finally, this fabulous hand made and hand decorated porcelain vase from the 1990s arrived today. This is one to keep and not for selling and shows what amazing bargains can be picked up on eBay.