Speed blogging: Circus

These last weekends of summer are so much fun. I'm behind on blogging, but in the spirit of better late than never, here's my memories of last weekend.

Here's Peaches after breaking eggs for omlette. I think some slid down her arm - very funny. Recaro was teaching her to crack eggs while I sat opposite taking photos.

Later that afternoon, we ran away to the circus. It was Santus Circus' last day in Whitstable so a number of the wagons had already moved on to the next site.

It was a first time at the circus for both of us. I don't know who was more excited.

We especially liked the clowns, hula hoop girl and Spiderman. Peaches can now sing the Spiderman theme tune. She loves him.

Not that I realised this during the interval when children were having their photos taken with Spiderman. She was very upset when he left and she hadn't had her photo taken.

I felt like a very stinky piece of cheese after that. Fortunately, I have great powers of distraction and she's not mentioned it since...

All the pretty horses

Hot on the heels of the Oyster Festival is the Whitstable Regatta. The Regatta mainly involves a funfair on the green slopes behind the promenade in Tankerton.

That's right, the event is called after Whitstable but takes place in Tankerton. I don't get it either.

However - the funfair does include a fabulous carousel. Peaches and I had a go. You can just about see us riding a chicken at the back of this photo. For some reason, even though we went round and round and round and round, Recaro did NOT manage to take a photo with us in the middle of the shot.

That didn't spoil my fun though. I loved it. And Peaches insisted I hold her tight. That was kind of cool, too.

Whatever happened to the Lego?

You might remember that I recently attempted a Lego giveaway. Well I lost track of time and then tried to get back in touch with the Lego PR man.

Ho hum. Basically he didn't return my emails and I had no Lego to giveaway.

As with all disappointing experiences, I've thought about what I might have done differently. I could have had him deliver all the Lego direct to me so that I could post it out in my own good time. Bearing in mind that I would have liked this to be an international giveaway it could have turned costly...

Then I read this post, which is helping me to crystallise my views on the giveaway/PR debate.

I think I'll be keeping this blog clear of sponsored reviews. Any future giveaways will be of my own devising.

I'm sorry to disappoint any hopeful Lego owners - but look on the bright side, this will be a blog with integrity.

Ultimate London celebrity spot?

Recaro returned home from work yesterday with tales of who he saw in London yesterday. As he walked through St James on his way to a meeting he saw a bunch of guys running across the road wearing morning suits.

Just as he realised it was a prince, it occurred to him to think 'William or Harry?', he saw Harry too.

A double prince spot. Sorry no pictures. Apparently they looked like they were having a good ol' establishment time of it which is nice. According to this morning's Torygraph, it would seem they were on their way to the wedding of Nicholas van Cutsem and Alice Hadden Paton.

I like to imagine that Nick and Ali will go for a full blown double-double-barrelled name: Mr and Mrs Hadden Paton van Cutsem. Which makes them sound like characters out of a Tom Sharpe novel - terribly posh and psychotic all at the same time.

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In other news, Peaches woke up several times last night with sickness and unhappiness. We moved her into our room (but on her own mattress) so that we could give her reassurance. There wasn't much else we could do.

She cheered up after sharing a bath with me at 5.30am - and now she's having a midday sleep to catch up on her kip.

As did we. A broken night's sleep is a very bad thing. I had forgotten how rubbish it makes me feel. It's enough to make me rethink my broody considerations of a second child...

I still love you, you know that don't you?

I didn't write. I didn't phone. However, I have been fulfilling my promise to Peaches of playdates and partying.

The gang of potential playdates is growing - she went on three last weekend alone, including a birthday party. One of these was with the child of an old friend of mine. She was coming out of hibernation after throwing herself into family life.

I don't know what your experience is, but I find it's hard to keep every aspect of life moving forward. Recently it's been important for me to show a more committed effort at work and with my family. That meant blogging had to take a back seat. I like to imagine that my endeavours have been noted and that I can put some time back into blogging. Which is a relief, because where else am I going to vent that:

• it's ridiculous that sharia law should attempt to prevent women from wearing trousers
• the NHS is a lifesaver and gives a free healthcare at the point of delivery to everyone
• Amy Winehouse still needs to sort her hair (and head) out
• women's sport is still underreported in the news and I'm disappointed that boxing is still an Olympic sport even if it now includes women (didn't see that one coming)

We've also been on holiday to Greece for two weeks. What bliss. Sunshine, windsurfing, excellent childcare arrangements and lots of laughter. Fancy seeing some pictures?

We invested in a Trunki - this ride along suitcase kept Peaches entertained all the way to the gate.

Here's the hotel - d'ya think Recaro will thank me for this photo? Don't be fooled by the cocktail umbrella in that drink. Peaches was on apple juice.

Peaches really took to swimming. She had a couple of five year old boyfriends who encouraged her to jump in and swim (with arm bands). On our return home, her favourite bedtime book is a text book about teaching children to swim - she loves it for the photos of course. I don't imagine she's too interested in technique.

There were a couple of fancy dress parties at the hotel. First up: Upsy Daisy.

Who soon reappeared as a mini-Princess Leia. I knitted that wig. Cool, huh?

We also took Peaches to a rocking party at the hotel next door. She grooved and headbanged for an hour even though we thought she was good and ready for sleeping.

In the evenings, we ate in the town. With restaurants around a square with a fountain in the middle, it was just about possible to eat and keep an eye on her while she ran around making friends.
In short, it's the sort of holiday that floats my boat.