I arrived in London on August 2nd to a Country and family gripped with Olympic fever. It was a fabulous time to be back home as the national pride was so strong and the atmosphere was electric. I guess the home advantage really does work on the human spirit and resulted in the UK’s best results in over 100 years and ending up 3rd in the medal table. I have never felt so proud to be British and so happy to be in the UK.
It was also fantastic to see my family – Owen, kids and my Mum and Dad! The kids had made a banner to welcome me at Heathrow and I was over-whelmed. Isabelle had lost a tooth while in the UK and Oliver seemed to have grown a foot!
First priority – shopping!! After my disastrous shoe shopping fiasco in Beijing, I decided that I needed to stock up while I had a choice of styles and sizes! Success – 3 pairs later, it was on to finding school shoes for the kids. BISS had warned us before school broke up for the summer that it was almost impossible to find school shoes in Shanghai. I just hope that the kids feet don’t grow too much this year!!
A lovely day was spent with my best friend and her family, again a gorgeous sunny, warm day. When the sun shines in the UK, it is a beautiful place to be 🙂 We spent the afternoon in the garden, where the kids all played traditional “sports day” games and got spoiled by James and Madeleine.
Isabelle turned 7 while we were back home and she celebrated twice! Details to follow!
Peter and Emma came to my Mum and Dad’s for a few days and we had a fabulous day out at Knebworth. All of the kids enjoyed the adventure playground, the dinosaur trail and the maze – it is a great family location.
Emma & Maeve, Sara & Isabelle, Owen & Oliver, Peter & Oscar – all kids on the slide.
We finished the week off with a birthday celebration lunch at a pub and met up with friends and family. Wonderful to see Jez & Caroline, Kim & Harley, Mark, Sandra, James & Madeleine for a yummy pub meal, a few drinks and more lovely sunshine.
The week flew by and all of a sudden, we were packing up ready to come back “home” to Shanghai.
osiochina 