Back home

We returned to France on September 18th after 5 memorable weeks in London and spending almost every day with Ernie.

We had hoped to see several friends while we were in London for so long, but quickly found an Ernie-centric routine plus being busy with the decorating and generally helping.

We did manage to get to see a play directed by Russell Bender, the son of some old friends, Penny and Brian. Game of Life is on at The Yard theatre in Hackney Wick. The play is well directed, well acted and thought provoking and is getting good reviews. We were pleased that we managed to get to the play and then have a meal with Russell, Penny and Brian afterwards.

Our flat in London was in Birnham Road, just off Hornsey Road. Just at the junction of the two roads there was a small restaurant/jazz venue. The restaurant was owned by Patrick who comes from Paris but knew our area of France. The food was simple and of excellent quality. We went there twice for live music and then just to eat on our last evening.

The first jazz night featured a trio of drums, double bass and sax, and then a jam session followed including vocalists and a guitarist.




The second was a trio, vocalist, Louise Jones, and guitarists John Butler and David Wilson.



We enjoyed both evenings and hope to return when we are nearby again.


Pat and John on tour

Ernie Jack Herrett

We arrived in London in mid August to see our new grandson, Ernie Jack Herrett who was born on July 30th. Photos of Ernie are here

We are staying in London for 5 weeks, in a one bedroomed flat 20 minutes walk from Helen and Nick's flat and less than 10 minutes walk from Finsbury Park tube station. The area is generally quiet and very convenient. This is the view from the sitting room window.





The walk to Helen's flat takes us through residential areas




and Wray Crescent park with a cricket pitch



and spectators.




The pitch isalso used for football and last Sunday, we saw a 15 a side match being played.

We have seen Ernie each day and have been helping out, John decorating our usual bedroom at Helen's; work having stopped when Ernie arrived 2 weeks earlier than anticipated, and Pat helping out on the domestic side.

For the first three weeks of our stay, Nick was on holiday and so we would arrive late morning and leave in the evening after eating. This gave Pat the opportunity to go into town to shop a couple of times. Now that Nick is back to work, we arrive earlier and Pat takes charge of Ernie while Helen has a shower.

Ernie was under 7lb when he was born and then lost weight because he would fall asleep when feeding. When we first saw him, he was 2 weeks old and back on track, but still under 7lb, so small. At his last weigh in, he was 8lb 8oz and frequently thinks that he is hungry!

As he approaches 6 weeks old, he still has to establish an eating and sleeping pattern, but he has wakeful periods when he is entertainable. He likes to look at a large poster in the lounge and to look out of the window at the trees in the garden. He is now able to stay awake when being pushed in the pram but doesn't particularly like being in shops.

Until this week, Ernie's furthest trip had been about 30 minutes walk away to have lunch with James (Uncle Jim). On Thursday, we set off for the Olympic park. We hadn't booked for any events, Helen wanted to see the park and the gardens in particular (Ernie's early arrival prevented them from attending the football final). We took a bus from near Helen's to Finsbury Park, a tube to Highgate and Islington and the the overground to Stratford, all firsts for Ernie.
Here he is in the park.





Olympic arena






Big screens






Water polo pool



The Velodrome



So now we are nearing the end of our time in London and will soon be back in France and ready for our trip to L'Escala to celebrate John's 65th


Pat and John on tour