May 2015

We’ve been home from South Africa for about 6 weeks now and it has been very, very busy. Life in UK is so much more hectic than our quiet existence in Fish Hoek. Things back here start with sorting out the garden and the mail. Christopher has worked very hard in the garden and it is looking very pretty and is predominantly now in maintenance mode though that can be quite taxing and time consuming.

This year of course we had a new baby to get acquainted with so we spent out first weekend seeing Fiona, Arran, Isabel and baby Lewis. He feeds very well and frequently but usually is only up once in the night. Fiona and Arran have invested in a sort of ‘Teas-maid’ for baby bottles. It requires only a couple of touches of the button and an instant bottle, at just the right temperature, is prepared in a moment for the hungry lad.

The other big family event has been David’s wedding to Jess so the second weekend home we went down to Bristol to meet David’s new in laws and hear the final plans for the big day. As parents of the groom and absent in South Africa for many weeks, we had not been very hands on with any of the arrangements. This was also exacerbated by the fact that the wedding was taking place in Devon, two hundred kilometres from our home. However we were excited and delighted that David and Jess were tying the knot.  We were able to call in on Fiona and family again on our way home from Bristol.

The wedding had the great bonus that Jonathan and Alyssa came over from America for the event. Added to this though was the exciting news that Alyssa is expecting their first baby in November. 

Jonathan and Alyssa at Bude beach

So every weekend was fully occupied with family events. We collected Jonathan and Alyssa from Heathrow two weeks before the Big Day and they spent their first week at home catching up with family and friends.  The following weekend was a wonderfully complicated one as we were going away with Fiona and family, Jonathan and Alyssa for a week in Cornwall. However on the way down to Cornwall we dropped Jonathan off in Bristol for a ‘surprise’ stag party for David. This involved electronic golf with the groom sporting a very eccentric golf outfit, followed by gourmet burgers, bowling, pubs and night clubs.

Christopher, Alyssa and I killed a few hours in Bristol with Jess, the bride and then collected Jonathan and continued on our way to our holiday home. We had a lovely week in Cornwall even though the weather was pretty grim.  We also went for a day trip to the Isles of Scilly, a Christmas present from the family.  We flew in a tiny plane to the main island and then went by ferry to the charming island of Tresco which has beautiful gardens full of South African plants! It was a long but enjoyable day.

Our little plane

Tresco from the air

Proteas and palm trees

For the final 36 hours David came and joined us in our holiday home and we spent the day at Clovelly, another charming Devon town perched on a precipitous hillside with cobbled streets to slither down to the harbour and then a steep, breathless walk back up again. The countryside all round our holiday home had beautiful coastal cliffs with lovely walks and stunning views.

Being blown away in Boscastle

Pretty Cornish coast at Tintagel

Christopher at Bude beach

Otters at a wildlife park

More beautiful coast

From there we went straight to the wedding, first of all the rehearsal and then on to the hotel which was overflowing with masons strutting about with their regalia and funny hats. However Jess’s mum had invited all of her family and ours to early evening drinks at her flat. It was a great idea to get to meet one another and we rounded off the evening with a meal in a local pub.

Next morning, the wedding day dawned grey and cool and the groom, best man and four other hardy fellows took an early morning dip in the freezing sea, watched by our good selves. David then disappeared and the rest of the family had breakfast together.  Later clad in our finery we took photos before heading off to the church.

The Ottaway family minus the new Mrs Ottaway

Groom and best man

The rest of the day; the service, the reception and evening disco went beautifully. Sarah and I took part in the service and Jonathan accompanied the chief bridesmaid who sang Ave Verum Corpus. The little ones did brilliantly and back at the hotel the staff did all they could to make sure the day went like clockwork with no hitches at all. It was a wonderful day and David and Jess were so happy. It was delightful to catch up with some family and friends even though we had to yell at one another over the deafening noise of the disco.

We scrub up quite well!

My favourite picture

Next morning it was a very early start to get Jonathan and Alyssa to Gatwick, four hours away, for their flight home. Our life seems to be one long series of hello and goodbyes and it is never easy. Back home we have settled into the normal round of golf, bowls, domestic chores and in my case writing. 

The next Nick North book is making slow progress in its major re-write but I am also busy getting the first Nick North ready for a paperback edition. Marketing is not my strong point but I try and do a little to encourage some sales but they are pitifully slow at the moment. I did have the privilege of speaking at a ladies’ meeting last Saturday and Sarah and I prayed with everyone who wanted it.

Christopher and I now have a long list of jobs for this summer and we are slowly beginning to make our way through it. However we are very much enjoying our new extension after the disruption of last summer. Further updates in due course.