Hi, how was your weekend? Saturday evening, 8pm, descended on by daughter Alice (21) and three of her friends: Caggy mad curly haired blonde girl who has been in Aus for a while so it was great to see her looking so well, Henry, dreads and raggedy trousers, fire spinning sticks, a new addition to Alice's commune, and Seb whom I've known since he was fourteen , he used to lodge with us.

Fed them all pizza and pasta so I knew they were fuelled up for the party in the woods which they left for about tenpm in the company of a whole motley band of ravers. Yes, a party in the woods, one of these raves with ambient trance music and lots of mud. They dragged their sorry carcasses home about ten in the morning. I would not let them in until they divested themselves of all filthy, muddy clothes and boots. The clothes went straight in the washing machine(which now has a layer of mud in the filters) and the boots straight out to the shed to dry off. I had to lend Seb a pair of my baggy jeans to wear! They took over the sitting room and I chucked them a load of blankets and they went to sleep while I spent the afternoon cooking a great big sunday roast, (inc veggie sausages for Alice) We had a great evening with additional guests in the form of Jake, Matt and Ed, all lads who frequented my house when the twins (Alice has a twin brother) were living here.
Bob stayed upstairs in the office most of the evening, not because he doesn't like them but , well, it was a bit crowded downstairs! Rohan loved seeing them all and catching up with her sis.

Seb went to collect some books from his Mum's to take back to York and his dad came in for a cuppa around midnight when he brought Seb back.
The dining room was festooned with drying washing and we were tripping over all the baggage but it was a great evening and I finally got to bed around two having sat up with Seb a bit and chatted about philosophy, the world and love! (he was missing his girlfriend)

This morning was fun! Trying to get hubby off to work (Ro is off school with a cough) in amongst the kids feverish packing for the ten am coach back to York. Caggy is staying with her parents down here until she goes to Uni in York in Sept and had promised to come up to visit me. I made them all porridge and packed up some food for their
journey, big hugs all round and a sad goodbye as they struggled up the road to get the Cant train.

Surveying the wreckage of my house, making sure they had not left anything behind I wondered how we ever managed to live here with sometimes eight people in the house.

I have asked all the people who have ever stayed with me to write an Ali's house poem which I will put together in a little anthology.

So, apart from Ro coughing away and playing with her new mobile phone polyphonic ringtones the house is empty again.

Until June when they are all coming down from York for my birthday, son is coming for sumer and the two Czech students some back for the holidays!



Life in Ali's house!!!

spidey