The excitement is building here in Clist Towers with the due date just 5 days away. Actually, perhaps anticipation is a better term to describe the feeling. I'm almost entirely pre-occupied with Fi and baby-to-be, as it could happen any time now. Thankfully the cricket grabs my attention from time to time.
Patsy is now staying with us and my Mum is staying with Jay and Marie. Both of them are staying in Bath for a finite period of time, so I do hope the baby can be a good lad and arrive on time. I would be unfortunate for him to arrive a day or two before everyone needs to go home again.
Fi is begining to find things a little uncomfortable now, but I suppose at 39 weeks what do you expect? She's not the first woman to ever be pregnant and she certainly won't be the last. In a couple of years, I'm sure she'll be more than happy to go through it all again.
More news as it happens.
Sunday, September 11, 2005
Wednesday, September 07, 2005
A little over a week
With just a little over a week before Fi's due date, all is relatively quiet on the baby front. We have spent the past few weeks trying to ensure that we are as prepared as we will ever be, finishing touches to the nursery, figuring out how the pram and car seat work, nappy practicing... you know, all the normal new-parent activities. All we can do now is wait.
The storm before the bigger storm starts tomorrow. My parents have been in Calonge with Jim and Patsy for the past week, and they return tomorrow with Patsy in tow. My Mum is hanging around for a couple of weeks and Patsy is here until the end of September. The Grandfathers-to-be are taking a far more relaxed approach to it all. Jim is coming over from Spain on September 14th and my Dad (who's going back to Cornwall on Friday), will drive back to Bath when it's 'appropriate'. Funny chap.
It's my Mum's Birthday tomorrow, so Happy Birthday Mum! 21 again eh?
The storm before the bigger storm starts tomorrow. My parents have been in Calonge with Jim and Patsy for the past week, and they return tomorrow with Patsy in tow. My Mum is hanging around for a couple of weeks and Patsy is here until the end of September. The Grandfathers-to-be are taking a far more relaxed approach to it all. Jim is coming over from Spain on September 14th and my Dad (who's going back to Cornwall on Friday), will drive back to Bath when it's 'appropriate'. Funny chap.
It's my Mum's Birthday tomorrow, so Happy Birthday Mum! 21 again eh?
Thursday, August 18, 2005
I've done this before...
It's happened again. Almost two whole months have gone by since I last posted an update here, and I'm left in a quandary. Either I spend the next 4 hours cataloging the events of the missing eight or so weeks, or I just give you the highlights..... I think the latter is the best option don't you?
Right, here we go. London won the Olympics and then was ravished by cowards, we saw the Gipsy Kings live at Dyrham Park, Fi's mother flew in from Spain and decorated the nursery, Fi and I attended all our ante-natal and pregnancy physiotherapy classes and we spent last week in my parents chalet in Cornwall with Jay, Marie, Griff, Rachael and Paul.
You can always rely on me to forget something and this time it was my digital camera. Sadly There are no photographs of Cornwall, so here's one from the Gipsy Kings (seems so long ago!)
Right, here we go. London won the Olympics and then was ravished by cowards, we saw the Gipsy Kings live at Dyrham Park, Fi's mother flew in from Spain and decorated the nursery, Fi and I attended all our ante-natal and pregnancy physiotherapy classes and we spent last week in my parents chalet in Cornwall with Jay, Marie, Griff, Rachael and Paul.
You can always rely on me to forget something and this time it was my digital camera. Sadly There are no photographs of Cornwall, so here's one from the Gipsy Kings (seems so long ago!)
Fi's pregnancy is going perfectly. This morning we had our 36 week appointment with the midwife. As usual Fi had the regular checks, but this time we had to complete a birth plan. Essentially this is just a quick questionnaire about drugs, pain relief, attendees etc... all regarding the birth (obviously). Just seems to bring it all one step closer...
Monday, July 04, 2005
Spain and a couple of Birthdays
As is often the case, a period of inactivity for my blog has been due to a great many things going on in the real world.
It was Fi’s Mum’s Birthday on June 19th and as a surprise we decided to pop over to Calonge and pay a visit. Many thanks must go to Jim for organising (and paying!) for the surprise. He successfully ensured that everyone knew about our trip except Patsy.
It was so good to go back to Spain. Amazingly it was the first time that we had been over since our Christmas trip and we had a great time, although it’s hard not to with beautiful weather, beautiful scenery, a swimming pool and loads of food and drink. It will almost certainly be the only time we’ll be able to go this year. Fi is now 29 weeks pregnant and the airlines start getting twitchy about people flying when this far into a pregnancy. Thankfully though we’ll see Fi’s parents quite a bit more this year.
Fi needed to have the first of fer Anti-D injections at her 28 week midwife appointment. An unpleasantly long needle was used and it didn’t go into her arm. It goes without saying that I had to look away. I’m not a great fan of watching people get ‘stabbed’ as the midwife so eloquently put it. Everything continues to go as planned with the increasingly large bump. Not long now….
It was my 31st Birthday last Thursday and it was a reasonably quiet affair. My parents came up from Cornwall on Thursday and Fi cooked a great dinner for us all. We continued with a Spanish theme on Friday with a lovely meal at La Tasca with the usual gang and then ended it all on Saturday with a trip to see Batman Begins. Incidentally, it’s as good a movie as I’ve seen recently. Finally let me thank everyone once again for their cards and presents. You're all too kind.
Actually, Birthdays are the in thing at the moment. It's Paul and Rach's in the coming week so expect more frivolity.
It was Fi’s Mum’s Birthday on June 19th and as a surprise we decided to pop over to Calonge and pay a visit. Many thanks must go to Jim for organising (and paying!) for the surprise. He successfully ensured that everyone knew about our trip except Patsy.
It was so good to go back to Spain. Amazingly it was the first time that we had been over since our Christmas trip and we had a great time, although it’s hard not to with beautiful weather, beautiful scenery, a swimming pool and loads of food and drink. It will almost certainly be the only time we’ll be able to go this year. Fi is now 29 weeks pregnant and the airlines start getting twitchy about people flying when this far into a pregnancy. Thankfully though we’ll see Fi’s parents quite a bit more this year.
Fi needed to have the first of fer Anti-D injections at her 28 week midwife appointment. An unpleasantly long needle was used and it didn’t go into her arm. It goes without saying that I had to look away. I’m not a great fan of watching people get ‘stabbed’ as the midwife so eloquently put it. Everything continues to go as planned with the increasingly large bump. Not long now….
It was my 31st Birthday last Thursday and it was a reasonably quiet affair. My parents came up from Cornwall on Thursday and Fi cooked a great dinner for us all. We continued with a Spanish theme on Friday with a lovely meal at La Tasca with the usual gang and then ended it all on Saturday with a trip to see Batman Begins. Incidentally, it’s as good a movie as I’ve seen recently. Finally let me thank everyone once again for their cards and presents. You're all too kind.
Actually, Birthdays are the in thing at the moment. It's Paul and Rach's in the coming week so expect more frivolity.
Monday, June 20, 2005
US Grand Prix
As regular readers will know, I am an avid Formula One fan and have been for many years. On the whole I try to keep my views and opinions to myself for they are both strong and controversial, but for once my silence is broken.
Whichever way you look at it, Sunday's race at indianopolis was a complete farce. The world watched a pathetic six car Bridgestone prosession complete the 73 laps whilst the Michelin runners lay dormant in the pits. I'll avoid the in-depth analysis that has gone before on this subject, but the fact is that Michelin advised all teams running it's tyres to not race on safety grounds. The final banked corner was generating too much lateral load in the left rear tyre, causing a failure onRalf Schumacher's Toyota on Friday and potential problems being identified in all Michelin tyres for all teams brought to the circuit for the weekend.
In an attempt to avoid a sporting and commercial disaster, the teams got their heads together to come to a solution. They found one; the Michelin teams would start from the back of the grid and score no points in the Grand Prix regardless of the result, under the proviso that a temporary chicance be built before turn 15. This would slow the cars down sufficiently through the final turn to prevent any potential tyre failure. Not ideal, but there would be a spectacle.
In an alarming display of idiocy, the FIA disagreed with this solution. It appears that the Michelin-shod teams will now be summoned to the FIA for 'Damaging the sport'. What a load of tosh. Nobody can deny that Michelin made a grave mistake with their tyres, but what team would ever allow it's drivers to race when the manufacturer of such a key component advices against it? Who remembers the European Grand Prix? Mclaren came under intense criticism for allowing Raikkonen to continue with a tyre that was clearly at risk of failing. All I ask is for some consistancy.
Max has suggested that the Michelin teams should simply have 'gone slower' through the final corner. Max's single seater racing career was both short and unsuccesful and that's no wonder with this ridiculous notion. How much slower is 'slower'? I don't believe for one second that he was in any position to quantify this. Also, if driver A's interpretation of 'slower' is quicker than driver B's, what is driver B going to do on lap 2? Within 3 laps they'll be going at racing speed.
In my view F1's reputation has been permanently tarnished, especially in the US. Minardi team boss Paul Stoddard (who incidentally runs Bridgestone tyres) has called for Mr. Mosely's resignation. I see no better way for F1 to begin it's recovery.
Whichever way you look at it, Sunday's race at indianopolis was a complete farce. The world watched a pathetic six car Bridgestone prosession complete the 73 laps whilst the Michelin runners lay dormant in the pits. I'll avoid the in-depth analysis that has gone before on this subject, but the fact is that Michelin advised all teams running it's tyres to not race on safety grounds. The final banked corner was generating too much lateral load in the left rear tyre, causing a failure onRalf Schumacher's Toyota on Friday and potential problems being identified in all Michelin tyres for all teams brought to the circuit for the weekend.
In an attempt to avoid a sporting and commercial disaster, the teams got their heads together to come to a solution. They found one; the Michelin teams would start from the back of the grid and score no points in the Grand Prix regardless of the result, under the proviso that a temporary chicance be built before turn 15. This would slow the cars down sufficiently through the final turn to prevent any potential tyre failure. Not ideal, but there would be a spectacle.
In an alarming display of idiocy, the FIA disagreed with this solution. It appears that the Michelin-shod teams will now be summoned to the FIA for 'Damaging the sport'. What a load of tosh. Nobody can deny that Michelin made a grave mistake with their tyres, but what team would ever allow it's drivers to race when the manufacturer of such a key component advices against it? Who remembers the European Grand Prix? Mclaren came under intense criticism for allowing Raikkonen to continue with a tyre that was clearly at risk of failing. All I ask is for some consistancy.
Max has suggested that the Michelin teams should simply have 'gone slower' through the final corner. Max's single seater racing career was both short and unsuccesful and that's no wonder with this ridiculous notion. How much slower is 'slower'? I don't believe for one second that he was in any position to quantify this. Also, if driver A's interpretation of 'slower' is quicker than driver B's, what is driver B going to do on lap 2? Within 3 laps they'll be going at racing speed.
In my view F1's reputation has been permanently tarnished, especially in the US. Minardi team boss Paul Stoddard (who incidentally runs Bridgestone tyres) has called for Mr. Mosely's resignation. I see no better way for F1 to begin it's recovery.
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