Easter Monday - Lewis Hosting

Slept fairly well, although woke up a few times with an aching body and feeling cold. Flicked the diesel heater on a couple of times — it’s brilliant, makes things so much more comfortable. Didn’t properly wake up until about 8.30am.

Made porridge, which was a mistake… tasted awful without sugar or honey. Noted that down immediately for the van inventory list — lesson learned.

Got the van sorted. Tash wanted to go for a walk, but we needed to be at Lewis’s for just after 11.00am and it’s a 2hr 25min drive, so we skipped it and hit the road instead.

Traffic wasn’t great — volume and a few incidents slowed things down — so we didn’t arrive until about 12.30pm, which wasn’t ideal.

One funny moment though: sitting in traffic, a bloke tooted at me and started pointing at his t-shirt. Took me a second to realise it was the same “Evolution” design that I’ve got in the campervan window. He was absolutely buzzing about it. VW people… we’re a strange bunch.

Got to Lewis’s and Jack, Charlotte and Miles were already there. Frankie was asleep — for ages it felt like — so we had a good catch-up before he woke up and immediately became the centre of attention.

They’d cooked a roast chicken which was really good, and afterwards we went for a short walk to the park where things got oddly competitive on the outdoor gym equipment. Standard.

Back home, Tash organised an Easter egg hunt, and we also had a look at the garage conversion — now plastered and looking really smart. They should be really pleased with it. Exciting to see it coming together.

The rest of the afternoon revolved around Frankie. He’s properly on the move now — pulling himself along the floor, which surprised us all. Really cool to see, and he clearly knows he’s cracking it too.

Around 5.00pm Charlotte, Miles and Jack headed off, but we stayed a bit longer which was nice, especially as we’re back again in the morning anyway.

Then we made our way to the campsite — Welltrough Farm — the same one we stayed at when Frankie was born. Only about five miles away, so perfect: close enough to be handy, but not intruding.

Got set up, although needed to borrow a proper ramp from a friendly caravanner as the slope was too much for my blocks. His were massive — not something I’d buy — but they did the job perfectly. Definitely something to think about.

Water still not working, which is annoying. Will have to get CamperKing to sort that. Electric hookup all fine though.

We then went for a long walk around the farm — really lovely setting and a great sunset to finish it off. About an hour or so, very enjoyable, although my legs were still aching if I’m honest. Felt more tiring than it probably should have done — and it was only about 7k steps.

Back at the van, wasted a bit of time on phones, then watched the last three episodes of Last One Laughing. It was alright… not sure they’ll get another series out of it, but we’ll see.

Finished around 10.30pm and turned in. Thankfully not as cold as the previous night, so no need for the heater, which made for a better sleep. Still struggling with the blankets though — never quite enough coverage, and Tash either steals them or they fall off. Another thing for the van checklist.

Been a really good couple of days — thoroughly enjoyed it.

---

End of Day Summary

A proper campervan day — small frustrations, simple pleasures, family time and fresh air. Great to see everyone, especially Frankie on the move, and a peaceful evening to round it off. A really enjoyable little break.

Visit to Lewis & Family

Tash woke up in a terrible state this morning — a proper hangover. At least an hour spent either being sick downstairs or lying on the sofa trying to recover. I wasn’t exactly bursting with energy myself — heavy head, low battery — but nowhere near as rough as she was, thankfully.

We had to get moving though as Zoe was due at 9.30am, which she was, and then we set off for Crewe. Tash slept (or attempted to) most of the journey and, mercifully, wasn’t sick again. By the time we arrived just before midday she’d rallied enough to pass as “normal”.

The drive up was relentless — constant rain the entire way. Hard enough in decent conditions, let alone with a fuzzy head.

Frankie, as ever, was brilliant. He has this lovely way of quietly observing everything with a little sideways smirk, like he’s taking it all in and judging us gently. He got plenty of attention of course.

I helped Lewis in the garden removing an old satellite dish — more physical effort than I’d ideally have chosen given the circumstances, but satisfying to get it sorted. Lewis and Emily then headed off to Mowgli Street Food for a meal together — a rare and well-earned bit of time without Frankie.

The rain eased slightly so we walked into Holmes Chapel and had a look around the Artisan Market. It wasn’t especially impressive, but it got us some fresh air. Picked up a few cookies and bits for later and stopped at a café we’ve been to before. I’d been craving a bacon sandwich all morning and finally got one — absolutely hit the spot. Tash managed to eat too, which felt like progress.

Back at the house we watched more of the Winter Olympics, which has been surprisingly gripping. GB picked up two gold medals today — Mixed Snowboard Cross and Mixed Skeleton — genuinely exciting and history-making stuff.

Lewis and Emily returned later, relaxed and happy after their meal. Pizza in the evening, Olympics on in the background, easy family time. After the Mixed Skeleton final we said our goodbyes and set off home.

The drive back was dry at least, but dark motorway driving when you’re tired is always a bit draining. Still, it was a good run and we were home just before 9.00pm. Zoe headed straight off, Airbnb guests arrived shortly after, and we squeezed in the final episode of Steal. Thankfully it had an intelligent ending — always a relief.

Bed by 10.30pm.

---

End of Day Summary

A hangover start but a strong recovery. Wet roads, bacon sandwiches, garden jobs, family time and Olympic golds. Exhausting but worthwhile — another full chapter in what’s been an absolutely relentless weekend.

Meeting up with Lewis, Emily and Frankie near Birmingham

Obviously woke up with a bit of a hangover this morning. What a surprise…

It wasn’t too bad though. Got a few bits sorted around the house before Mum arrived. We jumped in the car, picked up Theo, Ralph and Olivia, and then headed up to Birmingham to meet Lewis, Emily and Frankie. I took full advantage of the journey and slept the whole way — an excellent decision.

The original plan had been to meet at a soft play centre, but Lewis arrived about 30 minutes before us and declared it awful. So plans changed and we regrouped at a garden centre that also had a soft play area attached.

The garden centre was actually really good. They had a big sale on and loads of Christmas gifts and decorations still available — the sheer number of gonks on display was unbelievable.

We met up with Lewis and family and settled in for a relaxed afternoon with coffee and sandwiches while the kids burned off energy in soft play. Frankie absolutely loved it. He’s growing up fast — his face has slimmed down a bit so he looks less like a baby and more like a little boy now. He’s stronger too, holding his head up with no trouble at all. He’s lovely.

A really nice couple of hours all round.

As we were leaving, Mum secretly bought me an amazing gonk in the sale — £7.50! Absolute bargain. I’m very pleased with it… although I probably won’t mention it to Tash just yet.

I drove home this time and, unsurprisingly, everyone slept — except Mum, who chatted away happily the whole journey.

Dropped everyone off, got home, and settled down for the evening. We finished the Churchill at War series, which was genuinely enjoyable.

Very tired by the end of it all, so an early night felt well deserved.

---

End of Day Summary

A gentle, family-focused day with just the right balance of chaos and calm. Good laughs, growing grandchildren, bargain gonks and a steady recovery from the night before. Simple, wholesome, and quietly satisfying.

A decent weekend

Friday:
Charlotte and Miles came over after work. We had a few drinks, a nice dinner, and made use of the hot-tub. It was a relaxed evening and great to catch up with them.

Didn’t have a late night as I wanted to be fresh for golf in the morning.

Saturday:
Up bright and early with a 5.45am alarm, had breakfast, got sorted, and was at the golf club by 7.00am to warm up. There were 6 of us split into two groups of three, but Jon Hawkins had to drop out after three shots, leaving me and Julio to go around. We did well and it was enjoyable.

Caught up with Wayne and Carl later as Robbie also retired hurt, so we made up a fourball. I was the best player on the back nine, which was pleasing, and I finished with a score of 88 – bringing my handicap down to 21.4. Definitely moving in the right direction.

Got a load of jobs done on the way back home and then cracked on with more tasks like painting the skirting and door frame again. Managed to watch the England Ladies Rugby semi-final against France – they won, which was pleasing.

The day went quickly. We went for a quick walk around Shotover, then back for the hot-tub, and later watched Conclave, which Tash has been going on about for ages. It was okay, but after an hour I looked over and she was snoring away, so I stopped it and watched MOTD instead. Went to bed around midnight, having eaten a whole bar of Fruit and Nut chocolate… greedy pig!

Sunday:
Got up later than planned, got sorted, and went to Sue’s as we were taking her to Lewis and Emily’s to meet Frankie. The journey wasn’t too bad.

Charlotte and Miles arrived around 2.30pm, about an hour after us. It was nice catching up and seeing Frankie – he slept most of the first couple of hours, but we still had cuddles with him. Charlotte’s birthday is next week but she’ll be in Ibiza with Miles, so there were some presents given, and we had a nice lasagne dinner and Cuthbert cake – felt a bit sick afterwards!

Frankie woke up and was passed around again – he’s lovely.

By 6.00pm it was time to make a move. We said our goodbyes and hit the road. The traffic was kind to us again, and we made good time, getting back to Sue’s at about 8.15pm to drop her off and pick up Bess, who’d been looked after with Bella by Brendan – very good of him.

Came home, sorted things for the week, walked Bess, and then it was too late to watch TV or anything, so just went to bed.

Reflection:
A really enjoyable but tiring weekend. Good balance of family time, jobs done, and some progress on the golf front. Very pleased that practice is paying off and showing in my scores.

Family Visit to see Frankie

Got ourselves sorted early — Tash cooked a roast before heading off to yoga, while I got on with a few chores so that we’d be ready to leave as soon as Mum and Jodie arrived.

Unfortunately, traffic delays held them up and we didn’t get away until 10.50am. After picking up Charlotte, we ended up being sent all around the countryside by the sat nav, wasting even more time. Coupled with the awful traffic on the M6, it meant we didn’t reach Lewis and Emily’s until 2.00pm — about an hour later than I’d hoped. Bit of a shame really.

Still, once we arrived it was lovely. Jack was there too, so it was a full house, and of course there were lots of hugs and cuddles with Frankie. He was brilliant — needed a couple of feeds and then just slept in the arms of whoever was holding him. Such a content little baby.

He’s got a touch of jaundice, but nothing to worry about — a perfectly healthy boy. There were a few presents handed out, all sweet little baby things. Mum’s knitted blanket was especially impressive.

The afternoon was really relaxed, Frankie being passed around everyone without complaint. We all enjoyed the roast dinner Tash had prepared earlier — it went down really well.

That said, Tash was stroppy with me all day, and again on the way home, because I spoke down to her in the car when she was criticising me. All a bit childish and unnecessary really, but it did put a slight dampener on things.

We wrapped up around 6.30pm, said our goodbyes, and headed home. The return journey was a dream compared to the morning — just 2 hours 15 minutes. Makes you realise we need to travel either early mornings or evenings to avoid the chaos and get some consistency in journey times.

Once home, Miles picked up Charlotte, Jodie headed off, and Tash disappeared to do her own thing. I just put the TV on and scrolled through my phone.

Overall, a really nice day — great to see everyone together again and, most of all, lovely to spend more time with baby Frankie.

Meeting Our New Grandson

As expected, it was a terrible night’s sleep – my mind was racing, worrying about the baby and the secrecy around the messages we’d been getting. The morning didn’t bring much relief either. We’d been messaging Lewis but weren’t getting any replies, which only fuelled the anxiety.

Charlotte did manage to speak with him around 7.30am and he said he’d call us shortly… but of course, he didn’t. By then, all sorts of thoughts and concerns were spinning around in our heads.

Despite that, I got myself sorted and set up for work. As always, the van made it easy – no problem getting logged in and catching up.

Finally, Lewis rang about 11.30am and we arranged to meet him at his house, just 10 minutes away. Big hugs all round when we arrived. We then followed him to Sainsbury’s to grab a meal deal before heading to the hospital.

They had their own room now and Emily appeared really well. And then came the moment we’d been waiting for – meeting Frankie. Of course, he was tiny, but everything about him seemed in proportion and healthy. In that instant, all the worries and concerns we’d been carrying melted away.

There were plenty of photos and cuddles, and we stayed about 45 minutes, listening to the story of the birth – how quickly it all happened, that there was no time for pain relief, the cord around his neck, and yet how well Emily had come through it. We left them to rest but planned to return later before heading home.

In the meantime, we went to a nearby retail park – I set up to work from the van while Tash did more shopping.

We returned around 3.00pm and spent another 30–45 minutes with them. They’d decided they were going home, so we helped carry some clothes and bits to the car. After more hugs, photos and goodbyes, we got back on the road.

I sat in the back working while Tash drove, but I have to admit I soon felt awful. After about 90 minutes I had to shut the laptop and sleep – I felt dreadful. We made decent time getting home, had dinner, and then I went out to the office to catch up on more work. The end of summer term rush is definitely showing with the sheer number of emails and tickets coming in.

It was an early(ish) night for us. Not even a fraction of the exhaustion that Lewis and Emily must have been through, but we were knackered all the same.

And now, we’re grandparents. We have a grandson. It’s such a strange and wonderful feeling to realise that our son – once so tiny himself – is now a father with his own child. And what’s more, I feel an instant attachment to Frankie that’s different to other babies – an immediate closeness.

I wonder what life will bring him.

We're Grandparents!!

So that's it then, we're officially old, Lewis and Emily have had the baby today - Frankie Ray - born at 3.29pm. 

Bit of a whirlwind today, Lewis sent a few updates advising how things were going and Emily being taken to the Maternity Ward and then not much else until we received the message on WhatsApp

Then radio-silence!

We were all asking questions etc and were getting nothing from Lewis - it was very worrying indeed.

The time dragged on and still nothing - by now Tash and I were in the van travelling up there and sorted a campsite nearby and were likely to get there about 8.00pm when Lewis finally called (hadn't answered messages) and we caught up but he sounded incredibly emotional (even upset) - obviously it's understandable to be emotional but it was hard to get anything out of him

We said we were 15 mins away, we'd guessed the correct hospital they were at, but he said they were too tired and would prefer it if we didn't come in today.

That felt like quite a hammer blow truth be told, I could take it but we all know what Tash is like and how utterly desperate she'd be to see them and cuddle the baby

It was really disappointing and an anti-climax and also didn't do much to reduce our concerns - but of course, we were not going to try and over-rule him, so the next roundabout I did a full 180 and came back the other way to go and find out campsite.

It worked out the site was less than 10 mins from Holmes Chapel and was a good find. We chose our own pitch, bit of a slope so needed to use my ramp and then we got sorted out. 

Didn't really eat once in the van - just reflected on the day and the events following Frankie's birth and read or looked at our phones.

Can't hide the fact that we're concerned, the lack of updates and comms - hardly any response to Tash's messages was bordering on rude in my opinion, it didn't make sense and was concerning as to whether there were more serious issues with Frankie or Emily's health.

Not even sure if we're going to be able to visit tomorrow - can't see we'll have a good night's sleep but it's so exciting and we're all thrilled to have the new arrival

So Tash will be Nanny, and I will be Grampy.

Fucking hell!!