Day one of our holiday in Rhodes

We are in Turkey.

Still.

Our plane flew into Turkey, which was fine as when we have travelled before, we have learned that rental cars can be taken across international borders and that you have to pay extra.  We had booked with Expedia and expected to pay extra at the airport for this.  We were not allowed to. And there was no way we were going to be able to get from the airport to the ferry terminal in time to get to Rhodes.

So we are staying  in an airport at the hotel and are due to travel to Rhodes tomorrow. And work out how we are to make the return trip.

It has been a nice weekend.  I was at work for too many hours yesterday, but got home to mow the lawn and go for a nice walk with my son.  Later we all were meant to watch A Simple Favor, but my son decided to call it a night.  But that meant that my wife, daughter and me watched it.  And I have to say, I liked the film.  It was a bit predictable, but it was a story well told, though I think that the end was incongruous compared to the rest of the film.

Today, I have been for a walk with him and have spent a lot of my free time watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer with my daughter.  It has brought back memories of when I watched it before, and it is good to watch the twists and turns of the plot with her.

The difference between now and then was that I always wanted to listen to the music but never got the chance, and now I get to listen to the songs that are played.

Of course we can trust Boris to keep his promises. Ask his two previous wives.

Of course we can trust our new Prime Minister.  

He kept his promises of fidelity to his two previous wives didn’t he?

Okay, that is a bit mean, after all, it is not that he has a history of lying, making up quotes, or stabbing colleagues in he back to take he heat away from him when he has put himself, and more importantly, others in a worse situation.  But to be fair with Priti Patel, he has rewarded her after his Machiavellian display of his survival instincts when he threw her under the bus to get away with yet another one of his gaffes.

In a world where journalists and freedom of the press is under attack in the USA, we obviously would not need to worry about the same here.

But being serious, he has been voted in as a Conservative mayor in London, twice. The first time can be seen as a rejection of Tony Blair, but the second time was when anti-Tory sentiment was higher.  He is very good at soundbites.  And his views on Brexit may result in the Conservatives not being damaged by the Brexit party too much when it comes to the next General Election.  I trust him to deliver on Brexit.  I hope I am wrong, but I think that the Brexit he delivers will be a nightmare.

This house is falling down

My daughter lost her temper on Tuesday. Needless to say, she is very sorry and has to pay for the damage.  An incident with her brother resulted in her throwing a book at the toilet door, but to the surprise of both it went through it.

That is something she is going to pay for.  What I cannot work out is which one of them broke my ironing board.

It is going to be a long six weeks...

The end of an era

That is it.  My kids no longer attend primary school.

My daughter broke up yesterday which meant it was the end of her phone ban.  We had not banned her from her phone, but instead we had placed a ban on her using social media.  Needless to say, she deserved it, though I suspect she disagrees! She got her time back in time for a trip to a friends, near where I used to work in fact!

It was strange being in the playground for the last time, mind you, it must have been even stranger for him.  Most of his friends are going to two other schools, some going to the local Grammar and others going to the main local comprehensive. He has a place in a new school though I am going to have to make sure that he can cycle there and back safely.

But many of us spent a few hours in Abbey Fields, having an after school picnic. The kids relaxed and wound down and soon some will be leaving on holiday. But that is not quite now for us.

Bluewater again

Today involved a trip to Bluewater for shopping. Clothes and books.  My wife has a dissertation to complete, but the children need some more clothes. And we owed them some books.  Yes, we could have shopped in the town centre, but the range of shops is what drew us there.

One of the best bits of the day were the kids.  They got on well most of the time, and were a lot or kind and loving to me than they have been recently!

But the best part of the day involved my son.  He was queuing to pay for something today and found that he did not have enough money when it came to paying. A kind lady payed the difference! My wife gave him the money to pay her back and she refused to take it, saying that it was was more important to share that act of kindness to others.

Summer splash

Today we had a lovely day at the summer splash and barbecue at some friends of ours.  We got to know them because of my son and most of the children who went were boys of his age, and it was fun seeing them after the school play.

My daughter came as well, reluctantly but she met an old school friend and caught up face to face with her.  I did have to go back as there was an inflatable pool and my daughter wanted to get something for it (she decided not to wear her bikini).  Also, at least one of the younger girls liked the fact that my daughter was there with her friend.

My son had loads of fun, and while he did spend time outside and in the water, he loved the screen time that they had.  My wife enjoyed talking to the other mothers enjoying a glass or two of Prosecco.  I was roped into helping the kids toast some marshmallows which was fun as a few of them were set on fire (not the children). It was nice to speak to the other Dads, they get to meet up a lot more often playing sports after work, not something I get to do much because of the hours that I work.