What’s the collective name for Goddards?

At 930 this morning I had a blood test. We walked across to the doctors and sat in the corridor which is where you wait for the nurse. I am not sure whether this is because they don’t want the official waiting room clogged up with non-ill people, if the nurse’s rooms don’t have the special system that puts your name up on the electronic message board (like those ones in shops that you can programme and they have in the window announcing stuff scrolling across) or maybe they feel the corridor is an underused part of the surgery and they’ve done some sort of efficiency of space test (that would be done by highly paid consultants obviously) and had recommendations to make better use of it by sticking chairs and notice boards in it and having people spend 7 minutes there before their blood tests.

We spent the time talking about the stair lift installed there and Scarlett observed that the man waiting in the chair next to us looked like he’d been waiting there a long time. We pondered on the need for a seat belt on the chair lift, discussed whether having one installed just for fun with a ‘hands in the air’ policy would be prohibitively expensive and I said that Stannah was the leading name in stair lifts just like coca cola, fairy liquid and hoover (although that should possibly be Dyson nowadays). Then I got called in.

The nurse wanted to check the children would be okay witnessing the blood test – I explained they regularly watch while I donate blood so should be fine. Scarlett was adamant the nurse should examine her wobbly tooth – when we walked across the road to the doctors she had wanted to ask the receptionist if a doctor could look at it but she was content with the nurse in the end :lol:. They got the full run down of the sharps procedure, bruising from blood tests and admired the tie dye effect band used for tightening around my arm.

We popped home to collect our picnic and headed off to PYO to meet Julie, Jack, Maisie and Lorna. We listened to our Chevrolet cd which has 13 songs all including the word ‘chevy’ or ‘corvette’ or ‘chevrolet’ in the lyrics somewhere.

It was very, very, very, very, very hot at PYO and Julie and I really struggled to drum up any enthusiasm for fruit picking. I did get some raspberries and Julie got some beans and we had 20pence worth of red and white currants the children had half heartedly picked too. Davies was struggling with the younger 3 so hung out with us a bit. We had a quick look round the farm shop and then headed to Highdown Gardens for lunch.

We sat down and ate and then some older boys with lightsabres appeared. They were called ‘Josh’ and ‘Toby’ and were terribly well spoken and very keen to play with our four. Jack and Maisie didn’t quite get the idea of pretend play but Davies really enjoyed playing with them and Scarlett joined in too. The game lasted ages and meant Julie, Lorna and I got to lay around on the rug chatting. We both had a go at jiggling Lorna who likes to be held lying flat face down and is most vocal about not being held thus. I love her lots; it’s so nice to cuddle a baby and kiss her soft cheeks and feel her downy hair and tiny grasping hands but it’s even nicer that she is not mine :).

Davies had a babybel for lunch and I played with the red wax covering and made various little models. My final one was supposed to be a horse but came out slightly stunted and looked like a cross between a fox and a horse. We discussed for some time whether it should therefore be called a Hox or a Forse and decided on Hox. We listed it’s hobbies (stealth and cunning in show jumping) and it’s eating habits (polo flavoured chickens) and then put it on a stone to stay safe while the children played. It didn’t stand up well to the heat and was looking a bit melty so Julie put it in her tupperware container of nuts and seeds – henceforth known as the Hox Box. They are taking it home but when the weather is colder and it will stand up to transportation in my very hot car we may bring The Hox home again.

In the carpark as we left Julie and I were having a ridiculous conversation about wearing leotards for horseriding next week when I realised unloading all their children in the car next to us were someone I used to go nightclubbing with and one of the club bouncers who are now clearly a couple. I was so shocked at seeing them looking all old and together and being caught talking utter nonsense that I couldn’t bring myself to say hello and got all flustered! 😆

At home the children were playing in the playroom and I was pondering cooking them some tea when I remembered we’d been promising them a McDonalds since Tuesday and had a brainwave. I checked the cinema times, rang Ady to check he could do it and then told the children I’d take them to the Marina for dinner at McDonalds. They were delighted and we headed over there and they had their Happy Meals and were all lovely, angelic and grateful for the treat. Some covert telephone chatting went on with Ady and I and me and the children headed back to our car to ‘go home’ where we found Ady waiting for us! Davies asked why and I asked them what they’d really like to do if we didn’t go straight home to which they both replied ‘go and see WALL-E’ to which we of course replied ‘well that’s just what we’ll do!’ and we did! 🙂

It was more of a ‘where’s WALL-E?’ to begin with as the film was due to start at 610 but with a massive Cbeebies advert, other adverts, trailers and a short film before the main film it was the best part of 7pm before WALL-E actually started. I won’t spoil the film for anyone who’s not yet seen it but I didn’t think it was as clever a plot line as Monsters Inc, as charmingly charactered as Toy Story and it was a very slow start but it was a good film nonetheless and as it is *everywhere* I’m glad the children have now seen it and know what it’s all about.

Both children chose to go home with Ady which meant I got to drive behind them all the way singing really loudly to whatever I wanted on the cd player :).Bed for them, more Gavin and Stacey for us.