A year on; sweetpeas, fondness and growing up...

I am all about tradition, as demonstrated here...a post from this time last year. This weekend our old friends from University came to stay and brought with them lots of loveliness in the form of gifts, their scrumptious boys (who have grown so much!) and all the store of memories and fondness of the last 18 years. For me there is something wonderfully life-affirming to see old friends and a part of me relaxes in the knowledge that they know me; there is no pretense, no manoeuvring.

...freshly picked sweetpeas...

...freshly made cakes...

Their visit coincided with high winds but we braved the beach anyway, at times huddling in the beach hut barbecuing sausages for the kids, as we are hardy Brits! Not exactly optimum May bank holiday weather...

Cricket orchestrated by the Daddies...my friend J whose book has steadily cimbed up the Amazon charts over the past year and who now spends his time teaching and talking at conferences all over the country! I remember him when...well, when he was always arranging some fab student-related event like a beer festival or a summer treasure hunt around our Uni town. Resourceful? Err, yes...

...cricket on a deserted beach, when a hoolie was blowing...