HAPPY FATHERS DAY

My fridge is full of all manner of revolting foods – it’s what my teenage son requires whilst revising for his A levels – sausage rolls, scotch eggs, pork pies – he has no imagination when it comes to food. Unless it’s something fully formed in a packet “THERE’S NOTHING TO EAT!”. He is incapable of finding something to put in two pieces of bread. So I’ve given in for a minute. He’s got three more exams to do this week and then thats it – he’s a free man. Ready to take his holiday plans seriously.

At the opposite end of the scale, my 15 year old daughter is on a Curly Kale and Rice Krispie diet. She is on a mission – “no carbs till marbs” and she’s lost tons of weight. All in preparation for her holiday with a friend and her family to Ibiza. She wants a belly button ring, highlights, gel toenails, fake tan and hip bones. I don’t ever remember preparing for summer in the way our kids seem to. I would just wake up the morning I was going away and think “SHIT. Not only am I blue, but I’m covered in hair”. I would then attempt a hopeless summer pruning job and then only pack kaftans and one piece swimming costumes and stay indoors.

My youngest son is off to the National School Athletics in Birmingham this week. To try and become Shot putt champion of the country. How exciting is that? He’s in with a chance. He’s the biggest 10 year old I know. He’s going with his friend who is the fastest boy at the school. Just look at the difference in size (yes, they’re standing on the same step):-

It’s Fathers Day. My first Fathers Day without my father. Hard. The kids have just gone out to lunch with their father. My 10 year old is giving him a bottle of 1996 port that he won in the school tombola yesterday. His friend said “you can’t give him that, it’s completely past it’s sell by date”.

So. I’ve had an interesting week. I’ve written lots of reviews on my blog – they’re easy. They distract from everything else going on in my life that I suddenly am finding it difficult to write about. It’s a very strange feeling to know that there are people out there reading my blog and picking out things I’ve written years ago, but not in a good way. I don’t know what I wrote years ago – probably inappropriate things that are going to piss people off. I still don’t quite know what to do about it all but I was interested to see the case in the paper yesterday all about the “Online revenge of the wronged plumber”. Ian Puddick created a series of websites and used Twitter to spread news about his wife’s affair with her boss. He was charged with harrassment and the 3 days case was being watched with interest by lawyers because it could help set the guidelines for freedom of expression on the internet. Well, yesterday he was cleared of all the charges. He described the verdict as a “victory for free speech and the small man”.

YAY to freedom of speech and the little people.

What else? I met The Fonz (see post below), a gorgeous, young French waiter gave me a note at the end of a night out with some girlfriends saying “Do you want to be my first Cougar?”, which cheered me up no end (although I guess it could be argued that it was rude to assume I was older than him) and I’m off to Downing Street next week. To meet The Fonz again AND to meet George Osborne and his wife Frances. Actually I’m most looking forward to meeting her – she wrote “The Bolter”, a book I loved, all about her Great Grandmother Idina Sackville and her extraordinary White Mischief life in Kenya.

Nothing else to report. At the moment. Watch this space. Oh and also lots of excitement and planning around the blogging community for the second Cybermummy Conference on Saturday. Gosh, was it really a year ago that I stood on the stage reading out one of my posts at the exact same moment that my ex husband was taking his vows for the second time?

Time flies.