11/07: Histon fun run

The 11th of July I toke part to the 'Histon Fun Run', 6 miles long.
The event it is organized in the context of Histon Feast.

Last year I saw people running at this fun run and I remember I was thinking: "it is 10 km, why do people do this?".
This year I joined them.... but the question remains unanswered.

The only thing worth of a note is that I was assigned the number 118.
Now I had no clue what that was, but everyone - really almost everyone - was smiling or laughing or making jokes...
A woman said: "we will call you!".

That was time for explanations, that you can find in this video.

1/7: The big summer project

And so it started!
Our big-summer-project had a beginning!
After long nights of thinking, re-thinking, and after negotiations to find a compromise between what we wanted and what the City Council wished for, at the end we could proceed.

We are extending our house.
It will take the whole summer. (Hopefully _just_ the whole summer).

[And then... I should not say it too loudly.... this time we hope not to have to move again!
Where 'we' is an euphemism...]

1st of July: Paolo is one!

Paolo is one!
He is very different than the sisters, much more trouble maker to start with.
He doesn't speak, except for 'mamma', said in time of need, and 'ciao', said with the hand waving.
He stands firmly but doesn't walk yet.

In the picture he is despairing when he saw the birthday cake disappearing.

14/6: Histon Open Garden day

Every two years some villagers organize the Histon Open Garden day.
The event idea is simple: some of the gardens are open for public to visit and the money collected (a unique ticket) go for charity.

I must admit that it took a while to convince me, but I didn't regret it.
To start with, I got a lot of great ideas for our garden. Not all of them applicable, but there is room for discussion.
But most of all I really liked some of the gardens and I enjoyed to observe a very typical aspect of English people life: gardening is one of the most spread hobby.
Plus the great weather has been a good background for a very colourful day.

30/5: Agnese is 6!

30th of May 2009: Happy birthday Agnese!
She is 6 today!

18/5: Rachele is 4!

18th of May 2009: Happy birthday Rachele!
She is 4 today!

3/5: Histon fun run

The 3rd of May we took part at the Histon fun run.
The event was organized in two runs:
. one for adults (of 5km), where I run;
. and _the most interesting_, one for children up to 7 years old, 1 Km long (!).

Agnese and Rachele run the 1 Km one and I was very impressed.
I was supposed to run aside Agnese but then Rachele wanted to join... so Agnese run by herself ending up in a very good position.
I run with Rachele who had only one single break in the 1 Km ring.
Both of the girls where very good!

13-19/4: Holiday in Cornwall

From the 13th to 19th of April we had a fantastic family vacation in Cornwall.
We hired a camper van and tried for the first time this kind of experience.
The final response was:
ABSOLUTELY FANTASTIC!
We do think that a camper van vacation is idea with children, ideal for a flexible planning such as we had, ideal for the degree of freedom it provides.
We must do it again.
Anna Maria and me found it fantastic.
Agnese and Rachele loved it.
Paolo didn't and he wasn't able to sleep properly a single night (try to guess about us then?). Yet, he is in minority.

Few snapshots of some places we have been visiting.

Here we are talking down into Clovelly, surely the most picturesque and beautiful village I ever seen in UK.
It is a 'private village', which I was not aware could exist at all. The atmosphere there, especially late evening without the tourists rush, is fantastic.








St Michael's Mount has a 'brother' in France: it is an old monastery, then converted into castle, which is built in an island close to the coast. Once a day the tie allows a path to appear and it is possible to walk there.
We went to the castle (which is really worth a visit) by boat and came back walking on the path with low tie.


Kinance Cove: a dramatic landscape on the seaside, where it seems like nature has been untouched.


The Lizard Point.
The southern most land of Great Britain.
Again a very nice landscape.
Here is the four of us (Anna Maria is taking the picture), although Paolo felt asleep and is slightly visible.






Glendurgan.
An amazing old and very well kept garden, within a valley that leads to a bay.
Fantastic walk and also absolutely funny for children who can enjoy the big maze.



Lanhydrock.

A huge country mansion property with 51 rooms opened to the public, which supply a clear idea about life in old times.
Remarkable interest for Agnese who was complaining about us going too fast from room to room!Obviously this site is equipped with a wide garden, with different walks (like magnolia's one): can't be described, should be smell instead.

In short, very short: a FANTASTIC WEEK!


NOTE: A full report of this story should be published in a UK magazine soon... therefore here I can write very little and publish only few pictures, surely not the best ones.