We have stayed in Britain so far, for the "summer".

 

In July, John and I have had a delightful time visiting Edward and Emma in Cambridge. Edward's house is very comfortable with three bedrooms.  Emma took us to Girton college and showed us Cambridge from the college tower. The tower also overlooks the 87 acres of college land which is beautifully laid out. We then had coffee in the 'Fellows Lounge' and saw the extensive art gallery of contemporary paintings.

 

One day Edward returned home with news that the tadpoles in the pond beside his window at work, had decided to become frogs. So after dinner that evening, we all went to Accelyris and collected frogs for the  pond in Emma's garden. The whole grass area was alive with frogs! I held a jam jar lid to the ground and the tiny frogs just jumped on the lid. Emma was delighted with our catch of frogs and says they are now thriving in her pond.

 

We then travelled to Wimbledon, London to stay with Louise and Simon. They have an exquisitely decorated modern home with three bedrooms. John took photos of their bath tub as it had disco lights, music, radio, whirlpool, and jacuzzi along with a glass 'viewing area'. I understand you can bathe in it too! The bathroom sink had a large glass dish with a 'joystick' in the middle, and the water flowed over the glass dish into the unusual bowl area. They have hardwood floors downstairs and white carpeting on the stairs and upper floors with the bathrooms having black shiny tiles. The house came with all these features and more, but a few are not what they would have chosen.

 

I had a memorable day at Buckingham Palace. I met up with the Red Cross Trustee for Scotland and a BRC President from the North of Scotland at the Caledonian Club across from the palace. (John could not enter the club as he needed a tie and suit jacket). The three of us took a taxicab (it was raining) to the front gates of the palace and walked in the front door...as one does! We had a look around the front courtyard and some downstairs rooms before going out onto the lawns. There were three large marquees: one for the royals (with a gold crown on top), one for the diplomats and one for the peasants. They had different bands playing at different times and planned a Red Arrows plane flypast for entertainment. We saw and many chatted with Prince Charles, HRH Camilla, Princess Alexandra and her daughter, The Right Honourable Lady Ogilvy. The place was swarming with uniformed staff to help us. We had tea, sandwiches, and lots of cakes, pies, buns, scones, etc. Camilla seemed shy but spoke briefly to my friend Vicky. Camilla was wearing a cream suit; but she shows her age when seen up close. We then walked about the gardens, around the lake and by the tennis courts before returning to the Caledonian Club for a sherry. No phones or cameras were allowed. (I also had a fun day at the Royal Garden Party and Royal Reception in Holyrood Palace, Edinburgh in May).

 

The next afternoon, John and I had a guided tour of the British Red Cross Headquarters in London. We particularly enjoyed the archives/museum with old uniforms, equipment, photos, paintings, etc. The HQ is near the building Simon and Louise work in (one Bow Street) so we had coffee outside their building and glimpsed Simon at work. That evening we watched Simon and Louise both run a 5 kilometre race around Battersea Park and had a meal with the Aberdeen Asset Management team.

 

Edward's birthday was on the Friday and he had a meal out with Emma and her twin sister, Loretta. On Saturday we celebrated his birthday by spending it seeing Wimbledon and travelling to Kenwood House for an open-air concert by the London Philharmonic Orchestra. There were six of us: Edward, Emma, Louise, Simon, John and I all sitting on a groundsheet, eating a picnic and drinking lots of wine...and enjoying the classical music.

 

On Sunday, 13 July, we met and visited Jill and Chris Hancock (Simon's parents) for a barbecue in their back yard. Simon's grandmother came. Edward and Emma joined us. And we all met Simon's sister, Nicky and partner, and Simon's brother, Matt and his partner, making quite a group. The weather was reasonably warm and sunny so the day, food, and company were great.

 

We had a quiet time just catching up on some housework and Red Cross work. We are now preparing our house and garden for visitors.

 

Charles, Marlene, Anna (5yrs), and Harry (3 yrs) will be staying with us from Sunday, 17 August until 31 August. I will be going to the Red Cross Headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland from 25 to 28 August. This time will include meetings and seeing the work the Red Cross, Red Crescent and Red Crystal through the ICRC and IFRC organizations. Charles and family will hopefully use these days to visit Marlene's mother in Tillicoultry, Clackmannanshire. John and I will be babysitting Anna and Harry while Marlene and Charles attend Peter Ferris's wedding (Charles's best man 8 yrs ago). And Emma and Edward will be arriving on the Sunday (when Charles & family leave), 31 August for a week's stay. So August is getting quite busy.

 

Our third son, David is now living in Napa Valley and working as a wine chemist. He is engaged to marry Jennifer Sears who is also a graduate of Calpoly University, San Luis Obispo and studied Nutritional Science. They have a lovely house which they are renovating. We hope to visit them sometime soon, when the house is ready for guests.

 

This should bring you up to date with our lives.

 

We send you our love and best wishes,

John and Kathy.

 

P.S. Our Louise is helping the British Red Cross too. http://www.justgiving.com/louisekernohan