Visitors by the dozen

We’ve had so much fun with all our visitors so far this summer and we’re looking forward to plenty more over the next few months. Uncle Pat was first to come up and stay with us in June before he headed back to Vancouver after the wedding. We had a couple of great evenings sitting out on the patio, finishing off the delicious Pineau we brought back from our honeymoon in France and just catching up and reminiscing about our days in Kippure.

Mum made it over for a long weekend in the middle of July and it was great to get to spend some time together relaxing, biking and punting around Cambridge. It was the first time any of us had ever punted on the river before; we got off to a bit of a slow start thanks to the lack of any advice from the punting pros in the rental place but we soon caught on and made it up to Granchester meadows, just south of the city, for a very tasty picnic.

We took the opportunity while mum was here to have a bit of a housewarming party; it was also the smoker’s debut but I’ll let Ryan tell you more about his pride and joy once he’s finished slaving over our website. Let me just say though that you haven’t lived until you’ve tasted pulled pork from a homemade smoking machine.  A nice piece of fish will be next I suspect.

Ashley, Allison and Kelly stayed with us on stage 2 of their first big European adventure (stage 1: Dublin; stage 3:  Amsterdam).  Ashley and Ryan worked together in Domino’s a few summers ago and they’ve kept in touch ever since. Not only did the girls taste the sumptuous pork while they were here (leftovers, I worship you), they relished in our snail feast (snails fresh from the back garden, prepped in the cosiest of snail homes) and got to see plenty of Cambridge and London too. Snails will be back on the menu very soon girls so plan your next trip over accordingly.

Our crazy triathlete friends Clare and Greg drove down from Edinburgh for the weekend and ended up staying for the week we were all enjoying ourselves so much. More punting, bike riding along the river Cam, a visit to Ely Cathedral and lots of good eating were the main highlights. Oh and in between all that, Clare interviewed for two jobs in London and was offered both of them straight away. Nice one Clare (go Eurostuds!). There’s also some serious talk of us all going to see the Tour de France together in a camper next year - watch this space.

We have one day left with a very special little visitor who has taken to the couch and our laps like a duck to water. April, our neighbour’s cat, is adorable; she’s blind as a bat but it doesn’t stop her from getting in to every little nook and cranny of our kitchen and living room. Her brother Tiger, beautiful and very elegant, occasionally stops by to say hello but he’s a bit on the cantakerous side and has a tendency to wander off for days at a time. April just wants to be held and loved; and we’ve been very happy to do just that.

What a mix of visitors. Anyone else fancy a sojourn in Cambridge?