ALL THINGS FOREIGN

Some of my family escaped to France and sent me pictures of the two little ones having fun on the ice in the South of France.

Of the three children the little boy is the one who is having the most trouble adapting to the French school system. The oldest boy (not pictured because he loathes sport of any discription) is being "head hunted" by the maths teacher because he is considered to be a bit of a genius so he is acting very cool and waiting for a better offer. Good lad.

The little girl is a natural actress/performer and we are sure that one day she will be a great star, so each day is a production number in which she takes the main lead. There are other non-french speaking students in her class and they are all being given an intensive course in how to survive. She is always upbeat and optimistic and, I am sure, loves the attention.

Although the little boy is always laughing and appears to be outgoing he is actually quite shy. He is the only non-french speaker in his class and life is a little difficult for him at the moment. I'm sure he will overcome this, but our heart goes out to him at the moment.

Apart from this little wobble things are very new and exciting for the family. They are gradually working their way through French beaurocracy and loving every minute of it. Needless to say we miss them.

I am off to Switzerland for a week on Sunday with two grandsons, two great granddaughters, one son-in-law and his two brothers and my sister-in-law. This trip has been planned for some months and originally my beloved was coming with us but for obvious reasons he is staying behind. I had also dropped out until this week when it became "do-able" because there is a "window" between tests being finalised and chemo starting. So I am leaving him in the capable hands of the family and heading out for a mad week in the snow with two little girls who call me "Nanny Bully" and two little boys who are not totally sure about me at all! Should be fun.