The week after Easter went down to Kent again to stay with Tim's parents for a few days.  We had to renew some passports so we had a day in London.  An April day which, I must note, was characterized by a continuous snowfall.  It was unbelievable, and unbelievably cold, again!  After we got the passports, we went to the British museum to see a special exhibit about Pompeii.  It was an incredible exhibit.  The curators of the museum were able to get some of the best items from Pompeii and Herculaneum, and some were items of which I have seen pictures since I was a girl.  They had a a political advertisement endorsing someone running for office, and lots of mosaics, statues and frescoes.  There was also quite a bit of wood furniture that was preserved in Herculaneum.  What caught my attention though, as always, was the food!  There was a carbonated loaf of bread, carbonated figs and carbonated pomegranates. There were glass bottles of olive oil, with the oil still inside.  There were also lots of cooking pans that were very illuminating, such as one in the shape of a rabbit. 

     The most moving part of the exhibit was the plaster casts of some of the people that were caught in the volcano.  Their images were perfectly preserved - a woman laying down, a man who was sitting with his knees pulled up to his chest up against a wall, and a family of a husband and wife and two little children, with the baby still on the mother's lap as they all frantically tried to escape the ash and lava. 

     And the kids?  Well, I think they will remember it, at least.  There were some bad attitudes, it is true, but I tried to infect them with my enthusiasm:  'Hey, hey, look at this!  Isn't this fascinating?'  That kind of stuff.  I don't regret taking them.

     Then the next week - yes, we are still on the Easter holidays - we went on an unforgettable camping trip to the Lake District with our friends, Caden and Rebecca Stiles and their children, Chloe, Duncan and Winston.  Caden was determined to climb Scafel Pike, the highest, umm, peak (not to be confused with a mountain) in England.  That was a good thing, because I love the Lake District, and I know my husband loves me, but not in a way that would motivate him to spend money on a campsite.  No, the only thing could motivate him to do that would be the encouragement of another male.  So, urged on by Caden, we came to conquer Scafel.

     So, one problem was, as mentioned previously, it was a very cold winter, and the cold winter was turning into a very cold spring.  And we were camping!  The Stiles changed their minds at the last minute and upgraded from a mere tent to a heated 'pod' at the campsite.  And although the thought of Caden motivated Tim to go camping, it didn't actually motivate him to go that step further and do something sensible like get a heated place to stay.  When we got to the campsite in the evening, it was cold and windy.  We had to cook dinner, so we set up the gas cooker and tried to brown the hamburger, but it was so windy that the wind was just blowing away all the heat and the pan wouldn't heat up.  

 

 

Finally the Stiles let us use their infinitely more powerful gas cooker, and we finally got it heated up enough that it was safe to eat.  While I struggled to feed the family, Tim set up the tent and the kids ran around the campsite.

 

     

 

 

 

 

 

Soon we went to bed, but I don't think I've had a worse night, other than suffering through labor.  It got to -4, which I assume is Celsius.  I was already freezing before I got into bed, so I just  put on tons of layers:  two shirts, a sweater, my coat, a hat.  So, my upper body was OK, but I only put on one pair of socks, and my cold feet kept waking me up every 20 min.  It was torture!  But when we work up in the morning, it was the most beautiful day you could imagine.  It was frosty and sunny without a cloud in the sky.  We had a fabulous view of Scafell:

 

 

We started soon after breakfast with everyone but Verity, who stayed behind with Rebecca and their youngest son Winston.  Here is our mountain goat Eleanor, who, instead of climbing the mountain in a straight line, was so excited that she kept zigzagging over the trail:

 Samuel and Duncan hung out together along the trail:

And Abigail and Imogen egged each other on in their respective miseries, stopping every three minutes and complaining pretty much the whole way, until we got so far up the trail that they finally accepted their fate.

Quite soon into the hike there were significant stretches of snow.

After a while we got to an area of huge boulders, and we stopped and had lunch there.  Then we started on our way again, with this terrain ahead of us:

Finally we got to a 'saddle', which is a connecting area between two peaks.  The views were incredible! 

From here we were pretty much past the snow line, and it was all uphill to the top.

Incredibly, Eleanor the six year old was the first one to reach the top of Scafell!  She never complained the whole way up, but it turns out that the shoes she was wearing on the hike were too small for her and a few days later she lost her big toenail!  Here are the Stiles at the top:

And here we are, with, miraculously, genuine smiles.  It was windy at the top, but sunny.

The view at the top was breathtaking.  All the effort put into climbing to the top is rewarded by these wonderful sights.

Then it was time to go down.  The kids took advantage of the snow and slid down on their bottoms.

Once we got down further we could see where we had been and appreciate much better exactly what was up there.

As if that wasn't enough, we went on another major hike the next day.  This one was different in that we hiked up a valley, following a river.

When we got nearer the top, we ran again into some very deep snow, but also some beautiful views.

When we got to the top, it started snowing!  And we found a rather disconcerting piece of equipment:

The next day we packed up our tents and headed back to civilization, but I had mixed feelings about leaving such a remote and beautiful place.  I promised the kids - and myself - that before we went home we would stop by Grasmere, one of my most favorite places in all the world.  We had to go to the Grasmere gingerbread shop:

And here is Georgie in front of the river, which runs beside an ancient Christian church, as well as Wordsworth's grave.

There is something really special, even magical about Grasmere and the Lake District.  Unfortunately I don't think I can explain it.  But it is the sort of place that, when I go, I never want to leave.

 

 

 

     I love politics, but I don't get to do very much about it at this point in my life with lots of small children under foot.  Whenever we go to London I always look longingly at the Houses of Parliament and wonder if I will get a chance to go in and say something important.  Then, in March, I found out that an organization that I belong to, called Mothers At Home Matter (MAHM), was holding a tea party at the Houses of Parliament with a few MPs.  MAHM's aims have always been political in that they want a more formal recognition in the legal system for parents who stay at home to raise their children.  In England, the tax system does not take into account the financial burdens which are undertaken by people who choose to have one partner stay at home to look after children;  for instance, the partner who is not working cannot transfer their tax allowance to the partner who is.  But things have gotten a lot worse lately for families in the UK.  Child benefit has been taken away for families with a single earner who earns 60,000 pounds or more, but families with two earners can earn up to 80,000 pounds and still keep their child benefit.  And Nick Clegg was making all sorts of noises about how loads of money needs to be poured into nurseries so that all women could work, and it was obvious that the money that was taken away from families in the form of child benefit was now going to go toward nurseries.  As a stay at home mom, I was feeling increasingly de-valued and marginalized in Britain.  So I was thrilled when MAHM organized a meeting at the House of Commons to talk about these very issues.  I heard about the meeting at very short notice, but I knew I had to make the necessary arrangements - which is always nearly impossible - and get myself there no matter what.  I wanted to be counted as someone who knows how important it is to be a stay at home parent. 

    And, being a mother of 5 girls, I was determined to take at least one of them to represent the next generation of mothers.  Abigail had an important test that day, but Imogen was able to come.  Here she is, in the entrance hall of the House of Commons: 

 



     I also told Shirley about it, my mother in law, who also gets agitated whenever she hears people demeaning the role of parents at home.

     Since we already had our plans to emigrate to the States in the summer, I knew this would be one of the last times I would see Big Ben for a while.

     The meeting was incredible.  The Chairman of MAHM, Marie Peacock, spoke to the group assembled there of MP's, journalists, policy makers and etc, and she spoke with such conviction about the importance of mothers and the way in which they are ignored in society that I was moved to tears.  I could not have said anything that she said better myself.  I just need to find my own voice about mothering and let it be heard.
     The rest of March was eventful, especially the last week.  Georgiana turned 8 on the 27th, a special birthday which brings with it the privilege of being baptized.  It just so happened that her birthday fell during Holy Week, so we planned her baptism to take place on the 29th, which was Good Friday.  First we had the party to get through.  Usually on Georgie's birthday we always have an Easter egg hunt and loads of outdoor games.  But it was still really, really COLD on her birthday!  The winter just wouldn't end and so we had to do things inside, which changed the dynamics quite a bit.  We had to hang the piñata from the banister, rather than from a tree:

 

     Once the party was out of the way (yes, I know, I have a bad attitude toward children's parties), I could focus on the baptism and the impending catering challenge that always accompanies these important family events.  Easter is always a busy time at our house anyway, as I have taken upon myself to ensure that my children understand that there would be no Christmas without Easter, and that means three and a half days of activities over Easter weekend, including a Passover meal on Maundy Thursday, a brunch on Good Friday, Easter egg dying, a major Easter craft (such as making a model of Golgotha or Gesthemene, Easter baskets and presents on Easter morning received after an Easter morning devotional, and an Easter Sunday meal of roast lamb.  But now we had a baptism as well, which was great, but was also going to require a lot of planning.
     I invited many people to the baptism who were from out of town, and much to my delight, they accepted.  So we had our good friends Paul and Alice Hearne, Nigel and Rosemary Harding, Liz Knight with some of her boys, and of course the Dysons.  In the end I was catering for about 40 people after the baptism.  So we started making food two days in advance.  Here's Abigail making the sauce for the beef/pasta bake:

Me at the beginning stages of making a strawberry/rhubarb trifle:

 

 Imogen making something:

Me making one of the main attractions of the weekend, passionfruit curd:

On Thursday evening, the Dysons arrived, as did Shirley and Dave, and Peter.  So we had a Passover meal for 18 people.  Lamb, barley and saffron stew, cucumber salad, unleavened bread, figs, olives, dates, almonds, and Semniel cake were all on the menu.  On the spiritual side, remembering the way the last Passover was also the first sacrament was a lovely way to prepare for the baptism.  The morning of Good Friday we had our traditional brunch:  hot cross buns, smoked salmon, eggs, a lovely fruit salad, and both lemon and passion fruit curd.  We did our usual activity, which is to do the 'Easter Story in Eggs' at the table:  12 plastic eggs are filled with scriptures telling the Easter story, along with 12 items which represent the story.  We then did some final preparations for the dinner after the baptism - here the Dysons help us decorate our Easter carrot cake:

     Georgie's baptism was wonderful - an amazing spiritual feast.  Peter gave a talk on baptism, and Dave gave a very spiritual talk about the Holy Ghost.  Then the Dysons sang the Easter hymn 'O Savior Thou Who Wearest', harmonized as always and it really brought it the Spirit.  Then Tim performed the baptism, and I was very close to tears.  I just felt so much love from everyone - from our friends who came, from our family, from the Lord.  While she was getting ready we showed a video.  After she was baptized, I gave my testimony, along with Rosemary and Shirley, both of whom gave wonderful, spiritual testimonies.  Then Abigail sang 'In this Very Room' while Imogen played on the violin, which was incredible.  We had two non-member families there, the Dawsons and the Davies, and I was so happy that they could have that experience.  Truly, we were blessed that day.
     Then it was back to the house for the party!  The catering turned out almost perfectly.  I tried to put things on the menu which reminded me of Easter in one way or another:  fish pie, olive, onion and anchovy tart (anchovies remind me of Easter), Ithica pie (kind of a Greek/middle Eastern dish, made of spinach and dill and basmati rice).  Then there were the standard items:  beef pasta dish, ham and baked potatoes, salads.  The desserts included a carrot cake, chocolate and almond cake bites, bunny cake pops, and a cheese board. 

 

 

 The centerpiece, however, was the Strawberry and Rhubarb trifle.

 

At some point during the hustle and bustle, laughing, talking, and socializing, we sang Happy Birthday to Georgie,

Rosemary made sexy poses, as is her wont,

 Alice was just lovely being Alice,

And Andrew was just, umm, Andrew.

     The next day was Easter Saturday.  After feeding 20 people for brunch, we settled down to a rather elaborate Easter egg decorating activity.

We also finished up this year's Easter craft, the Resurrection tomb:

After lots of food and rather sedentary activities of painting, egg blowing, washing up and supervising children, we did the very English thing of taking a walk, this time, again, in the VERY cold weather.  I was surrounded by two of my most favorite people, Gill Dyson and Rosemary Harding.

The Bleakley girls and the Dyson girls, friends forever.

Finally, the big weekend culminated in Easter Sunday.  The devotional that morning was lovely, and we basked in the spirituality of that whole weekend.  After church we had our Easter Sunday dinner, which starts with a portion of honeycomb and fish, to commemorate what Jesus ate with his apostles after His resurrection.

     Our family has the distinction of 5 of our 6 children having birthdays within three months after Christmas.  It isn't very good for our budget, or for my energy levels.  But somehow I psyche myself up and get through it all, and none of the children has ever complained to me about having a crappy birthday (that may be because they have a healthy respect for my ability to get very upset, very quickly, if I perceive ingratitude), so there must be some kind of standard which I am maintaining.
     Samuel turned 10 on 22 January.  We let him have his first sleep over, with four other boys.  It was snowing heavily about the time his party was supposed to start.  Having mostly girls, I hadn't realized how much more energy boys have than girls.  Those boys were up ALL night - that's never happened at our girls' sleepovers.  We got them to quiet down around 4am, but then at at 5am they were at it again.  Samuel didn't seem to mind, so I guess that's good.
     Eleanor turned 6 on 24 January.  Her party was the next weekend, and I think it snowed that day as well.  She had a good group of friends come over and they played party games.
     Verity turned 4 on 6 Febraury.  We had a party for her, but only one person showed up, but it was her best friend, Shayla Shami, as well as Shayla's whole family, so we just had a family party, and I think that was much better anyway.    
      On February 22 Abigail turned 15!  Wow!  I, for one, am happy to see the back of 14 and harbour hopes that in the upcoming year Abigail will enjoy a maturation process, rather like a good cheese.
     Abigail is fortunate in that her birthday almost always falls during half term, and this year was no exception.  She decided to forgo a birthday party completely this year (yea!) and just take one friend with her to London instead.  She spent her actual birthday in London, full of culture and shopping and good food!  But, it was also very, very cold.  We have suffered an exceptional cold snap in 2013 and February half term was almost unbearable!  It was hard to do anything outside because most of the time it was so bitter.
     So, we braved the streets of cold South London (think Oliver Twist) to go see the reconstruction of Shakespeare's Globe Theatre.  We didn't really think about it when we booked it, but the Globe Theatre is an open air theatre, so it wasn't the most comfortable thing we could have done that day.  But it was still amazing.  Here is the stage (with our tour guide):

She's standing in the Pit, where the cheap seats were.  Here is where the 'groundlings', or the 'stinkards' would have stood to see the play:

 

 

Here's a view from the upper-class seats:



 

 

Samuel, Aisha, Abigail, Imogen and Georgiana, destined for greatness (either that, or life in the stinky seats):

 

 

 

 

 

The box seats had beautiful murals, with scenes from Greek and Roman myths:

 

 

     After the Globe Theatre, Abigail, Imogen, Aisha (Abigail's friend) and I headed over to Harrods to do some shopping, while Tim, Samuel, Georgiana, Eleanor and Verity went to see the Royal Mews at Buckingham Palace.  They saw some mighty fine carriages which have been used for various coronations, royal weddings and etc.

 

Here they are in front of Buckingham Palace, in very cold English weather:

     There are no pictures of the rest of our evening, but Abigail, Imogen, Aisha and I had a lovely time in Harrods looking at horrendously overpriced clothes and gaping at £500 pairs of shoes.  We always end up in my favorite place, which is the food hall, probably because the items there are more within my price range, and I don't have to lose any weight to enjoy them.  Then we dined at Pizza Express in Covent Garden, which was delicious.  And then we made our way over the the theatre to see one of the final performances of 'Shrek' the musical.  Abigail said she enjoyed it, so that's the main thing.
     The rest of the weekend was really too cold to do anything else, but I did manage to pull the three little ones out of Grandma's house on Saturday afternoon and take them to Scotney Castle, a National Trust property near Pembury.