The Birthday Boys

It's a Happy Birthday today to sons 1&2, seen here about 20 years ago before their hair was on the wane.

They were born ten years apart, to the hour, weighing in as heavy weights of 10lbs and 9lbs; the only boys in the family and the only corriefisted amongst their siblings.
There the similarity ends and now they couldn't be more unalike, one espousing the charms of outdoor pursuits in the Highlands and the other the delights of European travel and cafe society.

This morning when I rang, #1 son was off skiing in the Cairngorms in a temperature in single figures, while #2 son had been swimming in an outside pool in Budapest in a temperature of 28 degrees.

The butternut squash risotto for supper last night was such a success with his Lordship that he over indulged and is feeling a trifle fragile today. He maintains it was definitely the large helping of the risotto I gave him and absolutely nothing to do with the accompanying wine which he gave himself. He is very clear on that point.

The intended cycle run was abandoned in favour of a stroll around our erstwhile neighbourhood, quiet, sedate, and colourful, with clematis and rhododendrons spilling over high garden walls.
It was almost too familiar, and felt as though we could just turn into the gate of our old castle and the past two years would have been no more than a dream.

But life moves on, and we have no regrets about down sizing to the Dower House with its park setting amongst the cherry trees.