Our family from Manila

Here you see Iain, born and bred in Sunderland, his wife, Andini, from Indonesia, and their first born, Adam, who lived in Hong Kong and now in  the Philippines. They are visiting Adam's grandparents, my cousin Eric and his wife, Pauline, in Sunderland, for Christmas. After that they go to Switzerland and return to Manila in time for Andini to give birth to their daughter. (She will be 35 weeks pregnant...........but I hear that the Swiss hospitals are very good, if required!)

We had a wonderful time with them. Adam adored the track. I bought it in 1978, when Iain was 2. He and his brothers loved it as have many, many children since. Small cars and buses made their way around the town.

Eric and Pauline came along too. Eric had a nasty accident that involved falling off a ladder and ending up with a bed frame blocking the door of the room he was in. He had no fractures but the soft tissue injuries will take months to heal properly. He is not enjoying "taking it easy"!

They headed off to Mothercare for baby girl clothes......

I had a quick walk and then Julie popped in. I forgot to give her the boarding pass I had printed for her yesterday. Good to see her as always and she brought shopping for me too.

I have been reading a lot on the web about the night pain/discomfort experienced after total knee replacement. Someone has even written a book with patients' experiences. I won't be buying that one!


Tonight I will try the cling film treatment - I kid you not - and when you can't sleep almost anything is worth trying.

Extras of the family.