Rob Blog

Birthdays

2012-01-23T13:40:00.004Z

Well that weekend was a vast improvement on its predecessor, lots of good sleep (by our standards) and two delightful children, who it was a joy to be with and receive some lovely comments about from other people.
A quick run down of what we did.Friday night: Chinese, a movie (The Fighter), asleep on the sofa by 10.00. Saturday morning; ballet followed by Roundwood Park, bit of rest after lunch but no sleep from Lucas. Denis and Thomas arrived. Linda and Levan came round for a play, late afternoon. Lookie pulled Levan's hair, frightening him enough not be able to be in the same room as him. Birthday dinner with Denis and Thomas. Watched Borgen and quite enjoyed it. Sunday morning, big breakfast for everyone then train to Hamstead Heath with Ruby and Lucas. Had a great time at the playground. Early afternoon sleeps, homework with Ruby, cake and tea for Denis and Thomas (celebrating their 50th and 10th birthdays, respectively). Dinner at Kate and Dan's.

Finn

2012-01-19T21:20:00.002Z

We met Robyn and Alex's new baby boy Finn on Saturday and it was lovely to see them all. But this was a highlight in an otherwise not very good weekend. Very rude awakenings from Ruby and Lucas, a missed opportunity for a long overdue walk to Golborne Road, a car breakdown, missed sleeps, tantrums and too much to do. I fully intend though to ensure this weekend coming, makes up for last.

Homework

2012-01-09T17:03:00.000Z

Ruby started her new school on Tuesday 3rd January. She's in the nursery class of Leopold School and we are immensely lucky and grateful for her place and really hope she'll be there until she's 10. So this weekend we had to help her with her very first homework. This involved getting her read and describe what happens in a book about a visit to the hairdressers and cutting out and sticking 3 segments of a picture of a car. This was marked by the teacher and she did really well.
I worked on Saturday morning while the others went to ballet and then cooked and relaxed in the afternoon. On Sunday morning we went to Golders Hill and checked out all the animals and had a lovely time. We also listened to lots of David Bowie to celebrate his birthday and Lucas indulged his passion for playing with the microwave and pressing any buttons he can get hold of.

Happy Birthday David Bowie

2012-01-08T17:08:00.005Z

Here's a few of my favourite David Bowie videos to help celebrate his 65th birthday

We've been playing back to back tracks, in the house today and even got to see quite a bit of The Man Who Fell to Earth, while Ruby slept on the sofa this afternoon.
Really hope the old fella will get back in the studio soon and tour again.

Beard

2012-01-04T16:24:00.000Z

make animated gifs like this at MakeAGif

I made a bit of an attempt to grow a beard over Christmas but was very happy to shave it off just before going back to work. Here's a gif of a satisfying but tricky shave.

Christmas Week

2012-01-02T21:05:00.002Z

These are a few bits from the sublime week we had at home between the 28th December and 2nd January. I honestly can't tell you just how good it was, because it was so darn good. Just to be home, together as a family and not having to do anything in particular or anything to ambitious was just what we all needed. We did a few little outings in the morning like going to Hamstead Heath, Brent Bunny Park and Gambado's at Imperial Warf and then did creative stuff in the afternoons like painting, drawing and baking with Ruby and Lucas. When they were asleep in the afternoons; Ibolya and I got in some phenomenal naps and some great movies (which felt utterly luxurious). We watched, the very powerful and moving documentary 'Senna', the flawed yet cosmic 'Tree of Life', another great doco 'Inside Job', rewatched (still magnificent after all these years) Koyaanisqatsi half of 'Citizen Kane' and a quarter of 'Andre Rublev'.

Christmas

2011-12-27T21:41:00.000Z

A few pictures from the glorious 3 days we spent at Sara's over Christmas, with the entire family. Magnificent food, lots of wine and some good presents too. We ended this perfect family time with a trip to a local stables and Ruby got her first ride on a pony.

Peppa Pig's Treasure Hunt

2011-12-24T17:14:00.001Z

On Christmas Eve morning, before driving up to Sara's, we had a family trip to the Criterion Theatre to see a theatrical production of Peppa Pig. We all loved it, Lucas sat on my lap, transfixed and didn't move for each 45 minute part. I haven't been able to get the 'Bing Bang Bong' out of my head since.

December 23rd

2011-12-24T16:47:00.000Z

The 23rd was officially my first day of the Christmas holidays. I spent the morning nursing a horrendous hangover and making 72 sausage rolls to take to my sister's the following day. In the afternoon, we took the children to the Mobily sports centre's soft play room. And then rounded a fantastic first day off with dinner at the Princess Victoria to celebrate Christophe's 40th birthday.

Dinner

2011-12-23T13:38:00.000Z

On Friday 16th; we had a wonderful pre-Christmas dinner and presents with Lorena, Vittoriano and Claire.

The Show

2011-12-23T13:30:00.000Z

On December 10th; Ruby made us incredibly nervous and very proud making her theatrical debut in her ballet school's pre-Christmas show. Here she is, during her elephant costume routine.

Day After

2011-12-23T13:18:00.001Z

Hello and a very, very happy New Year to anyone reading this and hope you had a marvelous Christmas? Mine was absolutely stupendous but has left me horrifically behind with my posts.
So here's the start of a big catch-up; from the day after our big birthday lunch for Dad and Ruby.
We met up with Mum and Dad at the St Pancras hotel, where they'd stayed for 2 nights and had a good look round the splendor of the of the newly refurbished building, which we'd last looked round many years ago when it was equally splendid in it's unloved and decrepit state. It's a phenomenal transformation.
We then had lunch with the rest of the family in Pizza Express, accompanied by a tremendous projection of Antonioni's 'Lavventura'.

Dad and Ruby's Birthday Meal

2011-12-21T12:53:00.002Z

We threw a, surprisish, Birthday party for Dad and Ruby on Saturday 3rd December.
24 members of the family all gathered round the table for an incredible meal and wonderful way to celebrate Dad's 80th and Ruby's 3rd.

Candles

2011-12-20T13:46:00.001Z

We were sent this the other day from one of the guests at Ruby's birthday party.

Bowie and Bing

2011-12-19T17:06:00.003Z

I saw this on it's nice that today and reminded just how much this is absolutely one of my favourite yule tide tunes ever.

it's nice that said:

You know how it is, you’re just minding your own business, making the house nice for Christmas Day and then pow! David Bowie strolls in. So how do you deal with such an unexpected customer? Well you make a little (badly acted) small talk, fire up the old ivories and get down to a hearty duet to warm the Christmas cockles for all those watching. Happy Christmas everybody

Ruby is 3

2011-12-03T00:05:00.004Z

I meant to post this a couple of weeks ago now but the time has flown and all of a sudden it's the middle of the month and I'm massively behind again. So here's what I wrote on Saturday 2rd December:
On this day, 3 years ago, my beautiful little baby girl Ruby was born! Here she is in her first video, just a few days old and one from a couple of days ago. Incredible isn't it that all that separates these two Rubys are 36 months.

Happy 80th Birthday Dad

2011-12-02T09:59:00.004Z

80 years ago, on this very day, in the city of Bradford, to Mildred and Wilfred Read, a boy named Donald (Don to his friends) was born. Happy 80th Birthday Dad / Grandpa! Your children and your grandchildren all love you very, very much.

Ruby and Maisie's Third Birthday Party

2011-11-28T21:29:00.005Z

I've got so far behind with my blog recently, not having had any spare time in the past few weeks, I haven't known where to begin catching up. So I'm going to try and work backwards, beginning with the weekend just gone, when we celebrated Ruby's birthday (in advance of the actual day on 3rd December) with a birthday party with her friend Maisie. I'll then redate and post the past weeks entries behind this one.

Birthday Weekend

2011-11-28T21:02:00.003Z

Some other pictures from this weekend including Ruby at the Institut Francais where we went on Friday to see Around the World with Mouk, the movie. Ruby and I's lunch on Friday at Carluccio's. Oak-Stock on Saturday in the magnificent function room at our local pub, the Royal Oak. Licking the bowl out after Mummy's birthday cake making and finally, bouncy castle at Heidi's birthday party on Sunday afternoon.

Dinner at Samira and Minky's

2011-11-28T19:18:00.001Z

On Friday night, with Irene babysitting, we went for an incredible dinner and a superb evening, at our neighbours; Samira and Minky's.

Sunday 20th November

2011-11-20T15:40:00.004Z

A pretty perfect Sunday: big fried breakfast, nip to Queen's Park Farmers Market to pick up pies and birds, walk - play - coffee in Queen's Park, home for lunch and snooze, stories and playtime late afternoon.

Dumplings

2011-11-19T21:37:00.002Z

I was very proud indeed of the stew and dumplings (thanks for the recipe Mum) I made for Alex, Robyn, Olly, Jess, Adam and Lani on Saturday 19th. It was the first time I've seen all our babies together and all play so nicely. So good to see their Mums and Dads too.

Tutsi 1995 - 2011

2011-11-17T12:49:00.002Z

Our cat Tutsi passed away yesterday afternoon. She went just as any of us would wish to go; of old age, at home, without pain, after a happy and long life and with her family around her. We will miss her every much.

Sunday 13th - Hamstead

2011-11-13T13:54:00.000Z

On Sunday, we stayed pretty close to home, listened to Jeff Buckley's sublime (and very emotional for me) Grace and Live at Sin E albums. While the children had their afternoon nap, I watched a much needed viewing of The Big Lebowski - still as magnificent as ever. When Ruby and Lucas woke up, we dashed to Hamstead Heath for a quick gasp of fresh air, run around, an ice cream and a good coffee.

November 12th - Lunch

2011-11-12T23:00:00.001Z

We had Pete, Mabel, Samira, their children and Samira's Mother in Law Penny over for Saturday lunch. I made, my old favourite, pork belly on a bed of braised fennel, with roast tatties and veg.

Grandpa Nemeth

2011-11-08T13:04:00.002Z

Here are some pictures from Istvan's visit. It was wonderful having him to stay and for him to spend some time with his grandchildren.

Bonfire Night!

2011-11-07T12:21:00.002Z

On her return from Hungary, Ibolya brought her Dad home with her and we took him up to my sister's for the weekend and a big Bonfire Night party at one her neigbours.

Home Alone

2011-10-31T12:01:00.004Z

Ibolya went to Hungary for a week from 26th October leaving me, home alone at the weekend. The novelty lasted about a day before I actually starting pining for my wife and children. I completely failed to catch up on much sleep but did get to do a lot of chores, (like planting my spring daffodils,tonnes of washing and made a Halloween pumpkin head) eat some good take-aways and read both the Saturday and Sunday newspapers! I purposely turned down all offers of going out so I could maximise home time, all except for a great night out with Mark and Stephen at Tate Modern's Richter exhibition on the Friday night.

Weekend, 21st to 23rd October: Part 3

2011-10-30T08:50:00.002Z

Sunday was another, incredibly, sunny and warm day (at least 20 degrees)and we spent a wonderful afternoon at Pete and Mabel's. Pete made burgers for lunch, not just any burgers, these were made with beef, ham, cheese, onion and a fried egg.

Weekend, 21st to 23rd October: Part 2

2011-10-30T08:42:00.003Z

On Saturday we were joined by; Jess, Adam, Holly, Danny, all their children and Jerry. I was quite proud of my lunch; stuffed, pesto, mushrooms to start and braised lamb shanks with duaphinoise potatoes and vegetables.

Weekend, 21st to 23rd October: Part 1

2011-10-30T08:14:00.007Z

We saw lots of friends this weekend, ate lots of good food and had a really great time. We started on Friday night when Vittoriano and Lorena came for tea and I made naan pizzas.

Stephen

2011-10-29T09:00:00.000+01:00

These pictures are actually from the week before last when Stephen was round for dinner and did a great job reading bedtime stories to Ruby and Lucas.
The other pictures are early morning light in our bedroom and Ruby enjoying olive fingers. She just loves olives.

Frank Stella

2011-10-27T22:23:00.004+01:00

I've always had a big soft spot for the 60's and early 70's work of Frank Stella and his show, Connections, at the Haunch of Venison, is hugely enjoyable and a big treat.

Hamstead Heath

2011-10-20T15:45:00.004+01:00

It was an another absolutely glorious, and warm, autumnal day on Saturday so in the afternoon we popped to Hamstead Heath and had a wonderful walk up and down Parliament Hill. Ruby did some incredible climbing and body flips in the playground.

Ballet

2011-10-18T17:40:00.000+01:00

Ruby; preparing for her Saturday morning ballet class.

Frieze 2011

2011-10-15T12:47:00.005+01:00

It was Frieze time again on Thursday. Not much to distinguish it from previous years. These pictures were my highlights, which included a beautiful;Chapman Brothers' Madonna and Child, the stunning £75m 'The Finest Art on Water' by Christian Jankowski and kite flying naked ladies.

Paloma and Misha's Birthday Party

2011-10-11T21:25:00.002+01:00

Last weekend was a very quiet weekend and we mostly stayed in apart from ballet and Roundwood on Saturday morning and Paloma and Misha's birthday party at Roundwood Cafe on Sunday afternoon. Lucas was reunited with his best chum Alec and their bromance continues to blossom.
Following Rupert's recommendation I listened, exclusively, to the astonishingly good sounds of french radio station fip. It' pretty much the most perfect radio station I've ever heard. It just plays good music, from every kind of genre (although I haven't heard any Country yet)with hardly any interruption.

Steve Jobs

2011-10-06T10:45:00.002+01:00

I can't think anyone, apart from my dear wife and my last boss (who gave me my current job), who has been more responsible for so significantly improving the quality of my life, in the past 10 years or with making the world, so profoundly, a better place, than Steve Jobs.

Last Weekend of the Summer

2011-10-04T10:21:00.000+01:00

I'm writing this, wrapped up in many layers, having struggled and failed to get the central heating to kick-in and recollecting last weekend when London basked in 30 degree sunshine. It was the pinnacle of a gobsmackingly beautiful week and a glorious way to finish a wonderful summer and herald the on set of a long, cold, winter. Before that though; October has started and, as you probably know, October is, officially, second favourite month of the year.
But back to last weekend. We had a 14 strong, Harlesden Dads, night out at The Regent on Friday night. I had a bit of a lie-in, Saturday morning, while Ibolya took Ruby and Lucas to ballet class. When the little ones had their afternoon snooze, we had a little kip in garden and then all went round the corner to Minky and Samira's for a BBQ. On Sunday, I took the little ones to Queen's Park farmers market and then met up with Dan, and his little ones, in the park, where we had a play in the sandpit, brunch and beer in the sunshine. And to round off a glorious weekend, we went over to Kate and Dan's on Sunday afternoon, for what must surely be the very last BBQ of the year.

Ruby Reads

2011-09-29T21:29:00.001+01:00

Ruby is really getting into reading at the moment and even though she can't read every word, she gets through with a combination of remembering the story and making bits up as she goes along. Which I think is all very clever and very adorable. This is her, reading me a bedtime story on Monday 29th September.

Saturday Lunch

2011-09-24T14:25:00.001+01:00

It was a huge pleasure to see Jess, Adam, Lani, Jeff, Justine and Lola, last weekend, for a slap up Saturday lunch.

Weekend

2011-09-20T21:08:00.000+01:00

Well that was pretty much a perfect weekend for me. A night in on Friday with a nice music documentary on BBC 4 about Pink Floyd. Pancakes for breakfast on Saturday followed by cream cheese and smoked salmon bagels for lunch. I took Ruby to her second ballet on Saturday morning followed by Roundwood playgound and cafe and some catching up with other local Mums and Dads.
After lunch, I got in a spot of gardening, while the little ones had a nap, and admired all the spiders who've made their home in the garden. We then had a quick trip into town to see Hungarian Photography in the Twentieth Century at the Royal Academy, which was absolutely superb, accompanied by Misha, Paloma and their Dads.
We rounded a great Saturday off with Prossecco, curry and Saturday night telly.
On Sunday, Ibolya went out with Ruby while Lucas and I went food shopping. We then spent a really lovely afternoon at Stephen and Christophe's, who made a truly superb Sunday lunch.

Ruby

2011-09-20T21:01:00.000+01:00

I was going to add these pictures of Ruby to my weekend post but just thought they demanded a little post of their own. So here's my remarkable and beautiful little girl on Saturday morning, before I took her for her second ballet class, (where she did exceptionally well and made me feel incredibly proud) helping me make pancakes, doing funny things with a funnel and making me laugh doing 'raspberry fingers'. She also does 'olive fingers' which is equally funny.

Tsiakkos

2011-09-13T21:57:00.001+01:00

We have a wonderful film student called Irene, who was born in Mexico and raised in Paris, staying with us at the moment and when we were invited out for diner on Saturday night, Irene volunteered to babysit!So for the fist time in many moons, we had a grown up, night out, with other adults. We had diner at Tsiakkos on Maryland Road. A legendary place, I've hearing about for years but never quite making it to go.
The menu in the first picture tells you everything you need to know about the place, except that the food is absolutely magnificent.

Saturday and Sunday at Sara's

2011-09-12T21:13:00.005+01:00

It's always a huge pleasure spending the weekend with my sister Sara and her family in Bedfordshire. And this weekend (which was actually last weekend) we had a lot of fun at Sharnbrook playground.

First Day Of Nursery

2011-09-05T15:47:00.008+01:00

It's a very big day in our household today - Ruby's first day at Nicoll Road Nursery.
After two years with our wonderful childminder Mary, it's an anxious and transitional time for us all, although Ruby seems to be taking everything in her stride and she does have many friends there already. It also means I'll no longer be taking my Fridays off to look after Ruby and Lucas which I'm really going to miss.

It's also Lucas's first day being transported to Mary's on the back of my bike, which we're both very pleased about.

Mary wrote this really lovely letter to the nursery, which tells you how much Ruby has prospered under her care and how much Mary thinks of Ruby.

'Ruby has been in my setting since she was five months old. She settled in well, and from the beginning it was clear that she thrived with routine. Ruby eats well and loves all fruit, especially mid morning. As I have already mentioned, routine is very important to Ruby. If there are changes in her day, it’s best if Ruby is aware in advance. She quite independent and likes to be in control of what she is doing. She only needs to be told something once and she will remember as she is very intelligent and mature for her age.

Ruby is fully toilet trained, and has a large vocabulary for her age. She knows her colours and recognises numbers and shapes. Ruby enjoys looking at books and loves been read to. Some of her favourite books are The Tiger who came to Tea, Ruby Bawled and Down by the Cool of the Pool. Some of her main interests are dolls and the home corner. She likes dressing dolls and putting them in the push chair and putting them to bed. She also enjoys painting and sticking with glue and mark making. Ruby draws circus and lines. More recently, Ruby has developed an interest in music and dance, requesting to do such activities daily. When ruby is tired she likes her comforter Mi Mi, her rabbit.

Ruby is a loving an affectionate child, especially towards her younger brother, taking on a protective role making sure he is ok. She is very aware of the world around her, often commenting about events and parts of our routine. She will be greatly missed by everyone in our setting as she has been an absolute delight to look after. I wish her the best in her new nursery; she will be a wonderful addition to your group.

Walk

2011-08-31T23:28:00.000+01:00

On the fifth day of our Llantwit holiday we went for a long walk, along the Llantwit coast, with Georgi the dog.

St Donats

2011-08-31T23:27:00.001+01:00

On the fourth day of our Llantwit holiday; Ibolya wasn't feeling well so Ruby, Lucas and I had a look round St Donat's castle, just round the corner from Andy's. I went back in the afternoon for a rare guided tour of the castle which is now run by the Atlantic College organisation, a private international 6th form college. Between 1925 and 1962 the castle was owned by William Randolph Hearst who held lavish parties there with guest including Charlie Chaplin, Douglas Fairbanks, John F. Kennedy and George Bernard Shaw, who describes St Donat's as "what God would have built if he had had the money."

2011-08-31T23:24:00.000+01:00

On day three of the Llantwit holiday we had breakfast in Cowbridge and spent the afternoon on Llantwit beach.

Rhosilli Beach

2011-08-31T23:10:00.001+01:00

On the second day of our Llantit holiday we drove an hour or so to the stunning Gower Peninsular and checked out Rhosilli Beach, one of the most breathtaking beaches I've ever seen. It's regularly voted one of the top 10 most beautiful beaches in the world!

Ruby on the Beach

2011-08-31T21:26:00.003+01:00

A far cry from when we were on the same beach, a week or two earlier last year, when Ruby threw some incredible tantrums, she was in her element on the beach this year. Within moments she threw off all her clothes and splashed about in the shallow, warm rock pools on the beach and had a great time.

Southern Down Beach

2011-08-31T21:12:00.002+01:00

We've just had a week away at our friend Andy's house in Lantwit Major, South Glamorgan. We absolutely love Lantwit and this area of Wales and it's got some amazing beaches. This one, just a few minutes drive from Andy's, is one of our favourites. Sorry about the poor sound on these, it was a beautiful day but quite windy.

Jess and Adam's

2011-08-29T14:17:00.004+01:00

On Saturday 14th, we drove down to Jess and Adam's, in Long Ditton, for a magnificent barbecued Sunday lunch. It was wonderful to see them and little, seven month old, Lani, who's an absolute poppet. Robyn was there too and the first time I'd seen her since she's been expecting her second baby.

Saturday 13th August

2011-08-29T10:07:00.006+01:00

My sisters and their families were back to drop Charlotte off, having spent the week at Sara's, and to have a little post-birthday get together. After a picnic lunch, we all went to Roundwood.

Kate and Dan's Wedding

2011-08-29T09:55:00.004+01:00

August 12th was my 42nd birthday, Kate and Dan's wedding in Roundwood Park and, of course, the start of the grouse shooting season. It was a really wonderful occasion and a great way to celebrate my birthday with so many friends and neighbours.

August 6th, Sunday with my Sisters

2011-08-28T15:26:00.003+01:00

My twinny Sara and her family stayed over night with us, a stop over while attending a wedding on the south coast. Jane, my elder sister, and her children popped over too, for breakfast on Sunday morning.
As Charlotte was taking the photos, she's not in many but here's one I took of her.

Charlotte Comes to Stay

2011-08-28T13:17:00.005+01:00

Hello - sorry for my prolonged absence, August has nearly disappeared without me finding any time to catch up on my blog.
It's been an absolutely manic month, an emotional roller-coaster and an awful lot's happened, including; the worst riots in London in a generation, turning 42 on the 12th, Kate and Dan's wedding, a week's holiday at Andy's place in South Wales, visits from my sisters and their families and we've also had our dear friend Christophe's daughter, Charlotte, staying with us.
Charlotte is a naturally gifted and very brilliant photographer so it was fantastic to be able to turn my camera over to her for a couple of weekends. So my next few entries are mostly her photos. I really enjoyed a camera break and seeing myself in some pictures for a change. I'm sure you'll like her work too! These are from Saturday 5th August.

Lucas, last weekend

2011-08-04T15:15:00.002+01:00

Lucas Walks!

2011-08-01T17:17:00.003+01:00

We've just had an absolutely wonderful summer weekend at home. The weather has been perfect for hanging out in the garden, cutting the hedge (a long put off chore), paddling in the paddling pool, bbqing and eating and drinking outside, until late.
It's also been absolutely incredible watching Lucas enjoying his newly acquired walking skills and Ibolya and I are making this weekend, his official first weekend of walking,
more than crawling. He's pretty much been doing the same circuit of the house you can see in this film, bless him.
He's also been babbling away like crazy and it's wonderful to hear him mastery his communication skills. There's definitely been a few 'Daddys' and I even heard him say 'Peppa Pig' a couple of times too. Peppa is a big part of all our lives thanks to Ruby.

At Home with my Mum and Dad

2011-07-26T13:08:00.007+01:00

We had an absolutely wonderful time at my Mum and Dad's this weekend and loved seeing Ruby and Lucas spending time with their grand parents. It was the first time I'd heard Ruby address my Mum and Dad as 'Granny' and 'Grandpa' and it felt very special. It's still an unusual feeling being at my childhood home with my own children. Even playing badminton in the garden, as we did every summer growing up, with my Mum and Dad and now with Ruby, Lucas and Ibolya, joining in, felt quite profound.
We were determined not to pack too much into this trip so we could maximize being with Mum and Dad but did squeeze in a quick nip to the Watersports Centre and the car boot sale at Nottingham Racecourse on Sunday morning. It's also really good to see how my old neighborhood of Lady Bay has become so prosperous and is absolutely thriving. It's become even more an incredibly attractive and fortuitous place to live.

Weekend

2011-07-19T13:19:00.002+01:00

Ibolya was away at Kate's hen weekend, at the Latitude festival, this weekend while I stayed at home and looked after the Ruby and Lucas. But, we all had a pretty good time together. We went to Bramley's indoor playcentre on Saturday morning, went round to see Dan, Dixie and Maisie in the afternoon and went to St Mark's playgroup on Sunday morning. Ruby, in particular, was wonderful company and a very, very good and caring little girl. They both let me sleep in a lot longer than normal and I even managed to squeeze in a couple of afternoon snoozes and a bit of time reading Stephen's book!
And what's more, the house was even in very good shape for Ibolya's return on Sunday evening.
I didn't get time to take any pictures but tried out this vintage film app on my iphone, called 8mm, to film Ruby scooting to Kate and Dan's on Saturday afternoon.

Lounging on the Farm

2011-07-13T20:35:00.007+01:00

It was Dan's stag weekend, last weekend, at the Lounging on the Farm Festival, just outside Canterbury. As festival experiences go, this was an exceptionally good one. Good company, fine music, in beautiful countryside and I didn't feel too worse for ware afterwards.
My personal highlights were spending the very early hours of Saturday morning at a silent disco; a few hundred people, in a tent, all wearing headphones, tuned in to two DJ's, playing at the same BPM. Amongst the deep, electro, dance grooves an occasional classic track would emerge, like Kiss by Prince, and the whole tent erupted. A slightly odd morning ended with the DJ's playing Dueling Banjos, from the soundtrack to Deliverence and the final track of the set was Zorba the Greek.
My other highlights were hearing Annie Mac playing Return of the Mac by Mark Morrison (sounds so good) and Adamski's incredible set which he ended by playing his track NRG, which is probably my 3rd favorite track of all time.

Weekend

2011-07-08T07:09:00.006+01:00

Ibolya and I are away for the next two weekends on stag and hen festival weekends so this weekend was entirely family focused. Starting with peanut butter and toast, while watching more Glastonbury highlights. Followed by a big breakfast at Canteen on Baker Street, followed by a couple of hours at the Princess of Wales playground at Kensington Gardens. Back home for lunch, a family snooze then more play time at Roundwood Park.
Bathtime then a delivery curry dinner with Denis and Thomas, who stayed the night. We caught up with chores on Sunday and a bit of DIY.
It was all together an utterly lovely weekend.

Wedding Anniversary

2011-07-07T14:15:00.003+01:00

It's our 4th Wedding Anniversary today! I couldn't put my hands on a good photo from the wedding so here's a rare couple of pictures, with us both in, from our honeymoon in Vienna; in the palatial bathroom of the very posh hotel we stayed in for the first couple of nights and in a compartment on the giant ferris wheel, in the Prater fun fair, where Harry Lime tried to persuade Holly Martins to join his penicillin racket in the 3rd Man.

Birthday BBQ

2011-06-30T22:05:00.004+01:00

We had a big birthday BBQ for Lookie last Saturday. The weather was great and he had a garden full of all his friends and neighbors including Milo, Lani, Dixie, his childminding chum Alec, 2 week old baby Mia and his Godmother Jess and Godfathers Jerry and Vittoriano. And what birthday boy could ask for more than a garden sized bouncy castle, which we borrowed for the afternoon.

Zoo

2011-06-30T22:03:00.001+01:00

As part of Lookie's first birthday celebrations, last Friday, we spent the morning at London Zoo. Our highlights were the new penguin pool, the butterfly room and the giraffes. To get home, we caught the river bus (actually a barge bus on the canal)back to Little Venice, where we saw a magnificent Citroen DS and then hopped on the tube, back to Wilesden Junction. The birthday boy was tired out by the morning's adventures and slept all the way home.

Clay Works

2011-06-30T21:15:00.001+01:00

These, very photogenic, disused clay works, next door to where Ben and Chloe's wedding reception was held, was an unexpected delight, before we set back to London.

Tinker Tailor

2011-06-30T13:24:00.002+01:00

I genuinely can't remember the last time I was this excited about a new film.

I loved the BBC version, but with this absolutely phenomenal cast and the genius behind the lens of 'Let The Right One In', it's going to be a long wait until September.

Ben and Chloe's Wedding

2011-06-27T18:03:00.003+01:00

I absolutely love a good wedding and weddings tend to be one of my absolute summer highlights. And Ben and Chloe's, last weekend, (a long time coming) was absolutely spectacular!
Immaculately executed, lavish hospitality, in beautiful surroundings, with lovely people. It even had a 20 minute fire work display accompanied by music. And what's more; Ibolya and I got to have the first lye-in together in living memory in a lovely hotel.

Lucas is One

2011-06-21T16:50:00.004+01:00

My incredible, little, beautiful, baby boy Lucas turned one year old at 10.39 this morning. Just thinking about Lucas as I write this puts a big smile on my face.
We'd have loved to spend the day with him today but we're all going to the Zoo on Friday morning and having a BBQ birthday party on Saturday.
Here he is just before he was born, immediately after and here he is on Saturday, taken by my brother in law Matthew, practicing standing at my sister's house.
He's absolutely loving standing at the moment and taking every opportunity to pull himself up, strike a solid stance and then let go! Happy first Birthday son.

Happy Father's Day

2011-06-19T00:01:00.004+01:00

Just wanted to wish my Dad and all the Dad's I know, a slightly belated but very happy Father's Day.

And at the risk of being sentimental, here are two songs, I love, about being a Dad and always make me feel very sentimental.

Sunday in the Garden

2011-06-17T14:10:00.001+01:00

1st Snog Anniversary

2011-06-16T22:10:00.002+01:00

It was Ibolya and I's 11th first snog anniversary yesterday so here are some hydrangeas to enjoy. I love hydrangeas and Harlesden is in the full bloom of hydrangea season right now.

June 5th

2011-06-16T21:42:00.003+01:00

This weekend was beautiful, hot and sunny! We spent a lot of time in the garden, ate fish-finger and rocket wraps and went to the water park, down the road in North Kensington on Sunday.

May Bank Holiday

2011-06-16T21:21:00.002+01:00

I've been absolutely up to my ears recently in a really big project at work so any available time I've had recently, that's not looking after the children, has been spent working on that and so my blog has been very sadly neglected of late and I'm fighting a constant backlog. These pictures go back to the May 30th bank holiday when we had the pleasure of Denis and Thomas staying with us. We also spent some time at Roundwood, went to Queen's Park farmers market on Sunday morning and went to my niece, Beatrice's, 4th birthday party, followed by a magnificent Sunday roast at Jane's

Lucas Standing

2011-06-05T19:46:00.007+01:00

Lucas Standing from Robert on Vimeo.

It's been a big weekend for our little Lucas. He's only been mobile just a few weeks but he's now not only doing his first, technically, proper crawls but he's also loving standing and supporting his whole weight on his legs, as you can see in this little film. His 2 front teeth are on the painful cusp of emerging and he had his very first trip to the dentist on Saturday morning. But to top all these exciting developments, he gave us our biggest scare of our parenthood so far.
Around 5.00 on Saturday afternoon, when our backs were turned for a moment, he grabbed a sheet of his sister's star stickers and atet most of them. We only realised when we heard him choaking and trying to clear his throat. Ibolya grabbed him - threw him on his tummy, gave him some big back slaps and it felt like he was fighting for breath. Blood was in his saliva and the sight of that and not knowing if he could breath or not; made me call 999 for about the second or third time in my life.
By the time the ambulance arrived, I was still on the phone to 999,talking them through his condition but it soon became clear he could breath and although bright red and uncomfotable, he was returning to normal. The ambulance crew checked him and out and confirmed he was absolutely fine, his throat clear and everything had been sallowed. As a precaution they had to take him to hospital and abotu 2 hours later, we left St Mary's Paddington with Lucas fit and well but very tired and hungry.

Recent Instagrams

2011-05-27T14:25:00.002+01:00

Seaside

2011-05-26T13:45:00.004+01:00

At the Seaside from Robert on Vimeo.

In the past couple of weeks Lucas has gone mobile and he's now getting himself all over the house. He's not quite, technically, crawling but shuffling and pulling himself along, as you can see in this video. He's also fascinated by the kitchen cupboards and tries to catch the cats.
Ruby has completed her first full week of successful potty training and wearing, as she calls, 'big girls pants'. To celebrate, we went for a day out to the seaside at
(only because it's geographically the closest seaside to London) Southend-on-Sea.

Fun Fair

2011-05-26T13:40:00.002+01:00

A few other pictures from the weekend before last. The fun-fair was in town.

The Goldwaters

2011-05-26T13:23:00.003+01:00

We spent a really lovely time with Mike and Wendy a couple of weekends ago, in Muswell Hill, and it was wonderful for them to meet Lucas for the first time and get to know Ruby a little better. They treated us to a terrific brunch and we all went for a walk in Highgate Woods afterwards. I also got some invaluable photography tips from Mike.

Easter - Final Highlights

2011-05-15T21:07:00.000+01:00

Here are a few last highlights from the incredible time we had over Easter and the Royal Wedding. Meeting up with Mark and Sophie in Holland park. Making pancakes, scones and ice lollies with Ruby. Sipping champagne while we watched the Royal Wedding (Ruby and Lookie looking really captivated). Lookie having a cuddle with Roger. And Ruby just being utterly adorable and reading, out loud, the book 'Guess How Much I Love You' to My-My, the thing she loves most in the world. The photobooth strip we got at Pizza East.
Over those glorious 11 days in April; Lucas got the hang of clapping, waving and his vocabulary is rapidly expanding. He calls the cats 'ada' and I'm pretty sure we can confirm his first words were 'daddy'. He's moving about a lot now but not quite crawling, he's ever so close though. Ruby has been mastering the potty, wearing 'big girls pants' and collecting gold stars for successful potty use.

Easter - Pizza East

2011-05-15T20:51:00.002+01:00

These are from May Day, Bank Holiday Monday and Karen's 40th birthday lunch, at the glorious, Pizza East in Shorditch.

Easter - Barbecue

2011-05-15T20:43:00.003+01:00

These are from our first barbecue of the year and a little post Royal Wedding party with our neighbours and local families.

Easter - At Laura and Shiri's

2011-05-15T20:11:00.003+01:00

Hello there. I've not had any time during the past couple of weeks to catch up on my blog posts, mainly due to being very busy at work and all my time at home consumed by Ruby, Lucas and clearing up their aftermath. But I finally managed to get a couple of hours in, this Saturday night, to start editing my backlog of photos so should be a few new posts, with my Easter highlights, on their way. This one is from a lovely afternoon we spent at Laura and Shiri's on Easter Sunday, admiring their beautiful new extension and enjoying a great lunch.

Good Friday

2011-05-02T21:14:00.001+01:00

I can't tell you just how good the past 10 days have been. Probably the best 10 days I've had since my paternity leave last year, which was one of my all time best weeks ever. It's been like Christmas in Summer, it's been so good. The combination of being mostly at home in London, with my wife and children, with glorious hot and sunny weather, with just about the right amount of things planned to do, catching up on domestic chores (like weeding, hedge cutting and lawn mowing) but also getting in some good trips and seeing some our dearest friends, has just been indescribably happy and I couldn't think of anything I'd rather have done. Blimey, my wife and I even got to have the first meal out together, just the two of us, in living memory and I also got to have a few quality afternoon naps too.
What's more; we also had all the excitement of the build up to the Royal Wedding, the prospect of a new Beastie Boys album (out yesterday) and the big news that the world's most wanted man was found!
Of course, I took far too many pictures so will be quite a while catching up.

Good Friday couldn't have got the holiday off to a better start with a trip with Maisie and her family to see the flags in Regent Street and then, by boat, to see one of last days of Ai WeiWei's Sunflower Seeds at Tate Modern. At home, we started on our Easter eggs, had a bit of relaxing time in the garden and had a great meal at the The Island. The little green elephant, is a good luck symbol, bought for Lucas, from Thailand by his Godmother, Lorena, and Godfather, Vittoriano.

Regent Street

2011-04-28T07:41:00.002+01:00

We'll be watching the Royal Wedding on TV on Friday but to get us in the mood, we really wanted to show Ruby and Lucas and where it's all happening. So, early on Friday morning, we drove into town to show them Regent Street, which has been magnificently be-decked in union flags and then drove past Buckingham Palace and Westminster Abbey. London looked absolutely stunning, lit by the strong, early morning sun and clear blue skies.

Bedfordshire Weekend

2011-04-24T09:42:00.003+01:00

It was good to use my Nikon again for this incredible weekend at my sister Sara's. We had, nearly, all the family together to celebrate my eldest nephew, Oliver's, birthday. The sun shone and it felt so good to be out and about in the beautiful countryside, where Sara and her family live.

My Instagram Week 3

2011-04-20T17:04:00.005+01:00

This was my Instagram Week, last week. I returned to my Nikon at the weekend so there'll be lots of glorious, colourful, pictures from my sister's place, in the lovely, Bedfordshire countryside - heading this way soon.

Monday - the view from my office, a nice building along Gloucester Terrace and a fantastic business dinner at the Abbingdon, in Kensington

Tuesday - at the London Book Fair and playing Royal Wedding Top Trumps with Mark and Stephen at our weekly Mad Men evening

Wednesday - Little Lookie on our red rug, a run in Battersea Park at lunchtime, with the Peace Pagoda looking a bit moody

Thursday - a swan on the way home and some pictures I love from around the house

Friday - with Ruby and Maisie at Kew Gardens, the great bread stall at Kew station, Putty (my cat) and Lookie at Kate's for tea

Our Instagram Weekend

2011-04-13T17:10:00.003+01:00

I make no apologies for more Instagram pictures, the novelty still hasn't warn off yet but I will definitely be returning to my Nikon for the weekend coming.
Last weekend we made the most of the incredible weather and spent most of it outside, either at the Princess of Wales playground in Kensington Gardens (by far the best playground in London) at Roundwood Park or in our back garden.

My Instagram Week

2011-04-10T20:35:00.004+01:00

Monday: in the Susan Hiller exhibition at Tate Britain

Tuesday: Mad Men series 4 and a lovely dinner at Stephen's

Wednesday: My sleeping girls and Irish biscuits in the office

Wednesday: a lunchtime run to Battersea park, ice cream and cycle home

Thursday Morning: a glorious cycle to work with a detour through North Kensington to Ibolya's office on Portobello Road

Thursday Afternoon: On the TatetoTate boat to Tate Modern and Georgi and Andy over on Thursday evening

Friday: A day off to look after Ruby and Lucas. We went to Bouncy Castle in the morning, played in the garden and went to Roundwood Park in the afternoon.

It's been an absolutely gobsmackingly beautiful, summery, week in London and it's been very hard to resist my urge to Instagram all the time, which is why there are so many here - I'm afraid this app is still a big novelty which I'm sure will wear off soon and I'll be back to my trusty Nikon. Everything's just been looking too good and the great thing about taking pictures on your iPhone is that I have it with me, wherever I am and whatever I'm doing. So as obsessed as I am with recording my life, Instagram is the perfect instrument - even if the results look a bit shoddy when not viewed on an small iPhone screen.

Aside from it being the warmest and sunniest week of the year so far, my children have been extra-specially incredible this week. Ruby is being just the most affectionate and loving big sister to Lookie. I can't belive how protective she is and how many cuddles she needs from him. And in return he just loves every big, crushing, rough, cuddle from his big sister.
On Wednesday (April 6th 2001), Lookie started making noises that sound like his first attempt at rudimentary conversation. Lots of bababab and dadadadad type sounds but they are lovely to hear. And Ruby keeps making us laugh by saying 'Justin Bieber' a lot. I'm sure she's no idea who he is but she just likes how it sounds.
Ruby also made the very first financial transaction of her life. We packed her off to Mary's the other day with £1.00, of her own money and she used it to order a babychino in Roundwood Cafe. She said to the person behind the counter, 'a babychino please, I have money'. She handed over her £1.00 and collected her 75p change. I think that's a big moment in a little person's life.

Unfinished Sympathy

2011-04-07T21:00:00.002+01:00

Primal Scream's 'Screamadelica' isn't the only landmark British album celebrating it's 20th birthday. Tomorrow, Massive Attack's 'Blue Lines' is 20. And in honour of that incredible album, here's it's greatest track. Still sounding and looking absolutely timeless, haunting and very beautiful, it's 'Unfinished Sympathy'.

Mother's Day Weekend

2011-04-04T12:34:00.002+01:00

These are more Instagram pictures from the weekend. Ibolya was working most of Saturday so Ruby, Lucas and I had the day togther, with lots of play stuff, painting and a trip to Roundwood Park on Saturday for babychinos and lattes.
When Ibolya got back, we harvested our rhubarb and had a very nice Thai delivered for dinner.
On Sunday we had a big, family, Mother's Day lunch, with my Mum and Dad and my elder sister Jane and her family.

Instagram

2011-04-04T12:17:00.003+01:00

I've had my Instagram app for a while now but last week I was compelled to start using it and now I can't leave it alone. I'm enjoying the immediacy of it, the ability to choose the look and feel of your snaps and post them to the rest of the world. It also gives my Nikkon a well needed rest.
If you have an iPhone, download the app (it's free) and follow me by looking up Readrw1.
These are a few snaps from last week, which involved a lot of cycling around London and a night out around Borough, on Friday night, with Adam, Jerry and Alex.

Loaded

2011-04-01T07:56:00.002+01:00

It's April! And ever since Jarvis played this last Sunday, I've had to listen to it again each day. It's now 20 years old and I've very fond memories of the summer it came out, at the hight of Acid House, and flogging tones of the Screamadelica album while working at HMV Oxford Circus.
I love it that this one track seems to sum up all of recorded British popular music up until that point. It's like a monument to our pop heritage as well as being totally modern and innovative. You can hear 'All You Need is Love' horns, Ian Stewart style keyboards, Led Zep guitar licks against a shoegazing dance/dub groove. There's a drum loop taken from an Italian bootleg mix of Edie Brickell's 'What I Am' and samples of Peter Fonda in 'The Wild Angels'. It's mixed and produced by Acid House DJ, Andy Wheatherall, who created the track by remixing an earlier Primal Scream track called 'I'm Losing More Than I'll Ever Have' to create a new track, unrecognisable from it's original, all created on the mixing desk. Turn up your speakers and give it a blast.

Rob Blog is 3

2011-03-31T08:15:00.001+01:00

Today is the third anniversary of the day Ibolya and I found out we were expecting our first child. It was such an incredible and momentous moment and the realisation that our lives would never be the same again made me want to keep a record of what was going to happen in our lives, from that point on. So I decided to start this blog. I wasn't sure how long I'd be able to keep it going but I'm so glad I did.
I could never have imagined three years ago that we'd now be a family and have two astounding and beautiful little children.

I borrowed these pictures of magnolias off flickr as we paid our bi-annual trip to the 3rd Hampton Boy Scounts jumble sale on Saturday. Everytime we go for to the March jumble sale, Hampton is ablaze with Magnolia blossom. I absolutely love magnolia blossom and everytime we make this trip, I promise myself to buy a magnolia tree but always never get round to it.
I had my hands full with Ruby and Lucas so I couldn't take a photos myself.

Wizzy Wozzy

2011-03-24T20:52:00.002Z

I was looking back, the other day, at some of the little films we've made of Ruby and Lucas on Youtube and realised what an incredible (and permanent) record they are of their childhood, our family memories and how I should be making a lot more. So here's little Lookie, taken on my iphone this evening, before bedtime. The thing he's in, that we call the Wizzy Wozzy, we bought for Ruby and he's really enjoying himself in it now, as you'll see.

Reading Half Marathon 2011

2011-03-21T13:12:00.004Z

iMapMyRide: 20 Mar 2011 12:18

Find more Cycling Routes / Bike Rides in Reading, United Kingdom

I finished the Reading Half Marathon yesterday in position 5,505th out of 12,483 and it took me 1 hour and 54 minutes. So far, my friend Richard and I have raised £370 for the Save the Childrens Fund. I'm so happy I took part in it and can't wait to do it again. Apart from the final, agonising, couple of miles, it was great fun. Nice to see a bit of Reading too which has some really lovely houses.

If you haven't sponsored Richard and I yet, you can here. Thank you to everyone that has so far.

http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/team/robertandrichard

Coram's Field

2011-03-21T12:37:00.009Z

A beautiful, bright, sunny Saturday morning, in one of our favourite places, was a wonderful way to round off a really happy week.
Lookie's been feeling a lot better and continuing to sleep through, most, of the night; an absolute miracle for him after 8 months of waking every couple of hours.
Ibolya had some good news and I successfully completed, some things at work, I've been working on for a long time. On Thursday we had a lovely dinner with Stephen and Christophe. Ruby did her first sponsored event and raised £11 for Comic Relief by doing a sponsored obstacle course. And I took part in my first, organised, long distance run, at the Reading Half Marathon. A pretty fantastic week I reckon.

Stephen's Birthday

2011-03-14T12:06:00.003Z

My goodness me - what a mighty day last Saturday was. I abandoned wife, children and home to spend the afternoon with Mark and Stephen to celebrate Stephen's birthday.
We started with a truly magnificent lunch at Rules. I had roast wild rabbit with wild mushrooms followed by Fillet of Red Deer with roast beetroot and chanterelles. A huge stilton and cheese board rounded things off nicely before we headed off to some fine West End public houses and a pit-stop for cigars, along the way, at La Casa del Habano on Wardour Street.

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Big Week

2011-03-09T12:24:00.002Z

It was a big turning point in our lives last week. Ibolya returned to work, our daily schedule moved to 6.30am starts and 9.00pm finishes, to get everything organised for the children. Lookie started with our childminder Mary and is now almost exclusively on formula milk. I'm getting up for him in the night, taking Friday's off to look after the children and it was Ibolya's birthday on Sunday. What a week! But all the new routines are going pretty well so far.
We also had a really lovely weekend. I got to see all my sisters and most of my brothers in law, nephews and nieces, as the Bennetts were staying with the Hargreaves for the weekend. We went round there for afternoon tea on Saturday and ate the incredible birthday cake Jane had made for Ibolya.
On Sunday, Lookie, Ruby and I went to Roundwood Park while Ibolya spent her birthday morning, doing what she loves and rummaging at Chiswick car boot sale. As always, she returned with a handsome booty including a new shirt (for me), some wicked shoes for Lookie and these nice little pots.
Florrie stayed with us for the afternoon while the Bennett and Hargreaves families went to see the Lion King. Florrie was wonderful to have around and played so well with Ruby.
Kate made a gorgeous birthday cake for Ibolya and there was very little left by the end of the day.