This Christmastime I booked an extra week in the UK in order to be there when my fourth grandchild was born – due date 11th December. However, babies have a habit of coming into the world when they are good and ready… and little Ava decided to keep us all waiting…
When I arrived in Manchester on 2nd December I planned to stay a few days with Karen and Mike and visit some friends in the area too. We had dinner in Bramhall Village that first night and then on Sunday evening I went to Caroline and Tony’s for dinner. It was great to catch up with them after goodness knows how long… a natural consequence of choosing to live my life on Crete all these years. But it does make these brief get-togethers all the more poignant and precious. It was the same with Gill and Rick the following night. Dinner at theirs was lovely and full of all the news we each had to impart. But more importantly – these are friends who make no demands and who – despite the few and far between visits – slip in and out of my life effortlessly, yet without losing any depth and meaning to the long history of our friendships.
With Arthur enjoying brunch out at the Farm restaurant
Karen and Mike are also like this for me… and so much more…not just family but close friends too. This is why the first few days of my stay in the UK every year at Christmastime, will always be spent at their home. These 5 days were filled to the brim with the hospitality and kindness of my wonderful friends and my dearest sister and brother-in-law.
With my daughter Zoe’s due date looming, I left Bramhall for Golcar in Yorkshire on the 7th December, thinking that if the baby arrived early, at least I would be on hand to take care of my Grandson Arthur. I was at Zoe and Rich’s for 12 days and still my unborn granddaughter was in no hurry to come into the world. It was reaching the point where – if I didn’t go to Emma and Ash’s soon – I would not be seeing my other 2 grandchildren, Ralph and Neve. They were all going to Shrewsbury to spend Christmas with Ash’s parents. So I took the train to Thirsk on the 18th December.
In the woods with Ralph and Neve
I was at Emma’s less than two days when Zoe finally went into labour. Luckily they had a back-up plan for Arthur and beautiful baby Ava was born on December 20th , weighing in at a healthy 8lb 5oz. In the end – as with all things in the Universe – Ava came into our world at the absolute perfect time. It was also right and fitting that Zoe and Rich should have those first few days together, alone in their little family unit.
Love this filtered photo Emma took of us!
So I stayed on at Emma and Ash’s until Christmas Eve. Although Ralph and Neve were at school right up until the Friday, we still had plenty of time to play. I went to their little primary school to watch Ralph in a dance and mime presentation and the local church where the school held a special service, with all the children from reception class upwards taking part in the singing. It was lovely to watch and listen to and the atmosphere was very Christmassy!
Newborn Ava with her big brother Arthur
On the Saturday we all went for a long walk through the woods. Luckily it wasn’t raining and the fresh air was a welcome change to being indoors. It is quite bizarre but I have noticed that the weather in the two parts of Yorkshire where my daughters live – is different in so far as it appears to be much nicer in North Yorkshire than it is in West Yorkshire. Afterwards we went straight to a charming pub restaurant for an early dinner.
Emma, Ash, Ralph & Neve
Following day was Christmas Eve and in the morning I caught a train back to Huddersfield. I was so excited to meet my 4th and last grandchild. Ava is just perfect… so beautiful and so cute and I just could not get enough of her! Arthur was wonderful with her… gentle and so loving, happy to be her big brother. We had a quiet Christmas Day apart from a walk to the local pub for a glass of wine whilst the turkey was in the oven. The next few days I spent playing with Arthur and enjoying baby Ava… just being in my arms or sleeping peacefully on my chest. I’d forgotten how relaxing and calming it is to have a sleeping baby on you….
At the local pub on Christmas Day
Rich drove me back to Stockport on the morning of the 28th. My brother and his son, Ted were driving up from London for a flying visit. I had not seen Mark since he came to Crete for 10 days in September 2020 and it’s even longer since I saw my nephew Ted. As is usual at this time of year, Karen and Mike had a houseful of family guests and so the atmosphere was buzzing! Mark and Ted arrived not long after I’d returned and we all spent the rest of the day and evening chatting, laughing, drinking, enjoying a huge Chinese takeaway and playing Sjoelen – a Dutch game we used to play as kids!!
Mike drove me to Manchester airport on 30th in time for my flight back to Athens at 12noon. Karen and Mike were also flying out of Manchester later in the day, to spend New Year and a couple of weeks at their villa in sunny Spain. David picked me up from Chania airport and I arrived back home for just after 11pm. We went to the New Year’s Eve party at my local Vangeli’s in Plaka and had a real blast! It really was a great night with everything thrown into the mix….lots of people/friends, food, bubbly, live music, dancing, fireworks…the works! Couldn’t have asked for more.
At the small port in Almyrida – Greeks celebrating the Epiphany
The next afternoon, a little hungover from our New Year’s celebrations, David and I went for a walk along the beaches in Almyrida, to clear our heads and the cobwebs away. Since my return to Crete, the weather here has been wonderful, just as it was this time last year. Every day so far has been warm and sunny with bright blue skies. Today the Greeks celebrate the Epiphany in a special and unique way and it is called ‘the great blessing of the waters’. At the little port of Almyrida, the Padre throws a cross into the sea and some of the local men and boys dive in to retrieve it. I was doing my power walk and of course I got side-tracked as I reached the beach in Almyrida and saw all the people who had gathered to watch this traditional spectacle. It was 22 degrees and felt really quite hot while we all chatted in the sunshine. Afterwards everyone headed to Hassan’s or Franscoise for coffee and finally I power walked back up the hill to Plaka, some two hours later!
View from my balcony every day since I returned to Crete!