A Grand Day Out to Stowe Gardens

2021 has been a very lean time for photography: partly because of the Covid lockdown, but mainly because I've spent almost every waking hour since Christmas working on the Cambridge Camera Club website.  Lockdown has been partially lifted and the website is all but complete, so a week ago we went on a Grand Day Out to Stowe Gardens to meet up with the Bristol side of the family.  We last saw Joe in September, and he's grown up a huge amount in six months.  We were only with him for the day, unfortunately, but it won't be long before he's allowed to visit Harston with Frances and Christopher.

Joe at 14 months

A couple of weekends ago Issy and I travelled to Bristol to see the family (and, in my case, to visit the annual HiFi show).  We hadn't seen Joe since New Year, and he's grown up enormously.  Not only is he now walking everywhere, but he's jabbering away the whole time.  No words as yet, but it's only a matter of time. 

Interestingly (and, perhaps, unsurprisingly) the "face recognition" feature on my camera didn't work when Issy decided to hold Joey upside down!

Joe knows that telephones have buttons and are carried in the hand.  Using impeccable reverse logic, he believes that anything which has buttons and can be carried must, therefore, be a telephone.  Here he is chattering happily into a remote control unit...

With his big eyes and blond curly hair, he's a real heart-breaker.  What a sweetie, and we can't wait to see him again at Easter.

Happy New Year from Joe

Between Christmas and New Year we were visited by Frances, Christopher and our adorable (and, it has to be said, increasingly adventurous) grandson.  These shots were taken at the Foxton recreation ground, where Joe had a wonderful time in the children's playground.

Just like his dad, Joe can't survive long without eating.  Sure enough, he brought a sandwich with him to the playground...

His face says it all, having been bundled back into the pushchair and about to go home.

Isla was sporting an injured back leg, but this didn't stop her wanting to run around like a mad thing chasing a ball.

A few more from "Birthday Boy"

Joe came to lunch on his birthday while waiting for Frances to return from San Francisco, where she'd been at a conference.  Christopher failed to bring a bib with him, so - necessity being the mother of invention - we adapted Isla's special Birthday Bandana (see here).  Very smart it looked too.

Joe was fascinated by Isla, and kept giving things to her - in this case a piece of cucumber.  For her part, Isla was incredibly gentle - especially since she's had very little exposure to babies of any age.

The papper, papped.

The next two really should have been stitched into a vertical panorama, as they tell different halves of the same story.  In the north we have Christopher grabbing a sandwich, being watched by a very attentive Joe; in the south we have Isla keeping an eye on the sandwich, just in case anything should fall on the floor.

Isla thought it was great that everything was being done at her level, including the opening of presents and the opportunity to give Christopher a good wash.

Sadly, Joe has now gone back to Bristol, but we see him again at some point between Christmas and New Year.  Can't wait.