Friends, fields and prosecco – a weekend in Yorkshire

This weekend we went to stay with one of my old school friends, as she was hosting a little get together for a few of us and our little ones at her gorgeous Yorkshire home. My parents still live in the town where I grew up and I’m really lucky as our group of friends has stayed close through the years and we make a point of meeting as often as we can for a good old catch up (usually over a bottle of wine or six).

It’s not often that we are all in the same place with our kids, so it was really lovely to get them all together for a bit of fun too. Between the six of us who were at my friend Sally’s house this weekend we have 12 children, so as you can imagine it’s not the easiest thing to achieve!

Fortunately Sal has the space (and the heart) to host us all, so the date was set and we all met up for a lovely long walk, a trip to the pub and dinner back at her house.

It was just what I needed. The past few weeks have been hard, and I feel like a broken record writing that but it’s true, each week comes with its own challenges, ups and downs.
I’ve gone back to work, albeit very gradually, but being in the office where I used to sit next to Rog hasn’t been the easiest of experiences. I like my job, and there are definite plus sides to going to work – the stimulation, the conversation, the sense of achievement, the routine, the cups of tea, and of course the money – but it’s marked a change in my life, a new stage, and that’s what I’ve struggled with.

So a breath of fresh air was most welcome. The kids loved being outdoors with the others, and the grown up girls, well we know each other inside out so it’s always a good laugh when we all get together. Shame we didn’t manage to get a good photo of the six of us together, I don’t think we stopped to think about that until after the kids were in bed and we started on the grainy phone selfies!

Sal’s house is set in acres of land which leads to a river, and the openness and sense of space is really calming. The prosecco was pretty uplifting too, it has to be said. And the fact that Sam and Flo were picked up by my lovely mum to spend the night there was even more of a bonus, meaning a little bit of a lie in for me on Sunday morning.

I went to pick them up the next day and we had a little party for my twin niece and nephew, who turn five this weekend. All in all it was a fab weekend with family and friends, the best kind.

X Julia