Diss and dat

On Friday we took a little bit of time away from the hospital in the morning for Roxi and Sue to experience Diss auctions. It's an amazing rural Suffolk event that happens once a week, a sale of "deadstock" as they say here. With incredible and wonderful stuff. Here is a view of the approach..look at this lovely old tricycle in need of love and care.
I know someone whose husband would go crazy over this place.... Suffolk swift lawnmower anyone?
I'm sure Mr Macgregor has just ducked off to find the tap...
Here is Sue on the phone to Australia saying how incredible it all is and asking whether she could fit this wooden wheelbarrow into her luggage.
Here's Roxi behind an amazing pile-o-tea chests
You can find almost anything here. From immaculate virgins and saints....

....and really bad cherubic fountains
from a pile-o-sticks..
to a box of childs plastic shovels...could be handy for those with very messy dogs!
Don't think that Richard isn't in our thoughts every minute though. He's still in hospital but is a lot more chirpy still. They have managed to balance out his pain medication and he continues to be hungry which makes my heart swell as I see him cutting up white peaches with enthusiasm for his sweets after dinner.
I thought I'd add this beautiful little vignette from our lovely friend Tat who is a writer and lives on the shores of a loch in Scotland....I know she wont mind me posting it here...

Dearest Joey,

Last night I dreamed that I was lying by a river on a beautiful sunny day. It was early summer - the colours all bright and clean - and I was just lying on my back in the grass looking up at the sky, watching birds flying around. Then a tiny little kingfisher swooped down towards me. Without thinking, I put up my hand and the kingfisher landed on my forefinger. She was so small - more like a humming bird - and just sat there peering down at me. Her colours were beautiful - intense irridescent blue-green and orange-red. I was amazed and delighted and kept expecting her to fly away, but she stayed and stayed. When she did eventually fly away I just lay there feeling amazed and happy and blessed.

My dreams are almost uniformly bad - it's really unusual for me to dream of something so lovely. I wanted to send the kingfisher to you and Ricardo. Hope she reaches you soon.

Love, love, love,

Tat x

Zebedee turns 4

For those of you new to the blog, I must tell you about our beautiful Godson Zebedee. Zeb was born very premature at 23 and a half weeks and was an absolute miracle baby that weighed 450grams.
He turned 4 on Monday and we had a birthday celebration for him on the weekend.
It was even hot...
Every year we take photos at this tree on the forest walk on the way to the river. Say CHEESE.

What more could a 4 year old want than a cupcake and his willy?
Often I'm here in the UK wishing my friends and family from Australia could see my life here in the UK and for once what do you know....they were. Sue Thomas sitting in the hammock with Clarissa's niece Florence
Roxi and Sue on the forest walk....
There were a few tears however.......
and yes it is a huge emotional time at the moment. Even apart from birthdays.
Here is the photo that always makes me sob....Zebedee the tiny and miraculous
Here he is with Ricardo two years ago at the river.
...and here getting to know each other when Zebbie was one.

Down but not out

Yesterday we went to the hospital as usual and found a very confused and frightened Richard struggling to even breathe. It's so distressing to see him like that and I always think the worst but the liver team headed by the absolutely gorgeous Matty, decided that they would take some of the fluid away that was making him so uncomfortable. It worked a treat just like it did last time and he felt instantly better as the pressure of the fluid receded. I want to tell you that the staff at the Norfolk & Norwich hospital have been absolutely amazing. There is so much care in their faces and they've helped all of us individually as we sneak away for a cry. Holding our hands when we've needed it and being very, very genuinely concerned.

I don't feel it's appropriate to put photos up here of Ricardo at the moment in distress but I have been sitting here at my desk looking at old photos and videos of him that have put a smile back on my face and I thought I'd share them with all the newcomers to the blog so you don't have to search through the archives.
Here he is at William Fairbanks boating event at the river in Bridgham in June 2006.
and one of my favourites of him walking boldly ahead of me at Squeaky beach at Wilson's Prom in Australia in March 2005
Here's a video I took of him practising for a gig in April 2009

with George Washingmachine at Shoreham in Australia in January 2008
and a few other random videos that I found from ages ago that will show you his Royale magnificence.

Dylan

One of the few good things about Richard being ill is that people have come from all over the globe to be with us. Here are some lovely photos of Richard with Dylan. Not too many tears now!
You should have seen Richard's face when Dyl walked into the ward. And his chest expanded exponentially as he told every person with eyeballs all about Dyl's architectural work and beautiful wife and kids. I think there may be a mass exodus of nursing staff to Singapore when Dyl's hospital opens there. I'll try and get the flash video of his lotus building that is being built on a lake in China.
It was so good to see them together.
Here he is being VERY brave at Heathrow airport as he says goodbye to his sister Roxi.
Thank you Dyl and thank you Steph, Asher, Elkan and Orson for sharing your husband and your Daddy with us for a while.
Luckily he leaves Richard in the capable hands of Roxi and SUE THOMAS.

Ricardo update

Hi gang. Just a very quick update to say that they drained out 2 and a half litres of fluid from Richard's abdomen yesterday and as they did that his sense of humour drained back in! What a f#~*%ing relief. Will try and post some pictures soon.....this time with TEETH. So much love and help is surrounding us at the moment. Thank you all of you.

Love and support

Well, Love and Support (yes they are CAPITALS) have been flooding in as things have taken a bit of a turn here. Richard went back into hospital last weekend in a lot of pain. He is now in Guist ward at the Norfolk and Norwich with a lot of fluid accumulatingand an infection in his abdomen. He's thin and scared but still very much Richard.
Dylan, Ricardo's stepson, and Roxi, Richard's daughter have both come from the other side of the world to see their Dad. (Dyl will be furious that I have put this not-so-attractive photo of him up but we are all looking a bit ragged). But he and Roxi have been unbelievably amazing.
This is what Richard looked like last week...when he and Roxi shared the "Commonwealth-heads-of-government" shorty pyjamas...

and this is what he looked like yesterday with Roxi trying to get rid of her double chins.
Dyl is an architect in Melbourne so we took him to see some of the sites of that Fine city of Norwich.


Here is a beautiful photo of Richard and Dylan and Maudie with their Mum, Sue Ingleton. (Maudie is trying to get here too but life keeps getting in the way).
As you can see Richard is in good hands....

Royal Norfolk Show

Today Roxi and I went to the Royal Norfolk show!
I'd never been before.
It was an amazingly English experience. I had no idea there would be blokes dressed in bowler hats "stewarding" people, nor riding girls dressed in immaculately fitting tweed on a VERY hot day. The only rides available were a wonderful collection of antique merry-go-rounds and helter skelters.
We had a wonderful time looking at incredibly cute bunnies....
This one a Belgian Hare....
Some wonderful and bizarre chickens.
Check out this one's comb!
and this perfect lace wing.
Here's a close up of the perfect speckled hen.
We were amazed that they would go to these lengths to judge eggs. Something about cracking eggs to make an omelette came to mind.
We both loved the heavy horses there all dressed up and very proud of themselves. Check out this star.And here is Roxi with a huge and beautiful Percheron.
These pigs were too cute to miss.
and luckily we weren't sexually harrassed by any "Loose Sheep"