Diary 2005

January

The blustery weather stopped us from going out as much as we would like but it did mean that we watched a lot of films.

We enjoyed a fab lunch at Zizzi, Princes Square, Glasgow where we can thoroughly recommend the house red and the honeycomb cheesecake.

Louise, Laura and Julie helped us celebrate "Burns Lite" (i.e. non-traditional version with veggie haggis and absolutely no bagpipes or toasts to the lassies).

A pleasant few hours were passed in the Tramway Cafe Bar and we took the opportunity to have a wander around the Hidden Gardens.

February

Lucy celebrated her 1st birthday!

We had the best pancakes on Shrove Tuesday thanks to Delia.

We saw a scan of our new baby - that's right - we are having another one - due 17th August 2005.

We posted lots of toast for Valentine's Day - much to the amusement of the postie.

The girls had a great time at the Discovery Museum in Newcastle, especially the Play Tyne section. We enjoyed our wander around beautiful Grey Street; bagged some bargains at Grainger's Market and had delicious falafel at Basha's cafe. We all had a great time celebrating Chinese New Year.

Our Dynamic Earth was the venue for Murray's 6th birthday and we all had a smashing time.

Emily was delighted to finally be able to build a snowman.

Big thanks are owed to Auntie Laura and Uncle Kev for taking Emily and Lucy out for the day. They really enjoyed their trip to the zoo and we really enjoyed some time to ourselves - a rare treat.

March

Emily went to yet another birthday party, this time dressed as a fairy princess. We visited The Baby Show at the SECC, Glasgow with complimentary tickets courtesy of Babies Island.

Jan was suitably pampered on Mothering Sunday…and International Women's Day…and Mahashivrati …and Red Nose Day.

Lucy was very brave when she had her MMR jabs and Emily did a great job of making her feel better.

We had a day in Haddington, this time at Roodlands Hospital where it was confirmed that Jan does indeed have a heart and it works fine. We celebrated this shocking discover by exploring local charity shops.

We went to the worst jumble sale ever in Musselburgh (so bad we didn't buy ANYTHING). We also had a hunt around, yes, you guessed it, the charity shops.

Another Arts & Crafts fair was held in the car park of The Gothenburg pub and we bought a few things there before hopping on the bus to Portobello where we sampled the delights of the amusement arcades, rubbish fast food outlets and competed with rugby fans for beach space.

Nursery closed for the Easter holidays and we all celebrated Good Friday by going to the beach at North Berwick and having lunch at Poonthais.

We were back in Musselburgh to do the usual trail of charity shops and this time photographed our haul.

Easter Sunday was spent with Julie who came with us on our excursion to East Links Park, Dunbar and East Linton.

The girls went to a Bounce & Tickle session at the local library.

April

April was the month that we could really say, hand on heart, that Lucy could walk properly. Once she gained confidence there was no stopping her and she was running from room to room emptying cupboards and bookcases faster than we could restock them.

April also marked the reopening of Prestongrange Museum which appeared to have had a bit of a makeover during the winter break.

As the weather seemed to be improving we had a few picnics and bought the first of the year's gazebos ;-)

Both Emily and Jan were pleased when nursery restarted after the Easter Break.

Jan was pleased to see her dig mates again when the Prestongrange Community Archaeology Project started its second year. On her first day she unearthed a clay pipe and some interesting pottery. Nigel took the girls to North Berwick.

Finally got round to spring cleaning, odd jobs and a spot of gardening.

Most often heard phrase during April: "Where are my Rennies?" - Jan's heartburn has been dire.

May

Our clematis is looking brilliant! The rest of the garden is a bit of a mess though.

The girls both had colds and were snuffly at the beginning of the month but perked up enough for a trip to Musselburgh.

Our Vote Labour poster was proudly displayed in the window as polling day approached and we stayed up very late to celebrate the victory.

We surprised Emily with a trip to see The Happy Gang perform at the Loch Centre, Tranent and all 4 of us really enjoyed the 90-minute show. Nigel was a little disappointed that Nicky didn't wear her mermaid costume but he got over it.

Lucy got her first pair of proper shoes on our shopping trip in Glasgow.

Jan attended the first of several parent workshops at the Infant school in readiness for Emily starting Primary 1.

May saw the launch of the inaugural meeting of the East Lothian BookCrossing Meetup Group which Jan organises. It was held in the beautifully restored Gothenburg where it will meet on the second Tuesday of each month from now on. People even turned up! It was fun.

Emily was delighted to be collected from nursery by Auntie Laura and all the girls enjoyed catching up on the gossip and having lunch by the sea.

We visited Kirkcaldy, our across the Forth neighbour, but the day didn't go as planned because Emily was poorly.

Bill and Brenda came to see us. The weather was glorious and we went for a long walk culminating in a visit to Burns Yard.

And then at the end of May we went on our long awaited New York vacation. Huge thanks to Edith and Alan for looking after the girls.

June

The long-awaited Prestonpans Nursery School Recipe Book is published! An online-version is available here.

We visited the Botanics in Glasgow (unfortunately the Kibble Palace was under construction) and bought loads of CDs.

Emily's report from nursery was good and she and her fellow pre-schoolers enjoyed a trip to Biggar Puppet Theatre.

We enjoyed dinner in the gardens of Poonthais before visiting the North Berwick Street Fair.

Emily had the final visit to school before she starts for real in August and enjoyed going to her friend's birthday party in the community centre.

On Gala Day we watched the procession go by and spent some time looking round the Arts & Crafts stalls that kicked off Prestoungrange Arts Festival week. We also visited the Martin Fowler Exhibition at the Prestoungrange Gothenburg - examples of the artist's work can be seen here.

Nigel spent Father's Day in the garden surrounded by beautiful girls, a barbecue, lots of bambus (red wine and Coke in equal measures) and soft rock anthems. It's not a bad life really.

For a change we weren't bidding on eBay but at a silent auction of artwork by local artists. Jan and the girls were back at the Goth to see Kate Hunter, a local muralist who was painting five portraits in one day and Jan took the opportunity to promote BookCrossing and the September beach survey. Emily took part in the children's art competition. Details of the week long Arts Festival can be seen here.

The weather was lovely for most of this month and we all really enjoyed our barbecue at the Musselburgh Lagoons.

Emily had her last day at nursery.

July

We celebrated London's successful bid to host the 2012 Olympics with an Indian buffet at the Goth where Emily had the chance to wear her new outfit (Thank You Parvez).

We were horrified at the tragic events in London and just wanted to spend time together and not stray too far from home.

Unfortunately, we had to pay a visit to The Royal Hospital for Sick Children when Lucy cut her head while playing in the garden. We were seen very quickly and Lucy was very brave. Emily did a great job of reassuring here. To calm down a bit we spent some time in the Meadows before having ice cream in Brazilian Sensation. Thanks to the efficient and caring staff at NHS 24 and the Sick Kids.

Deep Sea World was the venue for a family outing to celebrate Emily's 5th birthday. We really enjoyed it and ventured further up the Fife coast to Burntisland where Emily went on lots of fairground rides.

While Emily enjoyed a friend's birthday party at Port Seton, the rest of the Barker gang enjoyed looking around Cockenzie & Port Seton "In Bloom" and the harbour.

August

Of course, the main event this month was the birth of our daughter Georgina. She arrived at 2.19 p.m. on Wednesday 10th August weighing 7lb 4oz and measuring 55cm. A full of account of this exciting event can be seen here.

Emily and Lucy were thrilled to meet their new sister although she had competition in the shape of two new gerbils, Reg and Reggie (we tried to persuade Emily to call them Ronnie and Reggie but to no avail).

Nigel celebrated his 38th birthday surrounded by his daughters, wife, mum and mother-in-law.

Emily started school!

Much of the rest of the month was spent introducing Georgie to friends and family and she had her first train ride when we visited Glasgow.

September

Weekend engineering work on the Edinburgh/North Berwick line seriously curtailed our travel plans but we still managed to have lots of fun in the 'Pans.

Emily went to another birthday party.

We all went to Prestongrange for the Community Archaeology Project's Open Day.

Jan and Emily took part in a clean-up of Prestonpans beach.

Georgie had her six-week review.

October

School activities dominated the beginning of the month.

Georgie had the first of her immunisations.

We launched our 36 Cameras project!

Lidl comes to Prestonpans!

We took the Stena HSS from Stranraer to Belfast, staying at Lakeview Guesthouse on the return leg.

We were pleased to see Laura & Kev.

Emily enjoyed a friend's birthday party and a school trip to Edinburgh Castle as part of Storytelling Week.

We spent a pleasant afternoon at the Royal Museum in Edinburgh's Chambers Street.

On Halloween Emily went guising while Lucy stayed at home to give goodie bags to visiting trick-or-treaters.

November

We celebrated Diwali with lots of tealights.

Emily and her schoolchums performed at the Brunton Theatre. Her report appears here.

Georgie was very brave when she got her immmunisation jabs.

We went to a fireworks party with friends.

Emily went to the zoo with school.

Our offer on our new house was accepted and we began packing boxes.

Nigel took part in a think tank at the Prestoungrange Gothenburg which will be the focus for many arts activities next year.

We explored Prestonpans and Cockenzie with the Aitken family.

Jan turned 36.

December

Emily really enjoyed her friend's birthday party.

The girls enjoyed seeing their Auntie Laura.

Georgie's first teeth appeared!

We were all suffering from winter snuffles at the beginning of the month but Emily picked up enough to go to see The Singing Kettle at the Festival Theatre while the rest of us soaked up the yuletide atmosphere of Princes Street Gardens.

We went to see the Open Exhibition and the Royal Scottish Academy and bought two pieces by Uliana Agnia. While we were there we explored the new Weston Link that joins the RSA and the National Gallery of Scotland and looked round "Choice", a spectacular exhibition of 350 select pieces acquired over the past 21 years.

Emily was an angel in her school's nativity. We were very proud and later went to the school's "thank you" event hosted by Primary 3 children.

Rachel, Peter & Lauren came to visit. Lucy was especially pleased to see her cousin again and we all enjoyed our lunch at the Goth and a browse round Burns Yard. They had a lucky escape on their homeward journey when they were involved in a crash. Thankfully, everyone was okay but we all got a terrible scare.

All three girls attended Christmas parties at the Community Centre and Prestonpans swimming pool finally opened!

Nigel took time off work - a rarity. Georgie's first Christmas and our last in this house was spent with Julie, Laura & Kev. We were visted a few days later by Bill, Brenda, Simon & Carina.