Jack and Simone

I dropped Richard off at the station for an early London train, and then met Val for a brief woodland walk in the sunshine (Ecclesall woods). And the usual hot drink and shared cake.
Then I went off to Jack and Marianna's, to look after Simone for a couple of hours.  This all went fine: she knows me well enough now to relax, accept a bottle of formula when needed and even drop off for a nap  when she's tired.  Then we did a handover: Jack looked after Simone, while I picked Frieda up from preschool and took her to the centre where Marianna's been running a two-day teacher training course about autism. Frieda's been keen to see "where Mummy works" and so we arrived at the end of the training session, and helped Marianna to store away all her teaching materials (many large bags, since she runs very active and participative sessions).
Meanwhile, Jack walked over to a pub near the centre, with Simone, and we all met up for an early tea together and a wind-down. There are various family issues rumbling away at the moment, both in Marianna's family and in ours too; we had a welcome chance, today, to take stock together.  There's little any of us can do, about any of it, but it was very helpful to share thoughts.
All told, a good day.