Four first cousins for afternoon tea

I have five first cousins on my mother's side of my family. Today three of them were at my mother's house in Northumberland. All had travelled from another country to join us: Edwina from Australia, Simon from Wales, and Nick from Scotland.

For my blip Mr hazelh photographed the four cousins with Mummy hazelh, Louise (Simon's wife) and Jenny (Nick's wife), all enjoying afternoon tea outside this afternoon. Flora is also here, somewhat tangled up in her lead.

Before the others arrived, Mr hazelh, Edwina and I took a walk along the river beyond Fourstones, almost to Warden. Edwina was fascinated by all the trees and flowers, most of which are unfamiliar to her. She has never seen nettles before and thinks that our dandelions are enormous. The highlight of the walk, however, was spotting a kingfisher as it darted in a blue flash across the river.

All eight of us (plus the dog) ended the day with dinner in the bar at the Boatside Inn. It was a spur of the moment decision to go out, but such a great idea to keep the party going.

It's been a really lovely day. Although everything was officially focused around Edwina's visit,  Mummy hazelh clearly enjoyed seeing everyone, and is keen to keep in closer touch with her nephews. She is even tempted to take up Nick and Jenny's invitation to visit them in Kelso. (They moved to their new house last year.)

Exercise today: walking (14,781 steps).