Dearest Family and Friends
57 Cumberland Street, San Francisco CA 94110
Phone Number: +1 415 738 2112
December Highlights
Buying Presents
Buying Nothing
The experiment can be judged to be a success. We had a lovely year as a family, material goods were not a major part of our lifestyle.
It was easy to do, shopping was not missed.
Yes there were the odd cheat or indulgence here and there, but in the main, I didn't shop and it was enlightening and fun.I discovered many other like-minded individuals and organisations all undertaking similar quests.
From Do the Green Thing , who aim to inspire people to lead a greener life, I purchased Nothing and received the following:
“Dear Nadine Mellor,Your Nothing is now being hand-crafted by a dedicated team of Nobodies in our factory in Nada-nadaland.
ITEM DETAILS:
- 1 x Nothing
- Cost: £0.00
I regret to inform you there has been a problem with your order (Reference: D1DDLY5QUAT).A disgruntled former employee of Nothing Ventures, Nothing Gains Ltd snuck into our Nada-nadaland factory last week and tampered with the seals on all our Nothings.
We take non-product safety extremely seriously, and so have issued a worldwide product recall of Nothing effective immediately.We're afraid nobody will be getting Nothing for the immediate future.
Please bear with us at this difficult time - we will send Nothing to you as soon as possible.Thank you for your understanding.
Yours sincerely,
Jack Schitt
Junior Deputy Vice-manager-in-chief, Non-Product Safety Division, Nothing Ventures, Nothing Gains Ltd”
And then:
“Dear Nadine Mellor,We are delighted to inform you that Nothing has been dispatched and delivered to your home address.
If you can't find it, check your doorstop, letterbox and porch for Nothing.
*What's good for Nothing*
Being an owner of Nothing brings with it a lot of responsibility.
To make the most of Nothing, you'll need to keep it in tip-top condition - experts recommend that beeswax and/or linseed oil are good for Nothing. You can also choose from our wide range of Nothing accessories. With everything from Nothing Tops to Go-Nowhere-stripes to pick from, why not get something for Nothing today?*A life of Nothing*
Good aftercare and sensible accessorising will ensure you enjoy Nothing - and, with just a little bit of effort, you can guarantee that Nothing's gonna change your world.
Thank you for shopping with us.”Christmas Gifts
Christmas is a time for giving; thus it’s particularly difficult to avoid buying things for other people.
But this year I managed an almost present-purchase-free Christmas.
Our last year of Esme in blissful ignorance of the supposed cachet of material goods! We eked our her Christmas presents over a 6 week period, and found her to be very appreciative of each item as a consequence. I didn’t buy anything for Esme (although I succumbed on the 2nd of January – see below), my godchildren get gift memberships of the junior branch of the RSPB every year, and on behalf of my father and sister I made micro-finance loans in lieu of needless gifts given or gotten.
Both Kiva and World Vision Micro take your small donation and put it in the hands of a person in a developing nation (including the USA!), in the form of a loan that must be repaid. Most recipients fund a micro-business that gets them out of poverty, sends children or family members to school and changes the trajectory of their lives. You get to watch their progress, too. 
The general rule of thumb should be:1. that the recipient would truly desire the gift
2. that you tell others not to buy you any gifts unless they are really inspired to buy something for you
Hopefully this informed my gifts this year.
My mother received a photobook of her epic holiday to California in September.
And we bought a tea set to give to Esme’s pre-school, Puddle Jumpers, as a gift to everybody.And also got a photo for Abby framed as a housewarming present from all the DLG.
For the DLG White Elephant gift exchange, I managed to dust off an unused present from years ago and wrapped it in wrapping paper from last Christmas which said ‘To Esme’ all over it! Re-gifting is totally fine in my book!
For myself I bought filofax diary inserts for 2010 – my annual extravagance.
Normally I get my photos printed out and stick card onto them for home-made Christmas cards. I really love sending these but this definitely would have entailed purchasing stamps, card and glue.
Instead Esme and I made 4 Christmas cards from spare card and decorated them with snowmen, stars, Christmas trees and doves. 
We sent these 4 cards to Amnesty prisoners of conscience – one in the US, one in Asia, one in Africa and one in Central America. We had just enough stamps left over from 2008 to send them.Free Experiences of the Month
Playdates are always fun, and involve very little expenditure.
This month’s bed bouncers included Nicole and Finn, Soren and Gabriela, and Stella.
But our best times were on the way back from school after dark, looking out for Christmas lights and trees and wreaths adorning all the apartments and houses. Esme loved it! And so did her Mama…2010 Challenge
Buying Nothing in 2009 brought home to me how everything we buy has an impact on the environment. We need to examine the environmental and ethical consequences of consumerism.The developed countries are consuming 80% of the earth’s natural resources, for just 20% of the population, causing great damage in our reckless quest for more stuff and more status.
And contributing to the staggeringly unfair distribution of global wealth.
So while I will be buying stuff in 2010, it will be with great care and thought. One in, one out; no stockpiling; second-hand wherever possible.
Our 2010 project is 10:10 ( http://www.1010uk.org ).
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Gatherings
Jason and MeredithThe Martins came to San Francisco after Thanksgiving and stayed with Sophia and Gerardo.
We hosted a dinner for them one evening.They both looked terrific – life in Sydney is clearly agreeing with them.
Esme seized the opportunity to parade around in Sophia’s scarf before bedtime was called.
DLG Gift Exchange
This year the DLG holiday event was hosted by newly-engaged Amy H - many congratulations to her and Akhil!
We managed a full turn out.Copious quantities of food and booze lubricated a highly entertaining White Elephant gift exchange.
Who knew that the prize most fought over would be The Snuggie TM (the blanket with sleeves) plus sangria combo?Or that the vegan would get the chocolate fondue set?
Or that Nicole’s contribution, the Bumpits® (From Flat to Fabulous) would be the party highlight? 
Each of us took turns to have our locks teased and tressed over a plastic tooth-edged semi-circle known as a ‘volumizing insert’.For ‘Hollywood Hair in just minutes!’
Priceless!
Meanwhile, the Wine Night Christmas event was being held at our place, and I returned just as the Winers were departing. 
They had managed to quaff a couple of dozen bottles between them, and that included two pregnant ladies – congratulations to Arne and Cati! – so were very merry indeed.Fred and Christine
Embarked on a 3 month trip to India and had a fun farewell family-friendly dinner in an Indian restaurant – just to ensure they acclimatise. 
Colman had been to Maggie’s birthday Mad Hatter’s tea party that afternoon so was suitably resplendent in top hat.
Baby Zella
And just before Christmas we visited Maria and Randall to meet their brand new baby Zella, now 10 days old.
She had had an exciting time arriving, and now was peaceful and crinkled and very very cute. We were very pleased to make her acquaintance.
Esme wanted to hold the baby, which brought a certain amount of tension into proceedings, but we managed it with only a few tears – from Esme not the baby that is.
Congratulations!
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Christmas Shows
The Velveteen Rabbit
We went to see The Velveteen Rabbit, Esme’s first live show, with Armani and Marcus plus grandparents, Ron and Louisa.
Both kids loved it. Esme was mesmerised by the dancing, and by the toys, which came to life, pirouetting and marching around the playroom.Dance Along Nutcracker
Colman arranged a surprise for Esme and me: the San Francisco Lesbian/Gay Freedom Band’s Christmas show – this year entitled ‘Blazing Nutcrackers’, a rollicking romp through the Wild West.
Clara and her Nutcracker travel through saloon doors and dust-caked streets of Tombstone to muster a posse, for reasons which fail me now, but between each musical number, the band would play a portion of the Nutcracker Suite and we were encouraged to get up and shake a tail feather. And the audience , being highly representative of San Francisco’s colourful communities, did just that. Esme wore her ballerina outfit, and was fascinated by being in such close proximity to the orchestra. Christmas Lights
We paid homage at Tom and Jerry’s house on the hill where their house is decorated to the nines each year, with an accompanying Norfolk Pine standing in as a Christmas tree. Their display is so vast it takes a 60-ft cherry picker to string the lights. Oversize presents are artfully jumbled; huge Tom and Jerry stockings hang over the garage, now resembling a fireplace; a model train set scurries around the base of the tree playing Christmas carols.
Georgianne, Asher and Sophie Lee crammed us into their car and drove us to see the display on the 23rd December.
Esme and Sophie Lee both got to meet Father Christmas which they both found somewhat confronting, especially as he kept asking them if they had eaten enough vegetables!
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Christmas Parties
Puddle Jumpers Workshop
A somewhat chaotic afternoon, nevertheless the PJW Holiday Party (Americans are very PC about Christmas) was good fun. 
Georgianne created this amazing reindeer piñata for the kids to pull treats out of its stomach.
Esme’s closest friends at school currently are probably Stella and Theo. The kids had made, with Nellie’s help, a biscuit imprinted with their hand, then painted, as presents for their parents.
We had a singalong – Jingle Bells and Silent Night.
We managed to get a group photo – no small achievement!Esme was most helpful when it came to clearing up at the end.
Whole House PartyWe planned a slightly over-ambitious Christmas party with both sets of downstairs neighbours. The idea was to start at our party in the afternoon with the family-friendly shift, and then migrate downstairs to Bogie and Saal’s after Esme had gone to bed.
Kim and Tom were to lead the charge downstairs at the appointed hour.Esme dressed up in cousin Lizzie’s Pakistani suit, in Christmassy red and gold.
Colman and his glamorous assistant, Patrick, made mulled wine.
Just as the party was getting going, Esme, copying the big girls, Caroline and Ava, who were bouncing on the Pilates ball, launched herself onto the ball which ricocheted her smack into the corner of the newel post.
The impact of the back of her head on the post stopped everybody talking. I was right beside her and knew she wasn’t concussed from her reactions but nevertheless it was a pretty intense few minutes as she howled in my arms and bled. Thanks to Sophia and Gerardo for helping out.
We carried on undaunted, reasoning that going to hospital would entail in unnecessary stitches, and she was subdued but otherwise acting normally, wandering around the party clutching her muslin (comfort blanket) and bai (pacifier) with dried blood and matted hair on the back of her head – well it’s not a real party without blood and tears, right? 
We had 2 nurses present who advised us on how to check for concussion.Despite being the busiest day of the year for parties, we did muster up a decent-sized crowd.
Adam and Jen had been to SantaCon, an annual summoning of Santa Clauses downtown - as had Jenn L - and all were looking rather spectacular.
As was Deep, never one to miss an opportunity for flamboyance.
After the last of the family crowd had left, props to Debra, Gil and Noa for just popping in and then staying ages, and once Esme went to bed, very late, I sat down with the DLG.I suddenly realised how stressful it had been, and how worried I had been at core about her.
I thought, I can now relax, nothing’s wrong with Esme, she’ll be fine. And then imagined the worst. And had to lie down to recover for half-an-hour, while my whole body seemingly collapsed.
Sadly I was unable to really engage with the party from that point onwards, following conversations as a spectator at a tennis tournament, especially when talking with Paula and Ethan on the back steps.
And as I felt I couldn’t leave our apartment for any length of time, the two parties didn’t end up mingling as much as we had hoped.
I did go downstairs on a couple of occasions. Saal’s excellent cocktail bar was a roaring success, and he looked fantastic as Jack Frost.At 1am the DLG took one look at me and said, ‘we’re leaving, right now’.
And they brushed aside my politesse and departed en masse. I collapsed into bed, exhausted.
Of course Esme was on terrific form the next morning, bouncing around. In complete contrast to her somewhat the worse for wear parents!
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To Europe
London
Our flight to London on Christmas Eve was remarkably stressless. I would recommend flying on Christmas Day to anybody, the airports were much less busy and all went smoothly. Esme was a trooper on the flight, in no small measure due to being able to glaze at cartoons for hours.
My parents were in Zambia visiting my sister, Louise, and family, so we arrived at their apartment building on a cold, grey day to find that the concierge had just gone on an hour’s lunch break, it was a very chilly hour! My mother had cooked us a pheasant casserole with red cabbage which we defrosted for our Christmas Dinner and very yummy it was too.
She had also left Esme two books for her Christmas present - My Dad is Brilliant and My Mum is Fantastic - which made us all feel great!
We fell straight back into British culture and vegged out in front of the TV; then managed to sleep most of the night – Esme was awake for 4 hours only.Boxing Day
Alex, Sonia and Rose came over for a leisurely lunch, bringing ham, Stilton, Champagne, Brussels Sprouts and all manner of delicacies.
Esme was very pleased to see Rose, my god-daughter, and the two of them ran around the apartment shrieking with glee. 
In the afternoon we were joined by Enric and Xavier.
Followed by Morgan in time for main course.
After dinner Catherine and Freddie made an appearance.
Everybody was on tremendous form, so much so that the neighbours downstairs complained as the kids were running about and screaming too much.We managed to calm and quieten them down; and by the time the last guests departed, Esme was crashed across on the armchair.
Thanks guys, really a fabulous day!
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Stephenson Family Reunion
Barcelona Here We Come!
November 2009 saw Colman’s father, Pat, turn 80. And February 2010 will see the Golden Wedding Anniversary of Colman’s parents.So the family decided to split the difference and have a weeklong reunion just after Christmas, a gathering of the clans from (in timezone order) Sydney, Perth, Dublin, Pittsburgh, Ithaca NY State and San Francisco.
The last time all five siblings and their parents had been together was our wedding in Cornwall in May 2005, and there had been 3 new grandchildren since then; Esme had not yet met two of her cousins.
Barcelona was chosen as the venue for this epic family celebration: in Europe, a city with history and culture, easily navigated, lots to do, mild winter weather, good food, and neutral territory! 
We all flew in on the 27th December and we found our way to the Eixample area and our apartment, Casa Capella 1, where our hosts, John and Josefina, had pulled out all the stops for us.
We were sharing with Pat and Niamh Sr, who arrived later that evening, to Esme’s great excitement.
The Australian contingent – Ultan, Judith and Aislinn plus Niamh Jr and baby Caoimhe (pronounced queever) – had spent Christmas in Dublin with Pat and Niamh, and were staying in the opulent Casa Capella 2, just 4 blocks away.The American posse – Patrick, Clare, Catherine, Margaret and Thomas from Pittsburgh; Hugh, Sally, Max and Zack from Ithaca – also had Christmas together and were the first into Barca. They were also 4 blocks away in a huge 3rd apartment, called Apartment Bach.
Monday
The orderly C19th neighbourhood of Eixample lies just north of the old city, with straight streets and square blocks whose signature chamfered corners let light flood in. 
Casa Capella 1 had a great location, just down the street from Gaudi’s masterpiece, Casa Mila.
We all explored this flamboyant biomorphic apartment building with signature undulating roof terrace with superb views and excellent chimney pots, now offices and informative museum with one apartment kitted out as it would have been in the 1920s.
We were also half a block from the Passeig de Gracia, a famous shopping and business avenue.
We all met for the first time for lunch on Monday, taking over a little tapas bar. 
Catherine and Margaret are now glamorous young ladies.
Esme was very shy initially but warmed up, pleased to see Max again, this was their third meeting, and the two have always had a bit of a lovefest.After lunch we split up. Colman and I took Esme to the Richard Meier designed Modernist style Museum of Contemporary Art where we took in a John Cage retrospective. Colman found it fascinating; Esme woke up to find herself in a surreal world of sonic experimentation, random objects and video loops.
Dinner was hosted by Apartment Bach.
The kids and I all vied with each other for the best yoga moves.
Aislinn could execute a near flawless backbend and dolphin, Thomas excelled at boat pose, and Max got full marks for effort when it came to pigeon and frog.
Esme, by now having lost her shyness, enthusiastically joined in – her bridge a wonder to behold.
It was excellent to see the cousins playing, running, shrieking, laughing and falling all over each other.Clare and Sally cooked up a storm. The reunion was in full swing!
After dinner, Colman took Esme home while I had a very convivial end of the evening visiting our friends in Barca: Junior and Hans who live a stone’s throw from the Cathedral, in the Barri Gotic. I hadn’t seen Hans since we stayed with them on our previous visit to Barcelona in September 2003.They had friends over for dinner, we caught up, put the world to rights, sipped wine, ate the MOST DELICIOUS crème caramel, and all too soon it was midnight.
Tuesday
We headed for the Barri Gotic, taking the Metro – which was too much of a success for Esme, she became totally fixated on escalators and lifts.
First stop, the medieval Placa del Rei, which features a commanding watchtower, a C14th chapel built above a Roman wall, a C13th royal palace and a C16th Renaissance palace.Esme put a Euro coin agonisingly slowly into the Spanish guitarist’s case, transfixed by his music.
We bumped into the Pittsburgh Stephensons here.
In fact, it was a characteristic of our week that we all kept bumping into each other, an indication both of our numbers and the compact nature of Barcelona.
I had arranged a group luncheon for all 19 of us in a private room in a heritage restaurant near the Placa Sant Jaume.
This was the official celebrations for Pat’s Birthday, and a great success. The food kept on coming.
The kids played under the table for half the meal, assaulting people’s ankles.
They loved the ice cream.Niamh Jr made a lovely speech about how her father was the best dad a girl could wish for. She kindly proposed a toast to me for making the arrangements, which took me by embarrassed prickly-eyed surprise.
We all saluted Patrick Francis Stephenson!
That night the Stephenson Siblings went out on the razzle-dazzle together – Colman proclaimed it the best night of his trip.Wednesday
To Montjuïc for the day – a broad hill overlooking the harbour, to the SW of the city centre – where much of the Olympics had taken place.
The three of us set off in good spirits on the Metro to catch the funicular railway connection. While waiting for the train to leave Esme’s leg slipped through the crack between train and platform. She was retrieved without injury but her shoe had come off, to her great upset.
The entire train stared at us disapprovingly. We got off and waited for its departure, to see the shoe lying 10 feet below. Colman contemplated undertaking a rescue mission but that required 007 luck and Lara Croft contortions. The more prosaic approach of pantomiming to the station-master that a child had lost a shoe, brought an engineer to the rescue.Shod once more, we finally reached the summit. And strolled to the modern art Joan Miro Foundation, a cool modernist building with city views.
Esme held up for the first 4 rooms while I talked to her about colour and imagery. She dubbed the surreal sculptures, ‘funny things’. But as soon as the works became really abstract, her insightful pronouncement – the colours are having a fight! – signalled her disinterest.
So we then took the cable car up to the C17th fortress for magnificent panoramic views, where we hooked up with Patrick and Hugh and families for a slow descent. 
At the ornamental pond plus cascade, Esme was beaming, thrilled to be with her boy cousins, Thomas, Max and Zack. 
The four of them splashed their hands in the water, rolled down hillsides, trotted along walls, chased and clambered; Max and Esme hand in hand.
Our successful strategy was to wear her out so she would be asleep before the babysitter arrived. Sure enough, we set off, in our best bibs and tuckers, to dinner for the Golden Wedding celebration.
We had booked out the whole of Tapioles 53, a chic restaurant owned by a friend of Meredith Martin’s, for all the adults plus Catherine and Margaret.
It was novel having a whole space to ourselves, and we all agreed this was a luxury one could get used to.
Formal photos were taken of the parents; their five children;
all 7 together.
The food was delicious, although the portions were dainty, and we all imbibed copious quantities of wine.
Pat was in for a surprise as I’d arranged another birthday decorated dessert for him.
Patrick introduced Ultan to speak on the basis that he had done the Silver Wedding; Colman reminded his parents that this initial romantic phase wouldn’t last for ever.
Ultan made a skilful and moving speech that entwined our sojourn in Barcelona with a portrait of a loving marriage.Pat in response spoke elegantly of his love for his wife and family.
Niamh Sr, with feisty oratory, declared that logic wasn’t important, it was all about sympathy and empathy, and finding the right person to marry was crucial, and luckily all her sons had found the right women!
The staff had obviously not expected us to party on as we did, we impressed ourselves that it was well after midnight before anybody went home.
Hugh, Sally and Colman persuaded me to go for a drink afterwards, and we found a nearby hostelry, which we succeeded in shutting down as well, after we banged the table, put the world to rights and made the most of our pink ticket.I played a blinder by taking a sleeping pill when we got home at nearly 3, as I kept snoozing after Esme woke early, and managed to avoid looking after her as it was Colman who gave up the unequal struggle and got up with her. Result!
New Year’s Eve
Colman was definitely suffering the next morning, as was Niamh Sr. Yesterday’s husky voice was giving way to an intense throat and cold, and she spent the day in bed.
It was a beautiful sunny day, warm and bright. We finally got our acts together to meet up with Niamh Jr and Caoimhe to venture to Gaudi’s iconic Parc Güell on the train.
Esme spectacularly fell down an escalator then was scratched by a cat when we got into the park. She was consoled by the climbing frame.
We seemed to take every wrong turn possible and meandered all around the park’s extremities before we found the main terrace where we sat in the sun, had an average sandwich, and Esme took Colman for a walk while Caoimhe wriggled and jiggled on Niamh’s lap.
We met up with Ultan, Judith and Aislinn, Hugh and Max; Sally’s hangover precluded her participation that day.And Max and Esme were in raptures of delight to be together, and held hands pretty much the whole way home on the train.
Apartment Bach hosted the New Year’s Eve get together.Colman cooked risotto for everybody.
Judith had made the most delicious fruit salad.
It was an emotional farewell to the Perth Stephensons who were flying out on the 1st January.
But still just enough time to get some pictures of the eight grandchildren together.And we were all back in our respective apartments by 10pm. Esme was all revved up by her evening, and didn’t get to sleep until 11.50. We were both shattered but couldn’t get into our bedroom until she was out. So I saw in the Midnight Hour with Colman snoring gently on the sofa, while fireworks and huzzahs broke out all around and the wind whistled over the rooftops.
New Year’s Day
All remaining Stephenson siblings, excluding their parents who were both now sadly under the weather, ventured to Montserrat on a day trip.
Montserrat is a mountain rising from the Catalan lowlands topped by pillowy conglomerate outcrops and a beautiful Benedictine abbey thought by some to be the location of the Holy Grail, and with a famous black Madonna, the C12th Virgin of Montserrat. It has spectacular views over Catalonia to the Pyrenees.
Our outing was not a great success. We knew the trains were every hour, but managed to completely miss the correct platform by walking a kilometre down a windscoured boulevard to a totally different station. So missed the train we were aiming for and spent 45 minutes on a station platform expecting Esme would pee in her knickers or on the platform in an embarrassing fashion, and then another hour on a train expecting Esme to pee in her knickers or in the carriage in an embarrassing fashion, and then a further 30 minutes on a funicular railway expecting Esme to pee in her knickers or in the carriage in an embarrassing fashion. But she didn’t. Holding it in until we found a table in the ferociously busy café for lunch and then could take her to the toilet.The café was rammed, in part because the entire tourist population of Montserrat was taking refuge from the Siberian-style cutting wind.
Suddenly we realised we were going to have to leave in under 2 hours so galloped to the Basilica and its excellent art collection, including works by all the greats such as Picasso, El Greco, Dali and a wonderful Caravaggio. Esme took an interest for the first couple of rooms and then fell asleep.
I dashed to the cathedral itself, gaped at the lavish interiors and joined the queue to see the Virgin. As it inched up the stairs I realised I didn’t have enough time before the train departed, but at least I got to marvel at the workmanship on the ceilings and walls. 
Max and Esme giggled, cuddled, tickled, kissed and poked each other all the way back in the train. Or rather Esme did all those things to Max, who put up with her with great grace.I had a fast turn around once back in Eixample, going to visit The Five Rooms, a beautifully yet very simply conceived boutique B&B for work.
I had a very mellow couple of hours until Colman could leave a slumbering Esme and join me for our romantic night out. Thanks to Pat and Niamh for babysitting!
We went out to a tapas restaurant and ate and drank and talked.Before collapsing into my idea of the perfect bed - superkingsize with cool ironed sheets. Bliss!
Saturday
Pat and Niamh were still taking it easy so we went to the Maritime Museum housed in the former medieval royal shipyards to meet Hugh and family.There’s a fine replica of the submarine Ictineo at the entrance and another of a C16th royal galley inside.
I left them all running around inside causing havoc and ventured forth on my first shopping expedition for over a year!
This took me up the Ramblas looking at sights en route including the busy covered food market, and then into the heart of the Raval where I found a pedestrian street, Riera Baixa, full of vintage and second hand clothes shops. Perfect!
E270 later I had purchased a pair of 1970s brown suede shoes, an orange brushed cotton 1960s jerkin, a slinky shirt dress, a brown wool and feather cardigan, a Norwegian 1970s wool cardigan, a pair of 1980s Kenzo trousers and an ‘80s mid-sleeved jumper. Plus pair of sunglasses, a silk scarf for Colman and a pearl necklace for Esme - her belated Christmas present.And walked home, shopping bags bulging - a most unfamiliar feeling.
That evening we hosted the final get together, a pretty low key affair, apart from Max, Zack, Thomas and Esme who spent much of the evening on the floor or in our bedroom in a big pile up.
Esme was intent on smooching Max as much as possible. It was all getting quite steamy in there! It’ll be folk dancing next.The Americans all had very early starts the next morning so it wasn’t a late night.
Or so we thought until we discovered that Esme’s ‘bai’ was missing, and she wouldn’t go to sleep without it. We turned the apartment upside down for half an hour before finding it. Esme was right, she said that Zack had thrown it in the air, it was on top of the fridge!
Sunday
Tearful farewells to Pat and Niamh Sr first thing in the morning, then we packed up and met up with Niamh Jr and Caoimhe for a gentle stroll through the La Ribera. 
Colman took them to the airport while Esme and I walked down to the harbour and looked at the boats and buskers. And watched transfixed as the police moved on a huge crowd of African hawkers.We then wended through the narrow medieval streets, named for the trade that once plied there until we found the Museu Picasso which was free entry today so we joined the lengthy queue.
Esme blessedly fell asleep in the stroller and I got to see the whole collection, which included many early works donated by Picasso himself to the city of Barcelona, housed in five medieval palaces, she stirred just as we left.
And reunited with Colman at Casa Capella 1 for the last time, we headed for the airport and flew late to London to be met by my mother.
A terrific week, very poignant as we all get together so rarely.It was interesting to be reminded of family resemblances and make new connections.
Esme stands like her grandfather and father, Zack does it too.Esme looks like a combination of Aislinn, Max and Zack.
Zack looks like Thomas.
Hugh looks like his father.Esme is still talking about Barcelona and her cousins. Bless.
Well, no wonder, she had such a great time, as did we all!
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Bird of the Month
In Barcelona I noticed flocks of loudly squawking green and grey long-tailed parrots, in the grounds of the Fundació Joan Miró in Montjuïc, and above us in the palm trees in Parc Güell on consecutive days.
Brash and gregarious, chatty and intelligent, I later discovered they are part of a feral population some 1500 strong of Monk Parakeets Myiopsitta monachus, which originate from Argentina, and are now regarded as a nuisance – the city of Barcelona proposes culls every so often.They are the only parrots to build a stick nest rather than use a hole in a tree, and operate in close-knit social groups. So much so that they can develop their own vocal dialects that differ between groups.
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Mural of the MonthSeen in the medieval quarter of La Ribera in Barcelona.
Stencil of the Month
Some rather choice graffiti seen in Barcelona on the way to Parc Güell.
Bumper Sticker of the Month
Trees Don’t Grow on Money Either
