Old Friends and explosive photo for Shimelle's crop

The Two Eilidh's explode towards me.

Friday night was a special night as we had old friends to stay. Liz and I met in an antenatal class more than 20 years ago and my eldest and her eldest were born six weeks apart - although they were due within 2 weeks of each other. I went into labour three weeks early (and she was late) and can still remember saying when she visited me in hospital after attending class: "Tell me what to do, I've missed the ones about bathing your baby and what to do when they are born!" Stuart and Claire will be 21 next year and yet here we all are. Our children (we both have 5!) grew up together and when they had to move to Holland for several years we would go and visit. I have memories of us in the Hague going for pancakes and being pointed at by Dutch customers who were visibly counting the children who went down in age from 15 to babes in arms.
This weekend we managed to get six out of the ten children round the table which is amazing. Our eldest daughter is in South Korea and middle daughter was working 200 hundred miles away and eldest boy is in Paris whilst her eldest is performing on the fringe. They were not there but we talked about them and it made them seem so much closer... and we looked at the old photos. I was snapping pictures and took this picture almost by accident as I walked out the door into the garden straight into the "Two Eilidhs" running down the grass towards me. Explosive and action packed I think so.
For those of you not from Scotland Eilidh is a gaelic name and is pronounced "Ayleigh" it rhymes with Ceildh and Hayley. Our Eilidh was born in April and when Liz had a girl in August she asked me if it was okay to call her Eilidh too and now we have the Two Eilidhs - friends like their mums.

Old friends, food and drink