After my worrying week with Fay, I am relieved to report she is now back at work, so thankfully I have been able to put my Florence Nightingale uniform away. It's hard to explain to anyone who isn't fully cognisant with diabetes, just how alarming sickness bugs can be - suffice it to say, such illness doesn't simply make the patient feel terrible, it's also dangerous and there's a very fine line between being able to manage the illness safely at home and having to call the hospital for assistance. Luckily we managed without the hospital this time.
The Portchester Troops (photo courtesy of Tina)
Anyway, panic over! Although her illness had passed, Fay wasn't quite strong enough to join us for the two hour drive to Portchester to spend time with my family on Saturday, so we left her to enjoy a little peace and quiet with her boyfriend and hopped in the car with my son and his girlfriend to spend a super day with my sisters Tina and Fiona and their families. After a whopping lunch of homemade spaghetti bolognese, following by hip busting banoffee pie pud (yes, I will suffer for this indulgence for some time to come!) we gathered our troops for a stroll to the castle to walk off the excess!
Boys being boys! (Courtesy of Tina)
And as you can see, when you gather assorted boys together, antics usually occur!
View from the ramparts across the Solent and yes, I snapped this one!
Ever the business woman, Tina successfully negotiated a group discount so we could enter the impressive castle gate and climb the ramparts to see the fabulous view across Port Solent.
Group photo call! (Courtesy of Tina)
One of the perks of having a professional photographer for a sister is, she never travels anywhere without her trusty camera and isn't afraid to use it! Portchester Castle is a beautiful place to visit and we were all delighted when Tina organised us into various corners of the castle to have our pics taken ...
My son and his girlfriend (Courtesy of Tina)
Needless to say, as his Mum, I was especially thrilled with this lovely photograph!
Photographing the Photographer!
Tina took many other super shots of our family at the castle, far too many to post here today, so I'm going to risk her wrath by sharing a final, rather rare shot. Tina is usually hidden away behind the lens, so I insisted on borrowing her camera and this was the result, a lovely, natural photograph of my sister, 'Tina the Photographer'!
If you are in the Hampshire area and are looking for a talented, friendly photographer, please visit Tina's website at: Tina Allingham Photography
She's building an amazing new studio at the moment, so there's always something interesting to read. By the way, please take a moment to 'like' her FB page and 'share' it among your friends, thanks!
Tina, I know you'll read this, so I'm going to say a big 'thank you' for all the special memories you capture for us, your family.
Thanks Sis, you're a gem xxx
