At the Barlows' 2016
Newton-le-Willows, Saturday 2nd July 2016
Rather than blowing a kiss to someone, I think is the G-man shovelling in some of the buffet.
No expense was spared for the decorations.
I think this was some reciprocal mind games after Matt had been whispering (or something) in Mark's ear whilst playing one of the games. More of an issue was the person trying to bend themselves under the sofa to find a golf ball.
There were reports from the local zoo of an escaped monkey, but we all decided to keep our mouths shut.
After a relatively informal starter, normal service was resumed with a full-on set of main courses, meticulously laid out, as you can see below. (I say meticulously but again there is an absent apostrophe. Does it not belong to us?) Anyway, the food was great as usual.
And here is that food, all laid out. There's a lot, eh. It never disappoints in both quality and quantity.
In the lounge area, or the unofficial dance zone, there were plenty of moves on show. Uncle Matt, in particular, looked to be really getting into it. I think it might have been a bungalow-trance remix of Ring-A-Ring-A-Roses.
I'm a little lost as to what is going on here. Whether it's the apple-dunking competition but they've forgotten the buckets of water and apples. Or they are trying to show Nana Sue their best introspective indie head-banging technique. Or very possibly something else entirely.
Whilst the table tennis table was manufactured to the very highest of Newton-le-Willows standards, occasionally things do happen. In this case, the net pinged off, which brought proceedings to a temporary halt. Jordan watched on in a mixture of admiration and impatience.
The slightly changeable weather meant the sweepers were always on hand to improve conditions by wiping away the moisture.
The Boy does like a bit of aerobatics and employed Jordan to provide the muscle.
Aunty Katie then stepped into the breach to provide lifting services.
And then back to Jordan. Put that mini-six pack away.
And we're back to Aunty Katie on the lifting. I'm hoping that this sequence will end soon as I am running out of description ability (if I ever had it).
Most notable for the chive I had placed on Nana Sue's head without her noticing. I am childish, cruel but also ingenious and a ninja herb expert.
You might pick up from this picture the subtle body language of a Katie killer table tennis victory. If memory serves correctly, she survived with all her three starting points intact.
At one point during the afternoon, the pebbles proved a source of endless fascination for Gregory the geologist.
It's good that the retirement village puts on sporting activities to entertain the residents.
And then it was dessert, laid out en dizzying masse.
Or perhaps I should say puddings. Here is the selection, including lots of sweet stuff and a veritable plethora of cheeses. Inevitably, after all our consumption, we could not do this infinite justice. But we had a damned good go.
As we enjoyed our desserts, Daisy seemed to have commandeered the shoes of someone considerably larger than her.
This is the Balls In Small Rings game, which proved to be quite popular. Here is Uncle Graham in action. My first go was more or less my peak, but it achieved a very competitive score, despite not actually knowing the rules (clearly I had figured out the basics but knew nothing of the relative scoring merits of each coloured ring). That actually turned out to be enough to finish top for those who completed all three rounds, but there a number of Kids' Day attendees who did not partake. The small print presumably says that the result, therefore, is null and void.
And then it was time to go home. We had extended their bedtime somewhat but eventually we could stay no longer. Aunty Katie popped outside for one last niece and nephew hug...
...which she duly received.
And that was that - the fun was over for another year. We will be back...
Back to the Secret Portal.