Daisy Suzanne Allen

Born Sunday 6th March 2011

8½ to 9 years old

Her life:  4 to 4¼ years ♥ 4¼ to 4½ years ♥ 4½ to 4¾ years ♥ 4¾ to 5 years ♥ 5th birthday ♥ 5 to 5½ years ♥ 5½ to 6 years ♥ 6th birthday ♥ 6 to 6½ years ♥ 6½ to 7 years ♥ 7th birthday ♥ 7 to 7½ years ♥ 7½ to 8 years ♥ 8th birthday ♥ 8 to 8½ years ♥ 8½ to 9 years ♥ 9th birthday

In summary:  Index ♥ From birth to four years old ♥ Four years old to nine years old ♥ Nine years old onwards

Special features:  Golden Bear (reprise) ♥ More cookery

We start this page with a moment in early September, when the fruits of my labours (literally) are being picked from the greenhouse.  Young Daisy relishes tucking into a fresh cherry tomato.  It will not be in this world for long.

It's fair to say that I have no idea what is going on here.  It may be that Daisy is reacting to the painful experience of straightening her hair.  Or something completely different.

A pleasant spot of lunch in the sunshine. Daisy's plate includes pork pie, pasta salad, cucumber and Monster Munch, amongst other things.

In the middle of September, with me having completed the South Manchester triathlon (irrelevant fact, I know), we hosted a BBQ with the Allens round.  Uncle Matt is bowling and it looks like Daisy has, unfortunately, missed the ball with a well marshalled fielding line of Aunty Katie and young Gregory.

The fruit-topped meringue engenders a suitable reaction of shocked enjoyment in Daisy.

We're all sat around chatting, well apart from Gregory, while Daisy plays guitar.  Classic set-up.

Smile, it's a fruit combo!

A good, if a little grubby, late season harvest of potatoes.  Daisy has abandoned her crocs, which is not recommended gardening footwear (Gregory's wellies being a better choice).

More cricket in the sunshine, the perfect weather for it.  The table functions as the wicketkeeper, so Gregory drifts to a leg slip position.

Daisy looks a little weary of me taking yet another a photo, but I think the provision of lemon Calippo has earned me the right.

With Lynne off to Tenerife, I am fully in charge of kid duty, including provision of bagels with chocolate spread.  (That is actually, as I write with Daisy now thirteen, one of her favourite breakfasts that she makes herself in the morning.  Some things change, but some things stay the same.)

With me in charge, we get some cycling to school action going.  She is still riding that bike now (four and a half years later), but it is getting a bit small for her and I have promised a new one for her birthday (to be belatedly bought once we go and look at the selection).

Here is Daisy's speech as part of putting herself forward for the eco-councillor at the school.  The theme is basically that plastic is bad and animals are good, and I don't think anyone can disagree with that.  (I accept that there may be exceptions to this.)

It's some sort of international day at school.  Daisy has gone the extra mile by putting the German for Daisy on the back of her T-shirt.  Good effort.

A possibly home-made hat.  Daisy liked to make things and I liked to take pictures, so this was a natural consequence.

Late September and a standard trip to Waterdale close for a chippy lunch.  Who doesn't like a chippy lunch?  (Writing this now, with three young members of the family to add to this, it's going to be a bit of a struggle to fit around the table in future.)

I don't think you can get more exciting than the intersection of M&S food with the Little Shop.  That's what Daisy thinks anyway.

Here is what the little shop looks like.  Inevitably, it features lots of little things.

Uncle Matt takes on the duty of child entertainer and sets up a game for them outside, patiently explaining the rules.

While Lynne remains in Tenerife, I need to be creative in entertaining the kids, although taking them to the cinema is pretty standard.  According to the booking, we went to see Shaun The Sheep 2: Farmageddon.

Gregory in particular looks very excited to see the film.  Daisy is a little calmer.

After the cinema, it's time to get cooking.  Daisy mixes up some dough...

...then does a bit of kneading.

Here is the finished product, with Gregory's effort also present.

With the pizza dough proving, it's time to switch to dessert, as Daisy combines some beaten egg with the mixture.

As Gregory beats his eggs, Daisy gets on with the combining of all the ingredients.

With the mixtures done, Daisy is rather shocked at having to fill the paper cake cases.

And here are they having been in the oven.  Lovely.  But the process has not finished...

See!  Time to put the icing mixture on the top.

After the icing has been applied, there are some sprinkles added to give it the finishing touch.  They look a bit, er, rustic but I'm sure the kids polished them off.

With the cakes sorted, our attention turns back to the pizza making, as they roll out the dough...

...and then apply the toppings.

With due satisfaction, Daisy munches on her freshly cooked pizza.  It's hard to tell exactly what it is topped with, although it does just seem to be varieties of cheese (which is no bad option).

A nice shot on the Monday evening.  Maybe the weekend with just Dad hasn't been that bad?

Following on from the theme of environmentalism, Daisy has made a "reduse [sic], reuse, recycle" apron...

...not to mention an unarguable mantra-on-a-cloth.

I'm always a bit wary of scams like this, but this seems legit.

And we finish this little stint with Daisy in leopard skin.  This was the morning of a school day so there must have been a thing, but I know not what.

More will appear here in due course.

Due course has arrived, so off we go.  First up, a sweet school photo - it certainly gives the impression of a proud sister who looks out for her younger, slightly gormless-looking brother.  Looks can be deceiving, though.  (Okay, it's mostly true.)

It's half-term holiday time and approaching Halloween.  Lynne and the kids went up to Edinburgh for a few days, where Daisy and Gregory jumped in a wheelbarrow with their cousins, Becky and Jessica, during a pumpkin picking session.

This is a week or so later, and evidently an inset day, and the kids look pretty happy with their pumpkin carving efforts.  I'm not sure if the pumpkins were obtained from the pumpkin-picking session.

Well now, what's this?  Do we have a star of the week?  It very much looks like it.

We switch now to nature, as we have a look at the home of Collin Clownfish.  It looks rather like a shoebox but let's look inside...

It's minimal but spacious.

We're still not at Halloween yet but the pumpkins are in position in the porch, in full view of anyone who gets close enough to see.

Whilst Collin Clownfish is very much secure, Benny Midnight the turtle (me neither) is actually missing.  He's quite fragile and there are a million hugs on offer as a reward.  Sounds exhausting.

For years, as a youngster, you spend your time only able to use a pencil, legally.  Then, one day, you finally get your pen licence certificate and are free to write with a pen.  It's such a relief.

Into November, and Charles and Sally were meant to be coming round for tea (with Ollie and Lucy) but that got cancelled (not sure why but it happened the next weekend anyway).  Never mind, let's get ourselves to Miller & Carter down the road.  Daisy's gone for nachos for starter and then the now-obligatory steak for main, to which she tucks in with gusto.

The next day, the kids burn off their steak and chips (and smothered crisps) by whizzing their arms rapidly, playing on the Wii.

A classic back garden scene with Gregory playing cricket (stepping way over to the leg side to play it, presumably, to the off side).  Daisy is the photographer (well, she would be if I wasn't also taking a photo of her).

Daisy does her own variant of the British "Keep calm and carry on", stiff upper lip-style posters.

I did mention earlier about Daisy looking out for her brother, cuddling him in bed and possibly reading to him.

Mid-November and we popped round to Aunty Katie's for her birthday, and the snuggling in while reading is reciprocated with Nana Sue.

Things then took a strange turn, and I'm not exactly sure of the trigger, even though I remember some of the proceedings vividly.  I think it was maybe giving some cheek or losing a bet.  Anyway, it involved Uncle Matt providing Aunty Katie with a facial of... some foodstuff, I think, although I can't be sure.  Daisy's amateur photography is again present.

Daisy offered herself up for sacrifice, albeit with a dressing not quite as messy as Aunty Katie's.  It seems to comprise olives and other such deli items.

It's clear that Lynne's coat does not fit Daisy but it's only a matter of time.

Lynne took Daisy to a Tom Gates show in Manchester, whilst also stopping at the Richmond Tea Rooms, which Daisy is giving the double thumbs up.

It's the full Kitty and Bunny crew.  The secret duplicates (to be deployed in case of emergency) had long since been outed and so performed part of the day-to-day cuddly toy collection.

With Gregory's enthusiasm of Marvel apparent, I am slightly questioning whether these Top Trump-style cards are Daisy's.

We near the end November and Daisy shows off her cornet playing skills.  It's been a long time since I've been able to put my legs in that position, incidentally.

Cookery time and Daisy is helping out, chopping chorizo, onions and peppers.  I am guessing that it was some sort of tomato pasta sauce being made.  The garlic awaits.

First off, the chorizo goes into the pan, sizzling away without any need for oil to be added.

Ah yes, it is indeed tomato pasta sauce, which Daisy dishes out.

It's not quite finished, though, as we need to garnish with oodles of grated cheddar.  There's also garlic bread.  Well done, Daisy.  Assured cooking skills.

It's the start of December, which might be particularly apparent from the photo below.  I think it's safe to say that this is a ridiculous number of advent calendars.  It's certainly made Daisy pretty happy, though.

At lunchtime, we headed into Heaton Moor, where they had set up some fun and games on Shaw Road.  This was a fairly tame merry-go-round which had Lynne laughing away.

They had commandeered a local building for Santa visiting duties.  This was, I think, where you waited.

Ah there's Santa, dishing out selection boxes (that's what the kids needed: more chocolate).

After getting home, it was time to get the tree up.  We are absolutely not wasting any time (having said that, I'm sure some would have it set up in November, but I tend to veto that kind of crazy idea, although it's not as bad as seeing Christmas stuff in garden centres in August).

Ta da!  It's finished!  The Christmas jumper is also being worn (may as well get it in as much as possible during December as you can't really justify wearing it at other times during the year).

On goes the festive bed spreads, with a personalised pillow.

Daisy gets a superstar award for the slightly vague achievement of "superb work".  Not really sure what the random bit referring to Ducky and Bunny is really about.

The next weekend, we popped over to Dunham Massey for a Percy event (Percy being a character in a number of books that they have).  Here, Percy tells us a story...

...after which, the kids posed with Percy for the camera.

There was inevitably a treasure hunt-style thing, in which the kids seem appropriately invested.

All that listening and walking around was no doubt energy sapping, energy which needed replenishing in the form of a large chocolate cookie.  There is nothing like the sacred combination of chocolate and refined sugar to have Daisy's thumbs pointing upward and her squirming for joy.

Here is the real Percy, seemingly in his bedroom since he is wearing his pyjamas.  Daisy risks his ire by sitting in his birthday chair.  Thankfully, the smile doesn't disappear from his face.

And that will do for now.

I'm back again - still a way to go potentially.  There are a lot of photos and I'm not very selective.  After getting back from Dunham Massey, we set to making some chocolate chip cookies.  Daisy is sieving some flour, mostly into the bowl but also onto her hand, as Gregory watches on.

Once the cookie mixture had been made, it was time to dollop it onto greaseproof paper ready for baking.

And here is how they turned out, laid out on this triple-decker cooling rack.  They look pretty nice, don't they!

'Tis the penultimate weekend before Christmas, and Mamaa and Grandad are down for a few days.  Studiously avoiding any roast dinners, we're tucking into quiche, chips and salad, although I appear to have limited myself to a splodge of something.  Quite disciplined.

At the weekend, we all headed to Lightopia at Heaton Park.  When I first saw this, I wasn't sure of the significance of the numbers, but having seen Gregory's equivalent photo I now realise it is obviously reflecting their age albeit she should stand between the 8 and the 9 really, but who is quibbling.  Regardless, Daisy is wrapped up warm with her winter hat and glow in the dark coat.  She looks pretty happy with things.

Of course, it's all relative, because happiness is only truly obtained when you have something warm and sweet and creamy to drink.

On the Monday, Daisy had her school Christmas show, in which she played guitar.  (I seemingly had managed to get back from a day trip to Dusseldorf for work in time for this.)

Despite the fact that we were going to be hosting the Allens on Christmas Day, we headed over to Boothstown, evidently for some Jenga action with Aunty Katie.

Given the proximity to Christmas, it's only right and proper to take no chances and write to Santa explaining that you have been good.  Daisy is sufficiently realistic and self-aware to frame it appropriately, though.  Not necessarily saying that she has been good, but "good enough", and saying only that she thinks she has.  The opening of the letter refers to the year having been amazing but that she might not necessarily have made this obvious to the outside world.  Sweetest of all, though, is the final wish for our family not to be poorly.  (I can't remember if it was this Christmas or the one two years before - I think the latter - when there were sickness bugs abound and Lynne had an ear infection.  I managed to miss all the bugs but took the strain house duty and Christmas food shopping / cooking.)

Classic Christmas Eve boiled egg and soldiers for brekkie.

Plan for the day was to clean and tidy the house so it was perfectly fine to let the kids play computer games, in this case they appear to be playing a Star Wars Lego game on the PlayStation 3.

When it came to the cooking, I could at least get them involved a little bit.  A nice easy job of crumbling Oreo biscuits into the food processor, a clear sign that I would be making my standard Nigella Lawson-inspired salted chocolate tart.

Daisy had prepared an activity poster for the big day.  There were indeed lots of fun and games, and hopefully the Christmas dinner was delicious!

I will continue the pretence that I will at some point separately document Christmas, but hedge my bets on the basis that it might be a considerable time before I do so (if I ever do it).  Anyway, here is the Christmas Day meal.  Daisy is focused on the food rather than the camera and quite right too.

Onto Boxing Day, and Daisy is, for some reason, feeling her guns while giving me a sly look with a sticker on her nose.

We kept ourselves busy over the "dead zone" between Christmas and New Year, heading to Suze's on the 27th, where the kids hung out with Evie and Ellie.

The next day, we popped round to Aunty Judy and Uncle Jim's, for a family get-together.  Aunty Katie, Imogen, Debbie and Aunty Judy are pictured.

The day after, I took them to Platt Fields for a junior parkrun.  However, I had not properly done my research and it wasn't actually on (my notes suggest that it had been cancelled but I hadn't checked Facebook beforehand).  So we did our own junior parkrun. 

On New Year's Eve Eve, the Rowllings came to stay for a few days.  Looks like I had made a couple of pies.  Can't tell if there is any leftover turkey in there (but it's quite likely!).  It was impossible to find a photo with everyone looking at me at the same time - this was about the best one,

We went to a panto on New Year's Eve at the Stockport Plaza, then headed to Zizzi for tea.  Three mischievous-looking cousins were there.

The next year (yes, that's how it works), the kids were pleased to get lots of little gifts.

Daisy seemed pretty happy with this top, posing nicely (I am guessing that this was in order to send a photo to whoever bought Daisy this for Christmas).

I... just don't know what this is.  Answers on a postcard please.

Into January now, and here is a trip to I Knead Pizza in Reddish.  Either I am a very slow eater or Daisy's pizza came a lot sooner than mine (which is fair enough - they get impatient).

The next morning, we headed back to Platt Fields for a junior parkrun.  Thankfully, others had turned up this time, although it was particularly wet.  Gregory appears to have cried off but Daisy is there, leaping in the air on the far left as I stand there unmoved.  (Takes a lot to get me jumping on a Sunday morning.)

Here is an indication of just how wet it was.  Did you bring your waders?  (We had actually done the parkrun the week before too, with Gregory joining in that time, but I didn't take a picture that time.)

A week later and we head to Miller & Carter's for an obligatory steak, with the halloumi fries particularly exciting Daisy.

The next day, we headed to Uncle Matt's.  Writing this in 2024, this room looks incredibly minimalist from this angle, a world away from the kids takeover room it has since become.

Look at the views!  On a day like this, it's very much rude not to get outside.  I think Matt might be playing with some sort of mini drone, given Gregory's viewing angle.

Daisy sees if a moustache would suit her.  Answer is probably not, not least because it would be tricky to eat.

We had evidently won some sort of quiz (I say "we" - I don't even know if I was part of this) - we were January 2020 Family Quiz Champions anyway, and they can't take that title away from "us".  It's a fair old bag of stuff anyway.

Into February (there's much less to snap in January and February so we're going to whiz through these two months pretty quickly).  We meet up with the Wards and go out in Chorlton.  In what is a rare thing indeed, Daisy is stood at the bar.

To emphasise the point about time flying by, we're quickly heading towards the end of February here, as we're outside for some cricket-in-the-cold action.

The next day, I took them both for another junior parkrun.  Daisy's ulterior motive is perhaps coming clear here, as she shows off her parkrun wrist band...

...which is the one for a half marathon, which means that she has completed 11 junior parkruns (so 11 lots of 2km, or 22km, which takes you over the half marathon distance - see?).  She is nothing if not determined to get hold of rewards and material items.

Dare you open this?!  (I presume she had been doing something about the Egyptians for school.)

I am guessing that this is from some sort of football camp during the half-term week, but I'm not sure.  She certainly ticked all the boxes, though!

I'm not sure of the significance of this photo, other than the timing is 1 minute before the next photo...

...and so it must have been a very quick change into the Harry Potter gear (almost like magic), as well as changing rooms.  It must be World Book Day.

And finally we're done with that six months - what an update that was!  I might for a lie down now.

We can then take you to Daisy's 9th birthday in due course, or you can go back to the Secret Portal.