Godson Bonanza

It's taken me a week or so to get over the shock, but yes – I did actually do a school pick up through to overnight babysit for Hatch's two boys, my godson Jack and his younger brother Toby. Yes indeedy – me in charge of children, Hatch obviously had got to the bottom of her list of people before we got the call!

Actually it was pretty cool. Jack's 8 and Toby's 6, so instructions were to keep feeding them (ah, children after my own heart) and all would be fine. Didn't start quite so well (felt like a perv having to ask various parents which classroom I was meant to be standing outside of) - and from which Toby emerged with a cracking nosebleed in full flood. Fortunately he's a hardy little fella and suggestions of 'lets keep ALL the tissues and you can show Granny tomorrow how much blood there was' seemed to do the trick.

Took them for a walk and an ice cream by the river, Jack trying to beat Scurmpy to her ball as it was repeatedly 'wanged' miles by Hawksey. Jack clearly has an optimistic streak – not much chance of beating four canine paws running like billyoh towards her beloved ball, but he did persevere, in between doing superhero poses on various bits of handy wood.

Then on to the Jurassic Crazy Golf at Raynes Park and actually – its pretty good. The dinosaurs move, the river's lurid green, there's some good roaring, one in a cave that made all of us jump and the dino that was chewing 'raw flesh' out of its prey was a particular hit with the boys. Managed to conjure up an honourable draw between the two teams, and thence on to Zizzi's for – what a surprise – pizza and ice cream, young boy heaven.

Needless to say, 6 hours in and I was more shattered then either of them. Quick check that neither was drowning in the bath and it was small boy bedtime. And they are so well trained that we didn;t hear a peep out of them as they headed down the next morning to whack the TV on, while we blissfully assumed they might have slept in. Only to find them kneedeep in cornflakes and milk spillage, with a happy spaniel, when we did go to see where on earth they were.

Congrats Hatch & Rich on your 10th wedding anniversary – who would have thought it, when Hatch & I met this 'quite nice English bloke' in a bar in Maria La Gorda, the south west tip of Cuba all those years ago… x