You know the one about the English girl, the Canadians and the Slovakian..?

No, me neither, but it makes everyone laugh...


That was the scene here yesterday afternoon when we staged another meeting of the United Nations by inviting around Stefan, Andrew and Nora. They obviously make an attractive photo, but not as attractive as this one...

That's the carrot cake they brought with them. Stefan said he made it because they had too many carrots. Which is a bit like making custard just to use up the nutmeg. In the past, he's made us Hungarian apple cake which is golden, delicious and makes me feel Hungary, plus a raspberry strudel and a plum pudding. It's why I never buy fruit & vegetables. They're far too fattening.

For her part, Lisa spent the first half of the week making biscuits. And the second half eating them. So in the absence of any home-made goodies, we were forced to buy three bags of cookies at Tesco. Sadly they didn't overcharge us.

So having taken the biscuits and let them eat cake, we spent an enjoyable afternoon looking like we'd set up a couple of sofas in Greggs, while stuffing ourselves silly, and catching up on each other's news. Well, Stefan, Lisa and I caught up on news. Andrew and Nora just played with Amelie's toys. Which is only fair - they bought most of them. At one point, Amelie brought out her wheat-filled elephant, only for Stefan and Andrew to deny all knowledge of the thing. I had to show them the blog post where they gave it to her, before they'd admit liability. I expect they're trying to avoid a law suit.

To be honest, it's no surprise they don't remember every gift they've bought us. It'd be like playing the conveyor belt round on the Generation Game. But with more cuddly toys. This time they gave Amelie a set of playing cards, while Nora presented her with a scarf. So she's all set for a game of strip poker.

Here she is challenging our Canadian card sharks to a bit of Texas hold'em. The title refers to the effect it had on their brother-sister bond...


At least two of them are taking it seriously. The third is trying to prove that she can beat them standing on her head. And wearing a scarf around her waist.

To be honest, I think Andrew's becoming my muse. He told me he's been recognised by new members of the Brighton Goes Gospel choir, because I'm the main producer of BGG videos on YouTube, and I centre them all on him. People think he's the star of the show. Which, obviously, he is. He's not taking part this year though. He wants to spend more time playing cards.

Anyhoo, having eaten cake and played pat-a-cake, we decided to wave goodbye to Stefan, Andrew and Nora while we could still move without the aid of a gastric band. At which point Amelie grabbed my camera and insisted on taking their photo...


Stefan might be half the man he used to be, but I think they all look pretty good. I might let Amelie take all my photos in future.