Report from Munchkinland

It is overwhelming to find myself in a busy house again. There are just three children - Sophie, Kiki and Harry - but most of the time it seems like three hundred. Fortunately, there is a wonderful nanny, a German fraulein called Silke, to keep the little ones in some kind of order. And me too.There is also a neurotic cat called Gigi. Gigi thinks he is a dog and follows everyone everywhere. Given that he has had the snip - the unkindest cut of all - he is not into lady cats, so I guess following the children to school is what keeps him happy.The weather is unbearably glorious, forcing me against my will to take long walks round the 'hood - usually in the direction of a coffee shop, or, when the cholesterol mood is on me, to the Big Kitchen for the kind of breakfast that doctors warn you against. Yeah!So far I have had one trip to the beach - a walk along the sand with Sarah - and the sea is also unbearably glorious. How I envy those muscular young men (and occasionally women) surfing the waves. Well, not really. I am just glad I have the energy and strength to walk up the hill for the naughty breakfast once or twice in a while.Next week the children are on holiday, so it's off to the zoo and the park and the beach and the shop that sells gummy bears. It's a hectic life being a Grandpa.