Chip, Sam and Indigo went back to England earlier on, having spent four days with us in the north, and three days in Stockholm.

Chip (Freya’s godfather) had really gone to town with Freya’s birthday presents, with my personal favourite being a Peppa Pig DVD boxset. He had even bought Jo and me a present each, mine being a particularly wicked t-shirt with a print of a Commodore 64.

This was the first time that we’d met Sam and her five year-old daughter, Indigo (who shares the same birthday date as our beloved Freya), although we’d virtually seen her, thanks to Skype.

Sam seems to compliment Chip in certain ways, most noticeably in A Tai Chi symbol stylee: she is a fantastic milkless coffee black, he an unsightly pasty white. They share a similarity in height, and, to some extent, personality, both being laid-back, understanding and kind. Sam does have issues with Chip’s total inability to use time effectively. He has managed to survive this exceedingly irritating trait for two decades, with friends choosing to elevate his dithering to an endless list of humurous tales, which have almost become folklore.

Sam, on the other hand, has taken Chip’s problem to hand, which is extremely interesting to see. Now he is the one becoming frustrated (and, on occasion, has the vaccuous look of Ozzy Ozbourne, being led by the hand). Sweet, sweet karma.

Indigo is a sensitive, vibrant five year-old, with a penchant for being a rascal to Chip, and an angel with Freya. They got on like the proverbial house on fire, and were even seen nuzzling each other on the sofa like cats. It was a truly great experience for them both to have an intimate week with each other.

Freya was also seen warming to Chip, climbing onto his chest and sticking her finger into his navel. We have no idea how Chip felt about it (he did mention his bell-button was a sensitive spot), but Jo and I see this as a ten on the progress-o-meter.

Freya is two years old today. Luckily it’s been fantastic weather, which has allowed us to have cake-eating and present-opening in the garden.

Although we have been explaining to her what her birthday is about, she didn’t quite seem to grasp the enormity and strangeness of receiving the amount of presents she did. We were about ten people all together, which made for a fair few surprises in tantalising wrapping, and she largely ignored the whole event, leaving Jo and I to unveil her gifts.

Jo seemed to think that it was not actually the presents that were the problem, but the actual wrapping paper. Once she had got past that mental boundary, she could show an interest in what she was given.

Chip had done his bit (and a lot more) by bringing a shed-full of (really nice) presents, as well as a two-metre inflatable heart that we hung from a nearby tree.

All in all it was a very enjoyable and successful day, though Jo, Jo’s mum and I were thouroughly exhausted by the end of the day, with all the preparation (and baking and washing-up) that such an occassion involves.

Hoorah, a double disappointment in the offing!

Sweden played England last night in the last group match of the World Cup. England had already qualified, having won their first two matches, and thanks to a satisfactory 2-2 result, Sweden join England in the play-offs, albeit against a potentially tougher team, Germany.

We had the pleasure of Chris and Tanya’s company. Freya immediately connected with Tanya, as she did the last time they came over, which was more than six months ago. Freya played with “Anna”, and drunk evening välling sitting next to her. Even Chris got a few hugs before Freya went to bed, just before the match.

At some point in the second half Chip and Samantha (video) Skyped us from London, so it became a real social event, especially since the alcohol was flowing nicely for all concerned.