We’ve spent a lovely evening in the company of our real and adopted family – from the left, the amazing Dee – a lovelier human it’d be impossible to meet. She welcomes us into her home regularly without batting an eyelid and today that included not just the two of us but another six members of the Alstead family. Then DM, Lucy (Dee and Alan’s eldest daughter), Ed (our nephew), Simon (BiL) and Alice (Dee and Alan’s younger daughter). Out of shot are my sister, our other nephew James and my parents.

Honestly I think Dee is a saint. Jan, Simon and the boys go to stay (already an Alstead total of 4) and then she gets another four of us for the evening. It was a lovely, crazy, chaotic evening and great fun. She’s the hostess with the mostest. (Rather hilariously the spellchecker on Word changed “mostest” to “moistest” – it’s a good job I spotted it and changed it back!)