One of the reasons for the longish silence I’ve been keeping is that Z’s dad joined us in Vietnam this last weekend.
The boy, it would be fair to say, is overjoyed. They’ve enjoyed quality time in arcades… pavement eateries… Hanoi’s really rather A-list waterpark… Vietnam’s first university, the Temple of Literature… And are currently chilling out on a very pretty beach on Cat Ba island, Halong Bay.
Z’s père arrived bearing gifts. A new backpack (a Deuter Fox 30, with all the functionality of an adult pack but tailored to his small frame).
Books and goodies from my parents and my auntie, including E. H. Gombrich’s A Little History of the World.
Z’s four best friends back in London teamed up to create a Zacpack, containing sweeties and a T-shirt with love from each of them. And, the crème de la crème of gifts from overseas, his dad brought over a selection of the Beano, sir’s weekly literature of choice.
I’ll be photographing him in the beautiful T-shirts the fantastic four created in suitable locations around the world. In the meantime, here’s a video of him opening his gifts:
Yayyyyyyyyy!!!!! “Beano, Beano, Beano!!!!”
yay indeed! he’s looking very beano-esque today. Has acquired comedy sunburn… It’s pretty overcast here, but deceptively so…
Z looks so happy, Christmas has come early! Z also beginning to look more and more like Dad.
wonderful! WHAT a gift – so many riches, all at once.
Yes! Jessie… you missed the heavier weight items. Which is a shame…
And, Helen, he does look the spit of his dad. Although I think S’s family would still hold he looks the spit of me…
S, however, has the more vibrant of today’s sunburn competition entries. Verging on luminous, in fact.
A super video – but can’t think why he was so much more enthusiastic about the Beano than the nice maths book…
Delightful T-shirts, and backpack looks very good too – he looks very grown up in the photo.
That’s a lovely video- he looks so happy!
Yes! Great video of him and Simon on motorbike coming up… Not sure he’ll be too keen on getting back on the back of a bike with me after doing so with his dad. As a former despatch rider, I’m sure you can compare and contrast Simon’s and my driving style. Will find an appropriate place to model Laouena’s stunning T-shirt. Have a destination in mind, already…