All together

Although a 60-footer, Erin Mae has only 4 berths max – one main bedroom and a convertible Pullman dinette. When the kids are with us in the summer we fit the three of them into the bedroom and, at a pinch, we could sleep an extra person on the floor of the living space. But this is not hire-boat design, with room for 8 or 10 for a week's holiday. So we have no hopes of getting our extended family all on board.

In fact, we don't often get the opportunity now to all be together. So it was great that number one son was able to come to Norway with us, and that newly-married number three and wife could join us yesterday.

We're not actually having a picnic in the forest. That's the wall-covering and it's 10˚ under outside. What the Norwegians call "10 cold degrees".

Today the three brothers and their Norwegian brother-in-law have gone snowboarding. My days of even thinking about such things are long past, so we remaining adults and children went out for a walk and sledging in the cold forest,

ending up at a cabin café in the woods for hot chocolate and waffles. Yummy, even at Norwegian prices!