I have been entertaining the French Exchange with Waif  :-)    I am not sure that she has not been a little homesick but we have tried our best.

We had a great day in Cambridge - punting and playing boules on the college lawns.

We then spent the weekend on the South coast at a lovely hotel I have been staying in since I was little.

Here are the girls on the pier

and here is Waif on the little Dotto train that runs along the front:

Waif is now back in the non-anorexic weight range :-)  :-)   but still underweight.  When in their bikinis and with wet hair, lots of people assumed that she and Older Daughter were identical twins.  This is great for letting my know that Waif is not so very thin any more but slightly worrying regarding OD who is probably also too thin.

Waif has been avoiding her snacks recently :-(   and minimisng her intake  eg   yesterday, in Selfridges on the 5th floor, we each chose our own meals from separate counters.  I had a fabulous falafel and humus wrap, the french exchange had a great chunky seafood oriental soup and OD had roast chicken and potatoes.  Waif came to sit down with a tiny portion of tomato pasta.  I conclude that she got herself a toddler meal from the Annabel Karmel counter.  I insisted on pudding.

The Aunt of our French exchange student is a very old friend of my husband's and phoned this morning to confirm return arrangements.  Her children will also be with Waif in France as they are staying at their grandparents' wonderful chateau near Bordeaux.  It has over a hundred acres of land and a beautiful pool overlooking the whole valley.  They grow their own vegetables but the Grandmere is a dreadful cook.  Yikes, I hope Waif eats.  I did explain the situation to our friend and she said that she would encourage Waif and that they had the opposite concerns about our French Exchange girl - they were worried she was putting on weight.  Hmmm...I reckon you can see from the picture that she is not remotely fat.  Their whole family are extraordinarily French wealthy thin.   Sigh, it's a healthy lifestyle though.

Waif will be delighted to discover that the 14 year old male cousin will also be there.  She is desperate to know some boys.

One other complication has arisen - Waif's return arrangements have been thrown out by the announcement of the imminent marriage of FX's uncle, whose Moslem girlfriend of 5 years is now expecting a baby.  It is unclear whether her own mother will be able to attend as she wears a burqha which is now to be illegal in France.    Anyway, the upshot is that instead of returning by train to Paris and then Eurostar with the 18 year old cousin, Waif will need to get a flight solo from Bordeaux to Gatwick.  I am sure this will be fine but don't know how/ when to tell Waif in case she uses it as a reason to pull out of the whole venture - she has been vacillating daily as to whether or not she agrees to go.  I suspect that the cousins' presence will be a big pull.  Waif has started packing which I have taken as a very positive sign as they are off tomorrow  :-o

I will be brave and tell her tonight.