Dear Francesca and Liam,

How are you today? Hope you’ve had a good day. I’m still picking tomatoes from the garden and had two today for my lunch. Your vegetable garden has been very good this year. Unfortunately, the pear tree hasn’t done nearly so well and I picked all the pairs today. I got only six pears from two trees. Pretty poor, eh? They were doing really well until a squirrel got onto the trees and ate most of the fruit when it was still young. It didn’t eat all the pears, just nibbled the ends so that they were no use. I’ll have to watch out for squirrels next year.

I’ve been working on my novel all day today and haven’t finished it as I’d have liked but I have got up to page 301 so there’s just 107 pages to go. I’ll get there!

Grandma and I have talked to your cousin Thomas a few times today. He’s been off school with a cold. He’s got a new pet, a goldfish. He calls it Mr Fish and he’s been watching it swim around all day. It reminded us of when you had goldfish and we looked after them for a time. Do you remember?

I’m off now, I hope you’re both having sweet dreams, so,
Night, night and lots and lots of love from,
Grandma and Grandad xxxx

Dear Liam and Francesca,

I’ve just got back from the rehearsal of the Trans-Siberian March Band so you’ll both be in bed, tucked up nice and warm. We hope you’re having sweet dreams.

I’m still trying to get everything sorted out after coming back from Italy but I did a bit on my novel today. I am going to try to finish it tomorrow. It doesn’t need a lot doing so I’ll make an effort. Do you still write lots of books, Francesca. I remember that you wanted to be an author when you grew up and we used to write lots of books together. I still remember when you sat at this computer with me and we put the books together. You used to sit here too, Liam, and we’d look at Thomas the Tank Engine videos – over and over and over. I wonder what’s your favourite now. I can always imagine you two when I sit here. I often wonder if we’ll ever sit here together again. I hope so. I really hope so.

Sleep well then and have nice dreams,
We’ll always love you, whatever,
Night, night, love from
Grandma and Grandad xxxx

Dear Francesca and Liam,

I hope that you’ve had a good weekend. We have just got back from our gig. The Trans-Siberian March Band played today outside the National Theatre at the Alternative Village Fete. It was a lovely gig. The weather was really nice and we had a huge crowd watching. Grandma came along and she enjoyed it as well.

After the gig, we all went to a restaurant for a meal to celebrate my birthday. It was a bit late in some ways but it was the earliest we could manage because of my being away so much. I enjoyed being there with all my friends and wasn’t at all embarrassed when they sang Happy Birthday. I got a really nice card too. That seems to be the end of my birthday now – I’m really seventy. It’s the longest I’ve ever made a birthday last.

Well, hope you’re both sleeping well and wake up fresh for a new week at school and nursery. We’re thinking of you – as always,

Love Grandma and Grandad xxxx

Dear Francesca and Liam,

I’m back at home now and trying to settle back into doing things which have to be done. We went to see your Uncle Joachim, Auntie Juliet and Cousin Thomas today. They are all well and send their love.

Grandma and I were talking about you quite a lot today. We talked about why we send these letters every day. Grandma suggested that it helps me quite a lot to think that I can talk to you and that’s true. But there’s another reason which is really important for me. I want you to know that we think of you every single day. We can’t get in touch with you but we want to more than anything. We may never see you again, we understand that but when we’re no longer around, you’ll be able to know that we did think of you.

It worries us that you might think that we don’t contact you because we don’t love you. That’s not why. If it were left to us we would be in touch tomorrow. Unfortunately, we’re not allowed to do that. We don’t know what you think about the situation but we do hope that you realise that we did not choose it for things to be this way.

We think of you always. We will love you both always. We want more than anything to see you and talk to you again,
We will always love you,
Grandma and Grandad xxxx

Dear Liam and Francesca,

Today was a really busy one as I started off in Florence where I had a meeting at 12.30. I didn’t know that the lady I was meeting had arranged for me to see one of the horns in the museum’s collection. That was really nice of her, wasn’t it? After I’d seen that, we went for some lunch and then I set off for Rome on the train. When I got there, I had to pick up my big case from the left luggage as I hadn’t wanted to take it with me up to Florence. I then nearly missed the bus to the airport because I read the time on the notice wrongly. I was really lucky just to get back to the bus stop as the bus arrived. Wasn’t that lucky?

Then I flew home from Rome and caught the bus from the airport. Grandma picked me up from Golder’s Green and it was great to get a lift because I was really tired and it was three o’clock in the morning when I got home.

I enjoyed my trip to Rome and would like to go there again sometime. Perhaps you two could come with Grandma and I. That would be really nice.

Well, that’s all for now,
We’ll write in the morning,
Lots and Lots and Lots of Love from
Grandma and Grandad xxxx

Dear Liam and Francesca,

You’ll just be getting home from school as I write this. I hope that you both had a good day.

I’ve been looking around Florence today. It’s a very beautiful city but very busy and you have to be very careful when you cross the road. The weather has been very nice today, it’s hot and dry. I went down to a special bridge called the Ponte Vechio. It’s a very old bridge which has lots of houses and shops on it. It seems very funny when you’re in the middle of the river and can look in shop windows. Do you remember Charles Bridge in Prague, Francesca. We’ve got some lovely photos of you me and Grandma on it. I carry a copy of that photo everywhere I go so that I can take a look every now and again.

I don’t need the photo, though to remember you both, you’re with me wherever I am in the world. I woke up last night and couldn’t get to sleep again as I kept wondering how you are. I hope that one day we’ll meet again and you can both tell me how you are directly.

Do you still remember us, Liam I wonder? I’m sure that you do, Francesca. I hope that you’ll tell your brother something about us, please.

I’m going to go now for a little walk into Florence so I hope that you have a nice evening tonight,
here’s wishing you all our love, from
Grandma and Grandad xxx

Dear Liam and Francesca,

I’ve just got back to the hotel after having dinner so Liam will probably in bed but I don’t think you will yet, Francesca. Today, I travelled from Rome to a town called Cortona to look at an Etruscan lituus. The people in the museum were very helpful. It was all in pieces but very interesting. I found the remains of a wooden mouthpiece in this and it’s the first one that’s ever been found. That’s exciting isn’t it?

After I’d been to Cortona, I caught the train to Florence and that’s where I am now. Tomorrow, I’m going to take a look around Florence. I’ll tell you what I find.

Look after yourselves, talk to you tomorrow,
Love,
Grandma and Grandad xxxx

Dear Francesca and Liam,

Today I went to the Villa Giulia Museum in Rome. Somebody told me that there was an Etruscan Lituus there and I went to see that. I also went into the room where the Villa Giulia cornu is kept, just to have a look. Do you remember going there, Francesca? You went with me and your Mummy. I remember it very well. I’ve got a lovely photo of you crawling under one of the displays. I couldn’t resist taking another photo like that but, this time, I got shouted at by one of the ladies there because you’re not allowed to take photos in the museum. Anyway, by then, it was too late and I only took a photo of the stand and not any of the collection.

You might not remember that visit because you were only the age Liam is now but, one day, I can show you that photo. If not, I’ll leave it to you in my will so that you can remember your old Grandad when I’m gone.

Tomorrow, I’m off to a place called Cortona and then to Firenze or Florence. I’ll let you know what I find.

Although Grandma is at home and I’m in Italy, we still talk about you when I phone each night so, keep well and feel our love flowing from all different directions,

Lots and Lots and Lots of Love from

Grandma (in London) and Grandad (in Florence) xxxx

Dear Francesca and Liam,

I’m back in Rome now and sitting in an internet cafe to type this. Its about time when you’ll be getting home from school and nursery. I hope that you both had a good day. I just came back from Tarquinia to Rome by train and had to wait for two and a half hours for the train! While I waited, I sat and watched another lizard running around on the station platform. I think the poor thing was a bit lost. It wasn’t a very safe place to play, was it?

Anyway, it was OK once the train came as the lizard seemed to have got off the station. I’ve found a hotel and I’m now off to look for something to eat. Its quite hot here, I’ll ring Grandma in a bit and find out what its like in England.

I’m off now because my time is nearly up so,
Look after yourselves,
Grandma and I are thinking of you, wherever we are so,

Lots of Love,

Grandma and Grandad xxxx

Dear Liam and Francesca,

Today we had the rest of the papers in the little church and then we went to lunch in another restaurant. After that we went to see the tombs in Tarquinia. These are where the rich people were buried and they are just carved into the rock and then the walls are painted. You can’t go in them any more because they have to be carefully looked after but you can see them through a glass window at the entrance to the tomb.

When we’d looked at the tombs, we went to the old city of Tarquinia. It’s a long way away from the new town and is really large. It’s all buried over so you can’t see much of it but we went to the place where they found an Etruscan Lituus and the lady who dug it up showed us where she’d found it all those years ago. It was very interesting to see where it had actually come from.

I’ll keep you in touch with my tour. I’ve talked to Grandma today and she sends her love,

Sleep tight my dears, we love you lots,
Grandma and Grandad xxxx