I went in briefly just after 11am to help Isobel open her birthday cards and check that arrangements were OK for lunch. Isobel was alert and cheerful.

Euan and I went in at half twelve with drinks (non-alcoholic) and mince pies to await the arrival of Iona with the pizza's. When we arrived we were surprised to see Louisa, who had popped in for a few minutes during her lunchtime. Iona arrived at about a quarter to one and we spent more than an hour eating drinking and making merry. Isobel obviously enjoyed herself and her speech was fairly good, except when talking on the telephone to her mother and Jess. (This was confirmed later by Isobel's mother, it had been odd sitting beside Isobel and hearing only half of a conversation which we guessed was not making much sense, when she had been talking moderately well to us a couple of minutes before.) By the time we had finished tucking into the pizzas, we had no room for mince pies, but Isobel still had room for some of the chocolates Louisa had brought. We sat around talking for another half hour or so before dispersing.

I went back in to see Isobel in the evening. She tried to convince me she had not had tea but the record revealed she had sandwiches and pudding. She still ate two mince pies and six fancy biscuits, but turned down chocolates and finally admitted she was full! It was nice to see her relaxed and speaking clearly about how much she had enjoyed the day. Her speech was slightly better than earlier in the day, it does vary a lot not only from day to day but also within each day. I tidied up her room before leaving. For the final quarter of an hour her speech became much more jumbled. I finally left just after 9pm.