A bit of work, lots of chilling....

Andy, the kids and I just went on a rather fun adventure. We spent the week at a San Pedro recording studio, where the English music producer Norman Cook (better known as Fatboy Slim) was doing jamming sessions with several Belizean artists (Andy Palacio, the Grandmaster and the Garifuna collective). It's a thing I had set up with my friend Caroline, so we went along to see how it all went.

It was so much fun. Andy and I really got to relax as well, as we brought a babysitter out with us to help with Aidan & Lucas made friends with another little boy, so he didn't need us to entertain him constantly.

Anyway, Norman Cook is just the nicest guy ever. He is totally down to earth. I knew him from back in my MTV days and he does not seem to have changed at all. I mean, we've all grown up since then, but as far as him being an ordinary guy, he's still the same old person.And then there was Nathan, who runs Norman's record label Southern Fried Records. I never met Nathan before, but he was just the easiest person to get on with. The guy is crazy. He grew up in London, but is able to climb coconut trees the way the locals here do, he manages to do back flips on the beach like Lucas' 6-year-old friend Justin did and, to top it all off, has incredible speed when chasing after nurse sharks. The guy is just full of surprises.

We all got on so well. And watching Andy and Nathan row off into the horizon in a kayak loaded with beer made me laugh, as Andy never does anything like that anymore these days. He's always so focused on his work and our family, so to see him like that, without a care in the world, was just wonderful. I, obviously, loved hanging out on the beach with my dear old friend Caroline Prothero. We shared a house in London many, many years ago and have stayed friends through all our ups and downs in life.

Caroline, Aidan and I soaking up the last bit of sun on our final day in Ambegris Caye.

Miss Prothero and the nurse sharks...

Snorkeling on the reef.

Norman and Lucas checking out the sharks. To swim or not to swim?

Every afternoon, the boys tried to catch dinner. But this crab was sadly enough the catch of the day.

Lucas' friend Justin was at the studio with his mother, who was one of the singers of the Garifuna collective. They were meant to be leaving on our second day there, but we so enjoyed the way the two boys got on, that we asked his mum if little Justin could stay behind with us. We told her that we'd drop him off in Belize City at the end of the week. And, surprisingly enough, she said yes.


Now, to ask a mother to just leave her child behind with us is something I would have never dared to ask anywhere else, but things in Belize are just so chilled. Also, the woman's boss and other her other colleagues were still there at the resort/studio with us, so it wasn't like she was totally abandoning her child. Still, it was a bit of a crazy set-up, as I didn't know the mother's name, I only had a phone number of one of her band members (she had just lost her cell phone) & some rather confusing instructions on where to find her house. It all worked out perfectly though. Justin actually flew back with the woman's boss in the end, so we didn't even have to try and find our way around Belize City, looking for the woman's house.

Everyone had such a great time that even Lucas, who is always the first to want to go home, was wondering out loud on the final day 'Mum, why do we have to go back to the Jungle Dome?'

Oh well, all we are doing is move from one piece of paradise to the next, so I guess we can't really complain.

Caroline, Andy and Lucas on the boat on our way home. We'll be back soon!