Seaside Special

Although it's a weekday, our friends wagged school so that we could all go to the beach together. Hooray!

We drove across to Lyme Regis. It was a perfect day for the seaside - blue skies, and not too hot, not too cold. The kids paddled and swam in wetsuits, we ate fish and chips on the beach, explored the bracing cobb, and just as we were about to leave the Girl picked an ammonite fossil out of the waves.

We moved on to Pecorama at Beer - top destination for the Boy and his train-enthusiast friend as it features multiple great model train layouts and a lengthy miniature train ride round some Pleasure Gardens.

Then back home for some trampoline bouncing (not me, obviously) before bedtime. It has been a very happy day, and right this minute the thought of returning to our American lives doesn't excite us as much as it probably should - but we'll get over it.

Last leg(s)

This morning we took the Girl and Boy for a breezy walk to the monument at Wellington, about twenty minutes from Taunton. The kids showed their usual enthusiam (ahem) for outdoor activity, but of course as soon as it was time to go back they were set to stay all day and climb gnarly trees. It's always the way.

The Man's parents joined us for lunch in Taunton, then late in the afternoon we were on the road again, this time heading Exmouth-way. We are visiting an ex-Lintonite and her family, good friends of us all and with the added attraction of a Hornby railway layout in the attic! What better way to round off our UK tour?

Check matey

We spent the morning vegging around. The Boy challenged his uncle to a game of chess (or was it checkers? The rules varied throughout the match).




Later we took ourselves into Taunton to test the local hotdogs (best ever bread roll, according to our expert) and for a picnic, play-parks and a spot of mini golf. Man, Girl and Boy all scored holes in one!

The rest of the day was also pleasantly lazy, and tonight we were treated to a delicious lentil feast - thank you to the Man's sister-in-law.

Westward ho!

We didn't get quite as far as that, but we did set out West as far as Wells to see my other brother and some of his immediate and extended family who happened to be about. That was fun.

From there onwards to Taunton where we are now staying with the Man's brother and his wife. We arrived late and the children went straight to bed and I shall soon be following them. It has been one of those classic English summer days: cloud followed by rain, then harder rain followed by a light but constant drizzle. My nephew and niece are at Glastonbury Festival this weekend, no doubt enjoying some mud.

London calling

The Man and I went into London today. The children decided to stay at home with their grandparents - they've done a lot of moving around lately and there's more to come, so fair enough.

At Watford Junction we ran into an old friend of mine, so we enjoyed the journey into Euston with her. Then we walked down to St.Pancras which has been impressively renovated. The Man was interviewed for a student documentary.

From there we took the tube to Leicester Square and found ourselves wandering into the National Portrait Gallery. The Tudor and Elizabethan portraits always impress me - somehow all those faces look so modern and familiar. I swear there's a lad who serves in Linton Co-op who is the spitting image of John Donne.

We also viewed the annual BP Portrait competition exhibition. After spending any amount of time looking at huge and minutely detailed portraits it's almost impossible not to examine every face you see as if it too were a work of art. Which is wonderful in a way, but you do find yourself staring hard at strangers and that's not entirely acceptable, is it?

Then we walked down to the South Bank and along the Thames as far as the Millenium Bridge. The day was warm and bright and we had a constantly changing soundtrack of buskers as we admired the various fun art installations along the way. And of course there was the beautiful bicycle wheel of the London Eye - what a lovely thing it is.

Relatively speaking

It's Wednesday so it must be Oxford... Another day-trip back to an old stamping ground. The Man and I lived in Oxford at various times in our lives, and the Girl was born there, but today we were there principally to visit my brother and his family who live two streets along from one of our own old addresses.

The children had fun with their twin cousins, the Girl rather revelling in being the senior child of the group. There was endless trooping up and down the garden, and as I write I'm guessing that my neices are sleeping well tonight. Meanwhile it was good to catch up with my brother and his wife whom we don't see very often.

We also called in on the Man's aunt up the road in Headington before we headed back to Watford once again.

If this entry is lacking a bit in sparkle that doesn't reflect on the day - this holidaying business is actually quite exhausting! Though having said that, the children are still full of beans - at 10:30pm.

Great Beckonscot!

Today we visited one of my favourite places in Britain - Beckonscot. It is the world's oldest model village, started in 1929. We have all visited before, some of us many times, and we love it.

There are endless little 1930s scenes, miniature shops with terrible punning names, a quiz sheet to fill out - and it's all linked together by a fantastic model train layout. In other words, something for everyone. An excellent day out, better (and cheaper) than Legoland. I should write it up some day for the Linton News 'Grand Day Out' column.

From there we went to visit Granny and Grandad (the Man's parents) near Reading, and had a nice tea with them. Now we're back in Watford with my parents, ready to set out on another little adventure tomorrow.