Half-Term Break

This past week was 'Half-Term Break' for the kids. British children have a longer school year, but have a week off in the middle of each semester, and two weeks off at the end of each semester... add that up and they get about 7 weeks off!! Our kids had from the 19th to the 29th off -- they go back to school on Tuesday the 30th. Unfortunately Tom did not have the time off... in fact he had a rather busy week with a mess dinner, a rugby game (his team won 23-0 I think) an exam, his research paper topic selection was due... and to cap it off he received news that he is promoted to Lieutenant Colonel (that's left-en-ant for you American folks... :) )!!! We are VERY proud. His rank was pinned on this past Thursday.

A Trip to Wales

Before the week got too busy we decided to take the kids on Saturday (the 20th) for a little day trip to Wales. We started early, hopped on the Motorway and crossed the border shortly after 11:00. Our first destination was Castle Coch (check out the info at: http://www.castlexplorer.co.uk/wales/coch/coch_info.php ). This is a more modern reconstruction on the site of a 12th C castle. It looks very much like a fairy tale castle... with spires and gilded ceilings. A bit smaller than some of the places we've seen, but very well done. Tom and I agreed that we could definately handle a place like it- maybe on our next house-hunting trip...! It was also much more child friendly than some of the places we've been to lately. No dangerous craggy drop offs. We all loved exploring (and we parents loved using our CADW membership to get in free!!). We had a very nice lunch in the little cafe there. Unlike 95% of UK places serving coffee, they even had to go cups for their tasty latte's. We were impressed. We grabbed our 'take-aways' and headed off to our next stop.

Caerphilly Castle is actually quite close to Castle Coch. We only drove for about 15 minutes or so before we were parking and walking up to it. Caerphilly is mostly ruins, but has a few places where they've added exhibitions. One of the most interesting parts of this place was the tower that has half fallen away, and is leaning (somewhat precariously) towards the moat. Built 750 years ago, it covers about 30 acres, and obviously was almost indestructible. The defences were very significant. The castle even had it's own water run grain mill! There was a display of medieval war machines in one of the courtyards... a hit with the kids, especially Shane. You can see more photos at: http://www.castlexplorer.co.uk/wales/caerphilly/caerphilly.php#castle .

Two castles were more than enough for one day, so we headed home. For a change of pace we pulled off at the exit for Bath, and meandered eastwards looking for a nice place for supper. We found this little place: http://www.roomattheinn.info/nr_chippenham_white_hart_inn.html , The White Hart Inn. The food was good and the atmosphere was warm and comfortable. One of the many, many White Hart pubs in England, I'd highly recommend this one. A stream ran right under one of the rooms through a large stone culvert. Very cool. The only thing we found a bit unnerving was the fact that it was already decorated for Christmas!! We've since discovered that this is the case across the country. And it's not even Halloween yet!

Lincoln

To give Tom peace and quiet to study (and go to all of his social events...) the kids and I decided to venture off on our own for a few days while they were off. Friends of ours from Greenwood, Sue and Graham, are also posted to the UK and we decided to go and visit them. Sue was a good friend of mine, as well as Delaney's 1st grade teacher, and their youngest son Matthew spent two years at 'Teacher Lori's' with Shane.

I braved two motorways, many, many roundabouts, and the general unknown for 3 hours with the kids in our Mazda on Tuesday morning to head north for a visit. With only one minor incedent (Kate's tummy didn't care for the many, many roundabouts) and a brief clean-up and bathroom break stop somewhere south of Nottingham, we did quite well! We loved listening to 'Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire' on CD en route. We could all listen, while enjoying the scenery. I'll definately do that again.

(left: Kate checking out the toy store in Lincoln...the boys checking out the gutters...)

The Edwards' Family were VERY gracious hosts. Shane and Matthew were best buddies again seconds after our arrival. The other children played happily together too. I think Kate was a little sweet on Alec (7 years her senior)-- but to his credit he was very kind to her, something most pre-teens aren't willing to do. We spent the first day catching up and doing a little sightseeing in down town Lincoln. Lincoln is a medieval town, set on the hillside. There is a significant pedestrian zone, with lots of quaint old shops and cobblestone streets. We bought the kids some pastries at a bakery and had a quick pitstop before heading home again for the evening. On the second day we visited the Lincoln Cathedral. It was something to see. Even the kids were impressed. Building commenced almost 1000 years ago. For several hundred years it was the tallest building in the world! Amazing. http://www.lincolncathedral.com/ It seats 3000 people-- twice the population of my hometown! It also houses one of the four remaining copies of the Magna Carta.
(look very closely and see if you can spot Delaney at the front of the church...)

Unfortunately, Sue and Graham were jetsetting to Germany for a few days, so we headed home on Thursday. Thank you again for all of your hospitality! Can't wait to see you again.

Celebrations

To celebrate Tom's promotion we went to Fyfield to the White Hart there. A beautiful 15th C building, tastefully decorated and serving very tasty food, we were introduced to this place by the Canadians whom we replaced, Mario and Tina. It is well worth the trip to Fyfield. Their 'Sticky Toffee Pudding' is to die for. Mmmmmm. Check out their website at http://www.whitehart-fyfield.com/ . The kids loved Kay, as she was kind enough not only to find them crayons and coloring, but also to reward their hard work with extra chocolate fudge brownies!!

So, another week has come and gone. This week is sure to be a busy one with Halloween, back to school and all of the other activities... I'll keep you posted!

Cheers!

B