January days

(Outside the Natural History Museum)

A Little Breather

I am happy to tell you that it's been a bit more quiet this month at the Dunne household. We've stepped back and taken some time to breathe. Tom and the kids are back at their studies, the extra curricular activities are back in full swing, and we're starting to check out the real estate listings for south eastern Ontario. I've been slowly (very slowly) putting away the Christmas decorations, and trying to dig out from underneath the piles of laundry and paperwork.

We haven't been completely sedentary though. I managed to take another Canadian military trip- this time to 'The Potteries' in Stoke-on-Trent for a whirlwind pottery shopping trip. As well, last Saturday we took the kids and hopped on the train to London for the day. And, of course, the day to day things make our days in England speed by, without having to go anywhere!

The Potteries

One of the many benefits of being posted overseas are the 'PSP' trips. These are planned excursions for Canadian military members and their families. They are subsidised somewhat, and a great way to get to know some of the other Canadians posted to England. The Christmas markets trip in November was a PSP trip too.

This month's trip was a 'serious shopping excursion' to the factory outlets and pottery shops in Stoke-on-Trent. We went to 5 outlet stores in one day! Spode, Portmeirion (two different shops), Wedgewood and Royal Dalton. It was great fun, as I got to hang out with adults and shop in stores FULL OF BREAKABLES without having to look out for anyone but myself.

And the deals were superb. I found 'Friendly Village' (my grandmother's and my mother's pattern that I thought had been discontinued forever) for 69p ($1.25) a plate!! Woohoo! I bought lots. I also got some great Christmas items for cheap, cheap, cheap.

The other nice thing about this trip was the organizer had planned a pot-luck supper on the bus ride home. The food was wonderful. I was stuffed. Not to mention the 'Wine Tasting' we did. It was a great day off for mom.

A Day in London

(Delaney and the Dodo bird-left)

As we were suffering from a little bit of travel withdrawal, Tom and I decided to take the kids for a day trip to London this past Saturday. We travelled by train to Paddington, then took a cab through Hyde Park to the Natural History Museum. (http://www.nhm.ac.uk/) What a wonderful museum! We spent over 5 hours there, and didn't see everything. There were huge dinosaur skeletons, fossils, a section on volcanoes, a room set up that actually felt like it was experiencing an earthquake...but the best part was the room called 'Investigate!'. Although you had to book a time to get in, it was well worth the wait. It was hands-on place--the kids could touch everything!! There were magnifying glasses, microscopes, measuring tapes, paper, pencils, computers and trays and trays of 'specimens' to discover. Animal skins, rocks, crystals, fossils and bones that the kids could touch and play with. It was a hoot!

After a quick snack in the cafeteria, we were off to discover the human body exhibit which was also amazing (and right up my alley). We were a little surprised at the very factual exhibit of how a baby is made (complete with cross section of how human parts come together....), but for the most part it was fascinating for kids and adults. And the best part was that admission was free!! We like free.

When the museum closed we decided to give the kids another new experience--the London Underground (aka 'The Tube') at what was basically rush hour. We managed to all cram into the same car (with about 100 other people I think) and made our way to Picadilly Circus station. Poor Kate had a lovely view of about 3 behinds the entire way. At least we were well padded. It was a bit like a twister game trying to unfold ourselves and get off at our stop. People were friendly though. I think we must have looked like tourists.

Our final stop of the day was Hamley's toy store. (http://www.hamleys.com/) This was a real treat. 7 stories of toys. There was a floor for construction toys (Lego), a floor for stuffed toys, one for remote control thingys, one dedicated to girly things, and one dedicated to boy things. Before entering we had set a 10 GBP limit for each of the kids, which was a good thing, as everything was very tempting! Delaney ended up with a lovely hedgehog stuffy, Kate with a lamb, and Shane got some cool England clothing for his stuffed bear. Mom and dad must have been bad, because we didn't get anything. Oh well, the smiles on our very greatful children made it all worth it.

Going to London is a great way to remind myself of my love for the country. Somehow London always seems like a place wavering on the edge of chaos. People everywhere, sirens screaming down the street, horns honking, lights flashing... it's great to visit, but I wouldn't want to live there. At least not for too long. I like our nice, quiet spot in rural England. I'll take thatched cottages over highrises and flashing lights anyday.

I digress. Let's see, after Hamley's we took a much more spacious tube back to Paddington. On our way out of Paddington I got my first trial of giving an insulin injection while in a moving train. Kate, as always, was a trooper, and didn't complain. The lady staring at us from the seat across the aisle seemed to find it much more offensive than Kate did. I think she thought we were aliens from another planet. Little did she know...

Kid news

Shane finally got into Beavers!! He is ecstatic. After being on the waiting list for five months we were beginning to think it wasn't going to happen. His first day was three weeks ago. He was so excited after going that he could hardly sleep! He's already working on his first badge, and has been faithfully feeding Zeke, wiping his muddy paws and being a friend to animals in general. His promise ceremony will be next week, and he'll get his full uniform then.

Delaney has held on to her two extra curricular activities (riding and Brownies) but Kate has made a slight change-she has switched from Rainbows (the younger version of Brownies here) to gymnastics. She goes on Thursdays to a local gymnastics club and is loving it.

So there you have it. I've been taxiing and tidying. I've discovered 'facebook' and have been very much enjoying hooking up with some old friends. I joined a local Bible study group and have met some new friends through that. I'm also playing travel agent and trying to book our next few holidays so that you have more interesting things to read about next time!! The next few weeks are filling up quickly with lots of fun social events as well (I'm looking forward to 'Burns' Night next week!!)

Hope the sun is shining on you,

B