Well, today was back into Nottingham for the Riverside Festival. We arrived around lunchtime and the weather was not looking great. But we ventured off and first took in the Grand Organs from the early 1900s. There were about 10 of them, they are kind of hard to describe but each of them plays its own music and seemed to be powered by its own steam engine. They were really cool anyways. Then on to the Children's Festival within the larger festival. It was really well done! There were about 8 different large areas (crafts, story time, octopus centre - games, etc, Pokeman Village which Russell loved, drumming centre, yoga/tai chi centre, clay sculpture area, giant connect 4 game!, dance performances, and more! Sadly it started to rain but this didn't stop the festivities! The kids ... read more

Added a couple pics from yesterday at Space Centre. Today was off to Warwick Castle on the recommendation of our friend, Harry, who claims to know a thing or two about this part of the world! It was a lovely day (apart from the two brief showers but we were prepared with our brellie!). The kids loved the jester show, the joust, birds of prey show and all the walking tours around the castle including the torture chambers. They also enjoyed the medieval park which we stopped by 3 different times! The grounds were beautiful and the shows were all very entertaining and the views spectacular! Once again Lori was reminded of how much she really hates heights.....All in all, a great day! The drive home was interesting, as usual. We took a self-imposed traffic diversion ... read more

Today was kind of a quiet day for the Family Robertson. We had as easy morning, chickens, rabbits, etc. Then we headed into Nottingham which turns out to be quite close! We started off at the Nottingham Castle of which there is really not much of the original buildings left now due to its history of fighting at that location. But there is still a museum on the site and the most recently built part of the castle. The museum had tons of Nottingham facts and was located on top of a big hill so had a great view (if you aren't afraid of heights so Nigel enjoyed it much more than Lori...). Then we found our way over to a shopping mall very close to the city centre which had even better shopping out in ... read more

Well, today was our first castle experience so far! Tattershall Castle which was built by Ralph Cromwell. It had dungeons, 6 stories to the spectacular lookout, and activities for the kids (like spinning cotton wool, dressing up in period costumes, puzzles, and lots of places to hide!). It was our first really cloudy day but it never did rain! We did manage to satisfy Nigel's hankering for fish and chips for lunch. The drive was nice but not as breathtaking as when it is really sunny out. We have been noticing that the village names and the street names in the villages are really quite interesting. Today we saw a street off the main road through a village called "Labour in Vain Lane"....wonder where that one leads? And what the heck is a Wold? There are ... read more

Today was shopping day. We went to Melton Mowbray for Market Day (the kids spent a lot of time with a clown learning to do the Diabolo sticks, stilts, hoola contests, and this bizarre pedal sneaker thing). Then on to Highcross in Leicestershire. It has a giant outdoor pedestrian-only shopping streets area plus a fancy indoor mall. The shopping was fantastic. The driving in the "big city" was a little more difficult but we made it in and back out somehow. Went to the Windmill Inn for dinner in the nearby village of Redmile. Nice dinner and Lori enjoyed Sticky Toffee Pudding for dessert (pudding). Nigel enjoyed a few different bitter ales. And Lori drove to the Inn and back - her first driving experience! Pretty good! Nigel had a tougher time adjusting to sitting in ... read more