missive form St Neots

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Hi all had a great time in London - visited Windsor Castle it was really great. Loved St Georges Chapel and the knights heraldic flags and plaques above their seats - google it -it's really impressive. Shopped in Sutton and had fish(cod)and chips. (I know not really on the diet but tasty) The open top London bus tour was a fizzer because we had a drizzly and cold day - first one since Paris. Froze and then gave in and went down stairs to warm up. We stayed with Aunty Audrey. My aunt has the loveliest garden with fish pond and lots of bird feeders. The squirrels think it is a playground. They dance over her conservatory roof and really perform some antics, oh and I saw a baby hedgehog in the garden too!! Quite a thrill. Ducks and Canada geese and swans on Carshalton ponds as well. We flew from Heathrow after catching the X26 bus from Carshalton - bargain at £2 a head flat fare, for an hour and 20mins ride there. Picked up the golf diesel hire car from Edinburgh airport and plugged in the Tom Tom. Marvellous invention! Took us to Matthew and Annas without missing a beat. They live by the river in a trendy part of Edinburgh. Had a lovely welcome with Matthew doing the full scottish breakfast - haggis, square sausage, black pudding, bacon, eggs, tatty scones and beans!! All washed down with a vat of tea. Delicious. The visit to Edinburgh castle was interesting - they perform the tatoo out the front of the castle in the tarmac area - it has an incline you don't notice on the goggle box. The Wallace Monument helped work off the big breakfast with a climb to the monument and then over 200stepsto the top. Alsovery interesting. We visited Rosslyn Chapel of Da Vinci Code fame. Absolutely stunning. Worth a visit. Has asteel roof over it as they sprayed all the fine carvings in the stonework inside with concrets in the 1960s and it had trapped in the moisture so that the moss was growing all over it. It has almost dried out now and so they will be repairing the roof and removing the steel canopy. So go and have a look soon as you can climb up and walk around the outside admiring the stone work and the magnificent view from the top which will be gone when the steel canopy comes down. We drove to Glasgow and had a great night with Anna's parents - loved the scottish salmon! Lovely people. Down to Stirling and then to Carlisle. Scenery wonderful all the way. On to the Lake District where we stayed 2 nights in Ambleside. Caught all the autumn colours on the lakes. Did a boat trip to Bowness (Beatrix Potter country) and Lakesie and back. Enjoyed the markets and driving around the countryside. Clear days but cold. So then that brings us to now - we are staying in Alconbury and visited Cambridge today. Magnificent old buildings not to mention all the colleges. Lots ofstudents in their robes - must have had their ceremonial passing out today.
We'll be back in Sydney 3 weeks yesterday. Kevin is ready to return now but still looking forward to London, Brighton, Cornwall and Stratford on Avon and on to Wales to join in some wedding celebrations. Me - I'm loving being with family in Cambridgeshire. Went for a 50 minute frog march in the countryside with Uncle Denis this morning - bracing but clear skies and great countryside. Still more adventures to go before we return - then maybe we will party with all of you. Looking forward to it --see you soon
Love Jayne and Kevin

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