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Published: November 29th 2014
Very exciting few days off school as Mummy and the kids head South to catch up with rellies and take in the sights. Once again, poor Daddy stays behind to work (and have a nice lie-in on Sunday, and read the papers in peace from cover to cover, and go for a nice long walk and have dinner in a lovely pub). Poor Daddy!
It was a long day on the Friday. We roused the kids shortly before 5am to haul them off to the airport for a 0640 flight. Although we landed at 0830, I'd asked AuntyR to leave it until gone 10am before picking us up in the hope that both kids would then sleep in the car on the way back, which they did. It also gave us time to ride the Gatwick monorail a record five times! Result!
Had a lovely time catching up with an old school friend, M, and her little girl A, at the local soft play in the afternoon, then off to meet the girls from school. It was 'terrible tie' day for Children in Need, so R had on a very dapper bowtie which suited her in fact, and E
a giant patterned monstrosity from the depths of Uncle Stiff's wardrobe!
On the Saturday, we jumped on the train for the short trip to Kent to visit Mummy's family. Great Nanny, 94, was on good form, and was most tolerant of the kids playing 'boo' behind her chair trying to make her jump! GtAunty Lou spoilt them with more chocolate and sweets than they'd normally manage in a week. Nanny & Grandad had timed a visit to coincide with ours so it was lovely to see them there too. Grandad took us down to the Strand, a riverside park I used to go to when i was little, and both J and I were thrilled to see that the little train is still there and working (although it was too wet for it to be running that day).
From there we popped out to see the P's - GtAuntyS, Gt UncleD, and favourite of all, wee second cousin K, a year younger than G, but a good inch taller! The kids had fun playing and dancing till Uncle Stiff picked us up and got me out before I had time to finish one of GtUncleD's infamous Bacardi &
Cokes (definitely too muchof a good thing)!
On the Sunday, Nanny & Grandad joined us at Uncle Stiff's for a lazy day playing games, strolling in the park, riding bikes, playing football and eating an enormous roast dinner! Luckily the roast was planned for the evening meal, had it been lunchtime we probably would have lost at least half the company to afternoon naps, but we managed to push on through for an early bedtime.
Good thing too because the next day was something of a marathon! Nanny, Grandad, the kids and I headed up to London on the train to see some of the big city sights. Tc cut a very long day somewhat shorter, we saw Tower Bridge, The Tower of London (complete with 888,000+ poppies), caught a riverbus up to the London Eye where Aunty Ruth got us some lunch and took us to the viewing deck on the 25th floor of her office for a birds eye view of London. From there we stopped at the South Bank Christmas market for a trip on the train, then walked over the river to Trafalgar Square, to Covent Garden for a drink, then tube and bus
to Regent's Street for Hamleys, back on the bus to Charing Cross for the train back home. Phew!
After all that, when Daddy picked us up from the airport the next day, and he asked Jamie whether London was very different to Lossiemouth, what was foremost in Jamie's memory? 'Daddy! We saw a three legged dog!'
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