Being a tourist September 2014

It was a lovely day today so we decided to go to London. I wanted to see the   Ceramic poppies at the Tower and Malcolm wanted to see what was happening to Sea Containers House.

The Tower of London.

The poppies are unbelievable. I wasn't expecting to see so many

                           

   This is the army of volunteeres assembling the poppies. They had big boxes of all the parts and were in teams. There is still a lot of space to fill. It looked like very painstaking work. There were so many it was hard to decide where the best place was for taking photos.

I think this is probably my favourite

Or maybe this with the Shard in the background.

                 

The plan is to place the last one on 11/11. There will be a poppy for every service man that died during WW1. It will look incredible by then but we will be in Oz so we might have to fit in a quick visit before we go.

We were lucky enough to be on Tower Bridge when it was raised to let a tall ship go through.

It raises really fast and all the pedestrians get herded into a little pen, all you can see is the bridge going higher and higher. It was impossible to see what was actually sailing past from where I was.

However, we did see it raise for this one..

     

I managed to get some iconic shots, the Mayors office and the Shard

Tower Bridge.

                                Me and the Shard. It absolutely dominates the whole skyline. Where ever you are you can see it.

We went to where Sea Containers House used to be. 

It's gone! Well not literally, but the whole area is just a massive building site. It was really hard to work out where everything used to be. We couldn't get very close because it was all cordoned off. It was a bit mind boggling really.

If you remember, this huge tower is where the IPC building used to be

We got a boat from the Tower to the Eye. There is lots going on along the river side . This ride is one I shall be avoiding.

The Eye.

                 

There are all kinds of street performers along that stretch of river. This soppy bint was messing about cracking a whip

She "whipped" this rose out of matey boys gob, allegedly . I think he just spat it out. She's in the Guiness Book of Records. Best Whipper in the world apparently! Hmmm.

What I didn't get a photo of was the dog that went a bit bonkers as she cracked the whip just as it walked past. Scared the crap out of the poor animal ,and her,as it tried to bite the whip out of her hand. Only in London .......

Dover Castle August 2014

We recently joined English Heritage. Unlike the National Trust, we can take up to 4 children in for free. We wanted to take them to Dover Castle during the week they stayed with us but unfortunately we ran out of time. So when Emma asked us if we could help her out for a day, we jumped at the chance.

It was a bright day but very windy

                  

                   

Just as I took this a gust of wind blew Abigail's hair straight across Williams face!

There weren't too many people around so when it came to a bit of re-enactment they were able to play their parts without too much turn taking. The first task was to dismantle the weapon.

   

                                

 

   The "king" makes an entrance.

  After the fight,which consisted of yanking a rope to release a missile at a target,the losers were told they would be sent into battle in to defeate the French. They were to be collected from their servants at dawn,put on a ship and sent to France. I think Wills was a bit worried for a few minutes.

We went into the castle and climbed up to the tower. I needed a sit down by the time we got up there. The views were brilliant. We could see France really clearly.

 

                      

 Being very silly! 

William looks as if his head is on fire!

           

        

  Grandad, worn out by all the action.

 We did a tour of the underground hospital , we weren't allowed to take photos down there,which was a pity. William thought it was "epic", that is until the lights flickered and he got an idea of how dark it was. I had my hand on his shoulder but he stepped back until my arm was round him completely. Phoebe grabbed grandad's hand and didn't let go for the whole tour. Abs? She just wandered along  taking it all in.

There was a lookout point outside that gave a brilliant view if the Port of Dover

Constant movement all the time. 

We had a brilliant day. We didn't see everything so we will just have to go back again.

Godstone Farm August 2014

Jo was able to spend some time with us during the summer which was fabulous. We took Madelyn to Godstone Farm. It was packed but she got to hold some of the animals. This little chick was in danger of having its bones crushed! The more it wriggled the tighter she held it.

There were other animals to stroke including this super cute bunny

I love animals, however goats freak me out a little bit. This one was eyeing up the fence, looking for an escape route

                        

There were some ladies using old fashioned spinning wheels. Madelyn had a go and was quite fascinated by the whole process.

          

I think she's probably wondering what the woman was going on about!

Jo's birthday August 2014

We don't usually get the opportunity to see Jo on her birthday so it was areal treat to be able to spend the day with her this year.

                                     

Lots of prezzies for the birthday girl and a big kiss from Madelyn. Mwah!

We went to Salcey forest  for the day. There was a treetop walkway which ended above the trees and gave a stupendous view for miles.

There was also a Gruffalo Trail which Madelyn enjoyed following

     

Hiding !!

        

Can you see her?

           

Happy Family 💕   

                        

Jo and her "baby"

                       

As you have probably noticed Madelyn is wearing a winter hat. She made a fuss about wearing her sun-hat and when Jo said she had to wear a hat, she picked the winter one. She must have been roasting but she wore it all afternoon🌝

We finished off the day by going out for dinner. We went to the Old Red Lion and had massive steaks.

A lovely, lovely day .

Day in London August 2014

          As Madelyn had never been on a train Jo and Andy suggested we have a day in London.

Very excited to be on the train.

The reason for the trip was to take Madelyn to Hamleys. It was absolutely heaving as you would expect but she loved it.  The sparkley tattoo was a big success

                                                 

Photo opportunity with Elmer

                          We had a good old mooch about but it was all too much for one little person who flaked out.

                                      

We wandered down to Trafalgar Square where there was a selection of "statue" artists.

                        

                       Cheeky chops woke up and had a piggy back from mummy

                    

   

                     It was a lovely, lovely day but we were all exhausted when we got home apart from Madelyn who did a bit of watering for me!