Bodiam Castle and Chartwell

We left Cambridge and hopefully the last of the snow. I suspect not though. Quick visit to Asda for food and we were off. Important note is not to use petrol stations on motorways and especially on the M25 (the London loop). The prices are about 8% more.

Bodiam castle is what you would call a traditional medieval castle with towers and moat. It's one of those great treasures hidden near the south coast. Because it is owned by the National Trust it isn't as well known as the other castles near London. But this was something out of a classic movie and shouldn't be missed. 

Originally it had a small draw bridge but unfortunately was sacked by the parliamentary army many centuries before. It was still an opportunity to climb the ramparts and check out towers. I feel sorry for anyone having to try and attack this place. 

Later and on our way to Croydon, London we dropped into Chartwell. This is the family home of Sir Winston Churchill. Great gardens and house. Well setup with a museum in a couple of the rooms. He was quite the man and well loved by the country. It was a short trip from here and Sue's uncle Colin greeted us warmly. He has a great house which feels very comfortable after staying in travel lodges for the last few nights. Might not be warm but plenty of blankets to go round.

Cambridge

After another early morning jog we managed to leave at 9am. We had some issues with our sat nav in that it was giving us the right directions but the arrows were in the wrong direction. We made an early directional mistake, but with motorways it is easy to redirect. Eight miles later we were back on the right road. It's quite a nice drive down the east coast and the familiar names put the UK in perspective. Hull, Barnsley, Sherwood Forrest and Nottingham all flew past. 

We arrived in Cambridge about noon and parked up at the local baths we were planning on visiting later in the day. Cambridge has to be the most beautiful city I have seen in the UK. It has a number of very large open parks in the middle of the city. There are a large number of colleges which make up Cambridge University all with their own courtyards and surrounding old buildings. The first one we stumbled into looked just like the Chariots of Fire courtyard race, but I suspect it wasn't. 

Later we came across two museums. One of Archaeology and the other of Anthropology. The first was our favourite with a real skeleton of a dinosaur. When you get a university museum it is more authentic and what you see and read is more what has happened rather than something they are trying to teach you. I loved the fossil of the largest known spider. Imagine waking to this one walking across your face. Apparently they are meat eaters.

We ended this day well, spending a couple of hours in the pool messing around and using the two hydoslides. The slides never get old no matter how fast they are.

York - National Train Museum and the City

Our first stop was the National Train Museum. A couple of very large buildings connected by an underpass. The main hall had about 15 trains of various ages and sizes all positioned around a turn table. My favourite was a replica originally made in 1821. A big deal was being made of the Flying Scotsman. Apparently it is in the process of being renovated but the Green arrow (same model) was on display.

Holly was more interested in the toy trains and brought Julia for the ride. The other rooms had a collection of grand carriages used by royalty. Ironically Sophia preferred the railway museum in Turkey as they were allowed to climb all over and inside them. Nothing quite like adventuring. 

After a couple of hours we wandered into the city through the city gates. Holly started off chasing the pigeons. 






Quickly she learn't this wasn't working and before long she tried to feed them.

Needless to say she made a lot of friends that day.








A trip to York is never quite complete without a visit to the Minister. The biggest middle ages cathedral in Europe. However, with an age restriction on the tower walk and starting to get over the whole cathedral thing we gave the 20 pound entry a miss. In stead we headed in to the narrow streets of the city to just explore. Its one of the cool cities where asking for directions is pointless as everyone is a tourist.

Eventually we came across the Clifford's Tower about 1000 years old. We climbed the spiral staircase which gave panoramic views of the city. Apart from the swirlling snow and freezing wind it was a great place to just hang out. The guy on the entrance couldn't keep up with the influx of people as he needed to give a complete history before entry. 

We ended our tour by walking a section of the walls which is always great. Apart from the elevated view it gives a great perspective of the old to the new city.

Touring England - Fountains Abbey, York

We thought we would leave the look around England until later in the year when it would be warmer. That was at Christmas. Now its Easter and its even colder. We left our house in Hawarden covered in snow and at about 3 degrees. The warmest it had been for two days after it snowed all weekend. 

We left nice and early for York and arrived at Fountains Abbey by midday. The stressful sensation of driving around the UK quickly returned. The motorways are jammed full of cars and trucks. The slightest distraction can end in another adrenaline rush as cars pull in front or slow down in front of you. 

The remains of the abbey are a hidden paradise tucked away on the east coast close to York. The 12th century abbey was destroyed by the English reformation but enough of the original remains to create an airy atmosphere especially in the snow. After a suitable period of exploring the abbey and chasing Holly through various hiding places we followed the past along the small river.

With 800 acres of grounds a track leads next to the river to where a number of great views can be had of the abbey. A seat named after Anne of Boleyn gives the best view and provided us a break for what was a reasonable climb and walk.

Our baby turns four!! "Just call me Princess Holly mum!"

Holly really enjoys life here in Wales. Her outgoing personality has made making friends easy. She has several special friends. Isobell, Sophia and Alan from nursery. Sophia is also the daughter of Holly's childminder so she loves going there on the days that I work.
For her birthday she wanted a pink princess party and she also wanted her friends which includes the above mentioned and our neighbours Megan, James and Katie (10) our fourth daughter.

Holly eagerly opens her gifts. Sophia and Julia found it really hard to leave her to it.

Opening a 'fluffy' dog which she just loves!

 Holly still has a strong will which has been evident from the age of two, sometimes she can 'assert' herself if things are not as she would like. 

Nursery describe her as a 'character' and are able to happily manage this streak...however last Monday when I was at work I got a phone call re: her having a fall at breakfast club and banging her head...the club staff were quite concerned it must have looked bad. She was ushered inside and told to sit on a chair. She refused to talk much to anyone about it. When she was asked where it hurt she said "I don't remember", this comment I think escalated their concern. They got Sophia to ask her questions and Sophia quickly worked out that it didn't really hurt and that Holly couldn't work out why everyone was making such a fuss. She can often take a knock or a fall (which looks bad) but she bounces really well.

Several staff members were frustrated/annoyed that she wouldn't communicate more about it. I assured them that if she was really hurt that you would know about it. They wouldn't let it go, and I heard more about it several times that week. All my girls are quite robust and don't cry easily, its just how they are. 

It is however nice to know how concerned all the staff were and how well they look out for the children. I had a conversation with Holly about how she could tell people how she was feeling...lets hope it sinks in.

She has picked up a bit of an accent Oma tells us on Skype, she also    
uses words like 'Wellies', 'poorly', 'trainers'. She will frequently say "we are not from here, this is not our home", almost in a manner to remind me. I think she has conversations at nursery about her home being in New Zealand. She also says "we are in England, and we are living in Wales".

Its going to be hard for all of us to leave the friends and special people we are enjoying here.

Princess Holly, Megan, Katie, Sophia, Alan, Little Sophia, Julia, Isobel

Musical statues

Yep, the highjinks begin

Gotta have a Princess cake for a Princess.

Candle time!

"How old are you now Holly?" "I eight"....Mmmm must work on that ;) ;)

Snow causes school closure, but lots of fun at home!!

 Snow has been forecast for the early hours of Friday morning. Every effort will be made to keep the school open but in the event that teachers and support staff are unable to travel to school, the school may have to close.....

We had received three letters with content similar to the above over  as many weeks so started to doubt if it would really happen BUT IT DID! Over a period of 2 weeks there was quite a bit of snow. Our school was closed all day on the friday and then half way through the Monday which was difficult for me as I was working. I had to drive back through it all at the end of the day to collect the girls from one of their friends. Phoebe lives off a main street so the car skidded a little ...bit scary!!

Our street from upstairs window

Going to Northop Hall school in the snow...school was later closed that day due to more snow falling.

Awesome snowperson created by Kerstens and Brown family

View from outside my classroom at Penarlag C.P school

Sophia now double digits!

Can't believe our clever, funny, sporty, creative and beautiful daughter is 10!! As her Granny pointed out she is now double digits until 100 :)

Sophia, Emily and Jules

Soph requested a Master Chef/ Master Artist party...oh and "can we tidy the house up a bit"!!!

So with that theme in mind we had a lot of fun, her friends a really nice bunch of chatty girls which have embraced her so well were all in good form. They chatted non-stop while sculpting biscuit creations, decorating cookies and creating balloon animals.

Phoebe, so creative! These non-stop chatty girls went kind of quiet while the creative juices were flowing.

"Now that you have created a symmetrical picture with your strawberry put it back together!" "Gee, thanks mum!!"

Too good to eat!

The time did fly...not unlike the last ten years. We had a meringue artists palette as a cake. Phoebe stayed for a sleepover. Phoebe is a friend who is not long back in the area from France. They were there for a two year contract which ended up being 7 years. The year 5 girls at Northop used to be a small group of 4 girls but in the last year it has grown to 8.

India, Phoebe, Iona,Taylor, Sophia, Emily, Katie and Jules. Fab, u.k  friends!

Such a fun group, lovely girls!

Thanks for the cards and wishes from New Zealand! "I miss my friends" (Sophia)

Terrifically 10!