Two Days In London

 I took Caitlin and Ellie to London on Wednesday and Thursday. We had a lovely girlie time which started with a tour of the Google offices where Christopher works. Its great inside, with gyms, massage parlours, sleep-pods, canteens and coffee stations all free of charge. They make it so you never want to leave!

 We did plenty of shopping in Oxford Street then popped back to our B&B in Pimlico to change for the theatre. We just about made it to the Barbican on time and had great seats in the fourth row to watch 'To Kill A Mockingbird'. It was great, and the kids in it were fantastic. Really glad we went to see it.

 On Thursday we took the tube to St Pauls, walked across the Millennium Bridge to take photos and then went into Tate Modern to look at the art. After that there was time for a visit to Hamleys in Regent Street, then a late lunch in pub off Carnaby Street before heading home.

July

 It's been a busy month. The end of the school year always is. But now its the summer holidays and I can catch up with all the things I haven't had time to do until now. At the beginning of July we went to Pilton College's Awards Evening, where Ellie got a runner up Key Stage 3 award from the English Department. She was quite happy to have not won, as the winners 'Only get a trophy to keep for a year' but she a £10 gift token. We were all very proud of her.

 On 11th July Carl and I were in Cardiff to see England beat the Australians in the first Ashes test. It was fabulous and the atmosphere inside the ground was great. You don't get that from watching it on the telly. The chants of 'Cheerio, cheerio, cheerio,' accompanied by waving every time we got one of them out was just so hilariously English!

 When it was over we rushed back to Ellie's guitar concert and made it in time for the second half. Caitlin was there to watch her too. She'd done a good job getting Ellie to her rehearsals and the start of the concert.

We have birds living in our house just outside our kitchen window. They are very cute and sing a lot. The babies are almost ready to fly the nest by the look of it.