One of the animatronic dinosaurs at Bristol Zoo. A close encounter with a T-Rex. The 4YO pretending to be a turtle. A boy versus dinosaur stand off.
Oh crikey, it’s been a busy one and I’m now feeling more than a little bit wiped out. It wouldn’t be so bad if it wasn’t so ruddy hot here right now!
It’s almost time for the summer holidays here and for the 4YO that meant that last week was his last ever week at pre-school. Reader, I wept. Oh dear. They made sure they had a good send off though, with the graduation ceremony on the Monday, a trip to Bristol Zoo midweek and then a party on Friday morning. As always, we had a great time at Bristol Zoo – the weather was wonderful, the zoo gardens looked brilliant and Oscar and I had a lot of fun hunting for the animatronic model dinosaurs they have there.
Dressing up time at the Banqueting House, London.
On Thursday, I headed off to London for a press event at the Banqueting House, which I wrote about yesterday and which was a LOT of fun. After this, I took a leisurely walk back to Victoria via the Mall and Buckingham Palace, deciding en route to ring my grandfather as I thought he’d like to know where I was. He was in the Scots Guards during the 1950s and has LOTS of stories about his time doing guard duty at Buckingham Palace, Clarence House, St James’ Palace and the Tower of London. It was fun to get a bit of a walking tour from him as I went past places that he used to know really well – including the pub he used to drink in (which is still there – he was amazed!) and the church in Clarence Barracks next to Buckingham Palace where he and my grandmother had their banns read. It was really lovely.
I was back in Bristol by mid afternoon and met up with my husband to take charge of the 8YO who was accompanying me to the press event for the new outdoor play, The Boy Who Cried Wolf at Bristol’s famous Old Vic theatre. As you’ve probably gathered from the title, The Boy Who Cried Wolf is based on Aesop’s Fables and was a spirited, occasionally acrobatic, jazzy musical, comedy feast for both young and old. Both the 8YO and I were absolutely enthralled and highly entertained and I have to say that the gorgeous outdoor set only served to make the experience even better. It’s a definite must see if you happen to be in the vicinity!
Hanging out at the Old Vic. Half boy half ape at Bristol Zoo. More Bristol Zoo fun. Yet another Gromit in Queen’s Square, Bristol.
The weekend involved a lot of winding down after such a busy week but we still found time for an epic walk alongside the Gorge and into Leigh Woods in Bristol. Apparently the heatwave is coming to an end this week and we’ll be back to rain and gloom again in the next couple of days, which is a bit sad really even if the heat is exhausting.
However, just two more weeks and we’re off on holiday! We’re going to Cumbria for a fortnight so I can try to finish my book and also visit some castles and Edinburgh and stuff. I have a feeling that the internet is a bit ropey where we are staying so this blog may be a bit quiet while I’m away but rest assured that I’ll be making up for it when I get back!
I’m still living on lentil curry. Underneath Bristol Suspension Bridge. The 4YO and one of our cats – they were neutered last week and are now investigating the Great Outdoors (here in the UK most people have outdoor cats so no lectures please from US readers as I know it’s the reverse over there). The 4YO took this photograph of me last week – oh dear.
Anyway, I’m going to leave you now with a picture of my new dress from Vivien of Holloway. I already have their halter neck pirate print frock but wanted something a bit more day wear for a few special events that I have coming up later this year. What do you think?
ps. The Royal Baby is on its way! I was starting to think it was all just an elaborate hoax or something.
pps. This week’s book was The Summer Queen by Elizabeth Chadwick, which is absolutely BRILLIANT. I’ll be reviewing it properly in the next couple of days…
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‘Frothy, light hearted, gorgeous. The perfect summer read.’ Minette, my novel of 17th century posh doom and intrigue is now £2.02 from Amazon UK and $2.99 from Amazon US.
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