Malcolm's
brother Ken and his wife Christine paid a day visit
on a lovely day over the Easter weekend. We took them
to the Grand
Union Canal, especially interesting for Christine
who used to live in Tring some years ago.
James
had a do-it-yourself craft Easter egg, and turned
it into a monoclonious (apparently).
Over
the Easter break we paid a visit to the Thame
Country Show. It's not one we've been to before,
but well worth it, with the strange spectacle of piglet
racing and duck herding (there were sheep too). The
falconry show was quite exceptional. We watched as the
falcon shot off until it was barely visible, then was
back in just a few seconds when the keeper started swinging
the lure. Amazing stuff.
Malcolm's
mum came to stay over Easter itself, and afterwards
we took her to stay with Malcolm's other brother Graham,
near Cambridge. It was another good opportunity to catch
up with several of the (great!) nephews and niece. Steven
always enjoys it when our boys drop in, and they all
convinced Bridget to use the skateboard ramp as a makeshift
slide. Muddy bottoms, all.
As
you'll know from another
part of the Luthien website, Bridget has been
walking the Thames
Path for the last year, and for the very last
two stages we decided to walk it together. Bridget's
parents Marie and Andrew moved in for the weekend
to look after the boys as we struck off westward for
a long weekend.
At Cricklade we found we got our timing perfect to
see a huge meadow dotted with fritilleries.
It's become quite a famous place to spot these beautiful
and delicate flowers.
The
weather was superb, especially for April. As we walked
further and the Thames started to dry up, Bridget
took the opportunity of a final paddle in the cool
water.
When
we reached the official source near Kemble, marked
by a stone and quite dry, there were several other
walkers taking a rest, so we were able to get a photo
of us both together. Now Bridget wants to walk the
Ridgeway
(with Matthew).
