Earlier in the year we visited Longleat, and of course they encourage you to buy a "passport" ticket to all the attractions. Actually the tickets are good value so we bought them, with the expectation of coming back to "do" the house itself later in the year. And so it was that on a lovely autumn day in early November, we had a guided tour round the house. The guide was excellent, and kept the boys' interests lively the whole time, pointing out things (particularly animals) that interested them as well as us. 11th November is Remembrance Day, and since we were in Salisbury visiting Malcolm's mum, Bridget and the boys went to the Guildhall Square to watch the regular Remembrance Day service. Salisbury being a city with long-standing military connections, the service lends a poignant feel, with active serving forces, retired sevice personnel and representatives from youth organisations such as the scouts attending and taking part. The emphasis of the service was very much on our hopes and prayers for the end to all wars. One of the great things about living in the Chilterns is the wonderful scenery, none more so than our local woods in autumn. The mainly beech trees are a mixture of yellows and oranges of every shade, down to a deep brown. This year the soft and still autumn meant the leaves stayed on the trees until they fell naturally, with no wind to bring an abrupt and unwelcome end to the autumn beauty. On a beautiful afternoon we took a family walk in the woods, with the boys playing "fetch", pretending to be dogs running after a stick.