October is Matthew's birthday, and this year he asked for a birthday cake in the shape of a blue tit, which we dutifully provided. After his practice climb at Gulliver's Eco Park he jumped at the chance of a full climbing session at Amersham's The Climb as one of his presents. He really enjoyed the afternoon session, with just two other people in the same group. We know he's keen of scrambling up things, maybe he will now attempt more..... Sue and her daughter Abby (who is Matthew's age) used to live a short walk away. Matthew and Abby became good friends, but recently Abby moved to Devon so Matthew can't see her as often. We dropped in on their new home in August when we visited Lyme Regis, and in October we were delighted that they made a visit back to the village. It was a chance for Abby to play with the guinea pigs, including the one named after her by Matthew. In October half term we decided to visit the workplace of Malcolm's brother, Graham, at Herstmonceux, Sussex. Graham and Maggie used to live there, moving to Cambridge some years ago when the Royal Greenwich Observatory (RGO) relocated. By chance he's now working back in Sussex at the laser satellite ranging facility. On the way we stopped off at Battle Abbey, and walked around the site of the Battle of Hastings, one of the defining moments in British history. The audio guides were very good, with a children's version available. The RGO site is now the Observatory Science Centre, with plenty of hands-on activities for children, and some of the old telescopes (that were once at the original Greenwich site) on view to the public. What was not on general view was Graham's work telescope and the laser ranger. We were able to see it ready for action at night, although the cloudy skies meant it couldn't see the satellite. Not that we're ever influenced by what we see on t.v. but whilst down south, a visit to one of the Howlett's zoos found its way onto our agenda. Port Lympne had more rhinos, so that was where we headed. We also saw a good selection of gorillas, monkeys and lemurs, including a special look at the rare Sifaka. Towards the end of the day, Matthew was "zooed out" and headed to the climbing frames with Malcolm in tow, whilst James insisted on walking the last loop (with Bridget) to see various attractive wild cats, and the somewhat disappointing Dinosaur dig (which wasn't a dinosaur at all but a marine reptile!). Malcolm had the offer of two tickets to a special "Cut the Carbon" service organised by Christian Aid in St Paul's Catherdral, so we took the opportunity of both attending a truly remarkable and international service, and seeing round St Paul's without having to pay the voluntary contribution. We felt surrounded by far more worthy souls than ours, right under the dome. Some had walked 1000 miles in 80 days to be there - quite an achievement. We were disappointed that there had been so little national publicity during the walk, as these walkers deserved more support for their efforts.