Day 6 To Bristol

But first, an early morning wave from the boss.

 .... and a nurse from Grannie

 We've just finished feeding again. (It's all she does, apart from smile)

 Claire and Cathy and Lissy stayed at home (= went out shopping) and I got a lift into Bristol to see Brunel's ship, the S.S. Great Britain. The first iron ship built.

 The blunt end of the ship.

 The sharp end.

The top end.

Dining saloon.

This is my ferry which (I hoped) would take me to the railway station. It did!

This is John's Bristol office. Well, not just John's, but it says Lloyds at the front so .......

On the canal, heading for Temple Mead railway station.

She gets around, doesn't she?

Back home, and a cot to assemble. Not sure where this cot was made, but the instruction booklet was a translation from the Japanese, from the Chinese, from the ....

This is the 3-D equivalent of painting yourself into a corner.

Finished at last!

We'd better check out the green sheep again.

This might be the last blog for a few days as we catch the train to London this afternoon, then Eurostar
to Avignon in the morning. Internet access is an unknown (actually, a known unknown) for a few days.
Anyway, because of this, I thought I'd draw the line

Get it?

Day 5. A day at the wetlands

We went to the Slimbridge wetlands for the day. From the jet trails, it was obvious that most people were going to America.

 Eager for the treat.

 First stop - for a Lissy feed - overlooked the Carribean flamingos. I think they put something in their water.

 Claire, Val and Brenda (Val's mother) at feeding time.

 Everyone but the photographer at playlunch.

 Lissy tells Brenda what she had for morning tea. Milk again!

 Off to see the birds.

 This bloke, Peter Scott, founded the whole wetland movement in the U.K. He is the son of Scott of the Antarctic.

 Greater flamingos. One has just stepped off the nest for a bit, leaving the egg exposed.

 They are fairly pale until they lift their wings, then .........

 Brenda spurned the pigeons and ducks as 'common', but she was impressed by this 'posh' bird. Can't remember its name.

 This is not a bird. It is a otter.

 Soon after morning tea, we had to return to the restaurant for lunch. The girl is insatiable.

 Giving Val what-for again.

 It's good to be home again.

 Annie, Val's next door neighbour, came round for dinner.

 Spag bol, salad and a good Vinsobres red.

Day 4. A quiet day at home.

Missing you already.

 Meeting Freddy Firefly again - a daily occurrence.

 Off for a walk to Tockington, the neighboring village.

 We had to be very careful as there are stinging nettles all along the path. From Lissy's reactions, we managed to avoid them.

 In a flax field. The flax plants have tiny purple flowers - one to each stalk - and en masse, they look great.

 Through a kissing gate.

 Further through the kissing gate.

 Val in her garden.

Day 3 Shopping

Lissy wanted to go shopping, and she allowed us to tag along.

 The stroller was very convenient to give instructions to the drivers. Only problem was that both drivers wanted to go "Vroom, vroom".

 Still, they didn't do a bad job.

 One of the drivers sighted shops and disappeared. Lissy and I were left to roam the malls alone.

Home at last, and on Grandma's knee.

 'Let me tell you about our day'.

 'Excuse me. I've got the conch!'

 .... and then grannie bought some new shoes, then a skirt, then a pair of trousers.

 Ah. It's good to get back into playclothes.

And at last, a nice warm bath to wash off the day.

And so to bed.